It's the end of the first week of teaching and those pangs of nervousness and mild anxiety are starting to recede as muscle memory takes over. For staff and students, each semester is an opportunity to learn more, try something new, and develop aspects of practice. Many of us hope our tried and tested methods will keep working, but that's not always the case.
It's only natural to have doubts, we talked about Dylan William's article in a past newsletter and the idea that teaching is a "partial" profession, as much art as science. We develop our practice through experience rather than evidence. That's not to say the evidence-based practice isn't useful, just that we can't rely on it as we do in other fields of work. Each cohort is different and we're a little different each time too.
This week we bring you a selection of tips, tricks, and articles that we hope you'll find useful. We hope this newsletter encourages conversation and dialogue, that it provides you with an opportunity to try something new, learning from someone, somewhere who is also experimenting and testing ideas.
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Merge is an AR and VR company that builds experiences for learners, using a small cube and a mobile device. There's something that is engaging about holding the cube and seeing the different interactive objects that can be displayed in augmented reality. Students choose from a fast-growing selection of games, puzzles, experiences, and objects that they can interact with. We have a cube in the Global Languages & Cultures Room if you want to try it out.
Links and Stories
This week we welcomed a visit from Bentley University who were interested to find out more about the work of the Global Languages & Cultures Room. They themselves have an active languages department, working on a variety of AR and VR projects, including projects designed by students using Cospaces.io a platform for media and immersive experiences. They too have a space for learning and research where students can create and explore new technologies. So many institutions are changing the way that they teach, responding to student needs, and thinking about ways to bring technology into their curriculum. We look forward to future collaboration and shared best practice!
Marc asked me to include videos from two sessions at GloCALL2019 in Danang. The first is called "A new standard for communicative English teaching - the case for incorporating Virtual Exchange" by Eric Hagley, Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan. Click the link to watch the session on Youtube. The second is "Language teacher agency in CALL: Local practices, virtual spaces, and global forces" by Cynthia White, Massey University, New Zealand Let us know if you're coming back from a conference and you have something to share with us all. Videos and podcasts are especially useful ways to catch up.
This semester we teaching about podcasting in the Global Languages & Cultures Room and would alert you to the wonderful resources that we have in the library, including links to several streaming resources that may be of interest (music, history, drama) and a mention for the Library of Congress audio recordings which contain clips from archives across languages and cultures. A short clip is a great starting point for a conversation and I would encourage you to include audio as set text and seek out these archives.
Talking of podcasts, I couldn't finish without mentioning the very sad passing of Dai Barnes, a UK educator with global reach, co-presenter of the TIDE: Podcast mentioned in these newsletters. He will be sorely missed, a wise and gentle human who inspired students and teachers alike. There's have been a great many tributes from the education community and if this is the first time you hear of him, then I encourage you to find out more. #RIPDai
Artist @fandangoekid
All hail the good sense of the Fandango Kid (above) who gives us a good list to pass onto our students. Student well-being will be at the forefront of our minds as we're starting the semester and I know you will all be talking to your cohort about good working habits and looking after themselves, making sure they eat, sleep and exercise regularly.
It's important too that we think about their good digital health, and ways to ensure balance and harmony when they're online. HumaneTech is a site with hints for doing just that and I would encourage you to include a link in your syllabus or mention it in class. Tips include only getting notifications from people (not services or bots) or keeping your phone's home screen to tools only (not social networks or news feeds). There's also a list of useful apps to help cut down on distractions and rein in your digital dependence.
Global Languages & Cultures Room - Funding
There is still time to apply for Global Languages & Cultures Room funding for new projects that provide opportunities to create media content highlighting multi-cultural activities and contribute to the resources of the room by way of exhibiting, screening, or publishing final outcomes. We will also consider proposals to investigate the effectiveness of multimedia technology to foster cultural learning and intercultural competence. Please get in touch if you would like further information.
You are welcome to forward this newsletter to colleagues in other institutions who might find it useful, then can
No time to stop! Look forward to speaking to you next week.