Online planning

I have taught Spanish 2311 once.  Last August I found out the full-time Spanish instructor position was available and at first I wasn't sure I wanted to apply.  My husband worked full-time and I enjoyed the flexibility of being an adjunct.  However, right around the time that the position came open my husband chose to leave his job and work from home as a writer.  All of a sudden the realization hit me that if I were full-time I could provide benefits for my family so my husband wouldn't have the stress to continue doing it.  Happily, I got the job.

My position was finalized the day before class began.  I had already built an online 1411 and had taught face to face 1411 many times previously as an adjunct so that wasn't such a big deal.  2311 was another story.  

The outgoing instructor had left a syllabus but that was all.  I didn't even have the textbook that the syllabus indicated.  I went to the bookstore and the few copies they had were very expensive--around $250.  I chose to punt.

I went to the first day of 2311 and just talked with the students.  They liked the text from 1411 and 1412 and 1 of the 6 students owned the textbook.  He asked if we could continue with it.  I agreed--the text was designed to cover 1411, 1412, 2311 and 2312.  The previous instructor had chosen to use an intermediate text for 2311 and 2312 but the other text would be sufficient for this class.  And so we began.

As the semester went on I figured out that there were chunks of 1412 that these students had not learned.  We spent time on those concepts.  It was a fluid semester.  Luckily, it was a very small class so I was able to freewheel a bit and be OK.

Fast forward to now.  My new 2311 will be different.  Instead of 6 students enrolled (5 of whom were native speakers which makes the grammar at that level much easier to learn) I know have 19.  Some are native speakers but many are not. And I heard last week we'll be online.  With a new textbook.

Whew.  The good news is that I've taught these students in my online 1411 and 1412 sections last year.  I know the foundation they have is very solid.  But now I have to build a whole new class, online.

There are challenges to online planning.  I read a book last spring that guided me through the logistical steps of designing my 1411 for my new text.  Overall, I'm very pleased with it.  I used it for Summer 1&2 and it's very good.  Students have a plethora of resources available to them and the majority are finding success.  

Now it's time to do the same with 2311.  At the Quizlet Unconference I "attended" a session in which a science teacher in NYC told about his experience with moving online last spring.  He had excellent organization tools and great advice.  One thing I walked away with:  step back a bit from content and focus on what they really need to know.

I like "boardwork" in college classes.  This is a carryover from my elementary teaching days.  I like for students to have structure.  When they walk into class, there is a task on the screen for them to do.  This frees me up to take attendance, check in with students, get organized, etc while they are getting settled into the work of the class.  In 1411 they copy a Spanish quote and there's a prompt for them to answer in Spanish.  I don't grade their response, but when we begin class we read the quote and practice pronunciation.  I also review previous grammar concepts and model answering the question.

Last fall in 2311, I used quotes from a book about Mexican cultural phrases.  On the screen, the quote was written in Spanish and translated into English.  There was a prompt and they answered in Spanish.  We then compared our responses.  I really liked the cultural element to this and it was a great way to prompt them to speak in academic Spanish.  I would also model writing my responses in academic Spanish.  I won't lie--they didn't love this element of class but it challenged them which is good.  

I was wrestling with how I could do this online with my new 2311 class.  But then I stepped back and thought about how challenging this new curriculum is.  Instead of starting off adding to it I think it would be wiser to build the class using the curriculum and not add even more for the students to do.

Deep breath.  It's time to actually begin this process.