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General Report:
The development of an Italian web site at Wheaton College was successfully completed by Prof. Cristina Pausini and me just a few days ago. Thanks to our joined effort and to the assistance of the Wheaton Technology Resources staff we were able to implement all aspects of our project regarding the construction of a Web Site comprised of:
a) a main "Home" page
b) a page with a list of the currently taught courses accompanied by a brief description and links to the corresponding syllabi.
c) a page with links to major on-line newspapers, magazines, and radio stations
d) a page for the Italian Club at Wheaton College
e) a page with links to a list of selected resources for Italian on the web
f) pages with biographical information regarding the faculty.
Pedagogical goals The pedagogical goals that we have
tried to address mainly concern two aspects:
1. The exploration of new ways to bring our students closer to
the culture of Italy.
2. The implementation of 'flexible' didactic tools that can facilitate
a modern approach to language teaching.
Specifically the course descriptions and syllabi respond to a criteria of accessibility. Enrolled students, prospective students, and visitors to the site can easily locate course objectives, structure, requirements, and program of study. These pages will also provide a showcase for the student projects (web pages, videos, picture stories, etc.).
The links to major on-line Italian newspapers and magazines provide the students with a passageway into the very life of the Italian society. These links also provide a way to improve language skills by increasing contact hours with the language outside the classroom.
The Italian Club (in its second year of activity) has found in the web site a way to reach more students on campus and outside. It will function as a 'bulletin board' for the club's activities and it will host the creative efforts of the members who will design and add their own pages under our guidance.
The links to selected web resources in Italian besides continuing to increase contact hours with the language, will provide the students with a useful starting point for their investigations. Our students will be asked to make an active contribution to this page by identifying and evaluating new sites and links.
The pages with biographical information regarding the faculty provide current and prospective students and families with the possibility to know more about the teachers and their research.
Technical aspects
Both Prof. Pausini and I were already familiar with the use of PageMill for designing web pages. During the process of creating and gradually perfecting the pages we have worked on, we were able to improve our skills. In particular we were able to acquire a better knowledge of the use of such programs as Adobe Photoshop (both for picture editing, and scanning of photos and slides), Fetch (for the fast uploading and downloading of files from the Server to the Desktop), and QuickTime (for video capturing, editing, and publishing).
The support and expert assistance of the Wheaton Technology Resources staff was of pivotal importance in the success of the project. Mr. Abdul Shibli who has been assisting us since the very first stages of our project, was inspiring. Ms. Jenni Lund technical expertise has been helpful in more than one instance. Ms. Shaoping Moss has proven to be very effective, extremely helpful, and easily available in many crucial moments during the final steps of the project. We would like to thank all of them.
Assessment
To assess of this project's effectiveness we will ask students in all courses to use the web for one web project targeted to their course level. We will then ask them for their evaluation of their experience with the site in a supplementary and freestanding section of our course evaluation. Any final assessment will include our personal observations, and possibly some peer evaluations.
Conclusions
Our project is the continuation of the pioneering work done by Prof. Gabriele in Italian Studies. The new web site constitutes a 'platform' and an essential tool for the future use of Web-based electronic tools in the teaching of Italian at Wheaton.
What we consider even more important, is the idea of opening
this virtual space to the students and to their contribution.
We are convinced that this will expand their ability to be active
participants in the learning process. Not passive recipients,
but productive energies, who are able to add to the selection
and creation of the material presented during the course.
Last updated on
3/28/2000; 11:55:09 AM
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