E-Learning & Online Teaching

UW-Stout: Good Training Opens the Door to Your Future

Arabic I
Developer Description and Instructor Description
Application Deadline: June 20, 2008
Video Introduction to similar course project in Chinese: www.marinegrafics.com/chinese/promo.htm

LEARN NC, a K-12 outreach program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC General Assembly and the NC Virtual Public School, is currently seeking a developer and instructor for Level 1 of Online Arabic. This course is the first in a two-part series designed to help students develop proficiency in Arabic. The opportunity requires the individual to both develop and then teach the course online. This course will place great emphasis on the spoken language while cultivating reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic. With the assistance of the development team, the course will be completed by December 31, 2008, to be taught in early January 2009. The following features will be included:

• Emphasis on spoken Arabic
• Student self-reporting of proficiency and understanding through the use of LinguaFolio (http://www.pen.k12.va.us/linguafolio/)
• Each lesson begins with a video vignette to introduce new language structures. The videos tell the story of two young people who meet and get to know one another.
• Listening/speaking comprehension exercises provide practice
• Weekly conversation coaches work one-on-one and in groups to assist with student pronunciation
• Skype (www.skype.com) is used to provide real-time conversation with conversation coaches and instructor
• Culture is embedded throughout the course to reinforce language learning.
• Sense of community is cultivated through group activities where students share via discussion boards, internal Messages system, and Skype. Student must feel a part of the course with activities that not only engage them, but also connect them to others including the instructor.
• Course is developed in Blackboard (www.blackboard.com) with the assistance of an instructional designer
• Course content does not depend on a textbook; therefore, all content of the course must be developed and reside within the course.
• Students receive individualized feedback on a weekly basis from the instructor.
• In addition to practicing speaking and listening with conversation coaches, the instructor will also speak with students on a weekly basis to determine student oral proficiency and listening comprehension skills development.
• Maximum enrollment will be held at 20 students for the initial offering

The following information details our expectations/requirements for both the developer position and the instructor position. In addition, we will be seeking conversation coaches to provide 2, 45-minute practice sessions with a group of 3-4 students weekly for the semester (18 weeks).

Developer Expectations and Requirements
• Must be proficient in Arabic
• Must be, or be able to be, certified as an Arabic teacher
• Must have American high school teaching experience or comparable work with teenagers
• Must have basic knowledge of Microsoft Word, use of Arabic characters in the electronic environment, and preferred knowledge of HTML editor like Dreamweaver or similar HTML editors (www.nvu.com is a great HTML editor that is free!)
• Must be detail-oriented and be able to collaborate regularly with the Project Manager, the Instructional Designer, and the Development Team during the development stage
• Must have daily, reliable Internet access to collaborate with Instructional Designer and Project Manager
• Must have a background in language education and second language acquisition
• Willingness to complete 2 online instructor preparation courses this summer and fall to develop and improve teaching skills online
• Willingness to become familiar with LinguaFolio, a formative assessment tool, and incorporate its use in the course
• Willingness to review other Arabic courses’ materials and resources at leisure to understand development standards and to effectively develop Arabic 1
• Willingness to learn Blackboard, the course management system in which the course will be developed (LEARN NC can provide online instruction in the use of this tool)
• Ability to work with video team to develop scripts for introductory dialogue for each lesson (video vignette) and approve video/audio content produced by video team
• Willingness to work with a development team
• Ability to communicate effectively in English with development team
• Desire to be a part of a pioneering effort to bring Arabic language and culture to students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn!
• Ability to work with development team to finish course by December 31, 2008
• Developer salary: $6,000-8,000

Instructor Expectations and Requirements
• Must be proficient in Arabic
• Must be, or be able to be, certified as an Arabic teacher
• Must have American high school teaching experience or comparable work with teenagers
• Must have basic knowledge of Microsoft Word, use of Arabic characters in the electronic environment
• Must have daily, reliable Internet access
• Background in language education and second language acquisition
• Willingness to complete 2 online instructor preparation courses this summer and fall to develop and improve teaching skills online
• Willingness to become familiar with LinguaFolio, a formative assessment tool, and incorporate its use in the course
• Willingness to learn Blackboard, the course management system in which the course will be developed (LEARN NC can provide online instruction in the use of this tool)
• Must coordinate with conversation coaches (1 per 4-5 students) on a weekly basis what students should practice
• Must keep good records of students’ progress and grades throughout the course
• Must communicate with the NC Virtual Public School about registration and technical issues
• Must work with NCVPS to communicate with the Distance Learning Coordinators at representative high schools where students are enrolled
• Must love teaching Chinese to a range of students!
• Instructor Salary ~ $225 per student

Application Process
The following materials must be submitted electronically no later than June 20, 2008, to Dr. Bobby Hobgood at bhobgood@learnnc.org. Please use the following subject line for your message: Arabic I Developer
1. A current resume or CV
2. A description of current and past teaching experience in Arabic
3. A statement of current teacher certification(s) and in what states
4. A statement of your use of technology and any experience in online teaching and learning
5. A statement to indicate you are available to begin working this summer
6. Contact information

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm and is filed under E-learning Jobs, e-learning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.