HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY FOR INDEPENDENT LEARNING
AND CLOSE READING

This panel targets both college and high-school instructors and its purpose is to discuss effective applications of technology for teaching close- reading of original Latin texts, better vocabulary acquisition and general learning skills.

The focus of the panel is on technology which further enhances solid and time-tested pedagogical approaches. The panel explores how established and commonly used techniques and strategies that train students to read a Latin text in a linear fashion can be made more accessible to students with the help of technology. This becomes especially important when the limited time in the class-room setting does not fit the learning speed and learning style of all students. The panel also deals with issues of vocabulary acquisition (one of the most challenging language-acquisition problems of contemporary students), its tools, standards and the emergence of a learning style that is biased towards ubiquitous media like computers, iPods etc.

The first paper discusses using technological resources to shift the learning paradigm – moving traditional instructor presentations to an out-of-class format, enabling more productive use of in-class-time.

The second paper discusses the power of special formatting in training students to become more accurate readers, to process a Latin text linearly and to break up long Latin sentences into more manageable chunks.

The third paper shows how students can better learn to handle long periodic sentences in Latin with the help of voiced-over animated files such as video files created with animation-authoring software (SnapZ, Camtasia). This paper discusses how modeling sentence break-up and inserting targeted commentary with MicrosoftWord and AcrobatPro compares and contrasts with the use and the effectiveness of animated files both inside and outside the class-room.

The fourth paper discusses the various vocabulary tools available in the modern age and addresses the desirability of introducing vocabulary standards across the Latin curriculum.

The fifth paper demonstrates how the possibilities of the Smartboard can change one’s pedagogical approaches to the teaching of Latin texts and culture at the secondary level.

A/V equipment needed: digital projector for all papers; a SmartBoard, if possible, for paper 5.