Fall 1998
Vol 7 Issue 1
IN THIS ISSUE...
Peeking Around the TechnoCorner
Getting Rid of (Visible) Instructional Technology
A Philosopher's View of the Net and the Future
Demo of a Real Time Remote Experiment
What the Future Holds for Learning Languages
SEE ALSO...
The Forum
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction
What the Future Holds for Learning Languages
an interview with Vernon Smith, Rio Salado College
Alan Levine, DIST
NOTE: The audio version of this interview, taped on September 22, 1988, is available in RealAudio format.
AL: Tell us about yourself...
VS: Currently, I am the faculty chair for Foreign Languages at Rio Salado College. My background is in Latin American studies and Spanish. I also have a degree in Organizational Behavior. This has helped me because, at Rio, a person is not only a faculty member but also the chair of an entire department.
I grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and I am a MCCD product; I graduated from Mesa Community College. For my mission work I spent time in Peru and Mexico, which is where I acquired an interest in Latin American Studies. I did my graduate work at Brigham Young University in Organizational Behavior, the program started by Steven Covey. Beginning as an adjunct faculty at Rio, I discovered my love for teaching. I think my corporate training background was an asset when I was hired for a full-time position in 1993.
Initially, I was teaching accelerated learning classes, a compressed, flexible format. When asked about developing distance learning classes for foreign languages, I really questioned whether it could be done, since I saw myself as a classroom teacher. But now I think we have figured it out. Because of my background, I have always had an interest in bringing in more international education; for example, the Hands Across the Border project ...
AL: Can you tell us about that?
VS: We work with a sister school in Mexico, the Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo. We take approximately 50 students, faculty, and staff to this location. They live in the homes of our Mexican counterparts. For a week they visit the campuses and see how education works. Later we provide the same experience here for the Mexican faculty and staff. This year, since the Institute recently obtained their Internet connection, we used technology. We set up FirstClass accounts so the participants could communicate electronically during and after the experience. It was a great exchange of culture.
AL: The role of full-time faculty at Rio is a bit different than at other colleges--can you try to describe it?
VS: Part of Rio's strength is our relatively small organization. This means we can be very flexible. As a one-person department, I may implement a new program rather quickly. Another difference, but actually not so different from the other Maricopa colleges, is that we work a great deal with adjunct faculty. Having well-trained adjunct faculty is critical, so I work with the Adjunct Faculty Institute on their intense training. In addition to this, we now immerse them in technology. The teacher of the future needs technological skills; it is something we look for when we hire faculty.
AL: How many adjuncts do you work with in the Language department?
VS: About fifty ... each one teaches one or two different classes. In our schedule a new class starts every month.
AL: Are the majority of your students really "distant"?
VS: They are mostly local. However, we did have a student from Kuwait, who was an officer stationed there. We are starting to enroll students from many parts of the United States.
AL: How do you teach language by distance?
VS: An instructor needs to start from very well developed course materials. In development, one needs to consider, "How may I present this in as many modalities as possible?" For our Spanish courses, we have been using Annenberg/CPB's Destinos which includes a textbook, a workbook, and a video tape ... of a soap opera. It is excellent! The characters travel to Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico, so the students hear many different dialects spoken by people of all ages. Students are exposed to far more native and real language than they would even get in a classroom.
With these materials, students are reading, writing, and speaking. Each student gets a voice mail box, and they have assignments that require them to leave oral messages for their instructor. We also schedule teleconferences which use Rio's bridge that allows us to host up to 40 callers at a time.
This type of communication is not yet viable via the web, so our Internet students get the same box of materials; however, by using FirstClass conferencing software, they submit assignments and communicate on-line.
The best compliment I have ever received was, "This is way too hard. I have to work far more than I ever anticipated ... but I learned far more than I ever would in a classroom." In distance learning, a student must do his/her homework before participating in class discussions. It's a greater student responsibility. The instructor's role is also different since the material is already well-developed. Imagine going to a class in which all of the students have read the assignment, done the homework, and have questions ready. That usually happens in our distance classes. It's amazing what happens to the levels of conversations once the students start taking that responsibility.
AL: So most of your courses are either on the web or distance learning?
VS: We mostly do grammar courses in distance format. It's quite a challenge to do the conversation courses, which we offer in accelerated (classroom) format. I can see distance learning happening with an increase in available bandwidth when we are able to offer two-way verbal interactivity. For now we can accomplish quite a lot with technology as simple as the telephone.
Distance learning frees us from time and space constraints -- space is easy to do, so what we focus on is more efficient and flexible use of people's time. How does an instructor give students what they need -- when they need it? For example, we have "Beep-A-Tutor." These are helpful individuals that students may page at any time, 24 hours per day. And, we are looking at a "Cyber-Tutor" who would be available live, on-line for questions.
AL: What kinds of trends are you seeing in students?
VS: Students have hectic schedules; they are trying to balance job, school, and family. We have some students who are completing their degree requirements. But what surprised me the most are the students who are retired, highly educated, and sign up for language courses out of interest.
AL: Can you predict anything in the teaching and learning of languages for just around the corner in the new millennium?
VS: Even more flexibility--I can see the 24-7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) college. I see more highly advanced materials that increase the interactivity with the instructor.
AL: What will it take to get there?
VS: I see the interfaces of the tools and technology becoming easier to use. However, one of the greatest barriers is a mindset about the roles of faculty changing from the source of content to a coach, a mentor... someone that is facilitating the process of learning, not spoon-feeding or hand-holding the learner. It calls for a change in the students as well! The administrative side also needs to do more systems thinking on ways to support these shifting roles. They need to truly focus on their core processes of learning. If we offer 24-7 services, does that mean our schools will still have nine-month faculty? Do we quit learning over the summer? Do we shut down the college at 6:00 p.m.?
AL: We've been hearing about these changes for a while--do you see any sign of it happening?
VS: Yes, in the private sector. This is an untapped market. In entering this new age, education must be a leader in society. Education must promote new ideas and act as a guide while going through this transformation. If we don't, then some private entities will ... you can even begin naming them, because they are starting to emerge, and Wall Street is noticing.
I think our strategic advantage is that colleges think about their local community which is, for now, still in the minds of the public. Once this concept breaks down, when the public knows they can shop around for the best class and instructor, things will change.
AL: What about our system of degrees and accreditation?
VS: Students still want to know what they buy has quality. But the degrees that are accredited might change. I think there will be more competency-based standards for learning skills that will eventually be used. At the same time, we continue to see students with a desire for general interest courses, not necessarily tied to a skill or a job. Examples include art appreciation, history, genealogy ... yes, "Edutainment" is big.
With all that is changing, we need to be flexible, to be able to adapt, and to move. At the same time we must preserve quality.
Considering our role as a community college, I'd like to see us freed from the constraint of two-year programs. This idea of "upper division" and "lower division" is outdated. Is it practical and good for the students? Looking forward, we may see a lot of backlash from institutions who are trying to preserve their lives. There will be attempts to redraw geographic boundaries, but the lines will not matter anymore because of the Internet.
AL: What do you see in new technologies?
VS: I don't think the computer desktop interface is one we will be seeing. Perhaps technology will include more of a TV/computer combination with flat screens that are visually easier on the eyes than current models. 
The best technology I've seen lately is my PalmPilot. I can dock it into my computer; it carries a database and calendar with me. I can just see it getting more and more powerful.
Can we give students access to all of this technology? Setting up a lab is not enough.
I can see better voice recognition software. Think about this--do you really need a language teacher? Yes you will, because language teaches you another way to think. It is a whole different universe of thought and perception, a different way to see reality. The word ventana, means something totally different to me than when I hear the word window. It's tangible; it tastes different.
It's fun to predict. If you project far enough into the future, pretty much anything one says will happen ... like the works of Jules Verne. It's the short term future which is most interesting.
And what is really interesting about technology is the human interface. If we look at institutions and society as social-technical systems, while at the same time technology has been moving, moving, moving ... socially we have not moved very quickly. If technically you can create a virtual college, what does that mean? Do you really have to come to a place to learn? Do you need a teacher on site?
However, I think there will always be a need for the college experience. College is a socialization process. There will be a lot of interesting combinations ... and growing pains.
And I want to be there.