 |
Last
summer, I obtained an FLTC Mini-Grant to develop online course materials
for French 2720, Contemporary Quebec Culture. This course is built
around films that portray Quebec society from the early 20th century
to the present day. The course was divided into five time periods,
and students watched two films per time period. They also studied
authentic documents relating to those time periods that were archived
in Blackboard for that purpose. |
The materials included streaming audio and video clips from CBC,
Canada’s national news and entertainment corporation, as well
as images from the National Archives, statistical graphs from Statistics
Canada, and various articles from sources such as the CBC and the
Canadian Encyclopedia. French major Aaron Tomchuck worked 130 hours
to gather materials and post them into Blackboard after instructor
review, and reported, “It’s the best student job I’ve
ever had!”
In addition to my using these multimedia materials in the lectures,
students also integrated them into two separate PowerPoint presentations.
The first was done in a group and presented to the class to give
background and to explain in more detail events that took place
in the films. The second presentation was completed individually,
and involved either studying the evolution of a particular theme
(women’s lives, the economy, the role of religion in Quebec,
etc.) throughout the 20th century; or alternatively, creating a
multimedia fictional biography based on film characters. Students
also participated in an online discussion after each film, as well
as taking a midterm and final exams in Blackboard.
The advantages to this “Virtual Textbook” are many.
Students hear authentic media such as the radio play-by-play of
a 1948 hockey game involving Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard,
original footage of the Canadian Army occupying Montreal during
the 1970 October Crisis, or samples of political cartoons lampooning
provincial politicians. Such authentic media bring the study of
foreign culture to life in a way that no textbook can. In addition,
students become more active learners as they search the Blackboard
materials and edit them into individual presentations, often following
embedded links to external Web sites lampooning provincial politicians.
Such authentic media bring the study of foreign culture to life
in a way that no textbook can. In addition, students become more
active learners as they search the Blackboard materials and edit
them into individual presentations, often following embedded links
to external Web sites and extending the classroom into the world;
students interact meaningfully in the group presentations and online
discussions. Students also develop important computer literacy skills
as they use PowerPoint to integrate various media into oral and
written presentations. |
