Stacey’s Technology Episode Recommendations

These episode recommendations from Stacey are all around the topic of technology in the language classroom. You can find Stacey on Twitter @staceymargarita.

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that we have already released 72 episodes of the podcast. Time has flown by! Every week when I am loading up the new episode, I think to myself, “This is my favorite episode yet!” Honestly, I have learned so much from all of them, it is hard for me to choose favorites. So, what I thought I would do this week is point out a few episodes that you should listen to if you integrate technology into your language teaching and want to learn more.

Episode 9: Performance Assessment in a Fully Online College Spanish Course with Claire Knowles

In this early episode, I talk with Claire Knowles about teaching college Spanish in a fully online, asynchronous format. Claire tells us about how she uses performance assessments instead of tests to assess learning and how she elicits feedback and reflection from students in every unit.

Full disclosure: Claire has been my colleague and friend for almost 20 years, and we have been partnering on a big pedagogy/writing project for the last several, so I know her work really well. That is to say I have been learning from Claire since long before she was on the podcast. She is a talented, reflective, insightful online teacher, and I hope you get as much out of this episode as I did.

Episode 13: Teacher of the Year, Culture, and Technology with Noah Geisel

Does anyone have more contagious enthusiasm around technology than Noah Geisel? I don’t think so. This is another early episode that you might have missed if you discovered the podcast in 2018. This episode is a fast-paced conversation that touches on a ton of technology tools and ideas. A useful twenty minutes!

Episode 18: Technology, Performance, and a Proficiency-Oriented Curriculum with Catherine Ousselin

Back in August of 2017, I interviewed Catherine Ousselin, a secondary French teacher and coach from Washington who is well-known for her technology expertise. We discussed specific technologies and classroom practices that she employs in her classroom to motivate students to develop proficiency. This is one those episodes that people still listen to and comment on more than a year after it came out!

Episode 57: CLIC Resources, TalkAbroad, and Online Teaching with Florencia Henshaw

This episode first aired back in June, and is worth going back for a refresher. I interviewed Dr. Florencia Henshaw, Director of the Center for Language Instruction and Coordination (CLIC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Florencia discusses some of the resources CLIC has to offer teachers such as free online webinars, how the virtual exchange tool TalkAbroad is making a difference in Florencia’s program, and some of the ways that concepts from second language acquisition should be applied to online language teaching. And in the show notes there are links to CLIC resources that you should check out. They have new technology resources coming out all the time!

Lots of other WTL episodes include technology along the way and have useful resources, but if you are looking for four episodes to binge this week and get a little inspiration for teaching with technology, these are a good start!

If you are interested in sharing your episode recommendations with the We Teach Languages blog readers, please reach out and let me know! We’re always looking for ways to include more voices in the podcast, and I would love to work with you.