Archives: July, 2009

LEARN NC, in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Virtual Public School, is currently seeking a developer/instructor for an online level-1 Japanese language course, as well as conversation coaches for the course.

Japanese Language Online Course: Level 1

The course will emphasize spoken Japanese and cultivate reading and writing skills as necessary. The successful applicant will:

• Employ course guidelines created in association with similar courses in Arabic and Mandarin Chinese
• Complete course design by July 31, 2010
• For additional compensation of $250 per student, begin teaching the following month

This course will be the first in a planned series of semester-long online Japanese language courses for middle school and high school students. For an example of course content developed for the Level 1 Chinese course, see http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/mandarin1/.

Course developer/instructor

The course developer will have assistance from a development team, and earn a salary of $6,000 to $8,000. The course developer must:

• Possess a native or near-native proficiency in Japanese
• Be certified as a Japanese teacher
• Have basic knowledge of Microsoft Word and use of Japanese characters in the electronic environment
• Be detail-oriented and able to collaborate regularly with the project manager, the instructional designer, and the development team during the development stage
• Have daily, reliable Internet access
• Have his/her own computer throughout the development phase
• Possess a background in language education and second language acquisition
• Be willing to take three, online instructor preparation courses this fall/winter to develop and improve online teaching skills
• Learn to use Blackboard, the course management system in which the course will be developed (LEARN NC will provide online instruction in the use of this tool)
• Work with a video team to develop scripts for introductory dialogue for each lesson and approve video/audio content produced by the video team
• Communicate effectively in English
• Wish to be a part of a pioneering effort to bring Japanese language and an appreciation of Japanese culture to North Carolina students

In addition to the above requirements, the instructor must:

• Coordinate with conversation coaches (1 per 4-5 students) on a weekly basis
• Keep good records of students’ progress and grades throughout the course
• Communicate with the NC Virtual Public School (NC VPS) about technical issues and issues regarding registration
• Work with NC VPS to communicate with distance learning coordinators at representative high schools where students are enrolled
• Love teaching Japanese to a range of students

Conversation Coaches

LEARN NC also seeks conversation coaches for Japanese I. These coaches will provide two, 45-minute practice sessions with groups of 3-4 students weekly for duration of the 18-week semester.

Apply

To apply for the course developer/instructor or conversation coach positions, please submit the following materials in electronic format to Dr. Bobby Hobgood no later than August 31, 2009:

1. Which position you are applying for
2. A current resume or CV
3. A description of your current and past teaching experience in Japanese
4. A statement regarding where you are currently certified to teach Japanese
5. A statement describing your proficiency with technology and any online teaching and learning experience you have
6. A statement indicating your availability to begin working this September
7. Contact information
8. Please submit your application with the Subject Line:  Japanese 1 Developer Applicatio

Deadline

You must submit your application by August 31, 2009.

LEARN NC’s Ross White and Nick Yingling will present “Moodle at LEARN NC: Who, What, How, When, Why?” at the Career and Technical Education 2009 Summer Conference held July 21-24 in Greensboro:

Do you want to supplement your classroom with Web 2.0 tools like discussion forums and wikis? Do you teach e-Commerce I or II? Do you want to teach your course online? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to check out Moodle! LEARN NC offers a variety of opportunities for teachers to use Moodle — for professional development, for receiving curriculum from DPI, and for creating and delivering new learning opportunities to students. Come explore the new educational and collaborative possibilities Moodle has to offer.

The Carolina Teachers’ Connection and LEARN NC of the School of Education will sponsor a workshop for alumni classroom teachers and their colleagues. This workshop will enrich their understanding of English as a Second Language (ESL) students and strengthen their teaching of these students. The intent is to provide a forum to gather resources and ideas so that teachers will be better equipped to help ESL students succeed in North Carolina schools.

Speakers

• Keynote speaker Dr. Darla Deardoff of Duke University, who will address the question, “How do I approach my role in teaching kids with very different cultural backgrounds?”
• Dr. Bobby Hobgood of LEARN NC, who will present “Teaching the N.C. Curriculum with Engaging Web-Based Resources.”
• Joanne Marino, ESL Consultant/Title III Director and Ivanna Thrower, ESL/Title III Consultant of NC Department of Public Instruction will present “Success for ELLs: Success for All” using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) providing techniques participants can use in their own classrooms.
• A panel discussion will provide additional interaction and questioning opportunities.

The workshop will include a list of helpful community resources and opportunities for sharing and questioning. The importance of cultural sensitivity will be emphasized.

CEU credit

0.4 CEUs available

Event details

Date: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009
Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Place: Carolina Center for Educational Excellence, 9201 Seawell School Rd., Chapel Hill
Cost: $10 to cover lunch

Register

To register, please contact Lucy Williams.