Funds from the Parent Teacher Student Association and other school organizations paid for 40 new computers that were installed in the language lab in L-23 over the summer. They were originally placed in a temporary computer lab in P-20 last semester before replacing the old Sony cassette players and recorders in the language lab. “They had to completely pull out the cassette recording boxes in each station,” World Languages Instructional Supervisor Anne Jensen said. “Then, the district sent over technology experts to install the Internet access cables and wiring for each station. Each computer then had to be configured.”

The new desktop Apple Macs combine the functions of the old cassette tapes with the technology of the school computer lab. “They can still do speaking, listening and recording on the new software, which is the same thing they could do on the cassette tapes, but we also want them to do projects on the computers, so they can hook up to the Internet and use a word processor,” Jensen said.

The technology on the new computers permits students to do more research projects, according to Jensen. “For example, in my Advanced Placement (AP) French Language classes [last year], after the AP test, the students had to research French artists on the computers [in the temporary computer lab] as their final project in spring,” Jensen said.

Students can also use the new computer software for communicating information. “They can use CDs for recordings now instead of cassette tapes,” Jensen said. “We also want students to e-mail their recordings to us. There are various programs on the computers, and they can also use Google. There’s various ways to use the whole new technology.”

Teachers can still use the language lab to do activities originally done on the cassette tape system. “The teachers in the Spanish 2 team will mostly take their students to the lab to do the listening activities of ‘Dime 2’ in the lab,” Spanish teacher Gabriela Garger said. “They are also planning a couple of oral projects to record in the lab as well. In AP Spanish Language, we will be doing listening exercises to prepare for the AP exam, taping informal and formal presentations and recording at least one oral project in the lab. In addition, we will still do some listening activities in the classroom using the boom box to replicate the conditions of the AP exam.”

Updating the old cassette system to computers with CD capabilities allows students to do recordings during school instead of at home. “We can do speaking tests, recording the voice and sending it by e-mail to the teachers,” French teacher Marcel Losier said. “It used to be that they would take a cassette tape and record it on there. Now, we have more digital technology, and can use CDs, which I think is much more practical.”

The installation of the new computers also led to the hiring of World Languages Secretary and lab technician John Bulan. “We have a new assistant in the World Languages department whose responsibilities include secretarial duties and overseeing the lab, which costs about $80,000,” Jensen said. “We wanted someone else in the lab besides the teacher who would be technology-oriented.”

The cost of the new language lab places more responsibility on the students to use it properly. “The lab is very expensive, so we need students to help take care of the equipment,” Losier said. “They need to use the lab as a productive tool, not an entertainment center.”

Part of Bulan’s responsibility is to ensure that students are using their time productively in the language lab. “I’m watching them to make sure they don’t ‘accidentally’ stray from their teachings,” Bulan said. “I monitor the students to make sure they stay on track.” Bulan is also in charge of answering teachers’ questions about the new software and helping with network issues.

The world language teachers hope to incorporate the uses of the new language lab into their curriculum. “Mr. Losier has a master’s [degree in education with an emphasis on instructional technology], so we want him to be the person who, during staff department meetings, can help the rest of us think of ways on how to use the lab in World Languages,” Jensen said.

Losier suggested ideas of how to incorporate the new technology into teaching language students by showing examples from his own class. “I shared ideas with the other teachers,” Losier said. “I showed them examples of how I used the technology in class, like with projects and portfolios. We’re hoping to differentiate the instruction, not relying on just textbooks and using technology as well.”

According to Jensen, new national language tests driven by technology have called for high schools to increasingly use computer labs. “For AP Chinese and Japanese, the students have to get into the computer lab just to take the test,” she said. “I also expect the AP Spanish, French and German tests to go in that direction eventually. The National Spanish Exam has also moved online, and students took it in the computer lab this year in spring during March in P-20.”

Jensen said she hopes to move the language department toward the twenty-first century with the new lab. “There’s so much on the Internet, and so much technology on the computer, so we’re just cracking the surface here,” Jensen said. “It’s a whole new frontier for us, but little by little, we hope to get to the cutting edge of technology.”