French Immersion Audio Pod-cast Project Abbotsford School District #34 British Columbia, Canada presented by: Julie Rousseau District VP Modern Languages presented by: Julie Rousseau District VP Modern Languages

Description of the project Who are the participants? What was their common concern? What is the French Immersion Audio project?

Here is one of our teachers recording an audio pod-cast that she will updload on her class website for her French students to listen to.

How will students use this program? Students access the class website either at home or at school. They can: –read a French story along with the teacher –practice pronunciation of French words –listen to the weekly dictée and spell words –sing along with the teacher –listen to a class recording

How was the project successfully implemented in the district? By addressing what Michael Fullan describes as the change forces. Moral Purpose Building capacity –what infrastures? –what resources? –what type of training, skills and competencies?

How did I address these issues? Technology experts: Mr. Gary Toews, Ginny Munro –identify necessary skills Instructional support –time –ongoing training

Building Capacity contd: Resources and funding for the project In order to build capacity, it was imperative that all teachers have access to the same resources. All teachers obtained: –a refurbished G3 Mac laptop –updated RAM, new batteries –airport card –mouse, headset, headphone and carrying case

The 3rd change force addressed: Understanding change and addressing obstacles The goal was not to innovate the most, but to innovate with coherence. Some difficulties included: –varying level of technological expertise –technological glitches –more time needed –implementation dip

The 4th change force: Building a collaborative culture. a relationship that fosters leadership is characterized by mutual openness, trust and affirmation. People enter into it freely and consensually; if they are coerced, the relationship is not leadership but bureaucratic contract or authoritarianism (Donaldson Jr., 2001)

Teachers shared their ideas and learned from one another. Here the group is viewing someones website during a sharing session.

5th Change force:Cultures of evaluation Focus was on student learning. We believed that if we focused on meaningful and relevant student learning, student achievement would follow.

Parental response to survey asking them how they felt about this project. Im so happy that my child can practice her weekly spelling test..I cant say the words properly in French. Every day when my child takes a bath, he listens and sings along with the teacher I wish we had access to a program like this with my two older children. It would have been really helpful for them too. I enjoy practicing my French pronunciation with my child. My child loves reading along with her teacher.

6th Force: Change knowledge/adaptations We split the group in two: –Techno-natives –Techno-immigrants

Sustainability of The Project At least 2 teachers in each school They become leaders for other colleagues.

What was the number 1 barrier to successful implementation of this project? It was not… –lack of time –lack of resources It was… –lack of technological expertise However…

Unexpected benefits from this project. T-Lite program Teachers joined START 1 teacher: video pod-casts in LFI Abbotsford Modern Languages website

Conclusion This project can be adapted for: –any language –at any grade level –ESL implications Students can extend their second language learning at home. Valuable instructional support for teachers, students and parents. Students are familiar with technology