CN’s Impact on the World of Languages: “Literature-ally” Speaking Cont.

Part II: International Impacts and Reforming Higher Ed: Looking Forward

“International awareness begins when students log on and may see a post in Chinese, Thai, or one of many other languages,” Norm comments when describing CN's global impact on his students. 

And he’s right.

Course Networking’s expansion across the globe has given users access to collaborating with students in different countries, many of whom speak different languages other than English. As a world literature professor, Dr. Boyer has high hopes for the way international interconnectedness can give students perspective on the way similar course topics are presented in other parts of the world. “I hope in the future to connect a class with international students studying the same material or from the country of literature we are studying.” Norm also hopes that CN can give him opportunities to invite foreign speakers to his classes who can offer global perspectives and insight to his students.

As far as the medium that exists between technology and the world of English and literature, for Dr. Boyer, it’s the mass amount of student response he’s able to receive all at once that makes it worthwhile. More specifically, CN’s immediate post availability, as opposed to traditional LMS functions of opening one file at a time and going through the motions of commenting and closing out activities to move on to another student’s post is what makes responding back and grading simple and painless.

Dr. Boyer also would like to use CN to help him construct hybrid versions of some classes. His goal is to use CN as a way of presenting background material in the form of a mini-lecture or even streaming videos at students’ convenience to use class time for discussing the actual works or readings they’ve already been assigned and covered prior to class. The purpose: give students the freedom and accessibility of independent learning while still maintaining a degree of professor-to-student interaction by using class periods for what they’ve taken out of the material presented online and being able to share thoughts and ideas with each other.

It’s no surprise that Norm’s decision to continue using CN in the future was a definite yes. But in reflecting upon his feedback on the network, a combination of simplicity, accessibility, and opportunities for enhanced student learning justify his reasoning for doing so. And as more professors seek for ways that technology helps, not hinders, the way students are learning, CN is becoming a popular route for emphasizing this.

If you’re interested learning more about Dr. Boyer’s techniques for using CN in the classroom, add him as a follower or colleague by searching for his CN number, NB49, on the CN. Curious to see student feedback on his previous CN courses? Click here to access Norm's survey results after his Greek Drama Course or here to see student responses on his Anna Karenina  English Course from Summer 2013!

CN speaks in different languages around the world to help students learn the value of world literature, from Saint Xavier University to your classroom. How do you stay pervasive in your language and literature courses?