French 003: Virtual Conte de fées project
As a capstone project for the Basic Language Program, students often write their own fairy tales to coincide with one of the last chapters in Rond-Point. Beginning in Fall 2011, I decided to have my French 3 students work in groups to write, edit, and illustrate conte de fées. Once they were complete, the stories were digitized into electronic flipbooks using Calaméo, and students read their stories to the class while sharing their illustrations.
Students of French generally learn to read French literary tenses, such as the passé simple, but rarely have the opportunity to write using them. In this project, students wrote using the literary tenses, an activity in which they became more familiar with the conjugations and better able to recognize not only the verbs in these tenses but also the differences between the various past tenses.
(Conte de fée project used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
Students of French generally learn to read French literary tenses, such as the passé simple, but rarely have the opportunity to write using them. In this project, students wrote using the literary tenses, an activity in which they became more familiar with the conjugations and better able to recognize not only the verbs in these tenses but also the differences between the various past tenses.
(Conte de fée project used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
French 410: La Mosaïque electronic class newspaper
Students in my upper-division "French Press" course participated in a semester-long collaborative project to create a class newspaper. Over the course of the semester, each student wrote articles, copy edited their work, and completed the page layout for the newspaper. Students participated in section meetings (news, lifestyles, etc.) and made decisions about the overall layout and content of the paper. By taking on the various roles of a newspaper staff for the semester, students put into practice different aspects of the press that they were studying in class. It also familiarized them with journalistic style and vocabulary specific to page design.
Given free rein to choose their own article topics, each student could focus on topics suited to his or her particular interests. The resulting "mosaic" of stories represents a unique view of a specific class at a given moment in their parcours académique. Stories covered current political situations, the economy, social problems, war in the Middle East, fashion, theatre, and cinema among other topics.
(Newspaper project used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
Given free rein to choose their own article topics, each student could focus on topics suited to his or her particular interests. The resulting "mosaic" of stories represents a unique view of a specific class at a given moment in their parcours académique. Stories covered current political situations, the economy, social problems, war in the Middle East, fashion, theatre, and cinema among other topics.
(Newspaper project used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
French 202: "Grammar and Composition" electronic portfolios
In Fall 2010, my two sections of "Grammar and Composition" piloted an online portfolio using The Blogs at Penn State. Traditionally, the portfolio has been kept in hard copy and updated throughout the semester. It contained copies of their writings assignments (both first and final drafts), a personal dictionary, and review sheets that they made for each chapter.
By transitioning the portfolio to an electronic format, I had continual access to the students' work to provide ongoing feedback, particularly with their personal dictionaries. Moreover, most students had not yet been exposed to Penn State's blogs platform. In course evaluations, several students mentioned that the portfolio allowed them to gain a skill that they saw as useful for their future marketability.
(Website used with student's permission. Documentation on file.)
By transitioning the portfolio to an electronic format, I had continual access to the students' work to provide ongoing feedback, particularly with their personal dictionaries. Moreover, most students had not yet been exposed to Penn State's blogs platform. In course evaluations, several students mentioned that the portfolio allowed them to gain a skill that they saw as useful for their future marketability.
(Website used with student's permission. Documentation on file.)
French 201: Group video project
Students in my "Oral Communication and Reading Comprehension" course worked in small groups to re-imagine one of the course's texts or films by changing one of its key aspects (setting, time period, point of view, etc.). They then used equipment and services available through Media Commons and Media Technology and Support Services, including access to DV4 cameras,a green screen, and post-production software, to film their scenario.
As students drafted their scenarios, they reflected on textual choices and how changes to the authors' original texts altered both the unfolding of the plot and the audience's understanding of the text. Some of the most successful projects saw films being told from the point of view of different characters in their selected movie or literary text. For many students, this project was also a first encounter with the campus multimedia services, permitting them to gain knowledge that they can utilize for projects in future courses.
(Video projects used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
As students drafted their scenarios, they reflected on textual choices and how changes to the authors' original texts altered both the unfolding of the plot and the audience's understanding of the text. Some of the most successful projects saw films being told from the point of view of different characters in their selected movie or literary text. For many students, this project was also a first encounter with the campus multimedia services, permitting them to gain knowledge that they can utilize for projects in future courses.
(Video projects used with students' permission. Documentation on file.)
French 137: Movie analysis project
In "Paris: Anatomy of a City," a final film project allowed students to work in small groups to develop creative and independent perspectives on Paris through critical and historical analyses of films about or set in the city. Examining films as diverse as Marie Antoinette, Banlieue 13, Breathless, and Midnight in Paris, they created self-contained presentations using a range of platforms (VoiceThread, Prezi, YouTube, etc.).
The collaborative project assessed students' ability to apply course material to understand the representation of Paris in their chosen film. To complete the project, students not only thought critically about film but also engaged in independent research on both the film and the historical moment in which it is set.
The collaborative project assessed students' ability to apply course material to understand the representation of Paris in their chosen film. To complete the project, students not only thought critically about film but also engaged in independent research on both the film and the historical moment in which it is set.
