Recommender systems in educational contexts have proven to be effective in identifying learning resources that fit the interests and needs of learners. Their usage has been of special interest in online self-learning scenarios to increase student retention and improve the learning experience. In this article, we present the design of a hybrid…

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are currently in favour as a mechanism for 'delivering education' on a massive scale, including language education. However, when viewed as a new educational 'technology', they have arguably not yet reached the stage of normalisation (Bax, 2003) at which they might be most productive. This paper examines the…

A possible model for future graduate education, the Spanish for the Professions, Master of Science program, which some may consider a terminal degree, was designed to meet the growing need for employees with a high-level of Spanish language proficiency and cultural competency. This exploration of the fully online Spanish for the Professions…

Several types of hybrid Spanish programs have been developed in US colleges and universities for more than ten years, but the most common structure consists of a course in which the instruction combines face-to-face time with an instructor and the use of an online platform. Studies have demonstrated that a well-developed hybrid Spanish program can…

Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has shaped the way we teach and learn nowadays. Web 2.0 interactivity capacities have played a major role in providing a virtual space where learning can take place outside the classroom. Digital environments challenge the traditional educational establishment by blurring the boundaries between the recipient of…

This paper describes an informal component that we added to an online formal language learning environment in order to help the learners reach relevant Internet pages they can freely use to complement their learning activity. Thanks to this facility, each lesson is enriched, at run time, with a number of links automatically retrieved from social…

Food Safety Manager's Certification is offered through a state-local Extension partnership in Utah using an online course management system. Exams and course materials were created by an Extension Specialist at Utah State Univ. Extension Agents provide exam and curriculum facilitation in each county. This form of distance education enables access…

Action research was conducted for two consecutive semesters comparing beginning level Spanish courses taught in the traditional classroom and the same class taught exclusively in the language lab. A subsequent semester compared an intermediate class taught in the traditional classroom compared to the same class conducted online. Assessment scores…

As the 21st century's first decade draws to a close, America's public school students are participating in online academic classes in increasingly large numbers. More than one million K-12 public school students took online courses in the 2007-2008 school year, according to an estimate in a recent Sloan Consortium survey. This represents a 47…

This qualitative study examines perceptions and use of assignment feedback among adult beginner modern foreign language learners on higher education distance learning courses. A survey of responses to feedback on assignments by 43 Open University students on beginner language courses in Spanish, French, and German indicated that respondents can be…

Nebraska's rural school districts have a rapidly growing Spanish-speaking student body and few qualified instructors to meet their educational needs. This investigation examined factors that promote and challenge the ability of rural Nebraska paraprofessional educators to complete an online B.S. program in elementary education, with a K-12 English…

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) forms an integral part of the first-year Spanish course, "Spanish Without Walls" (SWW), designed for distance education. The CMC component of SWW supports bimodal (i.e., oral and written) interactions among students and the instructor and provides the same kinds of benefits as those in face-to-face…

Redesign of a beginning Spanish program allowed for an enrollment increase of 85%, lowered cost per student by 29%, and provided a 9% pay raise to the course instructors. Class sizes were reduced from 30 students per section to 25 per section and seat time was reduced from 200 minutes per week to 130 per week. In-class instruction was supplemented…