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SAISD students learn Mandarin Chinese online
By Lindsay Kastner - Express-News
Web Posted: 09/16/2010 12:00 CDT
Brackenridge High School students Efrain Fernandez (left) and Jacob Ovalle, both 15, get ready for a Mandarin Chinese lesson via live feed from Beijing. SAISD also offers the classes at Bonham Academy, Davis Middle School and Tafolla Middle School JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net
In her second semester of Mandarin Chinese classes, Lupita Barrientos is learning the words for living room, kitchen and sofa, carefully repeating after her teacher, Ting Yang.
But Barrientos and Yang have never been in the same room.
Barrientos, 15, is a sophomore at Brackenridge High School in the San Antonio Independent School District, which began offering Chinese classes last spring. Yang is a teacher in Beijing, where she has an alternative certification to teach in Texas.
Teacher and students meet twice a week through a live video feed.
To offer Mandarin classes online at four district schools, SAISD contracts with a company called MyChinese360, which provides everything the school needs, from teachers to technical support. Districts just supply computers with webcams.
At a price of $96,000 for 80 students plus what it costs for a staff member to monitor the students while the classes are in progress the arrangement costs less than what it would to hire local Mandarin instructors, if they could even be found.
Districts often struggle to find certified Chinese teachers, said Janice Lopez, director of educator standards at the Texas Education Agency.
The program also gives students the opportunity to work largely at their own pace. When the class isn't working directly with Yang, students can log into the system and complete course work individually.
Educators say they're excited about employing technology to offer courses that might otherwise be out of reach.
We have exchange students who come from other countries, and what we have noticed it that they all speak at least two or three languages fluently, said Helen Barker, a guidance counselor at Brackenridge. We really need to get our students to that point.
But students give the system mixed reviews.
Some say they like the self-paced style and appreciate the opportunity to learn a language they see as vital to future business opportunities. But other students say they find technical glitches distracting and that online courses can't replace the level of interaction they get in a traditional teaching environment.
It's neat and stuff, said sophomore Jacob Ovalle, 15. But it's not like having a teacher right in front of you, because the problems with the technology and stuff interfere with your learning.
During a class last week, students wearing headphones with microphones followed along as Yang pointed to a picture of a bedroom.
Wòshì, the class said, in unison.
Yang moved her cursor over a picture of a kitchen
Chúfáng, everyone said.
The students sat in front of a bank of computers to hear and speak to Yang, who could be seen sitting in a nondescript room in Beijing, where it was the middle of the night.
For the most part, the feed worked smoothly, with Yang speaking in real time to her students, who responded in Chinese. But some students had malfunctioning headsets, which made participation nearly impossible.
That's good to know, co-founder John Pesce said when told about the glitches. We can address that.
MyChinese360 launched classes about a year ago, after Pesce, who did consulting work for school districts, discovered that districts wanted to offer Mandarin classes but were having trouble finding qualified teachers. The obvious answer was to look in China, he thought, so he opened an office in Beijing.
Now the company provides teachers in 10 states and about 20 Texas districts. Teachers receive their alternative certification from Region 4 in Houston, an arm of the Texas Education Agency. Our teachers go through the same rigor as any teacher who is getting alternative certification to teach in Texas, Pesce said, noting that they fulfill the requirements online. TEA's Combs said the remote certification process was the first of its kind.
We haven't had any other request for it, she said.
SAISD started the program last spring with 50 students. The classes are offered at Bonham Academy, Davis Middle School, Tafolla Middle School and Brackenridge, all schools that have a special emphasis on foreign language.
Barrientos, the Brackenridge sophomore, speaks Spanish and also is taking Russian in school, but she said she signed up for Chinese because it sounded different and exciting.
I've always wanted to travel the world, she said, and I feel like if I knew more languages I could go more places with more confidence.
Her teacher, Yang, has taught Chinese for three years but only recently began teaching remotely for MyChinese360.
I think it's quite different. Face-to-face is more efficient, she said. But I think this is a good method because not every person can go to China to learn Chinese, and this way people can learn Chinese from a native speaker.
SAISD students learn Mandarin Chinese online
By Lindsay Kastner - Express-News
Web Posted: 09/16/2010 12:00 CDT
Brackenridge High School students Efrain Fernandez (left) and Jacob Ovalle, both 15, get ready for a Mandarin Chinese lesson via live feed from Beijing. SAISD also offers the classes at Bonham Academy, Davis Middle School and Tafolla Middle School JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net
In her second semester of Mandarin Chinese classes, Lupita Barrientos is learning the words for living room, kitchen and sofa, carefully repeating after her teacher, Ting Yang.
But Barrientos and Yang have never been in the same room.
Barrientos, 15, is a sophomore at Brackenridge High School in the San Antonio Independent School District, which began offering Chinese classes last spring. Yang is a teacher in Beijing, where she has an alternative certification to teach in Texas.
Teacher and students meet twice a week through a live video feed.
To offer Mandarin classes online at four district schools, SAISD contracts with a company called MyChinese360, which provides everything the school needs, from teachers to technical support. Districts just supply computers with webcams.
At a price of $96,000 for 80 students plus what it costs for a staff member to monitor the students while the classes are in progress the arrangement costs less than what it would to hire local Mandarin instructors, if they could even be found.
Districts often struggle to find certified Chinese teachers, said Janice Lopez, director of educator standards at the Texas Education Agency.
The program also gives students the opportunity to work largely at their own pace. When the class isn't working directly with Yang, students can log into the system and complete course work individually.
Educators say they're excited about employing technology to offer courses that might otherwise be out of reach.
We have exchange students who come from other countries, and what we have noticed it that they all speak at least two or three languages fluently, said Helen Barker, a guidance counselor at Brackenridge. We really need to get our students to that point.
But students give the system mixed reviews.
Some say they like the self-paced style and appreciate the opportunity to learn a language they see as vital to future business opportunities. But other students say they find technical glitches distracting and that online courses can't replace the level of interaction they get in a traditional teaching environment.
It's neat and stuff, said sophomore Jacob Ovalle, 15. But it's not like having a teacher right in front of you, because the problems with the technology and stuff interfere with your learning.
During a class last week, students wearing headphones with microphones followed along as Yang pointed to a picture of a bedroom.
Wòshì, the class said, in unison.
Yang moved her cursor over a picture of a kitchen
Chúfáng, everyone said.
The students sat in front of a bank of computers to hear and speak to Yang, who could be seen sitting in a nondescript room in Beijing, where it was the middle of the night.
For the most part, the feed worked smoothly, with Yang speaking in real time to her students, who responded in Chinese. But some students had malfunctioning headsets, which made participation nearly impossible.
That's good to know, co-founder John Pesce said when told about the glitches. We can address that.
MyChinese360 launched classes about a year ago, after Pesce, who did consulting work for school districts, discovered that districts wanted to offer Mandarin classes but were having trouble finding qualified teachers. The obvious answer was to look in China, he thought, so he opened an office in Beijing.
Now the company provides teachers in 10 states and about 20 Texas districts. Teachers receive their alternative certification from Region 4 in Houston, an arm of the Texas Education Agency. Our teachers go through the same rigor as any teacher who is getting alternative certification to teach in Texas, Pesce said, noting that they fulfill the requirements online. TEA's Combs said the remote certification process was the first of its kind.
We haven't had any other request for it, she said.
SAISD started the program last spring with 50 students. The classes are offered at Bonham Academy, Davis Middle School, Tafolla Middle School and Brackenridge, all schools that have a special emphasis on foreign language.
Barrientos, the Brackenridge sophomore, speaks Spanish and also is taking Russian in school, but she said she signed up for Chinese because it sounded different and exciting.
I've always wanted to travel the world, she said, and I feel like if I knew more languages I could go more places with more confidence.
Her teacher, Yang, has taught Chinese for three years but only recently began teaching remotely for MyChinese360.
I think it's quite different. Face-to-face is more efficient, she said. But I think this is a good method because not every person can go to China to learn Chinese, and this way people can learn Chinese from a native speaker.
SAISD students learn Mandarin Chinese online
challenger
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September 16, 2010
Chinese teachers welcomed by Greenbrier County BOE
By Tina Alvey
Register-Herald Reporter
LEWISBURG Three Chinese guest teachers were introduced to the Greenbrier County Board of Education Tuesday evening.
Wang Joy Guanqin, Lu Destiny Xia and Hu Maisie Jinchan are teaching secondary school students in the county the Mandarin Chinese language, as well as providing an insight into their countrys culture.
Maisie is just such a wonderful teacher, commented Greenbrier East High School principal Jeff Bryant. The students just love her.
Those sentiments were echoed by Catherine Thompson and Randy Auvil, principals at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and Greenbrier West High School, respectively, about Guanqin and Xia.
Joy is a joy, Thompson said. It is a wonderful opportunity that we provide for our kids.
Auvil added, Were gaining more from them than they are from us.
Superintendent John Curry presented each of the visiting Chinese educators with a certificate, saying, Were so blessed in Greenbrier County to have this opportunity for our students.
Richard Dulee, president of the Greenbrier County Education Association, addressed the board, requesting that one-time only educational jobs funding of just over $1 million be used to establish a comprehensive tutoring program.
Were really interested in seeing how this money is spent, he said, noting the GCEA asks that teachers and service personnel be involved in the decision.
Dulee said the tutoring program could be arranged as an after-school endeavor or could be conducted on Saturdays.
Curry said when rumors first circulated about the jobs funding, talks centered on both Saturday school and tutoring.
Dulee also asked that the board post the agendas for upcoming meetings and the minutes of past meetings on the county website.
PK/HS director Velma Viers advised the board that Alderson is the only community in the county with a current waiting list for 4-year-olds to be placed in pre-kindergarten classrooms.
Many of our sites are at full capacity, Viers said.
With 18 names of out-of-county students on a waiting list for placement in the Alderson area, the board voted to open another classroom there.
The issue of children living on the Monroe County side of Alderson being bused to Union instead of being permitted to enroll at the much closer Alderson Elementary on the Greenbrier County side was raised during last weeks Alderson Town Council meeting.
The board also approved hiring a teacher and aide for the new pre-K class at Alderson Elementary.
E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com
Chinese teachers welcomed by Greenbrier County BOE Local News The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia
Chinese teachers welcomed by Greenbrier County BOE
By Tina Alvey
Register-Herald Reporter
LEWISBURG Three Chinese guest teachers were introduced to the Greenbrier County Board of Education Tuesday evening.
Wang Joy Guanqin, Lu Destiny Xia and Hu Maisie Jinchan are teaching secondary school students in the county the Mandarin Chinese language, as well as providing an insight into their countrys culture.
Maisie is just such a wonderful teacher, commented Greenbrier East High School principal Jeff Bryant. The students just love her.
Those sentiments were echoed by Catherine Thompson and Randy Auvil, principals at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and Greenbrier West High School, respectively, about Guanqin and Xia.
Joy is a joy, Thompson said. It is a wonderful opportunity that we provide for our kids.
Auvil added, Were gaining more from them than they are from us.
Superintendent John Curry presented each of the visiting Chinese educators with a certificate, saying, Were so blessed in Greenbrier County to have this opportunity for our students.
Richard Dulee, president of the Greenbrier County Education Association, addressed the board, requesting that one-time only educational jobs funding of just over $1 million be used to establish a comprehensive tutoring program.
Were really interested in seeing how this money is spent, he said, noting the GCEA asks that teachers and service personnel be involved in the decision.
Dulee said the tutoring program could be arranged as an after-school endeavor or could be conducted on Saturdays.
Curry said when rumors first circulated about the jobs funding, talks centered on both Saturday school and tutoring.
Dulee also asked that the board post the agendas for upcoming meetings and the minutes of past meetings on the county website.
PK/HS director Velma Viers advised the board that Alderson is the only community in the county with a current waiting list for 4-year-olds to be placed in pre-kindergarten classrooms.
Many of our sites are at full capacity, Viers said.
With 18 names of out-of-county students on a waiting list for placement in the Alderson area, the board voted to open another classroom there.
The issue of children living on the Monroe County side of Alderson being bused to Union instead of being permitted to enroll at the much closer Alderson Elementary on the Greenbrier County side was raised during last weeks Alderson Town Council meeting.
The board also approved hiring a teacher and aide for the new pre-K class at Alderson Elementary.
E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com
Chinese teachers welcomed by Greenbrier County BOE Local News The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia
