Minds (racing) online

Was it just me, or was reading the Miller chapter like

*flags this*

*highlights that*

*makes note of this other thing*

*has breakthrough related to own field/area of interest*

*finishes reading and goes immediately to amazon.com to buy the book*

*etc.*

because, to use the parlance of texting and the internet, OMG! One of my main research interests is the design of (hybrid and online) courses and curricula, so this reading (and the rest of the book) are now officially on my Ph.D reading list. I think the part that most resonated with me was the point Miller made about the importance of keeping students interested and engaged in learning material, something that might be particularly difficult when there isn't an enthusiastic and knowledgeable instructor to transmit the information. For my dissertation, I want to explore the teaching and learning of second language pragmatic knowledge (specifically within Spanish) using virtual learning environments, so developing fun, interactive lessons that are also effective in providing students with necessary information and then evaluating them is what I anticipate will be one of my biggest challenges. I like the idea of designing branching, "choose-your-own-adventure" types of activities; for example:

• You're meeting your (Mexican) partner's parents for the first time, and they only speak Spanish. Your Spanish, meanwhile, is limited to simple phrases such as greetings and introducing yourself (and in a noticeably non-Mexican accent at that).
• As you walk forward to greet them (going in with a handshake), your partner's mother leans in to kiss your cheek instead! What do you do?
• You sit down in the family room, and your partner's mother asks if you have eaten and offers you a snack. What do you do?
• While you are all seated, your partner's abuelita (grandma) enters the room and moves to greet you. What do you do?

These are all things that I as a second language learner with a Mexican partner would have really liked to have learned in the safety and support of a second language classroom rather than via the trial-by-fire approach of finding myself in (what felt like) a very high-stakes situation at a time when I was only just beginning to learn Spanish. 

(For any who are wondering, the "correct" answers are: lightly touch cheeks while making a kissing sound and saying, "Mucho gusto", smiling and politely accepting the offered snack (regardless of whether or not you are actually hungry), and standing up to greet the abuelita while making sure to use the polite form of address.) ;)