I am a fully qualified EFL and Spanish as a foreign language teacher with 20 years of experience. I have always been interested in technology and in 2002/3 I completed the Women Into Multimedia HNC organised by the European Social Fund and the Learning Skills Council in conjunction with Vera Media, a Leeds based company.
Throughout the course I studied:
The HNC I studied gave me an understanding on the crucial role of technology in the future of learning. Those skills would allow me to design and share online learning materials with students and colleagues all over the world. In 2004 I designed and published a website, with learning resources developed in partnership with one of my colleagues at Instituto Cervantes; which, I also continued populating further with other materials developed throughout 2004. I used Hot Potatoes ('Introductory Spanish by Carmen Mayo') to produce the interactive materials which I published for free in a Geocities website. Later on, when Geocities closed down the website was ‘saved’ by Geocities.ws, however, some of its original features were lost.
In my role as a Spanish Associate Lecturer and Coordinator in LFA (Languages For All) at the University of York, I have also been producing and editing the content and layout design of examinations and assessments for the last 10 years, both audio and print, which have significantly contributed to the development and improvement of such materials, not only in Spanish but across the 14 languages which are taught by LFA. I have also designed posters and other marketing materials to advertise our courses.
In 2013/4 I developed and piloted TANGO (Themed Autonomous Navigation Global Opus), an international collaborative bilingual e-learning project . The main aim of TANGO is to offer foreign language students the opportunity to practise the four language skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) with their partners, who are native speakers. TANGO consists of two websites, both of them bilingual. One site hosts the Spanish and English tasks, and the other is the online portfolio where students publish their work. Tasks in both languages mirror one another, dealing with the same topics; however, they are very specific of each language and culture.
I decided to gain ALT accreditation and become a certified member to continue my professional development as I believe that having my learning technology work and capabilities reviewed and certified by peers would prove a very enriching experience, being able to establish links and share knowledge with colleagues from different backgrounds and with very diverse experiences. Being part of the CMALT group at the University of York has given me the opportunity to meet colleagues from other departments and learn from one another, building long lasting links which might help us pursue a joint venture in the not so distant future.
Visit my online portfolio
Throughout the course I studied:
- web design, using Dreamweaver and the principles of HTML programming and Flash;
- graphic design, with Illustrator and Photoshop;
- audio and video editing, using Adobe Premiere and audio editing software;
- as well as, a Project Management module.
The HNC I studied gave me an understanding on the crucial role of technology in the future of learning. Those skills would allow me to design and share online learning materials with students and colleagues all over the world. In 2004 I designed and published a website, with learning resources developed in partnership with one of my colleagues at Instituto Cervantes; which, I also continued populating further with other materials developed throughout 2004. I used Hot Potatoes ('Introductory Spanish by Carmen Mayo') to produce the interactive materials which I published for free in a Geocities website. Later on, when Geocities closed down the website was ‘saved’ by Geocities.ws, however, some of its original features were lost.
In my role as a Spanish Associate Lecturer and Coordinator in LFA (Languages For All) at the University of York, I have also been producing and editing the content and layout design of examinations and assessments for the last 10 years, both audio and print, which have significantly contributed to the development and improvement of such materials, not only in Spanish but across the 14 languages which are taught by LFA. I have also designed posters and other marketing materials to advertise our courses.
In 2013/4 I developed and piloted TANGO (Themed Autonomous Navigation Global Opus), an international collaborative bilingual e-learning project . The main aim of TANGO is to offer foreign language students the opportunity to practise the four language skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) with their partners, who are native speakers. TANGO consists of two websites, both of them bilingual. One site hosts the Spanish and English tasks, and the other is the online portfolio where students publish their work. Tasks in both languages mirror one another, dealing with the same topics; however, they are very specific of each language and culture.
I decided to gain ALT accreditation and become a certified member to continue my professional development as I believe that having my learning technology work and capabilities reviewed and certified by peers would prove a very enriching experience, being able to establish links and share knowledge with colleagues from different backgrounds and with very diverse experiences. Being part of the CMALT group at the University of York has given me the opportunity to meet colleagues from other departments and learn from one another, building long lasting links which might help us pursue a joint venture in the not so distant future.
Visit my online portfolio