Adesina Media

  • Home
  • About
  • Work
  • Photography
  • Kitchen
  • Goings On
  • Contact
3 Feb 2010

Drip Drop

For the past few months, every waking moment of free time that I’ve had has been handed over to the lovely folks of NOVASTARTALK.  The STARTALK project is a federally-funded initiative that strives to increase the number of people speaking critical-need langauges (such as Chinese and Arabic).  For the past three years, a team at Northern Virginia Community College has been leading special workshops for Chinese and Arabic teachers on increasing student engagement with the use of technology.  The project this year was for the NOVASTARTALK team to turn their face-to-face workshop into an online resource that might be used in conjunction with hybrid and online versions of the workshop.

Cue my involvement – I’ve been beating my 100% very first Drupal installation into shape for the project and I have to say that for the most part, I’m a fan of the CMS.  It is so spartan when you begin working with it, you instantly realize that if you want something for the site, you’ve got to go out and get it – good for making sure that your site proverbially has, “everything you need and nothing you don’t…”  This site has become so content-rich and rooted in the theory that technology shouldn’t be a burden so much as a tool, it’s truly a great resource for more than language educators.  Teacher developers and students alike can benefit from the tutorials on the site and its use of plain language in tackling some seemingly complex programs and concepts.

Here are some shots of the site (a heavily modified version of the popular Acquia Marina template) that’s now up on the web at http://novastartalk.nvcc.edu.

NOVASTARTALK: Technology Enhanced Language Instruction

NOVASTARTALK: Technology Enhanced Language Instruction

And before I close this post, I’d be remiss in not thanking Patrick Lower (Webmaster at NVCC) for his crazy good work in helping me with any/every technical road bump that I’ve hit along the way.  Patrick, you are officially on my A+ List (Note to self: work on perks for people on A+ list.)

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Posted on: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Category: Education, Educational Resources, Goings On, Recent Work, Work
Follow: RSS 2.0 | Leave a Response | Trackback

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

« Wedding Goodness
Encouragement Club »
  • About Me

    Adesina Media is the work and play of designer, Angela Gunder. In addition to recent design work, this site includes creations from both the kitchen and the (digital) darkroom, with photos of all the results.

  • Recent Posts

    • Grilled Lemongrass Beef
    • Sweet Peanut Lime Dressing
    • Thai Chopped Salad with Crisp Noodles and Herbs
    • Irish Lamb Stew with Rosemary and Sage
    • Basil Lemonade
    • Simple Hanger Steak
    • Checking the Doneness of Meat
    • String Bean and Heirloom Tomato Salad
    • Italian Chicken Soup
    • Wordle Yourself!
    • Making Better Chicken Stock
    • Chicken and Rice Soup (Canja)
    • Cabbage Borscht
    • Previously Unreleased: Beat Down MS
    • Soy un perdedor (But Still a Happy Camper)
  • Friends 'O Mine

    • Hokum Blues
    • Laura Loves Languages
    • Maple Ave Restaurant
    • MS is BS
    • Red, White and Blueshirts
  • Follow Me

    • Facebook
    • Flickr
    • Twitter
    • Yelp
Copyright © Angela Gunder, 2010.
Posts (RSS) and Comments (RSS) | Built with WordPress