View Content #20472

As we move into the New Year, CASLS is excited to continue our work on several continuing projects and to introduce some new projects as well.

We will be unveiling a redesign of LinguaFolio Online, our online e-portfolio system for language learning. The redesign includes making the portfolio interface more user friendly with more in-depth reporting functions for teachers. The design is scheduled to be released and available to current and new LinguaFolio Online subscribers in fall 2016. LinguaFolio Online is funded by the Title VI Department of Education and the STARTALK Program administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland.

Ecopod, our place-based, augmented-reality game designed for students living in immersive language environments, will have a second module added in spring 2016. It will continue to be available through ARIS, an open-source platform, for iOS, and we expect to debut our Android ARIS platform, which we developed in collaboration with ARIS programmers. Ecopod is funded by the Title VI Department of Education and the University of Oregon Academic Affairs, Academic Extension, Division of Undergraduate Studies, and Office of International Affairs.

We are beginning work on our Bridging Project course, which will provide a unique learning experience, centered on meaningful, real-world issues, for high-proficiency high school learners. The course will go live in fall 2016, and we will be releasing a pilot unit in the spring. The U.S. Department of Education Title VI, under grant #P229A140004, supports development of the Bridging Project. Contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education nor imply endorsement by the federal government.

In summer 2016, the Pacific Northwest Pathways Collective, funded by the Institute of International Education, will host Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) training for Chinese-language community college and K-12 instructors in addition to an OPI training in Russian for Portland Community College instructors. There will also be the opportunity for Community College and post-secondary Chinese and Russian instructors to share resources on the website.

CASLS and sister Language Resource Center the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) will be leading enhancements to the joint website for all sixteen Language Resource Centers. This redesign will include a more stable, quicker site and may also include a more modern look and feel; an easier search function; and a virtual pressroom with stories, photos, and videos from teachers who have successfully used LRC resources.

Get ready for updates to some of our current resources, and keep an eye out for new resources that we are developing! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for ongoing news updates!