March 2000 — Features

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Breathing New Life into a Dead Language: Teaching Latin Online

by Sue Shelton, The Florida High School, Fla.

After eighteen years of teaching in a traditional classroom, I found the idea of teaching Latin over the Internet to be frightening yet appealing. I knew that my knowledge of Latin would be sufficient, but I was unsure of my technology skills. Although I had been enrolled for a year in the University of Central Florida’s Master’s program of Educational Technology, I did not then, nor do I now, consider myself to be a real “techie.” I liked using technology and had been integrating it into my class for the last three years. After much thought, I decided to make the change and, in August 1999, I joined the staff of The Florida High School (FHS), a public online high school, which serves students all over Florida.

Having taken an online class and participated in an online inservice, I was not totally unfamiliar with distance education. I really enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of being able to decide when and how long I would work. However, eighteen years in the classroom had taught me that most high school and middle school students needed regular prodding to be successful and I was not sure how I could handle this online. Fortunately, I was able to benefit from the experience of other teachers at FHS.

During the preceding year, the staff had discovered that frequent phone contact helped to keep students involved and on task. Also, experience had dictated that students needed to be given a specific drop date after which they would be considered withdrawn with a failing grade. Therefore FHS students may drop any class during the first twenty-eight days without penalty. However, if they drop after twenty-eight days, they are given a failing grade. This option gives the students a chance to determine if a class is going to meet their needs and gives teachers a chance to counsel students and help them determine if online learning is for them. Also, having a drop date d'es require students to make a commitment to complete the course. At the beginning of each course, students sign an academic contract for each class. This contract indicates that the student is aware of the requirements for remaining active in the class.

The philosophy of The Florida High School is “Any time, any place, any path, any pace.” During a welcome call at the beginning of the class, the instructor asks the student to select a pace at which he/she plans to complete the course. A student may select to complete the course at an accelerated pace or an extended pace. The accelerated pace allows the student to finish a yearlong course in less than two semesters, while the extended pace allows the student to complete a two semester course in one calendar year. Of course, the student may select the traditional two semester pace. In order to help students stay on schedule, some teachers have set up a time schedule of assignments for each pace. Other teachers require a minimum number of assignments to be submitted per week.

Being a newcomer and having never taught the Latin I course, I did not do this. I recommended that my students complete one entire lesson per week in order to complete the course at the traditional pace.