Teach the Teachers Workshop
Tufts University Boston MA August 14-16th, 2017
The Perseids Project in conjunction with the Department of Classics at Tufts University is calling for participants in the second Teach the Teachers workshop.
This three-day workshop aims to explore the uses of digital tools in a classroom setting. Treebanking and Translation Alignments will be the main focus of the workshop, as well as different techniques for integrating them into classrooms at all levels.
As the field of classical studies continues to evolve, technology is playing a larger and larger and larger role both in the interpretation of data, but the in the education of a new generation of scholars. As people begin to use these tools to teach Greek and Latin, it is important that we come together and share our experiences, strategies, and ideas. Moreover, this workshop will offer educators who are unfamiliar with newer digital tools and their use in the classroom, to learn from fellow educators the best techniques for their implementation.
Treebanks are large collections of syntactically parsed sentences. Although originally designed to improve computational linguistic analysis, treebank annotations have proven to be valuable tools for pedagogy and traditional philological pursuits. Treebanking projects have also proven to be valuable tools for students because they provide targeted assessment and feedback. In addition, treebanking allows students to contribute to a growing collection of ancient language treebanks.
The workshop will contain seminars on how to use the tools available via Perseids, in particular the Alpheios Alignment editor and the Arethusa Treebank editor. These seminars will include comprehensive guidelines so that any user at any level of digital literacy will be able to use the tools to their full potential. This will include:
- Use of translation alignments for language and non-language students
- Use of treebank annotations in the classroom, including Prof. Matthew Harrington’s treebanks of the AP Latin Curriculum
- Use of the gold standard review functionality and the board review systems of Perseids
- Basic self publication workflow for hosting your own treebank collection online.
The purpose of this workshop is to facilitate the exchange of new ideas for the implementation of the Perseids Platform in the classroom. We encourage you to experiment with our tools before attending the workshop, so that you can bring your own ideas about implementations in the classroom for discussion.
Participants should submit a statement of up to 500-700 words in length. Funding will be provided for travel and lodgings in the Boston area. Applications for attendance will be accepted until May 1st.
Statements should demonstrate that an applicant has a strong desire to work with new and experimental teaching techniques. No experience with digital methods is required, but those with experience will be supported at their own level. Although we work primarily with Greek or Latin teachers, we encourage educators who work with other ancient languages to apply. An ideal candidate needs to be willing to approach teaching these subjects in new ways and should be prepared to implement them in the classroom. Please include in your application whether you are seeking funding for travel and lodging.
Send submissions to teachtheteachers2016@gmail.com