Brendan Aids Spanish School with MAF-LT Training
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MAF Missionary and Learning Technologies (LT) Specialist, Brendan Blowers, developed a way to make learning Spanish a little easier.
The Spanish Language Institute (Instituto del Lenguaje Español) trains foreign adult missionaries to speak and write Spanish. While receiving training at the San Jose, Costa Rica school, Blowers channeled the technology experience he acquired at MAF to create an interactive website. The site allows Institute students to share learning resources, post news on student life and correspond after leaving school.
Features include ...
- With the click of a button, English to Spanish and Spanish to English translations can be done.
- Resources downloaded most often and articles read most often sift to the top of the site.
- Students also have the ability to rate articles
"The first thing that went into creating this site was the training MAF provided," Blowers noted. "They built me up with a pretty good foundation for installing and managing server-based applications."
A few students are already beta testing the site. The Institute expects to officially announce the new learning tool at the end of April. Most interest thus far centers on flashcards used to teach Spanish verbs. Instead of hoisting a ring of 500+ flashcards, students can download flashcard information from the site and store it on their iPods.
Blower's efforts have served several purposes:- The website fosters MAF's mission by using technology to help missionaries be more effective with outreach. Blowers notes, "It harnesses technology to enhance the learning process of missionaries preparing to use Spanish to spread Jesus' message."
- It fosters learning by providing an easily accessed place where study aids can be widely shared.
- Knowledge about MAF is boosted as users who look into the story behind the site can learn about what LT has the capacity to accomplish.
