Anderson Language Technology Center: A Tree of a Thousand Blossoms

Primary Presenter: Mark Knowles

Co-Presenter: Courtney Fell and Edwige Simon

Organization: University of Colorado Boulder

Role: Director of the Anderson Language Technology Center

Track: General Presentation

Topic: Global Education and Technology

Level: For Mere Mortals

Abstract: The Anderson Language & Technology Center (ALTEC) was founded in 1990 as a traditional cassette-player laden language lab. It has since grown into a full-fledged language center overseeing more than 15 initiatives on the CU-Boulder campus and beyond. The goal of this presentation is to propose and reflect upon an exploratory model for other centers in other disciplines and at other institutions.

Bio: Mark Knowles came from Yale University where he was Associate Director of the Center for Language Study. He became Director of the Anderson Language Technology Center in 2008 and since then ALTEC has expanded its activities on campus and beyond.

Description: From SLA reading groups to Hindi and Chinese STARTALK grants; from hands-on technology workshops to K-12 outreach; from online review courses to course re-design grants, clearly ALTEC has blossomed over the years. In this presentation, we will present our various programs and discuss the role and mission of this discipline-specific center at CU and in Higher Education. Conspicuous underlying questions include, "What are the advantages and disadvantages of discipline-specific centers?", "What distinguishes us from other Academic Technology/Professional Development/Faculty Support units on campus?", "In a period of fiscal austerity, is it still possible to let a thousand blossoms bloom?"

Presenter Presentation Materials URL (Web Address):

http://altec.colorado.edu