I DISTANCE LEARNING I COLLOQUIA I OTHER PROGRAMS I

Distance learning and videoconferences

• Teaching about WWII: Two different points of view. (2008). A series of four professional development workshops for Louisiana teachers of social studies (K-8 and French Immersion)  on WWII; via videoconference on 7 Louisiana campuses with the Mémorial de Caen in France and the New Orleans WWII Museum; with the support of the General Consulate of France in New Orleans, the French American Cultural Exchange, and a Board of Regent Supporting Electronic Learning and Essential Campus Transitions (SELECT) Programs extension grant.

• Virtual Museum: Technology Enhanced Professional Development for Louisiana Science Teachers (K-8 and French Immersion). (2007-2008). A series of three professional development workshops each for Louisiana teachers of science (K-8 and French Immersion), videoconferences on 7 Louisiana campuses. Board of Regents Supporting Electronic Learning and Essential Campus Transitions (SELECT) Programs. Co-PI Sophie Warny, LSU MNS.

• Virtual Museum: Technology Enhanced Professional Development for Louisiana Science Teachers (K-8 and French Immersion). (2006-2007) A series of six professional development workshops each for Louisiana teachers of science (K-8 and French Immersion). Board of Regents Supporting Electronic Learning and Essential Campus Transitions (SELECT) Programs in collaboration with the LSU Museum of Natural Science. Co-PI Sophie Warny, LSU MNS
• Professional development via interactive videoconference (2005). Series of four videoconferences on six Louisiana sites for Louisiana teachers of French in immersion and FLES programs. Board of Regents Distance Education Initiative (DEI) extension grant. Co-PI Robert C. Lafayette.
• Professional development via interactive videoconference (2003-2004). Series of five videoconferences for Louisiana teachers K-8 (six Louisiana sites plus the University of New Brunswick). The goal was to improve the teaching of French through content-based teaching (history, geography, maths, sciences, art, music, etc.). Board of Regents Distance Education Initiative (DEI) grant. Co-PI Robert C. Lafayette. Example
• Professional development via interactive videoconference (2003-2004). Series of five videoconferences broadcasted to six Louisiana sites and the University of New Brunswick for Louisiana teachers of French in immersion in the ten Louisiana school districts (30 public schools) which offer immersion programs. The goal was to improve the teaching of history, geography, maths, sciences, and French in Louisiana French immersion programs. Board of Regents Distance Education Initiative (DEI) grant. Co-PI Robert C. Lafayette.
• International teleconference (2002). American segment of the Canadian Institut de la Fondation de l'Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the other sites in Quebec (Montreal and Gaspe), in Belgium (Charleroi), in Switzerland (Lausanne), and in France (Paris).
• Compressed video course (1997-2000). Development and delivery of a distance course on Advanced Studies in Foreign Language Methodologies.
• Teleconference on French immersion programs in Louisiana (1997). With the Louisiana State University sites in Baton Rouge, Eunice, New Orleans, Shreveport, and Alexandria. This conference was designed to inform Louisiana administrators and the general public about Louisiana French immersion programs.
• Tele-learning course (1989-1993). With support from the LSU Division of Continuing Education, the FEP offered several tele-learning courses on various pedagogical topics, including methods to teach foreign languages in elementary school.

Colloquia

• "Enseigner dans un programme d'immersion en français: contenu, culture, et langue" (September 1997). In partnership with the French Cultural Service in New Orleans, international colloqium for all teachers of French.
• "Littérature enfantine et littérature de jeunesse française et francophone" (October 1994). In partnership with the French Cultural Service in New Orleans and the Communauté Française de Belgique, for all teachers of French.
• "Enseigner la culture dans la classe de français" (July 1990). Partnership with the French Cultural Service in New Orleans, and in cooperation with the annual conference of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), for all teachers of French. Conference proceedings: Culture et enseignement du français, Didier-Erudition, Paris.
• "L'Enseignement du français aux États-Unis" (April 1987). In partnership with the French Cultural Service in New Orleans and the Communauté Française de Belgique, international colloquiumto inaugurate the official opening of the FEP. Conference proceedings: L'Enseignement du français aux Etats-Unis: Perspectives américaines et étrangères, Didier-Erudition, Paris.

Other Programs

• Louisiana History: Our Francophone Heritage, Louisiana Style (November 5-9, 2003). LSU Folk and Heritage Celebration: The Louisiana Purchase: Faces and Cultures of Yesterday and Today. This exhibit included two PowerPoint loops: "Notre Héritage Francophone, Style Louisianais" and "La Vente de la Louisiane/The Louisiana Purchase: A Balance of Powers which Changed the World."
• Michel Serres Conferences (October 28-November 2, 2002). The famous French philosopher and Academician was invited to LSU through an Office of Research and Graduate Studies Chancellor's Distinguished Lectureship Award. He presented two lectures, one in English (over 200 attendees) and one in French (over 100 attendees), one student seminar, and eight informal discussions. With the endorsement of 35 LSU colleges, schools and departments.
• The Louisiana Purchase/La Vente de la Louisiane, 1802-1812 (10 juin-30 juillet, 2002). Four-week French immersion summer institute for teachers of French, all levels. Participants studied archives in French and in English, art and artifacts from the period of the Louisiana Purchase, in order to integrate them in their teaching. They discussed the diverse voices in the interpretation and representation of history. They constructed individual websites in which they integrated the classroom-ready activities they developed for their classes during the institute. In cooperation with the French Cultural Service in New Orleans, the Communauté Française de Belgique, the CODOFIL, the Action Cadienne, the Louisiana Consortium of Immersion Schools, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the State of Louisiana Division of Archives.
• Whose Land Is This? Secrets of Colonial Louisiana 1762-1802 (1999-2000). Two series of conferences and workshops in Baton Rouge and Monroe to prepare 180 Louisiana teachers of French, Spanish and Social Studies (K-16) to explore Colonial Louisiana with their students, their schools, and their communities. Subsequently, participants were asked to share their experience and the material produced during the workshops with the teachers in their school districts.
• Commemorating the Tricentenial of the Founding of Louisiana 1699-1999 (1998-1999). Two series of conferences and workshops in Baton Rouge and Natchitoches to prepare 120 Louisiana teachers of French and Social Studies (8-12) to celebrate the Tricentenial of the Founding of Louisiana in their classes, their schools, and their communities. Participants were asked to share their experience and the material produced during the workshops with the teachers in their region. This program received the prestigious 2000 National Award of the American Association for State and Local History Award.
• Summer Immersion Institutes (June 1996 and June 1997). Three-week immersion institutes for teachers of French and Spanish to prepare materials conform to the new state standards. They were required to share the materials they created with colleagues in their regions.
• French Immersion Weekend (June 1995). Forty teachers of French from throughout the state of Louisiana spent a three-day weekend studying the cultural and linguistic content and the pedagogy resources of French and Francophone children’s and young adult literature.
• National Summer Institute (1994) designed especially for teachers involved in elementary school French immersion programs.
• Summer Immersion Institute (1992) for thirty Louisiana teachers of French. In order to ensure a French-only atmosphere, the Project rented a large sorority house and transformed it into a French residence for twenty-two of the thirty participants.
• Summer Teacher Institute (1991) on French and Francophone Children's Literature for twenty-five Louisiana teachers of French and twelve teachers from throughout the United States who had been awarded, through ACTFL, a summer study stipend from the French government.
• Bicentennial of the French Revolution (1988-1989). Two series of conferences and workshops in Baton Rouge and Monroe, Louisiana, to help Louisiana teachers of French and history (9-12) to commemorate the French Revolution in their classes.
• Joint LSU/France Summer Immersion Institute (1987). A six-week joint France/LSU program both in Baton Rouge and in La Rochelle, France for Louisiana teachers of French.