YouTube. Skype. PowerPoint. Blogs. Wikis. SMART Boards. Apps. Casual games. MMOs. MP3s. iTunes(U). Audacity. eBooks. If the technology exists, your students are using it. And if your students are using it, you need to do two things: 1) make an effort to learn about and try the above, and 2) find a way (or better yet, ask your students to find a way) to use the technology for Greek and Latin.
All of the above technologies are actively used by millions of people including educators from elementary through graduate school. Latin has an established presence on all of these technologies, ancient Greek to a somewhat lesser extent. What many educators have found is that through supplementing traditional book-study with a selection of both hardware and software, that an added dimension of accessibility, interactivity, and even creativity emerges from both students and teachers.
These technologies have already been used to support Latin and Greek in the following ways: video projects featuring original language composition, distance-learning for students whose schools do not offer ancient languages, collaborative projects, multimedia lectures and presentation, recorded audio for coaching pronunciation, gaming in an ancient language, portability and accessibility for textbooks and homework. Educators use these technologies to teach. Students use these technologies to learn, to practice, and to create.
This presentation will demonstrate how easy and practical it is to both understand and use many of these established technologies to support Classics pedagogy, and will cite examples of how technology is already being used in the Classics classroom, specifically apps, games, MP3s, and eBooks.