INTERNET widget MEDIA PORTAL : PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN FOR INTERPRETING STUDIES AT UNIVERSITY

For the last 7 years, the author designed and implemented several experimental e-Learning Blended Courses ( 2008 - 2014). Internet RSS feed and widget media portal project was one on them. It outlines the most important features of Internet media widget portal pedagogical design that the author used for Business Translation Studies (BTS), especially for oral interpreting studies and some ESP ( Business and IT English) courses with different Universities in Russia. The original projects’ screenshots, main pedagogical design of the site pages (tags) and other important features and recommendations are also exposed in the article. The methods, examples and linguodidactics are covered in the other article of the author.[1] The present research could be considered together with other publications on the e-learning in Russia and abroad, such are Mikheeva,N. [2] [3], Hromov,S. [4][5], Dudny,G., Hockley,N., Pegrun M [6], Jillen,G [7]. Netvibes, free RSS feed media and widget portal, has been used for all collaborative online teaching and learning projects for all teaching period up now. Users can have free access to the site without login The address - http://www.netvibes.com/evabasil/ - is active and free to access and use, so it could be defined and OER[8]. The idea to use that internet platform came from Michael Wesch, prominent US educator, Professor at Kanzas Universitу, experience [9]. Main technical and design features The portal is based on Netvibes, free RSS feed and widget site provider. It permits to easily embed on one page or tag all kinds of world media in different languages and on various topics (or subjects), as well as lot’s of other necessary widgets. So it’s very useful for pedagogical courses design of any subject and in any language. Such online resource could be used autonomously and collaboratively by the teacher ad the students. On the other hand, it could complement higher education institution’s or teacher’s own LMS if any. Besides, as widget technology portal, any internet site or other digital content (not media only) could be easily posted on the dashboard. For example, teacher’s and students’ personal blogs, wikis, gadgets, slide presentations, news posts, videos and other, already opened on one page. To design particular pages (tags), one can select from the variety of ready templates. It is possible to embed one to many (up to 10, for example) sites as frames (open sites in smaller windows) on one page (tag). The more sites embedded on one page (tag), the higher internet speed is required to open all of them. So, on each topic tab the student easily access and work with media news feeds (written posts), podcasts (audio with players), vidcasts (video with player) in Russian and in English. But it is to remember, that in class too all students need full access to high speed Internet and headsets for PCs or mobile devices to open the portal and to work on the page (tag). In case of any technical problems, free technical service is available from this software providers. In general, usability of the portal interface (in English only) is very high. The integrated translator can facilitate reading of media content in many other languages. That is an important integrated tool when combining two or more different languages content on one page for interpreting training. As for the types of content, it is recommended to have on one page all types of digital information: text, audio and video at the same time. Netvibes media subscription permits a very wide selection of digital media from over 90 countries, various choice of topics and all types of information delivery. So, no need to search on the web for that. In addition, you can embed websites to your media pages (for example, other University sites or webinars), because they are not disseminated by subscription. The main goal of the Netvibes media portal was to significantly activate and intensify interpreters’ training and to develop professional skills, both in simultaneous and sequential interpreting. The students specialized in Linguistics, Intercultural Communication and Translation Studies are benefitting from this portal. The same portal was also used for non-linguists ESP teaching. That is why, four portal tags (or pages) coved different topics, such are politics, business, IT, webinars of the top world Universities and general communication. News and course material - RSS feeds (text), podcasts (audio) and vidcasts (video), webcasts (webinars recording) and digital archives widgets in English and in Russian - were embedded on each page ( tag). Small number of funny relevant musical video clips and humorous slide shows or cartoons were also posted on the pages, to permit students relax while studying and increase the site appealing. All courses pages (tags) and content of the project were designed by the teacher. For the experiment, a focus group of students-volunteers, numbered up to 10 from 40 total, was selected. The course lasted one academic semester. Netvibes media portal served as complementary to the online Blended wiki-based Translation Studies course, taught for the same students. But the course wiki site was also embedded on the front page (tag) of Netvibes portal for easy access. Some examples of in class application For example, students had to work with the embedded BBC daily news vidcast. Every student of the class received individual assignment to watch, listen and interpret 1 minute international news from BBC online video broadcast and had 10-15 min to get ready with simultaneous translation of it. When ready, the teacher and all other students of the experimental group listened to the original and then to its interpreting (from one language). Then they evaluated translation accuracy and discussed other variations. All students of the class did it by turn and participated in group translation discussion. Another example of group training: on the same page all students have another embedded site to listen to the professional sequential interpreting of the interview. They are actively commenting on it and proposing their own versions (in two languages). As home assignment, students can translate news posts, listen to longer podcasts or watch a webinar on the topic and prepare its partly sequential or simultaneous translation for class meeting (Blended Flipped method). The great educational benefit of the portal resources and training are materials: authentic, renewable, multimedia, presenting any possible accents, any languages combinations on any topics at any levels of difficulty, length and variety for interpreting studies. The results of the experiment showed that the students were much more involved, fluent and diversified in oral translation skills, both simultaneous and sequential at a time, then other ones who learned it with traditional academic methods without Internet possibilities. To complement Netvibes media portal, that could be used for individual and group training mainly in class, another online wiki-based LMS site - at http://evabasilvk/pbworks.com/ - was available out of class for academic and social communication, with personal access through any mobile, laptop or desktop computers at any suitable place and time. Pedagogical design and application of this LMs was exposed earlier in author’s article [10]. It was taught for the University students specialized in Linguistics, Intercultural Communications and Business English. As Blended (Hybrid), it combined face-to-face classes (once a week) with further online collaborative studies and assignments. In general, the course lasted two semesters or one academic year. Total number of students involved - 40 (all had writers’ access to the site) - for one teacher (as site admin). All students had only humanitarian background, with no previous training on how to use wiki or PBWorks. All of them successfully joined the site, but it took them in average from 3 to 6 months to get accustomed to such type of studies. After having been integrated to this site, none of the students refused to leave it.[11] By the end of the course, even ‘the weakest’ of them showed much better performance in comparison to those who learned within traditional academic system and space (no Internet). Wiki site collaboration supposed working on mostly written or oral-written translations from English into Russian and back. Besides, it served as active additional and rich multimedia resource for cultural, political, social and business knowledge for the students. The approach of combining academic and social teaching and learning with all-on-one-site syllabus and communication was realized. The experiment showed the benefits of the integrative methods of online Blended, Autonomous, Collaborative, Mobile and Flipped e-Learning concepts and some weaknesses of such approach. Furthermore, wiki-based LMS site design and the course implementation revealed the urge, efficiency and necessity of such pedagogical approach for professional translators and interpreters training and their vocational education, regardless number of students and choice of foreign languages. Based on Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy, the experimental online Blended wiki-based LMS course plus Netvibes media portal for translators contributed to the development of e-Learning methodology, theory of online Blended pedagogy, foreign languages and intercultural communications study in general Such pedagogical approach could be beneficial to developing both students’ and teachers’ new integrative multi-skills in the frames of higher education: different languages and cultures knowledge, deep translation activities and professional abilities, advanced techno-savvy and Web 2.0 Internet skills, many special subjects (e.g. business) learning and teaching, formal (academic) and informal (social) communication styles practicing. All simultaneously, at the same time, on one site, even by students and a teacher with only humanitarian background. The great benefit is that all portal educational resources are authentic, renewable, multimedia, presenting any possible accents, any languages combinations on any topics at any levels of difficulty, length and variety for interpreting studies. And it is all free for educators and students. The results of the experimental course showed that the students were much more fluent and diversified in interpreting skills, both simultaneous and sequential at a time, then other ones who learned it only with traditional academic methods without Internet possibilities.

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