Summer Institute 2000 Participants
Daniela S. Hristova
PhD candidate, Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago
The web page you are visiting has a special value for the fortunate participants of the new techniques and technologies summer institute. It is a great testimony to the metamorphosis we underwent. In matter of days we learned not only how to better surf the net and exploit innovative methods but also how to create web-pages and new interactive materials on our own. We all came to North Carolina thinking of ourselves as more or less enlightened in the use of multi-media and web-based programs in foreign language teaching. However, we soon discovered how much more there is to be done and how much more we can do.
The newly acquired attitude and especially skills have resulted in the creation of this web-page. In the fourth or the fifth day, our childish excitement with everything we were learning mounted in somebody's suggestion, "Let's create a web page for the institute!" The exceptional interaction among the participants which wasalready forming made everybody deeply involved in the project. I myself enthusiastically agreed to coordinate the project after we left North Carolina and together with Dan Swanwick, our technical advisor, to bring it to life. If you want to read more about the institute and how this web page was created, read this file.
I feel also that here I should post my thank you letter I sent to the unflagging organizers of the summer institute, Edna Andrews and Laura Janda. It reflects my initial thoughts on the institute after leaving North Carolina and coming back to Chicago.
Dear Edna and Laura,
Thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of the wonderful summer institute sponsored by the Slavic and East European Language Resource Center. I can't emphasize enough how impressed I am. Finally, someone has zeroed in on the extreme importance of implementing the newest techniques and technologies in foreign language teaching and did something about bringing the language instructors up-to-date.
In the past few days, I had plenty of time to reflect on the importance of such forums and why I think the institute you put together was such a success.First and foremost, the quality of the institute was guaranteed by the high professionalism of all the people involved: organizers, participants, and presenters. You both went out of your ways to make the participants feel welcomed, comfortable, and relaxed. Meredith Clason and Susan Riner were also always available to change tickets, to organize meals, and to take care of all logistics. All this was instrumental for creating friendly and productive atmosphere. I know it took a great deal of time, planning, and effort to do such a wonderful job.
Let me also congratulate you and thank you for the excellent speakers you gave us the opportunity to hear. All of them were among the foremost specialist in foreign language teaching. They shared with us new ideas, projects, and materials. We learned immensely from all of them. But when it comes to hands-on learning I have to mention the name of George Mitrevski. Before coming to the institute, the idea of creating a personal web page or web-based exercises was too forbidding for many of us to even consider. In less than two days George taught us not only how to use the web resources most efficiently, but also how to create web pages and interactive materials. The summer institute's web page created by the participants at the end of the institute is the best testimony to our progress in that respect.
I believe that we, the participants also contributed tremendously for the institute success. We were highly motivated to learn, open to new ideas and teaching methods. Each one of us brought with them their own experience and the traditions of their home institutions. We established a real bond among us which will help us to stay in touch and further share ideas and techniques, and this I believe is the long term success of the institute.
If you ever need somebody to give a good word about the program, Edna and Laura, you can always count on me. Best wishes for more successful and rewarding summer institutes.
Daniela S.Hristova
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
University of Chicago, 1130 E. 59th St.,
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel. 773/702-8033, FAX 773/702-7030