Instructor Resources
Technology Support
Equipment
VCL offers technical equipment for Vanderbilt faculty.
We are equipped with:
- A small computer lab (2 Macs, 2 PCs, one HP Laserjet printer)
- Laptops (MacBoook pros and PCs), iPads, and digital recorders
- A video camera, tripod, and lapel mics for filming sample teaching videos
- Large, flat screen TVs and microphones for professional Skype interviews
- All-region DVD and Blu-ray players
Digital Tools
See below for a list of helpful tools that are aligned with the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do statements.
Video and Audio
Embedding Comprehension Questions in Videos
Collaborative Tools
Multi-language Content Websites
Self-assessment or Comprehension Questions
- Chegg Prep (flash cards)
- Google Forms
- Learning Management Systems
- Quizlet
Reading Tools
Blogging/Teaching
Participation
Video Collaborations for Calling
Podcasts and Listening
- Notes in Spanish
- Learn German
- PracticingSpanish.com
- Radio Ambulante
- Spanish Listening
- Spanishpod101.com
- Spanish Listening
Creative Tools
- Animoto
- Canva
- Capture
- Creative Commons
- Keynote
- Mentimeter
- MindMeister
- Morgue File
- Skitch
- Storybird
- ThingLink
General Practice Activities and Cultural Resources
Professional Development Workshops
The Vanderbilt Center for Languages hosts professional development workshops for language educators across a wide range of topics. Open to faculty and graduate students across the university, the workshops invite external experts to share thought-provoking ideas about language education.
The workshops are held on Friday afternoons at the VCL (Furman Hall 003). See the Fall 2023 schedule.
Media Library
The Vanderbilt Center for Languages has an extensive media library available for instructor use in classrooms and beyond. Search our media catalog here to access items for instructional use.
Teaching Aids
Language Panda
Vanderbilt Center for Languages is the home for Language Panda, a crowd-sourced, searchable database for teaching foreign languages with digital resources. Language Panda began in 2015 when graduate students at the center set out to address an emerging issue in the field of foreign language teaching: As communication has taken an increasingly digital form, there is a growing need for lessons that practice technology-based interactions.
In the spirit of digital humanities and public scholarship, Language Panda provides a forum for sharing how digital pedagogy is being practiced across a variety of campuses and institutions. The webpage currently features projects in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Chinese, and we invite contributions from experienced and novice instructors, K-12 teachers, and higher education professors.
Graduate affiliates at the center moderate and maintain the site, which allows our graduate students to develop WordPress skills, learn about new tools, and share lesson plans that practice key vocabulary and grammar, facilitate cultural competence, and provide digital evidence of student learning.
To browse the project database or to submit your own materials, please visit Language Panda.
The projects on Language Panda are designed according to ACTFL standards. If you are interested in submitting an activity to Language Panda, please use this lesson plan template to help create your project, articulate your learning objectives, and describe your lesson outcomes.