One month down... and up--

I arrived exactly a month ago in Mérida on a flight that landed at 2:30 a.m. after first sitting for many hours on the tarmack in Houston. Somewhere between Customs, an ATM and a taxi stand, I made my way to my hotel and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, I walked across the street and snapped this photo. Only later did I realize I had entered the serene courtyard of my host institution, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, affectionately known as UADY (like "body" with a "w" instead of a "b"). My office is on the third floor, visible in the upper right corner of the photo. (Hint: Click on the photo to view an enlarged version.)

A month later, I figure it's about time I describe what I'm doing here in Mérida... After all, it's not just about finding a place to live, making new friends, quoting the Pope, and noting once again that I'm a bit odd :)

My original Fulbright proposal was sencillo (straightfoward): in short, I proposed to do what I've done in the US, only adapted for contexts in Mexico.

There.

Too vague, you say?

Okay, a bit more detail... I originally proposed to

• teach TESOL methodology courses to pre-service teachers at the undergraduate level;


• offer workshops to in-service language teachers; and


• advise schools and their teachers in making better use of their existing technology resources for the purposes of language teaching.

That was over a year ago. Once I heard the good news that I'd gotten the grant, the fine folks at Fulbright then sought a suitable placement for me, and though this took a while (and boy, were they patient with me and my need to check in regularly!), they did a super job of pairing me with UADY.

So, here's what I'm actually doing:

• I'm advising UADY in the design of a new institution-wide English language curriculum. Here, I'm working with a curriculum design committee, whose objective it is to unite UADY's various academic departments with a common English langauge program. The goal is to ensure that all students, whether studying business or science or education, walk away with a similar proficiency in English.


• A significant part of this new curriculum involves the use of centros de auto-acceso, or "self-access centers," which are very popular in Mexico. (Think of it as an independent-study language learning library where you have access to books, magazines, videos, and computers, all punctuated by regular meetings with a language tutor.) Here, I will advise UADY in their selection of langauge learning software and tools for internet-based language learning.


• I'm working with teachers at UADY's Faculty (School) of Education to increase the effective use of instructional technology for language teaching.

Though this third point sounds a bit cut-and-dry, it is actually very very exciting: I'm helping teachers identify specfic, individualized goals for professional growth in the area of technology-- for one teacher, it involves the use of digital cameras, while for another, it means learning enough HTML to create her own website. Everyone has different interests, and it's my job to help them develop these interests with lasting results.

Toward this end, I've created a second blog, this one for my UADY colleagues who want to "grow" their technology skills. I've named it The Instructional Technology Greenhouse, doing my best to hit everyone over the head with what I see as a perfect metaphor for technology development-- cultivating a set of skills that comprise your own unique technology garden.