Online Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Courses Created

On September 1, the first of two online Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish courses was made available to high schools across California developed by UC Davis' Mediaworks department under the sponsorship of the University's College Prep Initiative. These courses were rolled out September 1, 2003. Designed to be the equivalent of a third-year college language course, the course prepares students for the study of advanced Spanish language composition and conversation at the college level as well as introductory courses on Latin American and Peninsular literature and culture. As students develop their language skills, they learn subject matter that relates to different disciplines in their high school curricula. These range from art and literature to politics and environmental studies in the target cultures. In addition to providing thorough preparation for the College Board AP Spanish Language Examination, this media-rich course will assist students in developing language skills to communicate and interact within a community of Spanish speakers. It incorporates many collaboration features (made possible by online technology) that will help foster a sense of community among the geographically-dispersed students. The second course, now under development, is AP Spanish Literature. This course is targeted for production next year. Mediaworks is developing the courses in collaboration with a team of UC faculty and high school instructors. (For more information about online course support and development, visit the Web site for Mediaworks.