Project Directors
Samuel B. and Virginia C. Knight Professor of Humanities, Department of English
Instructor and Section Head of Italian, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
International Collaborators
Professor of Italian Linguistics, L’Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
Professor of Italian Literature and Drama, L’Università di Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
This project employed videoconferenced collaborations between
(1) CWRU student playwrights and students of Italian studying the translation of dramatic writing, and
(2) students at L’Università di Urbino Carlo Bo interested in playwriting and English.
Faculty members in both countries led the combined sets of students in seminars on playwriting and translation that included discussion of select contemporary Italian and American playwrights. All students wrote original one-act plays, in either Italian or English, which were presented in teleconferenced staged readings at the first Case Western Reserve University International CyberFestival of New Plays in May 2010.
Early attempts to use Polycom videoconferencing were not successful due to incompatibility between the two locations. Adobe Connect also proved unreliable. Fortunately, Skype provided a reasonably reliable means of communication, despite occasional disconnections. A camcorder was used to record and document collaborations. Finally, Adobe Premier Elements Version 8 movie editing software was the tool of choice for editing footage.
CWRU students enrolled in Special Topics courses in both the Department of English and the Italian Section of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures became acquainted and interacted with faculty members and students from L’Università di Urbino. Professor Mattioli, who visited the campus during the project, participated in Italian classes at all levels and met the student playwrights in person. Students were thrilled to participate in this experimental effort and to share their creative work with their peers and instructors in Italy and in Cleveland.
Faculty members greatly improved their ability to use technology to advance student proficiency. Professors Orlock and Caterinacci filmed and archived much of the activity for future use and presented their work at the May 2010 CollabTech Summit held at Case Western Reserve University.
Total funding: $11,300
The project funded travel and lodging expenses for initial discussions at Università di Urbino and in Rome for Professors Orlock and Caterinacci and their Italian colleagues. It also supported a one-week visit by Professor Mattioli to CWRU, and paid for a bilingual assistant to help CWRU students with their projects. Finally, the grant funded the purchase of supplies such as mini-DVD cassettes.
Samuel B. and Virginia C. Knight Professor of Humanities, Department of English
Interim Director, Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities
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Instructor and Section Head of Italian, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
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