Integrating Diverse Digital Media in a Global Simulation German Course

The German program at University of California, Irvine faced the problem of a readerbased curriculum in second-year courses that neither met goals for a task-based, studentcentered curriculum nor engendered great enthusiasm among students. Our solution was a quarter-long “global simulation” course (based on Jones, 1984; Crookall & Oxford, Eds., 1990; Garcia-Carbonell, et al., 2001). We incorporated into the curriculum elements familiar to students along with diverse digital media. Students engaged in a variety of Internet-based activities and authored original Web content and digital video toward the creation of simulated Internet retail company.