School Information System

DVD's Replacing Live Spanish Teacher?

Jamall Abdul-Alim on the Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District's attempt to use DVD's for first through third graders.

"Buenos dias," says Senor Morris, the instructor featured in the DVD set "Elementary Spanish" - a program the Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District is using for the first time this year to teach Spanish to first- through third-graders.

In Spanish, the phrase means "good morning."

But the days of Spanish instruction for students at Indian Hill may not be as good as they once were, educators say.

Last year, a teacher stood in the place now occupied by the TV set and DVD player. Budget cuts brought on by declining enrollment led district officials to say adios to Spanish teacher Mara Malloy - called Senora Malloy by her students.

She has been replaced by the DVD Spanish instruction package produced by Northern Arizona University.

The district saved thousands of dollars in Malloy's part-time teacher salary and benefits. The DVD package cost $3,000.

But educators and students say there is a deeper cost associated with the switch from live teacher to technology that transcends dollars. They lament the lack of interaction between student and teacher, and worry that will lead to less academic success.