Alison Rose Sommer
15835 Freedom Ln
Apple Valley, MN 55124
asommer@macalester.edu
(651) 336-8082 (cell)
Education
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
- Bachelor of Arts, June 21, 2005
- Major: Asian Studies, with a concentration in history
- Senior Comprehensive Project: The Great Leap Forward: The History of Death
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN
- Advanced Modern Chinese, fall and spring, 2006-2007
Employment History
Academic Information Associate: Languages and Fine Arts, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, 2007-present
- Develop educational technology solutions for faculty in the languages and fine arts
- Provide technical support for faculty
- Manage the Humanities Resource Center, a computing and multi-media resource center
- Train and supervise student employees of the Humanities Resource Center
- Support campus Moodle use, including helping to lead Moodle workshops for faculty
- Member of the Digital Assests Management and ContentDM workgroup
- Work with various other college projects and groups
Chinese Instructor, St. Peter Community Education, St. Peter, MN, fall 2007
- Designed ciriculm, prepared matierals, and taught Chinese for Preschoolers, an introductorly level Mandarin Chinese language class, for children age 2 - 5 and their parents
- Designed ciriculm, prepared matierals, and taught Chinese for Children, an introductorly level Mandarin Chinese language class, for children in grades 2 - 6
Culpeper Language Center Director, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, 2005-2007
- Develop technology and other resources for faculty and students of foreign languages
- Worked with faculty to develop French Major E-Portfolios
- Designed and implemented system for viewing and recording international television from a satellite provider and various other international media
- Implemented system for digital audio exercises for foreign languages
- Worked with Spanish faculty to develop student exercises for creating Spanish language podcasts and web pages using iLife software
- Primary Moodle course support contact for college faculty
- Provide technical support to the department of Modern Languages and Cultures
- Update and maintain websites for Modern Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures using Adobe GoLive and Photoshop
- Supported and lead various departmental digital video projects
- Supervise and maintain the Culpeper Language Center and its resources
- Macintosh computer lab, teaching station, media development station, international media viewing room, foreign language printed materials, and study area
- Assist in various other projects in Information Technology
- Campus-wide wireless deployment project
- Software and hardware upgrades for faculty
- Train and supervise Culpeper Language Center student lab assistants
Instructor, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN
- Taught Introduction to Chinese Language and Culture, January Term, 2007
- Developed curriculum and syllabus
- Introduced students to basic Mandarin Chinese language, as well as topics in Chinese culture
- Assisted with Instruction of Introduction to East Asian History, Spring Semester, 2007
- Gave several lectures on topics in Chinese history
- Participated in text selection for the course
Student Computing Support, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 2002-2005
- Worked on computer helpline, diagnosed and fixed computer problems for students and lab users
Camp Counselor/Chinese Instructor, Sen Lin Hu, Concordia Language Villiages, Bemidji, MN, summer, 2003
- Taught beginning level mandarin Chinese to children 8 to 15 years old
- Supervised camp cabin as well performing other basic counselor functions
- Active lifeguard
Academic Interests
Language and Cultural Studies
- Two Chinese language courses, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- Five Chinese language courses, Carleton College
- Participated in Carleton’s Chinese seminar in Tianjin, China, 2002
- Two Japanese courses, Carleton College
- Six courses in East Asian history, Carleton College
- Four courses in Asian sociology, anthropology, and linguistics, Carleton College
- One course in English as a second/foreign language education, Carleton College
- Six years of German language study, Hopkins School District
- Two years of Japanese language study, Hopkins School District
Computer and media studies
- Two computer science courses: Introduction to Computer Science, Data Structures, Carleton College
- One Media Studies course: Introduction to Video Production, Carleton College
Professional Organizations and Conferences Attended
- Member of the International Association for Language Learning Technologies (IALLT)
- Member of the Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO)
- Attended IALLT Conference, Tufts University, MA, 2007
- Attended CALICO Conference, University of Hawaii - Honolulu, HI, 2006
- Attended GusDay, University of St. Thomas, MN, 2006
- Attended F.L.E.A.T. 5 Conference, Brigham Young University, UT, 2005
Volunteer Teaching Experience
- ESL Teacher’s Assistant, Greenvale Elementary School, Northfield, MN, 2004
- ESL Peer Tutor, Hopkins High School, 2000-2001
- Elementary Ed Basic Skills Teacher’s Assistant, Hopkins School District Summer School Program, 1996-2000
Leadership Positions
- Co-Captain/Coach, Women’s Hockey at Carleton, 2004-2005
- Science Fiction Alliance Club Librarian, Carleton College, 2004-2005
- Science Fiction Alliance Club President, Carleton College, 2003-2004
- Chinese Club Co-President, Carleton College, 2002-2003
- Co-Captain, Hopkins High School Girl’s Varsity Hockey, 2000-2001
Athletic Experience
Arrows Hockey, Women's Hockey Association of Minnesota B2 level team, 2005-present
- Positions: defense, forward sub
Women’s Hockey at Carleton, Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota C-Level team, 2001-2005
- Positions: center (2001-2004), left defense (2004-2005)
- Captain for 2004-2005 season
Hopkins High School Women’s Hockey, Varsity Level, 1995-2001
- Positions: defense (1995-1996), center (1996-1998), left wing (1998-2000), center (2000-2001)
- Captain for 2000-2001 season
- Team Awards: 1997 State Qualifying team, Classic Lake Conference Champions (1996/67 season), Section 6 Champions (1996/97 season), 1997 MN State Tournament Sportsmanship award, Women’s Hockey State Academic Champions (2000/01 season),
- Personal Awards: Six varsity letters, All Conference Honorable Mention (1999/2000 season), All State Academic (1999/2000, 2000/01 seasons)