About Us
NOBLE Goals:
- Promote value of language and cross-cultural proficiency in today’s workforce
- Understand the value of business and technology as part of every day life skills
- Foster global literacy through interdisciplinary connections
- Increase competitiveness of our students by increasing their awareness of global perspectives
- Improve articulation among secondary and post-secondary institutions
- Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty of foreign language, business, and other professional schools
The CIBER of the University of Florida has provided seed money for the NOBLE project. The Centers for International Business Education (CIBER) Program was created under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to increase and promote the nation”s capacity for international understanding and economic enterprise. Administered by the U.S. Department of Education (under Title VI, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965), the CIBER program has linked the manpower and information needs of U.S. business with the international education, language training, and research capacities of universities throughout the United States.
CIBER K-12 and College Outreach Mission
One of the goals of the CIBER network is to develop and support initiatives designed to infuse international perspectives into all levels of educational programs. NOBLE is one such initiative that also encourages improved articulation between K-16 faculty. Other typical projects range from the development and dissemination of curriculum guidelines and materials, teacher professional development activities, and student-based projects.
Learn About the NOBLE Team
Mary Risner is Associate Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida and founder of the NOBLE project. She is passionate about international studies and believes in promoting global awareness for personal and professional success. Risner’s educational background is in Marketing, Latin American Studies, and foreign language. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Technology. She has studied and lived abroad in Europe and Latin America. Her areas of content expertise include: Language for Specific Purposes, the role of culture and language in international business, Second Language Acquisition, Portuguese as a Less Commonly Taught Language, and educational technology. She has taught at the K-12, community college and university levels, as well as in corporate settings. In addition to teaching experience, Risner has broad experience in program management and development, study abroad, and event planning. To learn more about Risner’s work, please visit: Global eLearning.
David Caswell has been a Spanish teacher at Port Charlotte High School for the past 12 years and is the co-creator of Spanish Speak courses in the Business, Legal, Medical and Social Services fields. Mr. Caswell drew upon past experiences working with the Illinois Migrant Council as a Teacher, Job Developer, and Education Coordinator where he assisted migrants attempting to leave the migrant stream and enter full time permanent employment. While with IMC, Mr. Caswell initiated a Job Club for his clients and developed a support program for area employers called Industrial English to which employers could send current employees who were struggling to communicate and understand in the workplace due to a language barrier.
The Business course curriculum continually evolves as local, national, and international issues and events arise that must be considered by those hoping to enter the business world successfully in the near future, but the course does have a core of structure and content that Mr. Caswell would be willing to share with other educators seeking to make their world language programs more appealing and relevant to upper level students.
Elisa Molano Cook- Hillsborough Community College
