Acknowledgements

There are a number of people who deserve thanks and recognition for making this project possible. I would first like to thank Laurie Preston (Associate Professor and Head of Reference/Special Collections) for sharing information about the Virginia Academic Library Consortium Open Course Grant with the college in 2017. I had long been searching for a way to create a resource that would not only be cost effective, but also facilitate collaboration among students and colleagues. Throughout this entire process, Laurie has provided consistent guidance, expert consultation, knowledgeable advice and strong encouragement. Similarly, I would like to thank my talented colleagues and co-authors, Drs. Maria José Bordera (Associate Professor of Spanish, Randolph-Macon College) and Pedro Larreo-Rubio (Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Lynchburg), for their invaluable contributions to this project. Together, we have produced imaginative and thought-provoking activities that facilitate sophisticated and lively conversation among students in Spanish. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Lily Zhang (Head of Instructional Design and Technology), Kathy Walker (Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research), and Robert Patterson (Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships) for their extremely supportive and integral roles during the initial stages of this process.

There are many students who made this online platform possible as well. Ms. Cameron Murray and Ms. Anayeli Verduzco-Rios, both of whom assumed multiple roles as editors, administrators and design consultants for this online text, deserve our thanks and admiration; their collaboration on this project served as the foundation for Conversaciones Corrientes.  Ms. Murray and Ms. Verduzco-Rios learned how to use and navigate the Pressbooks platform quickly and efficiently, allowing the authors to focus on other areas of the project. I would also like to thank the students who were enrolled in Conversation in Spanish at Randolph-Macon College during the spring (2022) semester: Mehrael Aziz, Colin Brooker, Kelsey Craighead, Hannah King, Kate Linares, Paulo Matheny, Kara Mathews, Peyton Steele, Ella Swagger, Anna Wachsmuth, Savana Watts and Sarah White. This amazing group of students piloted much of the material included in this resource and provided invaluable feedback throughout the semester. Further appreciation is extended to Kelsey Craighead for designing and illustrating the cover of this online resource.  Lastly, I would like to acknowledge all of the students in the list below who contributed to the evaluation of this resource.

Grace Ball, Patrick Ball, Ellie Barton, Claire A. Batley, Brooke Bernardo, Natalie Bianchi, Colby Birchett, Megan Bost, Colin Brooker, Sarah Brown, Madeline Cecil, Maribel Cisneros , Owen Campbell, Clara Cedillo, Claire Corte, Gabby Crouch, Nicole Czyzewski, Amelia Davis, Christian DeVault, Blake Dogget, Hailey Farlow, Angela Finchum, Fattima Flores, Katie Garrigan, Megan Gunn, Brecht Heuchan, Dylan Herron, Colton Howell, Olivia Kuennen, Rachael Johnston, Carter Johnson, Annie Kelly, Nava Khorram, Lindsay Kovalcik, Abbie Kowalski, Natalie Lavelle, Kody Layman, Samantha Leber, Rianna Lowery, Lincoln Lubsen, Alexandra Lugo, Evie McNeally, Josh Medina, Alfonzo Moore, Taylor Morgan, Cameron Murray, John Myers, Fadiana Noelizaire, Duncan O’Brien, Alison Ortiz, Mary Polansky, Morgan Puglisi, Anna Pitt, Sebastian Quiroz-Gutierrez, Jeremy Racey, Sydney Rankin, Jordan Reader, Matthew Romero, Isaiah Romsdahl, Adriana Rosales, Benjamin Sasser, Molly Schneider, Sam Slevin, Emily Smith, Evan Smith, William Smith, Alison Stern, Raven Thomas, Gage Turner, Jacob Wetzel, Olivia Weitzel, Rebecca Wenner, Juwan Williams, Alex Wilburn, Kelsey Wilson, Stephanie Year, Virginia Zipp