As most members of TESOL may already know, CATESOL represents teachers of English language learners throughout California and Nevada, promoting excellence in education and providing high-quality professional development. In the summer of 2011 CATESOL officially started using an online platform for both meetings and professional development offerings. For a few years before that, some CATESOL members piloted the platform while planning conferences and other events.

The CATESOL Board of Directors 2011–2012 met online several times throughout the year instead of quite costly face-to-face gatherings. This saved the organization a significant amount of money. The meetings were held on Saturday mornings for 3–4 hours and were supported by email interactions before and after the event.

The platform is Adobe Connect, and offers the following features:

• Customizable meeting rooms
• Breakout sessions within a meeting
• VoIP (Voiceover Internet Protocol sound, meaning that the participants can use their headphones to communicate)
• Audio and video conferencing
• Meeting recording
• Screen sharing
• Notes, chat, and whiteboards
• Polling
• User management, administration, and reporting

Although overall feedback from CATESOL members is positive, this transition is not without challenges. The sound can truly make or break this kind of experience. Good-quality headsets are recommended to the participants so that there is no distracting echo effect or buzzing. A majority of interactions still happen in writing in the chat box and take longer than speaking on the microphone. Finding one’s way to the online meeting and successfully staying in it is still a learning experience for some members. However, here in California many ESL educators at teaching levels from adult literacy through university have been exposed to online meeting rooms for a number of years and are increasingly becoming more comfortable with the platform.

Another major push for CATESOL’s in 2011–2012 was to offer professional development through Webinars by our members for our members. The following topics were offered as synchronous events. Recordings are now available on CATESOL’s website.

What’s Your EQ? Working on Emotional Intelligence In and Out of the Classroom
Presenter: Patricia Szasz, Director, Intensive English Programs, Monterey Institute of International Studies
In the education sector, we often focus on an individual’s academic intelligence. However, many psychologists believe it is one’s emotional intelligence that will lead to more effective job performance. This webinar introduces Daniel Goleman’s model for emotional intelligence and allow participants to self-assess their personal strengths and areas for improvements. Activities allow you to see how your emotional intelligence—both the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects—impacts your success in your classroom, your office, and even your personal life.

Edmodo for Class Networking
Presenter: Katalin Gyurindak, TIMAC Mentor and Instructor, Mt. San Antonio College
How can your class communicate in a safe, class-only environment where homework can be posted, students can chat, and student ideas for the class are generated? Edmodo to the rescue. Our speakers provide you with the tools to make this fun, interactive, free online software work for your class.

Google Calendars for Classes
Presenter: Susan Gaer, Certified Google Trainer, Instructor, Santa Ana College
Have you thought about using an electronic calendar with your class? Google calendars allow you to share calendars with students and colleagues. Embed your calendar into your blog or website so that students can know what is happening in class. In this workshop participants make a calendar, use multiple calendars to organize events (both educational and personal), embed hyperlinks for an activity in class, and brainstorm suggestions for using public calendars with students.

One more important fact to mention is that this online medium may be an advantage for some affiliates but not be for others due to the range of costs for online meeting software. Previously, CATESOL used a fee-based provider that was still a great cost-saver, considering that the board, board committees, chapters, chapter committees, and conferences were all welcome to use it. Our affiliate may be unique in that we have chapters (with committees and conferences) and regional conferences in addition to the annual conference.

The platform currently used is provided at no cost to CATESOL by another state-level professional development organization, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN). OTAN serves eligible adult education literacy providers that employ ESL teachers in adult schools throughout California. Because these teachers comprise a large portion of CATESOL membership, OTAN serves the field though this collaborative venue.

CATESOL will continue to use online meeting rooms this year and will share lessons learned in the future.

Branka Marceta has taught ESL in adult education and intensive English programs in Serbia, Canada, and the United States. Since 2005 she has been active in CATESOL in various roles. She has been the webmaster for Technology Enhanced Language Learning Interest Group since 2005 and served as a secretary on the board from 2006 to 2008, TELL-IG coordinator in 2010–2011, and Capital Chapter webmaster in 2011–2012. She is acting as an Interest Group Facilitator in 2012–2013. Her continuing mission at CATESOL is to enhance communication among members and promote effective technology integration.