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Greetings, Colleagues
Whether you’re a member of the TESOL CALL-IS or of another
TESOL interest section, I hope you’ve been having a very successful
2016. With the 2016 TESOL International Association convention only 1
month away, this newsletter may find you in the throes of registration and travel
arrangements, or even planning your itinerary in the fine city of
Baltimore. Our team of event coordinators has been busy at the CALL-IS,
too, and we’re ready to present sessions in the Technology Showcase and
Electronic Village Fair that I hope you’ll take time to read about and
fit into your schedule while at the convention.
For all 3 convention days, the Technology Showcase is packed
with events, including five Hot Topics, the Mobile Apps for Education presentation, Developers’ Showcase, and an introduction to the TESOL CALL
Community. Along with these mainstays, we’re also
pleased to present:
- CALL-IS Academic Session: Project-Based
Learning: Pedagogical Possibilities for Online, Mobile, and Blended
Learning
- CALL-IS/MWIS InterSection: Creating, Adapting, and Using Content for Mobile Apps
- ITA/MWIS/CALL-IS InterSection: Strategies
for Developing and Delivering Training Materials for ITAs
- ESPIS/VDMIS/CALL-IS InterSection:One Size Fits One: Incorporating Technology Into ESP
Courses
Usually, the CALL-IS Open Meeting and Steering Committee Meeting would round out the
scheduled activities, but not this year. The Technology Showcase
features two special events this year. First, CALL-IS is celebrating
TESOL’s 50th anniversary with a Leadership Panel,
entitled “History of the EV Retrospective: Over Three Decades of
Professional Development in CALL.” As well, in a format offered for the
first time at TESOL, the CALL-IS is honored to partner with the SRIS and the Environmental Forum
for a presentation entitled “Innovating Language Learning Through
Technology for Environmental Responsibility.”
The Electronic Village also promises to be its usual bustling
self. Don’t miss the action with Technology Fair sessions featuring mobile devices, self-access, and classroom
tools. The EV Fair Classics highlights popular EV
Fair presentations from previous years, and the Miniworkshops are not to be missed. And if you have
questions, classroom technology strategies you’d like to discuss, or
just want to visit the EV and talk with some experienced classroom
technology practitioners, drop in and see us during an Ask
Us session.
And if you can’t get to this year’s TESOL convention, you can
take an active part in Technology Showcase events. This year, every
session presented in the Technology Showcase will be available via
webcast, along with selected sessions from the EV Fair Classics. Visit here to join
the live sessions you’d like to hear. The portal will become available
in mid-March, and you can bookmark it then.
Until the convention, I wish you all success, and look forward to seeing you in Baltimore!
Best regards,
Jack
Jack Watson is the e-learning coordinator at the University of
New Brunswick English Language Programme in Fredericton, New Brunswick,
Canada. With more than 30 years of experience in ESL, his professional
interests include online and blended learning, language learning through
community contact, and teaching beginners. Extracurricular interests
include blues guitar, amateur website building, photography, and playing
with Siamese cats. |
