Hello, fellow CALL-ISers!

I hope all is going well for each of you, wherever you are.

As you are probably all fully aware, the TESOL International Association Annual Convention in Chicago is less than two months away. If you’re planning a visit to the Electronic Village Fairs and Technology Showcase at the upcoming convention (and I sincerely encourage you to do so), you won’t have to travel too far afield. The 2018 EV and Tech Showcase will be located in the Exhibition Hall – a new location with the same great experts and top-notch presenters, and the same access to solid advice in the field of CALL as we’ve all come to appreciate. The more convenient location brings with it the same access schedule as the Exhibition Hall, meaning morning sessions begin a bit later than in past iterations of the EV. A shortened Friday afternoon schedule accommodates observances of Good Friday and Passover.

The EV Fair section will have a new feature to show off, too. Look closely and you can see it – that’s right, no auxiliary CPU at each presentation station. Visitors still get two screens to view: one displaying content from the supplied CPU, the other to show content from the mobile devices now commonly used in learning contexts around the world.

No letter from this Past Chair would be complete without my signature pitch for volunteers who would like to be involved with CALL-IS, either year-round or at the convention. If you’re looking for an opportunity to develop administrative, technical, or collaborative skills, it’s well worth your while to garner some professional experience with CALL-IS activities and projects. You can find out more by visiting the EV at the TESOL Convention in Chicago. A ten-dollar pass entitles you to admission to the EV for every day of the convention, and I think it’s the best ten-dollar investment you’ll ever make to benefit your career. At the EV, you’ll find approachable, well-known experts in the CALL field ready to answer your classroom tech questions. You can sit in on presentations discussing sensible approaches to current electronic applications in language learning. Most importantly, you’ll meet a body of dedicated CALL practitioners, enthusiastic about knowledge and student motivation, and engaged in improving educational experiences and classrooms for educators and students worldwide.

By the time you read the next On CALL, the 2018 convention will be history and we will all be moving toward 2019 with fresh experiences and new ideas to try. Claudio Fleury will be Past Chair and Christine Sabieh will take the helm as Chair. Now we enthusiastically welcome the tandem of Maria Tomeho-Palermino and Jennifer Meyer, our incoming Cochairs-elect. Steering Committee member elections will be held at the Open Meeting in Chicago, so keep an eye out for the Call for Nominations in late February.

2018 also marks the end of my tenure as Past Chair. To the myriad CALL experts, scholars, practitioners, and explorers from whom I’ve had the pleasure of learning, thank you all for your willingness to share your knowledge, insight, energy and passion for our profession. To Chairs, Steering Committee members, EV Organizers, volunteers, and so many others: thank you for such outstanding examples of professional generosity and dedication. And to Larry Udry, the only On CALL Newsletter Editor I have ever known, here’s a special tip of the hat to you.

Colleagues of TESOL International Association Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section, the pleasure of serving CALL-IS has certainly been all mine. To each and all of you, I offer good wishes for an excellent 2018 convention, and all the success in the world.

Jack Watson is the ELP E-Learning Coordinator at the University of New Brunswick English Language Programme in Fredericton NB Canada. Now CALL-IS Immediate Past Chair, he has been associated with CALL-IS since 2011 in a variety of capacities. Interests include the great outdoors, photography, blues guitar, and (one more time!) Siamese cats.