Jennifer Meyer, Edmondson Elementary School, Brentwood, Tennessee
Maria Tomeho-Palermino, EFL/ESL consultant, Massachusetts, USA |
|
Jennifer
Meyer
|
|
Maria Tomeho-Palermino
| We are extremely pleased to share some of the accomplishments
of the Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL-IS)
since TESOL Atlanta. One significant achievement was the initiation of a
webinar series spearheaded by Mary Allegra, from the steering
committee, who took on this endeavor with aplomb with the help of George
Kormpas. The very first guest speaker was Nik Peachey, who presented
“Tools and Practices for Autonomous Teacher Development.” We were very
fortunate to have this distinguished guest—a published author, teacher
trainer, and researcher who writes about educational technology. The
next scheduled webinar, “Lights! Action! Camera! Video Projects for
Language Learners,” was presented by Shelley Sanchez Terrell. She is a
well-known international speaker and author, specializing in e-learning
and educational technology. Without a doubt, these two speakers offered
compelling insights into innovative techniques and suggestions for
teacher development and for our ESL and EFL students. Now, we’re in the
process of scheduling other speakers and we’re quite open to suggestions
from CALL-IS members or others who have an avid interest in
technology.
New topics/presentation ideas emerged over the course of the
summer and fall, when Jennifer and I, along with other steering
committee members, brainstormed what we felt would be fascinating
presentations to showcase at TESOL Denver.
So, we put our heads together and came up with innovative topics; these
are featured in the “Hot Topics” presentation schedule found using the
TESOL Electronic Village app or the booklet. For a hint of what you can
expect, you’ll find such topics as “Digital Citizenship” and “Digital
Tools for Autonomous Learning.” Please come and join us in the
Technology Showcase and Tech Hub A to learn more about Fake
News: Real or Unreal? and Utilizing DIY
Text-to-Animation Software as a Transformative Medium for Extensive
Writing, and other intriguing topics. You’ll learn about
cutting-edge apps and technology and come away with exciting ideas to
implement in your class.
Some may not be aware that Jennifer and the webcasting team
meet throughout the year and are always refining their expertise with
OBS software used to record sessions presented in the Technology
Showcase, academic panels, and other sessions and events. Once recorded,
these sessions are uploaded to our YouTube channel. We are always
looking for newcomers who would like to learn about webcasting from
Jennifer and other team members. If you are interested in learning more
about this, you can contact Jennifer Meyer or myself (Maria), and
we’ll definitely be in touch.
Finally, as in other years, CALL-IS attempts to expand
membership and invites you to come to our Open Meeting to find out more
about what we do and how you can get involved. The meeting is on
Thursday, 2 April, from 6 pm–7:30 pm, followed by a CALL dinner when we
all go out for a bite and get to know one another. We hope you can join
us!
Jennifer Meyer
Maria Tomeho-Palermino
Co-chairs (2020-2021)
CALL-IS |
