This issue of the “Making Connections” column introduces three members:

• Larry Udry
• Justin Shewell
• Aaron Schwartz

For each newsletter, I will invite members to answer a set of simple questions:

• What is your favorite platform?
• What is the one indispensable tool/Web page?
• What is your most unexpected source of information about CALL?
• What was your favorite CALL creation?
• What are you working on now?
• What area would you like to see developed/researched?
• In a sentence, what advice would you give to a newbie starting out in CALL?

Since this column began in 2005, I’ve found a variety of perspectives, experiences, and insights. My hope is that every reader—from new member to founding member—will enjoy this opportunity to compare experiences, to share advice, to nurture inspiration, and to make connections within our community.

Please e-mail me at stampers@iupui.edu if you have suggestions or contributions to “Making Connections.”

Larry Udry

Larry is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio; worked at University of Texas at Martin for 11 years; was a TennTESOL (that’s Tennessee) member for 11 years; was the TNTESOL newsletter editor/Web domestic for 6 years; has been involved in CALL through the Electronic Village since 2004; and is a newbie as newsletter coeditor with Suzan Stamper.

E-mail: ludry@dwci.edu

Affiliation: Divine Word College, Iowa

Years in the CALLIS: 4

Q: Favorite platform?

A: Originally a Mac person, I use PCs in my current job. I hate to say that I now prefer PCs though I still keep an iMac at home for emergencies.

Q: For you, what is the one indispensable tool/Web page?

A: Just one. Wikipedia has helped my adjunct class where we mull over heady issues like ethics and Plato’s immortality of the soul. We can’t find much on Google. I also like Google translator. Now I like to play Foldit where I can solve puzzles for science―something I heard about on the radio.

Q: What is your most unexpected source of information about CALL?

A: Not really too surprising: other teachers, especially at conferences. I always enjoy talking shop at conferences.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: Pretty basic, but just blogging. I am also using Office Publisher now for a student-writing-generated photojournalism class and have been playing with Moodle.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am working on two book ideas and developing a content-based environmental class.

Q: What area would you like to see developed/researched?

A: I’d really like to see a way that Moodle could be used to upload papers after they have been corrected instead of the current method that I use―just sending them to the students via e-mail.

Q: In a sentence, what advice would you give to a newbie starting out in CALL?
A: Just jump on the moving train and help out in any way you can. Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know as much as the others. The CALLIS is a great group of people. Everyone is a rich resource and always willing to help.

Aaron Schwartz

Aaron Schwartz is originally from Toledo, Ohio, and attended Ohio University from 1996 to 2000 where he earned his BA in creative writing. Afterward, he spent 2 years teaching English in Kanazawa, Japan, before returning to the United States to pursue his master’s degree from Bowling Green State University, where he also had the opportunity to participate in Ohio State University’s Summer Intensive English Program in Wuhan, China. He has been active in TESOL and the CALLIS since finishing graduate school. He currently works as a visiting lecturer and CALL/technology coordinator for the Ohio Program of Intensive English at Ohio University and serves on the CALLIS Steering Committee. He will be one of the Electronic Village managers at this year’s TESOL convention in New Orleans.

Email: aschwar@gmail.com

Affiliation: Ohio University

Years in the CALLIS: 6

Q: Favorite platform?

A: I’m pretty much comfortable on all platforms (I use Windows at home and Mac at work). Lately I’ve been intrigued by Ubuntu and its variants, especially how well they run on older PCs.

Q: For you, what is the one indispensable tool/Web page?

A: It depends on what kind of class I’m teaching. Moodle has been great for developing a sense of community in my classes and sharing materials. In speaking classes, I love to use TED.com, Flip cameras, and iTunes U. I use Google spreadsheets for vocabulary. Elmo Document Cameras are great for grammar and writing courses.

Q: What is your most unexpected source of information about CALL?

A: Believe it or not, social networking sites (such as Facebook and Twitter) have been great ways to find resources and ideas.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: I did a Google Earth project with my speaking class last year. Each student did research on an English-speaking city in the world. They used Google Earth on a projected screen to give guided tours of Chicago, New York, Vancouver, San Francisco, etc.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I just finished setting up MacBooks, Elmos, and projectors in four new classrooms for our program. Now, I’m getting ready to train new teachers on Moodle and anticipating the Electronic Village at TESOL in New Orleans and hoping to put something together about open-source software.

Q: What area would you like to see developed/researched?

A: Smartphones and open-source software are wide-open frontiers right now.

Q: In a sentence, what advice would you give to a newbie starting out in CALL?

A: Don’t just use technology for technology’s sake. Think about how technology can help you and your students meet your goals and objectives.

Q: What is your funniest CALL-related incident?

A: When I introduced Flip cameras to my students to have them create commercials for a new cola product, some of my students laughed at them and called them toys, and instead pulled out their own HD camcorders to do the assignment. They ended up creating a hilarious iMovie-edited video with a rap soundtrack in which they were so distracted by the delicious taste of the cola, they didn’t notice their fancy sports cars being stolen from them.

Justin Shewell

Justin is a PhD student in educational technology at Arizona State University. He has served as a Steering Committee member since 2009 and is the new chair-elect for 2011.

E-mail: jshewell@asu.edu

Affiliation: Arizona State University

Years in the CALLIS: 7 years. 2003 was probably my first year really involved in the CALLIS through the Electronic Village.

Q: Favorite platform?

A: I really don’t have a favorite platform. I am comfortable on most platforms. I was a ““PC man”“ until I bought my first MacBook Pro in January 2010. I love some things about Apple and other things about Windows computers.

Q: For you, what is the one indispensable tool/Web page?

A: Definitely the CALLIS Moodle. All joking aside, I probably go to Google.com at least once a day (because there is SOOO much I don’t know)

Q: What is your most unexpected source of information about CALL?

A: Lately, my children. I see what they are doing in school and get new ideas all the time. I see how things they are doing can be reworked for use in language teaching. I also get ideas from my educational technology classes in unexpected ways.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: I run a Web site for teachers called eslactivities.com. It is a passion of mine and my favorite CALL creation.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am working on updating eslactivities.com, making it easier to use and upgrading its features. I am also focusing a lot on my PhD studies.

Q: What area would you like to see developed/researched?

A: I am very interested in online language teaching, and think there is a lot that can be done in the area of teaching English (and other languages) at a distance.

Q: In a sentence, what advice would you give to a newbie starting out in CALL?

A: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Even if your CALL lesson plan flops the first time, you will be a better teacher for having tried it, and you will eventually succeed in CALL. (I know it’s more than a sentence, but there you are.)

Q: What is your funniest CALL-related incident?

A: That would probably be the time I had planned a CALL lesson in my class and was all set to ““wow”“ my students with my knowledge of the Internet and great resources for learning English. The power went out right as class started. We spent the next 2 hours playing word games that used absolutely no technology at all (but were fun nonetheless).

Suzan, stampers@iupui.edu, is a senior lecturer in the English for Academic Purposes Program at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She has been a CALLIS member since 1995.