Dawn Bikowski, CALLIS Chair, Linguistics Department, Ohio University, USA
Justin Shewell, CALLIS Chair-Elect, American English and Culture Program, Arizona State University, USA
Suzan Stamper, CALLIS Past Chair, English for Academic Purposes Program, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Hello everyone and welcome to another issue of the CALLIS newsletter, On CALL.

We are very excited about this year’s 2012 TESOL Convention in Philadelphia and would like to share a bit about what we have planned. You’ll notice that in addition to our regular conference activities and presentations, we also have opportunities for members who cannot make it to the conference to view and participate in events.

TESOL 2012 PHILADELPHIA
Academic Session
The title of 2012’s Academic Session is “Smart Technology: Intelligent Tutoring Systems in Language Teaching and Learning.” The session will be held on Saturday, 31 March 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Technology Showcase (right next to the Electronic Village) and will feature panelists Dr. Lewis Johnson, Karen Price, Troy Cox, and Christopher Hill, who will discuss what intelligent tutoring systems are and how they are supported by research, and follow with specific examples and techniques for using intelligent tutoring systems in curricular settings.

InterSection With CALL, MW, SLW
We are also pleased to announce our primary InterSection between the CALLIS, the Materials Writers IS, and the Second Language Writing IS. Entitled “Going Beyond the Textbook in Second Language Writing with CALL,” this session will be held on Thursday, 29 March 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in the Technology Showcase, and will feature Maggie Sokolik, Carla Meskill, Leslie Opp-Beckman, Lise Minovitz, and Steve King. The panelists will discuss the need for CALL materials that can supplement programs already using a textbook and present techniques for developing and implementing these materials, with a specific focus on teaching second language writing. They will also discuss the future of the textbook and its integration with technology.

InterSection With ITA, SPL, and CALL
The CALLIS has also teamed up with the International Teaching Assistants (ITA) IS and the Speech, Pronunciation and Listening IS (SPLIS) to organize an InterSection titled “Technologies for Refining International Teaching Assistants’ Speaking, Pronunciation and Listening.” This session will feature Robert Elliott, Mary Jetter, and Gary Carkin, who will discuss current technologies for teaching speaking, pronunciation, and listening to international teaching assistants. This session will be held on Friday, 30 March 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in the Technology Showcase.

InterSection With EFL, IC, and CALL
Finally, in connection with the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) IS and the International Culture (IC) IS, we are organizing another InterSection titled “Promoting Understanding Across Cultures in the EFL Classroom Through CALL.” This session will feature Carla Arena, Erin McCloskey, Claudio Fleury, Claire Siskin, and Eric Roth, who will address the supportive role of CALL in bridging the gap between language and culture to promote excellence in the EFL classroom.

In addition to our Academic Session and InterSections, we’ll be having our Electronic Village events. What follows is a brief explanation of each adapted from descriptions found on the CALLIS Moodle.

EV FAIRS

EV Fairs are informal demonstrations in which teachers or teacher-developers share their use of technology. Presenters demonstrate their technology applications in a 25-minute session on one computer station. After 25 minutes, the session is repeated. Participants attend sessions of their choosing and drop in and out of demonstrations. Demonstrations are informal and preclude highly structured presentations.

EV FAIRS CLASSICS

EV Classics are previously run informal demonstrations in which teachers or teacher-developers share their use of technology. Presenters demonstrate their technology applications in a 25-minute session on one computer station. After 25 minutes, the session is repeated. Participants attend sessions of their choosing and drop in and out of demonstrations. Demonstrations are informal and preclude highly structured presentations.

HARDWARE & MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FAIR

The Hardware & Mobile Technology Fair focuses on the uses of devices other than computers that offer unique applications, such as iPods or tablets. Presenters demonstrate their hardware and mobile technology applications in two consecutive 25-minute sessions. After 25 minutes, the session is repeated. Participants may attend a complete session or may drop in and out of several sessions.

MINI-WORKSHOPS
After a brief demonstration, presenters guide participants in hands-on practice. Space is limited to 20 participants. Workshop duration is 90 minutes. Presenters provide experience in adaptation of software and/or hardware for CALL purposes and create products for teaching and learning. Following a short presentation, participants use computers for hands-on practice.

DEVELOPERS' SHOWCASE

The Developers’ Showcase is an opportunity for ESOL teachers and curriculum/course designers to demonstrate new and original computer applications and/or Web sites. Presenters have 8 to 12 minutes to demonstrate and/or operate their software and explain its features and applications. A question-and-answer session follows each presentation.

MOBILE APPS FOR EDUCATION

The Mobile Apps for Education session provides ESOL teachers with the opportunity to demonstrate pedagogical uses for their favorite mobile applications. In a lecture format, presenters have approximately 10 minutes to demonstrate their application and explain its uses for ESOL classrooms. A question-and-answer session follows each presentation.


We will also be having our session “CALL for Newcomers” to give some tips to those less familiar with using technology in language teaching. We will also have “Ask Us: Free Advice for CALL,” a time when educators can come in and ask experienced CALL users for quick pieces of advice for specific teaching situations. From these events to the Developers’ Showcase, where we can see the latest ideas put into play in language teaching and technology, CALLIS will be providing something for everyone.


FOR EDUCATORS NOT ATTENDING TESOL 2012
We are so fortunate to have our fantastic team of webcasters working behind the scenes in providing free online access to many of our CALL EV events. These include the Academic Session and InterSections, in addition to the Developers’ Showcase. In case you were not able to make it to TESOL 2011 in New Orleans or missed some sessions, webcasts from that conference can be found at 2011 EV Webcasts.

Those of you interested in viewing the sessions in real-time and even being able to ask questions can go to Realtime Broadcast of Events to see the schedule and log in to the system during the conference.

We also continue to provide free online courses with the Electronic Village Online. Sessions started in January, so please visit the 2012 EVO Online Schedule to see how you can engage in professional development. This is a great and useful resource that we are really proud of in the IS.

Again, we welcome you to another TESOL convention in whatever capacity you can join us.