March 2016
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR-ELECT
Jack Watson, University of New Brunswick English Language Programme, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

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.