This column introduces the following guests:

• Rodrigo Carvalho
• Marta Halaczkiewicz
• Greg Kessler
  
  

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

• What is your favorite platform?
• What is the one indispensable tool/webpage?
• 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?
• What is your funniest CALL-related incident?
  
  

I hope you enjoy this opportunity to make CALL connections with our members as they share their experiences, advice, and inspirations. Please e-mail me at suzan.stamper@yccc.edu.hk if you have suggestions or contributions to "Making Connections."

Rodrigo Carvalho

Rodrigo is a gaming enthusiast. His participation in the CALL-IS includes being a panelist in the Hot Topics Panel on gaming and being part of the webcasting team. Rodrigo has designed an online teacher training course on game-based teaching and is currently working on a massive open online course (MOOC) on gamification.

Affiliation: Georgia Tech Language Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Years in the CALL-IS: 3 years

Q: What is your favorite platform?

A: Coursera. I love the idea of how MOOC democratizes learning.

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

A: Quizlet. I have been using it for a while now, and its applications are endless. Quizlet.live is the quickest way you can introduce games in a meaningful way.

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

A: I have never found one : )

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: I am proud of my online course of gaming and language teaching. The course is unique and contains practical information on how to use both complex games like League of Legions and simple games like Cut the Rope to make a class more engaging.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am currently working on a MOOC on gamification and game-based teaching.

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

A: I would like to see more on principles of game design for educational games. I believe that most people are going to learn languages by playing games in the future. This is a fascinating area that deserves a lot of attention.

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

A: Make sure to understand the pedagogical principles for using technology. Many people rush into collecting series of online resources, apps, and games but forget about how challenging it can be to use those in a pedagogically sound manner.

Marta Halaczkiewicz

Marta has earned an MA in TESOL and an MA in educational technology. She is currently working on her PhD in instructional technology and learning sciences at Utah State University, where she is a lecturer in the Intensive English Language Institute. She has taught in intensive English programs for more than a decade now. She has attended, presented, and volunteered at multiple CALL-IS events and presentations since she became a member in 2011. She joined the CALL-IS Steering Committee in March 2017.

Affiliation: Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA

Years in the CALL-IS: 6 years

Q: What is your favorite platform?

A: I grew up on PCs but made a switch to Mac a decade ago and don’t see myself ever going back.

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

A: I can’t imagine teaching (or life) without Google (Gmail, Drive, Maps Docs, Sheets, YouTube, etc.). Also, TED Talks, NPR, and VOA have been tremendous sources of ESL material for all of the levels and skills of English I teach.

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

A: My own students—they always bring in new mobile tools they found that help them improve their English. I’m always amazed at how they adopt non-CALL tools for their language learning. For example, one student is perfecting her accent by dictating speech to Siri on her iPhone. She’s noticed how, after a few weeks, Siri is "understanding" her more and more.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: Quizlet. My students love the ease of creating their own study sets as well as the way they can interact with vocabulary I prepare for them. I love how flexible and versatile it is. Quizlet makes it super-fast and easy to present, practice, reinforce, and assess vocabulary.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: My PhD research project involving my ESL students using their online interest communities to enhance their classroom English experiences.

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

A: Using video games in ESL instruction.

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

A: Be brave! Try out new things. Try first on yourself and then on your students. However, don’t try it if you don’t need it. Just because everybody else is using technology, it doesn’t mean that it solves all problems. Ask your students for tech help—they know so much more than us and are very happy if they can help.

Q: What is your funniest CALL-related incident?

A: In a listening class, I prepared a TED Talk for my students to listen to. I was using the standard classroom technology for most American universities. It consists of a teacher desk touchscreen panel, computer, projector, and screen. At that point, I had used that technology for several years and that particular one for a month in that classroom. When I started the TED Talk, we could see the video but the audio did not work. I tried playing with the audio in the browser, the touchscreen panel, and on the computer making sure nothing was muted, but, to my dismay, nothing worked. Desperate, I called the IT for help. When he arrived, the first thing he did was to scroll up the volume on the touchscreen panel on the teacher desk. What I didn’t notice was that even though it was not muted, it was set to the lowest volume setting. Of course, the IT guy told me that was one of the most common problems he gets called for. Students were very amused throughout the process and did not let it go the rest of the semester, calling me the "techless" techie teacher. I hung it over their heads, too, because they tried helping and did not figure it out, either.

Greg Kessler

Greg is an associate professor of instructional technology at Ohio University. He has been involved with the Electronic Village since 1997 and was the Electronic Village coordinator from 2000–2002 and CALL-IS chair from 2003–2004. He has also been president of Ohio TESOL and CALICO.

Affiliation: Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA

Years in the CALL-IS: 9 years (1999–2008)

Q: What is your favorite platform?

A: Ubuntu Linux.

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

A: Google Chrome.

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

A: Google Scholar.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: Tracy Talk.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Augmented reality– and artificial intelligence–informed experiences.

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

A: Augmented and virtual reality for contextualized learning.

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

A: Read the literature in LL&T,CALL Journal, CALICO Journal, CALICO book series, etc.

Q: What is your funniest CALL-related incident?

A: There are just too many, but I’m sure it involves Phil Hubbard. ;-)

Suzan is senior lecturer and English language team leader at Yew Chung Community College in Hong Kong. She has been a CALL-IS member since 1995.