Greetings from your CALL-IS Cochairs Elect! We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the Electronic Village and Tech Showcase in Chicago, either as a volunteer, participant, presenter, or observer. It is this community and collaboration that make TESOL so enjoyable and successful; it would not have been the same without you.

We would like to welcome our new steering committee members elected in Chicago: Sam Adams, Heather Benucci, George Kormpas, Taira Nieves, and Abe Reshad. Sam and Abe are serving out the remaining terms of Christel Broady, who was elected to the TESOL Board, and that of Maria Tomeho-Palermino, who was elected as CALL-IS Cochair Elect. Heather, George, and Taira were all elected to three-year terms. We are looking forward to working with everyone, new and old members alike, to bring CALL topics and technology to ESL/EFL instructors, students, and administrators around the globe.

As the incoming Cochair Elect, Jennifer Meyer is also the outgoing CALL-IS Webcasting Development Coordinator and would like to ask everyone to welcome Ellen Dougherty who is stepping in to lead the webcasting team moving forward. We had over 500 viewers join us virtually to catch webcasted sessions at the EV and Tech Showcase events in Chicago and over 500 more have watched the archived webcasts since then. We are happy to be able to provide this service to connect ESL/EFL professionals internationally, even when you cannot be present at the conference. The sessions will remain on our two YouTube channels, so if you missed us in Chicago, drop by YouTube and catch up on all the technology tools and news shared in Chicago. By the way, webcasted sessions from TESOL 2017 in Seattle are also still available on YouTube. If you are interested in joining the webcasting team, no experience is necessary; just a commitment to keeping up with the the ever-evolving technology involved and willingness to learn and try new things as they develop. Please email Jennifer or Maria, and we will get you started.

Links: YouTube Electronic Village, YouTube Tech Showcase

Call for Proposals and TESOL’s New Plan for Proposal Submission

We would like to express our thanks to all past presenters who have submitted proposals on new and relevant topics in digital learning and educational technology and want to encourage others as well to consider submitting this year. You can present in the general convention, the Electronic Village (EV), the Tech Showcase, and Electronic Village Classics. Maria coordinates the Classics which is an opportunity to deliver a popular EV presentation from a previous TESOL convention. We have consistently had some extremely impressive and also engaging presentations on myriad topics from CALL/MALL issues to virtual words to hybrid/blended learning, MOOCs, and more. We know that this coming year’s selection of presentations will continue to impress.

To submit a presentation related to CALL and digital technology this year, the process remains the same as usual. However, potential presenters should be aware that TESOL has developed a new policy for adjudicating proposals. You will need to submit to a strand rather than to an interest section. What is a strand? A strand is a more precise or limited content area; for CALL-related presentations, the strand is Digital Learning and Technologies. Each strand has a Strand Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator who will be adjudicating proposals. These individuals are very well versed in their fields and are even in the forefront of these areas. Basically, the submission process remains the same as it has always been. TESOL believes that using this new approach may help to facilitate the review and selection process.

We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead and are busy planning for TESOL Atlanta, 2019. If you are interested in getting involved in the CALL-IS interest section, you should consider submitting a proposal, volunteering in the Electronic Village, joining us and learning about webcasting, and stopping into the CALL-IS open meeting we will have in Atlanta. You will not only get to know some very interesting people in the digital learning and technology arena but also make some life-long friends!

We are looking forward to seeing and meeting you in Atlanta!

Jennifer and Maria

Jennifer Meyer is an ESL teacher at Edmondson Elementary School in Brentwood, TN, USA. She has been teaching ESL/EFL in the USA and Europe for 20+ years. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Literacy Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. Her research focuses on professional development for general education teachers working with ELs, EL students with special needs, and K-12 CALL applications.

Maria Tomeho-Palermino currently is an EFL/ESL consultant who spent the last 30 years at the Center for English Language and Orientation Programs at Boston University. She specializes in English for Specific Programs (ESP), teacher training, and incorporating technology into the classroom. She currently is doing consulting work in educational technology and ESP for higher education.