CALL Newsletter - March 2020 (Plain Text Version)
|
||
|
In this issue: |
21ST-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING: IMPORTANT NEW EVENTS AT THE 2020 TESOL CALL-IS ELECTRONIC VILLAGE AND TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE Christine Sabieh, Notre Dame University, Beirut, Lebanon
We are excited to share with you the newest additions to the Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL-IS) 2020 Electronic Village. As many of you in the TESOL and the CALL-IS communities know, the Electronic Village is a place that welcomes you to ask, present, attend, showcase, and try out technology and take away new and innovative ways to use technology in your teaching and learning spaces. This year, the Electronic Village has a "new look" to reflect 21st-century tech teaching and learning environments. It is the start of a transformation. Come experience the 21st-Century Electronic Village and Technology Showcase spaces in the Exhibit Hall at the TESOL Convention in Denver. The Electronic Village and the Technology Showcase have evolved into more practice-based, user-friendly technology spaces that TESOLers seek to consult on, discuss, explore, and take away practical real-world know-how and applications to use in their teaching, learning, and assessment practices. TESOLers will receive practical tech knowledge for use in education spaces as well as participate in experiential learning opportunities with CALL subject matter experts. To that avail, we are eager to announce we have added three new spaces as well as events this year at the Convention. We greatly appreciate the support that TESOL International Association staff has provided in our desire to offer more quality hands-on opportunities as well as an inquiry-based area staffed by CALL "tech gurus" to answer technology and education application questions. TESOLers will have the opportunity to visit the Tech Guru Bar, situated between the Electronic Village and Tech Hubs A & B. Drop by the Tech Guru Bar to quench your curiosity on how to implement technology to enhance teaching or learning. Ask about CALL, specific software, tools, games, website resources, and learning management systems, and receive practical answers and guidance. If you are a newcomer to technology or to our spaces, you can attend the Orientation to 21st-Century Technology session to receive guided practice in technology basics. In Tech Hubs A & B, also new spaces this year, we are offering eighteen 45-minute FabLab Playgrounds for Learning given by CALL experts so that you can experience firsthand tech resources and topics in hands-on sessions. The topics include Office 365 applications, QR codes, PollEverywhere, Kahoot!, Google Forms, Flipgrid, Minecraft, Canvas, PowerPoint updates, Moodle, Curriculum pages, Open badges, and other tech resources that offer beneficial language learning applications. If you attend the Developers’ Showcase and the Mobile Apps for Education and, then, join their respective FabLab Playgrounds,you can gain hands-on experience using the new software created specifically for language learning or tips and tools to enable better use of mobile devices for teaching and learning. We have also included twenty-four 90-minute Makerspace Experiential Learning Adventure workshops on diverse technology topics for use in teaching, learning, and/or assessment given by CALL practitioners and experts. Formally known as Mini-Workshops, this year’s workshop topics include an array of 21st-century applications that address the development of important language learning skills. All you need to do is sign up for a FabLab Playground for Learningor Makerspace Experiential Learning Adventure workshop and take advantage of what promises to be a "techtastic" learning opportunity. You can also request a Certificate of Attendance. The Electronic Village continues to share events where presenters showcase on one of 14 computers to small groups how they use mobile or self-access technology and classroom tools for tech-based activities. To attend the events offered in the Electronic Village and the Tech Hubs A & B, please make sure to buy your EV pass (US$10) online or on-site at registration. The Technology Showcase (Colorado Convention Center, Room 712) is where you will find our CALL-IS webcast team taping our live events. These include Hot Topic sessions, the Cutting Edge Graduate Students’ Forum, the academic and InterSection panels, and the Mobile Apps for Education and the Developers’ Showcase. Panel discussions and showcase sessions address topics such as digital citizenship, computer-based speaking assessment, gaming, digital tools for autonomous learning, digital open education resources, mixed reality, augmented reality, virtual reality, and universal design to enhance accessibility. We look forward to welcoming you to our new 21st-century makeover and would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for the next TESOL Convention in 2021! See you soon in Denver! Christine, Andy, Sandy, and Tom Christine Sabieh CALL-IS Past Chair 2019–2020 EV & Technology Showcase Events 2020 Coordinator Andy Bowman EV & Technology Showcase 2020 Manager Tom Robb Tech Guru Bar Coordinator Sandy Wagner FabLab Playground for Learning & Makerspace Experiential Learning Adventure Workshops Coordinator |
|