Welcome to the March issue of TESOL Video News, also the preconvention issue of the VDMIS newsletter. Last year, 2016, was a year full of surprises and eye-openers, so many that I really do not know what to say to you at this point. Having been in this field for almost 20 years, I dare say the ESL/EFL community has always been the most diverse and open-minded, both teachers and students. Every day, we work with people from different places and with diverse cultural backgrounds, and we share one strong faith: Education can change life; language can change our world. Despite the unforeseeable and unpredictable future, fortunately we still have each other. Let’s just hold onto our belief and give our best wishes to all of our friends and their family.

In this issue, we have three interesting articles. First we have “Can I Really Learn English Online?: What Students Believe,” by Andrés Paredes Becerra, from Ecaduor. He did a small survey to find out what students feel about learning online. Then Kevin Wong, in his article, “How Educational is Educational Media for English Learners?” analyzes how children can learn vocabulary through educational programs. Finally, Kurtis Foster discusses how learning can be more “mobile” with augmented reality applications in “Mobile Context: Augmented Reality, Aurasma, and Layar Empower With ‘Pull.’”

The VDMIS is soliciting articles for future issues of TESOL Video News. If you are interested in using movies or creating digital media lessons, you are more than welcome to share your experience with us. Submit articles or announcements to kennethchyi@gmail.com. You may also send opinions and suggestions at any time to the leaders or to the Video and Digital Media community in myTESOL. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kenneth Chyi has been teaching English for more than 16 years. He loves to incorporate movies and digital media into language lessons, making grammar and vocabulary come alive for students. His other interests include language assessment and material development. He received his MA from NYU and is currently teaching at Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan.