Yes, it’s that time of year again! Today marks the first official day of registration for the free EVonline sessions offered as part of the run-up to the TESOL conference in a couple of months time. The sessions have been going for many years now and still there is much of interest for all types of TEFL teachers. There is of course a bias towards the integration of technology in teaching but not all the sessions are ICT first and foremost. In fact even those that have something to do with ICT, such as using virtual worlds in language teaching are more about pedagogical approaches than about editing CSS or php files. Which is exactly as it should be.
The list this year includes 12 options. As usual the recommendation is not to sign up for more than 2 and as usual it is so difficult to limit oneself to just two. Materials tend to be freely available and it has been great over the years to be able to go back to certain courses and review the material in my own time, at my own pace and taking from them only what is relevant at that point.
Free in no way means inferior. Moderators are experienced, generous of their time and patient.
See the full list on the wiki set up for the purpose.
1. Adaptive technology
This is a discussion-based session that will allow teachers to share how they use technology to adapt instruction to help struggling students with major and minor disabilities. It will familiarize teachers with user-friendly, easily available resources.
2. Becoming a Webhead 10
Webheads in Action is a nine-year-old community of practice of language teachers worldwide, coordinated by Vance Stevens. In the Becoming a Webhead workshop, which is an introduction to Webheads in Action, we explore Web communication tools and share the best ways of using them in our teaching practices, engage with students in virtual classes, collaborate on projects, and participate in conferences as audience and presenters. This collaboration takes place online, as we are all geographically apart.
3. Drama
Process drama is a powerful language-learning tool because it involves all of the learners interactively all of the class time. Used for decades as a framework for reading, writing, and social studies classes in mainstream UK, Australian, and Canadian classrooms, process drama is now being utilized in second language classrooms worldwide because it provides stimuli for ongoing speaking, listening, reading, writing, and critical thinking opportunities while working within a dramatic context that evokes the use of intuition, imagination, and feeling. But what is it exactly? And how do we implement it?
4. Digital Materials Preparation Techniques
These sessions will introduce instructors to simple tools and techniques used by their educational technology savvy peers to produce professional, functional and recyclable resources for teaching. All of the sessions have been used extensively in classes across the globe. Participants will be given the opportunity to share their experience with these tools. This collaboration takes place online.
5. Images4Education
In this six-week online workshop offered through the Electronic Village Online, participants will be introduced to various online image manipulation tools and will learn how to effectively incorporate these resources into their teaching practices. They will explore how images can be used in educational settings for photo sharing, storytelling, slideshows and comics creation, as well as understand how Creative Commons licensing can be beneficial for classroom use. By the end of the workshop, participants will have the chance to develop a plan to begin incorporating digital production into their lesson plans.
6. Internet for Young Learners
This session focuses on the use of the Internet in the young EFL learners’ classroom: examples of activities, tips on selecting online activities, problem handling.
7. Multiliteracies for Social Networking and Collaborative Learning Environments
A multiliterate teacher understands the many ways that technology interacts and intertwines with academic and interpersonal life, and actively learns how to gain control over those aspects impacting teaching, social, and professional development. Multiliterate individuals are aware of the pitfalls inherent in technology while striving for empowerment through effective strategies for first discerning and then taking advantage of those aspects of changing technologies most appropriate to their situations. These strategies include managing, processing, and interpreting a constant influx of information, filtering what is useful, and then enhancing the learning environment with the most appropriate applications.
8. Video
Are you looking for resources that will save your prep time, enhance your lessons, and expand teaching and learning beyond the classroom walls? Learn about these online treasure troves of multi-media content created for EFL/ESL teachers by fellow educators who share a passion for teaching, language learning, and video.
9. Online games for ESL/EFL
This session is a chance to delve into the world of games and the engagement that well-designed examples can bring. You’ll first begin by considering games as a subset of technological tools available to educators, and then move on to focus on the distinct characteristics that make gaming a unique medium which affords particular advantages for language learning.
10. Smart teaching with Interactive Whiteboards
In this workshop we’ll explore the world of Interactive Whiteboards: the pedagogy, the tools and resources supplied by the vendors, as well as the vast array of ready-made materials available online. We’ll be creating and sharing simple activities along the way, culminating with bigger pair/group projects.
11. Teaching Languages in a Virtual World
In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the use of virtual worlds for language teaching and for education in general. This session will take a broad look at the current situation by investigating how organisations and individuals have leveraged this platform for language teaching and learning. Participants are invited to learn more by becoming involved in field trips, talks and discussions. We will also be looking at a selection of different educational tools that can be used to help the teacher and learners. You will be encouraged to try your hand at teaching language in one of these environments.
12. Virtual language Travel
‘Real’ language travel is a tour package that comprises classroom lessons in a local school with field trips to sightseeing places in the surrounding area. Often or not it also includes homestay with a family. What a fun way to learn a language. This kind of language learning is immersive, sociable, interesting and exciting and often a great experience at the beginning of a deeper involvement with the language. If you can afford it!
In this EVO session we are seeking to replicate the concept of language travel to be conducted entirely with online resources, virtual classroom teaching, and a total immersive virtual environment, such as Second Life. We will learn hands-on how to use virtual classroom technology for teaching the language and how to explore virtual worlds for practising the language.