Barbara Dieu

Abstract

Meeting the e-challenge

With the advent of ICTs, we are increasingly exposed to information in the target language and start operating in different contexts and situations in our personal and professional life, which are  no longer limited to our geographical location, classes, occasional workshops or professional development programs. We can acquire and learn much of the language online. The use of social media tools and platforms on the open Web can accelerate the learning process by giving us access to information, communities of practice and networks and enabling us to create and participate at our own time, in our own space and with whom we choose to communicate and collaborate.

In this presentation, we will explore the concept of personal learning spaces, the tools we can use to help our learners build them, communities of practice and networks and their role in language learning and practice.  We will discuss how this digital immersion challenges us, EFL teachers, to review, expand and modify our ways of teaching and learning.

Barbara (Bee) Dieu teaches at the Franco-Brazilian secondary school where she has been preparing students for the French Baccalaureate since 1983. She has been in ELT and education since 1974 (in the classroom) and since 1997 increasingly online, networking, keynoting, planning, organizing and facilitating workshops /collaborative projects worldwide and engaged in professional development for teachers. She has published and presented nationally and internationally on social media, digital literacy and openness in education. Bee is an active member of several associations and communities of practice, that includes Webheads in Action,TESOL, Braztesol, Merlot, Hornby Critical Literacy, Práxis, Edublogosfera and T.A.L.O. She is presently Braztesol EduTechSIG Coordinator and has served on the 2008-9 NMC Horizon Project Advisory Board. She blogs at: http://beespace.net. 

Dr Ron Chang Lee (Rong Chang Li)

Abstract

The digital age has changed not only the nature of resources and information, but also the perspectives in their use for learning. Both the amount of and access to information have grown exponentially. EFL students, learning English in a non-English environment, suffer most from the severe lack of exposure to the target language. The digital technologies that are revolutionizing communications and information processing present significant opportunities to EFL students and teachers alike all over the world. These tools affect nearly every espect of learning and teaching activities by enhancing teaching and learning, expanding learners’ access, and improving learning efficiency. Yet the challenges of exploiting technology and integrating it into day-to-day EFL classroom teaching can be as baffling as the technology itself. Although technology capabilities hold considerable promise for EFL teaching and learning, current practices may prove insufficient in optimizing available resources and preparing EFL students to learn in resource-rich environments. The presenter explores the potential of online resources that have made themselves more widely available and more easily accessible in teaching EFL reading, listening , writing and speaking, and recommend some useful Web resources, including the online ELL robots he created to assist EFL/ESL learners around the world, and effective strategies in sorting, evaluating, synthesizing and processing online resources.

Ron Chang Lee (Rong-Chang Li) received his Master’s Degree in English as a Second Language in 1994 and his Ph.D. in Educational Technology in 1998 from the University of Illinois. He is now teaching ESL and working on the ESL Robots Project at Pasadena City College, Los Angeles, USA. His current interest is researching how to help ESL/EFL students learn English through the Internet. He is running two popular ESL/EFL Websites: http://www.rong-chang.com and http://www.eslfast.com.

Dr Linglan Cao

Abstract

Despite the amazingly extensive benefit it brought to the human beings, the Internet unfortunately suffers from a major drawback - it made plagiarism almost effortless in all areas of the academic world. Plagiarism is a perennial temptation for students and an eternal challenge for teachers and writers, especially in the digital age.Rising concern over “intellectual property theft” due to cyber-plagiarism, specifically from students, and content writers (bloggers, writers, and other professionals), has attracted a growing interest from educational and professional institutes, the world over, to adopt effective strategies and design innovative techniques to curb this dilemma. The presenter examines the huge challenge plagiarism is posing on EFL/ESL professionals in digital age and suggest effective measures to identify possible plagiarism in student writing and educate your students in how to avoid the unintentional plagiarism.

Dr Linglan Cao received her doctoral degree in international education at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, master degree in English Department of Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and a master degree in English literature from Suzhou University, China. She is currently teaching college writing in York College, City University of New York. She has published widely in EFL testing, EFL curriculum developing, CALL and English literature.

Jason Ward

Abstract

The presenter will discuss his experience of using a technology-based approach to teaching second-language writing.  He will explain how computer-mediated communication (CMC) has helped to generate student-generated content and extend the time his students, who meet only twice a week, spend ‘in class.’  Opportunities and challenges with specific assignments and features will be outlined from blogs to online peer reviews.  The most effective attributes of a student-centered Course-Management System (CMS) will be considered and the presenter will suggest that the biggest challenge to EFL in the digital age comes not from the technology itself, but from top-down administrations that preclude those actually using the technology from making any decisions about it.  Nevertheless, the opportunities that the digital age offers for innovative composition students and teachers continue to develop apace and herald a return to writing and the possible evolution of how it might be taught. 

Jason Ward teaches composition at American University Sharjah (UAE). He has presented in Japan, USA, UK and UAE on educational technology, assessment, CBI, film and literature and published on blogging, computer-assisted feedback, and Moodle.  He has MAs in TESOL and critical theory and is working on a PhD in filmic adaptations.

Dafne González

Abstract:

Teaching second and foreign languages has always been a challenge. The inclusion of technology in language teaching has been a bless for students but another challenge for teachers.  In the last 4 years we have been promoting the use of the Web 2.0 as a way to offer our students the opportunity to interact with real audiences and get varied input through the different applications that are available for free on the Web. Now, the emergence of virtual worlds, namely, Second Life, a 3D environment (Web 3.0),  has raised the bar for teachers and students. It takes us to a higher level of interaction f2f via avatars. Language classes in Second Life offer an immersive setting without leaving home and promote interaction with native and non-native speakers of the target language in real-life contexts. What does it take to teach and learn a language in Second Life? The presenter will address this issue. Images of actual language classes in Second Life will illustrate the talk.

Dafne González has been an EFL/ESP teacher for more than 30 years. She graduated in Language Teaching, has a Masters degree in Applied Linguistcs, and a Ph.D in Education. She has coordinated the Graduate Studies in Education Programs and she has been the Head of the Specialization in Informatics and Education at Universidad Simón Bolívar, in Caracas, Venezuela. Besides teaching technology-related courses at the graduate level, she has also taught English for Architecture and Urban Planning blended and online courses. A webhead since 2002, she was the lead coordinator of the TESOL Electronic Village Online (EVO) from 2006 until 2009, and co-moderator of the EVO Becoming a Webhead (BaW) online Workshop since 2004. She was a member of the TESOL Technology Advisory Committee, and now is a member of the TESOL CALL-IS Steering Committee. She has also been teaching the course "Teaching Vocabulary and Grammar Online" for the TESOL Principles and Practices of Online Teaching Certificate Program since 2004. Currently, she is the head of the Spanish Program for Languagelife (a project of Languagelab.com) in Second Life.

Carla Arena

Abstract:

New and emergent technologies have been impacting the way EFL educators pursue their professional development. The presenter will share possibilities to face the challenges of language learning professionals through the development of their personal learning networks which are not institutionally-bound. Participants will be able to understand how educators worldwide have been enhancing their professional growth through online connections with other educators via Communities of Practice and social networks. By having a virtual overview of these new digital spheres of learning/sharing/teaching, educators will perceive how their online informal learning can positively impact their language classroom practices. They will also have the chance to take a sneak peak at useful tools to keep them in the loop of the latest educational trends related to their area of interest. This immersion in a networked world of people and knowledge might be the first step for a personal micro-revolution that can transform the way EFL educators teach and learn.

Carla Arena is the Educational Technology Supervisor and teacher trainer at the Binational Center in Brasilia, Brazil. She's also responsible for the EFL e-learning program at her Institution. Carla is an enthusiastic lifelong learner who believes in the transformative power of technology for learning. Her presentations in the field of EFL and technology can be found at http://brazilbridges.pbworks.com