CALL Resources on Diigo for Teacher Training

Previously posted on the TESOL blog on 31 October 2011 by Sandra Rogers

Do you Diigo?  To be honest, I signed up but never used the online social-bookmarking tool. Fortunately,  TESOL’s Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) Interest Section has been busy bookmarking some great online resources.  Dr. Elizabeth Hanson-Smith shared the Diigo CALL-IS Virtual Software List on the TESOL CALL Community: http://www.diigo.com/user/call_is_vsl.  This list contains tons of resources on various teaching topics! However, this post focuses only on the teacher-training videos.

Here are some of Dr. Hanson’s recommendation for teacher-training videos:

1. Bridge TEFL Videos Teach English:
A teacher training site with videos on how to work in a classroom. You have to register to login but can view three videos without registering.  Check out: “Breaking Bad Teaching Habits.” http://www.teflvideos.com/

2. Teacher Training Presentations – School of TEFL

These free videos generally show teachers at work in the classroom, leading games and activities, teaching vocabulary and grammar, assessing speech, co-teaching, etc.  These would be very useful for the teacher-in-training or for the old dog who would like to see some new tricks.  http://teachers.schooloftefl.com

3. Dr. Hanson’s personal favorite: From Good to Outstanding | Teachers TV

These wonderful videos take you from initial lessons to interviews with teachers and students to advice by the expert, and a view of how those lessons are put to use in the classrom. Amazingly good teacher training in 26 videos.  www.teachers.tv

4. TeacherTube Professional Development Videos

Like most items at TeacherTube, these videos are uneven in content and production values, but contain several real gems. You have to register/sign in.
http://www.teachertube.com/

5. BBC audio programs:
For teachers – Radio programmes: Innovations in Teaching
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/radio/innovations.shtml

6. Arts Impact Teacher Training Video

“See the Arts Impact program in action as teachers participate in the summer institute and teach the arts in their classrooms. Hear comments from participating teachers and artist mentors.”  This is a very nice teacher training video if you are using drama and/or art in the classroom. Great ideas. www.arts-impact.org

7. YouTube - Shaping the Way We Teach English: Introduction

This is a teacher training series funded by the U.S. government titled, “Shaping the Way We Teach English, Successful Practices Around the World.” These introductory materials
are designed for English as a foreign language educators. Professionally produced but excellent ideas can be applied in many circumstances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLpwuQsNiLg

For more information on CALL related professional development resources, visit my page about the Electronic Village Online (EVO).

EVO: A Collaborative Professional Development Project

CALL Community Newsletter: Making Connections Highlights Members

Sandra has been teaching for 20 years. She’s actively involved with the Electronic Village Online (EVO) and currently serves on the coordination team. You may have read some of her CALL-related blogs on TESOL. She freelances for ETS.org and MuchEnough.com. In addition, Sandra runs a virtual nonprofit to help the unemployed find work on BrokeButNotForLong.org.

Affiliation: Teacherrogers Consulting

Years in the CALLIS: 2 years (2009-2011)

Q: Favorite platform?

A: Well, in the past newsletters this referred to the computer operating system. I use Windows XP, but it’s not really my favorite. As an online teacher, I’d like to add that my favorite learning management system platform is eCollege (Pearson).

Q: For you, what is the one indispensable tool/webpage?

A: That depends on my resources for the project. Camtasia Relay for screencasting with a budget because I can edit and add closed-captioning. Screenr.com for screencasting without a budget―no editing feature so you have to do retakes! Screencasters help you meet the standards for quality online instruction, such as virtual tours, lecture capturing, demonstrations, one-on-one specific help, and student presentations and/or intros.
Q: What is your most unexpected source of information about CALL?

A: I didn’t realize that the CALLIS helped create the Principles and Practices of Online Teaching certificate courses and that some of the CALL members actually teach the classes, too.

Q: What was your favorite CALL creation?

A: I’d have to say my e-portfolio blog that I created in Vance Stevens’ Multiliteracies EVO 2010 session. It has become my go-to place for everything I do―my landing strip! I blog about my trials and errors with integrating technology into education and post all of my projects there.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Besides training moderators as an EVO coordination team member, I’m also mentoring the PLN/PLE moderators for #2012evo. I continue to blog for TESOL, my eportfolio, and my nonprofit. For BrokeButNotForLong, Inc., I’ve decided to migrate all of our content to Google sites like Blogger for Blogging4Broke to save money. We recently received a Google grant for free AdWords, so you should be seeing more of Broke in online searches in a few months. For my own career, I’ve launched Teacherrogers Consulting for Literacy, Language & Social Media Solutions.

Q: What area would you like to see developed/researched?

A: I’ll echo what Andy Bowman said back in 2008: “More computer-like devices created specifically for language learning.” And I want to help create one, so give me a call!

Q: In a sentence, what advice would you give to a newbie starting out in CALL?

A: Take the Electronic Village Online free professional training in January!

Q: What is your funniest CALL-related incident?

A: OK, since Laine (Helaine) Marshall has a good sense of humor, I’d like to describe our first face-to-face encounter. I was running to a session at the TESOL convention in New Orleans when I passed her by. I turned around because I recognized her face from her thumbnail photos on Yahoo IM. She became a great mentor to me during my first attempt at moderating a session for EVO in 2009. However, I wasn’t sure it was her because of her petite stature. Laine had become such a giant in my mind that I didn’t expect her to be so small! I explained this to her, and we both laughed because she didn’t expect me to be so tall.

Link to full article: http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolcallis/issues/2012-03-16/7.html

Vote for EVO as Top Tech Innovator on The Chronicle

I’ve nominated TESOL’s Electronic Village Online (EVO) for The Chronicle of Higher Education’s competition of top technology innovators in higher education. They’re asking for votes and stories, so please add yours to the event at the link below. If you’ve ever learned with the EVO team, please share your story. As any threaded discussion, they ask that you “like” or reply to my initial post to vote for EVO. (Some site visitors are erroneously posting separate likes of the same person or group.)

Here’s the broad description provided about the competition by The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“Nominees can come from any area within academe (teaching, libraries, scholarship, admissions, student life, online learning, etc.) or outside of it (companies, government, think tanks, publishing). Basically, we’re looking for people who are thinking big about how technology can change education “and putting their ideas into practice.”

Vote: http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/who-are-the-top-technology-innovators-in-higher-education/34638?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

I realize that some of you may not be in higher ed, and don’t need to vote if you are in K-12. Perhaps you’d like to nominate another worthy techie, school or company. Feel free to do so! I just thought that EVO merits a nomination. I don’t feel like I’m voting for myself, even though I’m on the coordination team, because it’s really about the current moderators, mentors and other seasoned coordinators, and the time they devote to make it happen. Many have been giving of themselves professional for the past 10 years!

Personally, my knowledge base for online learning and teaching has greatly benefited from my involvement with EVO for the past two years. I can’t think of any other organization, school or company that has provided such a fantastic menu of learning opportunities, especially for free. EVO is an open source for learning and participants need not be TESOL members to join the sessions.

EVO has provided free professional development on integrating technology into the educational classroom for English language instructors worldwide for the past 11 years. It started as a special project in 1999 by the computer-assisted language learning interest section (CALL-IS) of TESOL. Last year around 1100 teachers participated in the free online training sessions that take place annually in January and February.

Our goal is to allow learning anywhere, anytime, with as little expense as possible. Thus EVO moderators and mentors are all volunteers, and participants need only provide their own Internet access to take part in activities. Participants and experts engage in collaborative, online discussions or hands-on virtual workshops of professional and scholarly benefit. Here’s a listing of our sessions for 2012 with powerful workshops on everything from digital storytelling to video productions on SecondLife to online mentoring and more: http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/48510148/Call_for_Participation2012