TESOL’sElectronic Village Online

An Introduction

John Allan

Free, online TESL courses at the Electronic Village

Brief: TESOL International operates a number of online courses, certifications and discussions throughout the year.   Each January and February, TESOL's Electronic Village Online offer a variety of five week online courses. These range from teaching ESL with drama to teaching ESL in a virtual world. This session introduces TESL Ontario members to the EVO. It also provides guidance on how to participate and tips on how to succeed. It is also a great way to meet ESL teachers from across the globe!

overviewWhat is the EVO?

How to participate

2011 courses

Tips for success.

2012 courses

EVOElectronic Village Online

a preview to the TESOL Convention

since 2000

a set of online discussions and workshops

mid-January to mid-February

range from discussions to virtual hands-on workshops

discussion of issues in the field of teaching language, or experiments with and pedagogy of new technology tools, techniques and approaches  

Benefits?legacy online sessions / resources

pre-discuss papers for Academic Sessions

carry on a discussion of topics important to your member group

provides an invaluable service to teachers all over the globe, convention to those who cannot travel

over a thousand participants each year

Can I join?The sessions are free and open to all

interested parties. You do not need to be a TESOL member to participate. 

WhoSessions are organized by TESOL's

CALL Interest Section and run by volunteers who have donated their time to the profession.

Time FrameCall for Moderators -  July-August

Deadline for proposals - September

Call for Participants  - December

EVO Sessions - January-February

TESOL Convention – March

EVO courses requirecoordinator

course advisers

moderator (co-moderators are preferred)

sponsor: TESOL Interest Section, Forum, E-Group, Affiliate, or other TESOL entity

participants

Mentor Trainingmoderators spend 5 weeks in October-November learning

how to run a course

maintain a healthy and productive discussion or workshop

create an explanatory course syllabus

foster an online learning community using Web 2.0 tools

training in how to be  effective online moderators

successful completion of the training is of great personal benefit to the moderators and can lead to other opportunities in online teaching

Example CoursesTeaching ESL with DramaConflict ResolutionePortfoliosLibrary for ESL studentsDigital Story Telling Internet for Young LearnersPersonal Learning NetworksCreating Vocabulary activitiesPodcasts for ESL Classrooms Images for EducationBecoming a WebHeadOnline Games for ESL

Becoming a WebheadWebheads in Action is a long-standing community of

practice of language teachers worldwide

explore Web communication tools

share the best ways of using them in our teaching practices

engage with students in virtual classes

collaborate in projects

participate in conferences as audience & presenters

Re-playing Process DramaA PART II (continued from previous year)

approach process drama from a practical perspective of activities and conventions

discuss utilization of these in different contexts

techniques & strategies forming a process drama

Participants contribute examples of application

Digital Material Preparation

Enhance materials production skills for TESOL professionals in the areas of:

text document production

image editing

the Internet as a toolkit

screen capturing

converting media

audio production

Digital StorytellingCan adding stories to activities raise student

interest?

help learners develop 21st century multiliteracy skills through stories 

introduced to various online tools

explore images, music, slideshows and web tools used in educational settings for storytelling. 

participants will have the chance to develop a digital storytelling plan

PLEs and PLNs for Lifelong

Learning Competencies   Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) enable

learners to have greater control over their own learning experience

This session will take a look at the current situation by clarifying the concepts of personal learning environments and networks (PLNs)

Participants will learn by doing, creating their own Personal Learning Environment and adding tools relevant to their individual needs

Creating Vocabulary Activitiesintroduce instructors to simple tools and

techniques to produce professional, functional and recyclable resources for teaching vocabulary 

participants will be given the opportunity to share their experience with these tools.

Multiliteracies for social networking and collaborative

learning environments

Multiliterate individuals

this course seeks to heighten awareness of the pitfalls inherent in technology for multiliterate individuals

It hopes to enable participants to explore ways of dealing with them in professional and interpersonal development as well as work with students. 

Village - Second Lifevirtual worlds like Second as a tool for

synchronous oral communication

opportunities for interactive, immersive language learning through “new kinds of social encounters, new kinds of communities, and new kinds of learning environments’’

develop basic SL skills which are appropriate for and relevant to teaching and learning foreign languages

through language learning scenarios in SL.

Mentoring TESOLmentoring skills such as coaching, counseling,

consulting, and peer dialoguing for ESL teachers

through discussion, case studies, and role play we will share our ideas and hone our skills

guest experts will guide discussion as we identify and share our own mentoring strengths and possibilities

creating an ongoing TESOL mentor-support community, encouraging  others to join us in this important aspect of all teachers' lives. 

Podcasting for the ESF/EFL Classroom

providing basic proficiency inproduction and publishing of digital media files (podcasts)

implementation in the language classroom to enhance communication in speaking and listening skills

Reflection and Practice on the Integration of Virtual and Physical

Classroomsfoster a reflection process on the integration of

virtual and physical classrooms through the use of different technological tools and strategies that will give participants some ideas on how to deal with such integration

Technologies

Yahoo Groups

TappedIn chat (community)

Moodle

Second Life

Adobe Connect

Elluminate

Tips for successBudget time

Only take one course

Sign up on the first day

Complete any activities assigned each week

Lurk the first year

Do not be shy about quitting - (Come back next year for another go!)

Tips for success

Printing tasks sometimes helps

Get involved in the discussion

Be ready to get referenced resources (web addresses)

Learn how to access the discussion transcripts

Do not get emotional during discussions (misunderstandings)

2012 OfferingsGamification

Tutoring with Web 2.0 Tools - Designing for Social Presence

Digital Storytelling for Young Learners

TESOL-Drama Workshop: Implementing and Assessing Process Drama

2012 OfferingsThe best of  IATEFL YLTSIG - Teaching English as a

foreign/second language to young learners and teenagers

Pedagogy of Collective Intelligence: Promoting Authentic Learning with Moodle for Teachers (M4T) 

Multiliteracies for social networking and collaborative learning environments

Becoming a webhead

2012 OfferingsSocial-networking - making it work for you

and your students!

PLEs and PLNs for Lifelong Learning 2012

Podcasting for the EFL/ESL Classroom

Developing our Mentoring skills

2012 OfferingsCreating and Manipulation Audio

Digital Tools with Purpose in the Classroom

MachinEVO

Questions?