Welcome

There are clearly many aspects of online and blended learning in TESOL education of interest to our community of professionals. We value its innovative qualities, the new and varied ways in which it draws on participants' learning and creative skills, and its availability to those who cannot necessarily attend a face-to-face course. Equally, we assume that effective TESOL education requires an interactive learning / training community and this will be achieved in a special way in blended and online training.

Participants need to communicate with their tutors, but equally with their peers and students. Social media have paved the way for such interaction in an informal context, but training organisations using VLEs such as Blackboard, Moodle, for example, need to find equally effective ways of encouraging confident, but focussed, peer interaction. The point is also often made that F2F teaching demands skills that must be taught to some extent through F2F training. In blended learning programmes, tutors often have to compress into the F2F phase a lot more than "teaching practice" - if indeed there is provision for observed teaching, with or without assessment.

There are clearly many aspects of online and blended learning in TESOL education of interest to our community of professionals. We value its innovative qualities, the new and varied ways in which it draws on participants' learning and creative skills, and its availability to those who cannot necessarily attend a face-to-face course. Equally, we assume that effective TESOL education requires an interactive learning / training community and this will be achieved in a special way in blended and online training.

Participants need to communicate with their tutors, but equally with their peers and students. Social media have paved the way for such interaction in an informal context, but training organisations using VLEs such as Blackboard, Moodle, for example, need to find equally effective ways of encouraging confident, but focussed, peer interaction. The point is also often made that F2F teaching demands skills that must be taught to some extent through F2F training. In blended learning programmes, tutors often have to compress into the F2F phase a lot more than "teaching practice" - if indeed there is provision for observed teaching, with or without assessment.

There are clearly many aspects of online and blended learning in TESOL education of interest to our community of professionals. We value its innovative qualities, the new and varied ways in which it draws on participants' learning and creative skills, and its availability to those who cannot necessarily attend a face-to-face course. Equally, we assume that effective TESOL education requires an interactive learning / training community and this will be achieved in a special way in blended and online training.

Participants need to communicate with their tutors, but equally with their peers and students. Social media have paved the way for such interaction in an informal context, but training organisations using VLEs such as Blackboard, Moodle, for example, need to find equally effective ways of encouraging confident, but focussed, peer interaction. The point is also often made that F2F teaching demands skills that must be taught to some extent through F2F training. In blended learning programmes, tutors often have to compress into the F2F phase a lot more than "teaching practice" - if indeed there is provision for observed teaching, with or without assessment.

WHAT USE ARE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRAMS?

Tim FrancisEnglish Language Centre

University of Bath

Textrebuilding

Mazes

MCQsShort answersGapfillsSentencerebuilding

THE HOT POTATOES ‘FAMILY’

INTERESTS: - COMPUTER INTERACTIVE LEARNING & TESTING

WHAT MY STUDENTS SEE OF ME…

Classroom Tools The Compleat Lexical Tutor

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we learn and teach and

will continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.

TEACHERS’ ATTITUDESagree Tend to

agreeDon’t know

Tend to agree

agree

CALL creates

more work for

teachers

Computers will

gradually replace

teachers

CALL is good

for all students

CALL is of limited

interest

All teachers

should be

familiar with

CALL

CALL is for

specialist teachers

The EFL world is awash withtools and resources for e-learning "e-tivities" nowadays and wemay feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities. But perhaps it is time to stand back and take stock. In this presentation I will focus on computer mediated language learning programs and attempt to assess their potential and particular value both from the point of view of the learner and the course provider. What should we look for in a good language learning program?

A MISTAKE!

Gilly Salmon

TWO E-LEARNING COURSES1.E-moderating

(Gilly Salmon O.U.)

WHY PEOPLE MAY NOT WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO ONLINE FORUMS …

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we teach and will

continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.3. Technology is often ‘free’ and ‘easy to run’ but we have to

count the cost – typically extra demands on our time.4. There are particular difficulties with managing online

discussion.

TESOL CALL Interest Section Electronic Village Online (EVO) SessionsFor five weeks in January-February, participants can engage with volunteer ESOL experts in collaborative, online discussion sessions or hands-on virtual workshops of professional and scholarly benefit. These sessions will bring together participants for a longer period of time than is permitted by the land-based TESOL convention and will allow a fuller development of ideas and themes of the convention or of professional interest in general.The sessions are free and open to all interested parties. You do not need to be a TESOL member to participate.

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we teach and will

continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.3. Technology is often ‘free’ and ‘easy to run’ but we have to

count the cost.4. There are particular difficulties with managing online

discussion.5. Expectations of distance learning courses may be different

from F2F courses.

OTHER KINDS OF ONLINE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

• Wikipedia• Youtube• Publishers websites/Teachers’ clubs• Newsgroups• Webinars• …

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we teach and will

continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.3. Technology is often ‘free’ and ‘easy to run’ but we have to

count the cost.4. There are particular difficulties with managing online

discussion.5. Expectations of distance learning courses may be different

from F2F courses.6. Computer-based learning has certain (but very clear)

advantages of F2F learning

WHAT IS BLENDED LEARNING?

• access to a wide choice of alternative resources on your personal computer drawn from international, as well as institutional, digital repositories, accessed via a single log-in that personalizes the ‘blend’ of learning you are offered;

• studying online with tutors as facilitators and emphasis on co-creation within a course that is rich in online collaboration;

• downloading content to mobile devices, using podcasts and e-books as resources, tablet PCs with wireless connections to take and share notes in class, and using text messaging to receive course updates while on the move

• immersion in online multi-player gaming or multimedia role-playing using extended, authentic simulations to explore real-life problem solving;

• personalized content delivered through a customized interface with RSS alerts to flag new content relevant to individual interests;

• using a VLE to access course materials and ask questions whether on- or off-campus;• uploading notes to your own blog while the lecture is in progress and using hand-held voting devices to offer

instant feedback to the presenter;• learning on a just-in-time basis using computer-based tutorials;• staying in contact with study buddies away from the class through the use of instant messaging and other

informal ‘social computing’ mechanisms;• assembling and publishing an e-portfolio of your work from courses studied across several institutions;• seamless integration of physical and virtual learning spaces that integrate and accommodate technology,

but focus on student learning;• successful and rewarding student-teacher relationships initiated and face to face.

‘Preparing for blended learning’ Alison Littlejohn and Chris Pegler, Routledge: 2007

• access to a wide choice of alternative resources on your personal computer drawn from international, as well as institutional, digital repositories, accessed via a single log-in that personalizes the ‘blend’ of learning you are offered;

• studying online with tutors as facilitators and emphasis on co-creation within a course that is rich in online collaboration;

• downloading content to mobile devices, using podcasts and e-books as resources, tablet PCs with wireless connections to take and share notes in class, and using text messaging to receive course updates while on the move

• immersion in online multi-player gaming or multimedia role-playing using extended, authentic simulations to explore real-life problem solving;

• personalized content delivered through a customized interface with RSS alerts to flag new content relevant to individual interests;

• using a VLE to access course materials and ask questions whether on- or off-campus;

• uploading notes to your own blog while the lecture is in progress and using hand-held voting devices to offer instant feedback to the present

LANGUAGE LEARNING ACTIVITIES

… can be engaging, stimulating, fun,

but they are not the same as playing games

Fun and Games

...when we play a game we are engaging in an activity for its own sake.

GOOGLE

Extensive reading

Essay writing

OUT-OF-CLASS ACTIVITIES

Extensive reading

Essay writing

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIESSpeakingListeningGrammarPronunciationVocabulary

development

Academic skills

…

Extensive reading

Essay writing

BLENDED LEARNINGSpeaking

activities

Demonstration workshops

Tutorials

….

Listening

Grammar practice

Pronunciation practice

Vocabulary development

FLIPPING… is an approach that inverts the traditional way of teaching by

delivering content outside the classroom. It uses face-to-face time for tackling the more difficult concepts such as problem-solving.

Content might be delivered in a number of ways that support and enable independent learning that takes place in preparation for scheduled contact time, for example:

• using short videos• texts with quizzes• other online activitiesThe key feature of a flipped lecture or classroom is that this

type of material is provided and studied before face-to-face contact time (lecture).

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we teach and will

continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.3. Technology is often ‘free’ and ‘easy to run’ but we have to

count the cost.4. There are particular difficulties with managing online

discussion.5. Expectations of distance learning courses may be different

from F2F courses.6. Computer-based learning has certain (but very clear)

advantages of F2F learning7. ‘Embed or dead’8. Blended learning can have very substantial benefits in

terms of efficiency, but it requires quite radical changes in attitude

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 1 -

• Language learning programs promote active (interactive) learning

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 2 -

• Language learning programs should aim to be self-explanatory from the outset.People rarely read instructions when at a computer.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 3 -

• Language learning programs should present learners with a clear path to follow

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 4 -

• Learners should be able to choose to follow their own path.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 5 -

• Aim to produce activities that are repeatable.

(Can be done again - and are worth doing again).

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 6 -

• Language learning programs should be straightforward.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 7 -

• Language learning programs should meet students’ expectations and aim to be complete within themselves.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 8 -

• Language programs should be stand-alone

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 9 -

• Language programs should be blendable.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING LEARNING PROGRAMS - 10 -

• Language programs should be appealing, innovative and imaginative.

SUMMARY1. Technology has transformed the way we teach and will

continue to do so.2. Technology gives us choice.3. Technology is often ‘free’ and ‘easy to run’ but we have to

count the cost.4. There are particular difficulties with managing online

discussion.5. Expectations of distance learning courses may be different

from F2F courses.6. Computer-based learning has certain (but very clear)

advantages of F2F learning7. ‘Embed or dead’8. Blended learning can have very substantial benefits in

terms of efficiency, but it requires quite radical changes in attitude

9. Always have a back-up plan

There are clearly many aspects of online and blended learning in TESOL education of interest to our community of professionals. We value its innovative qualities, the new and varied ways in which it draws on participants' learning and creative skills, and its availability to those who cannot necessarily attend a face-to-face course. Equally, we assume that effective TESOL education requires an interactive learning / training community and this will be achieved in a special way in blended and online training.

Participants need to communicate with their tutors, but equally with their peers and students. Social media have paved the way for such interaction in an informal context, but training organisations using VLEs such as Blackboard, Moodle, for example, need to find equally effective ways of encouraging confident, but focussed, peer interaction. The point is also often made that F2F teaching demands skills that must be taught to some extent through F2F training. In blended learning programmes, tutors often have to compress into the F2F phase a lot more than "teaching practice" - if indeed there is provision for observed teaching, with or without assessment. Stand-alone or blended? What use are computer mediated language programs?The EFL world is awash with "e-tivities" nowadays and we may feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities. But perhaps it is time to stand back and take stock. In this presentation I will focus on computer mediated language learning programs and attempt to assess their  potential and particular value both from the point of view of the  learner and the course provider. What should we look for in a good  language learning program? In this presentation I will propose a set  of criteria which arestraightforward, but at times paradoxical.New technologies are playing a significant role in improving education yet language teachers appear to be portraying pessimistic attitudes towards the use of technology in their classroom teaching. (see e.g. Lam, 2000; Abdullah, et al., 2006; Yang & Huang, 2008; Li & Walsh, 2011). In this talk, I will be examining language teachers’ own experiences of learning with and through technology in a TESOL course. By presenting how a blended model of learning is implemented, I present teachers’ new learning experiences and highlight issues and challenges for both teachers and teacher educators. The implications of the study suggest that if we want to encourage teachers to use technology in their teaching, they must be able to see and experience its ‘usefulness’ (Davies 1989), they must be competent in electronic literacy, and they need to be able to contextualize what they learn in a teacher education programme in their own context.  Experiences from the learner’s perspective when completing an MA TESOL online with the Institute of Education in London (1995 - 1998), and when learning a language from scratch for a PhD on ‘The development of language acquisition in a mature learner’. As a result of this study, I changed my approach to teaching English as a Foreign Language and ESOL realizing how essential it is to take into account a large number of influential factors and how important it is to encourage the learners to take the initiative –ingredients that have a lot of implications for online and blended learning. Blended learning remains an area of interest to ELT practitioners and this seems set to continue with the emergence of mobile or m-learning.  Despite its continued popularity little can be found in the literature on the principles of blended learning course design, or descriptions given of blends employed in the ELT sector.  To address this deficit this publication provides detailed descriptions of twenty blends from a range of ELT courses and contexts.  It is hoped that these blends can be replicated or adapted by other practitioners to suit their particular teaching and learning contexts.  In addition, a summary of the guiding principles and practical considerations that shaped the blends is given that will provide practitioners with guidelines for achieving a principled approach to blended learning course design in their contexts.  It is also believed that this publication will add to the current rather limited knowledge base on blended learning course design in ELT.