Digital storytelling at ETAS

If you are an ETAS member and interested in digital storytelling, then head on over to the ETAS website (e-tas.ch) and have a look at the Events (external). Or you can sign up directly with the learning technology SIG coordinator (that’s me! see below).
If you aren’t an ETAS member and are interested, then also head over to the ETAS website and become one. Alternatively you can pay the fee of 100.- for the course, albeit without the ETAS membership goodies such as the ETAS Journal, and reduced fees for the events.
I’d love to see you at the course!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

SIG Day 2012

A day for your professional development is just around the corner. The famous SIG day, or Special Interest Groups Day has workshops for all the different special interest groups on September 8 in Zug.

If you are interested but don’t have the program, then you can find it on the ETAS website , but please note, online registration closes soon (August 24).

If you are looking for a workhop topic that isn’t on the list, or would like to see a particular speaker, then feel free to write a comment and le tme know. If it’s not in my area of expertise, I will certainly pass it on.

On-line course – educational blogging

These on-line courses are beginning to become a regular part of the ETAS program, albeit with a certian irregularity.

This time it will be not just Jenny from Argentina, but Barbara in Japan (JELT) bringing her group of teachers in on the fun during the entire month of June (4 weeks)

In addition, we will be focussing on the young learners (widely defined!). This means that we will have a chance for some real collaboration and I’m sure there will be eye-opening experiences for all.

This time, however, we in Switzerland are not just blogging for ourselves and our classes, there is now an added dimension.

The ETAS has been supporting the Matopo School Project for some time now as you can see on the Matopo blog. It’s been a success and is now supported by the Roger Federer Foundation– Now how cool is that!!!

And so the project has been expanded to help the weekest chain in the link- the girls. Although they may be sent to primary school, generally their school career is finished at the end of this time. Girls- education a girl and you educate a family. Now the aims of the project have increased. It is now to send 10 girls to secondary school for 3 years. It takes 600 US$ per girl per year.

All proceeds from this on-line course will go to the project- Send a girl to secondary school.

How long can we send one girl to school on this course? It is totally up to the participants as all fees (excluding ETAS membership) will go straight to this project.

I will keep you up to date as to how much money has been collected.

Take a course, learn something new, give a girl an education!

I leave you with a moving video from Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee — of her own life’s transformation, and of the untapped potential of girls around the world. Can we transform the world by unlocking the greatness of girls?

Happy learning in the new year!!

The year 2011 is slowly coming to a close and the holidays will soon begin.  I hope this year was a good one for all of you readers.

And for the new year, I’d like to give you a head start!

Hopefully all of you ETAS members have already added a very important weekend to your diaries: the 28-29 January when the AGM weekend takes place in Yverdon.

If you haven’t registered yet, then head on over to e-tas.ch and do so before 30th December.

You will find the complete program here, and you can register here. It looks like a great weekend ahead of us!!

But wait, there’s more!

The Electronic Village On-line (EVO) sessions will be from the 9th January until the 12the February- 5 great weeks of on-line (and free!) learning.

If you’ve never heard of EVO, then you should look into it. Basically, it’s a group of very dedicated teachers and trainers working for nothing to bring people across the glode together in learning. Here’s the blurb:

For five weeks in January-February, participants and ESOL experts can engage in collaborative, online discussion 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 convention and will allow a fuller development of ideas than is otherwise possible.

There’s a wide variety of sessions to choose from, not all specifically to do with technology (such as Drama, a longstanding session!)

I speak from experience when I say that it can make a big difference to the way you look at teaching and learning. I certainly have learned at least as much at any EVO session as any face to face course I’ve ever attended.

And now I wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS / HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A GREAT NEW YEAR!!!

 

 

What do you want from the Learning technologies SIG?

Dear Learning Technologies SIG members,

Here is your chance to say what you want from this SIG group!

Feel free to answer via the polls below or with a comment.

A further idea is to offer webinars, which are short on-line seminars.

Thank you for those of you who have already answered.

 

Would you be interested in taking an on-line course through ETAS?
(polls)

What topics would interest you for an on-line course?
(polls)

Getting on-line feedback

Since the ETAS first on-line course has ended and we have received sme feedback from the participants, I’ll use this chance to show how feedback can be given on-line.

We asked for feedback by using a tool called wallwisher, which is much like using post-its in a classroom. Here you will see it in use!

Another great way to get feedback has been used by the ETAS after the AGMs, a short survey with surveymonkey, which is a very simple survey tool to use. The link can be sent by e-mail to the participants or embedded on a website.
Of course, if you are using a blog, wiki or other website, you could also use a poll like the two in the previous post.

Finally, if you are using a blog like this, then you can request participants to leave a comment under the concluding post.

These are just a couple of ways, but I’m sure that if you looked around, you’d find many more. If you have any ideas or ways you get feedback on-line, leave a comment to this post and let us know about it!

Impressions from the Learning-tech SIG

ETAS’ first on-line course has been a great success.
During the course of four weeks, nearly 50 participants from ETAS and ESSARP joined forces to explore and create blogs.

For most it was a very steep learning curve to both take their first on-line course and learn to use the technology involved, and so not everyone completed the course.
But for others it was perhaps a first step in giving on-line courses themselves or at least supplying an on-line element to their classroom courses.
The course used a Ning platform (see the ETAS Journal Winter 2009 for an article on Ning), and so the first step was to become acquainted with the course platform while reading up on blogs and how and why they can be used by teachers and learners.

The next step was to set up the blogs.  In the end over 20 new blogs were opened and have supplied a wide range of topics, including even connecting maths and science with EFL, as well as literature blogs for learners.

We also had two live on-line sessions on Wiziq with Karenne Sylvester, who was able to give the participants tips and relate her own experiences of blogs in her classes.

Judging from the feedback, it looks like this won’t be the last on-line course.

If you have any wishes for on-line courses, then please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would be interested in. Or answer the poll below.

Would you be interested in taking an on-line course through ETAS?
(polls)

What topics would interest you for an on-line course?
(polls)

EVO sessions – online workshops for Language teacher development

If you happen to have a bit of flexible time on your hands the for the next two months, then there is another excellent chance to expand your skills and knowledge as a teacher. The EVO sessions, which have been going on for quite some time, are offering 6-week workshops on-line, and all you have to do is sign up here.

The EVO sessions are run by highly motivated and experienced teachers expressly for language teachers from all over the world and are a great opportunity for those interested in using technologies but without experience, and for those looking for new ways to apply their knowledge and experience.  For beginners a great session is Becoming a Webhead.

Other sessions deal with online games, images for teaching and learning, videos, and internet for kids, etc.

But not everything revolves around technologies, although all the sessions use yahoogroups and other internet tools. You can also join the very active Drama session or find out how to travel the world with your students from the computer.

It begins 11th January and registration is from 4th Jan-10th Jan, so do sign up immediately if you are interested.

AGM 2010 – Biel Coming this January!!

Welcome to 2010, and I hope this year will be a fabulous one!!!

Well, it’s starting out with a bang.

Closest to home is the AGM in Biel on 30-31st January.

It is full of interesting workshops on everything from vocabulary and grammar to drawing and drama, and of course technologies and specific interests.  Two less common exam formats in Switzerland are being looked at in more depth – the IELTS and the PTE  (previously London Test of English), and exercises are being made interesting while learners learn to learn.

It’s too late to register on-line. but you can certainly come and register on-site.

You can find more information about it here.

Follow-up of ETAS SIG day Reading into writing workshop

FIrst of all, a big thanks to Fiona Joseph, who gave us an excellent workshop.

It was the second of two to be given through Skype and with a pre-recorded presentation.

You can find the pre-recorded part below, but you will need Flash installed to ensure it works properly. There are also all the links mentioned during the workshop.

Flo-joe for ETAS

One of the links that we looked at is LibraryThing but there is another social network for books at Shelfari.

We discused how to include literature in the classroom and agreed to share any experiences, problems and ideas as comments to this post. I am looking forward to your input!