Welcome to today's seminar

Spring in Barcelona...

Hello, and welcome to you if you have come to our "Easy projects with easy technology" seminar today, our first this spring.

We'll be emailing you a handout with the links from the seminar and here on this blog you'll find more on the things we'll be talking about this morning:

• Creative writing
• Blogging
• Webquests
• Podcasting

We will also be talking about using technology in the classroom in general terms, and if you are not that confident that you are computer-literate, here's a Technology 101 that you might find useful.

Let me also highlight the following post. It refers to young learners, but I think the same applies to your adult learners: if you are posting your students' work on the Internet, the issue of privacy is a big one.

See also this post for bibliography.

This session is one of eight in our annual teacher development seminar series.

Online: IATEFL Annual Conference

IATEFL's 42nd Annual Conference takes place in Exeter shortly (7th–11th April 2008). If you're not going to be there, there is an Exeter Online website, which allows you to take part (IATEFL membership not required, though registration is).

Resources include video and/or recordings of selected sessions, live streamed plenaries and other events, and moderated special interest discussion forums, among other things, and there is also an Exeter blog.

IATEFL's special interest groups are well worth joining, particularly for their discussion groups (active throughout the year, some requiring IATEFL membership).

>> IATEFL.org

EVO 2008 sessions

Information on the EVO 2008 sessions is now available, with enrolment beginning January 1st.

The six-week sessions (which are free), run from January 14 to February 24 and provide for online discussion and hands-on virtual workshops, and are an off-shoot of the face-to-face annual TESOL convention. TESOL membership is not required.

The 2008 sessions include:

• Becoming a webhead ("a hands-on workshop on how to use Web communication tools for language teaching and learning")
• Blogging for educators
• Video Slide Shows and Vlogging
• Getting the Most out of Web 2.0 for ESP

There are also other "non-technology" sessions -- also online -- including such things as drama and music.

Run by volunteers, the sessions tend to be a little over-subscribed (expect them to fill your mailbox!) but all the ones I've attended have been truly excellent.

You want to learn more about technology for language teaching, these are highly recommended...

IATEFL Conference 2007

The 2007 IATEFL conference takes place in Aberdeen (Scotland) next week (April 18-22).

For those unable to attend, the conference also has its own Moodle space, and will also have a Second Life, both of which anyone can attend.

IATEFL [website] is one of the leading organizations in ELT with, among other things, some excellent special interest groups (SIGs).

What is Moodle | Second Life

Electronic Village Online (EVO) sessions

A reminder that the 2007 TESOL Electronic Village Online (EVO) sessions are about to begin. They run January 15 to February 25.

For anyone wanting to learn more about the uses that can be made of technology in the language classroom, I can strongly recommend them.

Further details in a previous post.

Electronic Village Online (EVO) 2007

If you don't know a lot about technology and how it might be used in language teaching, check out the Electronic Village Online (EVO) 2007 sessions.

A "virtual extension" of the Seattle TESOL 2007 Convention, you can join it and participate wholly online, without attending the face-to-face convention, and without being a member of TESOL.

There are 13 different sessions, which include:

• Beginning Internet Activities
• Becoming a Webhead ("A hands-on workshop on how to use Web communication tools for language teaching and learning")
• Blogging for Beginners
• Digital Gaming and Language Learning
  

Participation is free of charge.

Highly recommended...