The ELT Blogosphere, IATEFL Brighton 2011

Major Announcement!!!

My proposal to host a symposium at IATEFL, Brighton next year has been accepted!!!

This post is actually a call for your papers so that you too can become a part of this event and help host the conversation.

Here's a rough draft of what the five presentations will look like:

The ELT Blogosphere

1. Blogging within a community: (me)

From a handful of early adopters in 2003 to over 200 TEFL teachers blogging by mid-2010, we'll be looking at the writers who are driving the ELT blogosphere.   Where are they based?  What are they discussing, who visits their pages and comments on their posts?  Why do they spend so much time on them - what motivational factors are involved in keeping a personal web log and updating it daily, weekly, monthly?  
   

How do these bloggers find, connect and support each others personal growth?  Why?

2. Blogging as Teacher Tinkering: (you?)

In Tessa Woodward’s 2010 plenary, she raised the point that motivated teachers continue experimenting throughout their entire careers.    This presentation will look at how TEFLers share their philosophies about teaching, with other teachers via their blogs, and how they exchange approaches  and experiment with tools and technology in their classrooms.   

How and what lessons do they have to share?  

How has blogging become a part of their personal professional development?

3. Blogging as Teaching (with or for students): (you?)

More and more teachers are involving students in the process of keeping personal notebooks online instead of traditional paper.  How are teachers leaving homework and post-task activities for their learners?  What impact does this have on their autonomy?  How do teachers involve their language learners in writing for an audience?  

What problems have they faced? Is it possible for e-community leaders to motivate thousands of globally non-connected students in writing challenges?  What methods do teachers use to track and correct their own students’ work and how do they find subjects which will keep them motivated, writing across differing ages and backgrounds?  

What happens when students take on an ownership of their own blogs?

4. Blogging: Audiences, Reputation, Marketing & Money (you?)

By 2009, a number of publishers, global institutions and VIP authors began to notice the value in the two-way communication which blogs represent and they began joining in.   Does blogging have any influence  over brands or professional author reputation?  How do teacher-trainers and authors continue instructing after a presentation or conference?   

What negative implications can poorly chosen communication strategies represent to their global regularly reading audience? 

Does blogging lead to any kind of financial reward?

5. Taking the Issues to the Blogs: (you?)

From 2009 to 2011 a number of bloggers began to write about the harder hitting issues in the TEFL industry: pay, pensions, NNEST vs NEST, gender and racism in ELT.   What were some of their posts about and what were the responses of their readers? Did they take things too far?   

Should the blogosphere simply be touchy-feely diary style type of place (a love-fest) or does controversy and politics play a role in dealing with issues, reaching consensus and initiating action?

How to become a special part of this event

Would you like to be one of the presenters?  I am hoping to choose 4 bloggers who'll have around 20mins each to talk on their special area of interest + about 10minsQ&A with our audience...  so if you're keen, could you please make your submission directly to IATEFL (who will send them on to me if you have fulfilled their requirements)?  

And don't forget to entitle your presentation with one of the above draft topics (not fixed - if you have a better idea  or you would like to expand the subject and go in a different direction, don't hesitate to submit  this idea) and do kindly remember to mark on your submission that you would like to take part in the symposium!

Speaker Guidelines

DEADLINE :  17 September 2010

More details on the IATEFL Brighton Conference 2011 (here)

In the meantime, even if you would not like to present, are there are any subjects or questions you would like us to talk about when we're there?

Let me know your thoughts!

Best,
Karenne
education

image credit: Women of WiFi, after Caillebotte by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com on Flickr

Crowd Wise 2: Online Community Platforms

 I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool 

we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, 

and they can be shaped by their user.Bill Gates

 Do you run, co-moderate or belong to a community of like-minded educators or learners online? 

Which platform(s) do you use?

Yahoo!Group, Moodle, Ning, Drupal, Elgg, Wiki, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Jamendo, Slideshare, LinkedIn, Xing, Flickr, Diigo..?

Which do you think is the best one?

How'd you rate it for things like the

- ease of use
- cost
- ability to find and communicate with other participants
- ability to share documents
- ability to share photos, media
- ability to gather opinions
- ability to collaborate on projects
- keep track of and follow threaded conversations

And
- things which really irritate you
- things you really miss from a different platform
- anything else?

Best,
Karenne

This posting is part of the Crowd Wise series and is in part my preparation for the swap-shop I will be hosting on web-based communities at the IATEFL conference in Harrogate, April 8th 2010.  Your answers, as brief or as in-depth as you'd like to be, is very much appreciated!

To subscribe to all the posts within this specific series, copy and paste this url:
http://kalinago.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/crowd-wise  into your reader.  

Note: if you would like to participate in this conversation anonymously, please do feel free to do so.  Alternatively, if you would like to specifically mention an online educational community when making reference to your experiences, adding your group's name and/or its URL, you are most welcome to!

Crowd Wise 1: Introduction to this series

Computers are magnificent tools for the realization of our dreams, 

but no machine can replace the human spark of spirit, 

compassion, love, and understanding.
Louis Gerstner

On Thursday, April 8th 2010,  I'll be hosting a discussion, a share-meet if you will, as my first presentation at the IATEFL conference in Harrogate. 

The title:

Crowd Wise

The participants

Anyone running an online community with students, teachers or other educators.

The blurb

A brief presentation of psychological, historical and evolutionary aspects of real-life tribal communities followed by a swap-shop reviewing the key roles of e-participants; discussing group life cycles, net-i-quette issues and conflict resolution; a comparison of web platforms and sharing tips for accessing the wisdom of the crowd.

Anyway, basically, I thought I'd do a swap-shop and open discussion, rather than a workshop or lecture.

Many of us who run e-communities have paths that cross frequently (on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or even in each others communities) however, we very rarely get an opportunity to sit down  face-to-face and say

"Hey, xyz works really well in my community but you know, I tried abc - which I saw mnopq do well, but oddly enough it didn't for us... what about in your group, did you try?   Oh you did fgh instead?  Great concept..."

So, in a series of posts running from now until end March, I thought I'd begin to explore some of the subjects we'll be chatting about, on this blog, and that way I can get  to know more of  your thoughts and access your wisdom; see what's most pressing, what's not such a big deal (limited time there and all that) and then feed these into the session... plus your comments would also help to create the discussion cards!

Topics include:

The 10min Presentation

• Animal/human evolution and the move towards the creation of tribes
• The psychology and historical implications behind forming tribes and creating tribal roles
• The relationship between community positions in Real Life versus roles in our Online Lives.

The 45min Swap-Shop

• Online platforms
• Group identity
• Individual identity 
• Roles
• Collaboration, invention and working together
• Life cycles of Groups
• Differences in working with learners vs educators
• Tribes and cash

In my next postings, I'll be highlighting each of the above as individual postings and I'll link back as I go through each for a more concentrated discussion.

Have I missed any core topics?  Got a question?   Don't hesitate to add your thoughts!

The process

1. Blog posts from today until end March
2. Discussion at IATEFL
3. Summary based on swap-shop
4. Free pdf available: blog posts (selected comments included + notes from conference


Best,
Karenne


updated 13.02.10
The video mentioned by Elizabeth Anne below in the comments is
PBS Frontline, Digital Nation: Life on the virtual frontier

2 more IATEFL scholarships!

Dear Latin American Readers,

You might be in luck... IATEFL have one more scholarship available, check the link(s) below and apply ASAP!

The award consists of:

• conference registration
• £1800 towards accommodation, expenses and travel costs
• a year's IATEFL membership if applicable

To qualify you must:

• be a native of and resident in a Latin American country
• be a practising teacher or teacher trainer in primary, secondary or tertiary education
• agree to write a 500 word report of your conference experiences by June 2010
• not have attended an IATEFL annual conference before

Deadline: 1st March 2010
http://www.iatefl.org/scholarships/latin-american-scholarship

and...

The Consultants-E have another scholarship for teachers (anywhere in the world*) unable to attend the annual conference in person but who participate actively in the online conference Moodle by making relevant and thoughtful postings.

You do not have to be a member of IATEFL for this scholarship.

The award consists of:

• a fully funded 2 week online course to be selected from the course list at http://www.theconsultants-e.com covering Blogs, Wikis, eNetworks or Podcasting

To qualify you must:

• live and work in a developing country
• have 5-6 hours per week available to study for the duration of the course
• have a reliable Internet connection for the duration of the course
• be able to undertake the course within one year of winning the award

Deadline: 25th April 2010.
http://www.iatefl.org/scholarships/the-consultants-e-online-iatefl-scholarship

Best,
Karenne

Wanna be a fly on the wall?

COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT:

BRITISH COUNCIL IATEFL CONFERENCE ROVING REPORTERS 2010

The IATEFL Online Project is a British Council / IATEFL partnership established to provide online conference coverage of the Annual IATEFL Conference.

Now in its fourth year, IATEFL Online returns in 2010 for the Annual IATEFL Conference, April 7- 10, in Harrogate, UK.

IATEFL Online will showcase the best of the conference providing interactive web coverage for remote participants around the globe with live video, interviews with presenters, dedicated forums, photo galleries and much, much more - so that ELT professionals can abreast with the conference even if they're not able attend in person.

IATEFL Online are currently looking for two Roving Reporters (RRs) to report on the major debates, news and 'coffee bar gossip' at IATEFL Harrogate as it happens.

Using laptops to produce quick-fire reports, mini-interviews and live personal impressions during each day, published on the Harrogate Online website, the RRs will communicate the excitement of the IATEFL conference and key points of the debates happening in Harrogate.

The two Roving Reporters will be ELT practicioners who have not had the chance to attend the IATEFL conference yet and who have dreamt of attending but would find it impossible, or almost impossibe, to fund themselves to do so.

The selected RRs will have their full conference fee, flights and connecting travel, hotel accommodation, meals and subsistence paid for (arranged by the British Council in London).

In order to apply to become one of 2010's Roving Reporters, complete the Writing Challenge below and send it IATEFLHarrogate2010 Reporters@ britishcouncil. org or by Fax: + 44 (0) 207 389 4464. .

COMPETITION INSTRUCTIONS - COMPETITION INSTRUCTIONS:

Imagine that you have been commissioned by your Teachers' Association or local teachers' group to write a report or article of an EL teacher development event - a report that will be uploaded to the TA or group website to be read by teachers worldwide.

• Give your article an engaging title.

• Base your report on a real event you've attended as a participant, trainer or organiser, preferably during 2008-2009.

• This can be a meeting, seminar, workshop, debate, conference, webinar or similar. The teachers can be from the private or state sector; and can be from any level - primary, secondary, vocational, higher education, etc.

• Produce a piece of writing that is both interesting as well as informative.

• Imagine that your article will be read by those who attended as well as many other teachers who didn't get the chance to attend this time. You need to capture the 'flavour' of the event (what was it like to be there? who was there?*) as well as the key activities and discussions. Also reflect on the event in your article (was it successful? was it special? why?). (*Feel free to use fictitious names if you wish to protect your colleagues' privacy.)

• WORD COUNT: The maximum word count is 500 words.

Remember that you are not writing an academic or bureaucratic report.

• Your article should be informative, interesting, clearly structured and not too formal. It must be your work.
  
• IATEFL Online want to hear your 'voice', and sense how well you can reach out to other teachers through your words.
  
• Your readership covers the full range of EL teachers, from the nervously newly qualified to the 'old hands'.
  
• Keep technical terms and abbreviations to a minimum so that your piece is as accessible and easy to read as possible.
  

Applications from previous competition entrants are welcomed but you must submit a new piece of writing.


Please write your name, job title and institution, email address, snail mail address plus any fax and telephone numbers at the end. Confirm that you would be available to be in the UK from 6-13 April 2010 inclusive, and to attend the entire conference, including the Pre-Conference Day (7 April).


WHERE TO SEND YOUR ARTICLE:

Send your article, plus your CV, by email or fax to:
Penny Trigg and Julian Wing, British Council; Graham Hall, IATEFL

IATEFLHarrogate2010 Reporters@ britishcouncil. org or Fax: + 44 (0) 207 389 4464.


DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES - DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:

The deadline for receipt of entries is end Friday 11 December 2009 (UK time).

Entries received after this deadline will not be considered. We will not be able to return or comment on any of the entries. (Please note that British Council members of staff are not eligible to take part in this competition. )

The two winners chosen to be 2010's Roving Reporters will be notified by late January.


NB: The two Reporters will need to arrive in Harrogate on 6 April; and will depart from the UK on 13 April. Laptops will be supplied for the duration of the conference.

And by the way, those sending complete entries will receive a DVD containing resources for EL teachers.

Good luck!!


Useful links

• Roving Reporters 2009
• Cardiff Online 2009
• IATEFL Harrogate 2010

IATEFL Scholarships 2010 - deadline 18 September 2009!!

Attending something like the IATEFL probably seems like one of those unreachable career objectives.

I mean, the cost of the flight, hotels, the conference itself..?

We're EFL teachers, money is not exactly a plenty, now is it?

Well, guess what - there are scholarships!

Who knew, huh?

This is the copy of the email I got today:

Please can you spread the word that there are scholarships available to participate at IATEFL's Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate, UK, in April 2010.

There are 16 scholarships available, all with the deadline of 18th September 2009 for applications to reach IATEFL.

Please refer people to our website at

Scholarships 2009

We hope to receive many applications this year.

With thanks and kind regards,

IATEFL Conference Organiser

I've had a look at what's on offer - basically, there are scholarships for non-members of IATEFL, many more for those who are members: scholarships aimed at teacher-trainers and trainees, first-time speaker awards, scholarships for new teachers(!), scholarships for those who teach with young learners, those who work on humanizing language teaching and much, much more.

So, want to develop your professional career in the field of English Language Teaching?

Head on over to their website and I'll see you in Harrogate.

Can't wait.

Best,
Karenne

p.s Plenary speakers next year include Tessa Woodward, Kieran Egan, Ema Ushioda and Jan Blake - keep posted on updated details on the conference here.

p.p.s. To see how fab it was last year (I watched it all online earlier this year... which is why am going next) check out the forum, photos, filmed keynote presentations etc here.

Cardiff Online - EFL Conference Goes Virtual

Cardiff says hello to the world:

Biggest global teaching event ever!

On April 1st, 2009, over 1600 teachers and academics from around the world will descend on Cardiff for the annual conference of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL).

The conference boasts an international line up of world-class plenary speakers;

• Marc Prensky (from USA),
• Elana Shohamy (from Israel),
• Bonny Norton (from Canada),
• Fauzia Shamim (from Pakistan),
• Claudia Ferredas (from Argentina).

There will be over 400 talks, workshops, symposia and the event offers a state of the art exhibition of teaching materials, as well as a rich social program with a distinctly Welsh flavour. This year, 93 different countries will be represented at the event, making it a truly international occasion.

Delegates hail from as far as Vietnam, Venezuela, Cameroon and Micronesia.

However there are many thousands of professionals for whom attending the conference is usually no more than a dream because of the costs involved in travel to UK.

Therefore this year the event is being made accessible to thousands more participants from all around the globe through a virtual community space, known as ‘Cardiff on-line.’ This exciting and ground-breaking innovation is possible due to a collaboration between IATEFL and The British Council and is in line with their aim to link and support English language professionals worldwide.

The event, April 1 - April 4th 2009, is expected to be one of the biggest global teacher development events ever.

A large team will be in place behind the scenes to bring the workshops and speeches to remote audiences. Any teacher, anywhere in the world, from Mongolia, Nepal or Ethiopia to Germany, the USA and Japan will be able to sign up and participate for free in the conference from their own country.

All they'll need is good internet access, a computer and preferably a headset. All the plenary talks, as well as a sizable number of other presentations will be shown live over the Net, recorded and also made available on the conference site for later viewing.

There are also numerous forums discussing all aspects of the EFL profession, (already very active and engaging) photo albums, chat sessions and prizes!

See you there,
Best,
Karenne

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Useful links related to this posting:

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009

Poster for your staffroom:
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/2009/webgraphics/staffroom-poster.pdf

This text is an adaptation of the IATEFL Press release (March 09) , used with permission.