LTSIG The floor is yours: Insights and Expertise from our Learning Technologies Committee

1- Once Upon a Time or “digitally” Happy Ever After! Balance in the revolution of teaching

Children love listening to stories or songs. So teachers use storytelling and songs as a very effective teaching tool to catch students’ attention in the classroom and either teach them something new or repeat something they taught them in a previous lesson. Storytelling and many other traditional teaching methods are irreplaceable.

Nowadays, teachers are moving towards combining the traditional teaching methods with a mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music. They either design effective digital activities or let students interact and learn with user-friendly technologies supporting in this way their engagement, creativity, multimodal thinking and expression and collaboration. So, teachers are balancing traditional teaching and digital education. What is the balance? What is the secret key to effective teaching and learning?

2-The ABC of Collaborative Online International Collaboration

How can learners be prepared to thrive at work and as active contributors in today's interconnected and multicultural society? In the realities of the flat world we live in, breaking down classroom walls as part of a routine that helps both educators and learners acquire global dispositions has become imperative. This talk aims to inspire educators and equip them with the basics to get started and engage learners in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). This format for cross-cultural dialogue, also known as virtual exchanges (VE), promotes values and behaviours for global competence. By engaging in virtual exchanges, classes from different contexts or geographical locations interact and collaborate online as part of the syllabus and under the guidance of educators. Students learn EFL in a relevant and authentic way. Skills such as communication, creativity, collaboration, intercultural competence, and digital literacy are fostered. Basic guidelines on how to go about engaging students in COIL will be provided in the talk. The focus will be on practical aspects of implementation such as what characterizes VEs, how to find partners, points to be coordinated with partnering teachers, the various stages, research-based models, and tools.
 

3-GOFAI and GenAI for English language learning, teaching and assessment

The talk will briefly present some examples of GOFAI (Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence) and Generative Artificial Intelligence to be implemented in ELT classes to improve teaching, learning and assessment.

4-"Projects that go beyond the classroom´s walls"

This short presentation will talk about Projects that combine the use of technology in relevant and significant contexts for students learning a second language. Technology becomes the essential tool to generate opportunities to learn with and from others: cultural diversity, the appreciation of otherness and global citizenship providing experiential learning that gives content a real purpose for communication. This learning by doing experience provides our students with a unique opportunity to develop their soft skills. Working in tandem with Universities from abroad in a win win scenario where pre service teachers carry out their remote practices with our students is the way forward in global collaboration. In a world that is plunged into AI, these Global Projects anchor in the core of human connection and communication.

5-A Brief History of T.A.I.M in ELT (Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Methodologies)

From “I Robot” to “Blade-Runner” to “Terminator” humans have been in awe of what A.I. can bring to humanity. Somehow, though, in recent years teachers and students, along with other human beings, have embraced AI as a partner and as the gift that keeps on giving. Is AI a new tool that can only bring the future to the classroom or is it another “fad” that will fade away like so many before in 4 to 5 years? In under 10 minutes, we will try to explore what has taken decades to develop and ponder the question, “What if…”

6-Technology as a skills builder for life outside the classroom 

The aim of this short talk is to outline five simple strategies for taking advantage of technological advancements to support student learning and developing life and work skills.
The IATEFL LTSIG came into existence almost 40 years ago as the Computers SIG. However, technology in one form or another supported Second/Foreign Language Education long before computers came on the scene. The talk touches on the differences in the employment of edtech before the 1980s and since then. 
The presentation we will end with a brief outline of work skills that can be developed in the language class and transferred to life outside the classroom.

Speakers:

Maria Diakou works as a Deputy Head for the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and a part-time lecturer at the University of Nicosia. She has been teaching English as a foreign language for many years. She holds a Master's in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Education. She is currently the Coordinator of IATEFL LTSIG (Learning Technologies Special Interest Group). She is also a Consulting Member of the MA in CALL committee of the Cyprus University of Technology, giving suggestions, support, and feedback to evaluate and adapt the MA programme to meet the needs of language instructors in schools. She has authored articles on early EFL language learning, technology, and multicultural education. Her research interests are on technology language learning and multicultural education.

Susana Galante is an experienced global educator in the ELT field. She holds an MA in Educational Technologies. She is currently a freelance COIL consultant and a techno pedagogical coach for educators, also a lecturer in teacher training colleges (teaching courses on ICT in ELT and Didactics for pre- service teachers of English). Over the years, she has led transformational processes among students and teachers alike, lately as faculty coach at the Digital Pedagogy Unit and as consultant for the Internationalization Department in a large teacher training college.

Letizia Cinganotto, former Senior Researcher at INDIRE, currently teaches language teaching at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, Italy, where she is also Rectoral Delegate for International Relations and a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Language Evaluation and Certification (CVCL). She holds a PhD in synchronic, diachronic and applied linguistics and the National Scientific Qualification as an Associate Professor. She is a member of different working groups and scientific committees both nationally and internationally. She is now the LTSIG Joint- Event Organiser.

Event Organiser

Belen Albarracín is a Teacher of English from Argentina. She is an ICT Facilitator at Bayard School. She is a Sworn Translator and an e-learning Specialist. She is an advocate of the meaningful integration of technology to enhance language learning. She joined the Committee in 2021 in her role as Webmaster. She is into immersive technologies, 360° editing and the metaverse.

Eftychis Kantarakis has been an avid supporter of Learning Technologies since when it was called CALL. He works as a teacher trainer for an international publishing house and has served as TESOL Greece LTSIG coordinator. He is now the LTSIG Joint-Event Organiser.

Caterina Skiniotou has served the field of Education as a teacher, teacher educator, curriculum designer and developer, materials developer, teacher education program director and Foundation program director in three continents, North America, Europe and Asia. She is currently working on two research projects investigating game-based learning and extensive reading, and dynamic assessment. Cat has been a member of international associations such as TESOL International and IATEFL as well as national / local ones (TESOL Greece, TESOL Arabia, CATESOL, just to name a few) for …donkey’s years. Education and work experience -along with studies on socio-cultural and complexity theories- have led her to believe that we all learn and grow with …a little help from our friends. She served on the board of TESOL Greece as Chair for three consecutive terms and is currently serving the LTSIG as its Administrative Officer.

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