FPZ TESOL S Electronic Village Online

FPZ TESOL’s Electronic Village Online (TESL Ontario 2011) Presenter: John Allan, [email protected]

Abstract: TESOL International operates a number of online courses, certifications and discussions throughout the year. Each January and February, TESOL's Electronic Village Online offer a variety of five week online courses. These range from teaching ESL with drama to teaching ESL in a virtual world. This session introduces TESL Ontario members to the EVO. It also provides guidance on how to participate and tips on how to succeed. It is also a great way to meet ESL teachers from across the globe!

What is the EVO? For 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.

What are the benefits of the EVO to TESOL?  pre-discuss papers for Academic Sessions  carry on a discussion of topics important to your member group  provides an invaluable service to teachers all over the globe, convention to those who cannot travel  over a thousand participants each year  legacy online sessions / resources  profession progress  helps the profession unite (international linkages)

Can I Participate? Yes, the sessions are free and open to all interested parties. You do not need to be a TESOL member to participate.

Time Frame  Call for Moderators - July-August  Deadline for proposals - September  Call for Participants - December  EVO Sessions - January-February  TESOL Convention – March

Mentor Training  moderators spend 5 weeks in October-November learning how to run a course  maintain a healthy and productive discussion or workshop  create an explanatory course syllabus  foster an online learning community using Web 2.0 tools  training on how to be effective online moderators  successful completion of the training is of great personal benefit to the moderators and can lead to other opportunities in online teaching

Why should I join? You will have the chance to meet TESL professionals from all over the world. You will not only meet them, but discuss and share with them. You will be surprised by the amount of instructors globally that are facing the same challenges that you are experiencing. In addition, you are able to target a course/group that are focused on a subject/issue that you are interested in or that you require for your professional development.

Course Samples  Teaching ESL with Drama  Conflict Resolution  ePortfolios  Library for ESL students  Digital Story Telling  Internet for Young Learners  Personal Learning Networks  Creating Vocabulary activities  Podcasts for ESL Classrooms  Images for Education  Becoming a WebHead  Online Games for ESL

Technologies for interaction  Yahoo Groups  TappedIn chat (community)  Moodle  Second Life  Adobe Connect  Elluminate

Tips for success 1. Budget time 2. Only take one course 3. Sign up on the first day 4. Complete any activities assigned each week 5. Lurk the first year 6. Do not be shy about quitting - (Come back next year for another go!) 7. Printing tasks sometimes helps 8. Get involved in the discussion 9. Be ready to get referenced resources (web addresses) 10. Learn how to access the discussion transcripts 11. Do not get emotional during discussions (misunderstandings)