On 30th May I was invited to give a keynote for the Braz-Tesol local chapter in Brasília. About 250 teachers are expected. As Cristina Costa asked me to do the same on the same day to launch the Evolve project, I decided to combine the events. So if all goes right, this is the schedule:

From 9:15 to 10:30 local time (check your time) - keynote to Braz-Tesol teachers, which will be webcast live through Worldbridges. (Choose Webhead Room to chat with other participants)

CREATING RIPPLES

In this keynote, Barbara Dieu will describe the impact of ICTs in society, organizations and education and illustrate, through a personal narrative, how social media and informal networking and collaboration in communities of practice online have given her the possibility to develop personally, linguistically and professionally.

From 14:00 to 15:30 local time (check your time) =- workshop on conference platforms for Braztesol teachers on Evolve Elluminate.

EVOLVING CONNECTIONS

This will be a hybrid workshop which will involve not only a hands-on experience on how to use a web-conference platform (Elluminate) but will also allow you to participate in a keynote on social media in schools and institutions and connect you to teachers and researchers from the Evolve project in the UK and Europe.

From 14:45 to 15:30 local time Evolve keynote (check your time)

The final 45 minutes will be a keynote for Evolve, which will not only illustrate how to use the platform for the local teachers who participated in the workshop but will also bridge them to the others around the world and allow them to connect and communicate.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN ELT

Abstract

Interaction in EL classes has traditionally been teacher-controlled/directed, course book based, constrained by classroom time and limited either to the physical or virtual classroom (LMS). Today, the Web, social tools and the convergence of different digital media have brought about more opportunities for learners and educators throughout the world to connect, exchange information, socialize and practise the target language in other contexts than those offered by the educational institution. This exposure and mobility, the blend of formal and informal learning along with multimedia resources and social networking, challenge us to re-think our basic assumptions about conventional classroom delivery and the traditional concept of e-learning.

Proposal

In this presentation I will first contrast the concept of closed environments and practices to open participatory Web publishing in the present educational context. I will then argue that working in the latter asks for a change not only in the focus/perspective of how the target language (or subject matter) is learnt/taught but also in the organizational structure of institutions. Finally, I will draw attention to some of the most common issues interaction in these open environments brings up . Specific examples will be given of how some of the applications currently available online have been used during conventional language courses to facilitate independent language learning.