Professional Development in the ABP

Sedona Bandwidth Issues

abppd — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:30:43 +0000

Dear All,

Hello. Many faculty have languished over the bandwidth problems associated with SEDONA submissions/profiles. As such we have worked closely with the SEDONA developer to facilitate a work-around.

As discussed, we have now made available a variety of batch file templates which will enable faculty to create SEDONA entries offline. This process will work on any device – mobiles, iPads, netbooks, laptops, etc. as long as a file can be saved in .csv format. We have also created some administrative-oriented files so that new journal titles can be easily pre-populated in SEDONA, institutional committee service entered on behalf of faculty, etc.

To access the instructions (and data template files), please have your faculty visit the IR SEDONA Intranet page at:

http://webapp10.zu.ac.ae/ir/sedona.asp

Of course, please let us know if you have any questions or desire/need specialized training/instruction.

Best

-Richard Tucker

How would you like a ‘tech’d-up’ version of the good old reading log?

abppd — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:05:50 +0000

Using Google Docs (Forms) to create your reading log you can:

Increase participation by increasing convenience
Decrease copying and cheating by increasing accountability
Reduce teacher follow-up time
Streamline the reporting and grading process.
Save a tree or two
And so much more…

Check out the Tech Team’s Wiki for some screenshots and a quick rundown on how it works. If you have google mail then you have google docs and if you don’t, they are both free and easy to use. If you have any other questions about setting it up, contact a Tech Team member.

Article: Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction

abppd — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:21:20 +0000

A New York Times article worth reading and discussing.

LEC Database News and Passwords

abppd — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:49:14 +0000

Dear all,

We are happy to announce that BrainPOP ESL is available on a trial basis up until March 2011.
We have the passwords and information about BrainPOP ESL and all the other LEC databases so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need a demonstration on any of our LEC resources.

Joanna Tillson
Linda Ostlundh

Entering Absences in Oracle

abppd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:40:42 +0000

Should you be sick or need to take special leave, you will need to enter this into the HR Oracle database.

James Baily made a little video explaining the steps and this can be found on the k-drive at K:\english\AUH_preferences.

The file is entitled oracle1 and it’s an .swf file . To open it please right click on it and choose:

OPEN WITH > Internet explorer

You may then get a pop-up blocker banner at the top of your screen . If you do, click on it and choose:

ALLOW BLOCKED CONTENT

and then choose “Yes”

and then hit the big play button.

If you have any problems with logging in please refer to previous to19.0-Get a New Oracle Password(Internal) that were sent by Mais in a previous email.

Doctor of Education (EdD) in TESOL at Exeter

abppd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 08:06:44 +0000

The following program is available through the University of Exeter with location in the UK and Dubai.

Please see the Exeter EdD Program description.

NELTA 16th International Conference

abppd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 05:00:33 +0000

NELTA 16th International Conference

18th-20th FEB 2011 (3 Days)

Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) is organising its 16TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE from 18-20 February 2011 at DAV Sushil Kediya Vishwa Bharati Higher Secondary School, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal. The Conference is a professional get together of a large number of ELT practitioners, methodologists, textbooks/materials writers, teacher trainers, etc. from all parts of Nepal and abroad. The participants at the Conference are usually ELT practitioners from public as well as private educational organisations and from all levels of education – primary to university. The theme of the SIXTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE is:

English in Multilingual and Cross-cultural Context: Exploring Opportunities and Meeting the Challenges

Papers will also be accepted on any other topics on ELT.

An idea for anyone looking for an overseas conference this academic year. The deadline for submissions is the end of the year.

Website here

International Journal of Designs for Learning

abppd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 04:58:56 +0000

IJDL is looking for learning designs, and we’re willing to coach young scholars in explicating a rigorous design case .

The URL is: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/ijdl/index

It’s a great opportunity and the voice of foreign language education is one that we’re missing from the discussion.

Peer Tutoring in AD

abppd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 04:48:51 +0000

We have eight peer tutors who take appointments at various times Sun. – Th., mostly between 10:00 and 3:00 but with some availability earlier in the morning. They seem to be doing a good job and some of them have regular pupils.

Students who want to make an appointment should use the TutorTrac link on the intranet. I sent a message encouraging instructors to invite Ghalya AlSuwaidi to come to classes for 10 minutes to demo TutorTrac and no one responded. I suspect it was back when I was using the ABP-resources mailing list instead of ELC, but it was also announced in Inside ZU.

If instructors would like Ghalya to visit they can contact her at Ghalya.AlSuwaidi@zu.ac.ae or ext. 3638.

Joanna

2nd International Conference on Language Education, Eclipsing Expectations

abppd — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 06:20:28 +0000

Dear Colleague,

Sabanci University School of Languages invites you once again to tune in to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of foreign/second language education.

In our 2nd International Conference on Language Education, Eclipsing Expectations, June 2-4, 2011, we would like to welcome all stakeholders to share their views on language education, especially those of learners whose voices are often reported to us and not directly shared.

Our three-day conference offers an exciting opportunity to learn from ourselves as well as others in the field of foreign/second language education. We would like this learning to take place in English so as to create a forum for research and practices in foreign language education through one common language, allowing language educators to share and exchange ideas across languages and across diverse language learning and teaching contexts.

So come and join us on this journey by submitting a proposal along the following lines and questions:

Are all participants in the learning process aligned?
What facilitates this alignment?
What hinders this alignment?
Can educators and learners become peers? Can the roles be switched?
What can educators learn from learners? Who are then the experts?
Are educators and learners dominating or liberating?
How can educators and learners explore beyond the obvious?
How can obscure elements in the learning process be made more visible?

Proposals that eclipse expectations are invited on the following key areas:

Research with learners
Feedback from learners and learning from feedback
Voices in curriculum development
Perceptions of assessment
Dreams, nightmares, and realities for all participants
Learner principles, practices and processes in language learning
Teachers as learners of learners
Experimenting with learning

Submissions have started and will continue until January 21st, 2011.

For more detailed information please visit our conference website.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey.

With kind regards,

The Organizing Committee :

David Hill,
Deniz Bingol,
Ekrem Simsek,
Hulya Gorur-Atabas,
Jacqueline Einer,
Meral Guceri,
Sharon Turner