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Project News
ePortfolio Update
The artifact template has been updated for all activities (Quiz, Assignment and Forums) that support artifact auto collection. This update will improve the appearance of newly collected artifacts. Work is continuing on new enhancements to the ePortfolio.
New Training Resources
Recent additions to the Avenue site include:
- Help files for the Checklist module.
- ePortfolio support for learners in the Courseware Help block
Web News
From apps to podcasts, COVID-19 has forced language learning online
When the COVID-19 pandemic sent Aly Murphy into lockdown, she figured it was finally time to start learning Russian. … Murphy is one of the many Canadians who've flocked to language podcasts, apps like Duolingo and Zoom-based classes over the past year, as the pandemic limits in-person instruction and gives people freedom to pursue interests online. But when it comes to what the new virtual approach means for language acquisition in the long run, it's still an open question. ...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/covid-19-language-learning-online-pandemic-1.5877115
Canada now resettles more refugees than any other country, mostly through private sponsorship
Private sponsorship gives citizens the power to offer refugees a new life in Canada. It is an alluring and unique alternative to resettlement by the United Nations ...
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-now-resettles-more-refugees-than-any-other-country-mostly-through-private-sponsorship
Refugees deal with bitter isolation during COVID-19 pandemic
Refugees to Saskatchewan are dealing crowded households, stranded relatives and loneliness as they adapt to a new culture and a pandemic. ...
https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/refugees-deal-with-bitter-isolation-during-covid-19-pandemic
Sarnia refugee family pays it forward
A Syrian refugee family that arrived in Sarnia four-and-a-half years ago made the holiday season a little bit brighter for those less fortunate in the community. On Dec. 18, Nour and Nasser Othman delivered 40 home-cooked meals to the Inn of the Good Shepherd’s Myles Vanni, a token of their appreciation to the people of Sarnia-Lambton for welcoming them when they settled here in 2016. ...
https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/local-news/sarnia-refugee-family-pays-it-forward
Why are we learning languages in a closed world?
Language learning spiked during lockdowns, commercial providers say. But when no-one can travel, and the job market looks unstable, why have people turned toward language now? ...
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201230-why-are-we-learning-languages-in-a-closed-world
The future of social networks might be audio
Audio messaging has been available for years ... now a new wave of hip apps are baking the immediacy and rawness of audio into the core experience, making voice the way people connect again. From phone calls to messaging and back to audio—the way we use our phones may be coming full circle.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/01/25/1016723/the-future-of-social-networks-might-be-audio-clubhouse-twitter-spaces/
Blogs
Benefits of Online Learning for Students
ESL teachers and students alike had a hard time transitioning online when COVID-19 hit. … For students with very little experience using technology prior to COVID-19 using technology was not intuitive. … With all those hardships in mind, once students got the hang of things, they seemed to enjoy it, even prefer it. ... an increasing number of students who, when asked whether they would like to continue learning online, said yes. ......
http://blog.teslontario.org/benefits-of-online-learning-for-students/
5 Engaging Activities for Virtual Classrooms
... By taking ordinary tasks and transforming them into competitions or captivating stories, we dramatically escalate our students’ interest and sense of determination. To keep our students engaged in remote and hybrid learning models, we can invite students to participate in intriguing challenges to drastically heighten their motivation and excitement. Five ways to build challenges into your virtual classroom: ...
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/online-student-engagement
11 Pandemic Changes that Teachers Say Are Here to Stay
The pandemic has drastically changed many things we do as a society—especially in education. Teachers and administrators scrambled for creative solutions. And, despite the steep learning curve, they’ve found that many practices we’ve put into place are worth keeping. So when one of the teachers ... posted this question: “What changes to your teaching/classroom from this crazy year will you as teachers continue after COVID?” we were eager to hear what everyone had to say.. ...
https://www.weareteachers.com/teachers-after-covid/
Top 200 Tools for Learning
The Top Tools for Learning 2020 was compiled by Jane Hart from the results of the 14th Annual Learning Tools Survey ... Below you will find a table ranking the top 200 tools, It also shows their place on 3 sub-lists PL100 | WL100 | Ed100, ie the Top 100 Tools for Personal Learning (PL100), the Top 100 Tools for Workplace Learning (WL100) and the Top 100 Tools for Education (Ed100). ...
https://www.toptools4learning.com/
5 learning trends COVID-19 will bring to 2021
This year, education systems throughout the world were flipped upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a massive shift in how students are learning and how educators are teaching. Now, millions of students are learning remotely and teachers are suddenly adapting their teaching plans and techniques. ... Here are five predictions for learning in 2021: ...
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2021/01/05/5-learning-trends-covid-19-will-bring-to-2021/
Do Instructional Videos Work Better When the Teacher is On Screen? It Depends
As the pandemic has forced more teaching online, plenty of instructors have been trying to figure out the best way to keep students’ attention and interest with lecture videos or Zoom sessions. Meanwhile, learning scientists have been taking a more clinical approach, using experiments to test the question: How important is it for the teacher to be visible on screen?...
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-01-14-do-instructional-videos-work-better-when-the-teacher-is-on-screen-it-depends
Professional Development
LearnIT2teach Annotated Bibliography New Resource: A person-centred approach to L2 learners’ informal mobile language learning
This article describes the findings a research project to investigate informal mobile language learning using a person-centred research approach including the benefits of this approach and its potential to help to develop a clearer and finer-grained understanding of the complexities and possibilities of mobile language learning.
http://bib.learnit2teach.ca/blog/a-person-centred-approach-to-l2-learners-informal-mobile-language-learning/
OER 101: Finding and Using Free Resources in your Classroom
This free webinar by TESOL's CALL Interest Section explores Open Educational Resources (OER). OER can be downloaded for free, revised by teachers to meet the needs of their students, and redistributed to students without fear of infringing on copyright protections.
https://youtu.be/AEpRf9rZ5h0
Stephen Krashen’s Seven Tips for Teaching Language During Covid-19
For Stephen Krashen, the disruption to traditional education during Covid-19 may reveal some unexpected benefits. ... In a recent conversation, Krashen discussed how teachers and parents can harness the opportunity to teach language—including heritage languages—during remote learning. Here are his expert insights: ...
https://www.languagemagazine.com/2020/05/08/stephen-krashens-seven-tips-for-teaching-language-during-covid-19/
12th Annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference
... The 2021 Virtual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching (PSLLT) Conference (June 18-19, 2021) seeks proposals for presentations related to L2 pronunciation learning and teaching, in all second languages and contexts. ...
https://brocku.ca/psllt-2021/
Jobs
Courseware Writers (Achēv)
... Working remotely, the [six] Courseware Writers will ... develop approximately 690 hours of Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) online courseware for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) levels 3-5 across all skill areas (L/S/R/W). ...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGO55CRGsHb3vTcfFQ4mfILr7v3RvvJM/view
Online English Teacher
Recruiter for online teaching jobs.
https://comforteducation.com/teach-online/
e-Resource Corner
A Refugee’s Resettlement Journey to Canada [YouTube video]
Resettling in Canada as a refugee can be full of anticipation, hope and challenges. It’s helpful to know what to expect and what services and support are available to you as a resettled refugee to help you get settled in Canada. Before you arrive, you can take Canadian Orientation Abroad training from the International Organization for Migration. This will help you learn more about Canada and how to prepare for travel.. ...
https://youtu.be/u6ng9lTwIGQ
ClipLingo
ClipLingo is a free video site offering a collection of fun tutorials about communication and grammar usage in English, French, Italian and Spanish. SIgning up is optional.
https://www.cliplingo.com/
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