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Project News
Avenue is here!
IRCC's new national learning management system, Avenue.ca, has arrived. The time is now for a new Moodle-based national learning management system for English and French settlement language training. It's been available to teachers since August 17 and will be available to students for course delivery in early September. EduLINC has been serving the LINC Sector for ten years, but it needed to do more. ...
http://learnit2teach.ca/wpnew/avenue-ca-is-here/
Why Move to Avenue?
Thinking of transitioning from EduLINC to Avenue, but you're not sure why? Avenue offers everything available on EduLINC and much more. Join us for a 30-minute webinar presentation on Friday, September 11, examining reasons to switch from EduLINC to Avenue. Sign up here.
What is the Digital Divide and what does it mean for our learners?
The lack of learner access to the Internet and information technology has long been a concern to professionals in the settlement language training sector.... We’ve put together this infographic to clarify the difference between equitable access and non-access.
http://learnit2teach.ca/wpnew/what-is-the-digital-divide-and-what-does-it-mean-for-our-learners/
PBLA Module
A new work-related CLB 5/6 module, entitled "Giving and Receiving Advice", is now available on both Avenue and EduLINC. This four-skill multllevel module is suitable for online and face-to-face/blended delivery. It includes assessment tasks.
New Learning Technology Innovation Leadership Course
Sign up here for the September session of the Learning Technology Innovation Leadership Course.
Web News
How Schools Reopened Around The World—And What Canada Can Learn From It
Schools across Canada are debating how to reopen safely in the fall, and it’s brought up what feels like a string of unanswerable questions, for parents, teachers and school boards alike. How would physical distancing work. ... Other countries dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks have also wrestled with these questions, and many already reopened their schools in the spring. Here’s a look at how a few of them did it. ...
https://www.chatelaine.com/news/schools-reopening-around-world/
The Best Language Learning Software for 2020
... When we researched language acquisition, we looked into different approaches to the online learning of languages, and evaluated individual software according to cost, teaching method, and customer experience. Here is a quick list of what we found to be the best language learning software of 2020: ...
https://money.com/best-language-learning-software/
Robots Are Teaching Language Skills, But Are They Any Good?
No longer do students simply repeat what they hear through headphones or get instruction from a computer screen—now they can talk to ROBOTS. How cool is that? The question, of course, is: Do robots actually help? ... three Dutch academics offered a useful survey of what we know about robot instruction ... So, what does the current research say about what these robots mean for language learning? ...
https://www.educationnext.org/robots-teaching-language-skills-good/
Schools Have No Good Options for Reopening during COVID-19
Even as schools have already begun reopening across the United States, debate is still intensifying over whether students should be physically present in classrooms. ... The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can spread through the enclosed halls and classrooms of a school building; but prolonged reliance on virtual learning alone may disrupt a child’s educational and social development ...
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schools-have-no-good-options-for-reopening-during-covid-19/
Should students and teachers be required to wear masks at Ontario schools this fall?
As the debate intensifies over how to safely reopen elementary and secondary schools this fall, one of the most vexing questions is whether students and teachers should be required to wear masks. Many Ontario municipalities require residents to wear masks inside most public buildings, from stores to churches and movie theatres. Ottawa’s mask bylaw applies to everyone over the age of two ...
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/should-students-and-teachers-be-required-to-wear-masks-at-ontario-schools-this-fall
It's Not Online Ed; Call it 'Crisis Teaching'
Don't refer to the instruction delivered in the spring as "online education." Better to call it "crisis teaching." Nearly the entire American education system had to move online with "little to no preparation." Nobody was fully prepared ... In a recent survey ... while most "wish" they could be back in the classroom with direct contact with students, they also have a "greater appreciation" for how technology could help them in their work. ...
https://thejournal.com/articles/2020/07/08/its-not-online-ed-call-it-crisis-teaching.aspx?admgarea=News1
Blogs
The best tools and teaching methods for continued virtual learning
As you prepare your lesson plans for the coming year, you might need to do twice the work. Many districts have yet to finalize reopening plans, and it pays to prepare for continued virtual learning. If you teach for an online academy, you need to increase engagement by using the best tools, methods and strategies. What are the ultimate tools and strategies for online learning? As you gear up for the 2020-21 school year, add these gems to your arsenal: ...
https://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-best-tools-and-teaching-methods-for-continued-virtual-learning/education
Tips for teaching deaf students
From time to time deaf students may be in one’s ESL classes. Remember that their L1 is likely a sign language system. Now they are learning a new language and possibly a new signing system since sign language is not universal. Deaf students whose L1 is American Sign Language learn English or signed English as a second language, and they encounter the hearing culture in a similar way that L2 students encounter American or other English-speaking cultures. ...
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/tips-for-teaching-deaf-students/education
Creating online classroom routines
Classroom routines are always essential, but now, they're more important that ever--here's how to use them to help students with distance learning .... Here are several ways to create more clarity and consistency in online classrooms, and help students feel at ease and valued in an online learning environment. ...
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/08/26/creating-online-classroom-routines/?all
How to Set Up a Virtual Classroom
Moving a classroom online is no easy task, especially for those who are new to teaching remotely for an extended period of time. ... Here are four tips educators can use to get started with setting up their virtual classroom.
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2020/08/how-set-virtual-classroom
Taking English Learning Online
... with the COVID-19 crisis, many educators are converting their face-to-face pedagogies into remote-learning pedagogies. ... Below is a small sampling of research-based instructional strategies that are effective in promoting language acquisition for ELLs and can be operationalized into a remote-learning format. ...
https://www.languagemagazine.com/2020/06/22/taking-english-learning-online/
5 Myths About Online Learning During The COVID-19 Pandemic
he current COVID-19 pandemic has made online learning the new normal [1], regardless of a learner’s age and goals. While it takes a few tips to truly get the most from it, this form of learning offers more flexibility, access to expertise, and value for money.... Here are 5 common myths out there and their truths. ...
https://elearningindustry.com/online-learning-myths-during-covid-19-pandemic
Jobs
Online English Teacher, ESL (Freelance)
Babbel Live is the online tutoring solution that will add human interaction and speaking practice for our Babbel Live learners. ...
https://remote.co/job/english-as-a-second-language-teacher-2/
WorkLINC Course Instructor (Hamilton)
IWC is looking for a part-time WorkLINC Instructor, 13.75 hours per week (2.75 hours/day, Monday to Friday, currently scheduled for evenings). Work is initially remote, with a possibility of return to in-person instruction in January 2021. ...
https://www.teslontario.org/node/1574881
Professional Development
LearnIT2teach Annotated Bibliography New Resource: Zooming out of the crisis: Language and human collaboration
This article looks for alternatives to videoconferencing tools for language teachers whose teaching aims include increasing learners’ language proficiency and providing opportunities for real collaboration among learners no matter the crisis that prevents in-class contact. The writers include three types of activities that can be used to accomplish this. ....
http://bib.learnit2teach.ca/blog/zooming-out-of-the-crisis-language-and-human-collaboration/
LearnIT2teach Annotated Bibliography New Resource: Fostering Teaching Presence through the Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach
This article begins with an anecdote from a TESOL webinar. The 36 participants were asked to complete the sentence: Online learning is… The authors go on to describe an innovative approach to flipped learning that teachers can use to ensure teacher presence in the online settings they find themselves in because of the COVID-19 pandemic ...
http://bib.learnit2teach.ca/blog/fostering-teaching-presence-through-the-synchronous-online-flipped-learning-approach/
21 Free Fun Ice Breakers for Online Teaching
Here are 21 free to use icebreakers for online teaching that you can use. Icebreakers are an important part of any training program, as they encourage people to participate from the start of a session, to get to know each other and to feel comfortable working with others.:...
https://symondsresearch.com/icebreakers-for-online-teaching/
e-Resource Corner
Guide to Grammar and Writing
The Guide to Grammar and Writing offers free digital handouts on grammar and English usage and many interactive quizzes.
http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/
Writing Den
WritingDEN is designed for students Grades 6 through 12 seeking to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills. WritingDEN is divided into three levels of difficulty: Words, Sentences and Paragraphs. Most topics are suitable for adult learners.
http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/index.htm
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