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Project News
December Avenue Webinars
- Repurposing H5Ps Friday, December 2, 2022 4-5 PM ET Click here for more information and to register.
- Introducing the National LINC Online Curriculum (NLOC) for CLBs 3-5 Thursday, December 15, 2022 2-3 PM ET Click here for more information and to register.
November Course Releases
- English Pronunciation + Instructor Training: Click here to request access.
- Avenue Basics for Supply Teachers: Contact learnit2t@gmail.com for more information.
- Orientation to Avenue (for TESL students): Contact learnit2t@gmail.com for more information.
Web News
Why it's wrong to blame online learning for causing mental health issues during COVID-19
Over the last two-and-a-half years, many people ... have argued that online learning is detrimental to student or family mental health or well-being. Partly or largely on the basis of this perceived relationship, many have urged universities and schools to return to in-person teaching and learning. What if this relationship doesn’t actually hold water? ....
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/why-its-wrong-to-blame-online-learning-for-causing-mental-health-issues-during-covid-19
CBC Radio: The Current with Matt Galloway
Listen to the November 28, 2022 podcast (starting at 22:30) for a story about educators in Toronto using virtual reality to help immigrants and refugees learn English as a second language and learn more about the high-tech promise of a virtual classroom.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current
Finding the right technology solution for hybrid delivery
Is there a device or technology setup that can help bridge the gap between participants who want to gather in person and those who want to connect online? When Jennine Agnew-Kata was grappling with this question in April 2022, she turned to AlphaPlus for guidance. ... As Jennine started to return to in-person meetings and service delivery, she recognized that not everyone was comfortable. She began researching the right equipment to make a hybrid experience easy and satisfying for all participants. ...
https://alphaplus.ca/finding-the-right-technology-solution/
The pandemic may have ended but the demand for edtech is growing
One of the greatest challenges higher education has ever had to face was the pandemic. Colleges didn’t choose but were forced to overcome barriers to instruction through innovative educational technology solutions with little to no turnaround as students returned home for remote learning. However, the dramatic shift in instruction also created a demand for certain services that had gone unnoticed for years. ...
https://universitybusiness.com/the-pandemic-may-have-ended-but-the-demand-for-edtech-is-growing/
Cambridge Dictionary reveals word of the year - and Wordle frustration has played a key role
The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2022, with editors crediting disgruntled Wordle players whose winning streak was ended by an unfamiliar American English term. The term, "homer" (not to be mistaken for the Simpson or the author of Iliad), is an informal American English word for a home run ...
https://news.sky.com/story/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-and-wordle-frustration-has-played-a-key-role-12748763
Blogs
TiHS Episode 38: Bo Ning – the Digital Navigator
Welcome to Episode 38 of the Technology in Human Services podcast. In this episode I speak with Bo Ning about his role as a Digital Navigator at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, or ISANS. Bo and other Digital Navigators play an essential role to support both Newcomer language learners and his ESL instructor colleagues. ...
https://marcopolis.org/blog/2022/11/20/tihs-episode-38-bo-ning-the-digital-navigator/
Immersive Reader for Autonomous Reading Practice
…. One way to assist your learners with reading is to encourage them to use the Microsoft Immersive Reader tool. The Immersive Reader is a Microsoft widget that offers students a variety of accessibility features to support efficient reading. The idea is to allow learners to customize their autonomous reading experiences. …
https://blog.teslontario.org/immersive-reader-for-autonomous-reading-practice/
Benefits Of Online Teaching For Educators
Does online teaching really helps educators/teachers in some way? Yes, it does. There are different advantages of online teaching for educators across the globe. These benefits are drawing more and more educators to start an online teaching venture.
https://elearningindustry.com/benefits-of-online-teaching-for-educators
Hybrid Classes: Minimizing Butts On A Budget
Setting up multiple cameras with AI tracking, re-outfitting your conference rooms for Zoom or Google Meet, and purchasing new video conferencing and telecommunications technology is costly. Here are some tips for low-cost methods to refit your class from fully in-person or fully remote to hybrid.
https://elearningindustry.com/hybrid-classes-minimizing-butts-on-a-budget
How to Win at Wordle (Without Cheating)
Wordle has fast become a modern classic played by millions. ... While its delightful mix of luck and intuition is part of the game’s appeal, so too is its tie-in to information theory. … With the best starting words, computers take an average of 3.41 to 3.42 turns to solve all possible Wordles. … But people are not computers. … We need to take human psychology, cognitive preferences and shortcomings into account in order to fashion good strategies. …
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-to-win-at-wordle-without-cheating-20221025/
Professional Development
LearnIT2teach Annotated Bibliography New Resource: Ten years later: Reexamining the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers
If you haven’t looked at TESOL’s Technology Standards recently or if you aren’t familiar with them, this report encourages you to see how a panel of practitioners, experienced with teaching with technology, sees their continuing relevance and applicability ten years after they were developed.
http://bib.learnit2teach.ca/blog/ten-years-later-reexamining-the-tesol-technology-standards-for-language-teachers/
Automatic text simplification: Efficacy in the foreign language classroom
Texts used in second language (L2) classrooms have traditionally been simplified manually. With recent technological advances, text can be simplified automatically through artificial intelligence-enabled software. A new study investigated the effectiveness of an automatic text simplification (ATS) software and found that it made text comprehensible for L2 learners ... highlighting the need for additional development of these tools ...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221026103131.htm
InterCom
InterCom is a free weekly email digest that offers just-in-time information in easy-to-digest portions. It is customizable by target language, level, and content area (such as curriculum, professional development, or assessment), so you receive only the information that matters to you. ...
https://caslsintercom.uoregon.edu/
Jobs
Instructor - LINC (Etobicoke)
... To provide language instruction to newcomers to Canada; to develop a program based on LINC curriculum and CLB Benchmarks; to assist the intake/administrative and settlement staff in implementing the settlement component to the program. ... Ability to use Zoom, MS Teams, Avenue, and any other tools and Learning Management System(s) as needed ...
https://www.teslontario.org/node/1575186
Evening LINC Facilitator- Part Time (Calgary)
Columbia College is currently looking for qualified and experienced LINC/EAL facilitators to join its evening LINC program. The evening LINC classes are offered online and the facilitator is responsible for preparing engaging online lessons, creating effective virtual learning environment, and providing English language training to adult newcomers to Canada ....
https://www.atesl.ca/membership/jobs/evening-linc-facilitator-part-time/
e-Resource Corner
Oyster English
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole and my goal in creating this website is to help make learning English as fun and enjoyable as possible. This website is especially helpful for intermediate-level learners ...
https://www.deepl.com/en/translatorL
Librivox
Free public domain audiobooks Read by volunteers from around the world.
https://librivox.org/
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New Language Solutions is based in Ottawa, Ontario. We acknowledge that our head office is on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People. Beyond Ottawa, we have staff working in locations across Canada. New Language Solutions is grateful to have the opportunity to work as a guest in communities and territories across the country, and we honour the stewardship of the many Indigenous peoples who have resided on and cared for these lands since time immemorial.
We make our acknowledgement as a sign of respect for all Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, past and present. We accept the true impact of the past and the pain suffered by generations of Indigenous Peoples. As an agency that works to support the integration of newcomers into Canadian society and cultures, we express our commitment to support activities that are inclusive of Indigenous Peoples. We resolve to address a history of injustice to First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.
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