Sessions /
Multimedia and Computer-Assisted Language Learning SIG Sessions #1062

1. Activating Speaking Skills in Online and Asynchronous Environments, Isobel Hook ("101" workshop, 40 minutes),

Over the past year, many language classes have moved online due to health concerns. Educators and institutions alike have responded to this in a variety of ways, from embracing and encouraging the changes to resistance and insisting that language skills could never be taught online. However, having increased student control over the way a speaking task is conducted allows many students to excel when they would have otherwise floundered.

This presentation will discuss how various class systems and digital tools can be used to encourage active learning and focus on different speaking-associated challenges such as timing, content, and performance anxiety, which can hinder students' active learning. In traditional classrooms, students who struggled with one or more of these elements may have found they struggled with speaking tasks. A wide variety of approaches helps teachers to individually target these elements of speaking while encouraging self-evaluation, accountability, and independence.

2. A New Normal? Reflecting on the Opportunities and Costs of a Year of Mass Remote Learning (

The past 12 months in higher education have brought mass accredited remote learning from an idea to a reality. This workshop will discuss the response to continuing education in the pandemic as one of necessary firefighting or one of a glimpse of a new future. Major questions have been raised about the purpose of higher education, and the role of pedagogy within tertiary learning itself. Some of these questions have been long-term considerations about the changing role of the university in society, while others are fought on the battleground of how educational technology should be utilized within the learning context.

During this workshop, participants will be asked to share their experiences of remote learning, consider what their expectations of tertiary education are, and the lessons that can be learned going forward from 2020.

3. Re-thinking Presentation Design Together, Lisa M. Hunsberger

Presentation software is regularly used at the university level to display lecture notes and assignments, but as we move down each stage of formal learning, its use tends to gradually decrease. When classes were pushed online due to the COVID pandemic, a number of EFL teachers found themselves turning to presentation software —some for the first time in the classroom. While some teachers were aware of the creative ways in which they could use presentation software, finding design inspiration and moving from concept to creation was a challenge.

In this presentation, I will help you re-think presentation design. I will re-introduce some of the features available in desktop presentation software, and I will guide you through practical exercises geared at helping you to think creatively about how you can display information on a slide and engage your students. Come prepared to channel your inner creativity!

4. A New Normal? Reflecting on the Opportunities and Costs of a Year of Mass Remote Learning, Michael Brandon (Workshop, 80 minutes)

5. Innovative Assessment Practices, Victor Reeser (Workshop, 40 minutes)

While there are more online and digital teaching resources available to educators today than ever before, fossilized teaching practices and institutional restrictions often lead to oversimplification of assessment practices to the detriment of our students. This workshop will discuss traditional assessment practices, including their purpose and metrics, and explore research-backed methods of evolving assessment to meet the needs of today’s English-language learners (ELLs). By establishing standards-based assessments and utilizing tools such as skill inventories, reporting forms, and comments, educators can accurately measure student progress and adapt their lessons to meet individual needs. The efficacy of practices such as accepting late work and allowing students to resubmit work will also be discussed. Attendees can expect an engaging and thoughtful discussion on the topic and should be prepared to participate.

The past 12 months in higher education have brought mass accredited remote learning from an idea to a reality. This workshop will discuss the response to continuing education in the pandemic as one of necessary firefighting or one of a glimpse of a new future. Major questions have been raised about the purpose of higher education, and the role of pedagogy within tertiary learning itself. Some of these questions have been long-term considerations about the changing role of the university in society, while others are fought on the battleground of how educational technology should be utilized within the learning context.

During this workshop, participants will be asked to share their experiences of remote learning, consider what their expectations of tertiary education are, and the lessons that can be learned going forward from 2020.