Tuesday, November 10, 2020

CATESOL 2020 Recap

 

CATESOL 2020 Recap

CATESOL Personal Reflection by Alayne Flores



The hotel lobby is bustling. There is a bank of folding tables off to one side, each piled high with catalogs and stacks of photocopies. I locate the friendly face closest to the sign with the alphabet range that includes my last name. Armed with a name tag, a bag of materials, and a schedule, it’s time for coffee, pastry, and fruit. Forget calorie-counting this weekend. Oh! A familiar face. Where was it that we both taught? Gosh, it’s been years. I’m just going to say hello and hope she reminds me of her name. But wait….


…it’s 2020. Pandemic central. Social distancing. No congregating. CATESOL wasn’t at all familiar this year. There was so much I couldn’t visualize beforehand, and that really made me wonder whether it would be worth the price of admission.


I didn’t know what “showing up” via Zoom meant, so I dressed Covid-professional the first day. I quickly shed the dressy top in favor of the one that matches my PJ bottoms as soon as I realized I wouldn’t be on camera. Only presenters and hosts needed their cameras, and attendee participation meant having our names show up in the attendee box and answering questions in the chat or poll tabs. One presenting group even had participants send a text message to one of their phones. Another bonus of the no-camera attendance was squeezing in a few push-ups and jumping jacks when I needed to get up or wake up and walking in place when I wasn’t taking notes.


I wasn’t sure if I would get any socialization out of it. One of my favorite things about CATESOL is seeing colleagues from current and past workplaces and catching up with them. I love the pow-wow to compare schedules and see what everyone else is interested in attending, and then finding the right conference room with the people who are heading in the same direction. I love having lunch with a random but perfect group of people, some of whom I know well, and others who are acquaintances or new friends. While having a solo lunch at my house wasn’t at all the same, I did feel connected to a few friends and colleagues. Jaquelin and I texted back and forth all day Friday and Saturday about what we wanted to attend, exchanged files when we went to different sessions or missed something, and shared our reactions. I also “saw” a few other colleagues and sent hellos through the session chat or text message. These interactions made me feel less isolated and made me smile. I still missed that new friend feeling of connecting with people outside of my circle, though.


I couldn’t imagine sitting in my home all day every day, and I wondered how many sessions I would actually attend. I couldn’t attend Thursday because of work, but I ended up attending almost every session Friday and Saturday. I was pretty burned out by Sunday. In-person, I would have also been tired by the end of the weekend, but I would have pushed through. “Attending” from my home made it so enticing to rejoin the regular rhythms of my household, and I never actually logged in on Sunday. 


Would I learn much in this new format, or would I be too disconnected? The best part about CATESOL online was that once I was in a session, it really didn’t feel very foreign. I was focused on the presenters’ voices and screens, busily taking notes and jotting down new ideas for my classes. I filled half of a small notebook with strategies for implementing technology all day every day and reanalyzing equity and inclusion. Not everything was new, but it was still exciting and fresh. Stephen Krashen spoke (up close and in his living room!) about his new hypothesis about the output filter (“desirable” native accent is not prevented by ability but rather the output filter/importance of extensive, easy, self-selected reading and the feeling of group belonging for L2 and accent acquisition). Now I am rethinking some of the reading selections I use and analyzing how I can better make sure my students online are part of a class “club membership.” Overall, I took away a lot of new information, technique, and drive to put into my classes.


I may have wondered if it was worth attending beforehand, but I’m so happy that I did. While I would choose an in-person conference any day given the choice, the online substitute was a worthy replacement. Despite its pitfalls like technological glitches and incomparable networking, it had its advantages (zero travel time and an amazing dress code). I left CATESOL 2020 feeling excited to put some new tips and tools into action (which I have!) and I was reinvigorated about my profession (unfortunately, not something I have felt enough lately). I call that a big win.



Virtual Learning Exchange Recap by Jaquelin Yang



Hi everyone! As always, CATESOL was a lot of fun. It’s definitely very different online, but I felt excited and inspired all weekend. One idea I’d like to share is “Virtual Learning Exchange with Google Slides,” presented by Ryan Detwiler at MiraCosta, Melody Abarca-Millan and Corrie Larson from Oregon, and Patricia Darnell from Texas. 


Their Virtual Learning Exchange was a creative way to build a student community, and I thought it was a great idea to share because it’s something that can continue once classes are in-person! 



The team included a helpful chart showing how they group the students, as well as some lovely sample slides. Each week, students get access to a google slide that only their group can access. The instructors provide a prompt, then answer the prompt using their own sample slides. One week might be an introduction, and then another week might be to present on a favorite movie or place to visit. 


Students can look at the sample slides as a guide and go from there! At the end of the week, students view each others’ slides, leave comments, and ask questions. The overall student feedback was highly positive, with one student even mentioning that they would like for comments to be required, so that they have more chances to interact with their new group members. 



If anyone is interested in trying this out with me next semester, please let me know! I’d love to collaborate


Pandemic Photojournals

Denise Maduli-Williams

Sharing something that worked well in my ELAC 145 and English 49 classes, students learned about Flat Lay photography, and then gathered objects that have helped them stay healthy and happy during this time. They shared their objects and a piece of writing about them in a shared Google Slidedeck. Here are examples from ELAC 145 and English 49






Something Fun:

Podcasts and Articles

Upcoming PD




As students being to register for Spring, I create these slides to share. Feel free to share with students and other faculty: What ELAC students need to know about Online Courses


at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)