ACLL/ACTC2013

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Speakers

Thomas Robb

Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan

Thomas Robb (PhD, University of Hawai'i at Manoa) is a Professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Japan, where he is currently Chair of the Department of English. A founding member of JALT (Japan Association for Language Teaching) and its second President, he has been involved with computers for lin­guistics and language education for over 40 years. He is currently involved on the executive committees of PacCALL, GLoCALL the TESOL CALL Interest Section and the Extensive Reading Foundation.

Keynote Presentation: "Considerations for Implementing Technology in Language Education"

While digital devices are quickly becoming ubiquitous, does this mean that we can effectively use them for language learning? This presentation will present some of the factors that need to be considered before taking the leap to the Internet. Factors to be discussed include equal access to technology, effectiveness of available software, ability to track usage, interpersonel dynamics in your school and the availability of tech support. Distinctions will be made between individual use vs application of a technology across an entire curriculum and adoption of a technology as a replacement activity vs additive use to increase con­tact time with the target language. Some case studies will be presented.

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Insung Jung

International Christian University, Japan

Insung Jung is currently Professor of Education at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan. Before joining ICU in 2003. she served as the Director of the Multimedia Education Centre at the Ewha Women's University in Seoul and was on the faculty of the Korea National Open University. She has also served as a consultant and technical advisor in distance learning and ICT use in education to numerous national and international institutions, including: UNESCO's Open and Distance Learning Initiative for Higher Education Knowledge Base, the APEC ICT Human Capacity Building and Facilitation of Human Re­sources Exchange, and the Advisory Committee of World Bank's GDLN project in Korea. Her recent pub­lications include "Distance and Blended Learning in Asia" and "Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Dis­tance Education and e-Learning" by Routledge, and "Quality Assurance in Distance Education and E-learning: Challenges and Solutions from Asia" by Sage.

Keynote Presentation: "YouTube Use in Colleges in Japan and USA: A Comparative Look"

The exponential growth of YouTube has changed how individuals access and contribute to video content. Yet despite the widespread impact of YouTube on the lives of students and educators, little research has been conducted to determine how YouTube is being used in educational settings. This presentation will report and discuss a study which investigated how and to what extent college students and educators in Japan and USA were creating YouTube videos and using the vast archive of online video content on You­Tube. It will also look into the implications of YouTube culture for college media literacy education. The findings of the study revealed that there were differences in how YouTube is used by students and educa­tors from the USA and Japan. Differing socio-cultural cultural perspectives between both countries offer an interesting insight into educational content creation and implementation in teaching and learning.

Parts of this presentation are developed based on Jung. I . Ho. C., & Suzuki, K. (2013). YouTube use in col­leges in Japan and USA: A comparative look (Manuscript submitted to the JAEMS journal) with permission from the editor of the journal and co-authors.

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Eiko Kato-Otani

Osaka Jogakuin University, Japan

Eiko Kato-Otani is President of Osaka Jogakuin University, Japan. She received her Ed.D. in Language and Lit­eracy from Harvard University, USA.

Professor Kato-Otani's research interests include children's language development as influenced by interac­tion with adults in home and preschool settings, and she examines cultural differences between Japan and the US in home and preschool settings. She has instructed kindergarten teachers using picture books on how young children can develop their language skills in 2008 as part of the projects of Osaka City Children and Youth Bureau, and has published three picture books in collaboration with the children in the project. Dr Kato-Otani has also contributed to changing her university's learning environment by using the latest technology. Osaka Jogakuin started "iPod One to One" in 2004, being the first school to ever use iPods in education in Japan. She became an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2011 and uses her IT skills in her teach­ing. She also tries to experience herself how a new language can be learned, and is currently taking Korean lessons, and speaks conversational Korean.

Featured Presentation: "iPad One to One: U-learning for Digital Native Students"

Osaka Jogakuin University started "iPad One to One" in 2012. "iPad One to One" means that each student now has her own iPad for their learning. This iPad implementation has brought many changes to the univer­sity. From a teachers' perspective, whenever necessary they can ask their students to use their iPad. No wires and cables are needed. Although there are seven available computer rooms, not every class is able to use them because of the number of classes offered at the same time. In addition, teachers often do not need a computer (room) for their entire class. From our students' perspective, they get frequently get frustrated when computer rooms are occupied or when their family members are using the computer at home. Now, with "iPad One to One", they can work on their studies anywhere, anytime, because they can use their own iPad. Furthermore, Digital textbooks, developed by Osaka Jogakuin University faculty members, help them learn better because of various digital sources that are available. From the university management's perspec­tive, we are now able to do various things such as online class evaluations and material distribution without using paper. In addition, since the faculty now have iPads, we no longer use paper at faculty meetings. Instead, we just read the documents on our iPads.This has made us realize how we can live in a paperless world and it helps protect the environment. In this way, iPad One to One has changed our school community entirely.

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Marjo Mitsutomi

Osaka Gakuin University, Japan

Marjo Mitsutomi is multilingual and Professor and Executive Director of the recently created Language Edu­cation Institute (LEI) at Osaka Gakuin University, Japan. Prior to her current position at OGU, she was aca­demic director of three language acquisition programs at Akita International University. japan. For many years, Dr Mitsutomi was on faculty at the University of Redlands in Southern California, where she taught in the School of Education's graduate program, represented the entire university faculty as their elected presi­dent for academic governance, and served as director on the Orange County campus. A native of Finland, Dr Mitsutomi holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics, is fluent in three languages and conversational in another three, and has lived for more than a decade in each of three continents: Europe, North America, and Asia. Dr Mitsutomi has participated in several cross-disciplinary projects involving language development planning and policy. She has consulted with the California Commission on Teacher Education and the United States Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). Her most notable contribution as a linguist was as co-author of the Interna­tional Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation English proficiency standards for pilots and air traffic con­trollers worldwide. This ICAO proficiency standard governing both native and non-native speakers of Eng­lish is the first global language mandate of its kind. Adopted by vote at the United Nations, it unites profes­sionals from almost 200 nations, in achieving best practices by the use of a common language for a dedicated purpose, safety through communication.

Featured Presentation: "On Recipes for Second Language Acquisition"

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is still a relatively young discipline. It grew out of applied linguistics in the I 960s and maintains its early and close ties to psychology and education. Several theories. explaining aspects of language acquisition, exist to date, and some have gained more prominence than others. As both language learners and teachers know. SLA remains a mystery to many who have tried to master languages other than their "mother tongue"; one's ultimate second language achievement varies tremendously from person to person.

A comprehensive theory of the dynamic and complex SLA process is yet to be discovered. This talk will remind language educators of the agreed-upon fundamental building blocks of second language learning, as explained within the framework of some major theories. The presenter will also suggest that each learning and teaching context may require a distinct "recipe" to create a successful language teaching system, one re­sponsive to the particular needs of the context in question. Although language teaching is "messy" business. it can be done provided that the right ingredients go into the language classroom on a consistent and long-term basis and under the skilful direction of expert teachers.

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Rozhan M. ldrus

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia

Rozhan M. ldrus is a Professor of Open and Distance Learning & Technology at the Universiti Sains Ma­laysia, on the Malaysian island of Penang, and is the first Professor of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) appointed in a public institution of higher learning in Malaysia. He holds a PhD in Solid State Physics and has been trained in various aspects of ODL in Australia, Canada and the UK Trained as an Instructional Designer, he has published more than 170 scholarly works in the form of books, chapters in books as well as refereed journal contributions. He has presented 31 Keynote and Plenary addresses in Tanzania, Bangla­desh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, the Sultanate of Oman, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Greece, Spain and Bahrain. He is the Founding Chief Editor of the Malaysian Journal of Educational Technology, the Chief Editor of the International Journal of Excellence in e-Learning (based in Dubai), and is currently a member of the Editorial Board of ten international journals. He has given a definition to the term 'technology’ and is passionately promoting it.

Featured Presentation: "Demystifying the Transformative Use of Technology in the Classroom"

The supporting or assistive role of technology is not a problem. Even without the Internet, we can use the CD. We need the personalised learning content, interactive content, engaging and collaborative content. The technology is just a tool to deliver and facilitate for either individual, group. local and remote as well as across boundaries. In all honesty, the necessity to be 'live' and online is very absolutely necessary. The tools must each be explored for their own assistive nature in education. The video and audio capability can give rise to many opportunities such as animations, simulations, audio books, audio-graphic instruction, instructional video, augmented reality, FAQs, question banks, 24h instruction and feedback, etc. Nonethe­less they must be addressing educational issues to lend a supporting and assistive function. We are also armed with a plethora of resources such as the OON, OER, Academic Earth, and YouTube Edu, to name a few. We are now in a position to transform the classroom with the assistance of technology. In this effort, a ubiquitous learning design will act as the framework to achieve the next step in the educational transac­tion in the classroom.

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Lisa Donohoe Luscombe

Monterey Institute of International Studies, USA

Lisa Donohoe Luscombe (MA TESOL) is a faculty member and curriculum designer in the English for Diplo­mats Program of the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), Monterey, CA. USA She also serves as Education Program Associate and Project Manager for the English Language and Nonproliferation (ELAN) Program at the Center for Non­proliferation Studies at MIIS. Ms Luscombe has an extensive background in developing educational content for higher education with a particular focus on content-based language instruction (CBI) in various cultural and professional contexts. At MIIS she develops and teaches courses in English language and nonproliferation issues, English for diplomatic purposes, academic research and writing, and the teaching of language and nonproliferation-both in face-to-face and online formats. She has provided teacher-training workshops in nonproliferation issues for Tomsk Polytechnic University in Russia and for high school teachers from Russia's closed cities. She has also developed English language curricula for diplomats in the Custom Language Service at MIIS, the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, and the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. Areas of re­search include content-based language education for nonproliferation and international relations: curriculum design for diplomacy: language and national identity: and educational technologies and pedagogical design.

Featured Presentation: "Content Based Instruction for Critical Consciousness: An Authentic Response to Wicked Global Problems"

In the 21st century language classroom, teaching merely for language proficiency is not enough. Today's in­creasingly interconnected linguistic, cultural and professional groups use language as the vehicle for solving the world's most wicked problems, from gender equality and civic concerns to regional conflicts, climate change, and nuclear proliferation.To teach real communicative competence, we must contextualise language in issues of vital concern to our students. Language teaching for our time requires that we go beyond the teaching and learning of form and meaning and aim for true, intercultural and context-appropriate communication. In content-based instruction (CBI), with the dual curriculum goals of content learning and language learning, lan­guage is a vehicle to meaning using authentic, relevant materials in real-world contexts. Research shows that students who learn language through CBI achieve context-appropriate language competency, are more moti­vated to learn, retain information longer, score higher on tests for longer-term academic success, and have greater opportunity for employment. Most importantly, because they have developed a more critical con­sciousness about the world's thorniest issues, they are better prepared to respond appropriately and authen­tically in any context.

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Steven Herder

Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Japan

Steven Herder has over 20 years teaching experience at the elementary. secondary and tertiary level in Japan. and is currently an assistant professor in the International Studies department at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts. As an active teacher/researcher in the ELT community. Steven be­lieves that being a teacher is a never-ending commitment to learning. To make professional learning opportunities available to all teachers, he co-founded the International Teacher Development Insti­tute (http://itdi.pro) in 2011. iTDi is an online community devoted to professional development through collaboration, believing that online collaboration is the best model for teachers helping each other to become better teachers. Steven is an avid user of technology in education and professional development, and believes that "Anything I can do, we can do better."

Featured Presentation: "Technology: The Great Equalizer"

As long as you have access to an average Internet connection, there are no longer excuses for not being connected to other teachers, and being in a continual state of learning. Our students never stop learning and we must not either. In a recent survey of high school students, one student com­mented, "I have to slow down so much when I get to school that it's far too boring for me to learn there".

Technology and the Internet have leveled the playing field somewhat. Whether you're an English teacher in Bandung, Indonesia, Chennai, India, or Chang Mai, Thailand, you now have access to a world of professional development (PD) opportunities just one click away. Yet, even with the pleth­ora of PD that is out there, many English teachers are slow to jump on board. This presentation will address this dilemma, and offer ideas to encourage teachers to join the new paradigm of teachers who have made a commitment to improve themselves online.

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Ted O'Neill

Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan

Ted O'Neill is an English Language Instructor based in Tokyo, Japan. He taught at J. F. Oberlin University, Japan from 2005-2011 where he also served as Coordinator for the Foundation English Program. In 2011, he took up a position as Associate Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. He received an MA in ESL and Bilingual Education from the Univer­sity of Massachusetts/Boston, USA. He is a past co-editor of The Language Teacher for the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) and currently serves on the JALT National Board of Directors as Director of Public Relations. Ted joined the Apple Distinguished Educator Program in 2011.

Featured Presentation: "Putting Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Context for Educators"

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) started in 2008 as a connectivist experiment in education with a participatory focus. Extremely large MOOCs were convened 2011, and the term took off in popular media reports in 2012. They have been hailed as "revolutionary" and disruptive to the status quo in higher education. However, the ideas behind MOOCs are not new. Moreover, as the practice has become frag­mented, there is not a clear consensus on a coherent description of MOOCs. Still, these courses are part of our educational landscape and may benefit many learners. Educators need to understand the potential uses and abuses of MOOCs.

This presentation will review the current state of MOOCs, including a critical view of the hype and hopes that accompany this trend. This will help educators evaluate MOOCs and make informed choices about selecting courses, using them to augment their own teaching, participating in them directly, or even starting one. Participants will gain perspective and critical understanding of MOOCs and indicators for how they may change education in their contexts.

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