¡Vámonos!

Having been told not to say anything for a bit, when I was given the all clear to blog about the IoW Conference, I've been a bit slow off the mark! But...más vale tarde que nunca as dear Nando would say!

October 25th and 26th 2008 will see many teachers from across the UK (and beyond?) gathering at Nodehill Middle School in Newport, Isle of Wight for Joe Dale's annual IOW Conference. As usual, the focus is on creative language teaching using ICT, and it promises to be a great weekend. This year, there's so much going on that it has been extended to two days with a Show and Tell event on the Saturday night so that everyone can share, not just those who are presenting.

And speaking of presenters - look at the line up!

• Sharon Tonner - ICT specialist, ex- High School of Dundee, now working for a Scottish Uni!
  
• Jo Rhys-Jones - AST in MFL, Kingswear Primary School
• Lisa Stevens - Spanish Teacher and eTwinning ambassador, Whitehouse Common Primary School,
• Carole Nicoll - Language Factory
• Drew Buddie - ICT coordinator, Royal Masonic School for Girls and eTwinning ambassador
• Nick Mair - HoD in MFL, Dulwich College
• John Warwick - Deputy Head, St Luke's School and eTwinning ambassador
• Kathleen Holton - HoD in MFL, Argoed High School
• Mark Pentleton - Radio Lingua Network
• Lesley Welsh – AST in MFL, English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College and SSAT languages lead practitioner coordinator
• Chris Fuller - Spanish teacher, Edgehill College and SSAT languages lead practitioner
• Sharon Balch - French teacher, Swanmore Middle School
• Doug Dickinson - Independent ICT consultant
• Kathy Wicksteed - Languages advisor for new KS3 curriculum
• Adam Sutcliffe - MFL teacher, The Gordon Schools and Glow Champion
• Lesley Haggar-Vaughan, Shireland CLC manager
• Julie Adoch, HoD in MFL, Heathfield Foundation Technology College and her students

They will be tackling topics including-

• Mobile Phones
• Wikis
• Primary Languages
• Ning networking
• Songs
• Virtual Learning Environments
• Digital Storytelling
• Games based learning
• Gender differences
• Videoconferencing
• eTwinning
• Digital Voice Recorders
• One Stop Animation
• PowerPoint
• Interactive Whiteboards and Voting Systems
• Blogging and Podcasting
• Assessment for Learning
• New KS3 curriculum
• Web 2.0 tools
• vodcasting
• eCreativity

Having had the privilege of speaking last year on Primary Languages and eTwinning, I've been asked again - must have done something right ;o) - and this year I'll be co-presenting with Jo Rhys-Jones. It promises to be a highly entertaining session as we always end up in fits of giggles when we meet up, and I'm sure plenty of that fun will be manifest in the session.

So, watch out for the delegates pack that Joe will soon be launching, and take the opportunity as term nears a close (in England - I know Scotland has already broken up) to put in your PD request whilst there's still money in the budget, and while everyone else is just hanging out for the holidays!!

Check out Joe's blog for more information and for reports on last year too here and here. See also here, here, here and here. And not forgetting here! And for my response, read Trains Ferries Buses and Ford Anglias. (note to self - go via Southampton not Lymington this year!)

Posted by lisibo at 19:22 1 comments    

Labels: Adam Sutcliffe, Chris_Fuller, ICT, IoWConference, Jo Rhys-Jones, Joe Dale, languages, Mark Pentleton, PD, Sharon Tonner

No, I've not decided to go back to university, nor been bitten by the urge to row (although if it meant getting near to Matthew Pinsent, I'd grab those oars like a shot!)

Tomorrow I'm off to Oxford for Language World, the Association of Language Learning's annual conference. Officially spread over two days, the fun and games actually start this evening with an event at the OUP bookshop, from 7pm, followed by a meal for those who have already arrived in Oxford. The official site says
'Join us for a glass of wine : the perfect start to your conference and a great way to meet your fellow delegates while browsing in a relaxed atmosphere. There will also be some great special offers available. Anyone attending the conference is welcome, as are ALL members and all languages teachers and lecturers who live in Oxford or nearby.'

So if you meet the criteria, off you go!

I'm looking forward to two days of interesting exciting and inspiring PD - if it's anything like last year, I'll be exhausted but buzzing by the time I get home on Saturday night. It was really hard to choose my sessions, although 9 year old insisted I went to Ewan McIntosh's seminar- last year, he inspired me to buy a NintendoDS - my son wants to know if I could be persuaded to buy a Wii this year?? Actually, didn't need much persuading! I'm also looking forward to the followup to a session I attended last year on using videoconferencing at Tile Hill Wood School and Language College to deliver PLL to feeder schools, and also to Stephen Fawkes' session on learners being creative with language.

I'm also excited about being invited to take part in the London ALL Branch Show and Tell on Saturday by the President of ALL , no less, Helen Myers - I feel like I've been invited to a Royal garden party but without the need for a hat :o) I'll be talking about my blog, and sharing tips and ideas for creative PLL.

And of course, the chance to meet friends, old and new is a big draw. Last year I missed the dinner as I decided to appease Mr Lisibo and spend a night away with him - but only succeeded in getting two enormous blisters on my feet as I insisted that my shoes were comfortable enough to walk in (underestimating the 4 miles I needed to walk back to the hotel) then keeping him awake telling him about all the things I'd learned. So this year, off to the dinner for me.

So see you in Oxford Joe, Chris, Marie-France, Lesley, Rachel, José, Helen, Ewan and Quentin et al. No doubt missed someone but that's who I know is going!

If you're an NQT or student teacher, you could get in for free - have a look here for details!

PS Find out what I thought about last year's Language World - pre-blog and pre-NintendoDS!

Posted by lisibo at 17:21 2 comments    

Labels: ALL, Language World 2008, PD, primary languages