Category: Technology Standards

F.A.I.R. FOR ALL: AI’s impact on settlement & language learning

Two Canadian organizations, ARAISA (Atlantic Region Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies) and ISANS (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia) are presenting a series of hour-long webinars for language instructors from September 2024 to March 2025. The webinars focus on Canadian settlement and language programs, referencing Federal Guidelines for AI’s emergence in the sector, LINC,the Canadian Language Benchmarks and Avenue.ca’s Program Standards for Technical Language Learning. The presenters stress the importance of instructors’ expertise. They also advocate for learning how AI tools can help in the classroom.

The webinars do not assume that viewers are expert users. They offer engaging introductions to and examples of using Generative AI in teaching language. Highlights of the webinars include the application of a principled, ethical, transparent approach to using AI; examples of how the presenters have created prompts to obtain the results they want; a first hand intro to Roshi.ai, a popular tool; and resources and reference lists.

You can either register and attend the live presentations on the dates noted in the link below or download the recordings at your leisure.

These are the titles of the webinars:

*”Faster:” Federal Guidelines, Considerations and Practical Examples of AI’s Emergence in the Settlement Sector

*Tools & Rules: AI for Innovative Language Instruction, Guidelines for Instructors, and Ethical Considerations

*AI in Practice – Turning Challenges into Opportunities

*Share Practical AI Experiences and Next Steps in Building a Community of Practice

*Working Smarter: Effective Material Production & Tailoring EAL Instruction to Individual Needs

*Addressing AI Use in Asynchronous Writing Tasks: Instructor Strategies & Program Adaptations

*Future Trends: AI in Education: Predict how AI will Shape Language learning, Classroom Dynamics, and Teacher Roles

Retrievable from:

https://araisa.ca/fa-i-r-for-all-ais-impact-on-settlement-language-learning/

Developing Targeted Technology Standards for Avenue language instructors, programs, and learners: an initiative of New Language Solutions

Allan, J., Healey, D., Hubbard, P., Kessler, G., McBride, R., Rajabi, S., and Sturm, M. (2024) Developing Targeted Technology Standards for Avenue language instructors, programs, and learners: an initiative of New Language Solutions. TESL Ontario Contact Magazine, 50 (1) 16-30.

Authors of this report in TESL Ontario’s Spring 2024 Contact magazine provide insight to New Language Solutions’ (NLS) approach to developing technology standards specifically targeted to instructors in Canada’s settlement language sector and that will be integrated into NLS’s online teacher training and leadership training. It describes the ongoing activities related to the standards that are intended to create a culture of continuous improvement around technology in learning environments. This includes regular reviews and updates of the standards as needed.

The report gives examples of the collaborative, online process the team used to trim the language in the standards and the performance indicators so they are as direct and clear as possible. The report links to a request form for the full set of standards but it also gives a brief overview of the seven standards along with a fuller example of “Standard 4, about digital literacy and digital citizenship for yourself and your learners.”.

The report outlines the evaluation process the standards followed, lays out the plan that will integrate the standards in instructor training and microcredentials, with the aim of sector-wide, consistent, deep understanding of the standards; and emphasizes ongoing initiatives that will generate data about the impact of the standards on programs.

A list of references is followed by a sample vignette that describes an instructor’s thoughts and experiences as she incorporates the standards into her instruction.

Ten years later: Reexamining the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers

Sun, X. (2022). Ten years later: Reexamining the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers. TESOL Journal, 13(e684).

A research team interviewed a panel of practitioners with expertise and experience in language teaching, computer-assisted language learning and instructional technology to explore whether the TESOL Technology Standards for Language Teachers are still applicable today and what updates might be needed. The panel validated the Standards’ continued applicability, with recommendations for how they should be updated.

In addition to addressing these questions, the report includes the four practitioners’ thoughtful responses reflecting their own experience with teaching with technology in the Findings (5). It also includes their recommendations for updating the performance indicators in the Standards and by considering issues that have emerged since they were developed, e.g., mobile applications and learner data privacy among others.

Retrievable from:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tesj.684