Speaking Events

Title: Surviving and Thriving in the New Pandemic Era

Web Site: https://ortesol.wildapricot.org/

Plenary Summary:

By the end of 2019, the word, COVID-19, still hadn’t entered our daily vocabulary, and its tsunami-like impact was only on the distant horizon for most of the world, having not permeated into every aspect of our lives. However, since then, life on this planet has been radically altered, and countless millions—billions—of people have been affected—physically, socially, economically, and emotionally. Furthermore, teachers, students, families, and educational systems have been turned upside down as they have learned to adapt to the challenges in learning and growing in this new normal.

With vulnerability and raw candor, Randall shares how the pandemic has changed his personal and professional life and provides six keys to experiencing innovation and growth into the future.

Title: How Online Learning Can Retool Minds and Reshape Hearts 

Download Handout:  PDF

Web Site: http://www.cilex.mx

Keynote Summary:

Information in all arenas of thought—politics, education, religion, government, science, and the environment—possesses vast power to either enlighten and engender a more compassionate humanity, or it can wield the sword of injustice, prejudice, intolerance, and even violence. As human beings, we do not draw conclusions in a vacuum; rather, our attitudes and perspectives are shaped by the information that we read, see, and hear. In turn, these attitudes influence our actions, and our negative perceptions and treatment of others can rob people of their human dignity and self-worth. In fact, xenophobia can be one unfortunate and painful result when our ideas and actions marginalize some of the most vulnerable groups on the fringes of society.

With this in mind, educators—along with family, friends, mentors, and other leaders—have a far-reaching responsibility to empower students with the ability to sift through an overwhelming flood of unfiltered ideas on the Internet that influence opinion and policy. Without such constructive guidance, it can be difficult for students to examine information with the tools of critical thinking that would lead to responsible action in the public arena. 

In this presentation, Randall addresses these concerns and provides suggestions on how teachers on the front lines can help their students develop strategies to analyze online information, leading to a more gracious attitude toward our local communities and global neighbors.

Title: Gamifying the Classroom for Language Assessment Needs The presenters demonstrate three engaging games and simulation activities that teachers can use to maximize language learning or cross-cultural understanding in their face-to-face or online classrooms. This is supported with a basic model on how to integrate them into the content of any classroom.

Presenters: Randall Davis, Rus Wilson, and Riadh Koubaa

Title: The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Effective Listening Strategies

How do students become better active listeners? This session reviews factors that make listening difficult for language learners and demonstrates interactive and realistic activities for both high- and low-resource environments that teach, not just test, effective listening skills. Ideas for both face-to-face and online classes are addressed.

Presenters: Randall Davis (United States), Mouna Bouhlel (Tunisia), Pragya Adhikari (Nepal), and Keilor Vargas (Costa Rica)

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BETABoliviaTesolIatefl

Web Site: https://www.betabolivia.org/

Plenary Title: Reimagining the Traditional Paradigm of Professional Development 

Download Handout: HERE

Summary:

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers around the world have felt disconnected, unprepared, and upended in their work because this global situation has fractured many of the traditional ways of teaching and learning. As a result, teachers have struggled to find a future place for themselves in a profession with limited opportunities to engage in meaningful professional development in a remote environment. That said, great creativity and innovation can blossom amid disruption and chaos. In response to this great educational upheaval, Randall explains how old ways of doing professional development must give way to new paradigms of support for our profession to not only survive, but thrive in today’s world. To this end, Randall proposes three fundamental changes to his work that reflect this new vision for the future.

Best Practices Session: New Twists, Tricks, and Tools to Enhance Your Online Lessons

Download Handout: HERE

Summary:

With online learning becoming the backbone of instruction around the world, teachers are trying to come up with new ways of enhancing their teaching and the learning experience. Unfortunately, teachers often have very little training on how to maximize the potential of online instruction and feel lost on how to navigate these uncharted waters. In response to this, Randall introduces a potpourri of tools, tips, and secrets on (1) running an engaging online class through popular Web-conferencing platforms, (2) choosing microphones, green screens, and Webcams to create quality classroom content, and (3) creating meaningful language assessment strategies to access students’ skills.  

Title: Building Human Connection and Collaboration Through Online Communities

Broadcast Video (My part starts at around 2:06): View Video

Title: Flipgrid.com + Smart Phones = Effective Speaking Assessment

Web Site: https://www.tesol.org/conventiononline2020/schedule-at-a-glance/prerecorded-sessions

Title: When Being Wrong Leads to More Empathy and Better Teaching 

Randall’s Article: PDF | HTML

Title: Embracing and Celebrating Imperfection on the Road to Better Teaching

Title: Maximizing technology in high- and low-resource environments

Title: Finding New Pathways in a Dynamically-Changing Profession