CHALLENGES TO EDUCATORS PROFESSIONAL GROWTH The Centro Colombo Americano, Bogotá has always been interested in strengthening relations with institutions in the ELT community and this Symposium is the perfect scenario to do so. We believe that you have the experience and recognition in the field to contribute to this event and we would like you to represent your institution by sharing innovations, research reports, ideas on the latest learning and teaching approaches and the like. The Symposium will have these objectives: 1. Expose language teachers to a myriad of possibilities to develop and update professionally. 2. Offer opportunities to exchange state-of-the-art teaching strategies and approaches from leaders, instructors and educators of all levels and contexts. 3. Develop a wider perspective of current technological resources available to language teachers. 4. Share results from action research projects of teachers, administrators and researchers that could shed light on strategies, approaches and ultimately best practices to ameliorate the teaching/learning processes.
PROFESSOR ANNE BURNS Specialist in Research. Website: www.professoranneburns.com Anne Burns is Professor of TESOL at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and Professor Emerita in Language Education at Aston University, Birmingham, UK. She has published approximately 15 books and over 100 journal articles and now works mainly with doctoral students who are conducting research on English language teaching and learning. She has published several books with Cambridge University Press, including '_e Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher Education' (co-edited with Professor Jack Richards). She is also a consultant to Oxford University Press and Cengage/National Geographic Learning and is a Member of the British Council s English Language Advisory Group (ELAG). In particular, she enjoys working with teachers all over the world who are interested in reflecting on their practice and using action research in their classrooms to explore issues that puzzle, challenge and excite them about their teaching.
DR. MARK PEGRUM Mobile and E-learning Expert. Website: e-language.wikispaces.com/mark-bio Mark Pegrum is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at The University of Western Australia, where he specialises in mobile learning and, more broadly, e-learning. His teaching has been recognised through Faculty and University Excellence in Teaching Awards, as well as a national Australian Learning & Teaching Council (ALTC) Excellence in Teaching Award. His current research focuses on mobile technologies and digital literacies. His recent books include: Brave New Classrooms: Democratic Education and the Internet (co-edited with Joe Lockard; Peter Lang, 2007); From Blogs to Bombs: The Future of Digital Technologies in Education (UWA Publishing, 2009); Digital Literacies (co-authored with Gavin Dudeney & Nicky Hockly; Pearson/Routledge, 2013); and Mobile Learning: Languages, Literacies and Cultures (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, a member of the Editorial Boards of Language Learning & Technology and System, and a member of the Review Panel of the International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning. He currently teaches in Perth, Hong Kong and Singapore, and has given presentations and run seminars on e-learning and m-learning in Australia and New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East, and the UK and Europe. Further details can be found on his wiki at http://e-language.wikispaces.com/mark-bio.
DR. KEITH FOLSE Experienced Teacher Trainer. Website: www.keithfolse.com Keith Folse is professor of TESOL at the University of Central Florida, where he teaches in the MATESOL, PhD in TESOL, and undergraduate TEFL programs. He has taught languages for more than 35 years in the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Though most of his teaching is with English, he has also taught French to English speakers as well as Spanish to Japanese speakers. Dr. Folse is the author 60 textbooks covering a variety of language teaching and learning subjects, including the successful GREATs writing series by National Geographic Learning. His research interests are written exercise types, grammar, and vocabulary. Dr. Folse has won many teaching and research awards, including Graduate Professor of the Year at his university. Dr. Folse is a frequent presenter at conferences worldwide, especially on the topic of best teaching practices for vocabulary and grammar.
DR. GABRIEL DIAZ MAGGIOLI Educator, author and researcher. Website: http://newschool.academia.edu/gabrieldiazmaggioli Gabriel Diaz Maggioli is a teacher who applies the lessons learned in the classroom to his roles as educational administrator, teacher educator, author and researcher. His area of research is the mediation of students' learning within a Sociocultural perspective. His interest resides mostly on conceptualizations of Mediated Learning Experiences and how these can lead to successful student engagement and learning. A frequent presenter at national and international events and conferences, Gabriel has also developed, managed or consulted on educational projects funded by the Inter American Development Bank, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, the European Union, the U.S. Department of State and the British Council. He was the recipient of a 2002-2003 Fulbright "Hubert H. Humphrey" Fellowship, which he spent at The Pennsylvania State University, and has also been a visiting scholar at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. His work has always been oriented towards the professionalization of English Language Teachers and the provision of quality access to language education for students of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Gabriel's work has supported educational innovations, mostly in Latin America, where he has acted as consultant and/or expert in nation-wide educational reform projects. He has also contributed to the professional development of language teaching colleagues in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He lives and works in New York.
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