CATESOL Conference Reflection

Hello Friends!

I had the opportunity to go to six CATESOL Conference sessions this year and really enjoyed the topics and the digital format. I did a couple of live sessions and then also listened to a couple of prerecorded sessions. I look forward to listening and taking notes on several more once they are all posted online.

Last semester we were encouraged to consider new ways to take notes so I took out my big basket of colored pencils and plain paper and got creative.🎨 It helped me to focus and pass the time as I was Zooming. There were a plethora of interesting topics so I liked being able to toggle back and forth between sessions or hitting pause or rewind when a session was precorded so I could check for my own understanding.

Last year several of us were at Alliant International University for the local conference, and although you cannot replicate the time spent together, it was nice to be at home this year absorbing the information. Those conference days can be long sometimes! I also appreciated having access to so many sessions and not feel like you might be missing out on a session because of a conflict.

I went to the following six sessions:

Language as a Vehicle for Connection and Belonging (keynote)
What is Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy?
A Tip for Coping with Teacher Anxiety 😎
Eight Technological Tools to Teach Proverbs
Examining Unconscious Bias: The Special Role of ESL Teachers
Ten Strategies for Successful Teaching During the Pandemic

I came away with a significant number of resources (most speakers had documents or slides to download) and I felt connected to an amazing group of educators. I particularly appreciated the emphasis on equity in education and social justice. These core values fall right in line with our master’s program. I hope CATESOL considers continuing to use this digital format or some other type of hybrid format. I really enjoyed it!

I look forward to hearing about your experiences as well.

Comments

EdTech Tool Presentation

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EDUC 548, Fall 2020 Blog

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