avealmec

 

provide li ke-minded people with connections that allow them to share or expand their interests and knowledge on a certain subject (Facebook). From an educational point of view, social networks can be used to showcase students’ work (Flickr). They can also be used as a platform to broadcast events that people can access anytime anywhere and serve as a repository of documents, videos, audio and images (Ning). They can also work as an emergency notification - spreading the words on events - or even as a tool to develop students’ summary skills by writing highly condensed, mulled-over messages (Twitter). They allow people to produce and share (Blogs, Facebook, Youtube). They can become an excellent resource for real-life, meaningful language sessions and training (Second Life). 

  

Social networking is a powerful educational resource for language teachers and students not only because it encourages the development of much needed social and communication skills required in emerging academic and professional environments online ( Communities of Practice ), but because it responds to a different way of processing the exponentially growing information on the net.

AVEALMEC and ARCALL are two Latin-American associations interested in promoting the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the language classroom. They have joined forces to organize this first regional event to help spread the word on the role of ICT in the language classroom. This first conference will focus on social networks and their potential to create Communities of Practice  to share, communicate without barriers and enhance the teaching-learning process in the language classroom.

This conference will have guest speakers not only from South America but from different parts of the world. Their presentations will range from proposing an alternative theory to understand how the sea of information available on the net sparks connections, thus creating new information and a different way of learning to the possible e-environments like Twitter, Facebook, Second Life where these connections are likely to take place. Environments generally made up of like-minded people networking, connecting, sharing and building new knowledge online.

Finally, we hope this first online conference will serve as a bonding experience to keep a close communication among language teachers in Latin-American and other parts of the world. We expect the guest speakers to share their expertise with us to continue growing as a community of practice and together sail through the resources, connectivity and ICT training challenges we face in order to raise our voices to the indifferent eyes of local officials in the region.