SPAM, this is not. JALT 98 http://www.seafolk.ne.jp/kqjalt/jalt98.html will offer a virtual goldmine of CALL events. If you are interested in using computer technology with your students, read on (no purchase necessary).

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- "Mindtools for Supporting Language Learning," Monday, November 23rd, 9:30~10:15.

For more Information on the Mindtools workshop, please visit: http://opinion.nucba.ac.jp/~holmes/Mindtools_Jonassen.html

This year the CALL N-SIG is proud to announce a workshop featuring video speaker, Dr. David H. Jonassen of Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Jonassen is, among other works, author of Computers in the Classroom: Mindtools for Critical Thinking and co-editor of Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction: A Conversation.

In Computers in the Classroom, Dr. Jonassen differentiates between learning from the computer (CAI), about the computer (computer literacy), and with computing (mindtools as cognitive tools for learning--the focus of the book). He discusses how mindtools, such as mind mapping tools, the Internet, and hypermedia software, "can ... function as cognitive tools for enhancing, extending, amplifying, and restructuring the way learners think about content they are studying" (1996, p. 18). While examples from the book cover a wide range of subjects, Dr. Jonassen's video presentation will address language learning specifically.

Following the video segment of the forum, attendees will participate in a workshop on specific applications for using mindtools in language classrooms in Japan. The workshop will involve a brainstorming session and culminate in a poster session. Throughout the workshop, "consultants" (JALT members well versed in the use of mindtools) will be available to answer questions as well as offer suggestions. The final segment of the forum will be a conference call to Dr. Jonassen. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions relating to his presentation, or that arose during the brainstorming or poster sessions.

In preparation for the workshop it is recommended (but not required) that attendees check out "Computers in the Classroom: Mindtools for Critical Thinking" which is readily (and inexpensively) available from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/

Attendees interested in learning more about Dr. Jonassen are invited to visit his Web site at http://www.ed.psu.edu/~jonassen/ or http://opinion.nucba.ac.jp/~holmes/Mindtools_Jonassen.html. The CALL N-SIG offers their special thanks to IDC 0061 for their participation in making the conference call possible.

Reference

Jonassen, D. (1996). Computers in the classroom: Mindtools for critical thinking. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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- "CALL N-SIG Swap Meet," Sunday, November 22nd, 15:30~16:15.

Ask almost any language teacher and they will tell you they are interested in incorporating computer technology into their classroom. Ask them for details and they may have difficult giving any. Teachers will leave the CALL N-SIG Swap Meet not only with ideas, but also with project ideas and lesson plans.

The Swap Meet offers hands-on presentations by teachers who have used software and/or the Internet with their students. The focus is on showing how the technology has been used, not on technical explanations. Demonstrations, given on laptop computers brought by the presenters, may be of student projects or files created for students. Several presentations occur simultaneously and participants choose the demonstrations they wish to "attend."

Presenters also offer handouts giving general information about the technology, e.g., the level of students the software is appropriate for, CALL applications in their language program (include a brief description of their program), the technologies strengths and limitations, an outline of a typical project, hardware and software requirements, and cost, publisher and ordering information (as applicable).

The Proposal

Submit a proposal for participation following the guidelines shown below (which you can further refine and use as your swap
meet handout). Acceptance decisions are based on the quality of the proposal submitted, so please be as thorough and
complete as possible.

Please submit proposals by email to: holmes@nucba.ac.jp with "Swap Meet Proposal" in the subject line. If you do not have
access to email, please mail a disk copy (in "text only" format) and a paper copy of your proposal.

Mailed proposals should be sent to:
Paul Daniels
1-20-1 Futaba
Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo, Japan 142

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- "CALL: Classroom Interactions," Monday, November 23rd, 9:30 to 11:15.

Which of the promises of CALL are actually being realized inside classrooms today? The purpose of this colloquium is to provide a shared insight into the changes attributed to the integration of CALL software, the Internet, interactive multimedia, and other forms of information technology that have occurred in teacher and student interactions, teacher knowledge as a primary mediator of instructional practice, and student attitudes toward language instruction. Since the colloquium presenters come from university settings whose various curricula and variety of instructional facilities in CALL represent a cross-section of those found in Japan and elsewhere, it will be possible to survey in one session the current state of evolution of CALL planning, curriculum and instruction.

One of the major contributions information technology can have in the classroom is to turn the usual centrality of the teacher upside-down. The effect that computers can have on interactions between students and teachers, among the students themselves, between teachers, and on teacher knowledge is an area of growing interest. This colloquium will provide a forum for participants to express their views on this important issue and to listen to presentations by people who have documented the effects of information technology and computer-assisted learning experiences on teacher knowledge and classroom interactions.

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CALL Presentations at Omiya (If your presentation is not listed, please let us know.)

Saturday, November 21st

11:30-12-15 905 Sameth et al.: Students' Attitudes Towards CD-ROM Study Materials

11:30-12:15 906 O'Rorke: Strategies for Tackling an English-based Internet

1:15 3:00 905 Davis: Making the Leap to Interactive Quiz Page Design

2:15-3:00 906 Tanaka: Planning Internet Lessons for EFL Learners

4:15-5:00 905 Robb: Springboard to Success with World Wide Web Support

5:15-6:00 905 Ray: A Virtual Classroom for a Foreign Exchange Program

Sunday, November 22nd

9:30-10:15 905 Everingham: Doing Business on the World Wide Web

9:30-10:15 906 Iwabuchi/Fotos: Promotion of Fluency & Accuracy Through E-mail

10:30-11:15 905 Knowles/Gatton: New Dynamic English: The Best Gets Better

10:30-11:15 ICR Tsui: A Hypermedia Database for ESL Teachers

1:30-2:15 906 Knowles/Gatton: 1998 Dyned Multimedia Update: Networking

3:30-5:15 905 Ito/Zemach: After Hello: Managing a Classroom E-mail Exchange

3:30-4:15 906 Daniels and Holmes: CALL N-SIG Swap Meet

4:30-6:15 906 Brooks/Bradley/Dias/Wada/Daniels: CALL: Classroom Interactions

6:30-7:15 906 Melchior: CALL N-SIG Annual General Meeting

Monday, November 23rd

9:30-11:15 603 Holmes and Daniels: CALL N-SIG Forum - Mindtools for Supporting Language Learning

9:30-10:15 806 Gauthier: Teacher to Teacher Support via E-mail

11:30-12:15 603 Bauman: E-mail in the Business English Classroom

12:30-1:15 603 Dunkley: Bringing the Internet into the Classroom