Sabbatical, Books, IALLT Presidency and Other Updates

I’m on sabbatical this fall semester, so I’ve tried to carve out time for thinking, reading, and working on my book project (“Physical, digital, hybrid: New engaging spaces for language learning and teaching”). Today I thought I’d blog about a few updates and things that happened over the last half year.

IALLT Presidency

After 2 years on the IALLT (International Association for Language Learning Technology) board as president-elect, I became IALLT’s new president. Things have been busy, but we have a great board, so the work enjoyable. I have been a member since 2005, and so I am glad I can give back to this organization that has been so important in my career.

Keynotes

This summer I gave two more keynotes, one at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and one the Open University (Milton Keynes, United Kingdom). It has been a great honor to give several keynotes and plenaries during these past few years – after all, I get to talk about the topics I’m most passionate about. The hosts have been fantastic, and all the attendees at the conference know you, so it is an overall wonderful experience. Because much of academic work happens in solitude in one’s office, it is nice to travel and share my work on learning spaces.

Books

In May, my edited volume “From Language Lab to Language Center and Beyond: The Past, Present, and Future of Language Center Design”came out. Since then, I’ve been working on my new book project:

“Physical, digital, hybrid: New engaging spaces for language learning and teaching”
From video games to alternate reality simulations, from residential spaces to active classrooms, from mobile community-based learning to hybrid makerspaces, language learners and educators have more choices than ever regarding their possible learning spaces . Changing pedagogies and new technologies provide  ever more alternatives to the normalized technology of the classroom.
Some of these new spaces may turn out the be short-lived fads. But a growing body of research shows the great potential for diverse groups of learners, and newer theories, such as constructionism, social learning, and play-based learning are moving from the fringe to the mainstream.
The book provides an overview of these new possible spaces, about which spaces have become normalized, are becoming normalized, and which are still experimental. It is aimed at language educators and researchers, at instructional technologists and learning space planners, at administrators and educational leaders.

Imagined Reality Simulation Project

The work on the Imagined Community Simulation and Gamification project (some info here) has been mostly theoretical during the summer and fall. I look forward to presenting the latest at ACTFL in Nashville this summer. I’m also working on an article for the FLTMag on the topic.

Language Gaming League

I have begun working on a Language Gaming League. It’s too early to give any details here, but I’m scoping out partners, collaborators, and grants to get this off the ground. More to come soon!

Learning Spaces Collaboratory

Lastly, I’m working on 2 architects and one other academic on a Learning Spaces Collaboratory Webinar entitled “21st Century Learners.” Webinars are always strange because you don’t see your audience, but they do reach a lot of people. This past spring, someone came up to me and said they started building their new language center based on an LSC webinar I had given a few years ago.

Portfolio

I’ve enjoyed working more on my portfolio site. I received a Mellon Grant a few years ago to work on reflective student portfolios. That’s when I decided to create my own portfolio site, and it’s been not only fun but also motivating to curate the site, think about what I want to display, and what is important in my academic work.

That’s pretty much it. Back to my books, inbox, and word documents…