Andy Johnson: Tech hacks for classroom activities, materials writing and course design

Main Venue ARTHUR

Livestream

World Clock Fri 10pm GMT 11pm London, 12pm Paris, 7am Tokyo (Sat), 6pm New York

In EFL, we generally have good content but poor technology. Many language learning tools get attention simply because they use technology in interesting ways, but on further inspection appear to serve a fairly limited purpose or have major flaws compared to more traditional approaches. This can put teachers off, when in fact many of these tools are technologically innovative, free or attractive to learners. While we adapt authentic resources to meet our needs as educators, why not adapt - or hack - the technology that is currently available to serve the same purpose?

This practical workshop looks at the pros and cons of digital resources that can be adapted for educational purposes before exploring innovative ways of using them to enhance lessons, material writing and course design. Infographics, Twitter, Google analytics, various websites and apps can be hacked to suit a range of teaching needs and contexts.

Andy Johnson is a teacher and materials writer, with over 10 years’ experience in English language teaching. He is particularly interested in material development for pre-service Business English learners, incorporating blended learning and ICT. Andy has written exam materials for Cambridge English Language Assessment and developed materials for a range of Business English and ESP courses. He is DELTA qualified and has  extensive experience of teaching business English and EAP overseas and in London. Currently he is the Development Manager at The London School of English.