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Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 9 AM - 1:30 PM Sign-in and coffee begin at 8:30 AM at Niles North HS, Skokie (9800 Lawler Ave., Skokie, IL 60077) |
OR Satellite Site VIA ZOOM at Carbondale Community HS (1301 E. Walnut, Carbondale 62901) |
All registrants must be a member of ICTFL to attend.
THE PROGRAM
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AI in the World Language Classroom: What the TECH Do We Do Now?!
Meredith White & Claudia Elliott Google Translate, online dictionaries, voice to text, and now ChatGPT -- what the 'tech' are we supposed to do?! Fear not; in this session, the presenters will showcase useful ways to harness these tools including how we can use their Artificial Intelligence powers for good and not evil. Come for candid, practical tips and live demonstrations. |
AI in the World Language Classroom
Steven Lander In this workshop, we will take a hands-on approach to exploring innovative AI tools for practicing vocabulary, reading, writing, and speaking. |
Beyond the Classroom: Transforming Language Education through Virtual Reality
Dr. Tricia Thrasher & Ellen Ericson This session will introduce attendees to Immerse, a VR platform created specifically for language teaching and learning. Immerse allows students to engage in real-time language lessons, join conversation groups, and interact with AI-driven avatars in Spanish, French, and English. Come learn about the pedagogical principles that underpin the platform, hear about a Spanish high school teachers’ experiences using Immerse in her classroom, and experience VR firsthand. |
To participate in WinterFest 2024, one must be a member of ICTFL. Membership year is July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 Click here to JOIN.
4 PDs will be awarded by ICTFL upon completion of the workshop. The WinterFest fee is $55 (not including membership)
4 PDs will be awarded by ICTFL upon completion of the workshop. The WinterFest fee is $55 (not including membership)
Introducing our ICTFL WinterFest 2024 Presenters
Meredith White
For 16 years, Meredith White taught Spanish in both Tennessee and Georgia. Focused on novices, her work with students ingrained proficiency-based teaching, comprehensible input, technology, and helping make learning Spanish fun. She was the 2019 Peachtree Ridge High School Teacher of the Year and the 2020 Foreign Language Association of Georgia Teacher of the Year. In March of 2023, she transitioned to an Instructional Technology support role to help more teachers in all content areas with both their teaching and technology use (or even paring down). She often presents and shares resources at local, state, regional, and national conferences. (More information can be found on her website: https://www.meredithwhite.info/) |
Claudia Elliott
Claudia Elliott is a Spanish teacher in Jacksonville, Florida who has been teaching Spanish since 2005. She has taught all the levels of Spanish, including AP Spanish Language and Culture and IB Spanish Language B. Claudia is passionate about implementing acquisition-driven instruction in her classes and building a strong community with her students. She has shared her knowledge in different forums in the United States and abroad about second language acquisition and how to incorporate it into classes. In 2021-2022, Claudia was named the Teacher of the Year for the Florida Foreign Language Teacher Association, and in 2022, she was named Teacher of the Year for the Southern Conference Of Language Teaching. Additionally, Claudia hosts the podcast, "Growing With Proficiency." (More information can be found on her website: https://growingwithproficiency.com/) |
Steven Lander
Steve has been a teacher in D219 for 17 years. He teaches Spanish, Digital Storytelling, and Broadcast Production. Steve has helped create a language learning platform for studying language via interactive models and artificial intelligence. |
Dr. Tricia Thrasher
Tricia Thrasher (Ph.D) obtained her PhD from the department of French and Italian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2022. She is currently the Research Manager at Immerse, a VR language learning company. Her research interests include immersive technologies for language learning, foreign language anxiety and oral production, and subjective and objective anxiety measurements. She has published in journals such as the CALICO Journal and Foreign Language Annals and frequently leads teacher training workshops on using VR in the language classroom. |
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Ellen Ericson
Ellen Ericson earned her BA in the Teaching of Spanish and her MA in Educational Policy Studies, both from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She has 27 years of experience teaching Spanish in both public and private schools in Central Illinois. She currently teaches at Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, IL. She is the Immediate Past President of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages. Ellen’s sessions were named as “Best of Illinois” in 2014 and 2019 and “Best of Central States” in 2016 and 2021. She is the recipient of an ICTFL Distinguished Service Award for Exemplary Teaching and was named the ICTFL 2020 Teacher of the Year. Ellen is passionate about mentoring novice teachers and incorporating best practices into her classroom while pushing her students to continue their path to proficiency and to be life-long language learners. |