NATESOL Event 25th October 2011 - Victor Guillen

NATESOL event "Personal learning environments (PLEs): supporting informal and self directed learning" by Victor Guillen (University of Sheffield) Tuesday 25th October 2011 5.30pm – Registration 6pm - Start Venue: University of Salford School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences Maxwell Building (main reception) Salford M5 4WT Room TBC Car parking on Irwell Place car park, behind Crescent House, opposite main Maxwell Building. Price £3 - tokens available in the Maxwell Building reception area. ‘Formal learning has traditionally been the focus of educational institutions, despite the fact that some of the most important skills in life, including our first language, are developed in informal settings outside the classroom. Although most institutions now try to offer more flexible student-centred learning through virtual learning environments (VLEs), many e-learning practitioners argue that a VLE is still a very centralised way of supporting students and so reflects a teacher-centred approach that is still predominant in formal classroom settings. Instead, Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) are based on the idea that students can learn in a self-directed way, choosing what they want to learn, when to do it, which tools to use and who to learn with/from. A lot of this informal learning takes place in different settings but the Internet offers great opportunities. This session will explore some of the online tools available to support this type of learning and I will argue that, actually , both VLEs and PLEs can complement each other well’. Victor Guillen has been involved in language teaching for nearly twenty years in a variety of roles including teacher, associate lecturer, manager and freelance consultant both in the UK and abroad. He has worked in secondary education, FE and HE, teaching Spanish, EFL, ESOL, EAP and ESP. Pre-registration is required with Jonathan Nicolson at jtnicolson@hotmail.co.uk or 0161 789 4970. NATESOL’s programme consists of 6 sessions during the academic year. * Individual membership per year: £9 - Free attendance at each session * Institutional membership per year: £40. * Non-members pay £3 per session, concession £2. To renew your membership, become a new member, or just receive information about future sessions, then please contact: Jonathan Nicolson at 6 Stafford Rd. Eccles. jtnicolson@hotmail.co.uk or 0161 789 4970.