Innovation in Language Learning

The ELTPedia project started in the first semester of 2015 as an initiative to improve the quality and impact of the Technology and Education class in the ELT Program at Universidad Industrial de Santander, located in the Colombian city of Bucaramanga. The primary objectives of this project were to foster digital skills and autonomy among the students as well as to raise awareness of the importance and potential of continued professional development in the digital era. In order to do this, the project was designed with the purpose of creating and maintaining an online and on-site learning community, which can be accessed at https://eltinsightuis.wixsite.com/eltpediauis. This community is managed by the students, who are in charge of setting up each semester’s goals, creating digital learning objects, fostering interaction and positioning our brand on the web.

Framed within the principles of Project-Based and Invisible Learning, once each semester start students are assigned, based on their personal interests and skills, to one of four teams: Didactic Resources, Professional Development, Web Design and Community Management. Each group has 4-6 students and 1 coordinator. Each team proposes, designs, assesses and publishes a number of sub-projects, all framed within the overall project’s objective. Once the projects are approved, the students estimate the resources, knowledge and time required to complete them. With this information, the class professor organizes and arranges workshops, assignments and readings aimed at providing students with the tools necessary to complete each project. All tasks required to complete the sub-projects are closely monitored and assisted by the teacher. At times, students must manage to find additional resources and knowledge that the class professor sometime cannot provide and share those with the rest of the class.

The oral presentation will walk the audience through the history of the project, its theoretical underpinnings, its pedagogical characteristics and the results so far. Speciall emphasis will be given to results in students’ understanding of how digital technologies impact education and learning. 

Keywords: English Teacher Education, Digital Literacy, Project-Based Learning, EFL, Invisible Learning, Professional Development