Pre-Conference Workshops
The full- or half-day workshops will take place on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011. Leading experts offer participants the opportunity to gain practical knowledge during these intensive half-day workshops. The emphasis is on activity and interaction.
As the number of participants is limited, it is necessary to register for the workshops in advance.
Kindly register online or by using the registration form.
Workshop 1
Each to His or Her Own Blend!
Deborah Capras,
Business Spotlight
10:00 – 13:00, 40 €
cancelled
What could be stopping you from integrating mobile learning into your teaching of business English? Technophobia — or sound pedagogical motives? The dual purpose of this workshop is to discuss the role of new mobile technologies in business English training, and to show how a blend of traditional and new media can lead to engaging activities in the classroom and to more autonomous learners. Deborah Capras and Helen Strong will offer pedagogical insight into recent developments in mobile learning and present research on mobile learning carried out by Business Spotlight. We will provide ideas and tips on creating an up-to-date business course using the Business Spotlight blend of products, which includes a bi-monthly magazine, workbooks, vocabulary guides, audio material, a smartphone app and digital material.
What could be stopping you from integrating mobile learning into your teaching of business English? Technophobia – or sound pedagogical motives? The dual purpose of this workshop is to discuss the role of new mobile technologies in business English training, and to show how a blend of traditional and new media can lead to engaging activities in the classroom and to more autonomous learners.
Deborah Capras will offer pedagogical insight into recent developments in mobile learning and present research on mobile learning carried out by Business Spotlight. She will provide ideas and tips on creating an up-to-date business course using the Business Spotlight blend of products, which includes a bi-monthly magazine, workbooks, vocabulary guides, audio material, a smartphone app and digital material.
Participants are advised to bring their own laptops to access the internet via a Wi-Fi connection for some of the activities.
Workshop 2
Leading Multicultural (Virtual) Teams in International Projects: Diversity Measurement and Management with the Aid of the Repertory Grid Technique
Sami Ibrahim,
Universität der Bundeswehr München
Silke Weigang,
créono management skills
10:00 – 13:00, 40 €
How could geographically distributed teams or mobile members be successfully managed in different cultural contexts? You might lead, develop or counsel international (project) teams as executive or HR manager, mentor/coach, or facilitator. You obtain rich experience and sometimes still might feel challenged to deal with diverse working cultures, especially when
- Setting up and developing the multicultural team
- Leading virtual heterogeneous teams
- Catalyzing communication and conflict solution among its members
- Applying preventive risk management at project team level
We invite you to get to know some practical flexible tools using modern technology to cope with the complexity of international (project) teams, like the tool box web and Repertory Grid Technique(RGT).
The management of Diversity on the basis of subjective theories is made transparent and demonstrated with the aid of the RGT tool. This works optimally, not only among culturally homogeneous, but also (and especially) in culturally heterogeneous teams, e.g. for the purpose of team-development of geographically distributed members. Surveying members of a project with the aid of the RGT easily allows to uncover personal and cultural differences in perception and causal attribution. This process helps drawing conclusions and recommending action due to the systematic collection, feedback, and reflection.
The audience is instructed interactively during the workshop to try out this approach.
Afternoon
Workshop 3
World Café: Discussions that Matter
Timothy Phillips,
SKYLIGHT GmbH
15:00 – 17:30, kostenlose Teilnahme
We successfully introduced the World Café concept at SPRACHEN & BERUF 2009 and repeated it in 2010. A World Café event enables conference participants to engage in a structured dialogue based on a topic which is important to the group as a whole and which relates to the conference's main themes. At the same time the workshop enables participants to get to know each other before the formal presentations commence on the following day.
As "World Café" implies, the workshop takes place in an informal atmosphere at round tables and in small groups. Participants have ample time to get to know each other and to move from group to group.
The topic under discussion is decided by the participants themselves in the first part of the workshop. It is then discussed in full in small and constantly rotating groups as the workshop progresses.
The results of the discussion are captured on the table cloths (flipcharts) which will be displayed during the course of the conference. Thus, they will provide possible input for further discussion with other participants.
Workshop 4
The Perfect Blend: New Technologies in Online Language Training. The Role of the Teacher in Technology-Enhanced Language Training
Tim Darling,
Speexx
15:00 – 18:00, kostenlose Teilnahme
In today's fast-paced global business environment, organizations and their workforce must be able to manage their talents globally and communicate their expert knowledge. Practice has shown that people learn a language best when using it in their daily life and best results are achieved through highly qualified teachers and tutors. Bearing that in mind, digital publishing - a leading provider of online language training courseware - has developed a powerful and innovative online learning platform with an exciting range of opportunities for learning a language online: The result is the "perfect blend," a combination of self-paced online business communication training tools, personal support from one of dp's 1200 global certified training professionals and live online training in dp's award-winning virtual classroom solution.
The workshop will draw a realistic picture of the active role of the language trainer in technology-enhanced teaching and learning environments. Workshop participants will also discover the latest advancements in scalable Speexx solutions and how administrators can track and measure both individual and group progress. With focus on dp' latest innovations, participants will have access to the newest version of the virtual classroom tool, an integral part of the global blended learning service Speexx by dp. The virtual classroom focuses on providing both individual students and corporate live training groups with a dynamic learning environment, regardless of their location. The software has been developed by digital publishing software engineers with the special needs of language students in mind, who are mostly looking for excellent audio and clear video quality when communicating with a personal tutor in the virtual classroom.
The workshop is aimed at language trainers, corporate subject matter experts and to all those who accompany students / employees during the learning process and who are responsible for motivating them and accounting for learning progress.
Participants are advised to bring their own laptops in order to be able to actively participate in the workshop.
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