A series of workshops on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), organised by Higher Education Commission (HEC) under its English Language Teaching Reforms (ELTR) project in collaboration with the British Council concluded in Karachi. The first workshop of the series was held at HEC Islamabad. The second workshop was held at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan while the last course of the series was conducted at HEC Regional Centre, Karachi.
Mashood Rizvi, Director (Sindh and Balochistan) British Council was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. A total number of 60 English Language Teachers from different public sector universities and colleges have been trained through this series of CALL workshops. In addition to the university faculty, the teachers from colleges also attended these workshops. Nik Peachy was the resource person of the whole series.
CALL course aims to provide the participants the international level understanding of E-Learning. The course has a multifaceted dimension, in which not only the concept of online teaching and E learning is focused upon, but other computer technologies are also taught. Innovative modern techniques were used to impart the new concepts of CALL by the resource person. The workshop focused on need analysis and classroom research tools, social book marking, RSS and information feeds and sources, working in virtual learning environment, twitter and creating personal learning.
Peachy told the participants that online learning and modern technology was very important in effective learning process. He emphasised that online community would be developed with these participants for continuous learning process. Rizvi shared the efforts of the British Council and emphasised on importance of such collaborations for sharing learning experiences. He appreciated the role of HEC for enriching the technology culture in higher education in Pakistan. These 60 CALL master trainers will conduct same training in their respective institutions to ensure continuity of the learning process.