Strategies and Ideas for Using Avenue with Low CLB Learners
In this webinar, Margaret Stasiak, Avenue Developer and Ontario ESL liaison, demonstrated various strategies, ideas, and tips for using teaching resources available on Avenue with CLB 1-2 and literacy learners. Margaret presented examples of various online activities from units and modules in the Avenue Course Builder, and she discussed practical considerations for using them as is or adapting them for specific needs of low-proficiency and literacy learners. The webinar also included practical tips for using online resources in different modalities.
Using the Language Companion in Your Avenue Course
Nadine Leggett, project manager at Achēv, provided an overview of the newly released professional development training titled Respect and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. This self-paced training program explores Indigenous history and culture to enhance instructor’s knowledge and confidence to teach their learners Indigenous topics in their core language training courses.
Margaret Stasiak, Avenue Developer and Ontario ESL liaison, presented instructional content and perspectives for teaching Indigenous topics on Avenue. She demonstrated eUnits and modules available in Avenue’s CourseBuilder, as well as some practices that can help instructors embed Indigenous topics in their lessons, facilitate classroom discussions, and engage learners in meaningful and culturally appropriate learning activities.
Indigenous Content on Avenue – Professional Development and Instructional Materials
Nadine Leggett, project manager at Achēv, provided an overview of the newly released professional development training titled Respect and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. This self-paced training program explores Indigenous history and culture to enhance instructor’s knowledge and confidence to teach their learners Indigenous topics in their core language training courses.
Margaret Stasiak, Avenue Developer and Ontario ESL liaison, presented instructional content and perspectives for teaching Indigenous topics on Avenue. She demonstrated eUnits and modules available in Avenue’s CourseBuilder, as well as some practices that can help instructors embed Indigenous topics in their lessons, facilitate classroom discussions, and engage learners in meaningful and culturally appropriate learning activities.
Using the Language Companion in Your Avenue Course
The Language Companion (uder the Binder tab) is available on Avenue in three digital versions, each for a different group of learners; ESL Literacy, Stage I and Stage II. In this webinar, content developer Margaret Stasiak demonstrated and discussed how various sections and features of the Language Companion can be used in skill-building activities, as part of in-class or asynchronous learning. Margaret also presented how the CLB section of Language Companion can be used in a course to support PBLA practices as well as develop self-directed and reflective learning.
Conducting Assessment using the Avenue tools and resources Part 2 Assessing Speaking and Writing
In this webinar, Margaret Stasiak demonstrated how to assess speaking and writing using the tools and resources available on Avenue, specifically Moodle assignment and quiz. Margaret presented examples of various assessment tasks and rubrics for different CLB levels from units and modules in the Avenue Course Builder, focusing on applying the principles of PBLA and best practices of online teaching. The webinar included a discussion of practical considerations for designing assessments appropriate for the specific skills and CLB levels for those instructors who would like to create their own content. Margaret also provided tips for administering speaking and writing assessments in different modalities.
Conducting Assessment using Avenue tools and resources (Part 1) – Assessing Listening and Reading
Avenue offers many tools and resources for conducting assessments online. In this webinar, content developer Margaret Stasiak demonstrated assessing listening and reading using the Moodle Quiz. She presented examples of various assessment tasks for different CLB levels from units and modules in the Avenue Course Builder, focusing on applying the principles of PBLA and best practices of online teaching. She also discussed practical considerations for designing assessments appropriate for the specific skills and CLB levels for those instructors who would like to create their own content. Tips for administering listening and reading assessments in different modalities were also provided.
This webinar is Part 1 in the series of two webinars on conducting assessment on Avenue. Part 2 focused on assessing speaking and writing.
Using a sandbox course to manage your course materials
In this webinar, content developer Margaret Stasiak explains how a sandbox course, available via the Avenue Course Builder, is a useful tool for managing instructional materials such as e-activities, resources and assessments. In this webinar, content developer Margaret Stasiak explores how an instructor can use a sandbox course to manage their instructional materials by storing, adapting or creating e-activities, and sharing them with a course they are teaching. The session provides practical tips and suggestions on keeping a course page uncluttered and streamlined to create a better learning/teaching experience.
Avenue Question Banks Demystified
Avenue (Moodle) Question Banks allow teachers to create, preview and edit questions and use them in their Quizzes. Questions are organized in categories and subcategories to allow for faster access, question sharing to avoid duplication questions and eliminate wasted effort. This webinar, by Avenue developer/mentor, demystified Question Banks and showed instructors how they can use them to keep their courses more organized and more efficient. Awareness of how question banks can grow into large banks of questions, will help instructors to control the storage size of their Avenue courses.
Planning Your Lessons with the Course Builder Content
In this webinar, content developer Margaret Stasiak provided insights into the newly introduced Avenue Course Builder, which provides a robust collection of units and modules with ready-made e-activities, assessments and instructor support materials. Margaret examined how a course and lessons can be planned for different modalities (remote, blended and in person), using the content of e-units and e-modules in the Course Builder and how to make the most of them. She also provided practical suggestions and tips for selecting and using ready-made e-activities, customizing course content, and streamlining the planning process.
Language for Post secondary Education
The presenters, Marijke Geurts and Dori Tarjan, looked at two new modules under the theme ‘Attending Post-Secondary Education:
CLB 5-6: Communicating about Choices for College
CLB 7-8: Deciding on a College Program
This presenters provided an overview of the skills and real-world tasks covered in these modules. Practical suggestions for using these modules in blended delivery were also provided.
Speed Up Your Avenue Courses
Since the Spring of 2023, instructors have reported that they experience long intervals between actions while editing their Avenue courses. A few known causes of this include too many topics, too much content, and overloaded question banks. This webinar by AVenue mentor and developer, John Allan, demonstrated a few techniques to reduce a course’s resources to ensure that it will streamline your Avenue editing experience in the future.
Webinaire d’introduction à Avenue.ca
Ce webinaire permet d’apprendre l’essentiel pour commencer l’enseignement en ligne ou hybride sur Avenue.ca. Les fonctionnalités suivantes sont présentées: Le portail Avenue, se connecter à son cours, inscrire des étudiants, accéder aux e-portfolio, modifier les détails des comptes des étudiants, consulter le registre de classe et les différents rapports d’évaluation et d’achèvement, activer le mode édition, gérer les paramètres du cours et contacter le soutien technique. Le nouveau constructeur de cours, permettant aux enseignants d’ajouter des unités prêtes à l’emploi à leur cours et/ou de déposer une demande pour obtenir un nouveau cours, est également présenté en détail.
