85 Standard 4: Digital literacy and digital citizenship for instructors and learners. Be aware of and model the use of technology in safe, legal, ethical, and equitable ways. • Diana and Lauren make a point of explaining the ethical use of technology to their students and follow local, provincial, and national online privacy, copyright, and fair dealing regulations. VIGNETTE 8: DIANA AGUDELO AND LAUREN HEBERT PROVIDING SUPPORT TO ESL TEACHERS NEW TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION Précis The Idea For the many ESL instructors accustomed to teaching only in the classroom, the shuttering of schools caused by COVID-19 came as a shock. Of necessity, the paradigm shifted overnight from face-to-face classroom teaching to remote instruction over the Internet. The challenge was to provide teachers without previous exposure to Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) with the new strategies and skills needed to deliver effective online instruction and help learners engage with new environment. At the Edmonton Catholic Separate School Division (ECSD) LINC Program, the answer was obvious: create and implement a crash course for instructors to give them a basic set of digital teaching skills. In the learning journey that followed, the digital skills building course rapidly improved. In the past few years – under the guidance of ECSD colleagues Diana Agudelo and Lauren Hebert – a more sophisticated onboarding program focused on how to work with BigBlueButton and the Avenue eLearning platform will soon become a standard offering for all new ESL teachers. The Learners The majority of ECSD LINC’s current complement of ESL instructors developed online teaching skills during the COVID years. However, many newly qualified ESL instructors hired after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted have never taught online. To ensure a consistent level of online skills across the entire teaching staff, ECSD LINC will soon require all new teachers to be trained in digital skills and onboarded using ECSD LINC’s method of CALL. The Approach ECSD LINC has adopted two online learning platforms as its principal means of delivering online instruction. BigBlueButton (BBB) is used to create online learning experiences, connect teachers with their students, and foster engagement in virtual classrooms. The Avenue eLearning Platform, developed by New Language Solutions, combines a suite of interactive LINC course activities associated with listening, speaking, reading, and writing with opportunities for collaboration and discussion. When Laura or Diana are conducting a day-long online class, a new instructor will be invited to sit with them side-by-side as they deliver the course. This teacher’s perspective of the online course delivery process allows the new instructor to see what is being done and why, ask questions, and try it for themselves. In the months that follow onboarding, if an instructor encounters difficulties, they can book time with Laura, Diana, or a recently hired Digital Literacy CC-BY-NC-SA 2025 New Language Solutions Avenue Instructor Standards for Technology-Enhanced Language Learning, version 1.2
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