Faculty/Staff Detail

Robert Ponterio, Modern Languages Department, and Jean LeLoup, professor emerita of Spanish and the U.S. Air Force Academy, presented a session titled “FLTEACH: Widgets, Twitter, Boards and Mail for Online Professional Development” at the American Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 2013 Annual Convention and World Language Expo held Nov. 22 in Orlando, Fla. The session examined the variety of online tools that LeLoup and Ponterio, the forum creators, have developed to enhance the 5,400-member, 81-country grass roots professional development project, now in its 20th year. There was a particular focus on recent enhancements including responsive design for the website, the use of embedded widgets pushing content to the Web, the #flteach Twitter hashtag, wiki, and FLTEACH Facebook page. The project’s searchable archives, annotated bibliography, language teaching methods syllabi collection, and various email options were also discussed. The presenters emphasized the range of options for participation and the applications of the project to pre-service teacher training and ongoing professional development for teachers in the field. The session outline is available at http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/wksp/actfl2013.html