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Biodata
Neil Ballantyne has worked for the British Council as a teacher and teacher-trainer since 1999 and has been based in Hong Kong since 2004. Since early in his career he has specialised in the use of learning technologies in English language teaching. He has given training on the use of learning technologies across Asia and Europe.
His current interests lie in mobile learning. He is the project manager for MyWordBook, a new smartphone application to help English learners learn vocabulary on the move available for the iPhone. He is also responsible for developing an online and face-to-face training course on the use of learning technologies for the classroom.
Neil is in the final months of completing an MA in Digital Technologies, Communications and Education at Manchester University.
Biodata
Originally from Biysk, Altaysky Kray, but is now teaching in Moscow working with ages 7-16. Besides, she conducts teacher-training workshops at British Council, Moscow. Apart from work, she is a current PhD student at the Department of Foreign Languages, Moscow State University. Her area of interest is using Web 2.0 in language teaching and distance teacher education.
Vera has teaching experience of teaching Russian as a foreign language abroad Grinnell College, IA, USA (2006-2007, Fulbright grant), Woodbridge High School, London, UK (2009-2010, British Council award).
Her non-academic interests are biking, Arabic language and culture and cooking.
For more information see Vera's teaching portfolio and her blog.
Biodata
Gavin has worked in education for the past 20 years, as a teacher, materials developer, IT manager and web/user interface designer. Until the end of 2003 he held two posts: the first as Head of the New Technologies Department at International House Barcelona and the second was Lead Developer for the online training centre Net Languages. In 2003 Gavin set up The Consultants-E with Nicky Hockly. He is a past coordinator of the IATEFL Learning Technologies Special Interest Group and also past editor of the SIG newsletter. In 2007 he was elected Honorary Secretary of IATEFL.
Publications include: "The Internet & The Language Classroom" (CUP 2000, 2007) and "How to Teach English with Technology" (Longman 2007, with Nicky Hockly - winner of the International House Ben Warren Award 2008). He has also recently published a chapter for a forthcoming book on Second Life in further and higher education, with Howard Ramsay.
Gavin's company (www.theconsultants-e.com) works primarily in online teacher development and training and their Cert ICT course won a British Council ELTON in 2007. Among other courses the company also offers the only online Cert IBET course. When not working on all that, Gavin looks after his three islands in Second Life and spends time building and scripting for the education community - his Second Life project EduCation@EduNation was shortlisted for a second British Council ELTON award in 2009. You can follow Gavin's blog at: http://slife.dudeney.com
Biodata
Nicky has worked in the field of face-to-face and distance education since 1987, as a teacher, teacher trainer and consultant. She holds an MA in TEFL from the Universidad de Granada ( Spain ), a CTEFLA (1987) and a DTEFLA (1991). She has worked as a teacher trainer on Cambridge-ESOL CELTA courses, and has given seminars, in-service workshops and teacher training courses for practising language teachers in the UK, South America, South Africa and in many European countries. She has also been involved in materials development, for both EFL course books and online learning.
Before joining The Consultants-E, she was Academic Counsellor at the Fundacion Universitaria Iberoamericana on a distance Master in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) programme, offered through various Spanish and Latin American universities. This MA programme used the medium of CMC (Computer Mediated Communication) as a basic tool, in which the emphasis is on delivery of content, and also on the use of communication skills for learning and personal/professional development. Her work here involved not only instructional design, but training of university faculty members in the skills necessary for successful online teaching and learning.
Nicky was Co-ordinator of the IATEFL TTEd SIG (Teacher Trainers and Educators Special Interest Group) from 2003-2005, and a member of the IATEFL TTEd Committee until 2006, as well as a member of the IATEFL Marketing Committee (2005-2006). She was Editor of a magazine aimed at EFL teacher development, called IT's for Teachers , from 2002-2004, and was on The ELT Journal Advisory Panel for two years (2004-6).
She has written many articles on education and online learning, and spoken at conferences all over the world. She currently writes a regular column in English Teaching Professional Magazine on uses of ICT for teachers (2009 - present), and has co-written the book "How to Teach English with Technology", Longman 2007, which looks at the application of new technologies to the classroom.
Biodata
A teacher of English in Khimki Secondary school (Moscow Region), also a teacher-trainer. She is a winner of the National Project “Best Teachers of Russia 2006”, Honoured Teacher of Russia.
She has a page on the web-site www.englishteachers.ru on using the Internet in ELT, an alumni of Hornby School 2008 and involved in a number of projects run by the British Council.
She is a member of the Executive Board of MELTA (Moscow English Language Teachers Association) and she has publications in British and Rusian professional magazines: “British Studies Now”, “1September”, “English Language at School”
As a teacher trainer she organized a course for teachers in Khimki “TKT Essential” and “Learning Technologies”.
Biodata
Programme Development Manager in International House London, responsible for defining new courses and products International House London offer, most particularly online courses. Her areas of special interest are management and distance learning. She has taught and trained in the UK, Spain, Hungary and France. She is the author and Programme Manager for the suite of online management training modules offered by International House London, which lead to the Diploma in Educational Management Skills. She is also the author of the Educational Management module for the MSc in TESOL/TESP offered by the University of Aston, and a specialist tutor for the University of Aston.
Biodata
A learning technologist with over 10 years' experience in teaching, teacher training, materials writing and consultancy for both online and face-to-face contexts, Rena has an impressive track record in all stages of educational products.
She is particularly interested in how interactive and online technologies can enhance the learning process for both teachers and learners, and how best to equip teachers and trainers to work in an ever-changing teaching/learning environment. Experienced with a multitude of learning technologies (e.g. interactive whiteboards, Moodle and other virtual learning environments, Web 2.0 technologies, etc.), she has spent the majority of her career in education working for the British Council.
She holds a Masters in Online Education, CELTA, CELTYL, DELTA, and PRINCE2 certifications, amongst others.
Biodata
A teacher of English in Yaroslavl Gymnasia, also working as a teacher trainer in Yaroslavl Educational Institute (including Yarinset program) and an Excecutive Director in YARTEA. Main interests are projects, IWBs and teaching creative writing. She is a alumni of YARINSET and Hornby School 2007 (CLCT in Tashkent). Also she is a student of MSSES and writing a dissertation on the topic of IWBs and distance learning. As a teacher trainer she designed and piloted a course "Using IWBs in ELT". She is a manager and trainer of annual summer workshops of YARTEA.
Biodata
Wayne Rimmer has taught English in Russia, Germany, Thailand, Moldova and the UK. He has just finished a doctorate in corpus linguistics at Reading University. Wayne is co-author of 'Cambridge Active Grammar', a corpus-informed pedagogical grammar for teenagers to be published in February 2011.
Biodata
Olga taught English, Russian and Literature, and Russian as a foreign language at secondary and tertiary levels. Since 2007 she has worked at Southern Federal University, Pedagogical Institute, mostly teaching General English, Media Studies, and exam preparation classes (FCE, CPE), she’s also taught ESP and Business English. Her major areas of interest include linguistics, lexicography, the use of learning technologies in education, and distance learning.
Within the framework of the “Course design for online learning” (2007) she started developing an online course for efl learners in Moodle which she has used with her university students ever since.
She’s a member of Don English Language Teachers Association (DonELTA) and a teacher trainer. He has given training on the use of various learning technologies, E-moderation and trainer development. She was one of the moderators of the British Council course “Learning technologies for the Classroom” (September – December 2009).
She is in the final stages of completing a PhD in linguistics at Southern Federal University.
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Neil Ballantyne, British Council Hong Kong
Vera Bobkova,
Gavin Dudeney, The Consultants-E
Nicky Hockly, The Consultants-E
Maureen McGarvey, International House London
Rena Penna, BritishCouncil,Czech Republic
Olga Rotko