ELLTA(S)

Speakers

	BlogEL - Teaching text-types and grammar in the English Language through blogging by Ms Jamielene Joan Fernandez Ms Jamielene Joan Fernandez is a beginning teacher at Stamford Primary school and is currently the form teacher of a Primary 3 class. With her first area of specialization being physical education, her interest also lies in sourcing for new means and ways to teach the English language using refreshing as well as engaging methods.
	Designing Language Learning Tasks for Students’ New Literacy Needs by Dr Phillip A. Towndrow Dr Phillip A. Towndrow is a language teacher, teacher educator and researcher at the National Institute of Education. His areas of interest include pedagogy and practices in using ICT in language learning, teacher professional development and reflective practice. **Note: Participants for Dr. Philip A. Towndrow’s workshop are required to bring their own laptops.
	Developing Oral Communication Skills through Broadcasting - The Process by Ms Shen Qiuhua & Ms Tan Li Wee Ms Shen Qiuhua graduated from NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with a First Class Honours in Economics. Currently teaching Economics in Innova Junior College, she is a CCA teacher consultant of New Media Arts (Broadcasting) of the college. She believes in the importance of student-centered learning to engage students in their teaching and learning.
	Developing Oral Communication Skills through Broadcasting - The Process by Ms Shen Qiuhua & Ms Tan Li Wee Ms Tan Li Wee has a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) from NIE, specialising in English Language. Having graduated from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, she is equipped with both audio and visual production skills. She believes in the immense potential that the New Media has in today’s classroom and is enthusiastic in integrating it in current pedagogical practices.
	excITe to wrITe! by Mrs Kalpana Balasubramaniam Kalpana Balasubramaniam has been in the education service for more than 17 years. Her focus has always been innovation and excitement in classroom lessons. Kalpana’s interest areas include introducing innovative ideas in the classroom to enhance the learning of English.
	“校园网络广播教学法”工作坊 by Dr. Chua Chee Lay Dr. Chua Chee Lay is a Chinese linguist, educational technology researcher, award-winning poet and a dedicated educator who received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Institute of Education. He received an overseas scholarship from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to pursue his MA and Ph.D. in Chinese linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. His principal research interests include the use of IT in education, Chinese linguistics, culture and literature.
	Creative Learning with Storytelling by Assistant Professor Mark Chavez Mark Chavez is an animation industry professional that has joined the ranks of academia at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media to experiment with new media narratives and technologies. Having worked as an animation director, art director and technical director as well as on large teams as a digital artist, he is well suited to creative endeavors in CGI. His professional experience, spanning more than 25 years, includes early work in interactive media and games, broadcast television and feature films (including eight years at Dreamworks Animation SKG and three at Rhythm and Hues Studios). Mark’s academic research is focused on the creation of artificial life to drive storytelling.
	Multiliteracies in the Language Classroom by Dr Maha Sripathy Maha Sripathy is an experienced teacher educator, who has worked with pre-service and in-service teachers at both the graduate and post-graduate levels in Singapore, Australia and the region. Her special interests are in the area of alternative assessment, teaching of writing and multiliteracies. She works with schools to plan and implement specially tailored professional development courses for teachers. She is also consultant and examiner to private educational institutions in their Early Childhood and Liberal Arts programmes.
	Project IREAD: Literature, Film and Media in the Primary Classroom by Mrs Monica Sharma Menon Mrs Monica Sharma Menon has been in the education service for more than 17 years. In 2005, she crafted her own Teacher Work Attachment at a preschool in order to develop a school based integrated curriculum for the SEED programme. Monica is currently pursuing her masters by research full time at NIE. Her interest areas include enhancing teacher capacity and curriculum design.
	Using Student-Produced GP Documentaries in the Teaching of the General Paper by Ms Lim Meng Kean & Mr Daniel Yip Kok Hoong Mr Lim Meng Kean has been a General Paper teacher in some colleges for more than 15 years. She is an arts graduate from the National University of Singapore and an MSc (Applied Linguistics) from the University of Edinburgh. Currently, she works with her Oral Communication team in Innova Junior College to nurture confident communicators.
	Using Student-Produced GP Documentaries in the Teaching of the General Paper by Ms Lim Meng Kean & Mr Daniel Yip Kok Hoong Daniel Yip Kok Hoong graduated with BA (Hons) in English Language from the National University of Singapore. Currently, he is a GP teacher in Innova Junior College and has taught for two years. Together with Meng Kean, he pioneered the GP documentary series in IJC.
	Language Comes Alive with ICT by Mr Low Min Chye Mr Low Min Chye begun his teaching career in 2000 upon graduation from the National Institute of Education with a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma in Education. In 2001, he was appointed to the position of Level Head for the English Language Department in Xingnan Primary School, a position he still fills to this day. In his capacity as Head, Learning Centre, Min Chye oversees the professional development of the teachers in the school, the school’s in-house Talent Development Programme as well as the Learning Centre (the school’s library/Broadcast Centre.) Min Chye is also one of the two vice-presidents of ELLTAS (The English Language and Literature Teachers’, Singapore).
	Literacy through Creative Movement by Ms Nirmala Seshadri Nirmala Seshadri is a performer, choreographer, arts educator, researcher and writer. A recipient of various awards including the Singapore National Arts Council’s “Young Artist Award”, Nirmala currently serves on the Council’s Arts Resource Panel. In year 2000, she co-facilitated, with Dr. Lynn Sullivan, the workshop "Arts as Languages for Learning" organized for teachers and artists in Singapore. Nirmala’s choreographic work is experimental in nature. Over the years, she has been pushing the boundaries of her dance form and discovering new connections with music, poetry, theatre, film, visual art and mathematics.
	Cultivating Audience Awareness Through Blogging by Mr Collin Sebastian & Mrs Rita Zamzamah Ikeda Mr Collin Sebastian has been teaching since 1997. He began his teaching career at Jiemin Primary School, before transferring to his ideal school, Catholic High, a Catholic all-boys school in 1999. He has been happily teaching English to the Upper Primary boys in the Gifted Education Programme ever since.
	Cultivating Audience Awareness Through Blogging by Mr Collin Sebastian & Mrs Rita Zamzamah Ikeda Mrs Rita Zamzamah Ikeda is a teacher of the Gifted in Catholic High School (Primary). A reflective practitioner, she is a strong advocate of Action Research as a tool to continually fine-tune pedagogical practices for meaningful learning. Her research interests include new literacy practices and bilingualism. With the accelerated change Information Technology has brought about, Mrs Ikeda is excited to align classroom teaching with her pupils’ literacy practices.
	Tools and Resources for Teaching Multiliteracies by Mr Sasi Kumar Sasi Kumar is currently with Elchemi Education which deals with Apple technologies in education. He has trained students and professionals in digital media productions and web developments. His area of specialisation is in production work such as Stopmotion, 3D animation and Video productions. He has dealt with web development such as blogging, forums, web sites, podcasting and vodcasting. He is well versed in softwares such as Maya and 3D Studio Max. He uses Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier for digital Video productions and Dreamweaver, PHP and MySql for his web developments. Having a good knowledge of the different software that run on different platforms, he has been interested in using these technologies to enhance students' language and learning.
	Language, Science and Technological Connectivity by Dr P N Avadhani Dr P N Avadhani obtained his Ph.D from Durham University and held a 2 year post- doctoral fellowship at McGill University in Canada. He joined the Botany Department of the then University of Malaya in Singapore, during which period he was a visiting scientist in several institutions in different countries on sabbatical and study visits. He has trained several students who are now in prominent positions. His teaching philosophy is that his students must become better than him. He continues to be involved in various voluntary organizations educational, scientific, social and spiritual and is passionate about nature and biodiversity. He is currently a free lance consultant.
	Using the New Media in English Language Learning by Ms Serene Siew Ms Serene Siew is currently a STOMP content producer. She taught English and Literature in English in Pasir Ris Secondary School for six years.