TESOL BD inaugurates Educational Technology SIG, organises first int’l symposium
TESOL Society of Bangladesh organised an international symposium titled “Educational Technology During the Pandemic and Beyond: Implications for Sustainable Education” as part of inauguration of its Educational Technology SIG (Special Interest Group), on Wednesday.
Professor Munaz Ahmed Noor, vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Digital University, inaugurated the TESOL BD Educational Technology SIG as chief guest at 7:00pm, said a media release.
In his inaugural speech, Noor spoke on how to create a sustainable educational ecosystem at the brink of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
The special guest of the event Manik Mahmud, head of Social Innovation Cluster of a2i, focused on creating on demand solutions for education and reaching out to teachers and students to the remotest corners of Bangladesh.
Professor Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia presented the keynote speech at the international symposium and highlighted his research findings on the use of social media and the impacts of collaborative learning for creating a sustainable pedagogy during the pandemic.
Lisa Brown, assistant director, Teaching and Learning System, University IT; assistant director, Online Learning, Institute for Innovative Education, University of Rochester, USA spoke on the lessons she learned about online teaching during the pandemic. She also shared her insights on the methods that are useful and things that should be avoided during conducting classes online.
Maria Diakou, deputy head, Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, and event coordinator, LT SIG, IATEFL; Letizia Cinganotto, researcher, National Institute for Documentation, Innovation, Educational Research and event coordinator, LT SIG, IATEFL shared their journey and transformation while adapting to remote teaching in Cyprus and Italy respectively.
Afzal Hossain Sarwar, Policy Specialist (Educational Innovation) and head, Future of Education, a2i, discussed on the Bangladesh government’s initiatives to digitise education in Bangladesh. The symposium, as a whole, addressed the issue of sustainability in the field of Educational Technology and its future directions.
Syeda Farzana Sultana, convenor, TESOL BD Educational Technology SIG and general secretary of TESOL Society of Bangladesh and assistant professor, Department of English and Humanities, ULAB discussed the SIG’s mission, vision, action plan, and the benefits of joining the SIG.
President of TESOL Society of Bangladesh, professor Sayeedur Rahman, Department of English Language, Institute of Modern Languages (IML), University of Dhaka, elaborated on the contributions of TESOL Society of Bangladesh in the field of English language teaching in Bangladesh.
Vice-president of TESOL Society of Bangladesh, Hamidul Haque, assistant professor and head, Department of English Language, American International University-Bangladesh, and Dipty Rahman, co-convener, TESOL BD Educational Technology SIG and lecturer, Department of English, DIU also spoke at the programme.