Show & Tell Presentation TeacherTools: An introduction and implementation in a Japanese university EFL context more

Sun, Jun 6, 14:30-15:00 Asia/Tokyo

Last year saw a sudden increase of online teaching software, platforms, and applications come to the forefront of education around the world due to the effects COVID-19 and the transition to online teaching. This presentation explores the implementation of one such tool, TeacherTools.digital, an online activity creation tool for educators. TeacherTools allows users to create various online activities that focus on the main four skills, including audio and video recordings, gap fills, speech recognition, and writing. These activities can be easily accessed by students and comes complete with an incorporated gradebook system. It was selected mainly for the ease of material creation, automated grading, and especially the lack of login requirements for students. With educators possibly using multiple online platforms that require students to log in, this ease of access proved a critical feature. The main focus of this presentation is to introduce and example some of the main features, detailing how the platform was implemented in the presenter’s courses and in other contexts. Finally, the presenter will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the platform in addition to feedback from other users at the institution.