U.S. educators who specialize in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) are taking advantage of rapid advances in technology to access a wide range of databases, communicate with one another, exchange views and ideas, and stimulate learning both in and outside of the classroom. During a series of seminars in Nicosia and Limassol from June 15-26, 2009, Dr. Lisa Morgan, the TESOL Director at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, showed over 110 local teachers how to harness new technology to improve TESOL instruction.

As one of the slides from Dr. Morgan’s presentation noted, “The top ten in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.” This reality means that educators must prepare their students, the next generation, to face rapid advances in technology, even though at times the technology is new and frightening to the teachers as well. Through interactive workshops illustrating new websites and software, Dr. Morgan showed local TESOL educators, many of whom already had decades of teaching experience, that new technology should not be feared, but rather embraced as a powerful educational tool.

Dr. Morgan’s programs were sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Cyprus University of Technology.