We will explore web-based tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, VoiceThreads, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and social bookmarking sites like Delicious. The presenter will share an overview of different tools available to language educators, briefly explain how each tool works, and discuss a rationale for their use in teaching languages. The workshop will situate web-based tools within the framework of differentiated instruction and 21st century learning skills.

During the second half of the workshop we will focus on the use of webtools like PhotoStory as a means of designing and creating simple digital stories for the classroom. Teachers will view an example of a digital storytelling lesson, and learn how to use PhotoStory to create their own digital stories.

The central purpose of the workshop is to de-mystify webtools and inspire teachers to use them to for creating and sharing digital stories as a means of teaching and assessing language learners.

• De-mystify webtools for teaching languages
• Inspire teachers to leverage the power of webtools for getting students to create in the target language

In this presentation, we will explore the role that culture and language play in a multicultural educational setting. Through activities and real-world examples, we will examine issues such as teacher identity, 21st Century Skills, and world language education as essential components for building a multicultural/multilingual community of excellence.

• To promote thoughtful discussions around issues of identity and diversity.
• To inpire educators to "unpack" their "virtual knapsack" and consider our own identities and how they impact teaching and learning in our classrooms and schools.