Happy New Year, and welcome to your new website! The volunteers on the TESL Toronto Executive have resolved to make 2011 a year of community building, starting with this website. Responding to feedback from our members, we’ve made a number of improvements to make the site more dynamic and useful to Toronto’s TESL community.
Blog format: You may not be able to tell by looking at it, but this website is actually a blog. For readers, the change is minimal, but it makes a world of difference to managing the site. The old website was difficult to edit, due to an outdated design program and our non-existent technical support budget. In response, we’ve opted for a blog format. While it has certain design limitations compared to a website, a blog has the great advantage of being easy to update quickly.
Current news updates: While our newsletter was popular among members, the main concern we heard was that the ‘news’ was often no longer new by the time members received it. Now we will publish news on the homepage as soon as we receive it – the most recent news at the top. If you’d like to submit some news related to your sectors or organisations, please send it to info@tesltoronto.org. We’ll review it and add it if it fits!
Inspiration: Who doesn’t love finding and sharing interesting ideas? The Teaching Toronto Idea Swap and Contest invites you to share your ideas for teaching students about our city.
More PD listings: The new Events page features professional development activities in and around Toronto.
More information for job-seekers and prospective teachers: We’ve beefed up the Training and Careers pages to answer your most common questions.
Comment function: The new site allows for feedback from readers. Click on the ‘comment’ button below any article to have your say.
Like the community it serves, this website will evolve over time, and the shape that it ultimately takes depends on your involvement. If you have any comments, questions, corrections, ideas, upcoming events, or news updates, feel free to contact us at info@tesltoronto.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Best wishes for a prosperous 2011,
Tyson Seburn and Ellen Servinis
Website Co-Editors
TESL Toronto