Wrongful Convictions and Executions: East & West

Sunday, October 14, 2018 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm 

Wrongful convictions and exonerations continue to dominate the media on both sides of the Pacific. In the minds of the general public, wrongful convictions are due to honest mistakes made in the pursuit of justice. In this session, Fox will challenge this notion and insist that most wrongful convictions, both in Japan and the USA, have been deliberately and maliciously fabricated. There will be three parts to the talk: (1) Fire, death, coerced confession and wrongful conviction: A tale of two countries. Two cases will be reviewed, one in Osaka and one in Delaware (USA), in which coerced confessions led to convictions for arson and murder. The three defendants -- two in Osaka, one in the US -- were all sentenced to life imprisonment. (2) “Women doin' time for men's crimes” The world's prisons are filled with women who have been convicted for crimes perpetrated by men. "If you run with the wolves, you are guilty of the kill" is a maxim embraced by too many police and prosecutors. We will examine cases of women accomplices who were arrested, defied authorities, rejected plea bargains, and are now serving long terms of incarceration. (3) Wrongful Executions Popular support for the death penalty has been decreasing in the United States, but remains high in Japan. We will look at actual cases of wrongful executions in both countries, and one in China. Classroom teachers can use the simple yet highly persuasive materials that will be shared in this section. Michael H. Fox grew up in suburban Detroit, and came to Japan with a backpack in 1979. He spends most of his waking life researching wrongful convictions and the death penalty. He maintains three websites: the Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center (www.jiadep.org), the Women’s Criminal Justice Network (www.wcjn.org), and the Network for Innocent Arson Defendant (www.niad.info). This is, of course, too much work for one person, and at any given time, all three websites may be badly out of date. During the day, he works at Hyogo University in Kakogawa. Zen meditation and seaside walks have helped him maintain sanity…so far. This event is co-sponsored by Kyoto JALT and SIETAR Kansai. The meeting venue is in the Nishinomiya Daigaku Koryu Center (ACTA East Tower 6F, Room 2), 2 minutes from Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station.

There will be a dinner after the session at a restaurant. Reservations for dinner required by October 10.

Location: 

Nishinomiya Daigaku Koryu Center (ACTA East Tower 6F, Room 2), 2 minutes from Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station

Venue Address: 

六湛寺町10番3号

Nishinomiya, Hyogo662-8567 Japan

Event Speaker: Michael H. Fox (Associate Professor, Hyogo Univ.)

Fee for JALT members: Free for JALT and SIETAR members and students

Fee for non-JALT members: 500 yen

Contact or Queries

Edcamp Kansai Encore, at Uchida Yoko Co., LTD., Osaka branch

Saturday, October 20, 2018 - 10:00am to 4:00pm

Osaka JALT is proud to co-sponsor Edcamp Kansai Encore 2018 (the second Edcamp event in Kansai of the year), held again at the beautiful facilities of Uchida Yoko Co., LTD., three blocks west and two blocks south of Tanimachiyonchome metro station, Exit 8. Admission is free for everyone, but please register to help the organizers.

Edcamp is a form of "unconference" designed specifically for teachers and their needs. What makes Edcamp an unconference? Unlike traditional conferences which have schedules set days, weeks, or months in advance by the people running the conference, Edcamp has an agenda that’s created by the participants at the start of the event. Instead of one person standing in front of the room talking for an hour, people are encouraged to have discussions and hands-on sessions. Sponsors don’t have their own special sessions or tables, all of the space and time are reserved for the things the people there want to talk about. Built on principles of connected and participatory learning, Edcamp strives to bring teachers together to talk about the things that matter most to them: their interests, passions, and questions. Teachers who attend Edcamp can choose to lead sessions on those things that matter, with an expectation that the people in the room will work together to build understanding by sharing their own knowledge and questions.

 Edcampは、教師の必要に合わせて流動的に行う「アン・カンファレンス」と呼ばれるスタイルの交流会です。では「アン・カンファレンス」とは何でしょうか。一般的に「カンファレンス」と呼ばれる会議は、何か月も前から主催者がスケジュールを決め、話し手が一時間ほど前で全員に向かって話し、スポンサー企業のテーブルやセッションを設け、また何10万という参加費がかかります。Edcampは、参加者が当日にスケジュールと会の内容を決め、それぞれの関心や必要に応じた実践的なディスカッションや意見交換が行われます。時間と会場の全空間は参加者のためにあります。さらに参加費は無料です。Edcampは教育者が自発的に参加し、他の教育者と繋がることを理念としており、参加者一人一人が求めているものに出会える場を提供しています。それぞれの関心ごと、情熱、疑問を共有することで、時にはセッションをリードしたり、または共同的な作業を通して新たな理解を共に得たりします。

• The event begins at 10:00 with short welcoming comments, reminders, and building of the session board. Please bring your ideas! １０時から開会式を行います。この時にスケジュールの内容を作ります。アイディアを持ってきてください。

• Here is a map to the event venue Uchida Yoko. 会場への地図です。 https://goo.gl/maps/NpizqzpeDEP2

• Registration is still open, so please feel free to invite your colleagues or others interested. 登録はまだできますので、是非同僚を招待してください。当日参加も歓迎します。

• Please bring a device (and charger) or something to take notes with. We will not have paper on hand. デバイスとバッテリーを持ってきてください。紙やメモ用紙は会場にはありません。

• Consider doing a demo slam at the end of the day. We’ll have some small prizes for the top three slams. Do you know a cool app or website? Got a great teaching idea, strategy or model? Please share it with us! 何より大事なのは「アイデア」！イベントの最後にはプレゼンの時間があります。Edcamp関西で学んだことは？お気に入りのアプリやサイトは？学びのモデルは？ぜひ発表してくださいね！

• There will be tea, coffee, and simple snacks provided, but lunch will not be provided. There are restaurants in the area but Uchida Yoko has kindly provided a microwave and small refrigerator for those who choose to bring a bento. Drink can be consumed in the main hall, but all food must be eaten in the cafeteria on the 5th floor. There is no water fountain on site, but there are vending machines. 昼食は出ませんが、近くにカフェやレストラン、コンビニもあります。内田洋行の会場には電子レンジはあります。ミーティングルームと広場では食べ物は禁止なので、会場の５階にあるカフェテリアで食べて下さい。飲み物を購入できる自動販売機があります。

• We will have garbage bags on hand, but it will be helpful it you can take away your own trash (many thanks!). ゴミ箱は用意しますが可能であれば自分のゴミの持ち帰りください。

• To continue networking (yes, it’s okay for teachers to network - bring your business cards!) we will have an after party from 5pm. The venue is still to be announced but likely at a pub in Shinsaibashi, a couple of subway stops from the event venue (suggestions are still welcome). Edcamp関西 アフターパーティーは午後5時から行いますが当日お知らせします。まずは心斎橋の周辺で集まります。

• We like to be relaxed, so there is no dress code. ドレスコードはありませんのでカジュアルな服装にしてください。

• Still not certain what an Edcamp is? Have a look at our website!どんなイベントかよくわからない？Edcamp Japanのホームページを見てください。

• Share your enthusiasm and join us on social media (Twitter #EdcampKansai, Facebook, Google+) before the event! また、FacebookやTwitterでのフォローして、オンラインでシェアしましょう！ハッシュタグ#EdcampKansai

We look forward to seeing you soon! 当日お会いすることを楽しみにしております。

Location:
Uchida Yoko Co., LTD, Osaka branch

Address:

Izumimachi, 2-2-2 泉町２丁目２−２

Chuo-ku 中央区

Osaka, Osaka540-0019 Japan

Event Speakers: Everyone!

Fee for JALT members: Free

Fee for non-JALT members: Free

Contact or Queries

Osaka JALT TechDayPlus 2018: a one-day mini-conference on tech and other topics

Saturday, September 29th, 2018 - 9:30am to 6:00pm 

At TechDayPlus 2018, we aim to share ideas on a wide range of topics, both tech-related and non-tech alike.

The event schedule is here!

Speakers include JALT President Richmond Stroupe, JALT Publications Board Chair Jerry Talandis, Jr., and many more.

  

JALT President Richmond Stroupe and JALT Publications Board Chair Jerry Talandis, Jr.

JALT's President, Richmond Stroupe, of Soka University, will give a plenary:
Developing learners’ competencies for global citizenship: The role of language educators
As we move through the 21st century, developing “global citizens” is increasingly becoming a focus at secondary, tertiary, and even primary levels of education systems. In Japan, this has been manifest through a number of “global” initiatives at both the secondary and tertiary levels. Post graduation, prospective employers of our graduates are also no longer satisfied with solely higher levels of English language proficiency, but also require additional skills that shape a well-rounded “global citizen.” As part of the global community, our learners will be required to learn autonomously and be able to think critically. In addition, our learners need to be able to effectively manage large amounts of information, use technology efficiently, understand the cultural perspectives of others, and work collaboratively and in leadership positions. All of these skills need to be incorporated into educational programs that increasingly are providing content through English medium instruction, increasing the expectations placed on students and instructors alike.

This presentation will provide opportunities for teachers at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels to consider the obstacles they face when trying to support learners as they develop these skills. Specific strategies and effective suggestions that teachers can use on a daily basis to overcome some of these obstacles will be presented. These suggestions can be used within any curriculum with students at any level to help them achieve the skills necessary for success within the global community. 

JALT’s Publications Board Chair Jerry Talandis Jr. of Toyama University, and many of the Board will also be joining us, including TLT Editors Philip Head, Eric Martin, and Caroline Handley; JJ Editors Eric Hauser, Greg Glasgow, and Yo In’nami; PCP Editors Peter Clements, and Philip Bennett; as well as Pubs Website Editor Malcolm Swanson. Together they will be presenting Getting Published in JALT Publications. In this panel presentation, editors from the three journals comprising JALT Publications (JALT Journal, The Language Teacher, and the Post-conference Publication) will talk about what it takes for you to get published. Submission guidelines as well as various dos and don’ts for increasing your chances of acceptance will be covered.

Additional presentations:

Randall Bollig (Konan Women's Univ.) -- Beyond The Normal Classroom: A Nepal Experience and THT Opportunities

Francesco Bolstad, Toshiyuki Tanaka, Paul Mathieson, & Michael Blodgett (Nara Medical Univ.) -- Cultivating Learner Autonomy Under Difficult Circumstances: A Collaborative Approach

John Carle (Kindai Univ.) -- Motivation: Old School Tools and High Tech Tricks!

Ray Franklin (various unis in Kansai) -- Developing a Vocabulary List for Your Students

Sean Gay (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) -- Using Excel to organize a dissertation literature review

Nobuaki Ichimura (Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd) --  Introducing Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd and its educational endeavors

Megumi Ohsumi (Kansai Gaidai Univ.) -- Centripetal or Centrifugal? Rotational Forces in Pedagogy

Owen Kozlowski (Temple Univ.) & Peter Burge -- Getting started: Practical areas and points for teaching instructors to use PowerPoint

Josh MacPherson (TOEFL Speaking Teacher) -- How to Create Better Instructional Videos

Phillip Riccobono (based in Nagoya) -- Towards English for Baseball Purposes: A corpus-based investigation of Contemporary Baseball Vocabulary

Gary Ross (Kanazawa Univ.) -- Online speech: a new way of practicing conversation

Chris Ruddenklau (Kindai Univ.)-- Staying Connected, the Lao Program (Teachers Helping Teachers SIG) 

Josh Wilson (Kansai Gaidai Univ.) -- Tips and Tricks for teaching with Google Drive and Google Docs

This event will be at the beautiful facilities of Uchida Yoko Co., LTD, very near Tanimachiyonchome metro station (two blocks south and three blocks west of Exit 8), and will be followed by dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant.

RSVP here by 6pm Thursday, Sept 27 to reserve your seat at the dinner party and to help us better prepare for the day.

Please check back closer to the date for updated information.

Location: ​​

Uchida Yoko Co., LTD, Osaka branch

Address: 

2-2, Izumimachi 2-Chome Chuo-ku

Osaka, Osaka 540-8520 Japan

 

Event Speakers: Richmond Stroupe, Jerry Talandis, Jr., and many more

Fee for JALT members: Free 

Fee for non-JALT members: 2000 yen, 1000 yen for students

Contact or Queries

Achieving Coherence in Content-Based Language Teaching: Applying the 6 Ts to Course Design

Wednesday, July 18th, 2018 - 4:40pm to 6:10pm 
 

Achieving Coherence in Content-Based Language Teaching: Applying the 6 Ts to Course Design

Presentator - Donna M. Brinton, private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, California, USA

Reflective practice mandates that we in the English language teaching (ELT) profession make “tacit beliefs and practical knowledge explicit” (Crandall, 2000) and that we recall, consider, and evaluate our experiences (Ferrell, 1998). Over the course of our professional lives, as we amass classroom experiences, we are exposed to research results, methodological innovations, and changes in our teaching contexts that significantly impact how we conduct our practice. We may also conduct classroom research that enables us to “investigate the teaching and learning processes in our classrooms” (Bailey, 2014). In this manner, we strive to learn more about our practices with the ultimate goal of becoming more effective teachers. In her talk, Donna Brinton reflects on her ELT career and considers the ten innovations that have had the most impact on her own teaching. She concludes with a discussion of predicted trends in the future of ELT, contemplating the types of innovations that may arise as a response to these trends.

Donna M. Brinton is a private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, CA. In the past, she has served as Senior Lecturer in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC), where she designed and taught online classes in the MAT-TESOL program. Prior to that, she served as Professor of TESOL at Soka University of America and as Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Associate Director of the Center for World Languages at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has taught a wide spectrum of Applied Linguistics and English as a second language classes. Donna is the co-author and co-editor of numerous professional texts including Content-Based Second Language Instruction (University of Michigan), The Content-Based Classroom (Longman), Teaching Pronunciation (Cambridge) and many more. 

Osaka Jogakuin College/University are in the building closest to the South gate of the campus.

Location: 

​​Osaka Jogakuin University (大阪女学院大学)

Address: 

2 Chome-26-54 Tamatsukuri

中央区 Osaka, Osaka 〒540-0004 Japan

 

Event Speaker: Donna M. Brinton, private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, California, USA

Fee for JALT members: Free for JALT members

Fee for non-JALT members: Free

Contact or Queries

Transforming our Professional Identities and Classroom Practices: Innovations that Have Changed ELT

Sunday, July 15th, 2018 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm 
 

Transforming our Profession Identities and Classroom Practices: Innovations that Have Changed ELT

Presentor - Donna M. Brinton, private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, California, USA

Reflective practice mandates that we in the English language teaching (ELT) profession make “tacit beliefs and practical knowledge explicit” (Crandall, 2000) and that we recall, consider, and evaluate our experiences (Ferrell, 1998). Over the course of our professional lives, as we amass classroom experiences, we are exposed to research results, methodological innovations, and changes in our teaching contexts that significantly impact how we conduct our practice. We may also conduct classroom research that enables us to “investigate the teaching and learning processes in our classrooms” (Bailey, 2014). In this manner, we strive to learn more about our practices with the ultimate goal of becoming more effective teachers. In her talk, Donna Brinton reflects on her ELT career and considers the ten innovations that have had the most impact on her own teaching. She concludes with a discussion of predicted trends in the future of ELT, contemplating the types of innovations that may arise as a response to these trends.

Donna M. Brinton is a private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, CA. In the past, she has served as Senior Lecturer in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC), where she designed and taught online classes in the MAT-TESOL program. Prior to that, she served as Professor of TESOL at Soka University of America and as Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Associate Director of the Center for World Languages at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has taught a wide spectrum of Applied Linguistics and English as a second language classes. Donna is the co-author and co-editor of numerous professional texts including Content-Based Second Language Instruction (University of Michigan), The Content-Based Classroom (Longman), Teaching Pronunciation (Cambridge) and many more.  

For those interested, we'll go to a nearby restaurant after the presentations for dinner. Please RSVP so we can be sure to reserve you a seat! Reservations are required by Wednesday, July 14th.

Location: 

​​Osaka Municipal Lifelong Learning Center (Umeda)

Address: 

Osaka Municipal Lifelong Learning Center, Ekimae Dai-2 Building 5F, Room 6

Kita-ku, Umeda 1-2-2-500 Osaka, Osaka〒 530-0001 Japan

Event Speaker: Donna M. Brinton, private educational consultant based in Beverly Hills, California, USA

Fee for JALT members: Free for JALT members

Fee for non-JALT members: 1,000 yen (500 yen for undergraduate students)

Contact or Queries