Hiring a CALL Coordinator:
Perspectives from Employers and Employees
TESOL '97 Discussion Group

Miriam Seaver English Language Institute Wayne State University email: mseaver@cms.cc.wayne.edu

Claire Bradin Center for Language Education and Research Michigan State University email: bradincl@pilot.msu.edu

References:

"The Role and Job Description of the Learning Resource Center Director"
http://www.temple.edu/MLC/manmod01.html (Excerpts from the IALL Management Manual)

A printed copy may be ordered from

Thomas Browne, IALL Business Manager
Humanities Resource Center
Macalester College
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105
Phone: 612-696-6336
email: Browne@Macalstr.edu

Order form at http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/IALL/journal/puborder.html

Where to look for a CALL Coordinator:

Internet:

• Post the job opening at Agora Language Marketplace under the "Language Laboratory & Technical" category. "Employment listings are FREE and will remain for three months unless otherwise directed."

http://agoralang.com/agora/employment.html

• Check the Agora Language Professional Directory at
  http://agoralang.com/agora/directory.html
  
• Announce the opening on TESLCA-L (CALL), TESLJB-L (jobs) and LLTI
  
  Subscribing to TESLCA-L and TESLJB-L (branches of TESL-L)

First, you must subscribe to TESL-L. Then, you will receive instructions for how to subscribe to TESLCA-L and TESLJB-L.

1. Send an email message to LISTSERV@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU:

2. Leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message, type the following:
SUBSCRIBE TESL-L yrfirstname yrlastname
Example: SUBSCRIBE TESL-L Mickey Mouse

To subscribe to LLTI, send the following message to listserv@dartmouth.edu:

SUB LLTI yourID@hostname yourfirstname yourlastname.
Example: SUB LLTI mouse@pilot.msu.edu Mickey Mouse

Book: CALICO Resource Guide for Computing and Language Learning. (1995) CALICO, Duke University: Durham. Includes list of CALL consultants

Mailing address:

CALICO
014 Language Center, Box 90267
Durham, NC 27708-0267
Phone: (919) 660-3180
Fax: (919) 660-3183
email: info@calico.org

Order form at: http://calico.org/publications.html

Useful organizations:

• CALL Interest Section of TESOL
• International Association of Learning Laboratories (IALL) http://eleazar.dartmouth.edu/IALL/
• Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO) http://calico.org/
  

Discussion questions:

NEED

• When is a full-time CALL coordinator needed and when is part-time enough?
• In staffing a program, what is the relative priority of having a CALL coordinator compared with other administrative positions?

DUTIES/QUALIFICATIONS

• What duties are typically expected of a CALL coordinator?
  
  
  

  evaluate new software/ recommend purchases	maintain webserver
  train faculty	maintain equipment
  install software	recommend hardware purchases
  develop software	administer lab server
  develop/maintain website	coordinate lab schedule
  assist faculty with all computer-related problems	Other?
  clean lab

  
  
• What types of expertise are needed to perform these duties?
• What qualifications should one look for when evaluating a resume?
• Which duties are essential to being a CALL coordinator and which could/should be handled by someone else?
  

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• What attitudes among faculty, students, administrators, etc., make the job easier/harder?
• How much time is required to perform the coordinator's essential duties well?
• How much money is needed for software? hardware? user training? coordinator's professional development? coordinator's (and support staff's) salaries? other needs?
• Are there any other resources a CALL coordinator needs to do the job well?

"TAKE HOME" QUESTIONS:

• a. Does your program need a CALL coordinator? If so, what is the extent and priority of the need?
• b. What does/would your program expect a CALL coordinator to do? Are these expectations reasonable? If not, how could they be made so?
• c. Does your CALL coordinator/the person you have interviewed have all the expertise your program needs? If not, how can it best be obtained?
• d. Are there aspects of your program (attitudes, resources, organization) that (would) hinder the CALL coordinator's work? How can they be changed?