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week2threads

Page history last edited by Daf 17 years, 1 month ago

Weekly Threads: Week 2

This week's threads are brought to you by:

Cheryl Oakes in (Wells, Maine)

with the invaluable help of Daf in editing the final version of the page

Date: (01)22-28 January 2007

Number of messages: lots more;-)


 

Welcome to Week Two

From The Baw07 Team, Cora, Cris, Daf, Hala, Moira, Teresa, 22 Jan 2007

Dear Webheads and Webheads-To-Be,Welcome to week 2 with me (in the Uk) and Ramona (in Portugal) at the helm. As you can see we switched places here, since I am the Portuguese one, and my dear friend and co-moderator, Ramona, is the native English speaker. But what does it matter in the virtual world? We are all only a click away! ;)And so, Week 2 is now on the air! This week we will explore ��Text and Voice synchronous communication tools:Tapped In, Yahoo Messenger and Skype (in Worldbridges), which you will absolutely love!!! Together we will discuss the best ways of implementing these tools into our classrooms, projects, or just use it for communication purposes,. You will realize that through the use of these tools you will get more attached to the people you are collaborating with and eventually develop a deeper bond with some of the participants. That has been our experience as Webheads and it is according to our knowledge as active participants that we will guide you through this communication tool exploration. Meanwhile make sure you have downloaded Yahoo Messenger and Skype into your computer and that they are running perfectly, so that you don't run the risk of missing the two amazing experiences that are happen this week with three amazing speakers: Michael Coghlan on Wednesday and, Jeff Lebow and David Cormier on Sunday. Please do join us in these virtual meetings. They are way fun!Don't forget to go to our wiki http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 and check thetips we have got there for you.Also check the Forum where we will discuss the weekly suggested readingshttp://www.miumu.com/phpbb/baw07.html .Ramona and I will be available at the TI (Tapped In) reception, YM and Skypewhenever possible. Feel free to add us to your YM and Skype. IDs which can be accessed at our profiles in the wiki:

http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Moderators#CristinaCosta

http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Moderators#RamonaDietrich

Beijinhos,Ramona and Cristina

 

Our Week Two Readings

 

Dear friends,The week 2 readings can finally be found and discussed in the forum. I have only created sections for the suggested reading, but if you want I can only create another one for the optional readings. here is the link: http://www.miumu.com/phpbb/index.php?mforum=baw07

I would also like to thank my dear friend and moderator Moira for drawing my attention about the online meeting we are having with Michael Coghlan. It is indeed on Thursday, 25th January. I have also updated that information onto the BaW07 wiki. I hope you're enjoying week 2. All the best,Cristina Costa

 

 

Week 2 Live Event with Michael Coghlan

 

Dear BaWers,We are pleased to invite you to attend Michael Coghlan�s live presentation on Voice Web tools, at Yahoo Messenger on Thursday, Jan 25 at 12:00 (noon) GMT Information about Michael can be found at:http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Chat_sessions#Week2 He has provided this link to be read before the session: http://users.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/fll/vol_resources.htmInstructions previous the conference:- Donwload YM, add the coordinators and moderators Yahoo IDs to your buddy list- Add yourself to the database created for this session, if you are planning to attend-Login to YM 15 minutes before the session- Wait to be invited to the conference NOTE: Mac users don't have accesss to voice in YM :-(Hope to see many of you around,Daf
"Add the coordinators and moderators to your YM buddy list"Tere, Daf, and Cris are all on my buddy list already. Do I need to add anybody else?"Log in 15 minutes prior to the conference" This is a difficult time for me (7 am). I am going to try to get to work by 7 but will surely not be there by 6:45 and may be late. I hope this won't be a problem. Can I be added late to the group? Thanks,Nina
It looks like an interesting session.I'll try to be there (hope not to sleep):)yours,angeles
What does it mean "Wait to be invited." Do I have to let someone know that I plan to participate or do I just "show up" in Yahoo Messenger?Sheryl,Washington DC
I hope to be there as well, but will need to leave after 30 minutes to get to work.I have been reading and learning so much from you all

thanks! Sarah(Pennsylvania,USA)

Hi Sheryl (and others).Effectively yes - just show up in YM and make yourself obvious!Cristina or one of the other moderators will start a voice conference and invite each of us in turn to join them. See you there,- Michael Hi everyone.I hope to meet many of you in our Yahoo Messenger voice conference much later today. In the meantime, I have left some messages at1) my blog at http://mikecogh.blogspot.com/2) on a Wimba voice board at http://tinyurl.com/ypmfpo(To view the board wait for the Java to load; say 'yes always' if you are asked if you trust content from Wimba, and enter your name as screen name.)You don't have to visit these sites before the session if you don't want to. But if you're itching to listen to or play with something while your waiting, you know where to go ;-)Till later today,- Michael
Hi Daf,Does this mean we Mac users won't be able to hear or just that we won't be able speak in the conference? NOTE: Mac users don't have accesss to voice in YM :-(Thanks, Amy Canada
Hi everyone,For the presentation a little later I'll be using the Powerpoint slides at http://users.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/vol/voice_app_evonline07.ppt So we will talk and text chat in Yahoo Messenger and view the slides in Powerpoint or a browser. If you choose to view the slides in a browser you will need to use Internet Explorer. See you at NOON GMT.-Michael
Dear All There was a problem down here in Peru & can't get through the Yahoo live message.I feel sorry :-(Ana Rivas
Dear Ana,I-ll try to be online now more often.If you are too just yahoo! me and will experiment the tool.ok
Dear all, We had another wonderful live event with Michael Coghlan at YM. This was our first voice conference and it was a success. After a well-delivered presentation illustrated with Power Point slides, Michael finished up playing his guitar and singing the now famous song written by him: "Happy Online".Thanks Michael!!!Here's the chat log with screenshots and a link to the Power Point presentation. http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Mcoghlan-YM It is also linked to our Speakers and chat sessions wiki page at: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Chat_sessions Soon we will have the link to the recording - we hope ;-) - and the blog entry for you to post your comments!Have a great day, afternoon or evening! Daf
thanks daf!!!Michael`s conference was wonderful. I miss the "song" part.Hope you recorded it.yours,angeles
Dear Angeles and all,I have posted the recording to Michael's chatlog page. However this is not the complete recording because Moira who was recording the session lost her connection and lost the sound. But don't worry because Tere was also recording, and we will copy the last part to have it complete. We are not using the whole recording by Teresa because since she was in the classroom, there is much background noise. Thus, I guess that tomorrow we will have the whole recording.I have also added to the chatlog page a lovely thank-you card sent by Cristina, who has in turn created the blog entry for the session where we would like to read your comments about Michael's presentation :-)I am also eager to listen to the complete recording because I was paying attention to so many things at the same time that I would like to listen to it with my full attention ;-)All the links are here: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Mcoghlan-YMWell, I don't want you to wait to listen to the song (you can singalong because the lyrics are included):http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/songs.htm#holEnjoy!!!Daf
Thanks Daf for posting Michael's lirics!Love: Maru
Hi Dafne,The conference was fantastic. It was a wonderful learning experience. Thanks for making it available for us.José
RafiehThank you Dafne for posting Micheal's chatlog page so fast. I'm trying to listen to the recording but it plays for one or two seconds and stops and I have to start it again. I wonder if it is only me and my pc or someone else has the same problem?Yesterday for the first time I thought I could participate in a live session. Usualy I am unable to be there because of the time difference(Sydney is GMT+11 hrs) but I had a problem with Skype. It took me some time (and anxiety) to find out that Skype currently has problems working while the ZoneAlarm in combination with windows 98 is installed on a PC. I'm sure next time I'll have a better luck!Regards,Rafieh
Dear Dafne and All,thank you for all the support.I have just posted an entry on our blog about today's online session.You can access it here: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/f/tn_michael2.jpg beijinhos, Chris
Dear Rafieh,you might have to wait for a while for the file to upload completely.Tell us then if it worked.
Hello everybody,As you can see on the wiki, my recording did in fact work and very nicely,except that my own voice was not recorded.I don't usually use Yahoo when recording voice. I use Skype with Powergramo,Ineen and Gizmo.At the last minute, I was asked to record Michael's session, so first I wanted to try Solicall but when testing with Michael, it seemed to be awful, so I uninstalled it, rebooted and will try it later. Has anybody used this before?So, I used Audacity to record. Usually, I only use Audacity to edit my recordings as it is excellent for that.So, as you can read and hear from the chat log and recording, I checked that I had Wave and Stereo track settings to record the two way session. But this in fact recorded your voices but not my own. As Michael said, I was busy"underwater basket weaving" and that was the gurgling sound you heard when I wanted to speak. I've cut it out in the editting :-)My mic settings had been changed and immediately after the presentation, I could not speak on Yahoo and on Skype I had awful sounds. I then had to reset all my audio settings.That was no problem as I'm used to it but I would like to know what are the exact settings to record a two-way conversation using Yahoo and Audacity.Can anybody give precise setting instructions?BTW, sorry for not being able to record the very last bit of the presentation as I was cut off Yahoo for a while.Moira France
Hi, Moira!As I've told you before, for my laptop with built-in speakers and mic, my Settings are for "Microphone" (to the right of mic volume). I've always been able to record my voice and the voice of others. BTW, I don't find Audacity"Help" a big help in this area.We can have a short trial session one of these days, all right?I haven't heard the recording yet. I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day! :-)Hugs, Teresa
Dear Rafieh,For what you describe, it seems to be a problem of slow connection on your side. The recording is not complete, but you should be able to listen to all what�s there.My 2 cents,Daf
Dear Michael,I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to attend your presentation this morning, because it's 4:00AM for me and I had to rest before a long working day started. I enjoyed your Powerpoint presentation very much.Many thanks,Cora

 

 

An Excel-lent File on Participants

 

Hi again, everyone! At the end of Week 2 we have 253 members in our YG and 114intros. We are indeed a "mini UN" with representatives from 41 countries, as follows: Argentina 8 Australia 1 Brazil 12 Bulgaria 1 Canada 4 Czech Republic 1 Ecuador 1 England 7 Estonia 1 Germany 3 Greece 1 Holland 1 India 1 Iran 1 Israel 1 Italy 1 Japan 1 Kazakhstan 1 Korea 1 Latvia 1 Mexico 2 Myanmar 1 New Zealand 2 Norway 1 Oman 1 Peru 5 Portugal 5 Russia 2 Saudi Arabia 2 Slovenia 2 Spain 2 Sweden 1 Switzerland 2 Taiwan 3 Tajikistan 1 Thailand 1 Turkey 3 UAE 1 Ukraine 1 USA 29 Venezuela 4 It's fantastic, isn't it? Well, here's the link to the Excel-lent(coined by our own Dennis/Denos) that I've been creating about BaW07 participants. It's sorted by countries so you can associate the names of the participants to their (updated 1/29/07)country.http://www.thinkfree.com/fileview.tfo?method=callFileView&filemasterno=637633&filekey=ux1u0r6ico Enjoy! Teresa (Portugal)
Teresa,Excelalmeida!Does your wonderful table enable you to tell us how many males and how many females there are on the course?My impression is that it is a very high percentage of women with, I'm sure,supportive males looking after the children, cooking meals and doing the shopping. Seriously, though, it really does seem to be a high percentage of women in attendance, and it would be interesting to know the statistics.Denos Dennis or vica versa
Hello, Denos Dennis!I didn't include a column for the participants' sex, so I must go through all the names and count.As far as I was able to decipher, there must be around 26 gentlemen and 88 ladies. I'm talking about participants only.Now... that means 23% gents against 77% ladies. I knew this was a women's world. Now I'm absolutely sure!!!! ;-))Hugs, Teresa Excelalmeida (my new surname)
Dear all,Yesterday, we reached 260 participants (now 261), and I took a screenshot of the clustr map showing the countries from which our pbwiki pages are being accesssed, take a look:http://baw07participants.pbwiki.com/Extras#BaWMapvisitors As you can see we've had 3.511 hits since Jan 5.Would it be possible to hold a f2f session for 6 weeks with 261 participants from so many places in the world?See you later at Worldbridges ;-)hugs,Daf
Of course I meant Week 2, Daf!At the end of the day my neurones are burnt up. ;-)I'd also love to read some more intros. Over half of the participants haven't introduced themselves. We'd love to hear from you even if you my be lurking. No problem at all.Hugs all, Teresa

 

Week 2, nearly done

 

Well...week 2 is almost coming to the end.I would like to thank you all of you who enthusiastically took part in the activities and sessions, and shared with us your opinions and questions. A special thanks to our wonderful guest speakers and their outstanding performances. We hope to have you here next year again. As we say in Portugal, a team that is winning should not be changed, and you, my friends, are definitely a winning team, that is for sure.I would also like to thank the moderators and coordinators for all the support during this week. I really appreciated it.Week 3 is just around the corner. Tomorrow my dear friend Cora Chen, along with Cheryl Oakes, Gladys Baya, Nina Liakos, will take the leading role. I am sure we are all willing and sharing about blogs, podcasts and wikis. Have a nice week. I �ll see you guys around.It was a pleasure to be your moderator!beijinhos,Cris

 

Tapped In Tour Saturday

 

From Daf, 20 Jan

We had a great time at Tapped In today :-) Thanks a lot to all those who could make it!

For those who could not make it and for those who would like to go back to BJ's useful instructions about TI, here's the complete chatlog, with screenshots included:

http://baw07.pbwiki.com/ti-tour

You will also find this page at the Speakers and chat sessions page at:

http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Chat_sessions?doneSave=1#Week1!

From Moira, 20 Jan

You are all invited to leave your comments on our blog after attending the Tapped In Tour http://baw07.motime.com/

If you couldn't attend, please read the chat log in the wiki and leave your comments nevertheless on the blog.

BjB has given us all homework to do!!!! We'd better do it ;-)

I'm looking forward to seeing your offices! Mine had a recent spring clean :-)

 

Introductions

 

Welcome, Cristina and Ramona!I've just finished CALL lesson 6 with 6.C. http://call05-06.motime.com/ They enjoyed some "cool" things I showed them: an audio dictionary, the Xmas interactive e-card, the puzzles and Jazmin's ZT movies. We left a comment in The Chase 3, Vicky! I will write more later. Hugs all, Teresa
Hi friends! My name is Maru del Campo, my yahoo mail is mmvcentro@..., my yahoo ID is mmvcentro, my Skype ID is mmvmaru. Please contact me to get to know you. I am Mexican, Psychologist and enjoy teaching English (also cats). I joined this group to learn about online tools to enhance learning and make it more fun.I joined the baw06 group last year foolishly no clearing room for the 6 weeks course, now I feel more prepared to complete the course, meeting new friends and learn a lot!Lots of love: Maru
I remember you joining us last year too.I have your contact on YM! already but not the skype one. Let's chat whenever we are online. Meanwhile take a look on this week�s activities http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 all the best,Cris
Hi again fellow cat-lover Maru!Thanks for your hug on my Yahoo 360� site :-) We'll probably need your services as a Psychologist as the weeks go bye ;-)) Moira :-))
Dear Monica,I have just added you both to the YM and skype. Lets chat one of these days beijinhos, cris
Noemicavalaro phtoI'm a teacher of English as a foreign language in Rosario , Argentina.My yahoo ID is noemicavalaro. I've taught English to children , adolescents and adults at different levels for more than ten years now and I'm teaching English to 11-13 year old kids at Normal N� 1 school at present. It is at this school that we have the opportunity to have computer lab now that's why I'm eager to know more about new technologies to be applied to language learning. I joined a CALL SIG group five years ago coordinated by Rita Zeinstejer and I've learned a lot with her. I 'd like to learn more about ICT to enhance my teaching practice and share it with my students and colleagues.
Dear Noem�,I'm really glad you were able to make it. I'm sure we'll be able to go on learning together in this new environment! Hugs,Carla R.
hi there,Noem welcome to BAW07. You came to the right place to learn about technology and get to know very skilled teachers/professionals from all over the world. Feel free to browse through our wiki http://baw07.pbwiki.com/ and get all the information you need. We started week 2 this Monday and I will be your moderator this week. The activities proposed for this week can be found here http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 and if you check the yahoo! group list you will be able to get the information exchanged in the last days.Feel free to ask and take part actively.I am looking forward to meeting you online. On Thursday we will have Michael Coghlan as a guest Speaker and on Sunday we will be meeting Jeff and Dave at worldbridges. There is a lot to explore. Take your time and make the best of it.The Webheads in general and myself in particular will be here to back you up all the way. take care.
Welcome to the group Noem�.I`m an EFL tacher from mexico trying hard to follow the activities.and learning a lot :)hope you have a great time here!!!Angeles Berman
Hello everyone,my name is Clevia Perez.I'm an English teacher at Universidad de Los Andes Tachira in Venezuela.I just got back from a trip but I'm really willing to learn a lot from this workshop... Hope to catch up really soon... ;)Glad to be here!
Hi Clevia and welcome to BaW07 I am happy to see you here after meeting you f2f in Merida at the ICT in ELT seminar :-)I hope you enjoyed your trip to Brazil where you hadthe opportunity to meet Bee!Please show us the pictures! I am sure you will be able to catch up with theactivities!If you need any help, just shout ;-)hugs,Daf
welcome on board dear Clevia,You came to the right place to learn.This Yahoo! Group is our main discussion corner, but you may also want to have a look at our wiki to see the activities we have planned for you. http://baw07.pbwiki.com/We started a new topic- Text and Voice synchronous communication tools: TappedIn, Yahoo Messenger and Skype (in Worldbridges) - on Monday and together with my dear friend Ramona, I am moderating this week: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 Please enjoy your staying in cyberworld and hope to hear from you really soon.I am sure you will be able to catch up in no time. We are here to help you.beijinhos,Cristina Costa
To Juliana,Exactly,that is the other possibility about saving the chatlogs. thanks for your answer. It is nice to share and get all the information we need. that is what I like best about this community!Vera
Hello, everybody!I've been active for the Week 1, and it's so sad to be a bit away from our comminuty during week 2, but I promise I'll be back - the second semester at college has just started, and most of you know what it is like.Vera
Teresa, I've added my tapped in ID in database, could you, please,delete my other record?I looked at the Treads - they are so cool. The pictures and all that!And it's so easy to find the info. Thanks a lot! Have to come back to studies and preparation for teaching. Good luck! Vera
Hi Margaret,I checked my list and found no proteacher nor Margaret, so I'm going to missyour vocal introduction ;-) Can you add me to your list please? You can always dump' me afterwards but it's going to be necessary in the coming weeks ;-)Cheers,Moira France
Hi Teresa and others,. I hope to talk to you.valdaHi Teresa and others, my skype ID is valdamaria.
Thanks a lot Dafne!You're so sweet.. I'll post pictures soon..CLevia Thank you very much Cristina,I'll have a lot of questions for sure ;)Warm regards,Clevia
Hello everyone,I´m a new member at baw07, my name is Ana Maria Menezes, I´m Brazilian from Uberlândia and work for Cultura Inglesa, a language institute.I´m responsible for one of our branches and I´m both in the classroom and help teachers out as a coordinator. My e-mail is anamariacult@.... Last year after attending a workshop given by Carla Arena I became a member of another community called Learning with Computers and have learned so muchever since. My next goal is becoming a webhead, or try to. Hope to hear from you.Ana Maria
Hi Everyone,A latecomer here. I'm Kristi Newgarden in Storrs, Connecticut, USA. I'm the director of the ELI at the University of Connecticut and an ESL teacher. I'm also hoping to start a PhD here in Educational Technology next fall (my application is going in this week). I've been interested in CALL and teaching English online for a while now. I've taken a few courses in TESOL's Online Certificate Program (the last with Dafne and Teresa on Teaching Vocab and Grammar Online -great course). From this session, I'm hoping to get more familiar with online communication tools, find out what kind of work others are doing, and maybe even refine my future research ideas. My yahoo ID is: k888kuri Looking forward to interacting with you. Kristi
Hi Kristi,I was also a latecomer - trying my best to catch up. This is such an interesting group to collaborate with. I have already learned so much.SharonI have been reviewing all that I missed in the first weeks of this session and have some reflections.I spent an hour or more in TappedIn - what an experience. I am wondering if there are any scheduled sessions going to be held there.I can see so many uses for this tool. Several other groups that I have been honored to work with have used Second Life, but I must say that TI seems to be more educator friendly (if not as graphic oriented).Then I checked out the power point from Michael Coghlan's YM session.I think I will do a personal blog on using YM for language learning At first I thought I would make this one, but realized I had my 5 hours going the wrong way - duh.Can someone verify that I have now at least touched on every aspect of this course-the participants wiki - where I have found some great starts this message group YM TI Skype Readings - which I am working on, but haven't done much commenting around. (Are these the threads that I saw mentioned?)What's missing? whew!Sharon
Hello to everyone,My name is Susan Murphy. My yahoo ID is susaninseattle. I recently sold my school, English House, in Gaithersburg, Maryland to move with my family to Washington state. I think that I am still in the grieving process after having left my school and all of the wonderful people associated with it. I am just starting to think about my future in Washington and I have always tried to use technology to compliment teaching. So, I was very excited when Nina Liakos told me about your group and suggested that I join. I'm looking forward to making new friends and learning from all of you.Susan
Dear Susan,Welcome to our BaW workshop :-)I was interested in your introduction because I co-founded and run a k-12 bilingual school here in Venezuela back in the early 80's. It was the first open-classroom bilingual school in this country. I felt very sad when I had to sell it :-( Fortunately, life brought new challenges that I took and I am very happy with the new turns in my professional life. Hope it is the same for you :-)You are lucky to be in Seattle. It is one of my favorite cities in the USA. I love the Pike Place Market, the Pioneer Square, the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, the flowers in the street during the Spring, the underground city, and many other things in the outskirts of the city.I love it so much that Seattle is one of the units in my English for Architecture courses ;-)Hope to see you f2f at the TESOL Convention in March!Cheers,Daf
Hi Dear Ana Maria,welcome on board.what a nice goal you have. To become a webhead is quite easy.in order to get aquatinted with what we have been doing try to browse through our wiki http://baw07.pbwiki.com/ and see what we have in store for you. Also,don’t forget to check the emails we have been exchanged in our Yahoo! List. The advices and ideas shared there are priceless. This is also a good way to get toknow some of the members.We are in week 2 and I am your moderator.This week we are exploring Text and Voice synchronous communication tools:Tapped In, Yahoo Messenger and Skype (in Worldbridges).http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 In fact, there was a live session this morning with our dear guest speaker Michael Coghlan about Yahoo Messenger. On Sunday we are meeting at worldbridges. Try to come to the Sunday venue. You will meet many people and have a lot of fun.Meanwhile, if you would like you can go through the readings we prepared for you and post your reflection on the forum http://www.miumu.com/phpbb/baw07.html And welcome to the Becoming a Webhead. I am sure that in less than five weeks you will be one.Cris
Welcome to BaW07 Ana Maria :-)There is a nice group of brazilians in this session,so you will feel right at home!You are another link of the chain produced by webheads. Carla Arenas took one of the TESOL Principles and Practice courses that Teresa and I have been co-teaching for 4 years, and we introduced her to Webheads, she joined BaW, and together with other BaW participants they created the Learning with Computers group, and now you are here, too. Isn't it wonderful?Hope you enjoy the ride :-)Cheers,Daf
Hi Kristi,Nice to have you here in BaW 07!You came to the right place to explore and play with web toys ;-)We are approaching the end of week but I am sure you will be able to catch up by going to our wiki where you will find all the information.You can find a summary of the topics discussed in week on on our week 1 threads page at:http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week1threads Cheers,Dafne
Hi, Kristi!Welcome to BaW07! It's nice to have a former PP104 participant join us here.Thank you for the nice words on that course. Daf and I have enjoyed doing it together very much.I think you've come to the right place and I hope that we meet your expectations.Enjoy!Teresa (Portugal)
MonicaHi Ana Maria,another "mineira" in the group, welcome! I'm Monica, from Belo Horizonte. I'm sure you're going to have a great time working with the group!Um abraço,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Hello everyone,I'm Claudio Fleury Sasse, from Brasilia, Brazil. Even though I entered the group a while ago I had been quite busy these two weeks and didn't introduce myself.I've been teaching English as a second language for over 15 years now(I'm 33) and this is what I like doing. I've been using computers for a long time (b.W. - before Windows), and I find computers and the internet an easy way to get students motivated and interested. I like the challenge of getting a new computer program and breaking my head understanding how to use it, and I think it is now time to do it with the internet.I work at Casa Thomas Jefferson, same school as Jose Antonio (Hi Jose), though in different branches. Our website is www.thomas.org.br I have just installed Yahoo Messenger, so please feel free to add me (claudioctj). I've also copmpleted my profile in the participants gallery, I'm number LIX. Yeah, the-posting-the-picture-resizing-it-reposting-it-resizing-it-reposting-it part was fun. I still think the photo's a little big, but that's okay.Thank you all Claudio Fleury - yahooID claudioctj Brasilia, Brasil P.s. I have answered the questions to week 1. Should I post them? 8¬)
Ola Claudio,Welcome to BaW07 :-)The brazilian BaW community keeps growing! We might even be able to open a BaW School of Samba for carnival ;-) We have some experience celebrating carnival online, costumes and caipirinha included :-)I am a firm believer that web tools enhance students motivation, collaboration and autonomy, and thus learning takes places while having fun.So, welcome to the world of the Web 2.0 tools :-)cheers,Daf
Welcome to BaW07, Susan! You sure didn't waste any time signing up and getting started! We had fun today playing with your new "toy" (new Mac wireless computer with built-in webcam) and I am looking forward to voice chats and more with you.I teach a class at Susan's former school here in Gaithersburg MD--and before that Susan and I were colleagues at the Maryland English Institute (U of Maryland)--so we go way back and I am very happy Susan has decided to join us. I know she will learn a lot and meet great people!Nina in MD
Hi Claudio,I am glad that you decided to introduce yourself.Make yourself at home and share with us your projects, ideas, etc.It’s nice to have so many people from Brazil.Cheers,Cris
Hi Claúdio,Wecome back. It will be nice to have you here with us in the next weeks.Big hug,Jose
Hi all,When you receive this email, you will see that this is the official reason from Yahoo why you have not seen much action on this list."(*)We are currently experiencing a Groups email backlog. Messages posted yesterday or today may be delayed or delivered out of order. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please check the Yahoo! Groups Team Blog for updates."And I thought you'd all won that lottery and left me alone in cybersapce ;-))Moira France
Dear all,Thank you so much for the kind welcome messages I've received. I'd also like to ask if anyone knows how I can attach a word document to a blog of mine, is that possible? I'd like to make revision sheets available to my students online.Thanks,Ana Maria
Ola Jose,Don't forget to post the links to your great blog and wikis to this page:http://baw07participants.pbwiki.com/your_applications hugs,Daf
MonicaDear Sharon, Nina, Cristina, Hala, Sarah, Gladys, Jose, Jane... and everybody else who mentioned it, :)Sorry for taking so long to answer, I'm having a hard time trying to catch up with all the incoming mail... :)I think the idea of collaborative projects with wikis and blogs is absolutely fantastic! I'd love to participate, so anytime you would like a partner, here I am! Unfortunately, I won't be teaching any groups in the next 3 or 4 months (the four participants in my research do not take regular classes in a school). But any time you need a teacher or someone to interact with your groups, feel free to contact me! And as soon as I get back to my regular schedule, it will be my pleasure to work with my students on any project with you.Um abraco,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Dear Susan,you came to the right place to make new friends and learn about new technologies.You will see that at the end of this workshop you will have learn a lot and will be willing to learn even more! That is how Webheads are!Meanwhile visit our wiki http://baw07.pbwiki.com/ to know what we have planned We are in the middle of week 2 and I am your moderator. Please check the activities for this week http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week2 and if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us.Yesterday we had our first synchronous session with our dear guest speaker Michael Coghlan and on SUnday we willl meet online again for worldbridges. You might not want to loose this one as it is also a great venue for communication.See you there.Meanwhile if you are willing to start communication please add me to your YM and skype. I will be more than happy to communicate with you.I am usually online only in the evening (starting around 6pm GMT) and will be happy to chat to you.kindly,Cris
Hi everybody,I'm sorry but I'm a latecomer too if you accept me.I'm Kagan Sütçü from İstanbul, Türkiye. I'm an English teacher working in a junior high school in Turkey for 6 years. My students are teenagers and they are very interested in internet,chat,msn and computer games so I hope learning what other teachers are doing or thinking about doing with web tools might help me to prepare some tools for them to learn English in their way:)My id is sutcukagan@...Looking forward to hear from you.Kagan

 

 

 

Wikispaces and a New Blog

 

Hi, Daf and JA!What do you think of organizing the "Your Applications" page by week.Wouldn't it be interesting to see how participants are evolving and what they create each week?Let me know what you think. It would just be a question of adding headers for Week 1, etc. Nothing complicated.Hugs, Teresa

 

eCards and messages

Dear Cristina,What a lovely e-card! You have a way for finding beautiful and special messages. :-)I'm not sure if I thanked you for the e-card after Michael's session. If not, please forgive me and accept my belated "Thank you!" It was very sweet of you. :-)Beijinhos, Teresa
Hi Teresa,I thnk this is a great idea. I would love to that. I might need some help. Iwas just itching here to do somethng with what we have been learning. If I have Dafne as a partner I have nothing to fear.I will star working on it as of tomorrow. I will let you know if I have any doubts.Cheers,Jose

 

Advice - EVO 2007 webcast #2 please help

 

Hi Susan - I was also unable to listen to the webcast from the webheadsinaction site for no apparent reason - but that happened a week before, when the wellcoming webcast took place (I use IE 7 and although I could hear the demo recordings using winam, it kept reporting an error when trying to access the webcast from the site). I had no problems joining the skypecast though. Could it be, that there is a problem if there are too many participants?

Vera

Hi Daf,I also had this problem - the applet refused to open. My techie husband thought the problem was in Windows Vista which I use. He created a virtual machine with Windows XP for running this application on my computer. This seemed to solve the problem.Sasha

 

Volunteer for Week 4 Threads

Hello everybody, Earlier, I asked for a volunteer to set up a Cook Book in the wiki but as Week One is rather hectc for all concerned as we get to grips with everything, Hala kindly stepped in and put this together on the wiki. Thanks again Hala :-) As you can see, Kat has done a marvellous job with the Week One Threads here http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week1threads It looks wonderful!By Week Four, you will be well into 'wikiing' and I would like to ask all the participants if there is anybody who would like to 'muck in' and do this for Week 4 (5 - 11 February) when we explore voice and video mail tools and web conferencing.I'm giving warning well in advance and look forward to hearing from you, on or off list :-) I did this for one week last year and it was a very enriching experience. I had problems with layout in Dreamweaver and learnt a lot from having to compile the threads. This year, we're using the wiki, so IMHO it will be easier :-)Moira :-)

 

 

Getting ready for Week 3 Alado and EVO Webcast

 

Dear All,I'm sending this e-mail early to inform you of the latest information from Andrew Pincon:

"You may want to advise participants to download the small software that enables their browser to access all the features of the portal a few days before the sessions are scheduled.

I'll increase the size of the portal to allow for a larger number of users. We have it set at 30 now.

"In order to get ready for the two guest speakers' presentations held at Alado in Week 3 http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Chat_sessions#Week3,please follow Dafne's instructions to download the small software:

1. When you click on the Alado link: http://www.alado.net/webheads ,you get to their main page. Here you need to click on "login" (top navigation bar)

.2. On the next page, scroll down to the middle of the page where you will see a box to write your name. You DON´T need any password, just write your name and click on "enter".

3. If this is your first time, you will be asked to download an application (very fast process), then you might be asked to login again, after that you will enter the room. You will not have to download the application in your next visits.

If you plan to attend the first presentation of week 3 by Barbara Dieu at 21:00 GMT on Monday, January 29th, please go to BAW07 yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw07/database and add your name to the folder "Barbara Dieu at Alado."

We need to know how many participants will be there in advance and inform Andrew Pincon.Looking forward to seeing you there,Cora(San Francisco, U.S.A.)

Dear Moderators,On Sunday, Jan 28 at 15:00 GMT we will have another EVO webcast at Worldbridges, with our great host Jeff Lebow :-)We would love to see you there.

We were a great group last Sunday, and we can make it happen again :-)

The idea is to give a brief summary of week 2, and mention the topics for week 3.

Moderators and participants will be invited to speak.The chat room is at http://webheadsinaction.org

On this page, you will also find the links to the sound channels if you only want to listen and chat. However, you are invited to participate in the talk by joining the Skypecast at: https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.htmlid_talk=316725&hash=3e43263f3cf2726533ce

If you are participating in the Skypecast, these are some things to take into account:

You need to have a Skype account (for this you need to download Skype at: http://www.skype.com

A headset is fundamental to avoid echoes and background noises

If you have been listening to one of the sound channels, you need to turn it off before joining the skypecast

If you join the chat room first, we will be able to help in case of problems.

Looking forward to seeing you there,Daf

.Hi Cora,Thank you for the "heads up"! It really is a challenge trying to keep on top of all of these wonderful presentations and new tools, so advance tips are really appreciated!I was wondering if you have a link that explains more about how Alado works? I'm very confused! I followed these instructions, downloaded and installed the software, but it doesn't seem to do anything. I tried clicking on what appears to be archived discussions on the Alado webhead page, and I get a screen full of blank boxes. Any suggestions? Am I wrong in thinking that I should be getting audio and/or visuals? It would be nice to figure out how this works before Barbara's presentation!Cheers,Susan Wood(in Estonia)
Hi, Sue!At Alado you get text chat, audio and a whiteboard with whatever is being shown and talked about (presentation, web page...), and also a list of the participants in the session.You can also read a little more about Alado in our Hints page. Click in Hints (in the SideBar) of our baw07 pbwiki and then click Alado at the top of the page. It tells you how "you" - the Time Magazine Person of the Year -can participate and record each session. How about that?! :-)Hope this is useful.Have a great weekend!Cheers, Teresa (in Portugal)
For any other Mac users out there...I just went to the Webheads Alado page following the link Cora (Dafne)provided. There is a special link for Mac users to download the software manually. However it is an .exe file which doesn't work on a Mac! I tried to log in anyway to see what happened and I was sucessful. I understand from my work with Elluminate that OSX users will already have the required java applet so you may not have to download anything.
I am a little confused about Sunday's schedule.I've seen two messages for different events at the same time with the same people. It appears that Dave and Jeff of WorldBridges will be doing a webcast at 15:00 GMT for EVO week 2 summary AND for BaW on webcasting and podcasting. Is it one and the same meeting or do I have my times confused?
HoraicoDear Amy. It was not only you. I went to worldbridges and the chat room was almost empty. Jeff was there but he didn´t answer to Angeles and me.Warm hugs, Horacio
Dear Amy and all,Sorry about the confusion, the two events will be mixed in one.Jeff and Dave will do a demonstration on what a webcast is using the EVO session as an example. There will be an introduction for BaWers, then the EVO session, and finally a question-answer period.This mixing was my mistake for unintentioanally setting both session at the same time. But Jeff has reasssured me that there is no problem because his and Dave's intention is to show what a webcast is, and that's what we will have ;-)hugs to all,Daf
Hello all,Just to echo Dafne's comments, we will be combining the Worldbridges BaW session with the 'EVO Weekly' webcast. The EVO Weekly portion will actually be a 'show within a show' that provides a demonstration of the kind of webcasting Worldbridges does.A brief agenda is below:

Worldbridges Introduction-the vision, the communities, the technology A Demonstration of Webcasting in Action-EVO Weekly #3

a roundup of news and events from the past week of EVO2007.The Sandox-Q&A from BaW'ers about this style of live, interactive webcasting,an overview of the Webheadsinactionn.org site, and arranging opportunities for BaW'ers to host their own shows in coming weeks.

A few technical reminders. Firstly, if you have any problems or confusions about any aspect of participating in Worldbridges webcasts, please visit http://www.worldbridges.net/help to find 'help screencasts' and linksto other guides.

During the webcast, please start out in the EVO2007 room of the chatroom at:http://webheadsinaction.org/chat

If you have problems accessing that room, please visit the backup chat room at: http://webheadsinaction.org/chat2

In order to 'listen only' to the webcast, click on one of the media player icons for Sandbox A or B in the top right block at http://webheadsinaction.org/ .

When we are not streaming live, we will often play recordings of past shows on the streams.In order to participate in the voice conversation, you will need to join the skypecast at: https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk=316725&h\ash=3e43263f3cf2726533ce(if that link is broken, you can find it online at:http://webheadsinaction.org/node/123 )

You MUST use a headset or earphones (not speakers) in order to avoid echo and other audio problems. Please test your audio beforehand, but skyping 'echo123' to do a sound check.

We have found this 'patchwork' method of webcasting to be a very useful method of facilitating authentic, meaningful collaboration, but it can take a little getting used to.

Please be prepared for the possibility of some chaos and confusion, but hopefully, working together, we'll be able to provide any assistance necessary to overcome challenges.Very much looking forward to officially meeting the Webheads Class of '07, Jeff

Haloo, Susan. I empathize with your frustrations! I also tried to get to the Alado site with a Mac that I use (and which I prefer to use instead of a PC that I also use) and had the same results that you did: a request to download an .exe file (which didn't work on my Mac). I then used my PC and was able to get into the Alado site with no problems.This was very bothersome because according to information from Alado, the site is usable by Macs as well as PCs.I guess we should let Andy Pincon know about this.Take care—and enjoy that new Mac!Dennis in Phoenix
Dear Dennis O. and Susan W.,I just forwarded Dennis' message to Andy Pincon. Thanks, Cora

Dear Susan,I just clicked on the archived presentation by Barbara Dieu on the Alado Webhead page, I could hear the audio and see the slides on the screen. I didn't need to log in. Maybe you could double check to see if there is anything to do with your computer?:)Cora

Gladys]HI! We've just created a tutorial for new people at Alado for another session (B4B). Hope you don't mind if I post it here (meant to share with the moderation team first, but I see some people are already asking for it): http://bloggingforbeginners.pbwiki.com/Alado Hope that helps!Gladys (Argentina)PS: Susan, are you working with Internet Explorer? I had the same problem with Mozilla Firefox, and then I learned files can only be played with IE because it uses Windows Media Player.
Dear Gladys,Your tutorial for Alado is wonderful! Thank you very much for sharing it with us!:)Cora
Thanks Gladys for sharing the illustrated tutorial for Alado :-) Indeed, very helpful!!!hugs,Daf
Hi, Cora and Susan (and everyone, particularly Mac users).Cora: Could you please forward this (with my apologies for the original message) to Andy Pincon?This message is in reference to my message #1156, in whichI said that I couldn't access Alado on my Mac. What I said was true enough when I posted it, but the problem was that the directions for accessing Alado were a bit confusing and my initial reaction was premature . . . and wrong!I now know that it _is_ possible to access Alado on a Mac:I just did it several times--in the Camino and Firefox browsers.Here's how:1. Go to the Alado Webheads URL http://www.alado.net/webheads 2. When at the above site, double click on "Login" in the top left corner of the page.3. Scroll down to Michael Coghlan's photo. Just below it, you'll see boxes saying "Name" and "Password." Type a name to identify yourself, but don't type anything in the"Password" box.4. Hit "enter" or "return." You'll then see a page with a blue background; this page has "Name," "Password," and "Login." Don't do anything with this page; instead, wait for a file named "launch.jnp" to download automatically, then 5. Double-click on "launch.jnp" and you will arrive at the Webheads Alado page. It seems to be exactly like what I saw when I accessed Alado yesterday on my PC.6. When the Webheads Alado page has completely loaded,get rid of the blue-background page with "Name," "Password,"and "Login."If anyone can give the above directions more succinctly, please do so!Dennis in Phoenix Two more things:

1. The file that automatically downloads is "launch.jnlp"

2. I should've read Amy's message 1144 before sending my message 1156. My apologies for any confusion that I've caused!

Dennis in Phoenix

Dear Dennis O,Thank you very much for the directions for Mac users! They are very helpful.Many thanks,Cora
Hi, Cora.You're very welcome. I hope my directions are helpful for other Mac users.Best wishes—Dennis in Phoenix
Dear Cora, Dennis O and Gladys,Thank you for trying to help me troubleshoot the difficulties with Alado!!!I really am completely overwhelmed with warmth and concern of this group.It is such a privilege to be a part of all of this! It is so inspiring looking at what the other members of this group are creating and experimenting with. :-) I'm looking forward to the time when I can get past struggling with tools and find a little time to do the same!But back to problems with Alado, just in case there are others out there with similar difficulties, I'll tell you what I've concluded so far about mine.First of all, I'm not one of the lucky Apple owners (shall I confess here that I often suffer from Apple-envy?)... I use a small PC laptop with Windows and Mozilla. I think that the problem has to do with the newest version of Mozilla and Java, because I upgraded everything this week and now my Yahoo Groups won't display our photos or the lovely WebHeads mandala on the home page of BaW Yahoo Groups. Most other sites (such as our WebHead wiki), etc seem to work fine -- but unfortunately not Alado or Yahoo groups. I've managed to tinker enough (enabling scripts globally) to get myself into an Alado conference (thanks for the wonderful Wiki, Gladys!) but can't see pictures on any of the archived conferences. Using Internet Explorer is also only partially successful with the archives.So there it is! After 10 hours of tinkering, I'm at my wit's end and have to get back to lesson planning... :-(If anyone has a similar problem and a happier ending, I'd be grateful for tips!hugs from Estonia,Susan Wood
Hi, Dennis! I've just updated the Hints page with your instructions for Mac users to register at Alado.Anyone interested in this and more (browser-generated problems, Firefox and webcasts, and other threads going on lately....),go to our wiki and click Hints in the SideBar.Or,to make things easier for everyone, after all it is Sunday, a day of rest (who says??!!), ;-)))just click below. http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/baw07/hints.htm Hugs,Teresa
Hi Cora: One of the reasons I have been polling all the new BAW07 members is related to the various problems people experience trying new technologies, especially with little ICT experience. So let's start with with what we now know about the computers used by those BAW07'ers who have completed the polls thus far.

Type of computer age of PC No % responsing

Windows PC or Laptop, 1 to 3 years old 28 70

Windows PC or Laptop, 3 to 5 years old 8 20

Windows PC or Laptop over 5 years old 1 2

MAC PC or Laptop 1 to 3 years old 2 5

MAC PC or Laptop 3 to 5 years old 1 2

Those who responded to the poll include, 92% on Windows computers with 7% having MACs, of which 1 person or 2% have an older MAC. MAC users will have some problems which we cannot fix with our technology.

Our experience, which is over 10 years of providing distance education technolgies to education institutions,has always been challenged by MAC users.

As Dennis is saying below, MAC users have to use other browsers than the Apple Safari Browser to get into the portal. I'm at a college with 18 campuses, and 200,000 students and we have no MACs, we are an all Windows campus. All the state and federal government agencies we work with also do not have MACs. So we know very little about the nuances of MACs and why some work in our portal and others don't.

What we've learned thus far is, MAC users need to use Firefox as we say on the login page at www.alado.net/webheads. If they have older MACs those MACs may not work in our portal. This is not unusual because as we've seen in the Yahoo listserve other technologies and tools are presenting a challenge and problems for our new BaW07 members.

I have often told MAC users not to expect a perfect solution. We've had wheels on this planet for thousands of years and yet we cannot use a wheel with a tire from a Toyota on a Ford automobile. This is because there is no interchangeable standard for wheels.

At the end of the day, the real virtue and benefit of the Alado.net portal is the fact that the audio, presentation sharing and text chat operate at very low bandwidths, less than half of regular dialup connection, and works behind most firewalls. This means the content can be accessed by a very large number of remote users who are not living in North America where we have ubiquitous advanced technology.

We have 85% of those who responded to the poll accessing the BAW07 from their homes and with all those not living in North America this means many will be on dialups with low bandwidths where Alado.net works very well.

This email reply may not answer all the problems but it should put the MAC problems in perspective given the poll results and what Dennis has discovered.

I hope this helps some. Kindest regards, Andy Pincon

Dear Susan,Thank you very much for your kind words! I wish I could help you more, but I'm not a Mac user, so I'm afraid that I am not able to answer your questions about Mac. It's great that the directions given by Dennis O. and Gladys have helped you.Hope to see you at Alado on Monday,Cora
I'm really sorry I wasn't able to help you, Susan; I probably ended up making things worse, as a matter of fact! I was sure that I'd read somewhere that you were using a new MacBook with a built-in iSight camera (webcam), but I suppose I was having a "senior moment"!Best of luck to you in getting everything unscrambled. I'm confident that you'll do just that! And remember this: everyone experiences difficulty with this or that!Sincerely, Dennis in Phoenix
Hi, Andy. Thank you for your very informative message. I appreciate the efforts you've made to accommodate as many users as possible. Actually, I'm not surprised that the great majority of your users have PCs; I've found the same to be true for a website that I manage. I feel like an idiot for jumping to the (faulty) conclusion that Alado webcasts couldn't be accessed by anyone using a Mac, but I'm very pleased to know, now, that they can.I thoroughly enjoyed the recent Alado webcast that I accessed on my PC and I greatly look forward to accessing the next one on my Mac.The services you provide are wonderful!Kudos!Sincerely,Dennis in Phoenix

 

 

 

Bubbleshare

 

I also love BubbleShare and so do my students. Last trimester I had my low-level English for Architecture students desingn buildings usign Google SketchUp and Architect 3D Studio, and then upload their screenshots to BubbleShare with voice. You will find some of their creations at: http://id2-124-dg.pbwiki.com/3D-designs

And this is a tutorial I created to show them how to send voice comments to Podomatic:http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/109088.e0c26dcd2ab hugs,

Daf

Dear Daf,It's a brilliant idea to use bubbleshare to create tutorials. Your tutorial will be great for week 3! I also enjoyed your students' impressive work. Congratulations!Lots of hugs,Cora

 

First Wikis, wikis, blogs or what? Oh MY!

 

Hi Gianina,Congratulations on your new baby wiki!Good luck with furnishing it with content.Once you started, you can never stop! It is really fun! Cheers, Hala
Hi, Johanna!I'd second Dafne's words all the way. As you can see from our BaW07 workshop, it's great to have the participants insert their own content and work collaboratively on a page, such as the "Global Flu Cook Book". And, believe me, it saves us moderators and teachers so much time. I think that Wikispaces is simpler for beginners, because it has a simple editor. Have a nice day!Teresa (Portugal)
Hi, Gianina and Ana!Congratulations on your first wiki! It's great to create our first product,isn't it? Keep on going! There's no stopping you now!!!Hugs, Teresa http://tber.pbwiki.com
Gianina,I don't think that can quite be it, I have had a couple of wiki accounts for a long time.Fellow and felowesse Wiki people. Have you managed to see Gianina's Wiki?Dennis Denos
Dear Johanna,Your program is quite similar to one I coordinated for 18-19-20-year-old Japanese college students last summer at the U of Maryland. We did a lot of sightseeing and also had classes and presentations of various kinds. I kept a central blog and all the students created their own blogs. Most of them could not post photos, unfortunately, because they had not brought the cables for uploading their photos (of which they took hundreds if not thousands!), but they wrote about what they did and saw and I posted albums on my blog. You can check it out at http://agu2006.blogspot.com; links to the students' blogs are in the sidebar (NB: three of the blogs are those of the 3 student mentors who worked with the program and were added later).I thought the blog project worked wonderfully and the students enjoyed it a lot. We blogged for an hour every morning, and I always had to push them out the door of the lab because they were loathe to leave.Good luck with your program!Nina (in Maryland)
Monica PhotoHello Nina,great blog! (agu2006)Two questions: did the students carry on writing their blogs once they were back to Japan? It seems you used Google Groups - how does it compare to Yahoo? Do you see any relevant differences that might make you choose one and not the other?Um abraço,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Thanks for visiting one of my favorite blogs, Tere! :-)Monica BH wrote:Two questions: did the students carry on writing their blogs once they were back to Japan?Most did not (maybe half did 1-2 posts after their return), but one is still blogging enthusiastically 5 months later(http://ekubo-hirop.blogspot.com). Her blog is wonderful!It seems you used Google Groups - how does it compare to Yahoo? Do you see any relevant differences that might make you choose one and not the other? They are very different in that Yahoo features space for files, links,photos, a calendar, etc. whereas Google Groups does not offer anything like those, at least at the moment. I opted for Google Groups because I didn't like the ads with Yahoo Groups, but if I were to do it again I would probably go with Yahoo Groups because of the extra features,especially photo hosting.Thanks for visiting the blog; it's one of my favorites!Beijinhos from Nina in Maryland
I tried Google groups for a short while during 2006, and might be wrong, but I found that:

1. Google groups only included "messages", no photo albums or databases, as in YG, for instance.

2. no daily digest or possibility to post via a mailing programme seemed available, at least at the time. Take my word with a pinch of salt...

I'll keep lurking here to see if someone can confirm... there're so many knowledgeable people around! :-D Gladys (Argentina)

I second (or third?) Daf and Tere's advice: a wiki will give those of students who feel ready to to upload their work themselves, while you can easily intervene if required... And they seem old enough not to bother each other fooling around with other people's work all the time! Pbwiki is my favourite, but Wikispaces has its pros too...Each of them could have their own page, with links back and forth...If you opt for a website, you'll have to do all the work yourself...this means delay, and discourages enhancing contributions...If you go for a blog, the chronological order will make an impact upon the publishing (not really important in your case), and. though, not necessarily, encourage students to see their work as finished products...My humble opinion!GladysPS: sorry if I'm repeating somebody's words, I'm catching up with digests backwards, and spotted your message!
Dear Gladys,You are complete right about Google Groups. I used it once as a way to keep information for an administrative position I had at the university, and the experience was really disappointing. It is mainly a news list, not a place for sharing and creating content together like like YGs.cheers,Daf
Your comments are right again, Gladys :-)Since I read the first message on this thread(website,wiki, blog or what), I thought of writing something about the difference between the Web 1.0 vs.Web 2.0 tools since we are dealing mainly with Web 2.0 tools, but on seconds thoughts, I would like to ask if somebody knows the difference.Looking forward to your comments,Daf
Derya photo Hi all,I'm not so sure but I read somewhere that the main difference between the two is that Web 2.0 tools are free to download and use.Is it?Derya
Nina,What a lovely and lively blog with wonderful photos Hiromi has. And she's a great reader! Thanks for sending the link.BTW, when I said yesterday that I'd seen "a few of your students' blog", I meant that I didn't see more due to lack of time. :-(Hugs, Teresa
Dear Jose,Congratulations on your wiki--it looks wonderful!:)Cora
I would also like to add to these thread that in some wikis, like Wikispaces, you can have open pages that anybody can edit and locked pages that only the owner can edit. However, even is the page is open to be edited, if the reader has not been invited to join thewiki s/he cannot upload files to it. hugs, Daf
Hi,I just joined the group and I'm already lost! I tried to enter my info into PBwiki, but it seems that I need a password and I haven't been able to find one in any of the information. Can anyone help? Thanks!
Dear Susan,The password for the participants wiki is baw cheers,DAf
Hi Susan,for the participants' page it's baw Kat
Dear Jose,I enjoyed reading your wiki page (conference call adventure) and now can't wait to try out these new toys myself. Thanks for the inspiration!!!Cheers Sue Wood(in Estonia)
MonicaDear all,as you may know, my master's project includes the use of various internet tools for doing collaborative writing online. I created a blog on Blogger (www.manyreviews.blogspot.com) and I would love it ifyou could take a look at it, click on the links (and check if they are really working, we never know...) and perhaps give me some feedback(and ask questions, write comments, make suggestions...). The blog is stil in its infancy, but from now on I intend to work hard to have it ready as soon as possible.I'm going to be using other tools as well, but I decided to focus on the blog first, as it will basically centralize all the other information.Thank you very much for you help! :)Monica (BH-Brazil)
Monica,Could I ask the FL teachers at my HS if their students would like to participate? Are there others out there that would like to put together classes to share blogs and wikis?Sharon
Congrats Monica! I visited your lovely blog and all the links are working :-)It would be nice if you wrote/recorded and intro about the purpose of the blog. hugs, Daf
Sharon and all,I would love to have my Enrichment class (7 boys, 13 years old) sharing information using a variety of tools with another group of students. In my school, "Enrichment" means anything that I want it to mean (at the moment),so the window is wide open in terms of content. Certainly a wiki is a great place to start (preferably pbwiki, where I have a paid account already). I doubt that I will be able to use any synchronous tools at school, but I know that at least some of the students would be able to participate from home.I will have these students from now until May 30. We meet on Tuesday,Thursday and Friday from 2:05 - 2:45 GMT-5 (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA).What could we do?Some ideas - Introductions and weekly updates with specific topics (favorite class, music, daily routines, national sports, etc.; prepare a presentation for Poetry month - April; tackle an essential question..I am sure that you have some great ideas or a special need.You should know that I am educated in the humanities, speak a little Spanish, and majored in Geography 25 years ago. Now I am a school librarian about to begin an ESL certification. Math is probably not a good topic to collaborate on!Thanks for considering this! If there is interest, then we will have to figure out a "place" for planning discussions. For now, respond to this list and I will keep track.Sarah Braxton (USA)
Dear Ana Maria,You can upload Word documents to most blogs, the procedure is different for each one, though. In Motime, you have to upload the document by clicking on the file icon ( first icon from the right, next to the video icon cheers,Daf
Dear Teresa,You and Daf keep incredible resources! I have been lurking. This is a lively group.Hugs all around, Barb in Germany
Yes, Sharon, I have a blogcast - "The Reviewers"http://caereaders.blogspot.com I'd love it if other classes could join those students (not all mine)to exchange reviews of books and films!There's a contact link in the blog itself for those interested....I also have some blogs and wikis on influential educators and education in general, including ethics for teachers, but I doubt somebody is interested in discussing that with their classes, unless they teach at TTC, as I do!Gladys (Argentina)
I think I can find a group of students that would really like to work in collaboration with you. Let me check on Monday and get back. Wouldn't that be a great "off-shoot" from the Webheads?I will also check on the Blogcast posted by Gladys - perhaps I can interest a teacher and students to participate there. What great integration ideas.Sharon
I am very interested in collaborating with other blogging classes! I have posted a link at http://dekita.org to that effect already. My advanced ESL students are adults 18-30+ studying at the University of Maryland. There are about 15 in the class. They have just created their blogs and not all the links are up, nor have all of them done their first posts yet, but I hope to get rolling this week. Check us out at http://005spr2007.blogspot.com and let me know if you are interested in interacting either on the blogs or for an occasional text chat at Tapped In on a Monday or Friday between GMT1400 and 1600.
Dear Bawers,I have created a new blog and wiki with some reflections about things we are learning here.the link to the wiki is http://thelearningprocess.wikispaces.com The link to the blog is http://joseantoniook.edublogs.org/I know how busy all you are. If you have some time to drop byand leave a comment.Big hug, Jose

Hi Gladys,I loved your reviews blog. I will try to blend blogs and readings this semester Isaw the one about the tall man and I think your students might have read the same book my students read last year.They read picture puzzle and they did some interesting work with it.If you want to take a look is in the school site. http://www.thomas.org.br/new_ctj/stuff/stuff_interna.php?id=547&Sub=projects&menu=#3I think we can get more from studens this way. Cheers, Jose

Dear Nina,I don't have a class of students but I can myself interact with your students.Tapped interaction is impossible to me during the schedule you mentioned. I could only be online later!Email me off list if you are interested. I think we can manage something.

This is great Sarah.You put a wonderful wiki page together.Thank you for sharing it with us.Don't forget to join us at worldbridges this afternoon (3pm GMT)take care,Cris

Hi Nina,Like Cristina, I can interact with your students if you would like me to, as I am available on Monday between 1400 and 1600 GMT..You may send me off list to confirm the platform.Keep the sharing up ,Hala in sunny Sudan
Dear Nina,I have checked your blog and would be very intrested in workingon a blogging project with. By the way, your blog is great. Classes haven´t begun yet and I don´t know what kind of groups I will have.If I have advanced students we can try to something.All the best.Jose
Dear Nina and other Baw-ers,I'm starting up a new session with new groups of students and would be very interested in doing some collaborative blogging. I teach at the college level(ages 18-22 or so) and this session my groups are quite large (24-28 students).Here is a description of the blogging projects: With my low-intermediate students, I have them choose a TV program and write short summaries, role plays, questions, etc on their blog. The TV Journal is just a small part of the course requirements, but it has been a very popular activity and lends itself well to blogging. The link for past sessions is www.englishcedblog.blogspot.com You will see my intro, and if you scroll down a bit, links to the student blogs are on the right sidebar. The students have edited their work, and I have culled out some of the less successful blogs to save you time!With my advanced students, we use Maclean's magazine (a Canadian weekly) for reading material. Although the students receive printed copies of the magazine,nearly all of the articles are available online, so it would be feasible to collaborate with classes in other parts of the world or in Canada. I might try using a wiki or switching to Wordpress with this level. The blog I have used is here: www.englishcefblog.blogspot.com (Again, scroll down to find links to student blogs in the right sidebar).So, if you might be interested in collaborating, please let me know!I'd love to collaborate on chatting, but I'll have to figure out the exact times I have the multi-media lab. If any of you have successfully had large groups of students (25+) chat in a limited time period (45 minutes) I'd like to know how you set it up without losing time making connections or worrying about glitches (or am I dreaming of a virtual world somewhere????)Jane (Montreal)
Hi, Monica!Nice blog! Interesting topic! And already with embedded sound! Way to go!! Congrats!!!Keep up the great work!Hugs, TeresaP.S. - I've just left this comment in your blog. Teresa
I've checked your blog and like it. Please keep me informed about your international venture if you think I could be of use to you. I start my new course in the end of Feb. - adults, information technology college students (part time) - we finish in the end of April. We have classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 15.00 GMT to about 18.00 GMT. If the group is not too big, we are able to use our computer room. The students' English is not advanced though - they are usually lower-upper intermediate (I don't know them yet). And I'm a totally inexperienced teacher in this respect...Cheers,Sasha, Slovenia
Hi, Jane, I checked your advanced blogs. Your students are more advanced than mine! They write really well.I have not tried getting 2 classes together for text chats. I think 25 + 15 is way too many. At Tapped In, we could break a large group into several smaller groups (using private offices and other available chatrooms) but I think there should be someone monitoring each room so things stay on track. If the times work maybe we can try a smaller group first as an experiment.Nina
Dear Monica,Don't need to be sorry. I have been lurking in B4B and have seen you pretty active there and here as well.You postings always contribute a great deal to enrich our experience. Besides that it didn�t take you that long to answer. Abra�os Jose

 

Week 2 Answers to Questions

 

Hi everyone,Kind of busy this mornig with the questions about Y messenger. See my answers How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?On my computer I can do it this way: I click in actions and then invite to conference. There will be a list with my contacts. I then have to click on the ones I wish to invite.How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM? I have to click on the tab contacts, next I click on message archives after that I should click on the floppy disc icon and choose where I want to save it.How do you display your picture at YM?I click on the tab messenger and then choose the option "My display image" and after that I can choose "Share my picture" or "Share my avatar." Once I have done that I will have to click "ok" and choose the picture or create an avatar.Cheers, Jose
Thanks for your answers, Jose Antonio :-)There is still another method to save your YM chat logs ;-)Who knows?????cheers,Daf
Dear Mary,Thank you so much for your answer.I am not a Mac user myself � although I would love to be introduced to the Macintosh world�Well...I will have to save up some more money, won�t I?On a PC there is also another way of saving the chat logs. Anyone else would like to suggest something? I will give you a clue: You have to click on the menu �Messenger� and then on� beijinhos
Hessah photoDear BAW 2007,I hope you all doing fine.I am sorry for not posting my week 1 questions. I answered them yesterday and sent them to , :-pYeah I was clumsy :(Week 1:A. How do you change your mail distribution preferences at our Yahoo Group?I login to my account at yahoo group. Then to home page of BOW2007 group. I choose 'Edit Membership'. Then I go to Step 3. Message Preference. I can choose either 'Fully Featured' or 'Traditional'.B. How do you post your photo to the "Photos" section?From http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw07/ I select 'Photos'. Next, I click on 'Add Photo'. Now either to choose to upload the photo to existing photo album or new one. Click 'Browse' to locate each photo on your computer.Finally, click "Add now'.C. How do you create a passageway (shortcut) to another office at Tapped In?I log in to my office I choose 'Passageways'. Then click on 'Add passageway'. You can enter all or part of the name or nickname of the room to which you want to create a passageway.Week 2:A. How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?From YM I choose 'Actions'� 'Invite to Conference' � 'Add' people from 'Messenger List' to 'Invitation List' � 'Invite'.B. How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM?From YM I choose 'Contacts'� 'Message Archive' � from the tool bar in my'Message Archive' I choose 'Message'� 'Preferences'. The 1st question asks if I want to save an archive of all the messages I send and receive on this computer. I choose the 1st one (Yes, save all my messages).Click 'Apply' then 'OK'.C. How do you display your picture at YM?From YM I choose 'Messenger'� 'My Display Image' � 'Share my picture'. I can either select a picture or 'Browse' to add from my computer.Warm regards,HessahYM ID/ Skype ID: alrouli
Great answers Hessad.Nice job!Thank you for the tips!I have just add you to my skype and Yahoo! Messenger!
Derya photoDear Christina,To save the chatlogs, one should click on the following (if I'm not mistaken):-Messenger-Preferences-Archive (from the categories on the left)-Then you choose "Yes, save all my messages" and also for the voice messages and calls you also choose "yes, save my call history".So, am I on the right track, teacher? :) Love,Derya (Istanbul, Turkey)
Dear Derya,You are absolutely right. Your answer couldn�t be more accurate . Way to go.You are a brilliant learner.Don�t forget to comment on the reading.Cristina Costa
Hi, everyone.Here are my answers to the questions of this week.1. You can start a conference on YM by going to the ACTIONS menu and clicking on "Invite to Conference"; you can invite anyone you like from your contacts and other people by introducing new e-mails. Then you click on the "Invite" button and the invitations to the conference are sent to the selected recipients.2. You can save your messages and calls by going to the MESSENGER menu and click on the option "Preferences", and then on "Archive".3. You click on the MESSENGER menu and select "My Display Message".Then you can share your/a picture or choose an avatar.I hope these are the correct answers. :)Loved to hear from you. Paula Ferreira
Thank you for your correct Answer!Way to go Paula!
On my trusty Mac, I went to preferences and there is button to archive a chat.Any other suggestions from other Mac users out there? Mary
Julina photo� How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?Log in at YM and then go to the "actions" link on the top. Then,choose the topic "invite to conference" after choose the people to be invited and then start the conference.How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM?Go to "contacts" and choose the option `message archive'. Go to`message' and then click on `save'.* How do you display your picture at YM?Go to "messenger" then go to "my display image" then choose among the options and click OK.Cheers,Juliana Gense Brazil
Thanks a lot for sharing all this information.I don`t know how to use a Mac. I have a PC and learning a lot from all of you bawers :)Angeles
* How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger? I usually start by introducing myself. The people I have invited onmy YM I usually add that I am a member of BaW07. yet. I am working on it.How do you display your picture at YM? I display my picture in the corner of my messenge window.
Hi, it was nice to chat and talk to Moira and Nina on Yahoo msg, I think these are useful tools for developing communication among peers and receive support.The only problem for me was the time of the conference, I couldn't participate because I was working but I hope to catch the next one.How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?I click on actions and then I select invite to conference, there is a list ofcontacts. I click on the ones I want to invite.How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM?I click on contacts, then I click on message archives after click on the floppy disc icon and choose where I want to save it.How do you display your picture at YM? I click on the tab messenger and then on "My display image" and after that I choose "Share my picture" .Ester La torre
Thank you very much Ester for your answer to question 2!I had figured out the others but for the chatlogs I'd just copy and paste as someone said below... ;)Clevia Venezuela
I joined late and started working backwards... Big mistake! By doing week one activities first I would have saved myself a lot of struggling. Never mind, I learned. Though Tapped In is still a roller coster ride for me; unfortunatelly I will miss the second tour because I have to travel and do not expect a cyber open at 6:00 am on a Sunday.1.- How do you change your mail distribution?Go to baw07 FrontPage, click on "edit membership" on the top left, go to "Message Delivery" and select: Individual Messages, Daily Digest,Special Notices or Web Only, then click save messages.2.- How do you post your photo to the "photos"?Go to baw07 FrontPage, click "photos" on the left, choose "browse",select from your files the photo you want to upload, finally click onn "Add Now" at the bottom of the page.3.- How do you create a passageway (shortcut) to another office at Tapped Inn?Access our group, and on the left menu click "Passageways", then on "Add a Passageway Link", type a user name and then click on the "find it" button.Don´t aske me how to get back because I am still wondering around!!Cheers!! Maru Dear Friends:I will be out of town for a few days. I will go to my hometown to visit my parents who are not in a very good shape. Of course I will visit a cyber (hopefully everyday) but I may not invest as many hours as I have been doing.If I find a cyber opened on Sunday at 9:00 am (15:00 GMT) I will join you at Worlbridges; Tapped In tour is out of the question, a cyber opened on Sundays at 6:00 am (12:00 GMT)... don't think so :( .I think I covered the rest of the tasks required for week 2. I hope so!See you around. Love: Maru
That is great Ester.Now you know how to set up a conference. I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to use YM and other communication tools.Cris
Hi everyone (or anyone),I just got 3 emails to my yahoo group email saying that I'm a certified winner of a British lottery. Has anyone else gotten a message like this? I'm assuming it's bogus, but I thought I should check before I delete it.Sheryl(Washington DC)
Hi Sheryl,I'm just back in from teaching and saw your message.If I believed all the times I have been informed that I have won the lottery on Yahoo mail, I would be a multi multi ( and again and again) billionaire!!So far, I think I've one the African, British, European lotteries, ........ and the list continues.Sadly I'm not, otherwise I'd invite you all to my private island by private jet,of course :-)This is becoming a regular occurrence for me too now but only on Yahoo. As I only use Yahoo for Webhead correspondence, I can quickly identify 'odd' looking mail and I delete without opening them.I suggest you do likewise :-)Moira France
Hi Sheryl,This is a spam, or bogus as you wrote and you should always delete it.As long as it has gotten into your inbox, you will receive many of them on the future.However, if did win the British lottery, which I assume is one million $,I will be waiting for just 50.000 $. You only need to email me on the list and ALL will help you to reach me!!!Who knows! One day you may win !!Hala( day dreaming )Hala in warm Sudan
Dear Sheryl,These messages are spam, just click on the spam tab whenever you receive them.hugs,Daf
Hi, Monica!I also have a few links to Web 2.0 stuff in my OLE page, including the one you refer below, and many other goodies. http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/online-learning-environments.htm Hope you all find it useful.Angeles and Pranita, I'm glad you found my EFL/ESL page useful. This one will take even longer to browse. ;-)Hugs all, Teresa
Hi, dear participants and coordinators.I am suffering from a problem - I want to leave a comment about both Tapped In and Michael's lecture in Yahoo MSN, but I just cannot find the way to register in the blog :( I don't want to leave a comment as an Unregistered User. Whoever knows how to do it, please, share! I know it must be simple, but I just can't find the link...Thanks a lot.Vera
Dear Vera,You should register to Motime blogs http://www.motime.com/signup and from there you will be able to comment the blog entries as an identified member.Hope it helps.beijinhos,Cris
Dear Vera,The link to Motime is:http://www.motime.com You register there, and then go back to our blog and you will be able to leave a comment your Motime username :-)You can also leave a comment without registering and just write your name at the bottom of the message ;-)hugs,Daf
Hi Marcia,Apart from the instructions given by Moira to add comments to our forum, I would like to point out that the your Yahoo password is for Yahoo, you need to create a username and a password for every application you register for. You can, of course, select to use the same password and username, but as we have been discussing in this list, it is not a safe thing to do.Different options were generated in the discussion that you can follow in the week1 threads page at: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week1threads#Advice–RememberingPasswords Cheers,Daf
MonicaDear Dafne and all,I'm working on the introduction right now and it will (hopefully) be on the blog soon - busy busy weekend... :)Abraço,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Sarah, WOW, congratulations. Your wiki page on web tools looks fantastic, the instructions are very clear and the printscreen image ... a catch in time and space from your first Skype experience with Daf! Hope there will be many more wonderful learning moments like this.Cheers, Berta
How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?Go to YM, click contacts then click invite people to join in. To invite guests for future chats first click contacts, then add contacts. You can type an ID or an email address, or just choose one from your address book.How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM?First, click the messenger menu. Then do the same on preferences &archive. Finally, click on save all your chatlogs.How do you display your picture at YM? Click Messenger then My Display Image. Choose Share My Picture or My Avatar.
Dear Rosane,Welcome back. No problem in sending the activities for week 1 now. If you want to have a quick look at what we discussed in week one, visit our week 1 threads page at:http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week1threads Btw, I have posted your photo. You cannot use the link(URL) from the photo in the YG since our YG is private, that's why your photo did not show. I copied that photo to my hard disk and then uploaded it to the wiki :-)Feel free to ask if you have questions,hugs,Daf
PaulHi Sheryl,Yes definitely bogus. I have received a few of these. If you type a sentence or two of any email you think may be bogus into google it will turn up on one of the sites that monitors bogus emails. Thats how I found out about this one.Ah well.Paul
Dear Ana,thank you for the answers. They are indeed correct.Hope to meet you today at worldbridges!:)Cris
CutenekoHere are the answers to the questions of the week:1)At the top of the Groups page, next to your yahoo ID-Yahoo e-mail-group member-- select . At this page, scroll down to There are two types: and . Select the one you want, until a black dot appears in the selected circle.Scroll to the bottom of the page, and select .2)To add a photo, go to the BaW07 Yahoo groups page. From the light blue box in the top left of the page, select . Here, select the photo group you wish to join, for example: . Scroll to the bottom of the screen. Under the photos, look for #-#--first----last. Under this, you can see in small blue letters, . Select . This page will have , and fields for you to fill in. To select your favorite photo, click the grey button on the side. My computer is Japanese, so I have a Kanji written there--in English it may say "Search files?" A new window will pop up. Scroll through your documents folders until you find the picture you like. For my computer, I selected , . Click on the picture until the file name appears in the pop-up box at the bottom.Next to the file name field, is a small grey button marked .Click this button, and now, the photo's address should now appear on the Yahoo Add Photos screen. Scroll to the bottom and select .3) I kinda cheated on this one. This is cut-and-pasted from the section of TI. "Q: Add a new passageway?A: Go to the room you would like to create a passageway from and click the Passageways menu item. Then click the "Add passageways"button. If no button appears, you do not have permission to create passageays from that room. How did I do? ^_^

 

 

SKYPE and Yahoo Message

 

Gary photoHello,Two problems that I have experienced and you may also with Yahoo Messenger and Skype.Yahoo Messenger- No voice with MAC. Video is OK but Voice is not in the MAC Software. It's a problem if you want to have Online video w/audio chats for classes.Skype- Great if everyone has Broadband connected directly to the Internet but with WiFi my class has experienced getting bumped during conversations. You also have to have a good upload speed to make it work. Also, it leaves something to be desired if anyone is on dial-up. We quit using Skype because everyone couldn't stay connected so the activities were aborted in the middle. We spent about 30 minutes of each class asking if other members could hear us. Regards,Gary L. Harwell Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Dear Gary,My experience has been that with low/dial up connections it is better not to include video as it takes much of the computers capacity to process all the information they are getting. However, I feel that voice chatting can be a great way of motivating speaking activities and thus enhancing learning. The voice component is, in my opinion, a great plus to the learners� motivation. I myself enjoy talking to people on Skype or Yahoo! The feeling is different. Hearing a voice coming from the other side of the screen is something you can hardly describe. I can only hope that one day we will have �high-speed� connections and latest computer version.I am now experiencing what dealing with an old computer is all about. As I had to change jobs and living places I wasn�t able to bring my desktop and had to rely on my old laptop, which is kind of slow�still I won�t give up! J Cheers!
Hi Gary,One of the problems of using a Mac (apart from the high prices - at least around here), is that you don't get voice in YM and you don't have access to several of the free web tools teachers can take advantage of :-(Having dial-up or slow connection is a problem we have suffered at one time or another. I get really impatient when my connection is slow (usually at the university), but even with slow connection I love being just one click away from people all over the world :-)Cheers,Daf
Hi You all,I have booked a conference call with Moira for Wednesday at 12 GMT. We can get to know each other and explore this tool, discuss some others and have some fun. WE could discuss Teresa's article (Online Communication Tools that Promote Language Learning) assigned for this week and ask Moira to clarify any doubts we might have. Besides tha,it is also a good chance to get hands on the skype conference tool. I have invited some people through skype, but I have decided to send an invitation through our group. If you would like to join us, please add my skype ID (joseantoniook) and send me a message confirming your presence. By the way, it will be voice only.Big hug,Jose
Hi, JA!I'll try to log in to Skype tomorrow as soon as I get home, at the latest,12:30 GMT, I hope! See you!Teresa (Portugal)Skype ID: teresadeca
Derya PhotoHi Jose,and the others,I will join you as long as my baby permits:) I hope you won't be distracted if you hear her voice at times:) It's such a good idea by the way!My skype: deryaku See & hear you tomorrow!Derya, Istanbul
Hi Teresa,Thanks for your reply. It will be nice to have you joining us.By the way, I just loved reading your blogs.Talk to you tomorrow,Abra�os,Jose
Dear Derya,I have added you to my skype contacts amd wo�� be waiting to hear you tomorrow.Hugs,Jose
That is great Angeles,Sharing and learning - the perfect combination! beijinhos
MMvcentro photoHi guys!I hope to see some of you tomorrow at the conference. My Skype ID is:mmvcentro There you will "met" my husband in the picture. He has been very supportive,coping with my running to the computer, sitting there for hours in a row and not complaining to go to bed alone!! He knows he will wake up alone for the chat hours.Your messages keep me going, make fun to be trying again and again to get where I am soppoused to be despite the struggle. Thanks!
Hi Everyone,Our conference call today was great. We had some technical glitches (especially with me, the host), but Moira was really helpful. I would really like to thank Teresa D'E�a, Monica Veado, Moira Hunter, Nina Lyulkun, and Susan Nyrop for joining us (hope I did not forget anybody). During the conference we had a nice chat and discussed Teresa�s text assigned for this week.Unfortunately, my computer ws disconnected due to Internet Provider problems (Murphy�s law). I would like to apologize for this to my dear guests. I am really sorry.Other people couldn�t make it. I was told by some participants that this was not a good time for them either because it was too early or because they were working. We will have other opportunities.I will be posting more details on my wiki with screenshots and will send the link to you.Cheers,Jose
Hi Host Jose,You did a wonderful job! And I'm looking forward to the next one and then the skypecast :-)If anybody else wants to take the 'plunge', just ping me to set a day and time:-)Thanks Sus and Nina for letting me 'kidnap' you into our conference with little pre-warning :-)Moira France
Hi dear BaWers,I have just finished my Wiki about our conference experience this afternoon form my perspective. Feel free to browse and post any comments.It was a great experience for me.http://joseantoniook.pbwiki.com/Conference-Call-Adventure-Big hug, Jose
THANKS for initiating this Jose. I hope to join you all next time!
Dear Jose,Reading your reflection about the conference made me regret my apology for not being able to join you, as I was at work then.You are certainly borned a webhead! Cheers,Hala
Hi Hala,No problem. I know may of you are working and besides that some other people are overwhelmed with tasks. I am a little bit more available for the time being because I am still on vacation (Lucky me).Next week I will be back to work and probably my availability won�t be the same.Thanks for your kindness Jose Hi Berta,Thank you so much for your nice words. It was really fun to it. It took me some time to put it together and it was a chance to review the editing procedures for wikis we have learned inthis session and also all the procedures involved in chats and conferences.Thanks again Jose Dear Moira,You said it well. That is exactly how I felt. For me it was a great learning experience and once again thank you for being there for me Cheers Jose
Hi, JA!Like Berta, I love your first adventure in wikiland about our conference yesterday! :-)I like the way you blend text and images. You may not have heard what I said about glitches in "real time". I always approach them in a positive way,because they're a"learning" moment, because it usually/always generates a discussion and reflection during and after that is useful. So... let's think positive about these things!The piece of advice I gave regarding blended lessons and glitches is to"always" have a "plan B" ready. Sometimes glitches may not be solved on time, so not everything is lost and time isn't wasted.Congrats on your first venture into live conferencing! :-)Hugs, Teresa (Portugal)
MonicaHi Jose,believe me, the conference call was a success! What is a virtual conference without any technical glitches, right? And that's when we learn to deal with them... real time, real world!I'll be glad to join any other group! It was lovely to finally manage to put voices to come faces... :)And Moira took over when we lost you, thank you Moira! It was nice talking to you and the other girls. Teresa, thanks for the link to the world map (http://go.hrw.com/atlas), I simply loooooove maps!!! :))Um abra�o,Monica
MonicaHi Jose,great wiki, great shots! :)And I'm sure there are a lot of people right now thinking about taking the plunge! Well done!Monica (BH-Brazil)
Dear Jose Your wiki page is really awesome! I wanted to leave a comment, but I wouldn't know the password? And if I had the chance to click on "Edit Page", I'd love to have a look at your code for such a stylish page...Perhaps you can add a link to www.webnotes.com to your SideBar as an option for us outsiders to leave comments? I did want to react, your text is super, and the layout SOOOOO impressive! Looks like you're really "Becoming a Webhead" here... ;-)!!! Kudos to you!Gladys
Nice to read the WIKI and responses to a "first attempt". I have been trying to learn to stream (webcast) for about 3 months now. It seems that I always have some equipment that doesn't work, or drop offline,or, .,. ,.It is very strange being in the student frustration mode for technology- but something that humbles me every time. Its the challenges that keep us young. Now, to get Yahoo messenger working.Sharon
Hello everyone,Just wanted to let you know my Yahoo and Skype IDs in case you want to contact me for a conference..Yahoo: cleviaperez Skype: clevia.perez I'll try to reach any of you whenever I'm available...Warm regards,Clevia
Hi Jose,I love the way you narrated your first Skype conference. It brought me back to 2002 when Tere and I joined the WiA session, and we used to report on our experiences with the new tools we were exploring. In those times, we were experimenting with web pages (Web1.0)Some examples:My reflections on creating web pageshttp://www.geocities.com/dygonza/diary.htmlExperimenting with what in those times was a WoW!tool:New Wimba Direct Voice (a voice board)http://www.geocities.com/dygonza/webheads/directvoice.html Thanks for bringing back nice memories :-)Jose, I tried to leave you a comment but your comment feature is private (need a password). It would be nice to make it public so we could post messages, without having to ask for a password, and you will keep the messages to go back to in the future. What do you think?hugs,Daf
MonicaHi all,I've never used YM in my classes, but I thought that the fact that we can have access to both audio and chatlogs might open an interesting possibility of discussing spoken X written discourse. My students are mostly advanced levels and I think this is a very important distinction...Abraço,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Dear Monica and all,I have been using chat in my classes since 2002, and everyday I find more advantages to its use.Here's an article reporting a study with the use of chat in ESP:ENHANCING COLLABORATION THROUGH CHAT IN ESP: A CONVERSATION ANALYSIS beijinhos, Daf http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_esp24.htm
Hi,Sue,I am glad you liked it. Good look on your adventures trying these new tools. If you need any help please don´t hesitate in asking me. I amnot an expert, but we can learn together Big hug,Jose
Hi,I made a PBwiki, and would like to share it with you.A wiki is an easy-to-use Web page that lets you collaborate with other people--no special knowledge required. It's unbelievably easy to use. You just start typing! This is useful because it allows us all to create new pages, make links to pages we've already made, and let others edit the wiki, too. We can all add to this wiki.This link will take you to the wiki and allow you to create and edit pages, add to discussions, and upload files. https://joseantoniook.pbwiki.com/?aph=5846252ebe3d1abdb3008b81d32ee1dbb488fa2c
Hi Dear Bawers,Sorry to bother you wiht the wiki deal again. I have decide try a different way. I used the sharing feature of my wiki page and have sent a link to the whole group. Now hopefully you will be able to post comments to the page "Conference Call Adventure" or any other of the entries. Let's see it works this time.Thanks a lot,Jose
Hi José,It's really interesting!I've just been and left a comment :-)Moira France
Hi, Amy!You're welcome to read my article on "The Use of Chat In EFL/ESL", which isn't included in the Readings.http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej25/int.html You may find something useful.Hugs, Teresa
Hi Amy,I created a taxonomy for educational chat, that you can see at:http://www.geocities.com/bawebhead/pci/taxonomychat.html and there is an article about that taxonomy at: http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_review15.htm Comments welcome :-)Daf
Hello everyone,Last night was very exciting for me. My sweet husband bought a microphone and a webcam for me yesterday, and I was anxious to try them out. I contacted Dafne in a Skype chat, and she led me through the process of making a call where both of my "toys" were used. During our conversation, Dafne taught me how to capture a screenshot and save it as a jpeg file.Today I created a wiki page to show you the process. You can access it through the course wiki by choosing "Tools used by participants," then"Other," or you can see it directly here:http://baw07participants.pbwiki.com/Sarah%20B Sarah Braxton (USA)p.s. I put a Skype button on the wiki page and wonder if it works -try it!p.s.s. Thank you, Dafne!
A recent minor misunderstanding through email brings to mind a new discussion. What about the lack of facial expression and inflection when using text tools? Or even Skype and voice tools - and camcorders certainly don't pass this along either. Just goes to show that although a great tool, sometimes face to face is best.Sharon
I am sure this is how the gallery of emoticons was created. However, during a chat it's hard to find the right emoticon at just the right moment. And of course reducing the gamut of human emotions to 15 or 20 emoticons is --impossible?Nina (MD)
Hi Clevia,There is a table at the database section of our YG where you can post this information. In this way it does not get lost in the pile of messages sent to the list :-hugs,Daf

 

Hints

 

Hi, everyone!I've finally been able to update the Hints page (there's a link in the wiki)with hints from last week. http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/baw06/hints.htm The page now starts with two maps about times in different parts of the world,to help everyone be "on time" to all the synchronous/live events, and alsoincludes the two sets of instructions on "how to" register to our Forum (you choose which one suits you best), etc, etc...Go through it and I hope you find useful tips.Enjoy!Teresa (Portugal)
Thanks Teresa for a very useful updated Hint page!

Hala in Sudan

You're very welcome, Hala!I plan to continue the update as we get interesting new hints from our participants.Hugs, Teresa
photo This is really irritating. I thought I had solved the forum login problem last week when I folllowed Moira's instructions scrupulously, logged in, and posted a few comments. When I tried to log back in today for the week 2 readings, it failed to recognize my username and password. What gives? Other than checking the username and password (which I have done) and making sure the moderator has not blocked me (I presume not), there seems to be no recourse to get into the d-n thing.
Sorry about your problems with the forum. I don't have any idea what the problem is. I have two accounts one as the baw administrator and a personal one as Daf and I haven't had any of those problems :-( I will send a message to the forum owners to see if they have an answer for this.Daf
O�, Teresa.Your Hints page (TinyURL http://tinyurl.com/yre8s2 )is outstanding!Dennis in Phoenix
Nina,I do too had the forum login problem yesterday and the day before. I didn't have time to send a note to the list, but right now, I logged in successfully. So, it works okay.My best,Nina Lyulkun
Hi, Dennis!Thanks so much. You're always so sweet!I've moved the page. It's only a slight change, but a pertinent one. It's now in a BaW07 folder. So... the new URL is http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/baw07/hints.htm I've updated the links in both wikis.I've been to your new wiki page and liked the nice start. Kudos to you! :-)Hugs, Teresa
Taking BaW can be a pretty overwhelming experience(especially if you have a job, a family, a life outside of your computer, as we all do). Last year, I discovered some pretty amazing resources after the course was over and I had a little more chance to explore. I'd like to recommend that you take a look at the Hints page NOW because it is really awesome and will help you do everything you need to do forBaW plus a lot more!Cheers,Nina in MD
Dear Teresa,Your hint page is wonderful! Many thanks!Lots of hugs,Cora
Hi, Nina!Thank you for the very supportive and enthusiastic words on the Hints page.I'm sure we'll continue to have some great hints from our currentparticipants.Hugs, Teresa
Marcia MariaI tried to post my comments about this week´s reading and used the login and password I usually use for Yahoo. I gort a message saying they were invalid. Any special instruction? Thks for helping.
HI Marcia,to post on the forum you have to register first. You will then get a username and password to the forum and will be able to comment on the readings.Looking forward to reading your comments.beijinhos,cris
Hello Marcia,I posted some instructions on this in Message 534 and am copying them here.Hope that helps :-)Moira France

Hello everybody,There are two ways of using the forum.1. As a Registered User or 2. As a Guest UserREGISTERED USER -If you WANT to register and have your name and photo appear automatically and send messages without having to enter a code each time you send a message to the forum, follow these instructions:Instructions to Register:Once in the forum,-Click on ticked Register icon.-Accept conditions.-Complete your Username (your name) and create a password (your own)-Complete your email address (your personal address).-An automatic email will be sent to your address (your personal email address).-Click on the link in the email and this activates your account in the forum.-Now log in with your Username and passwordAdvise: remember to write down your username and password2. GUEST USER -If you DO NOT want to register and you prefer to enter your name and subject and confirmation code every time you post, follow these guidelines :-Got to the forum and click on 'Post Reply' to the message you want to send a reply to.-The text window to write your message will open.-At the top of this text window, enter Username (your name) :for exmple, Moira Hunter.-Enter a title for the Subject of your message.-Write your message.-BEFORE submitting, you must complee the Confirmation Code at the bottom of the screen. This is difficult to read but is normally in capital letters.-Now you can submit.To see the differences between these two ways of posting messages to the forum, please CLICK on this link http://www.miumu.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1&mforum=baw07Now decide which you prefer.If registering, take your time, go slowly!!I have registered twice without any problem, and the last time (under username Batman) was in real-time with Nelba in Argentina and it took seconds :-)Moira

Dear participants and moderators,I feel so dumb by asking you this question, but how do I get my photo URL? I'm trying to upload my picture in the participants gallery (in the wiki, and even though I've been trying it since last week, I just can't figure out how to do it... I know how to do it from my computer,but about the URL, I'm lost... :/Can anyone help me?Thanks in advance,Clevia

 

Week 1 Threads

 

Hello all,You can now find a summary page of the Week 1 Yahoo Group threads here:http://baw07.pbwiki.com/week1threadsIf there are any mistakes or mis-matched pictures it is mea culpa.Please email me and I'll fix them. :-)Thanks Kat
Hi, Kat!FAN-TAS-TIC! I just corrected my own mistake in the "mini UN" list. There are two participants from Slovenia, Sasha and Jasna.Thanks for a great job! :-)BTW, I linked the thread on usernames and passwords to our "Hints" pagee.Very helpful!Hugs, Teresa

 

 

 

URL's for articles e-learning

 

Hi, everyone.Here are some URLs to articles related to e-learning and distance learning. Hope you like them.

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8403&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8402&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8558&doclng=6

http://www.qualityfoundation.org/ww/en/pub/efquel/index.htm

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8394&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8401&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8553&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8550&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8549&doclng=6

http://www.elearningpapers.eu/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=8404&doclng=6

Best regards,Paula Ferreira

Thanks a lot Paula for the tips.I will have a look at the articles as soon I get back from work. beijinhos Cristina Costa

 

 

 

Creating a Vision/Cheryl Oakes

 

Hello everybody,I would like to share with you this article by Cheryl Oakes; one of our BAW07 sweet co-moderators: http://baw07.pbwiki.com/Moderators#CherylOakes

Reading the article was the "best thing that happened to me this evening". I was exactly in the same mood, or better to say, the same questions bubbled inside Cheryl's mind before and during the race were booming inside mine !I am in the process of creating my first ever Yahoo Group to my students,which will be the first ever EFL blended course in my university.Also, week 5, which I will be your scary moderator, is flying towards my monitor, in addition to the British Council Sudan presentation, which is approaching with many attendee teachers, who dislike "hearing" words like technology for teaching EFL, but , in any case they will come to attend !!Gwen Solomon, Director TechLEARNING.com, wrote the following lines:I won't spoil it for you, but there's drama, challenge, and metaphor. You'll want to use her blog to start a workshop with people who are a little scared of using technology - or trying a new technology. You'll also want to take her up on an invitation to try something new yourself and let her know about it with a comment." Now, after letting you suffer with my above bored detailed lines,here it is with words from the heart and mind: http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2007/01/the_scariest_thing_i_did_last.php Don't forget to read the comments!They will add to the inspiration,I think! Hope it will help you to create a VISION!Hala in Sudan Hala in warm Sudan

Cheryl writes:"This is a thinking prompt for you if you are looking to improve a skill or challenge yourself to learn something new. Pick an activity,a technology tool, an article to read, a blog to read and leave a comment to this blog, open a delicious account, put a photo in Photoshop, create a FlickR account, create a Bubbleshare account ,register for VYEW and try out the tools,, try using a SmartBoard .....you fill in the blank. Make yourself a goal to try it out and learn the new ________.( you fill in the blank) Don't be scared."It shows you're a Webhead In Action, Cheryl! That community never stops learning, and drags us all on its eventful journey! Gladys (a WIA herself! ;-)!)

 

Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0

 

Hi Dafne and all,I am really interested in these two concepts and the implications they have in the integration of technology in education. I'll attempt an explanation in order to contribute to this thread.The initial phase of the web (since its inception till the late 90's) is known as the Web 1.0, or the read web, in which we could only read or get information,but, as users, were not able to publish content ourselves.That was mainly the job of experts in technology and webmasters. The web, then, was mainly used as a source of information. A kind of instructional activity that was born at the time (1995) was the Web Quest that asked students to select, organize and transform information to fulfill a realistic task. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/. I personally like this kind of activity and believe it can be greatly enhanced nowadays with the tools we are learning to use.On the other hand, the Web 2.0, also known as the read/write web, the interactive or the two-way web, allows users to create, edit, publish and share content on the web, communicating and working collaboratively through a wide array of tools, including wikis and blogs as the most widely used. Therefore, the new possibilities the Web 2.0 offers are having a tremendous impact, not only in education, but also in the fields of politics and journalism and in every day life, both by empowering users and by presenting new challenges i.e. ,in our case, preparing our students to create content to be published and shared beyond the walls of the classroom, etc. That's why we are all here, right? ;) Here are some links I found on this topic:

http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/04_05_articles/read-write-web.html

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20.php

http://weblog.educ.ar/educacion-tics/archives/006864.php (in Spanish)

I look forward to your ideas and comments in order to add, modify or complete information. Best regards, Carla R.Learners.

The Url is http://www2.mtroyal.ca/~rcorbett/edtech/LearnersET.html.

Dear All,Carla has done a great job looking for all the info about Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. It's very clear and informative. Web 3.0 is on it�s way!!There is a very interesting article from Times Magazine about the Person of the Year: YOU!! I personally think that it�s worth reading if we are planning to integrate technology into your classes.Enjoy your reading!!Jennifer V. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html?aid=434&from=o&\to=http%3A//www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1569514%2C00.html
Dear Jennifer,I agree on your comments about Carla's message :-) Thanks for sharing the article which I will check tomorrow.hugs,Daf
Dear Carla,This is a great summary!!! I would like to hear whatothers have to say on this topic, and I would add twoquestions:-Who coined the term Web 2.0?-What are the implications for language teaching?More on this topic tomorrow after a long day at the university. I am off to bed now (1:45 am here)hugs,Daf
Dear Carla,Great Explanation.thanks you for clear that out!beijinhos
Thank you so much everybody for your advice about whether I should use a website, blog or wiki for my students to present their project findings. But I�ve definitely decided the wiki is the best option and that�s what I�m going for. The deciding factor was seeing Daf�s architecture students� wikis. Before, I had thought that wikis seemed educationally worthy but looked rather dull and unsatisfying as a product. But Daf�s project showed me that there is enough flexibility to make them attractive too which I�m sure will motivate my students more. I�m using HYPERLINK "http://www.wikispaces.com/"www.wikispaces.com which is easy and has really clear tutorials. There are limitations, especially in the free edition, but because you can import pictures and , I noticed from Daf�s, animated ones, you can compensate for the design limitations.And hey, it�s so much less hassle for me! And more hands on and foolproof for my students too.The result will be viewable next week so I�ll give you the URL then and you can tell me if it was the right choice (and find out about Nowich).About Daf�s question re the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0�. Is it that Web 2.0 allows and encourages more control and action from the end user, rather than just reading? A more interactive and co-operatively owned product?And I�ve got a (daft?) question: how do you pronounce Web 2.0. Is it �web two� or �web two point nought� or what?Thanks again everyone for such useful advice.Hugs (since that�s what we do here!)Johanna
Johanna,Really looking forward to you and your students' wiki. I was born just outside Norwich, so it will be especially interesting to read what others make of this beautiful city.Denos Dennis
Hi Johana,I say 'web two point zero'And you others out there?Moira France
I say Web two point zero, too - but I don't think I have ever heard anyone say it yet.Denos Dennis
Hello -well, I think I've heard the buzzword spoken as web-two-oh just my five kroner (Danish value)
Hello,I'm Sus Nyrop - an internet addicted Webheads veteran in Denmark - and did my first BAW workshop in 2004, as one or the co-moderators, mostly just reading along this year, due to heavy workload on course development forteachers getting into web 2.0.Just this brief intro for now, as I wanted to join the collaborative intelligence choir inspired by the treasure hunting the origin of Web 2.0.The term was coined by Tim O'Reilly in 2004!You'll find more detailed answer here in the Wikipedia (People's own dictionary, true result of the web 2.0 folksonomy movement)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
I've also said it that way, Moira, but I think it would be much easier to say 'Web two oh' or just plain 'Web two', 'Web one' and 'Web three'(already??).Hugs, Teresa
Derya photoDear all,Although I'm new in this regard, I chose to say "web two" as it was easier.

Love, Derya.

Monica photoSame here, Dennis; I say "Web Two Point Zero" and I guess this is how I've been hearing people say on TV...Monica (BH-Brazil)Hi all!Going through some articles I had saved in my computer, I found this one by Tim O'Reilly - check the link: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html Also, I remember that the Guardian published a series of short articles on the subject a few months ago. I don't have the exact link,but if you check the website (www.guardian.co.uk) and try their search engine, you'll probably find them in the archives.Um abra�o,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Me too Moira, I say web two point zero or web two point oh. Just the same way as you would talk about a software release.Kat
LJohanna asked, "And I've got a (daft?) question: how do you pronounce Web 2.0. Is it "web two" or "web two point nought" or what?"Not daft at all. I pronounce it "web two point oh". How about the rest of you?I have also heard "web two oh".
Dear all,I really liked the article from Time Magazine Jennifer shared with us (message # 999) as well as the related stories on the sidebar. Don't you feel identified with the following lines?"Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and �"(� log into BaW YG , check out my weekly activities, learn about the Web 2.0 tools, experiment, collaborate and share queries, achievements and findings with an international community of EFL/ESL educators�.)"Who has that time and that energy and that passion? The answer is,YOU do"Thank you all for your meaningful contributions to this experience. :)Carla R.
MonicaHi Carla R,It's been a wonderful experience, and I'm sure everybody feels the same. As for the comment you mentioned..."Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and �"... well, being a FOMS (Fear Of Missing Something) sufferer, I say that it's always possible to check messages, write posts, do the weekly tasks and check a few links WHILE watching the latest Lost episode online! :) Can't do it if you're in front of the TV...Um abra�o,Monica (BH-Brazil)
Hi Teresa,Thank you so much for posting this link. I was thinking that I wanted to read some articles about the use of chat in the classroom. I'm wondering about the differences between pairs, small groups and larger groups as well as preparing students and the things to consider when setting up the tasks. I see there are a lot of links here under chats,so I will be busy for a while.If anyone else has articles they would recommend, I would love to hear about them.Thanks.

 

 

Threads for Week 2 and 3

 

I can see that you are all busy with Skype, Yahoo, answering questions, learning about one another, getting ready for Michael Coghlan, finding the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, and deciding how to pronounce Web 2.0 Most agree that it is Web two point O.Call it what you like, the tools are incredible and far reaching. So glad I've met all of you from around the planet!Cheryl Oakes, Wells, ME USA Over and Out!
Dear All, Week 3 needs someone to do the threads. Is there anyone who can help us? Your help will be greatly appreciated!Many thanks in advance for your help!:)Cora

 

 

YM Mini Conference

 

Hi, everyone!This evening I was contacted by Ehsan in Tehran. We had a nice text chat at YM and then he invited me to a voice conference where I met JA (Jose Antonio) and Karen Taylor (just for a few minutes). It's a very small world. She lives where I went to school in the States in the early sixties. :-)I talked longer with Ehsan and JA, and we even got to talk about uses of chat for language teaching.After 5 years of chatting on a very regular basis, I still get goosebumps when,as today, I am at home in the Lisbon area talking with a colleague in Iran and another in Brasilia, Brazil, and, for a few minutes, with another colleague in D.C. These tools/toys are fabulous! I never get tired of saying: "What we would be missing had we not grabbed this online teacher development opportunity!" I pity those who haven' embarked on this fantastic adventure, or just don't want to. They don't know what they're missing! Thank you, Ehsan, for getting in touch with me. Hugs all, Teresa
Hi Teresa,Thanks for sharing with the group the experience we had. Your use of the word "toy" describes exactly how I felt, I did feel like a kid discovering a new toy. Although it was not my first experience with Yahoo voice Messenger, but the feeling is always good. On my part,I was also multitasking, something that used to panic me on online chats. I wa chatting with nina and another friend of mine in Brazil.I would be really missing a lotif I had not embarked in this online learning journey.Cheers,Jose Antonio
Wow, Jose. I love your wiki where you narrate your Skype conference adventure. Thanks for sharing.Well done! You surely are a fast learner. Congratulations!!!Cheers, Berta
Dear Jose,I have just made a point of taking the time to go to your wiki and read your entry.And I would suggest that everybody does likewise! It is so well written, and whilst reading,I felt myself going through all the steps of anxiety/learning/satisfaction/frustration/pleasure/anger and all the otheremotions that you go through when trying out something online with a 'public'for the first time.This is a real example of sharing!!! Thank you Jose!!!Moira France
Hi Hala,No problem. I know may of you are working and besides that some other people are overwhelmed with tasks. I am a little bit more available for the time being because I am still on vacation (Lucky me).Next week I will be back to work and probably my availability won�t be the same.Thanks for your kindness, Jose

 

No Silly Questions

 

Rachel photoWhat's the difference between a Yahoo group and a Wiki? Is there a difference in terms of what each can do?I know I haven't been taking part much, but I'm learning so much just by reading and following what everyone else has to say! My head isspinning! Thanks! Rachel Heller Groningen, The Netherlands
Rachel,Even if others answer, I will as well because we are "almost" neighbours(Osnabrueck,Germany).A Yahoo group is designed as a device for sending messages to an enrolled list of people. You send a message to the group, and everyone receives a copy. There are some extras, too. You can post attachments, and photos, but to see these extras you have to go to the site, they are not sent to you. In addition there is a shared calendar, and the people who set up the list can create polls.A wiki on the other hand does not get sent to you. You have to visit it. A design feature is that all members can alter the texts. If I write "Dennis is handsome and clever", you can go to the site and add: Rubbish. He is ugly and stupid." A wiki can also contain photos. But you always have to visit the wiki homepage to see what is on it. You won't get a copy sent to you -though if it has RSS ( Look that up in Google is you do not know what it is)and you sign up, you can be told automatically every time a change has been made.Dennis
Rachel photoThanks, that clears it up a bit...Hugs to all (They don't do much hugging in Holland; I miss that!)Rachel Heller Groningen, The Netherlands
aDear Rachel,how are you doing.Nice to meet you.I will provde you now with a defenition of both tools:BaW07 distribution mailing list is an example of that. To the BaW07 Yahoo! Group we are able to communicate and share ideas as they come along.A Wiki on the Web is "A website or similar online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively." www.parliament.vic.gov.au/sarc/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm In a wiki communication is done in a more lonesome way. People may not react to your ideas/suggestions the same way they do through email.I hope this helps.Don't hesitate about asking more beijinhos Cristina Costa
Dear Vera, we can understand that.just take your time.One of the nicest things about this group is that you can learn at your own rhythm. All the discussions will be saved in the Yahoo! list and so you will be able to check the messages later, when you have more time or feel like it. So relax, and enjoy. I hope the semester is starting in the best way possible.all the best
Dear Cristina,Thanks for your message. It's not that I am leaving the group - I am staying up reading the articles before the conference. It's at 6 am my time so there's no point in going to bed.Regards,Vera
Hi Teresa,Thanks a lot for the advice. I think that at first, when a glitch happens you do feel frustrated and that is when you are in the students/learners' shoes and then you reflect and learn with it and see the importance of having a Plan B. I totally agree with you about seeing glitches as a learning opportunity.Cheers Jose
MonicaHi Monica,Thank you so much. It was realy nice to have you contributing for the good learning experience that it turned out tobe.Abraços José
Hi Gladys,I am going to check for the editing preferences. Thanks for telling about the password request. I am so happy that you liked it. You do such a great job in blogs and other platforms that I am really flattered by your comments Big hug José

 

 

 

Adding Contacts to Yahoo and SKYPE

 

Dear Participants,When sending an invitation to be added to someone's contacts, can you please remember to add a little note saying who you are:For example: "Hi, I'm in the BaW group, Moira"I personally will not add anyone to my contacts if I cannot identify who the person is. This is also a security measure. If I click on the ID profile of someone and find no name, no information, but just a string of numbers or letters, I do not accept the contact.There are a lot of people in cyber space and they are not always nice, so thisis a means of keeping them off your contact list.Thanks for your understanding.Moira France
Hello, everyone!I second Moira one hundred percent. I have refused a couple invitations,including one this evening, for the reasons that Moira refers. I don't mean to be rude and I hope it wasn't any of you. If so, please excuse me and I hope I haven't offended anyone. This has always been a "security" policy of mine.Please be sure to include a short message identifying yourself. I generally say: "Hi, I'm Teresa from BaW07".Cheers, Teresa Hi again, everyone!I didn't have a chance to expand on my chat with Ehsan and JA (Jose Antonio)two days ago, but here I am to fill you in a little more and open a discussion.It was very nice to hear, rather read, Ehsan say that he's very excited about the prospects that BaW has opened up for him. It "has blown a new life to my career", he wrote. That is very pleasant for me to hear, because one of our (Daf's and mine) main aims has been to change our participants'professional lives. And, due to the bonds we generate amongst ourselves,our personal lives are also affected. No doubt many of your lives will not be the same at the personal level. Mine hasn'tHere are a couple of ideas for language learning through YM that we shared:-- vocabulary: activate photo sharing and share pictures of the items you're teaching (Ehsan)-- vocabulary: share meanings of words, or make up a game around this "sharing of meanings or definitions", by using an online dictionary <http://dictionary.reference.com/ > (Ehsan)-- voice chat even with young learners (Teresa): I gave them a link to a chat that two of my 2nd-year-EFL classes had with two Webhead friends, Aiden Yeh in Taiwan and Agata Zieba-Warcholak in Poland <http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/fwe5-jun05.htm#21Jun05 > (this was recorded with Audacity).JA said that he's used Audacity to rehearse a presentation he was going to give, to see if anything was missing, the way he said things, etc.There are many other ways in which Yahoo Messenger can be used effectively in the blended classroom. Michael Coghlan gave several examples today, as did some participants.How would you use it in your classroom?Looking forward to reading about what you have to say.Hugs all, Teresa
How very very interesting. I have never used YM for conference work and am anxious to give it a try. How did you manage to record YM with Audacity? I have had a lot of issues trying to use Audacity and online conferences. This is a great way for language learners to hear different native speakers directly.Sharon

 

 

 

Second Life Lasalle College Campus in SL

 

I still haven't taken the time to enter Second Life since I'm so busy with my first, but I continue to be intrigued by all the developments. A college here in Montreal has just opened a campus in SL and charges full tuition for students to take courses. Here's a link to the college site: http://www.ilasallecampus.com/en/Second_life.html And the intro cut and pasted from the site:LaSalle College has become the first Canadian school to open a campus in the virtual world of Second Life, where it will offer long-distance training programs. Second Life is a 3D world with its own economy that brings together 2.6 million Internet users from all over the planet. This pavilion will be athree-dimensional meeting place for students living across Quebec and the world;from the comfort of their own homes, they will attend their instructors� lectures and talk to their classmates.Jane (in the real world of Montreal which currently checks in at -20C)Woops! I meant to send that Second Life post to a different group--sorry about that....Too much multi-tasking!Jane

 

Special Messages

 

Hi,everyone!While listening to the beginning of the BaW07 and EVO Worldbridges Skypecast,I've updated the Special Messages wiki page. Hurrah for multitasking!!!Take a look!http://baw07.pbwiki.com/SpecialMessages Hugs all, Teresa

 

 

Summer Vacation

 

Dear B4bers,I've already told Dafne about it.I�ll be taking two weeks on a sunny beach in Fortaleza(northeast of Brazil).Thus, I'll try to be following the course via email. I'll be back on Feb 3. warmly,Isabel
Great news, Isabel!!!I arrived from Salvador last Wednesday and the weather was fantastic!!!!!

But due to my trip I�m a little lost here because I�m trying to read old messages not to lose the track.... It�s kind of difficult as I�m also in charge of Ability since Thursday (next week is Luciene�s turn). I�ll get there!!!!!! (Ihope so).Have a very nice stay in Fortaleza and relax!!!! You deserve this!!!!XOXO,Rosane.

 

New Tools

 

Good morning from Portugal, Sharon!Congrats to you on a fabulous wiki page and to your husband on supporting you! I'm also very lucky, because my husband, Joao, has always supported me in my 10 years of playing around with these fabulous new tools , aka "toys".:-)I also had an exciting experience yesterday evening with my dear friend and colleague at school, and BaW07 participant, Margarida (Yahoo ID: marmirpor).On Friday evening 5 Lisbon Webheads were over at her house for dinner. Joao and I presented Margarida with a special gift: a headset with a mic that can be turned on and off! (That would have come in very handy for Michael's presentation when I was at school. It would have avoided a lot of background noise.) I'm going to get one for myself!! Around 22:30, after a fantastic dinner - Margarida is a great cook and I'll be putting up some photos of our dinner very soon! - we went to the computer to introduce her to Yahoo Messenger. She learned her lesson and yesterday evening she had her first ever text and voice chat with me and then with Joao. Way to go, Margarida! Congrats!! One step at a time, that's the way!This was a very special event for me, because in 10 years of regular CALL work with my students at my school and being available to help anyone, she's the first person that has followed me. Amazing, isn't it? I don't know in what world people are living!!!I'm very proud of her and now I know that there's no stopping her, because"where there's a will, there's a way", and she has the will. I hope she drops by today to tell you her feelings about this experience.Hugs all, Teresa

Dear Sarah,Please excuse the mix-up in names! I called you Sharon! Shame on me!!! I guess my neurones haven't "warmed up" yet and aren't functioning properly.I need another coffee!!! < running off to the kitchen >Hugs, Teresa

The 20c I guess. I'm so pleased that someone in your workplace followed your lead Teresa. It's been a long time coming!-Michael
Thanks, Michael! It's very sweet of you. :-)Some may even go back to the 19c. ;-)Have a wonderful week!Hugs, Teresa

 

Spousal/Family/Friends support of BAW07

 

Let's hear it for all the husbands, wives, families, and friends who are getting short shrift these days because we are all immersed in EVO sessions! They are great!
My husband and kids have been great to help with things around the house so I could take part in Becoming a Webhead. I am thankful to have such a wonderful family.
My boyfriend is studying in Spain now, so he doesn't see me glued to the computer screen days and nights, but sometimes my on-line meetings overlap with our talking time (which is so hard to find due to the time difference), but he is proud of me taking this great on-line course and he's being really supportive. And I am really thankful to him.And I am happy that other members of our group have this support too.Vera

 

Extras

Dear Daf,Thank you for your support ! I�ll try hard to reach the rest of the group.because it�s not comfortable to be late.Good night (for me here in Brazil! What about you???):)))Rosane
Dear Rosane,I am sure you will catch up. Remember that you don't need to follow the activities in order, you can jump and then go back when you have the time :-)Well, right now it is 10:15 pm in Caracas ;-)Have a great week!Daf
Rafiehdear Sharon,Thanks a lot for the advice. I tried it with my pc at work which is much faster and didn't have any problem.Love,rafieh

 

New Poll

AnnouncementNew poll for baw07 Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the baw07 group:Is your normal connection to the Internet for BaW 2007 a

o dial up internet connection

o high speed internet connection at home

o corporate or institution internet connection

To vote, please visit the following web page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw07/surveys?id=1776850

BaW 2007 members:I have put one more poll up on the BaW 2007 Yahoo Groups site. These polls are assisting us in better understanding some of your computer and Internet systems. I'd also like to invite those of you who will be using voice, video and synchronous tools to visit the http://www.alado.net/webheads site and click on the link and graphic image on the left column beneath the "Tapped In" logo for a streaming video on how the Internet actually works. It's a link to "Warriors of the Net" and is available in multiple languages. This video may be helpful to understand how the various Internet systems operate and make all the digital magic happen, which we sometimes may take for granted.

 

Spanish Podcasts

LauraHi Everyone,I am looking for some podcasts to use with intermediate Spanish students. The ones I have found, either have too much English or are way too difficult. I especially would like to find something with short passages that could be used for listening comprehension activities. Any ideas would be appreciated. thanks.Laura G. Maine, USA

 

Worldbridges Live Event

Dear all,Thanks to those of you who attended the live session at Worldbridges with Leff Lebow and Dave Cormier. We had a great time with participants from other sessions too, but BaWers were majority ;-)As usual, Jeff was a wonderful host :-)Here's the link to the page I have created for the session, and you will find the link to the recording, chatlog, screenshots, and Cris'thank-you card. http://baw07.pbwiki.com/jeff-dave-worldbridges. Enjoy! Daf
Dear Dafne,I'll be very much pleased if you can change the info about me at http://baw07.pbwiki.com/jeff-dave-worldbridges. I definitely came from Russia, but I've been living and working in Ukraine all my adult life .So, I am from Ukraine.It's right at the end of the list of the participants: '...Susan Canelo(Argentina), Nina Lyulkun (Ukraine) (Russia), Rita Zeinstejer(Argentina), Paula Emmert (USA), Graham Stanley (Spain)'I exactly enjoyed today's live session at Worldbridges with Jeff Lebow and Dave Cormier. It was an amazing event for me, as I took part at it for the first time. Though, Yao Dong from China invited me to join in long ago.Thank you in advance.With warmest regards,Nina Lyulkun
Dear all,You can now post your comments on today's session. I am sure Jeff and Dave would love to read your feedback ;-)http://baw07.motime.com hugsDaf (off to bed after a long day in front of the computer)
Is the recording from Jeff or did someone else record it. I loved the session and was very impressed with all the participants. Still searching for a good recording method to capture the entire group vocal input.Sharon
Hi Sharon, Jeff did the recording using Audacity. He IS the expert in webcasting, and the moderator of the Webcasting Academy EVO session. I attended one of their sessions today, and one of the things they are learning is how to record in Audacity.I also enjoyed the session, I love to be able to get in touch with so many people from all over the world:-)Cheers, Daf


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