Welcome Message

From Hala, 22 Jan 2006

Dear participants, new ones, re-joined -old friends, co-moderators and our GREAT moderators,

Thank you so much dear Tere for your sweet words about me and Leanne!!

My name is Hala Fawzi.I am in Khartoum , Sudan , where the Nile , the longest river in the world flows. Together with my dear friend sweet Leanne, from Canada , we will be your co-moderators for week2.We hope it will be fruitful and enjoyable! The F.U.N ( FUN = frivolous unanticipated nonsense) is about to start. This where you can learn more about us,
http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/co-moderators.html#leanne

What will happen this week? In this week, the virtual world will turn into reality!! We will explore together web tools for synchronous live communication with other participants, educators and colleagues. We will share, together, the best ways of implementing these tools into our classrooms, future projects, conferences, presentations, collaborative researches or, we can just learn about them and think about using them later!
I will give you some advices, not as a co-moderator, but as a participant who joined Becoming a Webhead 2005! Do you believe this? Both me and Leanne were newbie 13 months ago, and look at us now!!! Smart, beautiful ladies who are going to lead the most exciting week!!
Rrrrright!
I will start by telling you to relax and to go to our baw home page, or you can go directly here: http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/week2.html.

Make sure you have installed Yahoo Messenger and Skype. Did you create your buddy list, YM and Skype? If not yet, please add your yahoo ID to yahoo group database: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw-06/databaseso we ca reach you easily if you are lost and "grab you into the live session!
Finish your readings and post your answers. We have prizes at the end
:0):wink.
So as not to miss any live session, always check the world clock
at:http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html It feels good when you become way ahead! So, try to start working from now!!

Don't forget to go
here:http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/baw06/hintsbaw06.htm.This is the "Hints & How To page", Scroll down to read about YM conferences and voice chat, You will love it, if you follow carefully what's has been explained here!

The Forum where we will discus the weekly suggested readings

http://assembly.nerdworld.com/assembly.asp?Assembly=baw-06assembly

The blog to write our comments about the weekly live sessions with
our guest speakers http://dafne.edublogs.org/

These links are available from our BaW-06 Yahoo Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw-06

and from our session Web site:
http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/index.html

Leanne and I will be available at TI (Tapped In) reception, YM and Skype almost all day. Feel free to add us to your YM(I have already added some of you to my buddy list). Good luck. Sorry for the long posting!

Warm greetings,
Hala. Sudan.(A humble co-moderator waiting for easy questions/comments, topics to be raised)

Before Week 2 gets on its way with two of our fabulous co-moderators, Hala and Leanne, Daf and I would like to give two pieces of advice based on things that generally happen during the first week, and naturally did.

The first one concerns the "Subject line" of messages: Every time the subject changes, please change the subject line. As we all know, subject lines should be short, catchy and to the point. In doing so, we're also helping whoever is doing the threads page.

The second has to do with "replies": When replying to a message, delete any uncessary text from the original message, as well as the header (To, From...) and footer (all the stuff Yahoo includes). Leave only a relevant sentence or paragraph.

For those who get a Daily Digest, this avoids having to scroll down long messages, screen after screen... And it makes their reading more pleasant.

Last but not least, please sign all messages.

We hope you've enjoyed this first week and have found it rewarding. We certainly have. And, once again, remember to take things one step at a time.

Week 2 is almost here. Enjoy!

There is a tutorial on how to post and reply to messages in the forum,
you will find this video-tutorial at:
http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/tutorials.html

Gladys also sent short instructions on how to reply to messages:

"when posting to the BAW assembly:

1. find the relevant message (click on the subject) This week Daf has
opened one for each article.
2. Click on "reply to message" (NOT "post new message")- this button is
located on the navigation bar on the left
3. Post your views"

Hope this helps

Even if you don't teach "business English" McMillan is a good source.

I subscribe to a MacMillan's Business English on Line. This is this week's lesson with links:

<http://www.businessenglishonline.net/e-lessons/index.htm>

Each week in the month is a different level. There is also an archive.

Then the article on podcasting is at
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/New-Words/050516-podcasting.htm also with links.

http://www.onestopenglish.com/ will give you more options. Lots of stuff is free.

I subscribe to MacMillan's too and I quite agree with you that it is a very good site. I particularly like the dictionary work.

I have a folder of "business English" to keep all the links there,as I can be transfered any semester to that department.

my tip on mail handling: I signed up for three course ( not a good idea, as I can barely follow two).

I set BAW06 to digest mail and I get 4 mails per day. now I try to check my mail morning , lunch , for tea and dinner.

the other workshops I set to no mail and check them off the Yahoo groups site.

Changing to Daily digest

It's simple.

-- Go to our BaW Yahoo Group homepage
-- Click Edit Membership above the title of our worshop (left side)
-- Introduce your Yahoo ID if requested
-- Scroll down to Message Delivery and click Daily Digest
-- Click Save Changes

Finding threads in the YG distribution list

Here's what I've noticed:

At the bottom of many messages (scroll all the way down) are the
"related" messages - usually replies. So I would approach this from
oldest to newest in the message index, because the subsequent replies
will be tacked on to the end of the original. That way you can ID the
important topics from the index, and fast-forward through the replies
all in one shot.

in Live Journal you can set your comments to be open to all, friends only, screened or disabled (so no one can post). Screened means you can screen them all before allowing them to be posted which is useful of you're doing something time critical i.e. you want to wait until everyone has answered something before allowing everyone to see everyone else's comments (does that make sense? No I explained that very well).

Or what I do is screen anonymous comments. So my friends comments are
posted immediately but if I don't know the person I can make sure the
comment is appropriate and not just spam before it goes onto the post

There is a tutorial for LiveJournal that I created for my students it is at:

http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/tutorials.html#lj

I have added your links page to our BaW-06 del.icio.us site :-)

http://del.icio.us/baw06

Thanks for sharing!

HUGS

It' s wondrous what a hug can do
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love you so"
Or, "Gee! I hate to see you go"
A hug is, "Welcome back again!"
And, "Great to see you!" Or
"Where have you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child's pain
And bring a rainbow after rain

The hug! There's just no doubt about it
We scarcely could live without it.
A hug delights and warms and charms
It must be why God gave us arms.

Hugs are great for fathers and mothers
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers
And chances are some favourite aunts
Love them more than potted plants.
Kittens crave them. Puppies love them
Heads of State are not above them.

A hug can break the language barrier
And make the dullest day seem merrier
No need to fret you about the store of 'em
The more you give
The more there are of 'em
So stretch those arms without delay
And give someone a hug today.

Seriously though, the poem is not mine but I thought it timely to share it with you ;-). A friend passed it on to me and I usually use it with my students. I engage them in a fatasy first, play some soft melody, have them relax, breethe deeply and then I read HUGS aloud.

When they come back to class from their fantasy, they do pair work and tell each other about their trip and about who 'the hugged' was in each case, how they felt, what happened. Those who feel like are invited to go public. Most often, they are very willing to air their experiences. Then, I hand out copies and ask them to read it to themselves trying to link the images to the words. This helps them to read it aloud later with meaning and effect.

As an assignment (this is the icing on the cake to me), they should hug somebody they haven't hugged for long. The hugger should be aware of the hugged's reaction and of what they themselves feel. I should say there are many confused faces at this stage, even resistance - esp. from those who label themselves as 'tough'. I tell them that the following day they'll be invited to go public (even more puzzled!). Some openly say there's not much sense in this, why should
they? Are we learning English or what? I stick to it whatever they say. This may seem to be anti-clicmatic because they do enjoy the poem and the activity so far (Wait and you'll see, I think and smile).

Next class, I invite them to report. There's always somebody who volunteers and breaks the ice. the others would follow, one by one, even the ex-tough. Never ever has anybody remained silent. There's a eureka factor about HUGS. The result is ,,, an unrestrained expression of feelings from blissful faces to joyful tears! Worth trying, huggers!

A little something from Gandhi to 'help us along' in the course ;-)

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow,
Learn as if you were to live forever

From Dafne 29 Jan 2006

Dear Cris, Analía and all,

Since we are so fond of hugs, I have created a space in our Baw-06
wiki devoted to hugs where I have posted Analía's poem and Cris' card.

http://baw-06.pbwiki.com/HugRelated

Q From Maria Sortino Gillette, 24 Jan 2006
 
I would like to know about the legalities of using textbook excerpts online. Is it legal to upload files on an online course containing text from a published textbook? Maybe there are gray areas between legal and not legal. If so, can anyone shed some light? Thank you!
 
A From Cris, 24 Jan 2006
 
that indeed am interesting issue you are raising there. I think that it is not a problem if you are not taking any financial profit out of it or copying an entire book, and as long as you mention your source. I also found this site wit information about legal copyright Issues. You might want to have a look at it!
http://www.fno.org/jun96/legal.html#Concept%20of%20Fair%20Use

A From Hala, 24 Jan 2006
 
I think the link Cris suggested to read is great.I think neglecting others' productions and works is very harmful.Someone I know wrote "those who have no respect for intellectual property will create their own downfall." The Internet is all about sharing and exchanging,but we have to indicate copyrighted materials on our sites if we are to talk about articles,bocks and online journals.Nevertheless,huge number of sites for EFL/ESL teachers are built for teachers and learners to use and share materials.So,I think it also depends on your own intention of using the material.Some people like George Siemens, http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/offers his entire work opened for all of the world on the basis of a point of view of the more people use your material,the more it proves to you that you are writing something useful to the whole world.Also there is someone I am fond of, http://www.downes.ca/.I I recommend you go over these blogs.You will find them very useful. I hope this helped a little, added to Cris' link.

A From Teresa, 24 Jan 2006
 
I think that as long its excerpts or short texts and you cite the source, probably author, title, editor & year, you should be safe.

A From Evelyn Izquierdo, 24 Jan 2006

I usually download written texts for my EAP reading courses. I always cite the source and ask my students to do the same. I don't know if it is illegal not to mention the author, but I think it is a matter of ethics and fairness.

A From Dafne, 24 Jan 2006
 
I think that if you are copying a whole article or chapter you should be granted permission. Sometimes the author him/herself needs to ask the publisher for permission to publish his/her work online. If you are using a text published on the Internet you only need to make a link to the site and cite the work on your Web site, never copy what is in another site.

A From Bruce Moon, 24 Jan 2006
 
You can only use small excerpts in the context of something that you want to comment on or illustrate, not to replace a textbook. Whether you want to charge or not is irrelevant. If it saves people from buying a book then it deprives the publisher of income and is in violation.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

If you put something on the web, you have in effect published it, unless the students access the site by password. Compare that with the restrictions on photocopying
http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#Questions%20and%20Restrictions
and you can see you are on unsafe ground.

What to do? There may be online resources that duplicate what you want to post on the web, in Wikipedia, government sites, or university sites (For example, there is an online biology text that an instructor at an Arizona community college has created. I used that when I worked in a high school independent study course to give students access to textbook-like resources. In history, you can have students dealing with original source materials available through government sites. Art? There are galleries. Maybe what you want to post is already out there. If it's an academic course, use
http://scholar.google.com <http://scholar.google.com/> to search for similar articles.

Q From Vanya Katsarska,   29 Jan 2006

Do we need to contact people whose links we'd like to include in our blogs/webpages? What does the ethics code say?

A From Teresa, 29 Jan 2006
I believe that asking for permission to add links isn't really necessary. I'm not really sure what netiquette calls for in this case, but permission is usually more for citing. Even so, not everybody asks.

A From Kat Urbaniak, 29 Jan 2006
 
Can I add my 2 cents worth to the links comment?

The short answer (imho – in my humble opinion) You don't need to ask someone before you link to them.

The long answer (imho)
Co-operative linking is what makes the internet and links are intrinsic to the fabric of the web.
Where there is no money changing hands it isn't really an issue. What I would say is that if I (as an individual) am linking to a person's site (rather than an organisation's) I tell them out of politeness. This is to give them an opportunity to say no, and also to link back to me if they wish. In the professional world if one of my organisations is adding a link to another organisation's website they will tell each other because if you both link to each other it is beneficial (for search engines).
There is no reason to have to ask before making a link to another site, but by the same token, you are responsible for what you say about other people, and their sites, etc., on the web as anywhere. In other words, linking to a site is saying something about it, and so linking should be an activity protected as free speech. At the same time, freedom carries esponsibilities.
(Source W3C)
One thing to be aware of is to ensure that any person using your site is aware of the site you are linking to. If you are pulling someone else's content onto your site (ie you are displaying their page within your page) the source must be clear. If you are opening a window to show the page separately be aware that your user may not notice a new window so tell the user that the links open in a new page and that you are not responsible for the content of these sites. Please note that in there are lots of links and each one opens in a new window the user may end up with a lot of open windows which can confuse/annoy the user.
I go by W3C recommendations and guidelines. W3C is an organization that aims to `To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web.'

If you'd like to learn more about W3C you can visit their site here:
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/

Q From Vanya Katsarska, 24 Jan 2006
 
Has anybody come across blogs developed by English teachers in the military?

A From Cora, 24 Jan 2006
 
Maybe you could look at Cristina Costa' blog:
http://por-aguas-virtuais.blogspot.com/

students' blog: http://fromstemtostern.blogspot.com

A From Vanya Katsarska, 29 Jan 2006
 
Thank you everybody (chat people, too) for the nice words about my webquest. I really enjoy creating wikis/blogs/webquests... However, they need time. Content is also important. These weeks I intend to
concentrate on the form, how to develop these things. May be after the course we can keep in touch and exchange materials we developed.

Teresa, the topic is common for the Air Force Academy where I work. I'll be honored if you include it in your list of materials.

Q From Angelika Carlson, 26 Jan 2006
 
I always get a security warning when I click on the links that you so
kindly put together. It then won't let me proceed or I get a "website
not found" message...?

http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/webheads/baw06/sessions/mcoghlan-
25jan06.htm

A From Hala, 26 Jan 2006
 
The link works fine, but you might have clicked a broken when copying and pasting it. I also get the same massage and I just click on "continue", I hadn't have any problem with it, so don't worry.
Here is the same link but in a shorter form using TinyURL:
http://tinyurl.com/create.php
 

A From Teresa, 26 Jan 2006
 
The problem is with the long URL that is truncated/separated. Take a look below and you will see that there is a second line with "25jan06.htm", which is part of the URL. You need to copy-paste that final part to the URL line and then should have no problem.

Q From Angeles Hernandez, 26 Jan 2006
 
How can I change the options to receiving the e-mails from the group in
a daily digest? So many messages make me lose track of other important
questions. Besides I am also getting addicted and I can't stop reading
messages. I signed up three groups and have received 1142 messages in 10 days!

A From Maria Claudia Bellusci, 26 Jan 2006
 
The answer to your question is in the Hints page of BaW website
(http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/hints.html#YG). To save you time I'll paste the instructions below:

-- Go to the Yahoo Group homepage (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baw-06/)
-- Click Edit Membership (top left, in the white bar over the green title bar)
-- Go to Message Delivery and activate your option: Individual emails / Daily digest / Special notices / No mail
-- Click the Save Changes button (bottom right).

By the way, I use Outlook Express and set up a rule to filter my incoming messages into folders so as to have them organized. In case you don't know how to do this, I'll give you a few tips:
1. Click on one of the BAW-06 messages
2. Go to Tools - Message Rules - Mails
3. Click on New
4. In the New Mail Rule dialogue window,
a. Select the Conditions for your rule, check Where the subject line contains specific words
b. In Select the Actions for your rule: check Move it to the specified folder
c. Under the Rule Description area, click on the blue text (contains specific words). A new window will open. Write baw-06 in it. Then click on the blue "specified" link to create a new folder. Write a name for your folder (I called it BAW-06) in the text box. You'll see the new folder in the list of folders under your Inbox. Accept and close all windows.
If all goes well, all messages containing baw-06 in their subject line, will go directly into the BAW-06 folder

No more excuses for messy mailboxes!

A From Cris, 26 Jan 2006
 
Go to your yahoogroup account and click on "Edit membership". This option is on the top of the page. Once there, change message delivery format by selecting "Daily digest - Receive a daily compilation of many emails in one message." And then save changes.

Q From Harvey D’Sousa, 23 Jan 2006
 
I use a Mac desktop, and have some songs which I would like to use in my Esol class. The only problem is that they are MP3 files.
1. Is there any freeware to convert these MP3 files into audio files which i can then play on a cd player in class?
2.Are WAV files the same as audio files?
3.I looked on the net and found something called Switch. Has anyone tried it?

A From Ana Paula Deslandes, 23 Jan 2006
 
The software I use for burning my CDs is Nero. It is great because it converts the .mp3 files into .cda files (audio files) automatically as it burns the CD, but unfortunately it is not free =(

I have already used several free converters, but I don´t remember the names! I usually download freewares from www.download.com, maybe you should take a look at the site and search for a converter – they even indicate the most popular softwares.

About the WAV files: CD Players can play WAV files only if you record them as sound files and not as data. I don´t know if all the CD burner softwares are like this, but the ones I have used normally offer both options (to burn the CD as a data CD or an audio CD). So if your software offers these options you can try to burn the WAV files.

A from Cris, 23 Jan 2006
 
there must be some converters but I don't know the name of any. What I usually do in these situations is to program my cd burnner to burn the mp3 files as a music cd. The mp3 are automatically converted then. See if it works for you too?

b. configure your computer to use Yahoo voice services effectively. Go
to YM main window, Help > Audio Setup Wizard, and follow the steps;

I can't find this anywhere. Maybe it's because I'm working thru Yahoo
UK ? Or maybe I'm blind!

A From Michael Coghlan, 23 Jan 2006

Amanda - I found the set up audio wizard under Messenger > Preferences > Calling and Audio. It will then take you through the steps of checking your incoming and outgoing audio.

About mics and headsets

Q From Nina Liakos, 23 Jan 2006
 

I got a pair of headphones with mic to use for voice chat. However, when I went to plug them in I find there are two plugs: a pink one (which goes where the microphone was previously) and a light green one (which seems to go where the speakers are plugged in). Can it be that every time I want to use the headphones I have to move the computer desk, scrunch behind the computer and switch the plugs? This is too inconvenient! Please tell me there is another way!

A From Bruce Moon, 23 Jan 2006

You can buy Y connectors to plug the mike and the headset mike and the
earphones and the speaker into. However, you don't want both of the
microphones going at the same time (I expect you'd get feedback) so that may not be the best solution there. If you bought a Y connector with a longer cord, you could unplug the microphone a bit closer to where you are, saving the crawling on the floor. I've got a nice microphone, but my headset microphone is serving very well so I have made do with just the Y connector for the speaker and the headset headphones.  

PS I have a YM buddy list though and can be contacted on YM (text only), which I get to via: www.meebo.com, but I'd really like to be able to use all the features of YM.

A From Kat Urbaniak, 26 Jan 2006
 
When you open YM what exactly does the error message say?

You say you have had the windows re-installed several times? Have you
re-installed YM at all, or tried downloading the most up to date
version? I would suggest getting the latest version and logging into
that directly (not though meebo.com) if you want to use the voice chat.

I have a similar problem when I use Trillian which is like Meebo. It works well for letting me access MSN and Yahoo at the same time for text chat but voice chat won’t work. I have to use Yahoo Messenger alone if I want voice.

Are there any feedback problems if you're recording and you are participating in the voice chat?

A From Teresa, 25 Jan 2006
 
Hala, Leanne, Analía, Moira, Fernanda and I had a voice conference yesterday evening to test Total Recorder (not free), the software Fernanda uses to record, and Audacity (free), which I use. Both recorded all the voices, though Fernanda wasn't getting good sound.

We have a tutorial for Audacity at http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/fwe5-jun05.htm#23Jun05

The only two things I'll add to it are:
-- in the drop-down that has Micropohone, Aux, etc, choose Microphone:
-- set the Volume for Mic and Speaker (located to the left of that drop-down menu) at 0.8 .

Yesterday I noticed that the microphone volume adjusts automatically when you speak. Don't let that bother you.

Q From Randa Effat, 27 Jan 2006
 
In Skype, can you organize your contacts in different categories like in YM and MSN??? (I have all the webheads together, family together...etc

A From Leanne, 27 Jan 2006
 
here's how I did it:

- When you open Skype, click on View in the top toolbar, then click on Show Contact Groups, so now it will be ticked

- at the top of your list of contacts, now, it should say Groups, with a + at the right hand side, and if you mouse over the +, it will tell you it means "create a new group", so click on the +

- you have to name your new group - I called mine BaW2006 - and it tells you to drag contacts here. So, kicking and screaming, I dragged Barb, Gladys, Julia, Bruce...and others into my new group.

And there it is: When I click on the >> at the right side of the Groups, I can choose to display the BaW2006 group. I guess you could repeat the process and have family, work colleagues, personal friends, etc. all grouped separately now.

Additional A from Bruce Moon, 27 Jan 2006
 
When you do this, though, the groups function differently than Yahoo. You can choose between seeing all of the contacts, or click on the group name tab so you see just that group, unlike Yahoo where you see all of your contacts sorted by group. Maybe that's what you originally meant and if that's the case, so far I haven't found a way to do that.

Can anyone tell me if they (the contact files) could still be out there somewhere in cyber space or in a hidden file in my computer?
Do I have to go through the process of inviting people to be on my
contact lists again?

Skype recognizes my login "sharonholdner" but I haven't found a way to recover my contacts :(

A From Bruce Moon, 27 Jan 2006
 
I'm sorry to hear about your computer crash (everyone make a note now to back up their data...I wonder if I will get around to it before my
computer crashes?...) I am surprised to hear that your Skype contacts
didn't appear after logging in When you get YM installed, I think that's what you find will happen since the contacts reside on the Yahoo server.
I searched on Skype contacts and found a Skype Journal weblog that Skype for Windows stores Contact List files in C:\Documents and
Settings\yourwindowsusername\Application Data\Skype directory. The Skype Journal looks like it has lots of useful information about Skype,
including some backup utility links:
http://www.skypejournal.com/blog/archives/2005/02/skype_contacts.php

A From Randa Effat, 28 Jan 2006
 
Regarding lost contacts. Mostly if you are working on a PC these files are kept in documents and settings folder on the c:drive. There is where I find my outlook back up files

Go to C: Drive/choose the name of your computer/go to application data/open skype folder.....

then i don't know. but I know that the data is stored there... hope this helps

Q From Nina Liakos, 28 Jan 2006
 
a question about Skype: I have talked to two people on Skype now: the first a friend in Beijing, where the sound was absolutely perfect--she sounded as though she were in the next room--and second, to Julia in Rostov-na-Donu, where the sound was awful--I heard an echo of my own voice and there was an annoying delay before I could hear Julia answering. What accounts for these problems, and is there anything she or I could have done to alleviate them?

A From Bruce Moon, 28 Jan 2006
 
I am not sure about the delay, but often hearing an echo of yourself is a result of the other person using a speaker to hear you rather than a
headset. With a speaker, the sound bounces around the room. If a person is using a speaker, that means that they are using a microphone that may not be as directional as one you'd have on a headset, and you'll hear a lot of room noise. Headset is really the way to go, unless you want to bring the whole family in to share in the experience.

Q From Nina Liakos, 28 Jan 2006
 
Regarding adding Worldbridges to my Skype contacts--I can't seem to do this successfully. Maybe it isn't necessary, as I plan to ask any questions I have by text messaging. Anyway, I just pressed "Add contact" and then typed Worldbridges into the box, but nothing happened.

A From Teresa, 28 Jan 2006
 
I just added Miri and Moira successfully! I clicked Add Contact, entered Miri's Skype ID, clicked Search, selected the contact (only one in each case), clicked Add Selected Contact, wrote a short message, clicked Ok and closed the Add a contact window.

Sometimes computers act like humans and have tantrums, as I like to say, so what I suggest is that you shut down your computer, let it stay for about 30 seconds or a minute "resting" and then start it again

Q From Nora Marchese, 25 Jan 2006
 
i have already set up my acount for ym and want to crate the list...I was happy to see that all my contacts appeared at once in my ym but I want to add the contacts from our database...i strted doin' it one by one... But i guess there must be a fasteeeerrrrr way to do it, isn't there???

A From Dafne, 25 Jan 2006
 
There is no way to add contacts in batches, you need to copy or write the yahoo Id of each one of your contacts-to-be. However you can have the same message for all, and when you get to the last part of the procedure, you have 4 options, one of them is to add another contact, so you don't need to start from scratch.

Q From Clair Taylor, 26 Jan 2006
 
If you have someone on your YM (or any other) list that you, um, want to get rid of, how do you get rid of them? Do they get an email or something saying 'so and so is NO LONGER YOUR BUDDY' or what happens? Sorry this sounds really unwebheady but...my list is getting pretty long and messy. I didn't want to try it out without knowing what happens.

A From Chrissan, 26 Jan 2006
 
Hi Clair, long time no see! As you know, I would never dream of loosing the possibility to use YM with you, right? OK, having established that, I have deleted you from my messenger list now...for the purpose of finding an answer to your question. Have you received any message ???

Please let me now .... I want to re-install you!!!!!!

Reply from Clair, 27 Jan 2006
 
Regarding the YM - cool! No message! You were still on my list but in invisible mode. 
Now I can remove some of my ex-students. I'd put them all on there but with new students coming every semester it was getting a bit crazy- but I didn't want them to get some rejection message.
You can put me back on now!!

A From Teresa, 26 Jan 2006
 
I've only done this once
-- Messenger (menu) > Preferences > Ignore List.
-- Add the Yahoo ID of whoever you want to ignore.
-- Click Add > Ok

You can just plain delete names: Highlight the name > Contacts > Delete
(from List and Address Book: two options) > Yes.

Advice from Analia Dobboletta for posting thoughts on YM presentation to the Blog, 26 Jan 2006

It seems many of us have being having the same problem. I was lucky Teresa was online and she led me by the hand! Enter http://dafne.edublogs.org/ and then edublogs http://www.edublogs.org/ and you need to register. Guess what?
1) choose a username
2) choose your blog title (then you can change it)
3) enter your e-mail address

You'll receive an e-mail with:
a) your user name
b) your password,
c) a log in url

Write all this info, in an address book as Daf suggested!

Follow the link in the mail you receive, give your username and password (you may stay there and have your own Blog!) Then, go back to
http://dafne.edublogs.org/ and you can follow your path to post your comment!

After all this it seems we're welcome at edublogs ;-D

This is a site worth looking at. Besides promoting plain English, it has a goobledygook generator <http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/generator.htm>
just in case you need to get your sentence just right.

<http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/index.html>

Sometimes our students (we) think they have to use long complicated words and sentences.

Eschew obscurfication

From Sharon , 28 Jan 2006
 
I have been teaching this concept in my Business English classes for the past three years. The feedback from former students suggests that this approach has been helpful to them in business and in their MBA studies. The model is widely used by many of the leading MBA programs in the USA .

There is a large and active movement in the USA to promote the use of Plain English in government and business. Some of my colleagues have built consulting practices on this simple concept.

At a basic level, complicated English can be made more understandable
simply through document formatting and a quick check of the
readability of a document through "readability statistics" that can be enabled in MS Word through Tools, Options, Spelling and Grammar, Show Readability Statistics.
 
For more info about Plain English in the USA and teaching resources which can be adapted for teaching Business English:

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/

I welcome further discussion about teaching Plain English off list if this isn't the appropriate forum. I'm also looking for classes that my class can work with collaboratively in the creation of Plain English business docs.

Please email me if you are interested in more info, and in the spirit of Plain English…..please type "Plain English – BaW 06" in the subject line. ;-)

From Vanya Katsarska, 26 January 2006
 
I am flabbergasted and impressed with the knowledge and skills of the webhead community. I already have links to follow and stuff to learn for a year time. However, as far as I know webheads are not very popular among Bulgarian teachers. There’s an international PEP conference (for teachers of English in the military) in March which I’m going to attend. I’d like to share my fascinating glimpse into the webhead world with my colleagues. Do you think it’s too early (I myself am not a good webhead yet) or should I share “you” with Bulgaria and other East European English teachers in the military?

If I were you, I'd go for participating in the conference. Why not do a
presentation and show your 'insider' view of the Webhead experience?

I've spoken annually at the APPI Conference (the Association of Portuguese Teachers of English) about the Webheads and what we do, but I haven't been successful in bringing many people into our community. There is awe during the live Webcasts, but it seems to stop there, with a very few but very rewarding exceptions, such as Fernanda, Cristina and Ramona, who have truly embraced the Webhead spirit.

It's never too early to start! Go for it!! Destroy that negative (?!)
impression of the Webheads!!! You have our total support and we'll give all the help that you may need.

As you can see, nothing new that I haven't heard for 10 years, ever since 1996 when I embraced this fantastic new world.

On the other hand, I also believe that this has a lot to with the kind of training that is given in this field. It's still mainly based on how to handle software - Word, Excel, PPoint, surfing and searching the Internet, email - and not on how to apply it creatively and motivatingly to the daily classroom practice.

Finally, no colleagues that I know are willing to dedicate as much time as is necessary to online training, for example. At my school I've given up trying to gather a group, however, I still send a yearly notice to APPI, our Tesol affiliate. So far, no luck.

Eight years ago I was saying that this whole process has a lot to do with change of attitude on the part of our peers as well as on students demanding change. Well, eight years later, the situation hasn't changed. Both factors still remain absolutely a 'must' that will take much longer to happen than I wished.

"Finally, no colleagues that I know are willing to dedicate as much time as is necessary to online training, for example. At my school I've given up trying to gather a group, however, I still send a yearly notice to APPI, our Tesol affiliate. So far, no luck."

Based on my experiences, I think that $$$ compensation factors into the situation in part. Language teachers and teachers in general are not well compensated here in the USA . As a result, I know of many teachers who work long hours in more than one teaching position to make "ends meet." If the promise of more money for developing a new skill set was "at the end of the rainbow" then perhaps they (the teachers) would be more encouraged to learn technology.

You also wrote:
> -- a still generalized belief that these tools dehumanize (!!!);

Absolutely:-)

> -- fear of showing that they don't master these tools; and, fear oflosing control and authority over the classroom, because students may know more and handle things better. It seems they don't nderstand that they can turn this into a pedagogical situation.

I think that it takes a lot of courage for many to facilitate a constructivist environment in which the focus is on the students and the instructor relinquishes what he/she believes is "personal
control."

My experience in teacher training through my previous job, I found that there are a few who venture and want to learn and try to teach using web tools and Internet, if they can get hold of it.

Unfortunately I also see some teachers at school and university level, who have access to technology at their institutions, but resist the change in teaching attitude. Being around the webheads since 2002 and feeling the ahhh at presentations, online conferences, I strongly feel that it is my duty to encourage teachers to start using webtools in their teaching.

My dilemma is that I do not have a class myself that I teach, so I feel discouraged to create blogs and podcasts and .....etc.

I had the chance a few weeks ago to give a professional development workshop for EFL teachers at the university Level, where I introduced blogs and podcasts. (Much help from B.Dieu, thx BEE).

I hope I can learn as much as I can and forward this knowledge onto teachers who can implement it with their students. I am interested also to find out research on the impact of teaching using technologies such as webtools and its effect on students performance.

It's not because of the lack of "know how" or ability to grasp new concepts on the students' parts, but it seems to be a "challenging sell" for me to convince them that they will be able to transfer the technology skills that they learn into real life.

We are presently using collaborative writing venues to produce
business documents. Although the students are quick to master the software, given a preference, some would choose to continue to exchange manually marked-up docs as email attachments.

As I teach in a multi-cultural setting I've had the opportunity to
observe that attitudes towards technology tend to vary based on cultures. Of course there are other factors that also influence attitudes.

Wondering about the experiences of others –

My own reaction to "technology" might help.
- If it's quicker to do it the old way, I do the old way. No palmtop for me, give me my paper and pencil appointment book. For instance.
- It's harder for me to scan (reading) on a computer. I lack the big
picture. I don't like this.
- Correcting papers, for instance, I like the feel. I'm in better contact with the subject matter. This is purely an emotional thing. So, I'd rather have a hard copy. Not only that, I seem to be able to do it quicker. I guess because it's easier for me to scan.
- Real life is getting too impersonalized by - of all things - technology. In a group like BaW it's easy to see that one can, indeed, build community. However, I'd rather see you all and give real hugs. But this is the very best we can do, and it is the only way to get together. Otherwise, I like to personalize.
- I do a lot of work on the train, off line. I take public transportation to work. My commute is at least an hour (on Wednesdays it's 1 1/2 there and back: bus, subway, train, bus.) I can tell you, it's pretty hard to control the mouse on the train sometimes. It's worse on the bus. My students have told me this, too. Also this is when they do their homework so they can have time with their families when they get home; therefore, they prefer pencil and paper homework to online stuff. So your students might be correcting the same way where use of the computer doesn't make sense. It's simply easier to attach a scanned document.

So, all you, we, can do is expose our students and peers to what's out
there. They'll decide themselves if it's better, quicker, etc. I don't
think we can convert anyone to "applying technology" any more than we can convert someone to bicycling instead of sitting in front of the TV, or jazz instead of that gawdawful stuff that some people listen to.

I hate paper ;-) and with over sixty students in three different classes I welcome the opportunity to have projects submitted electronically :-)

In response to your comment about your husband's colleague:

"Some people flat out don't like technology. No explanation. My husband has a journalist colleague (who, by the way, thinks computers are physically dangerous, causes brain damage or something) to look stuff up in the internet for him."

He may have a point! Recent studies have indicated that cell phones may be culprits when it comes to bombarding us with MI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio-frequency interference.) Most computers have ferrite beads in the cables to minimize these interferences, but that's not the case with cell phones. Here's a "more than you ever wanted to know" overview of the function of ferrite beads. Yawn....

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question352.htm

Concisely put, ELT should develop a diversified working tool box, yet
regularly exercise a subset of of those skills in an adept and comfortable manner. Often times necessity dictates new expertise.

This is the first of the three courses they have on English for
Architecture and Urban Planning.

You can check out students comments at the end of the trimester:
http://dafnegonzalez.com/id3-124-05/content/finalfeedback.html

Something that I do before they start creating their own blogs, is to
show them blogs created by architects and urban planners all over the
world, in this way they see how blogs are being used in their
professions.

I was reluctant to blogging for almost 2 years ;-)

Go to www.skype.com not wwwlskype.Download-it-Free.com.

http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-06/content/syllabus.html

Is this something that we want to do again this year? :-)

Yes, we'd love to keep up the threads page tradition, because it's useful and also part of the BaW history by now.

Leanne will be doing this week, MT in week 3, and that's it!

Let's see if we have any volunteers!

We hope that's it's been a learning moment with fun and F.U.N., as well as a rewarding task. It does seem like it from the way things went. We also hope that this is just the beginning of co-moderation for you and helping colleagues all over the world. There's so much to do, isn't there?

Thank you both from the bottom of our hearts! :-)

As you will see in my closing thoughts, this has been a week to remember. I wish I had blogged it all, but you see, I need to re-learn about blogs, so I am awaiting Week 3.

I would like to thank you both for challenging me with the invitation to co-moderate, and for having the faith in me that I could do it. You have provided excellent guidance at every step, from laying out the coursework and resources, through meetings and pep talks with all the co-moderators,to the impromptu YM conference with a nervous Hala and me on Monday, and all the "emergency" IM firefighting during the week. Dafne especially has been "on call" for me, as Tere has been for Hala, and we truly appreciate your patience and generosity with your time and wisdom. (all this on your week "off")

I know you will give similar support to all the co-moderators in turn; it is my wish that we will at least have lightened your load to allow some private time.

I have grown in ways I can't even think of now, so I believe it will be that much easier to co-moderate again next time.

Leanne and I had the most fabulous time together; taking advices from Tere and Daf, "learning by doing", practicing different tools, constantly logged in, asking/answering questions, getting to know many of you all around the world (Leanne and her handsome husband, Calvin, are now studying the world map to see how much they can save for a trip around the world !).We also had a lot of fun planning "who will do which" things, uploading software, gossiping, listening to online snoring, Learning how to write the threads page(Leanne), emailing
-back till getting numbness on fingers(Hala and Leanne), visiting pages and pages and pages( Leanne and Hala),staying till the afternoon in pajamas(Leanne),Locking the door to keep kids away while synchronous sessions (Hala).Guess what? We enjoyed every single "mometno"!!

P.S All of our military plans have taken place through Yahoo Messenger.

(((two or three hugs come here)))
Do you realize how great it is to have these fabulous communication tools? Now we should start thinking about meeting f2f.

(((it would be nice to have only one hug here))))

I just want to whisper one thing;"we all started newbies". This community is full of people who are ready to help as much as possible. So that's it! Go for it! "Learning by doing "is what we do at " WebHeads University "(who said this at WB?)."Sharing is caring" has also been one our ethics.

Last but not least, is for Tere and Daf !
Thank you for giving us such a great opportunity which could be another
turning point in our lives as online co-moderators!

(((more hugs here )))Then a ((Straight face))

Now, as a quick reminder of what we have done together last week .You have been introduced to "Text and Voice synchronous communication tools: Tapped In, Yahoo Messenger and Skype (in Worldbridges)".Some of you now have virtual offices at TI, all of you, or let's say most of you, have a buddy list at YM ,practiced voice and text chat . We met Michael Coghlan at Yahoo Messenger in a chat about the use of voice communication tools,in addition to today's meeting about" Webcasting and podcasting" at Worldbridges with Jeff Lebow and Dave Cormier . You have also been introduced to del.icio.us, which we recommend to use for saving and organizing your links. We have our own BaW del.icio.us created by great Dafne.You are now experts in palying around our main web page,jumping in, rolling on and exploring the Glossary, Weblog, Wiki,BaW-06 map,Tutorials, and the New Forum. So,we have "covered all our bases" for the next coming weeks. Enjoy.
((no hugs here))
Now you are about to start week 3 :"Building an online presence: Blogs and Web pages",with another two great co-moderators, our friends Maria Teresa Ciaffaroni and Cora Chen. You will learn and have fun with them. So,Cora and MT,the florr is yours!
http://dafnegonzalez.com/baw-6/content/week3.html
Best of Luck.
Salam Alaykum.
Ma Al Salama.
Beijinhos.
Kudos to you all.

My two Dianrs.
Hala(thinking what did she miss here?)
Yes. Now I remember!!More (((((hugs)))

But I do have a few closing thoughts, aside from what Hala has already
contributed.

I am so proud of this group! We are only two weeks in and already there are strong signs of success:
- you have built your confidence through practice with text and voice chats,
- you are jumping right in to help out with technical or practical advice, a sure sign of WebHead spirit,
- you are commenting on each other's messages in a personal way, which builds community.

So thanks to you all, whether you have participated actively or been
lurking in the cybershadows. You make our jobs as moderators and
co-moderators easier when you learn by watching and teach by doing.

I have thanked Dafne and Teresa in a separate post, but I cannot thank them enough, so again: ladies, you have my deepest respect and most heartfelt gratitude for being inspiring teachers and mentors, and you both are absolutely selfless with your time and patience.

From newbies to co-mods in a year - Hala and I now have this addiction. I couldn't have had a better partner, who made me laugh, patted my back and kicked my butt, all from half a world away. I feel as if we were virtually joined at the hip, or perhaps at the fingertips via our keyboards. Thank you my dear Hala, and may our friendship continue to grow as we exchange cultural idioms.

It's not easy keeping up with someone eleven hours ahead of you, but I
would find Hala online at the oddest times, and she, me. That's the
addiction: we will spend hours on end at the computer, late into the night or early in the morning. On my end, I forgot to eat, ignored the housework, was oblivious to my sweet supportive husband, and hey? What's that box with pictures moving in it? Reluctantly, we turn all this F.U.N. over to Cora Chen and Maria Teresa Ciaffaroni.

BaWers, you are in great hands with Cora and MTC. They have been quiet until now, patiently waiting their turn, and now they will spring into action with all you need to know about Blogs and Webpages. (I will take notes!) I wish you all well, and, from a personal perspective, I know that our co-mods will benefit as much, if not more, than the participants, but in different ways.

What a ride Week 2 has been! But for Hala and Leanne, it is time to get off. Your next go-around will be with Cora and MTC...let's see where you go!

humbly bowing and curtseying,
graciously and gratefully accepting any and all accolades, virtual
roses, hugs, beijinhos and donations to the upcoming WebHead World Tour,

I remain your modest co-mod,
Leanne