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Nik Peachey is a freelance learning technology consultant, writer and teacher trainer. He specialises in learning technology and social media for language development and teacher training. He was here in Argentina last January as a coordinator and teacher trainer for Hornby School (More about the event in this blog? Click HERE ) We can see and listen to him in a YouTube video speaking about Web 2.0 for EFL. The following is a recording of a presentation he prepared for teacher trainers in Morocco. Enjoy it.

After having uploaded "Are Social networks Dangerous? Part I , I started looking for further information about the attack to the use of social networkings such as Facebook, Hi5, Myspace, Sonico, etc. carried out by Televisa. The funniest thing is that Televisa did not mention their own social network, called Gyggs and that J.L. Dórigo has an account in Facebook! Articles in Spanish related to the topic: · http://www.periodismodeverdad.com.ar/2008/10/29/la-verdad-sobre-facebook-hi5-myspace-sonico-etc-etc/ · http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/533846.html · http://cyberholocausto.blogspot.com/2008/08/lopez-doriga-un-peligro-hi5-facebook-y.html · http://lapoliticamexicana.blogspot.com/2008/08/lpez-driga-quiere-que-cierre-mi.html Then I asked some collegues who are ICT specialists for their opinions. Most of them agree on the necessity of using Facebook because it is a popular tool, specially among young people: “I have avoided FB for a long time but this has become almost imp...

This post was written by Karen Schweitzer who kindly offered herself to contribute to this blog. Karen Schweitzer, Business School Guide for About.com, writes about online colleges for OnlineColleges.net. Thank you, Karen for this contribution!!! "Incorporating hi-tech learning aids and applications into a study regimen can sometimes make it easier for language learners to learn and retain new information. You can order many of these products for a cost from catalogs or from companies who provide such services. You can also find free options online . Most of the free options work just as well as the paid options and can be used indefinitely without incurring any costs. This list provides information about 5 free online tools that can be used for language learning. ( I will be including more online tools suggested by Karen in future posts, don´t miss them ) : 1- FreeRice - Language learners can give free rice to hungry people by playing this English vocabulary game from the UN F...

Some days ago I got a mail pointing out the dangers of networks. The mail quoted the attack to the use of social networks such as Facebook, Hi5, Myspace, Sonico, etc. carried out by Televisa. Televisa said that social networks are not safe because they provide information to kidnappers. The Mexican journalist Joaquín López Dórigo criticized the security measures of social networks due to the kinapping of an important businessman’s daughter. A video about facebook came to the e-mail I mentioned before which I found really scary.

Computers are constantly changing. We can find a wide variety of sizes, colours and utilities in the market. After the success of the ultra-portable netbooks the nettops arrive! What are "nettops"? They are desktop PCs with small cabinets, modest performance and low costs, that seek to revitalize the segment of desk equipments. The idea is to offer it to those who are neither gamers nor video editors or people who need to do any other task which require a powerful processor. The tiny cabinets directly integrated to the monitor are the attraction, besides they are ultra-silent spend less electricity and require less cooling. Are you thinking in getting one? They are already available here in La Plata, Argentina. Local shops are offering MSI nettops for about u$s700.-

Last Saturday June 27th I attended a seminar about How to Assess Young Learners carried out by Prof. Analía Caldiz (MA Discourse Analysis, ICAB staff member) at Instituto Terrero. On this ocassion I had the opportunity to meet the representatives of three important publishers: Ticiana Neder (Longman), Carolina Coppa (Oxford), Mabel Manzano and Fabián García ( Richmond). I asked these representatives for online interactive material. Longman offers a four module course called Teacher Development Interactive which provides professional development and an internationally recognised certification from Hunter College, City University of New York. Jeremy Harmer is one of the facilitators ; an internationally hosted online learning and assessment system for English courses designed to go hand in hand with Longman’s texbook series; iTests , and dictionary widgets which you can add to your blog. Among Richmond Publishing brochures, I got the one belonging to the “New Framework” book s...