Aiden and Rita’s session on Blended Learning

To close our round of BaW09 live sessions with a golden touch, Rita Zeinstejer and Aiden Yeh gave us a superb session on Blended Learning. Both Rita and Aiden are skilled, kind, sharing teachers who usually give the final live session during Week 6.
Here is a memento shared by Rita.

Rita showed us samples of what she had done during 2008 with students who planned to take the CAE, and Aiden gave us a look at projects completed by her Internet English group. Both Rita and Aiden demonstrated the great values of blended learning and took us on a wonderful adventure in which we they shared examples of a wide variety of online tools, gave pointers on planning and facilitating online coursework, provided guidance on the use of a variety of online learning environments, gave examples of how they assess and give feedback on student contributions, and much more. They also noted that when one belongs to the appropriate online community (such as Webheads in Action), there are no limits to what can be done through collaborating and sharing experiences. Thanks for being there for us amazing girls!

If you couldn't be with us in person to take part in the inspiring live presentations by Rita and Aiden, please make sure you watch and listen to the session recording. If you were there (or if you viewed and heard the recording), please join us by giving a round of applause in the comments area.

Who participated?

Presenters: Rita (Argentina) and Aiden (Taiwan)
Coordinators: Dafne (Spain / Venezuela)
Week 6 moderators: Hala (Sudan), Dennis (USA), Maru (Mexico)
Participants: Sarah (Spain), Eleni (Greece), Marcela (Brazil), Anitha (India), Biljana (Macedonia), Anisoara (Romania), Analia (Argentina), Mary(Venezuela), Michael (UK), Minhaaj (Pakistan), Kelly (Brazil), Mbarek(Morocco), Robert (USA).
Teresa (Portugal) and Mehdi (Iran) were not able to attend, both sent kind messages and regards to the group.

What were some of the goodies that were shared?

They suggested among others:
Vyew. Used for any time collaboration and live conferencing.
ReadTheWords. Used for pronunciation.
Nick Peachy's blog. Used for daily English exercises.
Blip TV. Used for speaking practice.
SlideBoom. Used to deliver content.

For Music, Arts, and language, please watch:
Jimmy coming Back Home, Schiele,

Aiden's Thematic Podcast Project samples:
Transportation in Kaohsiung, video podcast.
Kaohsiung Taiwan Transportation podcast, photo images + voice over narration.
Forever Single podcast,voice over narration with sound effects

Some of Rita's student’s work samples:
Caeb 2008 Community.
Caeb 2008 Student’s video.
Caeb 2008 Student’s interview.

If you want to get the most from this highly inspiring, informative double presentation, please watch and listen to the recording here.

Rita’s presentation is available here. Aiden’s presentation is available here.

We leave you with an invitation to attend our online graduation ceremony and to join the Webheads in Action community of practice.

Sincerely,

Maru, Hala, and Dennis
Week 6 Moderators

Rubena's Presentation at Elluminate

Rubena´s presentation was inspiring, and providing lots of food for thought. In a comprehensible way, using easy-to-understand examples, she presented the theory that should be behind materials creation for f2f, blended and totally online classes. Interaction, negotiation of meaning, authentic tasks, input, intake and output were some of the topics she dealt with. A very motivated audience asked a lot of questions at the end of the session, and Rubena answered all of them fully.

The 12-02-09 presentation made by Rubena St Louis at Elluminate, was attended by:

Coordinators: Dafne (Spain / Venezuela) and Teresa (Portugal),

Week 5 moderators: Jennifer (Argentina), Fernanda (Portugal),

Participants: Hala (Sudan), SharonB (USA) and Dennis (U.S.A.), Anisoara (Romania), AnithaD (India), Brahim Idbendriss (Morocco), BirdieN (USA), ChristianeM (Brazil), Elizabeth Anne (France), EmmaT (Venezuela), HalaS (Sudan), HelenD (France), JanH (Italy), Ligia (Venezuela), MaryP (Venezuela), SarahP (Spain), VanceS (UAE), VirginiaC (Argentina).
4 continents were represented!

Here's the link to the recording

And here´s the link to the slideshow

The February 5th Presentation at Alado.Net

The very interesting and informative 05-02-09 presentation made by Andy Pincon and Steven Hoffmann, at the Alado.Net online presentation platform, was attended by BaW09 participants Anisoara (Romania), Eleni (Greece), Ligia and Mary (Venezuela), Mbarek (Morocco), Rita (Portugal), Saeed (Oman), Sarah (Spain), by BaW09 Coordinators Dafne (Spain / Venezuela) and Teresa (Portugal), by BaW09 Moderators José Antônio (Brazil), Hala (Sudan), Maru (México), and Dennis (U.S.A.), and by two unidentified guests, Cristina and Mcodine. The presenters included Andy Pincon (Alado's President and CEO) from Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. and his associates Steve Hoffmann (Wisconsin, U.S.A.), Jaime Guzmán, (Chicago), and Debby (U.S.A.).

At least 11 countries (see the first paragraph) and 6 geographic regions (Central Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, North America, South America, Western Europe) were represented among those attending this BaW09 live event. One section of the presentation was made bilingually: the onscreen text was in English, but the presenter spoke in Brazilian Portuguese.

The media-rich presentation focused on two areas: (1) an overview of how computers with monitors are being recycled and re-used as part of a "green" effort to provide jobs and e-learning and (2) an overview of how online teaching tools are being used to match online teaching and learning (particularly with regard to both accessibility and usability) as part of Chicago's Digital Excellence Program and of the Digital Workforce Education Society (for which Andy Pincon is Chair and Executive Director).

Highlights:

IT Alchemy, a "green," environmentally-responsible program of the Digital Workforce Education Society (DWES), not only provides jobs and job training, but also gives underserved populations access to technological resources. Recycling and refurbishing a single computer and monitor can result in saving 30 pounds of hazardous waste and 77 pounds of solid waste, plus 7,719 kilowatts of energy. It can also prevent 1,339 pounds of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. Underserved populations include those living at the poverty level, inhabitants of rural areas, those who are learning English, and prison inmates.

The DWES has also established links and partnerships within the City of Chicago's Digital Excellence program—a resource for community revitalization and redevelopment which targets low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. One such neighborhood mentioned in the presentation was the Pilsen area, a neighborhood on Chicago's west side which began in the mid-1800s as an enclave of Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats, Poles, and Lithuanians, but which began to shift during the mid-1960s and is today part of Little Village, Chicago's largest Mexican neighborhood. The DWES provides computers for use in ESL and job-training classes in Pilsen and other areas.

The presentation also included a very informative section on matching online teaching tools with philosophies driving technology. Important points made in this section were making online tools accessible to those with physical challenges (e.g., the blind and deaf), making services available in languages other than English (currently offered: Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic), making online sessions available through archived recordings, and making use of tools which foster engagement and interaction (e.g., enabling participants to "raise hands" and speak).

We look forward to your comments on this very interesting session!

NOTE: The recording of this presentation is located HERE.

Live Session with Jonathan Finkelstein

Dear Bawers,
The live session with Jonathan Finkelstein at Elluminate today was a great success. During the time he stayed with us he showed us the many possibilities of using Elluminate in language classes. Participants were invited to take part in sample activities. It was really fun. Besides that, people also joined the session using the chat box and also the voice feature to give their opinions or ask questions. We would like to thank Johathan for what he has taught us and also for staying for almost one hour with us sharing ideas and listening to us. We would also like to thank Teresa, Dafne, and all participants who contributed to make the event so fun and interesting. The idea/image of "Chasing Squirrels" and "Choosing your Own Adventure" was certainly on our minds while we hovered over this amazing session. Click here to access the recorded session.

List of Participants:

Mods: DennisO (USA) and José Antônio (Brazil)
Guest speaker: Jonathan Finkelstein (USA)

Participants
Anisoara (Romania), Brahim (Morocco), BrianS (England), Daf (Spain), HalaS (Sudan), Maru (Mexico), Mbarek (Morocco), Minhaaj (Pakistan), PilarF (Argentina), SanjaB (Croatia), SarahP (Spain), Teresa (Portugal)

4 continents were represented

Graham Stanley's Presentation

Thank you to my great co-moderators and coordinators for being "live" online when I was unable to attend today.
I have watched this great presentation by Graham and am certain that everyone not only learned a lot, but also had a great time.

We had 28 participants from 4 continents:
graham's pres. at wiziq - 27jan09


Mods: Dafne (Spain), Teresa (Portugal)

Guest speaker: Graham Stanley (Spain)

Participants
Anisoara (Romania)
Barb Sakamoto (Japan)
Birdie (USA)
DennisO (USA)
DianaG (USA)
HelenD (France)
Elizabeth Anne (France)
Eleni (Greece)
Elfina (Russia)
Ervin Ramos (Philippines)
Evelyn (Venezuela)
FernandaR (Portugal)
IsabelT (Brazil)
Jeff Lebow (USA)
Jose Antonio (Brazil)
Karina (Argentina)
Larissa (USA)
Mary Pinto (Venezuela)
Maru (Mexico)
MbarekA (Morocco)
MehdiT (Iran)
MiguelMendoza (Venezuela)
MonicaV (Brazil)
SanjaB (Croatia)
Sarah Phillips (Spain)
VirginiaC (Argentina)

I have posted some screen shots of the action. You can see the recording at WizIQ
Sharon

Live Session - WorldBridges and Skype. Part Two.

Collage of screenshots taken

To continue with our Voice Week, Jeff and Matt lead us today on a wonderful second part in Worldbridges and Skype. They are an example of the Webheads sharing spirit in Action, thanks a lot Dynamic Duo!

We invite you to to join us in a big round of applause for them in the comments area.
We are dying to hear your impressions about the session, we'd also love to hear from those of you who are participating asynchronously using the recording found at the wonderful WorldBdridges Page created for us by Jeff. You'll find there the recordings and chat logs.

Who was participating?

WorldBridges: Jeff Lebow and Matt Montagne

Co-ordinators and Moderators: Hala Fawzy (Sudan), Jennifer Verschoor (Argentina), Jose Antonio DaSilva (Brazil), Kat Urbaniak (Canada), Sasa Sirk (Slovenia), Teresa Almeida d'Ecca (Portugal), Maru del Campo (Mexico).

Participants: Anisoara (Romania),AnithaD (India),Biljana (Macedonia),Brian (UK), Ditza (Portugal),ElaineK (Germany),Emma del Toro (Venezuela), Elizabeth (France), HelenD (France),Isabel (Brazil), Jose Rodriquez (USA), LarissaO (USA), Minhaaj (Pakistan), MaryP (Venezuela), Mireille (Canada), MoiraH (France), NergizK (Turkey), PilarF (Argentina), Sanja (Croatia), SaeedA (Oman), VirginiaC (Argentina)

What were some of the goodies shared?

Generous Jennifer invited us to participate in her ArgCall group whose motto is: "Teachers helping Teachers" at their Wiki and Blog.

Jeff shared with us Step Two to learn about webcasting, specifically to record both ends of a telephone call, at his Webcast Academy and his enlightening Gatorradio Blog.

A special thanks to Jeff Lebow and Matt Montagne who did an impressive job as always.
Last but not least, our warm admiration and thanks to Dafne and Teresa who made this delightful session possible.

Live Session - Yahoo Messenger

Yahoo Messenger has been part of the Webheads communication tradition since 2002, and is still used frequently by its members to interact with each other and also to involve students in real communication scenarios with people from all over the globe.

Screen grabs from today's presentation

Today, participants from 5 continent gathered for Michael Coghan's presentation 'Online voice tools for language and literacy'. For those that missed it, or would like to re-live it, the presentation slides, recording and chatlog from this amazing session are available at: http://baw09.pbwiki.com/ymsession

A special thanks to Michael Coghlan who did a great job as always. And as always a huge thanks to Dafne and Teresa.

Kat

Live Session - WorldBridges and Skype

Screen grab from WorldBridges

Jeff and Dave lead us on a great live session last night in Worldbridges and Skype. So thanks to them.

We would love to read your comments about the session and for those who couldn´t make it, just click on this link http://webheadsinaction.org/baw2009-worldbridges-part1 to listen to the recording of the webcast. It includes audio, the ustream recording, and the chat log.

Who was there?

WorldBridges: Jeff Lebow, Dave Cormier, Lisa Durff, Matt Montagne

Co-ordinators and Moderators: Daf Gonzalez (Spain), Dennis Oliver (USA), Kat Urbaniak (Canada) Sharon Betts (USA).

Participants: Gina Webster (USA), Barb Sakamoto (Japan), Nour Eddine Laouni (Morocco), Mbarek Akaddar (Morocco), Larissa olwsova (USA), Monica Sales (Argentina), Virginia Cena (Argentina), Karen Siemens (Canada), Mary Pinto (Venezuela), Jose Rodriguez (USA).

Thanks

Kat

Live session - our Tapped In tour

Our very first live session in BaW09 was held on Sunday, Jan. 18, when our dear friend BJ Berquist gave us another great virtual tour of the Tapped In premises. Participants could visit the different rooms and spaces and learn more about this excellent online workplace for educators all over the world. There were 29 people chatting during the one-hour session, so we would love to read your comments and impressions! Our warmest thanks to BJ for another fabulous tour and for giving BaWers and BaWers-to-be the opportunity to explore Tapped In. And thanks to everybody who was there and gave their contribution to a very successful live session!

Session page (chatlog and screenshots)

Welcome to BaW 2009

Dear all,

Welcome to another round of Becoming a Webhead!

This is the space where we will be commenting on the weekly synchronoous presentations.

Don´t forget to add your comments. The speakers will surely appreciate them :-)

Cheers,

Daf and Teresa