TEXT-TO-SPEECH

If you are using your Mac, iPhone or iPad, and you want to train your listening and speaking skills, you can make it talk to you in different ways with it's built-in Text-to-Speech abilities. The easiest one is using the simple text editor TextEdit. Set the cursor to where you would like it to start, and from the Edit menu, select 'Speech', then 'Start Speaking'. You could also open system preferences and go into 'Speech setting' to switch it on. It needs fixing, but still comes in handy. Check out these external links for on-line services with virtual assistants : 

http://imtranslator.net/translate-and-speak/

http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal

SOFTWARE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION

Here is our pick among the most promising educational websites on the Irish market. EdTech Educational Software provides a wide range of products for special needs education. A quick rundown on how to improve working memory in children and adults with attention deficit can be achieved having a go at Memory Flex Quest. 

ENGLISH, BABY!

Visit daily for free real conversations about popular culture. Downloadable lessons for iPod or MP4 player. You can chat with people from all over the world or join online forums to practise English while meeting international friends. Cool. Quizzes and vocabulary building lists provided.

SCHWITTERS IN BRITAIN

Check out Tate's website to read about the final touches towards the exhibition that opens 30 January on the late work of Kurt Schwitters, a significant figure of Dadaism forced to flee Germany when his work was condemned by the nazi government. Please, read Emma Chambers' comments on the installation challenges, and watch the video that explores his life in the lake District in the 1940s, or how he created the artwork 'Merz Barn'.

LET'S SPEAK SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has just published a multilingual glossary on sustainable construction which contains the English, French, German and Spanish equivalences. Worth revising if you are interested in the subject.

GLOGSTER EDU,- 21st CENTURY MULTIMEDIA TOOL

Glogster EDU is a global education platform where educators and students can create glogs - online multimedia posters- with text, photos, videos, sounds, drawings, attachments and more. Now over 7,000,000 people use it across the world to keep their portfolios, presentations or bookmarks. It expands digital literacy and encourages creative learning. Check out glogs and tutorials in the net. And remember, the word glog was coined in 2007. 

READATHON: THE BI-CENTENARY OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The bi-centenary of the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was celebrated yesterday with a 'readathon' in Bath. Fans and experts read aloud the whole novel in a 12 hour web broadcast, linking up with Jane Austen societies around the world. Have a shot at it. Societal norms have changed since, but given some people are still forced to seek marriages of convenience for economic security, have things shifted so?