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?

ALISA WEILERSTEIN PLAYS ELGAR

British composer Edward Elgar wrote his cello concert in 1919, the End of the First World War and the Edwardian Era. it is noteworthy how tragedy and nostalgia would reach its most famous interpreter as well: Barenboim's late wife, Jacqueline du Pre. For nearly four decades he didn't perform the concert with another female cellist until Alisa Weilerstein, who grew up listening to her recordings. Worth checking out this moving story at a blog called deceptive cadence.

MAGICAL PHOTO-MANIPULATION

Inspired by Spanish surrealist Dalí, a Swedish photographer called Erik Johansson has created a series of reworkings of pics, most of them taken near the farm he grew up in. View Gallery at his personal site or at London Evening Standard.

SOUNDS, THE PRONUNCIATION APP

Excellent application by Macmillan, both available at Apple Store and Play Store, to help you study, practise and play with pronunciation. Interactive chart included. Premium version available. Clear your voice and have a shot.

2012 VENICE BIENNALE: LISBON GROUND

The city of Lisbon is the focus of this exhibition that represented Portugal at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition- La Bienale di Venezia until last November. The city is conceived as a common territory shared by a group of thinkers and artists, and reveals 24 years of intervention. Do not miss the selection of texts by Antonio Tabucchi, or the photographs by Duarte Belo.

SKYPE IN THE CLASSROOM

Check out this project created by Debating Europe to give students the opportunity to debate with fellow students from other European countries, and learn more about the work of the European Union. Register  through facebook to join the Skype lesson called: What does Europe mean to you?. Do you dare to set up your own lesson? Just let me know. I Would love to.

ANTI-ANXIETY OBJECTS: DESIGN IN THE AGE OF XANAX

ARTINFO Newsletter has just posted an article that relates the increasing use of anti-anxiety medications and mood-calming beverages, with the design, production and launching of new artifacts. Take, for instance, the Ostrich Pillow, that allows a nap anywhere. Or a striking commercial: The Present, an annual clock that tells time in seasons. Mirroring this trend, check out Selfridges' initiative last weekend: 'Silence Rooms'. Designed by architect Alex Cochrane, and provided for customers to  unwind. Shoes, phones and talking are forbidden. Bliss.

BRITISH COUNCIL ON iTUNES U

Visit the British Council on iTunes U. You can download or listen to a wide range of audio and video resources from LearnEnglish. Over 150 series of podcasts and videos providing insights into British culture, and listening materials  with free activities that you can do on your computer while you listen, or print out and do whenever you want. Food, sports, environment, jobs, there is a large number of topics available. Worth playing on your iPod, iPad or Mac. 

DEBATING EUROPE

Debating Europe is an innovative online platform launched in partnership with the European Parliament, to allow citizens discuss their ideas on vital issues shaping our future. You can  debate with Europe's leaders. Join now! Visit them in facebook or go to their website. They heavily rely on social media. Last week they were liveblogging British Prime Minister David Cameron's EU speech and people joined the debate.

TEA ETIQUETTE: TO MIF OR NOT TO MIF

                                                                      PIC by P. ÁLVARO

Samuel Twining theorised that milk in first prevented early china from cracking in reaction to boiling water; thus, back in 1760s those able to afford the latest china demonstrated their social supperiority by adding the tea in first versus the MIFs, common people. There after, is it only a question of snobbery? 

Hundreds of articles have been published about how to make the perfect cup of tea (Check out Fortnum and Mason's site)

SPLENDID SPEAKING

A colleague of mine has just recommended this website to practise speaking skills for work or University, and learn new strategies for exams like, BULATS CAE, FCE, CPE, IELTS, TOEFL. You can download free vocabulary quizzes and student interviews, and watch free videos in YouTube.

GMF (GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD)

                                                                                   ACRYLIC PAINTING  BY P. ÁLVARO (2012)

Genetically modified food is food derived from GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Its commercial sale started in 1994. Is there any risks for our health?Should they always be labelled? Controversy is served. Search for GMO Compass and combat Monsanto iniciatives. Can you infer my own point of view from this painting?

FOLKSONOMY: COLLABORATIVE TAGGING

Term coined in 2004 as part of social tagging, which is one of the definig features of web 2.0 services, folksonomies allow users to classify and find information. Some websites include tag clouds as a way to visualize tags in a folksonomy. For this reason, folksonomies may hold the key to a Semantic Web using metadata. Clarifying article by Daniel H. Pink in 2005 (The New York Times)

SOCIAL BOOKMARKING TOOLS: MISTER WONG AND RISAL

Mister Wong is a social bookmarking site, a centralized online service that enables users to add, edit and share bookmarks of web documents. Delicious, created in 2003, popularized the term. Unlike file sharing, socialbookmarking does not save the resources themselves, merely references, and most services provide web feeds, including lists organized by tasks. Institutions including businesses, libraries and universities use them as a way to improve web search. Have a look at RISAL (Repository of Interactive Social Assets for Learning), a service used for supporting teaching and learning at university level) that enables collaborative learning.