Abacus News & Views

English language teachers connect to mobile learning

2010-09-20T14:48:00.002Z

Nik Peachey launched an online survey to discover how teachers viewed the use of mobile learning. You can read his article which appeared in The Guardian by clicking this link.

The full survey is available at http://bit.ly/eltmobile.

Abacus Communications Ltd.

Telephone Sales and Support:
+35314433077 Ireland (headquarters)
+442081336539 United Kingdom
+16174183093 United States
+61390169863 Australia

Fax: +35316281895 Ireland
email: info@abacus-communications.com
skype: www.abacus-communications.com
twitter: abacusIRL or abacusASIA or abacusUSA or abacusUK

Stop press! : Britain closes to foreign students

2010-07-26T08:40:00.003Z

In a move that sidesteps the UK Court of Appeal and the Houses of Parliament, and right as the EL Gazette goes to press, the British government has given just 24 hours' notice of a change to immigration law.

The change bans adult students from coming to the UK to study English or any other course below degree level for more than six months, unless they have passed a specified intermediate English qualification at B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

A new list of qualifications comes into effect from 12 August; the only ones accepted for entry are Toefl, Ielts, the Pearson Test of Academic English and Cambridge Esol exams. Among the qualifications no longer accepted is Toeic, the world's largest English language exam, which is taken by over four million candidates a year and dominates in Korea and Japan, the two largest markets for English language courses in Britain.

Students out of luck
The government laid the new immigration rules before parliament just 24 hours before implementation and three days before the beginning of the summer recess. It also comes at the peak time for student applications for courses for the next academic year. The House has forty days to disagree with the judgment, in which case the government must amend it, but this is unlikely to happen before autumn. Meanwhile, thousands of students will be rejected because they do not have the right language level, or because they do not have the correct qualifications.

The move follows two important rulings on the UK's student immigration policy by the British courts. In the first case, known as Pankina, three Lord Justices of the Courts of Appeal ruled, in what they described as a question of 'constitutional importance and real difficulty', that amendments to the immigration rules must be laid before parliament. In the second case, brought by language-centre association English UK, the Judge also ruled (following the precedent set in Pankina) that the language levels could not be increased to B1 without a negative resolution procedure (the forty-day period above) being implemented.

UKBA admits mistake
The Gazette has also obtained evidence (see p5 of our September issue) that the UK Border Agency has taken the decision to reintroduce the B1 level even after admitting that it had been wrong in claiming that B1 was 'just below a GCSE in a modern foreign language'. This would make it equivalent to the foreign language level of an English 16 year old. The comparison to GCSE was first made on 10 February and has been repeated by ministers in statements to the House and to the public. It was also used in court in the English UK case.

However, on 16 February Dr Brian North, who developed the CEFR levels, wrote a letter to the UKBA pointing out that a GCSE pass is a low A2, two school years below the B1 level, and that high-school students in most northern European countries require seven years of English at school to achieve that level - making it equivalent, in British terms, to at least an AS-level pass.

The UKBA did not reply to Dr North's letter, saying that when a copy was sent to them by the Gazette it had been 'overlooked'. The UKBA's Jeremy Oppenheim finally replied on 20 July, agreeing that the comparison to GCSE was 'simplistic', but argued that it was the correct level for language students. Two days after sending the letter, the government reintroduced the B1 requirement.

The EL Gazette digital team.

Abacus has an extensive range of testing tools that will help your students prepare for entry into the UK.

Abacus CEO completed his visit to Tokyo Japan 4 December 2009

2009-12-03T13:11:00.005Z

Abacus CEO completed his visit to Tokyo Japan 4 December 2009. Abacus was selected by the EU Commission to showcase its products and services.

Stephen Byrne, Abacus CEO, was joined by Mr Shinichi Ito (left), NPO-Lesa and Mr Shinichi IIzuka of Iizuka International Patent Office on the final evening of the 2-day exhibition.

Abacus expects to significantly increase its turnover in the Japanese market in particular and its other Asian markets in the next 12 months. "There was a very positive reaction to Abacus' products and services. Our unique product and service proposition for the Japanese and Asian markets is proving irresistible", says Abacus CEO, Stephen Byrne.

Abacus selected by EU Commission to participate at EU Gateway to Japan 1-5 December 2009

2009-11-25T17:40:00.003Z

Abacus is pleased to report that it is one of 40 ICT companies that have been selected by the EU Commission to participate in the forthcoming EU Gateway to Japan programme to showcase its products and services.

Stephen Byrne, Abacus CEO, will be attending the event where he is scheduled to meet Japanese corporations such as Sony, Hitachi, Mitsui to name but a few. Mr Byrne stated that this visit is his third visit to Tokyo. "The Japanese market is one of the most demanding and competitive that we operate in but exciting opportunities exist for companies made of the right stuff".

Abacus products and services are used by some of the leading global corporations such as British Telecom, France Telecom, LG, Novartis. Many of the leading academic organisations in Europe and elsewhere are using our learning resources.

Contact us if you would like more information about the visit to Japan or learn more about our products and services.

Abacus Communications Ltd.

Telephone Sales and Support:
+35314433077 Ireland (headquarters)
+442081336539 United Kingdom
+16174183093 United States
+61390169863 Australia

Fax: +35316281895 Ireland
email: info@abacus-communications.com
skype: www.abacus-communications.com
twitter: abacusIRL or abacusASIA or abacusUSA or abacusUK

Abacus launches Windows 7 friendly programmes

2009-07-30T09:58:00.001Z

Abacus is pleased to report that it has recently started to roll out its latest version of the hugely successful Let's Do Business English for Business series. Let's Do Business consists of 4 skills-development programmes (Telephoning, Presentations, Meetings and Negotiating) and 3 knowledge-development courses (Grammar, Vocabulary and Listening and Pronunciation Practice).

Used by professionals in global companies like BT, FT, LG and Novartis; professional bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka; British Council centres worldwide, Let's Do Business is the preferred choice of all business people looking to develop their knowledge of English.

Let's Do Business runs on all Windows Operating Systems including Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7.

For more information about our products and service, contact us now:

Telephone Sales and Support:

+35314433077 Ireland (headquarters)
+442081336539 United Kingdom
+16174183093 United States
+61390169863 Australia

Fax: +35316281895 Ireland
skype: www.abacus-communications.com
email: info@abacus-communications.com

2000 Spanish Doctors adopt Abacus web-based learning systems in 2008

2008-01-14T18:25:00.000Z

2000 Spanish health professionals will practice reading, writing, listening and speaking English using Abacus' web EFL learning resources in 2008. Abacus in conjunction with its local academic partner will present 3 quarterly learning programmes.

"Each course participant undertakes a placement test and is then assigned a learning group", says Stephen Byrne, Abacus CEO. "Over a 12-week cycle, the student follows a course appropriate to their level of English and their professional interests. At the end of the learning programme, students undertake an exit test designed to check their progress".

Given the doctors extensive work commitments, this approach combined with their own remote tutor, allows them to pursue their studies at any time, and in any place equipped with a computer and an internet connection.

For more information on this story and similar projects, contact us now.

Abacus Communications
The Digital Hub,
157 Thomas St
Dublin 8

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID: www.abacus-communications.com

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

City of Galway VEC adopt Abacus products and solutions

2008-01-09T17:31:00.000Z

Abacus is pleased to announce that the City of Galway Adult Basic Education Service (GABES) has adopted a range of ESOL and literacy solutions. The educational software programmes will be offered from its Galway city site to its student population. For more information on this and other similar projects, contact Mr Stephen Byrne @ 016219550 or email stephen@abacus-communications.com

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus Sponsors Prize Giving

2007-06-08T14:56:00.000Z

Abacus was pleased to sponsor the annual Ashbourne Community School Spanish Student of the Year Award on May 28 2007. The worthy recipients were Ms Carmel Moore (Senior) and Ms Eimear Moylan (Junior). We wish them and their peers the best of luck in the up-coming state examinations. Ashbourne Community School uses a range of modern and Irish-language software supplied by Abacus.

Abacus Communications

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

41st IATEFL Annual Conference and Exhibition

2007-04-16T10:44:00.000Z

41st IATEFL Annual Conference and Exhibition
Aberdeen 18th - 22nd April, 2007

For this year's IATEFL Annual Conference and Exhibition in Aberdeen, IATEFL and the British Council are working together to enable teacher audiences worldwide to participate via the internet and get a taste of what happens over the five days of the annual IATEFL conference.

Our interactive web coverage will include:
- video and audio recordings of some of the presentations and workshops
- interviews with presenters and delegates
- text reports from the event via a dedicated website
- online special interest forums running alongside the main conference programme
- daily blogs from roving reporters supported by IATEFL and the British
Council ELTeCS Scheme
Registration and participation is open to all, starting Wednesday 11th
April. For more details on how to get started, visit:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/iatefl2007

Abacus Communications

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

The World's Best Conference Focused on e-Learning Development!

2007-03-29T20:15:00.000Z

Over 30 experts come to present you with over 70 different sessions for ALL SKILL LEVELS.

Keynote Presentations

Brent Schlenker: Author of the popular Corporate eLearning Development blog

Learning in a Changing World: How Are Web 2.0 and Other Trends Shaping How We Learn and Teach?

The world is changing...FAST! You can't keep up with the demand for training. Why!? Because our systems for designing and delivering training are outdated. They were created specifically to support the educational institutions born out of the industrial revolution. Now, we are at the end of the information age and entering the creative age. Are you ready? Are you prepared to completely rethink the foundation of instructional design and development as we know it? Are you ready and comfortable with the chaos of open information platforms, virtual environments, and user generated content? Brent Schlenker will paint a vivid picture of the new learning ecosystem, the forces impacting our profession, and how we can leverage those forces, and technologies, to become the influencial learning professionals of the 21st century.

About the Presenter:

Brent Schlenker is an independent Learning Technology and Strategy Consultant that helps companies transition from old school eLearning to Learning 2.0 by taking advantage of Web 2.0 technologies and social community models. He helps them recognize the untapped value of informal conversations and collaborative learning environments. He's a passionate learner with over 10 years experience designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating corporate learning solutions. Brent's Corporate eLearning Development blog has become a must read for learning professionals, and gained him recognition as a thought leader in our industry. Brent's unique and engaging presentations have been filling conference rooms for over 2 years and offer insight, practical tips, and a colorful look at the future of Learning in the Corporation.

Patti Shank: President of Learning Peaks, LLC

Rethinking Blending: Improving Outcomes from Technology-based Learning

What's blended learning? If you said "a combination of classroom and online learning," you're thinking far too narrowly, according to Patt. She contends that we need to consider the unique characteristics of specific technologies and methods so we know how each can be best used to enhance teaching and learning. In advance of the conference, Patti will use a wiki to engage conference participants in evaluating the characteristics of different blending dimensions (for example self-paced - collaborative learning). During this interactive session, Patti will facilitate an open dialog about the benefits of a more open definition of blending and how to use this knowledge to improve technology use and outcomes.

About the Presenter:

Patti Shank, PhD, CPT, is the president of Learning Peaks, LLC, an internationally known instructional design and technology consulting group best known for helping others optimize online and blended learning. Clients include government, coporations, nonprofits, and higher education institutions, including Adobe, Fidelity Information Systems, Morgan Stanley, Hunter Douglas, and California State University.

Patti is well known for her independent and systems-oriented approaches to training, learning, and technology and she is listed in Who's Who In Instructional Technology. She's often-requested speaker at training and instructional technology conferences, is quoted frequently in training publications, and has contributed numerous chapters to training and instructional technology books. She coauthored Making Sense of Online Learning (Pfeiffer, 2004) and was the editor for The Online Learning Idea Book (Pfeiffer, 2007). Her articles are found in eLearning Guild publications, Macromedia's eLearning and Training Solutions, Adobe's Resource Center, Magna Publications's Online Classroom, and elsewhere.

Patti completed her PhD at the University of Colorado, Denver, and her interests include Interaction design, tools and technologies for Interaction, the pragmatics of real world Instructional design, and instructional authoring. Her research on views of new online learners won an EDMEDIA 2002 best research paper award.

eLearning DevCon 2007 is organized and hosted by Rapid Intake Inc.

Webmaster

Abacus Communications
The Digital Hub,
157 Thomas St
Dublin 8

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

Blended learning European Commission Projects

2007-03-27T20:00:00.000Z

Blended learning, also known as hybrid or mixed learning, is an approach that has developed with tenacity in the field of education. It is by no means a new term or methodology.

To learn and teach in a blended way has been and continues to be an intelligent way of conforming to different training needs. However, when blended learning is analysed by comparing and contrasting it with e-learning, reflections and evaluations emerge that make it easier to comprehend the limitations and possibilities of the blended way of learning.

Successful Blended Learning Projects in 2006: Experiences in different formal, non-formal and informal learning environments

For more information, visit http://www.elearningeuropa.info

Abacus Communications

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

ELGazette March e-Update

2007-03-15T13:49:00.000Z

Esol students turn up en masse to lobby MPs

Between 500 and 1,000 UK Esol students and their teachers attended a mass lobby of Parliament in late February to protest proposed cuts in free Esol provision which would mean most students would have to pay a third of course fees from September. The turnout for the lobby, described by veteran trade unionists as ‘unprecedented’, was big enough to overwhelm the Parliamentary security staff and..

Ireland

Tests for Doctors

Ireland’s Medical Council plans to start testing the English language skills of doctors from the EU who are seeking full (permanent) registration.

The council hopes to introduce an English exam following concerns over doctors’ clinical English

www.elgazette.com

Short Courses & Refresher Courses

Check out the Gazette’s new listings for teacher refesher and short courses – course information for native and non-native teachers.

For more information, visit www.elgazette.com Come and see what's new online in 2007.

Editor

Abacus Communications
tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

The latest business news from China

2007-03-12T09:51:00.000Z

Welcome to CGF China Headlines.

China's English and Chinese language publications and business journals are reviewed bi-weekly by our editors and only the articles and China business events which have a direct bearing on our clientele's business in China are selected for inclusion in each issues Top 10 Headlines.

We hope that through this website and our free e-newsletter you will find it easier to stay abreast of the most significant events and changes effecting international companies doing business in China.

NEW!! Receive news updates on the industry of your choice. FREE service available by contacting CGF at: info@cgfchinaheadlines.com

Abacus Communications

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

Are you in a "happy" place?

2007-03-09T10:54:00.000Z

Please find details of the latest trends in business and management below. Available at www.personnelzone.com

Publications Best Sellers

Reward Management

This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated based on the authors’ experience, research and benchmarking activities. A new foreword has been contributed by Duncan Brown, Assistant Director General, CIPD, who identifies the ‘mix of high challenges but potentially high returns which makes Reward Management such a critical component of successful HR and business strategies’.

Excellence in Coaching is cutting edge thinking in the field of workplace coaching. The profile contributors off a breadth of perspectives and insights into a range of coaching disciplines, in a book that embraces diversity and rigour.

Stress at Work - Management and Prevention Work-related stress and resulting sickness absence costs the UK economy about £3.7 billion every year (HSE research). In this jargon free guide, Jeremy Stranks explains what stress is and what causes it, how people respond to stress and cope with it, how stress can be evaluated and managed and what employers’ legal responsibilities are.

The Diversity Training Handbook

Diversity issues and the need to understand and, if necessary, change underlying attitudes have become increasingly important for organizations in the aftermath of domestic and global events. This timely new edition of The Diversity Training Handbook provides a practical approach to dealing with this sensitive but vital issue.

The Group Trainer's Handbook

Organizations succeed when staff are doing their jobs effectively. For this to occur, employees must be well-trained. Group training, involving two or more people, enables a collaborative approach to working and problem-solving, and ensures that participants share best practice and a consistent learning experience.

Managing Conflict in the Workplace

Conflict, bullying and harassment can destroy the foundations of the most enterprising organisations. Bullying is now a key complaint received by HR departments. Published for HR and line managers, IRS Managing Conflict in the Workplace will help employers to recognise and resolve destructive conflict issues more effectively, enabling them to become more positive, productive and efficient.

The Connected Leader

Traditional organizational boundaries limit our ability to deliver results. The Connected Leader argues that many of the old leadership recipes are outdated and don't take into account changes in the work environment and informal social networks within the organization. Price £20.00
HR Vacancy of the Week

Induction

Many companies still short cut the induction process and later reap the problems that this causes. Can e-learning help and are there any new techniques to assist? We try to find out. Plus all of the usual features including White Papers, Legislation News, Technology, HR Management, Case Studies ...

Abacus CommunicationsThe Digital Hub,157 Thomas StDublin 8

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie . Our registration number is 902707

Dramatic Year for EFL Industry

2007-03-07T11:27:00.000Z

Welcome to the first EL Gazette newsletter of 2007 which has already been a dramatic year for the industry:

- The Russian authorities closed down all British council teaching centres
- Seoul Police busted a TEFL recruitment agency for allegedly issuing fake degrees, organising illegal jobs and selling Crystal meth
- Japanese language school chain Gaba was floated on the stock market
- A US university has set up a campus in Afghanistan

United Kingdom - UK Schools survive 2005

THE LATEST report on the financial performance of the UK’s leading EFL schools is fairly encouraging. The accounts, which cover the period up to the end of 2005, suggest that the negative events of that year including the July terrorist bombings in London did not have too serious an impact on the trading performances of the schools.

Philippines- Philipines vows to boost English skills

The PhilippineS House of Representatives has approved a measure to improve English language proficiency among Filipino students in an effort to stem declining standards.

The move follows a survey from the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines that revealed that 75 per cent of over 400,000 Filipino college graduates have ‘sub-standard English skills’.

Headlines courtesy of www.elgazette.com

Abacus Communications

tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

Abacus products are approved by the national training agency http://www.fas.ie .
Our registration number is 902707

"Japan’s Challenge: Creating Future through Innovation"

2007-02-13T16:18:00.000Z

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, the Embassy of Japan, with support of JETRO London, is organising a special lecture on the future of the Japanese Economy by Mr. HIROSHI TSUKAMOTO, President of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO)　under the title of:

"Japan’s Challenge: Creating Future through Innovation"

●Date: 6th March 2007

●Time: 12:00 (Registration will start at 11:30)

●Venue: UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co.Dublin.

I would also be very much grateful if you could forward this email to anyone who you think might be interested in this event. Should you have any queries on the lecture, please do not hesitate to contact to Mr. Yuki Yoshida, Economic Division of the Embassy of Japan on 202 8318 / 087-205 9375 or by email yyoshida@embjp.ie.

Welcome to the Autumn edition of Abacus News & Views 2006

2006-11-24T15:14:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

This edition contains articles on national and international news;

Local News

- successful implementation of language courses on wireless networks

Abacus personnel have been involved in a number of wireless implementations of its language resources in the recent past. These projects were supported by the Irish Department of Education.

Some of the organisations to recently adopt Abacus learning resources are;

Blackrock College, Dublin
Colaiste Dhulaigh, Dublin
Cavan Institute,
DBL College, Dublin
Colaiste Cois Life, Dublin
Colaiste Magh Ene, Bundoran
King's Hospital, Dublin
Loreto Community School, Milford, Donegal
St Colman's Community School, Middleton Co Cork
Youghal Community School

Abacus has run in-service programmes at

Pobal Scoil Inbhear Sceine, Kenmare, Co Kerry
St Joseph's Secondary School, Athlone

Stephen Byrne gave a presentation of a range of language products and tools being used in Irish schools and colleges to the staff at St Angela's Secondary school, Waterford as part of their in-service programme at the invitation of the ICT centre in that area. The text of this presentation is available at http://www.abacus-communications.com/downloads/Abacus%20WICT_All.ppt

Congratulations

Abacus would like to congratulate Calasantius College, Galway on its recent official opening of its new facilities on October 20 2006.

Abacus would like to congratulate Mr Niall McDermott (formerly of Castletroy College) on his appointment as principal of the Colaiste Iosaef
Community School in Kilmallock, Co Limerick.

International News

Accredited tests

- Production of new course tests for the Let's Do Business language skills programmes (Negotiating and Meetings to date) online

Abacus content experts have developed a range of tests to support its web-based English for Business programmes. These tests are currently certified by Abacus (with certification by the relevant national authority pending).

To preview the tests, visit http://www.language-software.com

Course Accreditation - national and international recognition

Stephen Byrne is advising a number of professional associations and colleges on achieving accreditation (FETAC, HETAC, NQAI) of their training programmes. He is also on the panel of Learning Network Consultants for Skillnet projects for 2007. All Abacus EFL products are approved by the National Training Authority http://www.fas.ie.

Events

Abacus were invited by the Korean eLearning Association to showcase its learning programmes at Expo 2006 held in KINTEX, Korea. There was a lot of interest in Abacus' products and there are plans to extend the range of products and services available to our clients in this market early next year.

Abacus has been selected by the EU commission to participate at the next Japan ICT Trade Mission, 29 January - 2 February 2007. This is an open competition and companies are selected on a range of criteria including product excellence and product innovation from across the EU states.

New partner in Portugal

INSIA and Abacus have signed a heads of agreement to promote its language portfolio to their clients. Abacus sells its products and services on a business-to-business basis rather than business-to-consumer. "We are always looking for international partners to help us enter new markets", says Abacus CEO Stephen Byrne. "Our international partners are established language organisations looking to offer web-based products and services or new media companies looking to extend their portfolio of web-based training solutions to their client. We are planning to start business in Portugal in early 2007."

"Abacus is also working with a number of private language organisations on a range of projects to offer its award winning product portfolio to their clients. Abacus' technical expertise built up over 10 years and its strong product portfolio combined with each organisation's access to end users is a win-win solution for all. Non-disclosure agreements prevent us from saying too much about these projects."

Other Notes

- There is a list of reasons why customers are investing in Abacus learning solutions @ http://abacusblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/you-get-what-you-pay-for-english-idiom.html

- There is a list of events that Abacus or its national partners are attending in 200 @ http://abacusblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/elearning-in-europe-winter-2006.html

Abacus Editor

eLearning in Europe Winter 2006

2006-11-09T08:56:00.000Z

Newsletter elearningeuropa.info - November 2006

NEW MEDIA PARTNER. The iLearning Forum Paris 2007, International Exhibition and Conference for Learning Technologies, will take place on 29-31 January 2007 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The theme of the conference is "Learning in the 21st Century" and the specific topics are eStrategies and learning organisations, Regions and eLearning, ePortfolio, eQuality and Advanced Learning Technologies. Presenters and authors are invited to submit an abstract of their contributions by 1 December, 2006. Entrance to the exhibition is free of charge, and visitors will have free access to live demonstrations and presentations. For more information and to register for your badge, please visit www.ilearnforum.eu.

ONLINE EDUCA 2006. Over 1,900 visitors are expected at this international e-learning conference, to be held from 28 November to 1 December 2006 in Berlin. Pre-Conference Forums this year include: E-Learning in the Automotive Industry Sector, Virtual Mobility Forum, E-Learning for Defence and Security Forum, and Lifelong Learning in the UK Forum. Also, several workshops and seminars will be organised. For more information, please visit http://www.online-educa.com.

EFQUEL - NEW PORTAL LAUNCHED. The European Foundation for Quality in eLearning (EFQUEL) has launched its new portal, the European Quality Service Portal. Visit the portal here: http://www.qualityfoundation.org.

NKI Distance Education in Norway has developed a new online service for distance education.

INTED 2007 - International Technology, Education and Development Conference. It will be an excellent opportunity to present, demonstrate and discuss research, development, applications, and the latest innovations and results in the field of Higher Education and Industry.

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE - The information on this site is subject to a disclaimer and a copyright notice.

Why are we making life difficult for our students?

2006-10-26T20:37:00.000Z

This email was inspired by Tatiana Panchenko a Russian-based language tutor. For more information on Tatiana, visit http://MosCow.blogsource.com/

Tatiana writes; Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn (full text below) and my response;

Stephen writes; "I don't believe that English is hard to learn or any other language for that matter. I just think that there are "bad" teachers that make the learning process more difficult than it needs to be. They may do this because they are not competent to teach or they may do it deliberately in order to make more revenue from the student.

As most of your readers do not appear to be "native speakers" of English, I am sure that they are appalled by the list of "puns". It must be very depressing when faced with the list below. The only purpose of this list is to make a student feel inadequate. It reminds me of the linguistic exercises that I was required to endure during my Masters in Applied Linguistics programme. They were a complete waste of everyone's time.

My feelings about the list of "puns" are based on two principles;

I do not believe that any native speaker of English would actually "say" any of the sentences below (1-21) unless they wanted to confuse the listener deliberately which goes against all natural principles of communication. Study "real" English not some "linguistic" puzzle!

Most UK-based publishers of teaching materials now use corpus technologies to identify the most frequently-used language in certain identifiable contexts such as standard social settings such as, going to a restaurant, participating at business meetings, etc and design their resources accordingly.

The list below reminds of an age and approach to teaching which I thought was long gone. Why focus on the "exceptions" to language rules when it is far easier to focus on the regular patterns of language. It is often said that knowledge is "power" and often this "power" is abused to the students' detriment.

To conclude, "innocent" puns in English, I don't think so! These puns are "guilty" of tremendous "wrongs" against the language students of the world. End this crime against the human race now!

Now phrasal verbs such as, "goes off, lights out", that's another story for another day. However, as most communication in English now takes place between non-native speakers of the language, you can quiet happily exist without ever going down this road. By now, you probably realise that our approach here to teaching a language is based on utilitarian principles, that is, theb use of language as a means to an end rather than purely the study of language per se. By the way, the stars are always out but sometimes the clouds just get in the way!

Please continue to send me your messages as they are often amusing, sometimes irritating but always welcome.

I look forward to the thoughts of your other readers on this subject!"

Tatiana's full text;

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.....English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France....... Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.......Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig......... And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham???????
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth??????? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese????? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend...... If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end??????
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite
at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a
language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

--
Tatiana Panchenko

You get what you pay for! (English idiom meaning if you invest in quality you get quality, if you pay little, you get nothing of value!)

2006-08-25T09:37:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

We were recently asked a very simple, direct and straightforward question, why should I pay for the Abacus web courses when there is so much free stuff on the web?

There are lots of reasons. Here are some of the most obvious ones.

Students will

become more effective communicators in the target language;
score higher in international examinations such as TOEIC, BEC, IELTS, FCE, CAE;

Teachers know that

the courses are based on latest research into learning and language theory;
they are designed by a team of language experts;
they can monitor students progress using the Learning Management tools;
they can create new resources to add to the existing libraries;
Abacus delivers in-service training programmes to enable the teacher to exploit the resources successfully;

Administrators/School Owners can

monitor teacher and student activity using the multilingual Learner Management tools;
customise the language libraries to suit their needs;
localise the resources to suits their requirements;
generate additional income for their organisation;

Companies know that

the language libraries can be integrated into their Learning Management Systems;
staff are more productive;
the company is more competitive;
the company generates more profit;

Abacus assurances

Abacus courses are designed to the highest international technical and pedagogical standards;
All of our courses are recognised by the National Training Agency http://www.fas.ie.

We recommend that you download a document from http://www.abacus-communications.com/downloads/Abacus%20Web%20Evaluation%20Checklist.rtf which will allow you to evaluate the Abacus Let's Do Business resources successfully.

Sincerely,

Stephen Byrne
MA (App Ling), HDip in Ed., Dip RSA TEFLA, MIITD

Philippines - English language Proficiency

2006-08-11T12:02:00.000Z

President Arroyo has not been having a good year on the political front. But she can perhaps take comfort from the economy's performance. This will mean average annual growth of about 5.5 per cent over President Arroyo's term in office.

Another area in which the Philippines has been enjoying considerable growth goes by the alternative names of 'offshoring', 'international outsourcing' or 'business process outsourcing'. These labels cover activities which are undertaken on behalf of foreign companies from rich countries, in the Philippines case especially the USA. The specific activities include call centres, legal and medical transcription services, financial services such as 'backroom' accounting and bookkeeping, animation and software development.

But the unexpectedly rapid growth has highlighted a problem, which may hold back the outsourcing boom. The problem is a shortage of suitably qualified recruits, a matter which itself raises questions about the efficacy of the Philippine education system and the continued predilection of Filipinos to go abroad in search of work. The once much-vaunted Philippine education system has come under considerable scrutiny and criticism. English proficiency is a key requirement in call centres and even in other professional areas, but according to a Business World report there is a 'deteriorating aptitude for the language' in Philippine schools, colleges and universities and a declining quality of graduates. The proliferation of educational institutions providing poor quality education has also been identified as a potential obstacle to growth while the education system has been slow to react to the outsourcing industry's needs. The government has moved more swiftly to address the industry's concerns and has allocated US$9.8 million for outsourcing training. However, this only serves to emphasise the overall problems of declining quality in the Philippine education system, a situation if not arrested and reversed will have adverse consequences not only for outsourcing, but for the economy as a whole.

Source Asean Focus Group

Asian Analysis is published by Asean Focus Group in cooperation with the Faculty of Asian Studies at The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

www.aseanfocus.com
www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/

Interested in Irish (Gaelic) Language Resources?

2006-08-09T19:14:00.000Z

www.Oideas-Gael.com

Gaeilge agus laethanta saoire cultúrtha
Irish language courses & cultural activity holidays

www.Beo.ie

Iris Ghaeilge ar líne - Online Irish language magazine
Iris idirlín do lucht na Gaelige in Éireann agus ar fud na cruinne
Internet magazine for Irish Speakers in Ireland and worldwide.

About Abacus

Abacus was established in 1996 by a group of teachers interested in exploiting developments in technology to deliver high quality language learning programmes. Abacus Communications designs, develops and delivers world-class CD-ROM and web-based language training resources. These resources are used extensively in self-learning and classroom environments. All Abacus courses are approved by the National Training Agency http://www.fas.ie. Our Organisation Registration Number is 902707.

Abacus News & Views July 2006

2006-07-26T16:27:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

This article contains references to some new product functionality which enables more communities to use Abacus' award-winning products. For regular information on Abacus' programmes, products, and related news, visit the company's blog at http://www.abacus-communications.com/blog.

Some Technical Notes

Abacus Moodle is running successfully - Abacus technical support personnel have successfully trialed and installed our SCORM courses onto the Moodle platform. If you would like to preview Abacus resources running on Moodle, please contact us. Abacus has tested its language library resources on a number of SCORM platforms successfully.

Compatibility with Chinese Windows - We had received reports that some pages were not displaying correctly on Chinese Windows operating systems. This fault has been corrected and all Abacus courses will now function as expected. We would like to thank Mr Brendan Waldron of New Tigers Consulting and his colleagues in mainland China for their help with this matter.

Linking to third party systems - Companies or academic organisations that have their own platforms (which are NOT SCORM compatible) can now access Abacus content without obliging the user to log in a second time. Abacus technical personnel have set up an autologin feature that allows students to use the Abacus courses directly from the host's web site/platform. This functionality allows the student to use the course materials and the administrator/teacher to preview their progress too in the multilingual Learner Management System. A win-win solution for everyone.

International News

Sweden - Visit http://www.interaqtive.com to purchase Abacus products online. This site is localised into English, German and Swedish. Companies can make purchases VAT free. Distance learning and tutor supported options are available. You can also purchase our products from partners listed at http://www.abacus-communications.com/resellers.html

Abacus welcomes LG Academy (Korea) - The LG Academy has adopted Abacus English for Business products for its senior management and graduate high-flyers. It is projected that more than 200 students will have completed a 12-week course by the end of 2006.

Local News

A number of educational sites have renewed and/or upgraded licences this month; King's Hospital, Dublin, Blackrock College, Dublin, Colaiste Dhulaigh, Dublin.

BASEL II - IEA Business Efficiency Toolkit - the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) commissioned Abacus to develop a CD-ROM that enables companies to understand how Banks are obliged to operate within the EU. It describes how banks manage risk-assessment of their clients. It is a valuable reference for companies negotiating with their banks. Abacus designed, developed and delivered the CD by the way but not the actual contents in the Toolkit which were commissioned by the EU.

Abacus personnel have advised and assisted the IEA to achieve recognition with the national educational bodies, FAS and FETAC in 2006.

And the feedback is .....

"I recently attended a Irish Exporters Association launch of their "Basel 2 toolkit"... I looked at the back and there you were!!!! Well done - its a very good production" Colm Owens Audit Manager, Anne Brady McQuillans DFK

About Abacus

Abacus was established in 1996 by a group of teachers interested in exploiting developments in technology to deliver high quality language learning programmes. Abacus Communications designs, develops and delivers world-class CD-ROM and web-based language training resources. These resources are used extensively in self-learning and classroom environments. All Abacus courses are approved by the National Training Agency http://www.fas.ie. Our Organisation Registration Number is 902707.

Abacus - Local & International News May 2006

2006-06-06T10:41:00.000Z

International News - May 2006

Novartis Spain choose Abacus as its language partner (again!)

Abacus welcomes Novartis Spain (again)! Novartis Spain have signed up to use the Abacus language libraries for a second year. This follows the trial started in May 2005. Novartis Spain is part of a international network and strong English language proficiency is vital to help the Novartis organisation maintain its position as a leader the global pharmaceutical business.

The Novartis project is a partnership between Abacus and ESADE, one of the most important Business schools in Spain. ESADE runs general business and MBA programmes. Its graduates work in the most prestigious companies both inside and outside Spain. Abacus' distance learning programmes complement the face-to-face classes run by ESADE tutors.

Abacus goes to Korea! May 2006

Ahana report that the Foreign Academy School in Hannam University, Seoul have adopted Abacus as its preferred language partner for a trial period with a view to extending the contract thereafter. This is one of a number of trials that are on-going in this country.

Concordia France - May 2006

A private language school in France, specialising in English for Business courses has adopted Abacus Let's Do Business as its preferred distance learning resource. M. Hauschel the owner of the language school also has connections with Hewlett Packard in France. He believes that web-based learning with face-to-face support offers the best educational solution with real value for money. Abacus personnel will advise Concordia staff on how to develop effective teaching programmes and win more business for the school. French language schools, colleges and companies have been particularly positive in using our resources.

and Abacus recommends .....

Abacus recently trialled a new learning platform developed in Canada called http://www.nuvvo.com. Individuals can use most of the tools are for free. Tutors can develop and present courses and get paid for them too. Savvica the developer hosts the resources and offers excellent technical support if you find yourself in difficulty. There is an interesting array of courses, language and non-language available. Enterprise solutions are available too.

Local News - May 2006

FAS approves Abacus - April 2006

Abacus courses have been certified by the Irish National Training Agency, FAS. Abacus courses can now be offered to any non-English speaking person working in Ireland. FAS has adopted the Abacus courses because they offer a high quality programme 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not everyone can attend classes on a regular basis so the distance learning option is ideal for foreign workers that need spoken and written English language skills.

Donegal school awards Abacus contract - May 2006

Abacus has secured the contract to deliver its language library to Colaiste Magh-Ene in Bundoran, Co Donegal. There are now more than 100 second level schools in Ireland running Abacus courses. In addition to the actual courses which have been adapted to the Irish Government's language syllabus, Abacus personnel offer installation support and in-service training to help tutors use the resources to their best effect.

Abacus "best-in-class" presentation at Waterford Education Centre

Mr John Murray, ICT Advisor at the Waterford Education Centre, has invited Abacus to present a "best-in-class" workshop in Waterford on August 29 2006. The purpose of the workshop is to introduce teachers to the range of language resources most appropriate to the Irish Education system both from a technical and pedagogical point of view.

Abacus News Desk

About Abacus

Abacus was established in 1996 by a group of teachers interested in exploiting developments in technology to deliver high quality language learning programmes.

Abacus Communications designs, develops and delivers world-class CD-ROM and web-based language training resources. These resources are used extensively in self-learning and classroom environments.

LANGUAGE AT THE INTERFACE CONFERENCE

2006-05-26T12:51:00.000Z

The Third Inter-Varietal Applied Corpus Studies (IVACS) group International Conference starts on Friday, 23rd June, 2006

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR

The Third Inter-Varietal Applied Corpus Studies (IVACS) group International
Conference on:

LANGUAGE AT THE INTERFACE
University of Nottingham, UK
23rd - 24th June 2006

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

John Sinclair & Anna Mauranen
Susan Hunston & Paul Thompson
Srikant Sarangi & Chris Candlin
Martin Wynne & Peter Stockwell

Hosted by the Centre for Research in Applied Linguistics

See Conference site: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/IVACS/

Abacus listed on FÁS/EI National Register of Trainers

2006-05-15T13:15:00.000Z

Abacus Communications is the first language training organisation in Ireland to be listed on the FÁS/EI National Register of Trainers (April 2005).

13 Abacus courses are now listed on FÁS/EI National Register of Trainers (http://www.fas.ie). FÁS is Ireland's National Training and Employment Authority. Abacus' organisation registration details are 902707. Abacus personnel are now listed on the national register of trainers. You can search the register of trainers at http://jobbank.fas.ie/ntr/appSearch.jsp. Type in "abacus communications" under the training organisation link.

Placement on the list requires the training organisation to complete an application for registration as an Approved Training Organisation. Abacus, its personnel and its courses passed all of the conditions to meet the listing requirements.

"Abacus as an organisation is always seeking to set high standards. This is part fulfilment of our aim to ensure that Abacus as an organisation, its staff and its products meet the highest technical and professional standards of programme delivery and of service," says Director of Education, Mr Stephen Byrne.

If you require any additional information, please contact us

Abacus Communications
The Digital Hub,
157 Thomas St
Dublin 8
tel: 0035316219550
fax: 0035316282055
email: info@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com
Skype ID:abacomm

The eLearning Network invites you to the 2006 eLN Members Showcase

2006-05-09T16:32:00.000Z

Registration from 09:30, Event will start 10:15, Close at 16:10
Venue: Kensington Suite, Hilton London Kensington, Holland Park Avenue, London, W11 4UL

In this annual event, delegates can make their own selection from 12 different sessions which will cover a wide variety of subjects all related to best practice in e-learning from the Members of the eLearning Network.

All these sessions are examples of best practice and professional competence in e-learning.

For a draft programme visit our website http://www.elearningnetwork.org/futureconferences.htm
You will be able to choose from the sessions being held in two adjoining theatres or simply float in and out of all of them! A full buffet lunch is also provided. As usual there will be ample opportunity for questions, discussion and networking. Don't be disappointed, book today!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Attendance for eLN Members is only £60 plus VAT or an eLN meeting credit. Members of the British Learning Association, Association for Learning Technology, eLearning Alliance and NILTA pay only £85 plus VAT.

Non-members attend for only £95 plus VAT. Delegate spaces are limited so do not delay in registering.

If you would like to reserve a place at this conference please simply reply to this email by putting "I'll/we'll be there" in the subject field and include (if you are not an eLN member) your name(s) and postal address. I will then send an invoice, so if a purchase order number is required, please remember to include one. You can also register and pay in advance with a credit card via our website

For further information about the eLearning Network go to http://www.elearningnetwork.org/

Looking forward to seeing you on May 19th.
Best regards
Vaughan Waller
eLN Chairman
Tel: 01992 634244
http://www.elearningnetwork.org/

Happy St Patrick's Day March 17 2006

2006-03-16T15:29:00.000Z

Hello Everyone,

This is just a quick note to say hello and wish everyone a happy St Patrick's Day (March 17 is the national holiday in Ireland).

"Ireland's largest annual party, St. Patrick's Festival will be in full swing from March 15th - 19th 2006. St. Patrick's Festival is now by far the biggest annual event in the country providing entertainment for all interests and ages. The Festival programme has music, theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street arts, visual arts, dance, a treasure hunt, symposium.... 4000 performers - 1.5 million spectators and 5 days of fantastic festival fun for all!"

The official festival site is at http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/
By the way, our offices will be closed from 17:00 on Thursday until March Monday 20 at 09:00.

Stephen Byrne
CEO

We are STILL celebrating our recent 10th birthday!

2006-02-10T17:29:00.000Z

More nice comments!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Stephen

On behalf of FIPLV, I extend to you our congratulations on reaching this milestone. I wish you every success for the next decade.

Kind regards

Denis Cunningham
President
Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Happy 10th Birthday!

Good luck in the future.

Best Regards,
Dick Patchin
Delta Publishing USA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Stephen,

Let me congratulate you on the 10th birthday of Abacus and moving to the centre of Dublin (closeness of Guinness is a real improvement of your working environment)!

Ivana
Abacus Webmaster (and lover of beers!)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Stephen,
Congratulations! Didnt know it was ten years since Abacus came into life. I do remember early days using rooms in a house on Herbert Place, was it? And now
back to the big smoke again!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Stephen,

Sounds like things are going from strength to strength. Congratulations!

how are things going in Japan? Can we help?

best regards

Anne Lanigan
Director - Japan
Enterprise Ireland

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Stephen
Congratulations to you. Its quite something to survive in this jungle.

Anyway, keep on trucking. Best wishes

Peter Walton
ETV Productions

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hello Stephen,

Congratulations for the new office. I would like to go to Dublin one week-end. In this time I will see you.

Best Regards,

Max
SAP Spain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Stephen,

Happy anniversary to Abacus!

I wish it many happy returns of the day, many lovely presents and a
beautiful cake with 10 candles!
As it is already 10 years now, I also wish Abacus great success in learning,
education and studies! ;))))

Love,

Tatiana
Tutor,
Moscow, Russia

Abacus is committed to recycling which benefits our local Children's Hospital

2006-02-10T16:38:00.000Z

Hi Stephen,

Thanks very much for your help in this matter.

I have arranged for 50 one page fliers to be sent to you. These should
arrive in the next week. If any of these companies would like to sign up
they can just give us a call on 1800 933 616 or even do this online at
www.recyclingappeal.com/templestreet.

Your support is much appreciated.

Ann-Louise Riddell
New Business Advisor

recycling appeal
31-37 Etna Road
Falkirk, FK2 9EG

t: +44 (0)1324 678 900
f: +44 (0)1324 678 904
e: ann-louiser@recyclingappeal.com

We are 10. It's our Birthday!

2006-02-06T16:23:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

We were 10 years old this week! Here are some of the nicer (printable) comments!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations on ten years (are you sure it is not 20).
Nora (Stephen's long suffering wife)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations on Abacus' 10th birthday! That is a very significant
milestone. Best regards,

Mary Ryan
Product Innovator

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well done on all of this, it sounds very impressive! So when is the
party?

Ruth Harris
Senior Lecturer in Languages
Institute of Technology Blanchardstown

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations on your continued success ! I would love to see your new
premises sometime. Hope all is going well for you,
Mary Shepherd
Director of Studies
ATC Language & Travel

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations! May you have many rewarding and productive years to
come.

Kind regards,

Ton Ammerlaan
Communications and ESP lecturer
Dept of Applied Life Sciences, Hogere Laboratoriumopleidingen
HAN University www.hanuniversity.nl

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations on reaching your 10th birthday. Good luck with your new offices. I would like to meet up some time to re-look at making our medical English courses available on-line.

Ray Gunning
President & CEO
Eurocollege Institute of Education

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

May I congratulate you and Honor on the tenth birthday of Abacus ----what a
great success story !! It couldn't happen to two nicer people . I hope to visit your new premises in the not too distant future ---it sounds
fantastic !! I won't forget the present either.

Best wishes

Maura Gallagher
LTI Training and Consulting

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hi Stephen,

Happy birthday!

Kathy
iT's for Teachers
www.its-online.com
www.its-teachers.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Eurodidac Budapest - European Forum for Education, Training and Knowledge Management

2006-01-23T20:21:00.000Z

OPKM Budapest June 7 to 9, 2006

Eurodidac is an all-European event emerging out of Central Europe where the new EU member countries are in the process of modernizing their education and training systems with the latest technologies. Thanks to its strategic position, Central Europe has also become a hub for business within the region and a bridge to Eastern and Southeastern Europe where substantial EU funds are currently deployed in anticipation of a new enlargement.

Who should exhibit?
Companies interested in Central and Eastern Europe either as a sales market or as a production/distribution base for the following products and services:

Technical and Vocational Training
Information and Communication Technologies
Collaborative Technologies and Mobile Computing
Science and Technology
Consumables and School Materials
Printed and Published Products
Classroom and seminar furnishings
Presentation Technology
Coporate and Industrial Training
Solutions, Systems and Content in e-Learning
Visual, audio and audio-visual Media
Education Sectors
Upper Secondary Schools
Vocational Schools
Tertiary Education (Colleges, Universities, Research Centers)
Vocational Educational and Training Institutes
Industrial Training
Adult Education

Contact:

Worlddidac
Bollwerk 21
P.O. Box 8866
CH-3001 Bern
SwitzerlandTel. +41-31-311-7682
Fax +41-31-312-1744
Contact: Paul Perjes
perjes@worlddidac.org
www.worlddidac.org/eurodidac

Registration deadline is: March 15, 2006

British Council National ELT conference 23-24 March 2006 in Bologna, Italy

2005-12-06T14:28:00.000Z

Dear Colleague

You may be aware that on 23-24 March 2006, the British Council will be returning to the Bologna Congressi, the site of our first National ELT conference, for our 25th Conference. This year the theme is 'A Changing World' and the conference will follow tracks focussing on Young Learners, Exams Preparation and Testing, and Academic Management and Professional Development.

We expect to have in excess of 1,200 participants from all over Italy and from all kinds of teaching institution from Primary to University. Speakers will be both from within Italy and from the International circuit and will include internationally renowned plenary speakers.

Last year 45 companies took exhibition spaces at our National Conference in Sorrento. If you would like to participate in the Materials and Services Exhibition this year, please consult our website http://www.britishcouncil.it/bologna2006/exhibitors/ where you can find further information about the Exhibition itself and an application form. The deadline is 31 January 2006.

If you would prefer to receive the necessary documents by email, let me know and I will be happy to forward them to you.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

With best wishes,

Arwen Bailey
British Council
Conference Assistant: Speakers' Programme and Materials Exhibition
Annual National ELT Conference
Bologna 23-24 March 2006

Via Quattro Fontane 20
00184 Rome
Italy
T +39 06 47814279 (answerphone)
F +39 06 48976595
E exhibitors.bologna2006@britishcouncil.it

Swiss ELT Association Event 2006

2005-11-25T19:17:00.000Z

ETAS SIG Day - 13th May 2006 - Zug

We are happy to announce that the next ETAS SIG Day will take place on 13th May 2006 in Zug.

The following SIGs will be represented:
a.. Business English
b.. CALL
c.. Drama & Literature
d.. Examinations, Testing and Assessment
e.. Film & Video
f.. School Management
g.. Teacher Development
h.. Teacher Training
i.. Young Learners

We hope that the SIG Day will be of interest to you and are contacting you for three reasons:
1) speakers, 2) book exhibition, 3) sponsoring (coffee/croissants, apéro, fruit baskets, flowers, etc.)

As usual, we are looking for speakers who are likely to be on tour and might be interested in speaking at the SIG Day. There will be three slots: two sessions for workshops of 90 minutes and one commercial/book presentation session of 60 minutes. If you are interested in sending and/or sponsoring a speaker, please contact Susanna Schwab, ETAS Teacher Development Chair, by the middle of December: teacher-development@e-tas.ch

There will be a Book Exhibition and we would be happy if you could join us. You will receive the official Book Exhibition Registration Form in February.

Since ETAS is working on a tight budget, we are always looking for sponsors. There are several possibilities, e.g. coffee and croissants, apéro, fruit baskets, flowers, etc. Please contact Susanna Schwab to further discuss this question: teacher-development@e-tas.ch

We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you in Zug.
Kind regards,

Corinne Tschumi
ETAS Administrator

*******************************
English Teachers Association, Switzerland
ETAS Administration
Corinne Tschumi
Rue de l'Hôpital 32
1400 Yverdon
Switzerland

Tel. +41 24 420 32 54
Fax +41 24 420 32 57
E-mail: admin@e-tas.ch
www.e-tas.ch

Introduction to Abacus Let's Do Business courseware

2005-10-26T19:27:00.000Z

This is the standard introduction that we give to new users of the Let's Do Business courses.

_____________________START____________________________

Welcome to Abacus Let's Do Business.

Your courses are now active.

There is more than 300 hours of language practice so choose the materials that you want to study carefully.

There are 4 skills courses (Telephoning, Presentations, Meetings and Negotiating).

Telephoning is suitable for learners from elementary to advanced levels of proficiency.

Presentations is suitable for low intermediate to advanced levels of proficiency.

Meetings is suitable for intermediate to advanced levels of proficiency.

Negotiating is suitable for intermediate to advanced levels of proficiency.

There are 3 knowledge courses (Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation Practice) with related tests. There are 3 levels of difficulty; Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

To understand better how to use the courses, I recommend that you read the Support Document for new students at
http://www.language-software.com/LDBManager/index.htm.

There is also a User Record System at the same location. You can see how much time you have spent in the programmes. You can also post messages to your tutor here and check your test results.

Stephen Byrne, MA (App Ling), Dip TEFLA, HDip in Education, MIITD
Director of Education and Abacus CEO

Abacus Communications
the right word @ the right time in the right place

Hurricane Wilma closes Abacus' site!

2005-10-24T18:10:00.000Z

Dear User,

Some of our web sites are located in the USA (Florida to be exact). Owing to hurricane Wilma, our home domain www.abacus-communications.com has been shut down for safety reasons.

If you want continued access to our courses, please use the following link;

Let's Do Business courses
Abacus Webschool
English for Academic Purposes programme.

http://www.language-software.com/LDBManager/index.htm

We apologise for any inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Byrne, MA (App Ling), Dip TEFLA, HDip in Education, MIITD
Director of Education and Abacus CEO

Abacus Communications
the right word @ the right time in the right place

12 Main St, Lucan, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +35316219550
Mob: +353 868387520
Fax:+35316282055
email: abacus@abacus-communications.com
www.abacus-communications.com

More FAQs about Abacus Products - Upgrades

2005-10-20T17:59:00.000Z

A customer who purchased LDB about 4 years ago has upgraded to Windows XP and their CD cannot install anymore. What do you normally do? Charge more for a new CD - give them a free one? (They are a good customer, not a time waster)

[Abacus says] If there is an upgrade in the same year of purchase, it is free. In this case where the customer has already got extensive use, we would give them a 20% discount off the current retail price as they are a repeat customer.

Besides the CD option, there are also the web-based programmes. One of the key advantages of the web programmes is that they do not become technnically redundant. Abacus is currently phasing out its CD-ROM collection and placing it online.

Stephen Byrne, MA (App Ling), Dip TEFLA, HDip in Education, MIITD
Director of Education and Abacus CEO

FAQs about Abacus Products October 2005

2005-10-04T09:32:00.000Z

We are often asked questions about our products and recently we were asked to provide information on the differences between our CD-delivered courses and the web-based courses (on-line)

All answers refer to the Let's Do Business web-delivered courses (there are
7 courses and related tests and the CD format (4 programmes only).

1) I do not clearly understand the difference between the On-line courses
and the CD-Rom based courses.

We no longer produce CD-ROMs. All of our development now effort goes into
the web-based courses. The web-based courses are in essence v5.0 of the CD programmes.

We normally sell the web-based programmes and only offer CDs where there may
be a requirement for off-line practice (for example if the student does not
have convenient access to the internet while travelling on business, etc.)

2) And does the buying of the CD-based course includes an access to the
on-line courses?

No. Access to the on-line courses is only permitted if you have a valid licence.

3) Are the On-line lessons a complement to the Cd-Rom based lessons, or are
the two courses completely identical ?

Content-wise, there are some similarities between the 4 CD-ROM programmes
and the corresponding Let's Do Business web-based courses.

They differ in the sense that there are more courses on-line than there are
CDs (there are 3 additional web-based Let's Do Business courses).

The on-line system includes a range of testing tools on-line.

The on-line system includes an on-line authoring tool whereby the teacher can produce new materials to complement the existing resources.

The web-based courses offer more content, and a multilingual learning management
system which allows teachers to follow students progress.

Students can acess the on-line resources at the school and at home.

Students can ger assistance from a remote tutor if this service is provided.

4) I have recognised that the current version 4.1 does not support W98, WNT, W2K - although it is mentioned in the teacher's manual that all operating
systems are supported.

You are right Win98 and WinNT are no longer supported (although earlier
versions of the CDs do support Win98 and NT). Win2K is
supported in v4.1.

Regarding technical redundancy, the on-line version does not rely on the
operating system of the user but rather the user's web browser.

5) In the teachers manual an online testing process is mentioned. I suppose
it's a test of the knowledge after the lessons are finished.

Yes, the tests are designed primary as achievement tests (rather than as
placement tests). The on-line system does allow you to author your own
tests.

6)Is it possible to access these tests if only the CD-training set has been
bought?

No. The tests are only offered to students registered to use the Let's Do
Business on-line courses.

7) 3 levels are mentioned: beginners-intermediate-expert. Are these
automatically in progress during the CD-training process?

The 3-levels reference applies to the Let's Do Business Grammar, Listening
and Pronunciation Practice and Let's Do Business Vocabulary (web-delivered
courses only)

8) I do not see any possibility to select the level in the training
programs.

The lessons are presented in order of difficulty on the CDs. The levels of
proficiency required are more clearly presented in the web-based courses.

Invitation to a web conference

We are always happy to organise a short web conference to highlight the key features of the web-based system and show how your organisation could support your students during the learning process.

Other courses

Besides the English for Business programmes, we also have a General English
programme (at 10 levels) called Webschool and and academic English programme
called Clarity English.

Stephen Byrne, MA (App Ling), Dip TEFLA, HDip in Education, MIITD
Director of Education and Abacus CEO

Abacus Communications
the right word @ the right time in the right place

Looking for information on Paris and France

2005-08-22T07:59:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

We subsccribe to the Paris InSites Newsletter and we find ut useful from a business and recreational point of view.

The list of all the fine sites associated with WebFrance International is a click away at http://www.wfi.fr/list.html

In this email you have links to each of the topics in the web version of Paris In Sites Newsletter here: http://www.parisinsites.com/currentissue.html

Paris Information | Paris Travel Tips | Paris Transportation Tips
Paris Restaurants | Paris Apartments and Homes for Rent
Hotels in Paris and France
Paris Museums | Paris Museum Tips
Paris Theaters, Dance, Ballet, Opera, Big Shows and Pop Concerts

France Restaurants
France Homes - Hotels - Group Accommodations
France Castles & Manors for Rent
Newspapers in France | Public Holidays in France
Regions of France and Tourist Offices | Sports Events in France
Teaching English in France | Weather: Paris and France

Issue 128 is being sent around the world to 11,623 wonderful people - you the subscribers.

Thank you dear readers. I hope you will be in France soon if you are not here already.

Bienvenue et bonne visite chez Paris In Sites and WebFrance International.

Linda Thalman, Editor

Newsletter with News, Trends & Summaries of New European States

2005-08-10T14:43:00.000Z

Dear Reader,

Arising from the recent enlargement of the European Union, there is an increasing demand for keeping up with the general developments in the new Europe and learning about the new Member States. Accordingly we have launched a monthly Newsletter through NTS-EU with News, Trends & Summaries to address this need and provide up-to-date monthly information, which will be useful for a wide variety of public, private and business organisations as well as individuals from all walks of life.

The Newsletter initially covers the Slovak Republic and will expand during the next twelve months to include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. This will be followed by the inclusion of neighbouring and potential new member states of Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo as demand arises.

The following topics will be covered in each country:

· Politics
· Economics
· Industry
· Property
· Education
· Health
· Arts/Culture/Sport
· Tourism
· Banking/Finance
· Agriculture

The Newsletter is available to early subscribers at an introductory offer of ?150 for the period of July 2005 to June 2006 (normal price is ?200). Additional in-depth reports can be ordered separately on any topic or sub-topic in any country covered by the newsletter, e.g. the Car Manufacturing Sector in Slovakia.

The first three issues of the NTS-EU Newsletter contain introductory materials from Slovakia and are freely available to view at http://www.nts-eu.com.

· April 2005 - 4 topics
· May 2005 - 6 topics
· June 2005 - 8 topics

Regards,
NTS-EU

CUTTING IMPORT/EXPORT COSTS AND GETTING THROUGH RED TAPE FASTER!

2005-07-18T16:55:00.000Z

To get through customs more smoothly, there is what is called an "advance classification ruling system" in Japan. If you know beforehand that you are going to import a large volume of products with uncertain customs classifications, you should take advantage of this system to get their classifications set in advance. Further, if utilizing the "later payment system" for duties, you don't have to pay the duties at the time of each shipment. This makes faster movement of goods possible. For details, see the homepage of the Japan Customs Office http://www.customs.go.jp/index_e.htm

When importing or exporting on a continuous basis in Japan, acquiring a "standard exporter/importer code" would help speed customs clearance procedures and be otherwise advantageous. For more details, see the homepage of the Japan Association for Simplification of International Trade Procedures. http://www.jastpro.web.sh.cwidc.net/code/

Abacus News & Views July 2005 Edition

2005-07-05T09:47:00.000Z

Abacus / Irish Exporters Association

Abacus is pleased to announce that it has formed a partnership with the Irish Exporters Association IEA (www.irishexporters.ie). The top 250 largest export companies in Ireland are members of the Association. The Association offers a range of training courses for the export professional. For more information, visit http://www.irishexporters.ie/institute-frame.htm

Non-English speaking business professionals can now take Abacus' English language modules to help them prepare for the either a certificate or diploma in international trade so they can compete on a level playing pitch with the English-speaking peers.

To facilitate the new partnership, Stephen Byrne, Abacus CEO, has been appointed development Director for 15-months (this is a part-time role only) to make sure the project runs smoothly and help the Association deliver its courses on-line successfully in 2006.

About the IEA

The IEA is a representative body who promotes and represents exporters' interests both in Ireland and abroad.

About Abacus Communications

Abacus designs, develops and delivers web-based learning products and solutions.

Asian Analysis June 2005

2005-07-01T16:36:00.000Z

Asian Analysis is published by Asean Focus Group in cooperation with the Faculty of Asian Studies at The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Asean Focus Group (www.aseanfocus.com) is one of the Asia Pacific region's leading corporate advisory firms specialising in M&A, regional representation and direct investments.

The Australian National University (www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/) is one of Australia's leading research and teaching universities with globally recognised Asian expertise and experience.

Asian Analysis provides 8-10 short commentaries each month that present opinions and commentary on not only economic issues in the ASEAN region and beyond, but also some of the deeper underlying social and political issues that shape the economic development of the region.

Our aim is to give client readers a wider exposure to what is happening in their Asian markets.

Please feel free to forward on this email to whoever you think would be interested in receiving Asian Analysis. Registration is free and open to all by simply registering your email address (with no further information required) at www.aseanfocus.com/asiananalysis.

Trade Pilots - Trade Consultants

2005-06-20T07:58:00.000Z

When hearing the word "pilot", most people will probably think of the men and women flying aircraft. Its original meaning however was a person guiding a ship through unknown waters. That is, the pilot would climb aboard a ship arriving from a distant location and provide instructions on how to steer through the harbor. This was to prevent the ship from running aground on the shallows of the harbor and to avoid locations with quick running currents so as to prevent trouble in the passage.

Trade consltants are simply speaking like "trade pilots". They point out shallows where their clients would run aground and fast currents so as to help ensure safe passage. If there were no pilot, the clients would have to gather information through sea charts etc. on their own and proceed with unease over shoals while leaving things half to luck.

On the other hand, while a pilot is on board and instructing steering, the crew of the ship can concentrate on their own assigned tasks. Getting a pilot on board is therefore a very efficient way to ensure safe passage of the ship.

When a company sets out into the unknown territory of a new overseas market,it comes face to face with risks different from those of domestic business. When risks are known, advance steps can be taken against them, but dealing with unknown risks is very difficult. Further, compared with companies wary about their own lack of knowledge regarding overseas trade, companies overly confident about their limited knowledge often fall into major difficulties. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing as is often said.

Business is only going to become more internationalized. Different companies will have different motives and reasons for internationalizing such as internal factors, external factors, the entry of other industries into their fields, etc., but I would hope that if they are going to do business overseas, they proceed efficiently and safely. Further, the approach taken by overseas partners will not necessarily always be suitable or efficient either. Be wary about leaving things to the other side in business negotiations. Companies about to set sail for overseas markets should consider getting a "trade pilot" on board to help guide them through the hazardous waters of international trade.

Copyright (c) 2005. Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
All rights reserved.

e-Business: The Way Forward

2005-06-15T08:08:00.000Z

5-6 December 2005 - Cambridge (UK)European Conference

The Conference will bring together high-level policy makers, academics and stakeholders from the business community in Europe.

Its objectives are to:

-take stock of successful public policy initiatives for the promotion of e-business practices by European enterprises, in particular SMEs
-present the current picture in terms of e-business uptake by European enterprises, notably at the sectoral level
-provide an overview of recent developments in the area of e-skills
-report about the state of play on removing cross-border legal barriers for electronic business, including B2B electronic markets
-highlight relevant work in standardisation and interoperability of e-business solutions at European level
-discuss the Way Forward in the area of e-business policies and set the path for appropriate policy developments

The results of the Conference will constitute the basis for establishing thematic priorities for policy action on e-business related issues, at both national and European level.

Venue: West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/ict/conferences/cambridge.htm

Welcome to the IrishManufacturing.com newsletter.

2005-06-14T13:25:00.000Z

Newsletter June 2005

5 Tips To Selling China Successfully: A World of Resources Awaits You
How do I Increase My Global Exposure
How Long Does It Take To Earn Export Sales?

Copyright ©2005 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. Laurel Delaney runs GlobeTrade.com and LaurelDelaney.com, both Chicago-based firms that specialize in international entrepreneurship.

She is also the creator of "The Global Small Business Blog” (http://borderbuster.blogspot.com), which is highly regarded for its coverage on global small business. Laurel can be reached at ldelaney@globetrade.com.

The value of learning

2005-06-14T11:38:00.000Z

Evaluation and impact of education and training

Ours is an age where the value of education and training is acknowledged worldwide. Its contribution to individual, economic and social capital is eagerly sought. We know the importance of devising and delivering quality opportunities for learning, throughout life, and we try to create the right conditions for this to happen.

Cedefop's third report on vocational education and training research, The value of learning, addresses current research into these matters. It focuses specifically on evaluation of reforms and measures and on the impacts of education and training for society, individuals and enterprises.

Find more about the latest report on vocational training research http://www.trainingvillage.gr/etv/HomePages/Banner/about_vocational_tra
ining_research.asp

News & Views from Paris

2005-06-14T07:52:00.000Z

Bienvenue et bonne visite chez Paris In Sites and WebFrance International.

Enjoy your visit with this issue of Paris In Sites, including
- Linda's Paris travel tips
- Restaurants in Paris - Montorgueil Quarter
- Events and Exhibits in Paris
- Paris and its palm trees
- Nancy - in the Lorraine region of France
- Paris shopping tip
- Travel and leisure services, including car rental and more...
- Apartments, hotels, castles, manors, gîtes and homes for rent or with bed and
breakfast in Paris and around France

Linda Thalman, Editor

Paris In Sites Newsletter http://www.parisinsites.com/

WEB TOOLS FOR EU RESEARCH PROJECTS

2005-06-13T12:59:00.000Z

Wednesday 7 September 2005 - Cambridge, UK

EU research projects share lots of information and involve joint working amongst organisations from many different countries. There are many software tools which can support them, from shared workspaces to resource planning and reporting tools, from electronic meetings to web content management. But which tools are effective for FP6 projects? Management tools for coordinating a construction project are rarely suitable for the more uncertain world of research. Software which requires extensive adaptation or web-authoring skills are poorly suited to short duration EU projects, where the emphasis must be on the research, not the support tools. Electronic meetings which can work in a highly structured environment may not lend themselves to creative collaboration amongst researchers.

At this seminar, several project coordinators and participants in FP6 projects
will explain how they use these tools for a range of functions and what gave their consortia the greatest benefits. They will share their experiences of simple tools for sharing files and discussion fora, to more complex ones for research community building, for reporting project progress to the EU, and web-based video conferencing.

There will be additional speakers describing shared workspaces, and six suppliers of web tools will also present their products and services.

Sue Kerr
Singleimage Limited
3 Foundry Walk St Ives Cambridge PE27 5FW UK
ph +44 1480 497712 fax +44 1480 497714
www.singleimage.co.uk

Online Educa Berlin conference

2005-06-10T08:14:00.000Z

EducaTV will be broadcasting a complementary television news programme throughout each day of this year's Online Educa Berlin conference at the Hotel InterContinental Berlin, Germany, November 30th - December 2nd.

The programmes, produced and directed by ex-BBC News producer Stephen Horn, deliver up-to-the-minute news, interviews and discussions live from the conference, together with a selection of feature items on key issues and
technologies for the development of online learning.

11th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning and Training Hotel InterContinental Berlin, 30 November - 2 December 2005

Supported by the European Commission - DG Education & Culture Under the patronage of Edelgard Bulmahn, German Federal Minister of Education and Research

http://www.online-educa.com

Sociolinguistics Symposium

2005-06-09T16:32:00.000Z

Europe's premier international conference on language in society, will be hosted by the University of Limerick, Ireland, 6-8 July 2006. Postgraduate workshops will be held on 5 July 2006. The Call for Papers has been issued and can be found at the conference website: http://www.ul.ie/ss16/ . Please do pass this information on to interested parties.

The plenary speakers will be:

Mercedes Bengoechea (Alcalá de Henares)
Jeff Kallen (Dublin)
Stephen May (Waikato)
Deborah Tannen (Georgetown)
Peter Trudgill (Fribourg)

INCA (Intercultural Competence Assessment) project.

2005-06-08T16:09:00.000Z

CILT, the National Centre for Languages is the government's centre of expertise for languages and intercultural skills.

In the global economy, all sectors of UK industry and service provision are now required to operate in multicultural environments, whether in dealing with clients or with their own workforces. Currently, however, there is no national framework for the development or recognition of intercultural skills.

'Intercultural skills' are defined as those skills needed to work effectively with clients and/or colleagues from a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Over the last three years, we have been leading a European project to develop a framework for the assessment of intercultural competence: the INCA (Intercultural Competence Assessment) project. The research, a collaboration of partners in Austria, Germany, the Czech republic and the UK, has distilled work on intercultural competence from across Europe. The INCA project has stimulated significant interest across UK industry and training sectors in how the framework can be applied in the national context.

National Language Standards - the UK quality standards for languages at work
www.cilt.org.uk/standards

Association for Learning Technology

2005-06-08T15:59:00.000Z

Association events

ALT-C 2005
Exploring the frontiers of e-learning: borders, outposts and
migration 6-8 September 2005, Manchester, UK
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005

Registration is now open at http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/registering.html
* All authors must register by 10 June
* The early bird rate expires on 30 June

Booking details of five excellent pre-conference workshops are at: http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/pre_and_post.html - see also the WebCT Certified Trainer Programme under Courses below.

The draft programme is available at http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/timetable.html

Reserve an exhibition space now (few spaces left) at http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/exhibitor_information.html

Sign up to receive regular information on the conference (low-volume email list) from the home page: http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2005/

ADL Events

2005-06-02T08:40:00.000Z

Alt-i-lab 2005 will be held 20-22 June 2005 in Sheffield, United Kingdom at the Royal Victoria Hotel Sheffield.

alt-i-lab 2005, is an on-going collaboration of organizations, companies and individuals who are advancing learning technology interoperability. This 3rd annual alt-i-lab again brings together creators, vendors, users, and buyers of learning technology to evaluate demonstrations, exchange technology, and participate in working sessions focused on real-world interoperability, strategies maximizing the impact of learning technology, and critical examination of state of the art technology.

This is a working meeting. The format will provide technology demonstrations and seminar style working sessions, with ample opportunity for professional networking and informal discussion. The participants are informed practitioners, planners, and decision makers from the international vendor and consumer community. The organizations hosting alt-i-lab 2005 represent a cross-industry, international collaboration. Platinum Sponsors include Blackboard, Ufi, JISC, and WhiteHat Management. Gold Sponsors include Pearson Education, WebCT and Microsoft. Silver Sponsors include British Standards Institute, Desire2Learn and HarvestRoad.
This year's co-hosts include: ADL, Ariadne, education.au, MERLOT, OKI, Sakai, and Schools Interoperability Framework.

A full conference programme is available at http://www.imsglobal.org/altilab/

To register for this conference visit: http://www.altilab2005.com/system/index.html

PersonnelZone Direct - June 2005 - the Latest News

2005-06-02T08:32:00.000Z

CONTENTS
In this month's issue of PZ Direct, we are presenting the results of a number of surveys, particularly investigating retention and recruitment. Plus we have part one of a fascinating white paper and the usual mix of
timely and relevant pieces.

Books

e-Learning

101 Tips to Trainers
At less than 99p per tip, this special offer is designed for the busy manager or training professional, it offers you an easy-to-use format for 'dipping into'. £95.00 exc p & p

Renaissance eLearning
The authors culled through over 400 eLearning programs, hundreds of popular entertainment pieces and interviews with over 100 people in widely disparate areas to answer a simple question: What will make eLearning have
as much impact as popular culture? £22.50 exc p & p

The Blended Learning Book
The Blended Learning Book is your user manual for implementing blended learning. It gives you a guidebook to combining the latest technologies with traditional training models to create high-impact programs that drive
superior business results (not just reduce costs). Filled with real-world examples and case studies e-learning veteran Josh Bersin zeros in on What Works -- in all shapes and sizes of training departments from a variety of
industries. £22.50 exc p & p

PersonnelZone.com does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of information contained in this email nor the associated articles. However, we believe the sources to be reliable.

For more information, visit www.personnelZone.com

Comings and Goings in Spanish ELT

2005-06-02T08:19:00.000Z

GRETA Teacher's conference in Granada, Spain, September, 2005. We will be participating and distributing iT's for Teachers and iT's Magazine.

Kathy Kennedy Marketing Director

iT's Magazines for Learners and Teachers of English
Pau Claris 139 4-5
08009 Barcelona, Spain
Tel: 34 93 792-6111 (Direct line)
Fax: 34 93 488-1548
www.its-online.com
kennedy@its-magazine.com

Irish Learning Technology Association

2005-05-30T11:05:00.000Z

ILTA - Irish Learning Technology Association - for academics, educators and professionals interested in e-Learning and in the use of technology in education Membership of the association is free to all. Visit www.ilta.net for more information.

UCD Graduate Alumni Party 24 June 2005

2005-05-26T08:39:00.000Z

As many of Abacus' customers in Ireland are graduates of UCD, we would like to remind you that there is a garden party scheduled on June 24 to mark 150 years since the foundation of the college.

The dress code is smart casual for the Garden Party. The event starts at 6.00pm until 9.00pm and we will be offering refreshments and finger food.

Tickets are free (first come, first served basis) and can be obtained from Sinead Kelly at

University College Dublin
Alumni Development Office
Michael Tierney Building
Belfield
Dublin 4
Tel: +353 1 716 1447
Fax: +353 1 716 1160
E-mail: alumni@ucd.ie
http://www.ucd.ie/alumni/

2005-05-26T08:25:00.000Z

E-Content - Technologies and Perspectives for the European Market Background Analysis on the Business and Content Technology Needs

Technologies develop rapidly and reach hurricane levels of velocity but quality E-Content and innovative applications lag behind. This book addresses the question how content industries change within a digital environment and what role information and communication technologies play in transforming the competitive landscape.

The authors argue that post-industrial societies tend to pay substantial amounts for equipment and gadgets but invest far too little in the quality of the content. As a result, much effort is and has to be spent on the enhancement of E-Content.

The contributions give an elaborate overview of:
- the specifics, challenges and prospects of content in the network economy
- market developments of digital media services
- paid content business models
- impacts on scientific publishing
- developments in the field of E-Learning
- the mobile games market
- emerging new cross media markets
- the need to enhance the usability of websites and mobile applications
- how new applications might be used to capture and store our personal experiences
- the interplay between ICTs and content with the example of interactive digital TV

A final chapter shows the prospects of the European E-Content market and gives an overview of valuable initiatives and resources dealing with the topic of E-Content.

Have a look at the Table of Contents and order the book: www.springeronline.com

Call for Papers for ETAS 22nd AGM & Convention in Winterthur, Switzerland

2005-05-25T16:50:00.000Z

ETAS 22nd AGM & Convention in Winterthur, Switzerland 21-22 January 2006 at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences

Would you be interested in sending a speaker? If so, please see the attached Call for Papers. Ann Humphry-Baker, ETAS National Events Chair, is looking forward to hearing from you by 30th June (national-events@e-tas.ch). Please reserve the date in your diary now. We look forward to seeing you in Winterthur.

Kind regards,

Corinne Tschumi
ETAS Administrator

Slow Internet Access? Problem Solved!

2005-05-24T17:15:00.000Z

Some of Abacus' customers can't access the full features of its courses due to banwidth restrictions. If you are using a dial-up modem (not broadband), you will get sound but no video. I recently recommended software from www.onspeed.com to a colleague called Ken and he reports the following improvement. It can even improve broadband speeds too and it costs about euro29!

From: "Ken O'Brien"
To: info@abacus-communications.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 10:33 AM Subject: On speed tool

Hi Stephen,
Given that I am stuck on dialup for another week I decided to try out onspeed and I can give it a thumbs up. My connection speed went from 45K to 379K. At the very least I can browse in some degree of comfort.

You download a tool and pay on the spot. Data is redirected from the ISP
through their server and compressed up to 9 times thus showing up faster in
your browser or so their tech stuff says. Much faster web page rendering by
comparison and emails come in quicker as well.

Ken

eTTCampus Project

2005-05-24T14:45:00.000Z

The main objective of eTTCampus is setting up, developing and consolidating a European Virtual Campus for teachers and trainers.

This virtual agora and learning space will support teachers, trainers, trainers of teachers and in particular TTnet members in their continuing professional development and improve their understanding of the pedagogical, critical and responsible use of ICT for learning purpose.

For International Business Matching

2005-05-20T08:55:00.000Z

Interested in developing business in the Far East, we recommend using the JETRO managed (Japanese Import-Export Agency) as a good place to start. http://www.jetro.go.jp/ttppe/

** TTPP Always Features More than 1,000 "Fresh" Business Proposals

TTPP features 500-600 business proposals newly registered by users in Japan
and overseas every month. At the same time, about 500 proposals are updated every month. Three methods are available to check these fresh proposals.

Developing Independent ESOL Learners talk by Kelly Jennings at THE CENTRAL LONDON ELT LIBRARY

2005-05-17T10:30:00.000Z

How can we encourage ESOL students to be more independent learners both inside and outside the classroom? In this workshop, we will examine the need for learner autonomy in ESOL and potential challenges facing the teacher and student. We will also look at practical ways to develop study skills and reflective learning at all levels through easy to incorporate activities and teaching tips. This will be an interactive session with many opportunities for participants the share their thoughts and ideas.

Thursday 9th June 2005
7.00 - 8.30pm

Wine and refreshments served from 6.30 – 7.00pm

Kelly Jennings has worked in the United States, China and the UK as a teacher and a teacher trainer. She is an ELT Consultant for Oxford University Press and specialises in ESOL. She is particularly interested in the crossover between EFL and ESOL and thinks that the two sectors have a lot to learn from each other.

Entrance fee: £4.00. Places must be reserved by phoning
020 7833 2773

or e-mailing eltlibrary@stgiles.co.uk

The Central London ELT Library, 154 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 5JX

Irish language courses & cultural activity holidays

2005-05-17T10:22:00.000Z

Irish language news site. Tá www.Beo.ie ar fáil anois. Excellent authentic teaching resources.

www.Oideas-Gael.com
Gaeilge agus laethe saoire cultúrtha

Asian Analysis - May 2005

2005-05-14T16:39:00.000Z

Asian Analysis is published by Asean Focus Group in cooperation with the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Asian Analysis provides 8-10 short commentaries each month that present opinions and commentary on not only economic issues in the ASEAN region and beyond, but also some of the deeper underlying social and political issues that shape the economic development of the region.

Our aim is to give client readers a wider exposure to what is happening in their Asian markets.

Registration is free and open to all by simply registering your email address (with no further information required) at www.aseanfocus.com/asiananalysis.

New subscribers will receive Asian Analysis by email every month as well as be able to access the archives of all Asian Analysis newsletters over the past five years.

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asean Focus Group or the Faculty of Asian Studies. Furthermore no commercial decisions should be made on the basis of the opinions expressed in Asian Analysis without receiving expert commercial advice from specialist advisers such as the Asean Focus Group .

China's ICT market

2005-05-11T16:53:00.000Z

New Tigers Consulting ICT Report serves as a bridge to senior managers and executives at international technology companies looking to gain insight and a business edge in China. We do this by providing analysis of China's ICT market through monthly updates in our China ICT report newsletter. It gives summary reports on China's fast changing ICT industry and company-specific information to empower organizations with the intelligence to act efficiently and decisively in China's marketplace.

The information and statistics provided are selective and general. If you need more specific information or research on China's IT and Telecom please contact us at our nearest office or Email us at: info@newtigers.com

We are Council members of the Ireland China Business Association. We hope you find the articles interesting. Please note our new European head office.

New Tigers Consulting Ltd.
65 Main Street
Blackrock
Co. Dublin, Ireland
Mobile:+353.879185051
Phone/Fax:+353.12143349
Email:info@newtigers.com

Travel-Library.com

2005-05-11T16:21:00.000Z

Travel Library (www.travel-library.com) is an impressive range of new interactive travel resources and services offering unprecedented interactivity for travellers to share their stories, experiences, reviews and tips from the road.

Abacus Web Newsmaster

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

2005-05-10T16:41:00.000Z

Today, we are posting a note about Cedefop and have introduced two new links on our blog page. We hope that it is of interest.

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
is launching an online survey on its ETV site entitled: 'Competence
development in organisations'.

This survey is addressed to professionals who can inform colleagues
about competence development practices in their organizations. You can complete the questionnaire by clicking on the link on the right.

Your participation will play a crucial role in helping us to gather the
data for an analysis to be carried out by our experts. If you are
interested we will send a summary of the results to your e-mail address.

Abacus Web Newsmaster

European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning

2005-05-08T19:46:00.000Z

EUROCALL aims to provide a European focus for the promulgation of innovative research, development and practice relating to the use of technologies for language learning. More...

This web site provides information on all aspects of EUROCALL and its activities, as well as links to a wide range of resources relevant to computer assisted and technology enhanced language learning.

ICT and Creativity

2005-05-05T08:56:00.000Z

We expect about 200 experts – politicians, key business representatives, innovation specialists and creatives - from over 20 countries to share their insights and discuss the draft of the Vienna Declaration, which will be presented to the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis in November 05.

More than 60 high-level speakers will contribute to the following topics:
- Creative Content & Community Building
- Digital Rights / Creative Commons
- e-Learning and e-Science
- e-Government and e-Democracy
- e-Broadcasting and e-Monopolisation: Creative Diversity in Mainstream Cultural Industries
- e-Culture, Creative Content and DigiArts
- Youth for Youth: Creative Web Content from Young People
- Creative Business Ideas / Incubators for Entrepreneurship
- Economic Frameworks for IT Corporations
- Disruptive Technologies, Broken Business: Winning with Creativity in the New e-Music Business

Both a vision event and a working meeting on burning issues of e-content and creative use of technologies, the Conference on “ICT and Creativity” aims to create the Vienna Declaration.

The conference is jointly organised by the Austrian Federal Chancellery and the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Labour, with contributions from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Innovation, the Austrian Commission for the UNESCO and leading companies such as Telekom Austria AG, IBM, Microsoft and CISCO Systems.

More information at http://www.wsa-conference.org

The use of corpora in Computer-Assisted Language Learning

2005-04-29T08:47:00.000Z

Our Russian partner has suggested that we share this article with the community. Abacus products are created using concordancer tools and based on the pedagogical principles of corpus linguistics, that is "we present language based on frequency of use in specific language contexts". We look forward to your comments.

The aim of this module is to introduce the student to corpus linguistics. Corpora are often used by linguists as the raw material from which language description may be fashioned - the role is no less relevant for CALL package designers. Corpora can provide the basis of accurate, empirically justified, linguistic observations on which to base CALL materials. Additionally, the corpora themselves, typically via concordancing, may become the raw material of CALL based teaching itself. A knowledge of the corpus method to CALL package designers is increasingly indispensable.

For the full article, visit http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod3-4.htm

Abacus Web Newsmaster

EXPOLINGUA Berlin 2005 / EXPOLINGUA Praha 2005

2005-04-26T08:48:00.000Z

We often receive information about international events that we would like to share with you.

Please find below information about EXPOLINGUA Praha 2005 and EXPOLINGUA Berlin 2005, International Fairs for Languages, Education, and Cultures. We would like to remind you that in order to benefit from our 5% early-bird discount we have to receive your application by May, 1. If you book both events before that date you will profit from a 5% discount for Berlin and a 10 % discount for Praha.

Do not miss the opportunity to present your products and services to your target group and to meet potential customers at the 15th EXPOLINGUA Praha (November, 11 - 12) and at the 18th EXPOLINGUA Berlin (November, 18 - 20)!

Please have a look at our actual brochures and application forms:
- Brochure EXPOLINGUA Berlin 2005
- Application form EXPOLINGUA Berlin 2005
- Brochure EXPOLINGUA Praha 2005
- Application form EXPOLINGUA Praha 2005

For further information regarding stand sizes and costs please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to assist you at every step of your planning and participation.

****************************************************
Silke Lieber (EXPOLINGUA Berlin) & Cornelia Horn (EXPOLINGUA Praha)
ICWE GmbH
Leibnizstrasse 32
10625 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)30 327 61 40
Fax: +49 (0)30 324 98 33
Email: international@expolingua.com
www.icwe.net
www.expolingua.com

Abacus Web Newsmaster

Educational Blogging

2005-04-26T08:04:00.000Z

EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 39, no. 5 (September/October 2004): 14–26.

Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes (http://www.downes.ca) is a Senior Researcher with the E-Learning Research Group, National Research Council Canada, Moncton, New Brunswick.

The phenomenon known as blogging, or weblogging, is sweeping the Internet. A February 2004 report published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project noted that at least 3 million Americans have created blogs, with similar numbers being seen worldwide.5 And schools have not been immune from this trend. While nobody can say for sure just how many students are blogging, inside the classroom or out, it seems clear that their numbers are equally impressive.

And the number of educational bloggers is growing daily. The Educational Bloggers Network, sponsored by the Bay Area Writing Project and Weblogger.com, is a community of some 120 teachers and educators involved in blogging. The following announcement on the site, by San Diego State University’s Bernie Dodge, is typical: “It’s that time of semester again. Tonight I introduced blogging to my class of pre-service English and foreign language teachers.” The result: twenty-eight new student blogs.7 This same pattern is being repeated in schools and universities across the United States and around the world.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDUCAUSE and EDUCAUSE Review are registered trademarks. Copyright © 2005 by EDUCAUSE. Materials may be photocopied for noncommercial use without written permission provided appropriate credit is given to both EDUCAUSE Review and the author(s). Permission to republish must be sought in writing (contact editor@educause.edu). Statements of fact or opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors, staff, or members. For more information about copyright, see www.educause.edu/copyright.

FLEXIBLE ONE TO ONE TEACHING

2005-04-25T22:20:00.000Z

THE CENTRAL LONDON ELT LIBRARY invites you to a talk by NORMAN RENSHAW on FLEXIBLE ONE TO ONE TEACHING

This presentation is designed to suggest a strategy for running a successful 1:1 course. It offers an approach to 1:1 which has relevance to teaching in a non-classroom environment, particular emphasis on Home Tuition, covering ideas for course planning that deliver student centred courses and discuss a range of techniques which are fluency based, encourage variety, incorporate the hosting element and help alleviate intensity.

Wednesday 18th May 2005
7.00 - 8.30pm

Wine and refreshments served from 6.30 – 7.00pm

Norman Renshaw is Managing Director of InTuition Languages set up in 1990 to become the first British Council Accredited Home Tuition company. Specialising only in one to one they have become a centre of excellence in this particular field running over 800 one to one courses each year. They have developed a distance training programme aimed at freelance teachers.

Entrance fee: £4.00. Places must be reserved by phoning
020 7833 2773

or e-mailing eltlibrary@stgiles.co.uk

The Central London ELT Library, 154 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 5AX

If you have any comments do not hesitate to contact us. You can send us an e-mail to info@abacus-communications.com

Web Newsmaster