Minsk State Linguistics University will be hosting the 6th International BelNATE-IATEFL  Conference 'Teaching English as a World Language in the Information Age' . between November 3 and 5, 2004, expecting approximately 250 EFL instructors and specialists from all over Belarus and abroad. 

See the detailed info at:

http://www.ir.bsu.by/kel/Teachers/belnate.htm

http://www.ir.bsu.by/kel/Teachers/conference04.htm

The aim of the on-line conference workshop  is  to bring together  teachers and students in an online session to demonstrate a number of  synchronous communication tools freely available on the web which may contribute to the process of teaching in the Republic of Belarus. 

The communities are:

1. Those in attendance at the BelNATE -IATEFL conference.
2. TEFL PARK  members who were sent an invitation to join the conference on line.
3. Students and teachers of diffrent educational establishements in Minsk, Brest, Gomel, and Grodno.
4. Writing for Webheads and Vance Stevens, http://www.netword.com/webheads. 

There will be a demonstration and workshop devoted entirely to synchronous communication tool freely available on the web. The time of the event will be reported later - tentatively November 4, 2004  14:00 p.m. in Minsk, or 11:00 a.m. GMT. This will take place at the PC Lab of Minsk State Linguistics University (  Building B - 104)

What time is that where you are?
Check Susanne Nyrop's Webheads Customized World Clock

Possible Internet Venues

• TappedIn: http://www.tappedin.org/
• Yahoo Messenger for broadcast of web cams
• Learning Times for voice chat and prsentation: http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?user_name=SergeiG
• CollegeBay Text Chat Room http://textchat.homestead.com/textchat.html

Gatekeepers

There should be someone in the chat areas  to welcome visitors from Belarus and abroad as they enter.

Things to do before the Conference:

1. It would be great  if you try to visit our possible venues before the conference  to see which are working for you. But first, check our webpage  at http://www.ir.bsu.by/kel/collegebaytalk.htm  After that try to create chat groups. Please, invite teachers and students to take part in this project.

2.Open your Yahoo account . Download Yahoo Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/download/index.html

Using Yahoo Messenger                                                            

 Logging in and adding friends
How to Archive Messages and Retrieve Chat Logs
Initiating Chat and Starting a Voice Conference

 You need a mic if you want to talk back and a web cam of you want to broadcast. The good news is that you can hear and see us without these items!

3. You can meet us at Tapped In. Tapped In is an online environment for students and educators. 

Introduction to the User Interface  http://ti2.sri.com/tappedin/web/help/ui.jsp

Conversation Tips: http://ti2.sri.com/tappedin/web/help/conversations.jsp

4. Check our CollegeBay Text Chat Room at http://textchat.homestead.com/textchat.html  

5. In addition to these tools, we will try to  experiment with Learning Times.  To access this community directly, go to  :http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes . You have to become a member (free) and then log in and come to the "Meeting Room" which is at http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes?user_name=SergeiG

You may be asked to download Java Web Start 

We are going to use the whiteboard. It would be great if those in the LT chat could write their names on the whiteboard and paste thumbnails of their photos (60 x 70 pixels ), university logos, and maps.( Save your pics on your hard drives. )

For more information about the conference, chat groups and various technologies we are going to use, please check our TEFL Park Mailing List.http://www.egroups.com/group/teflpark/

To subscribe, send a blank message to: teflpark-subscribe@yahooegroups.com

To post messages: teflpark@yahoogroups.com

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