Oct 2024 - Learning languages, the grown-up way.
Embedded Files
Engaging news articles curated to help with language teaching and learning.
Aug 2023 - Shared Podcast
The Rest is Politics: Leading: Mustafa Suleyman Will AI save or destroy humanity?
Jun 2022 - More Podcasts
Coffee Break French & Spanish: New seasons of Magazine and Travel Diaries.
Apr 2022 - New Podcasts
Comfort Blanket: Joel Morris talks to people who make cool stuff.
The Rest is Politics: Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell join forces across the political divide.
Sep 2021 - Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year
Simon Mayo and Matt Williams invite the world's finest authors in for a chat. Plus the best unpublished work and reviews. [Sort of fortnightly since June 2018 - but I have only just found. Nearly 150 episodes to enjoy from the start.]
Sep 2021 - Slang and Swearing video casts
Rosetta Stone More Than Words Podcast | S2 | Ep 3: Why you should learn slang
LightSpeed Spanish video: 49 Adv Inter Spanish Slang and swear words
!No Microsoft Account?
Microsoft makes it difficult to open shared OneDrive documents if you do not have a Microsoft account.
You can sign up for a free MS account to access shared OneDrive documents.
You can create an account with your existing email address, and just use it to access shared files.
But the basic free account includes 5 GB of cloud storage, which you may find useful.
Google Docs & Slides
I also share some files on Google Drive to test and demonstrate Google’s alternatives.
But I put most of them on OneDrive, where they are accessible in desktop apps (Mac & Windows) as well as in browser versions.
Broken links?
Please let me know if you have problems following any links from my websites.
LightSpeed Spanish Are we good or bad? (+ El FUA) y Interview with the famous polyglot, Steve Kaufmann.
Notes in Spanish (NIS) Blog: Advanced Season 3 & 3 Words for Ascuas
Immersive Reader can be added to Chrome as well as MS Edge browser
You can pin the Chrome extension to the right of the address bar (next to the bookmark star), to read or listen to text on many sites, including this one. Choose from male or female voices, UK English, French and Spanish.
In Chrome, just select some text on your website, right-click it, and choose 'Help me read this!'
In Edge, if you see the Immersive Reader button, press the F9 key to open the page in Immersive Reader. If not, you can select text, right click and select "Open in Immersive Reader".
August: Google Meet is being heavily promoted as a free alternative to Zoom. Most obvious benefit is 60 minute free meeting limit rather than 40 minutes.
It also claims good performance with limited bandwidth. For users on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and new Edge it doesn't require or ask for any plugins or software to be installed, Meet works entirely in the browser.
Until 30 September 2020, G Suite customers have free access to advanced Google Meet video conference features, such as larger meetings (up to 250 participants), live streaming and recording. After 30 September, Google Meet feature availability will be determined by the customer's G Suite licence agreement. Recorded meetings, however, will stay in the respective owner’s Drive. [I am not sure what happens to non G Suite customers then].
Zoom Guidelines (updated+links to Photo Sharing) Recommended Settings (new)
June: Google Duo (competitor to Apple Facetime) is now free, and can handle one-to-one and group audio and video calls for up to 12 people.
It is more inclusive than Facetime as it works on iOS as well as Android, and the web version on Mac, but not on Windows (except with Chrome or Firefox browser). And in practice you need a Google Account and a mobile phone number. Like Facetime, Duo does not offer screen sharing and other major Zoom features. Optimised for mobile, Duo allows up to 12 video participants, compared with WhatsApp's 8 (was 4).
May: I think one of the best things to come out the current crisis is the welcome arrival of amusing photos and videos on WhatsApp, to help keep up our spirits. Click the smiley face for some of my favourites.
Wed 29 Apr: WhatsApp is increasing the number of people who can participate in a group audio or video chat from 4 to 8,
but all participants must have the Update. Check your App Store to Update [Android (2.20.196 latest) iPhone (2.20.50 or later). Beware: WhatApp battery drain is substantial, and even worse (I understand) if you use the desktop app.
Sun 26 Apr: Zoom blog update 3 suggestions -
Practise with a friend, and try out different views (Speaker/Gallery), Chat, Share Screen etc. before you join a group meeting.
Organise what you plan to share beforehand, whether it's a YouTube video (put in a separate tab) or copies of photos in a temporary folder which you can find).
and one I should have followed yesterday) arrange your windows so you can easily switch between them (difficult on a small phone screen). And remember that most meetings are set so that new arrivals are muted, to minimise interruptions, so you may need to unmute yourself before talking. Also check for occasional updates to my previous blog.
Zoom update to v5 will be required after 31 May, to handle new encryption.
Thurs 23 Apr: https://www.coursera.org/learn/etudier-en-france?
Sat 4 Apr: Dumbo video (not the real one!)
Tom Way wildlife photographer & WI speaker intro video
Thurs 2 Apr: I am preparing some guidelines for Zoom, which we are using for our online meetings
Sat 28 Mar: Tired of rewatching Fleabag? Here are 30 TV hidden gems to stream
Fri 27 Mar: Coronavirus Rhapsody
Thurs 26 Mar: Still more sunshine
Coronavirus: UK population urged to applaud NHS workers in mass display of support at 8 pm today
Zoom: the $29bn video-call app you’d never heard of until coronavirus
Audible just made hundreds of titles completely free to help during coronavirus crisis
Wed 25 Mar: Give me more sunshine
Photos: Not many of my new photos (link above), but some new scans of printed items that caught my eye, starting with the Sunday Times Self-Isolation Special. I hope to improve scan quality with a but more practice.
24 Mar: Give me sunshine
I enjoyed our first online Spanish Café yesterday evening (using Zoom) with almost an dozen participants. See my Spanish foro for future plans.
23 Mar: My birthday
Normal morning, browsing news headlines on BBC, Guardian, Independent & Telegraph
Wash your hands to Sweet Caroline with Neil Diamond
Looking forward to our first online Spanish Café this evening (using Zoom)
22 Mar: First day sharing thoughts and links
Just finished a long video call on my mobile (on WhatsApp). Very grateful for my selfie-stick, so I could walk about or rest it on a table.
Some breaking good news at last: Jehovah's Witnesses are now working from home.
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