Zhang Haoran

greetings from zhang haoran

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Mrpicassohead

white paper: top 10 lists in elearning

Top 10 lists: Twenty Top 10s in e-learning

Free Wi-Fi?

Source: "Google has offered to blanket the city of San Francisco with Wi-Fi, according to News.com. The proposed broadband service would be freely available throughout the city and would pay for itself through advertising. Could this be the beginning of a paradigm shift in the Internet access business, changing broadband delivery from a subscription-based model to a broadcast advertising model akin to television? Despite recent ISP lobbying efforts in Washington to restrict municipalities from providing free broadband access, a handful of cities and community organizations have already constructed Wi-Fi zones that offer residents, traveling professionals, and tourists free Wi-Fi connections to the Internet. What better way is there to bridge the digital divide than to make broadband freely available? "

The Sky(ke) is falling?

There is a time when skeptical people worry about the security problem of VoIP (Voice over internet protocol). An interesting article on Skype flaws, but the quick response and patching by the company is highly appreciated. The Sky(pe) is falling?

Using Electronic Communication Tools for Language Learning

Source: wwwtools for EducationThe November 11, 2005 edition of wwwtools for Education highlights several resources which may be of interest to language teachers. IM, Chat, and Education:- Teresa Almeida d'Eça's Online / Virtual Learning Environments: annotated entries for resources involving Chat, SMS and Instant Messaging, related to ESL and other language-related disciplines- eTandem offers a free introduction service for people who want to learn a foreign language through communication with a native speaker; tips for teachers also availableExtra Reading:- Online Communication (Mark Warschauer / in R. Carter & D. Nunan eds., The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages , pp. 207-212: Cambridge University Press)- Online Communication Tools That Promote Language Learning And Foster Professional Development (Teresa Almeida d'Eça)

Read this issue of wwwtools for Education at Tools for Communication: Talking and Messaging.

Forest or trees

Came across this intersting article on USA Today: Asians, Americans see world differently
Do you see the forest or the trees?

Chinese government blocking unregistered websites and blogs

Reporters Without Borders issued a release on June 6th: Chinese Authorities declare war on unregistered websites and blogs:
"Chinese government's announced intention to close down all China-based websites and blogs that are not officially registered. The plan is all the more worrying as the government has also revealed that it has a new system for monitoring sites in real time and spotting those that fail to comply. "
Night Crawler System is used by the government to block unauthorized access to unregistered websites. For more reading, check out Steven Cherry's Net Effect and Joho the Blog