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Have you ever wanted to learn a second language? I have always wanted to learn either French or Italian, but once you are out of school, unless you happen to be able to move yourself to another country and immerse yourself in the culture, it isn't an easy thing to do. Sure, you can spend a fortune on expensive software like Rosetta Stone, or the slightly more affordable Fluenz, but it still takes dedication and time in front of a computer… Because for the most part, they only work on a full computer with a microphone, hardly convenient for being able to pick up any time. The answer, instead, is the 100% free Duolingo software, which runs in a browser… Or on your iPad, iPhone, or any Android device. Did I mention how free it is? Completely! In fact, they will never charge for it, because they use the platform for tuning machine learning and translating the web. The really great thing about this app is that it works by gamifying the learning process - as you advance through the levels, you earn points and you can unlock new levels. Each level builds on what you learned in the last one. Each level switches between a number of learning methods… In some, you will see a phrase and be able to pick the words to translate it from one language to another, and in others you will write them out. In some, you will listen to the voice speak the sentence, and others you have to speak to the app. It all works amazingly well to teach you a little at a time. In my case, I will be getting married to a French girl in two months, and we are going to Paris for a while… And this time, I want to be able to speak the language. You can even add your friends to the app to track your progress against them. My username is lowellheddings, so if you want to learn French, feel free to add me and keep me on track. Note: just search the App Store or Google Play for duolingo to install it. Or go to www.duolingo.com and access in your browser.

Live Minutes - Free Webinar Hosting Live Minutes is a new service offering free hosting for webinars. It takes less than thirty seconds to set-up a webinar on Live Minutes. To get started just click "start sharing" and a meeting space is created for you. That meeting space is assigned a URL that you can share with the people you want to join you.  Live Minutes offers a good selection of tools that you can utilize to share ideas with others. You can talk to each other using either the Live Minutes audio or by connecting through Skype. Live Minutes offers a collaborative whiteboard for drawing. Uploading images and documents for others to see and comment on is also an option. And in the future Live Minutes will allow you to share videos during your webinar.  Applications for Education Live Minutes could be a great way to quickly host a live online tutoring session with students. The option for drawing free-hand on the whiteboard could be very handy for illustrating concepts that are difficult to type quickly on a keyboard or that lose meaning when someone is just explaining rather than showing.

Online resources any ESL teacher should know about

MyVocabulary.com offers free vocabulary lessons, word lists, and word puzzles designed for middle school and high school students. The vocabulary lists are based on books commonly used in middle school and high school classrooms. MyVocabulary.com also offers word lists and activities based on SAT vocabulary. Visitors to MyVocabulary.com will find stand-alone vocabulary lessons as well as activities to complement the reading of specific stories. Applications for EducationIf you're planning a series of lessons on one of "standard books" for middle school or high school, MyVocabulary.com could provide you with some good vocabulary lists and lesson ideas to get started. Students prepping for the SAT should take some time to explore the SAT word puzzles offered by MyVocabulary.com

In this screencast, Dr. Wesley Fryer demonstrates how to use the FREE software programs Audacity, iTunes, The Levellator, and the websites AudioBoo and DropBox to create and publish a multi-track Internet radio show or podcast.

Screen Leap is a free screen sharing service that I recently learned about through a post by Vicki Davis. To share your screen using Screen Leap just visit the site, click "share your screen," enable the Java applet, and send the sharing code to the person you want to view your screen. The person receiving your invitation code will be able to see your screen when you have Screen Leap activated.  Applications for Education  Screen Leap could be a handy little tool for those times when it is easier to show someone how to do something than it is to tell them how to do it. I'm thinking it could be particularly useful when you're trying to walk someone through setting up an account on a new-to-them web service.  Here are some other screen sharing services you might want to try:  Quick Screen Share  Join.me  Big Marker

Everyday Life Life is filled with chaos, and we have to learn how to work and solve problems in the midst of it everyday.   These interactive lessons give you the opportunity to experience these daily challenges without real-world consequences. Are you an educator? Learn more about the Everyday Life project.

Vast archive of free worksheets

Zipcast is a new service from Slideshare for conducting online presentations. Using Zipcast you can share your slides, talk to your audience, respond to your audience, and have your audience interact with each other in realtime on one page. The best part is you can do all of this without having to download anything. Using the free version of Zipcast your presentation can be private or public (a small ad is inserted at the bottom of your presentation). The premium version of Zipcast removes ads and allows you to password protect your presentation.