About

Welcome!

This blog is run by Mr. Max Alvarez, a certified teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), from Buenos Aires in Argentina. Click on the link and you’ll find out more about him.

Photo Credit: StockMonkeys.com via Compfight cc

Mission Statement

The goals of this blog are…

1. To open up opportunities to share educational experiences with teachers and students from other cultures all over the world.

2. To communicate with teachers and students who speak English or Spanish as foreign languages.

3. To foster the development of both communicative competence and intercultural competence through the development of social networking skills when using media and educational technology.

4. To boost students’ self-esteem and confidence when communicating in a foreign language.

5. To develop a positive attitude towards people from other cultures, their customs and traditions.

6. To show respect and tolerance towards others rejecting all type of discriminatory behaviour.

7. To raise consciousness about different linguistic phenomena in both the foreign language and the mother tongue.

8. To help students become digital literate by exploring and critically analysing the use of educational software and e-learning tools (e.g. technological devices, gadgets, widgets, etc.).

However, bearing clear attainable objectives in mind is not enough. Nowadays, the Internet offers students several chances of personal growth through shared learning experiences while having fun.

At the same time, teachers and parents are concerned about the risks children and teenagers face online. The challenge for teachers is to educate themselves and their students about how to use the Internet safely.

That is why, so as to ensure the goals above are achieved in a safe learning environment, it is necessary to know and follow the rules of interaction listed below.

Rules of Interaction

1. Your personal information (such as your home address, telephone number or identification card number, etc) or your private issues (such as your family daily routine, photos of your home and family, etc.) must remain private because Internet is a public place and you can come across all types of people, including criminals, offenders, and other lawless people. Cybercriminals can use your personal information to commit crimes against you. So, do not share your personal information with anybody on the Internet.

2. Be always yourself. Do not impersonate any person, including but not limited to, an official, forum leader, guide or host or any other authority.

3. Be always respectful, kind and polite to others. Do not harass, threaten, embarrass or cause distress or discomfort upon another participant, user, or other individual or entity. Do not disrupt the normal flow of conversation in a chat room or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other participants. Do not cause any chat room screen to ‘scroll’ faster than other members are able to type to it or any action to a similar disruptive effect.

4. Always make sincere, positive, relevant contributions when communicating with others. Do not transmit via e-mail or Instant Messaging Service (chat) any information, data, text, files, links, software, or other materials that may be considered to be inappropriate (i.e. unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful, and so on) racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. Do not post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or any other forms of solicitation, except in those areas (e.g., shopping rooms) that are designated for such a purpose.

5. Always be familiar with the current applicable local, state, national or international law, including but not limited to any regulations having the force of law while using or accessing the Internet. Do not intentionally or unintentionally violate the law in any manner.

As long as you agree with the rules of interaction above, you can:

- write comments on our posts (all comments come out once they have been reviewed).

- Send us a voicemail to SpeakPipe

- chat on Google Talk

- subscribe to posts and/or all comments

- follow us by email

- Add us to a Google+ circle

- become a member of this blog

- follow Mr. Max Alvarez on Twitter

If you are concerned with online safety, visit this free website GetNetWise. There you will find plenty of information and tips about how to keep children safe online, stop unwanted e-mail and spam, protect your computer from hackers and viruses, and keep your personal information private.

Acknowledgement of Sources

The sections Terms of Use, Codes of Conduct and Terms of Agreement on GOOGLE, WINDOWS, YAHOO and GetNetWise websites were used as models when this document was written.

There is not attempt to infringe copyright.