jueves, 26 de diciembre de 2013

We Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year! Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad!

¡Felices Fiestas!
Pavarotti,Carreras,Domingo – Feliz Navidad
(We Wish You A Merry Christmas)
Bought a #Kindle 4 #Xmas?
http://ow.ly/29jNLa ★ #read #ASMSG ★http://ow.ly/29jNL9★ RT @profesortbaker – video created at http://animoto.com
We Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!
Feliz Navidad! Prospero Año y Felicidad!
Give a gift that keeps on giving.
Give someone a book this Christmas.
Books are 4Ever!
http://goo.gl/fm9zaJ Public Speaking
http://goo.gl/vs1lnk Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness
http://goo.gl/sGnjKI Looking For Catarina
http://goo.gl/TCEN67 Boudicca: Warrior Queen (paperback)
http://goo.gl/btNam1 Meet Me In Memphis
http://goo.gl/9yKKox Five Short Stories

miércoles, 9 de octubre de 2013

Help Choose the Audiobook Cover! Vote For Cover 1 or Cover 2! Thank You For Participating!

Vote Here!!! Audiobook Cover Contest

Cover #1
Story Tellers Cover by Samantha Fury
Cover #2
Storyteller Cover by Samantha Fury
Vote For the Cover You Like Best
New Poll

sábado, 5 de octubre de 2013

Venus Cover Contest: Who Can Convert Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus” Into An ACX Audiobook Cover?

Venus Cover Contest: Who Can Convert Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus” Into An ACX Audiobook Cover?

Can you put Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” on an Audiobook cover? Let me describe you, your talents, skills and abilities. You are:
Talented & Gifted.
Artistic & Authentic.
Creative & Innovative.
You are a wizard, a goddess, a genius.
You are both mortal & immortal.
You are a legend in your own time,
You are a legend in my mind.
You are a storyteller and a creator,
You are an artist and inventor,
You are revolutionary,
You are visionary.
You are motivated,
You are dedicated.
Are you without fear?
Then, and only then,
Now is the time when
You must bring Venus to life.
Bring her here.
Ancient sacrifice
Ancient religion
Can you put Venus on the cover?
Venus whispers to you: “Join my admiring legion
Will you be my storyteller?
If I have accurately described you, and you believe you have what it takes, the journey you must make is a difficult one. The requirements of your challenge is below:
- Submit your contest entry within the next 7 days
- The winner will be decided by public vote
- Voting will be conducted by reader response on this blog
- The vote will last for seven days and seven nights
- Winning entry will be announced here and amplified by social media all throughiout the internet (over 8 billion webpages)
- Title: “Storytellers: In Pursuit of Happiness”
- Author: Thomas Jerome Baker
(Title & Author must appear on the cover)
- Any questions? Write to ==> profesorbaker@gmail.com
** Opportunity knocks. Show off your talent to the world. Are you ready? Can you bring Botticelli’s Venus to life? Yes?
Here are the requirements your Audiobook Cover must meet:
Image Requirements
Cover art submitted to ACX must meet the following requirements:
Technical Requirements
• Images must contain both the name of the title and author(s).
• Images must be no smaller than 2400 x 2400 pixels in size.
• The resolution of these images can be no smaller than 72 dpi.
• Images must be squared. The squared cover must be a true squared cover and cannot be rectangular with colored borders on the side (e.g., CD case cover/jacket).
• Images should be at least 24-bit.
• Images cannot refer to physical CD’s or media other than the audio presented.
• Jewel cases, promotional stickers, and cellophane are not allowed.
• Pornographic and offensive materials are not allowed.
Acceptable File Types
• JPG in RGB format only.
Delivery Methods
• Upload through ACX.com only.
File Naming
Each image file should be named with a condensed name of the title. Alpha numeric characters only.
Adhering to Image Specifications
Below are image samples that depict what a properly formatted cover should look like, and some examples that would be rejected.
Source: ACX
Source: ACX
Cover A displays an appropriately formatted image that would be accepted into production.
Native size 2400×2400 pixels (not to scale in this document), with a resolution of 72dpi. Some elements had to change size or placement to accommodate the square size.
Cover B is an example of a cover that’s been rejected for not meeting spec.
Although sized appropriately, we do not accept covers that add borders on the sides (in this example, white bars) of the original cover sized for print editions.
We are asking for true square covers (which may mean layout changes) to add into our production.
Another incorrect example is C.
It is essentially the same rectangular image in B, stretched to meet our image spec. This also goes for smaller sized images, Cover D, being scaled up to meet the size spec.
Although this does meet our size requirements, there is too much noise and pixelation added to the image when scaling up that prevents sharpness and readability.
Source: ACX
Source: ACX

viernes, 13 de septiembre de 2013

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: New TESOL Book Series

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: New TESOL Book Series

TESOL
Perspectives on Teaching in Different Contexts
Proposal Deadline: 30 September 2013
Series Editor: Andy Curtis
TESOL is now accepting proposals for a new series that will consist of 80-page books addressing the challenges specific to certain contexts for teaching English language learners.
Scope and Purpose of the Series
The Perspectives on Teaching in Different Contexts series is aimed at raising awareness of the challenges that are specific to a given teaching context both within and outside the United States, from intensive English programs (IEPs) to private tutoring. The books will use concise, accessible language to identify the needs of the learners within a given context and then explain which lesson formats, strategies, and resources most effectively address those needs.
For details on the Perspectives series please see the articles in the 14 August 2013 and 13 September 2013 editions of TESOL’s English Language Bulletin.
Audience
The audience for the series includes preservice and in-service English language teachers (ELTs). The series will be particularly useful for those completing their teacher training and considering employment opportunities. The language and content should also be appropriate for experienced language educators who are preparing to teach in a new context and would like to learn what can be transferred and what needs to be adapted.
Series Format
The project is envisioned as a series of 80-page books, each addressing a different teaching context. Topics limited to a certain geographical region(s) will be considered.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Intensive English programs (IEPs) at universities
- Intensive English programs (IEPs) at private language schools
- Community colleges
- Adult education
- Business English for corporations
- English for specific purposes (ESP)
- K–12 programs (including large groups in an EFL setting)
- Early-childhood programs
- Private tutoring (face-to-face and online)
- Boarding schools
Length: 80 pages/book (about 20,000 words)
Section parts
Each book will follow a similar format consisting of the following sections:
- Explanation of the needs of ELLs within the context
- Other concerns (e.g., administrative challenges)
- Lesson planning: format, materials needed, available resources, objectives, procedures, classroom/ teaching strategies, and assessments
- Questions for reflection
Authors
Authors should be ELT professionals who have considerable teaching experience in their respective contexts.
Submissions
Please submit a 500-word proposal for initial consideration by 30 September 2013. E-mail one copy of the proposal, a current CV, and contact information to:
Series Editor Andy Curtis, andycurtiswork@gmail.com
** Acceptance does not guarantee publication.
Proposal Guidelines
The proposal must include:
500-word summary of the proposed topic that describes the following:
- Explanation of concerns specific to a teaching context
- Suggestions for strategies and resources that best meet the needs of ELLs in that context.
- A list of conferences or professional meetings at which parts or all of the contents have been presented.
Proposals will be judged on the appropriateness for the series format.
Copyright
TESOL asks all contributors to assign their copyright to the Association. The author(s) will be asked to sign a contract during the production cycle for the book. Please do not submit work that has been previously published, is currently under consideration elsewhere, or is already under contract, and do not submit work for which you wish to retain copyright.
TESOL

domingo, 8 de septiembre de 2013

¿Qué profesor chileno queremos formar?

¿Qué profesor chileno queremos formar?

Si bien el gobierno se encuentra concentrando sus esfuerzos para mejorar las facultades de pedagogía hacia la modernización de las carreras, aquello debe estar alineado con el profesor chileno que queremos formar.
El Dínamo
24 de julio de 2012
Por: Jimena Saavedra

Jimena Saavedra
Enseña Chile
Ver columnas »Profesora de Historia y Ciencias Sociales.
Profesional Enseña Chile 2010-2011.
Realizó clases en el Liceo Ing. Juan Mackenna O’Reill de Puente Alto. Actualmente, trabaja como Directora de Formacion Inicial en Enseña Chile.
**
Me pregunto esto a propósito de uno de los temas centrales del informe de la Comisión Investigadora sobre el funcionamiento de la Educación Superior, que liga a ciertas universidades con el lucro, foco de atención para la opinión pública y los medios de comunicación.
Yo voy a algo más puntual, pero profundo. ¿Cómo funciona la acreditación de las Facultades de Pedagogía de nuestro país? ¿Cómo estamos formando a nuestros futuros profesores?
Esta sí que es una pregunta vital, y la respuesta debiese hablar de una visión de país y por ende, una política pública relacionada a ello.
Soy profesora de Historia, víctima de la nociva malla “cuatro años de licenciatura, una de pedagogía”, tan nefasta para la formación de docentes de “calidad”.
Cuando me titulé decidí entrar al programa de Enseña Chile, fundación que inserta profesionales para hacer clases tiempo completo por dos años en contextos de riesgo social.
El año pasado, por la fundación, participé en una propuesta para el Mineduc sobre mejoras urgentes al sistema educativo nacional.
El foco de mi grupo apuntaba a pulir los criterios de acreditación para las carreras de pedagogía.
Me costó reponerme de la sorpresa al enterarme que el Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Educación de la U. de Chile (CIAE) estaba recién terminando de definir los criterios para las carreras de Pedagogía Básica y que sólo desde hace dos meses contábamos con los estándares mínimos que deben “orientar” (ni siquiera regir) a una Facultad de Educación para formar a sus profesores de Educación Media.
O sea, no sabíamos con certeza hasta ahora, a nivel de Estado y Política Pública qué tipo de profesor queremos formar.
Lo anterior me lleva a la siguiente pregunta, ¿cuánto había importado hasta ahora -a nivel de política ministerial- cómo se forman nuestros profesores?
Creo que el modelo de formación que desarrollan hoy en día las facultades de Educación no profundiza lo suficiente el tema del liderazgo pedagógico, se forma muy poco a los profesores en competencias blandasmotivación de estudiantesvisiónmetas,seguimiento de logros.
Creo esto fundamental en la formación, trabajes en un colegio municipal o privado.
Al estar trabajando como profesoraen un colegio vulnerable, me di cuenta que para ser profesor de colegio municipal debes ser capaz de motivar a tus alumnos para que estudien.
Debes ser capaz de movilizarlos para que se atrevan a soñar un futuro, para que seproyecten y aspiren alto, para que se enfoquen hoy en lo que tienen que hacer para lograr sus metas de mañana.
Puede parecer una postal rosa pero es mucho más que eso, pues para llevarlo a cabo requieres planificación y estrategias sistemáticas y efectivas.
Convencer a un adolescente de 15 años que sí se puede y que sí tiene sentido intentarlo, no es fácil.
La pregunta entonces es : ¿Te enseñan las facultades de Educación a trabajar en contextos de riesgo social?
¿Te forman para liderar a estudiantes muchas veces desmotivados y con muy baja autoestima?
Podemos seguir sorprendiendonos con los resultados de la prueba INICIA donde sólo el 50% de los evaluados tiene conocimientos pedagógicos de Educación Básica aceptables y un exiguo 8% destaca, pero el problema es sistémico, al igual que la solución.
Si las facultades de Educación funcionan sin acreditación y pueden enseñar lo que se dé la gana no seamos tan lapidarios con los vergonzosos resultados de la Prueba Inicia.
Si bien el gobierno se encuentra concentrando sus esfuerzos para mejorar las facultades de pedagogía hacia la modernización de las carreras, aquello debe estar alineado con el profesor chileno que queremos formar.
Pero si de verdad queremos llevar a los mejores profesores a la educación pública, no sólo nos tenemos que enfocar en los incentivos económicos.
También es necesario redireccionar la formación universitaria hacia competencias específicas que permitan a los profesionales enfrentar mejor preparados el desafío de enseñar en entornos vulnerables.
**

jueves, 5 de septiembre de 2013

HOW I WROTE THE “SPANISH DANCES”

HOW I WROTE THE “SPANISH DANCES”

BY MORITZ MOSZKOWSKI
I think it was about the middle of my seventeenth year that, as often happens to both old and young musicians, I was in sore need of money. I could think of only two ways to get what I wanted: to borrow or to compose something. After turning over, for several days, the advantages and disadvantages of both ways of bettering my circumstances, I concluded I would borrow. Therefore, I went to those two of my colleagues with whom I was on most familiar terms, Philipp and Xaver Scharwenka, in hope that I should not find their fortunes at so low an ebb as mine.
Philipp was at home, sitting on a sofa and smoking a pipe. I sat down by him and asked if he had a cigar. He said that he was out of cigars, but that I could smoke a pipe. So I took a pipe and looked around for tobacco, but sought and sought in vain. Finally Philipp said:
“You needn’t hunt any longer, Moritz; there is no tobacco here.”
Then I began to grow a little angry, and said:
“Do you know, Philipp, that is drawing it rather strong? You offer me an empty pipe, let me look for tobacco in vain, and then coolly tell me there is none here, and yet you yourself are smoking. Give me some tobacco.”
“If you will smoke what I am smoking, I am satisfied,” answered Philipp, who emptied his pipe and prepared it anew by drawing out of a hole in the sofa some of the seagrass used to stuff it, which he put in his pipe.
For a moment I was speechless with astonishment.
WHEN SCHARWENKA SMOKED HIS SOFA
Now it was clear that I could not borrow money from a man who was using his sofa for smoking.
I went back home, sat down at my table, and began to look through my sketch book. A motive of a Spanish character struck my eyes, and at the same moment arose the thought that I would write a set of Spanish dances.
I worked rapidly, and in several days had finished my Opus 12, the Spanish Dances for four hands. I had only the last few notes to write as Philipp Scharwenka stepped into my room.
“Good day, Moritz,” he said; “you may be glad that you need not go out, for it is wretched weather.”
“Since we are speaking of wretched things,” said I, “what are you composing now?”
“Oh, nothing,” said Xaver, who was accustomed to this kind of conversational tone from me; “but you appear to be at work; do you need money?”
“Right you are,” said I, “and you can do me a service by playing through these four-hand pieces and telling me what you think of them.”
We tried the dances, and then Xaver said:
“I would rather have lent you some money, so that you would not have had to compose.” But that was only a return thrust.
An hour later I called on Simon, the publisher, who promised to let me know in a few days if he would bring the pieces out. When I saw him several days later he said he had shown the pieces to several experienced critics and they had advised him to take them. The question now was what I wanted for them.
“I have a brilliant idea,” I said; “I propose that you pay me an exceptionally good price, which will get talked about in the papers and thus make a big stir about the pieces.”
But it made no impression on the publisher. He thought that so pretty pieces needed no such advertising, and besides that, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and others always had sold their compositions cheaply, and as a publisher he felt obliged to accept such traditions.
In vain I sought to change his mind by suggesting that he ought not to compare me with Beethoven; he would listen to no distinction between us in that respect, and paid me a small price, with which I finally withdrew, tolerably well satisfied, at least, to be relieved of my present necessities.
When the “Spanish Dances” were published, several weeks later, they found a good sale. Some years later they were known everywhere, being taken up in various editions and arrangements.
I consider this as one of the works which first made me known to the musical world in general. Of course, the publisher profited largely by it, and all because Philipp Scharwenka had no tobacco and could not lend me money…
**
Moszkowski, Moritz
Spanish Dance for piano 4 hands, Op.12, No.2, No.2 in G-