Community

IATEFL BESIG Social Media

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• Social networking with NING

  
  

  The social network in NING was introduced in 2009 to help SIG members meet and network online. The platform is now for both SIG members and non-members. On joining the social network you automatically receive your own page, which can be personalized so that the network members can get to know each other better. To encourage community members to make the most of their pages.
  
  You can join the NING community here: http://iatefl-besig.ning.com and start discussions in the forums, share photos, videos and blog posts.
  
  There are currently over 280 members from many different countries: Turkey, Latvia, Finland, Uruguay, Brazil, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Thailand, Russia, India, and many more.
  
  In periods leading up to conferences, members use the NING to share information and tips about travel and accommodation. Many interesting discussions take place in the NING, for example, on pedagogical issues relating to material design, culture and language and research into business English.
  
  This community offers its members the opportunity to exchange ideas, learn about new trends and technologies and to grow professionally in a supportive and friendly private environment.

• Micro-blogging with Twitter

  
  

  IATEFL BESIG has a Twitter page which you can visit here http://twitter.com/iatefl_besig. If you have a Twitter account of your own (easily done by clicking on the 'Have an account?' link on IATEFL BESIG Twitter page) you can follow the tweets (short posts made by the IATEFL BESIG Online Team in Twitter) on your own Twitter page, or better still in your Twitter client (an application which you can download for free, such as Tweetdeck, which will make using Twitter much easier and worthwhile). If you'd like to contribute to the discussion and flow of ideas and information you can of course make your own tweets and if you do, be sure to add the hashtag #besig so that others will be able to benefit from your contributions. For a handy tutorial on using Twitter follow this link to Russell Stannard's excellent Teacher tutorial website: How to use Twitter.

  As you will see from Russell's tutorial, Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows you to post short messages online. Many use this for recreational purposes, for example, to let friends or family know what there are doing at any particular moment. Teachers, however, have adopted this tool as a convenient way to share information, ideas and offer each other support.

  It is also possible to follow IATEFL BESIG related tweets without actually signing into Twitter by viewing this page on a daily basis: The Daily BESIG

• BESIG World Blog

  
  

  Business English teachers worldwide can now share their experiences on different aspects of teaching on the IATEFL BESIG World Blog. We have invited teachers from around the world, including Brazil, Ethiopia, Russia and Saudi Arabia to post their reflections on their teaching situations, lessons, activities, students, books, websites and more, and readers can leave comments and enter into a dialogue with contributors.

  The aim of the World Blog is to broaden knowledge of business English teaching globally and to provide another platform for networking, learning and sharing. Our guest bloggers include an interesting mix of experienced ELT bloggers and teachers who are making their voices heard in the medium for the first time. Click here to visit the blog: World blog

• BESIG YouTube Channel

  
  

  Watch recordings of talks given at IATEFL BESIG events by visiting the IATEFL BESIG YouTube Channel. You can receive updates when new videos have been uploaded by subscribing to the channel. To do this you will need to set up your own YouTube account, which is a relatively simple procedure. Click here to see what is on offer: IATEFL BESIG YouTube Channel

• Social Bookmarking with Diigo

  
  

  You can use this to browse over three hundred business English web links selected for you by the IATEFL IATEFL BESIG Online Team. Visit the Links page here on our website to find out more. Members will be prompted to log in to gain access to this page.

• BESIG Slideshare

  
  

  Find presentation slide decks from speakers who have presented at IATEFL BESIG events. Click here: IATEFL BESIG on Slideshare

• BESIG Photo-sharing with Flickr

  
  

  Browse the IATEFL BESIG related images uploaded to the SIG's own photo stream. Click here: IATEFL BESIG on Flickr.