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Just to get started... I've joined wikispaces initially because I'm going to be at the Unitec CALL Symposium this week (18-19/05/07).

I returned to teaching a few years ago after an absence of about 25 years. During some of that time I was professionally involved with computers, particularly database programming using Microsoft Acccess. I've also become quite knowledgeable about Microsoft Word, since I first purchased Word 3 for DOS in about 1988.

Frankly I've been dismayed to see the limited the use of computing in education and see it as part of the answer to some of the perennial issues of poorly motivated low-achieving students. I ponder the reasons for this and do what I can to improve the situation in my small corner.

One thing I've done which has greatly enhanced my own practice is to develop for my own use a tool which changes the appearance of text displayed ona whiteboard, thus making Microsoft Word a more interactive and versatile tool.

Because I think the tool is too useful not to share, I've packaged it up, given it a name, "TextWand" and will be demonstrating it at the above Symposium. You can read about it at and get it from my website http://mrbrook.net.

If you try it, let me know what you think.