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Well, I have finally read all your essays as of December 1 and put my comments. Waiting for you Week 4 writings.
Meanwhile, I checked the latest issue of Language Learning and Technology. By the way we are reading some articles from this journal in Week 5 and later. I think, it's an interesting publication. They welcome contributions from teachers and researchers worldwide; it's a peer-reviewed and, fortunately, free journal.
I usually read their "Emerging Technologies" section in which they discuss some really new tools that appear in the net and how they can be applied to language teaching. This time the article is about 'chatterbots' or just 'bots' - computer programs designed to simulate an intelligent conversation with a human. You type a question in plain English, the bot replies, you respond to it's reply, and so on.. Would you like to try? Here are a couple of bots mentioned in the article:
A.L.I.C.E. - Artificial Intelligence Foundation. Follow the link "Free Live Chat: with the award winning A. I. chat robot A. L. I. C. E." on the top of the page.
Dave E.S.L Bot. Specially for language learners. Unfortunately, this bot does not chat for free :)
Jabberwacky. Another bot that can learn from your interaction with him.
The article says bots can be used when students don't have an opportunity to talk to a native speaker, and it can be especially useful for some accomplished students, not for beginners. What do you think?