EB wised up and has unveiled Britannica Webshare – basically Britannica widgets for bloggers.  In their own words:

A special program for web publishers, including bloggers, webmasters, and anyone who writes for the Internet. You get complimentary access to the Encyclopaedia Britannica online and, if you like, an easy way to give your readers background of the topics you write about with links to complete Britannica articles.

I love this – I’ve liked Wikipedia for the convenience, but always knew that there was a possibility of opinion or misinformation.  Now we can get access to more reliable information, which is an absolute goddess-send for homeschoolers everywhere.  I tried signing up and their registration form seems busted, so perhaps they’re getting deluged with requests.

Another bonus – I’m pretty sure they have no information on Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or other objects of popular obsession.  I don’t know for sure, since I haven’t had access to an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica for ages.  It’s very possible that the’ve succumbed (or will) to compete with Wikipedia, but such a move would rank right up there with MC Hammer’s gangsta album.  Hammer’s ability to be a hard-as-nails OG is about as believable as the Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica giving a crap about going into rehab for the 8th time.

Notes in Spanish: Inspired Beginners is not meant for the newest of beginners, but it was rather disorganized and lacked continuity from podcast 1 to podcast 2. I think they are attempting to make it a bit immersive by doing quick reviews of the previous podcast, but they reviewed some things so fast as to be generally useless. For example, one phrase they discussed was how to ride a bike, and it went like this:

Guy: Hey ___ – do you remember how to say you are riding a bike in the countryside?
(short pause)
Girl: Yes – (Spanish spoken quickly)
Guy: Great – what about (next phrase)?

Coffee Break Spanish takes things a bit slower and make sure to repeat things more than once, both when introducing a word/phrase or when reviewing it. Notes in Spanish: Inspired Beginners is no longer on my iPod, but I’ll consider trying the Intermediate and Advanced levels when the time comes.

Spanish Para Todos may be good, but the instructor speaks so deliberately that getting started seems to take forever. It’s organized into 5 parts – an English preview of the dialogue, a slow reading of the dialogue in Spanish (twice), a review in English and a final reading of the dialogue in Spanish at a native speed.

Theoretically, this sounds great, but I couldn’t stand how long it took to get started and how slow the initial two readings of the Spanish dialogue was. It was too slow for me, but perhaps it would be just right for someone else. Another thing that bothered me was the scenario of a classroom with good and bad students, but that is definitely the unschooler in me responding. Spanish Para Todos is off my iPod.

For the last one I tried, SpanishPod, but I don’t actually know what their method of instruction is like or if there is any. The vibe is some 20-somethings talking about Spanish and travel, with seemingly great emphasis on talking. The podcast I tried was 12 minutes long and after 5 minutes they still chatting away in English. A friend had visited Mexico and they discussed some cultural aspects but nearly half the podcast was done and maybe 5 or 6 Spanish words had been spoken. It’s nice if you are interested in learning about some culture, but if I subscribe to a podcast to learn Spanish, I want to learn some Spanish. Adios de mi iPod, SpanishPod. Maybe their other podcasts are better, but the first impression I got from them is hard to get over.

It’s clear that Coffee Break Spanish is the one for me, and the one I would most recommend to others. I have not tried their bonus materials, but I like how they refer to them as ‘bonus’ materials and not a vital necessity for learning. They are well organized, well paced and the personalities of the hosts are engaging. Most importantly, my retention from podcast to podcast is very high. I definitely think that trying out CBS is well worth the time.

I’m always on the lookout for free online resources since I spend a lot of time at a computer. I’m getting close to mastering my Inbox. I use Google Reader and Google Alerts to keep up with websites, blogs and news topics. And now I’ve come across some websites that offer opportunities to learn Spanish for free, thanks to Wide Open Education, a website devoted to online learning.

Previously I’ve mentioned the Coffee Break Spanish podcast and the free Destinos videos (requires registration, and you’ll really need the text materials by episode 4). Since there there seems to have been an explosion in podcasts and I’ve subscribed to a few, including SpanishPod, Notes in Spanish and Spanish Para Todos. I’ve added these after we got back and haven’t been commuting as much, so the jury is still out on whether they’re as good as Coffee Break Spanish or not.

Podcasts are great when you’re stuck in car, but something structured would be more helpful to gain a deeper understanding of Spanish. I’m going to give each of the following 4 websites a try over the next 6 months and see if they work for me or not. They’re all free, so the only thing I’ll be spending is time

1. Livemocha

Livemocha seems to combine the traditional lesson-oriented approach with the possibilities added by social networking. There are 4 Spanish courses that seem to correspond with university level classes: 101, 102, 201 and 202. The total time to complete those courses is 160 hours. Course 202 seems to complete what I want to learn at this time – simple past & irregular verbs. I like the solo structured approach with the option of social networking – I’ll try Livemocha first.

2. Mango

Mango seems to have the most traditional approach to learning, a complete course with multimedia exercises and audio of native speakers. They just added an ‘On the Go’ feature involving mp3s, but it turns out that it’s a $149 audio course. I’m sticking with free for now.

3. iTalki.com

iTalki is a social network focussed on language learning. Looks like I can create a profile, find a Language Partner and ask questions to the Spanish-speaking community. There are also files, seemingly pdfs, provided by members as well as comprehensive lists of resources. I like the idea of a Language Partner, but my preference is to learn solo to start.

4. Lingro

The last website I found is a tool rather than a learning resouce. Lingro allows you to load a webpage, click on a word you don’t know and have it translated. It’s useful just in English for providing definitions, but I think it’ll be great for learning new words in Spanish. All you have to do is go to site, enter a website for browsing and pick a language at the bottom of the page. You can even save words to a list after making an account. I loaded Tiny Grass and proceeded to find translations for lots of words, from journey (‘viaje’) to unschooling (which has no Spanish translation )

There’s enough free resources out there that I have serious doubts I would spend money on stuff like the Rosetta Stone. I’m happy with the Destinos texts we have for a nice traditional reference, and I look forwarding to giving all these online options a test drive in my quest to master Spanish.