Issue number one hundred and fortyone (September 2012) from the WorldU3A Service, sent on the first of every month to U3A members anywhere in the world.

All Groups - Teleconferencing - the way forward: How can Regional and National bodies meet without the huge expense of travel cost and time? How can international contacts be maintained easily and with little expense? How can meetings be arranged where vital but absent committee members are needed to attend? How can we include our housebound or disabled members in our activities?

The answer to those questions exists on the Internet -- it's teleconferencing, and there are several versions on offer - TinyChat, FlashMeeting, Skype Group Video, etcetera, but WebEx offers a free version for introduction and much more important, WorldU3A subscribers and U3A members have been offered free tuition sessions (webinars) in its use by Anita Reyes, Director of the Learn Online Academy.

This is a golden opportunity to acquire new skills and resources with an expert tutor to help you. For further information please click on or go to the Learn Online Academy

(WebEx accounts may not be available in all countries, but an excellent support service can be found at http://support.webex.com/support/phone-numbers.html )

Wikimedia is a global movement whose mission is to bring free educational content to the world.

Supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, Wikiversity and Wikibooks aim to bring about a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

Wikimedia UK, a chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, is working with some of the country's most respected and innovative institutions to explore how Wikimedia projects can benefit UK education. In partnership with universities and support bodies, we are gradually establishing Wikimedia as part of the landscape of higher and secondary education. An example of this work is the EduWiki Conference (5-6 September 2012), the first event of its kind, exploring the relationship between Wikipedia and Education.

Contributing to Wikimedia projects is an educational opportunity in the fullest sense, offering the chance to develop sophisticated collaboration, scholarly writing and critical thinking skills at the same time as broadening subject knowledge. For example, improving a Wikipedia article can be a demanding project in both formal and informal education, whether for a talented individual student or a whole class. Wikimedia UK has an extensive set of educational resources, including reasons to use Wikipedia, case studies and teaching materials. If you'd like to know more about how Wikimedia UK can support education, please contact info@wikimedia.org.uk

Embroidery/Needlework Groups: This year The Royal School of Needlework celebrate their 140th Anniversary. They are the international centre for teaching, practicing and promoting hand embroidery across a wide range of techniques.

"We offer hand embroidery courses for all levels; conservation, restoration and repair of antique embroideries or creation of new commissions in our Embroidery Studio. We have an annual Day Class programme and we teach our Certificate and Diploma course at Hampton Court Palace, in Bristol, Durham, Glasgow and Rugby and internationally in San Francisco and in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in Japan. We also offer a Degree programme".

The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, they provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

The Archive's Moving Images library of free movies, films, and videos contains thousands of digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Many of these videos are available for free download.

French Groups: This website has weekly downloadable podcasts that emphasize all aspects of language learning from listening comprehension, rapid vocabulary expansion, exposure to French grammar and common idiomatic expressions, to pronunciation practice and interactive grammar exercises.

We discuss the Weekly News, French grammar, and French expressions, and much more in simplified French at a slow pace so that you can understand almost every word and sentence.

Current Affairs Groups: Beyond nudge: it's time to call forth people's internal willingness to change

"Nudging is all very well, but to create real behavioural change we need to transform attitudes"
say Vania Phtidis and Sophie Sabbage for the Guardian Professional Network
guardian.co.uk,

The Virtual U3A is the only U3A Group which exists only on the Internet and is now three years old. We have members from various parts of the English speaking world. It is designed for people who cannot attend meetings for a variety of reasons, for example those who are unable to leave their house or who live abroad. You can read all about it by visiting http://vu3a.org/.

At present we are offering a two week read-only access to our private wiki website so that you can decide whether to join and pay the £12 annual subscription or not. The first step is to fill in the application form at http://vu3a.org/application_form.php and send it to us with a click of a button.

Here are some GEMS from U3A Online Rick Swindell's newsletter. They can be found online at https://sites.google.com/site/u3aonlinegems/home

Should Doctors Treat Lack of Exercise as a Medical Condition? Expert Says 'Yes'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120813155143.htm

Yoga: A Cost-Effective Treatment for Back Pain Sufferers?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816075405.htm

Midlife Fitness Staves Off Chronic Disease at End of Life
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827162009.htm

Why Are Elderly Duped? Area in Brain Where Doubt Arises Changes With Age
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816121836.htm

There Are Reasons – But Not Good Ones – To Avoid a Flu Vaccine This Year
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120828170727.htm

Prostate Cancer: Six Things Men Should Know About Tomatoes, Fish Oil, Vitamin Supplements,
Testosterone, PSA Tests http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822181238.htm

Important Security Tip: Two-Factor Authentication. Here’s a relatively new security technique that
I'm strongly recommending for PC, Mac and mobile users http://tinyurl.com/9ored2x

Can I Get a Virus Just By Opening an Email? http://tinyurl.com/9s4oz24

One Cool Solution to Weak Wifi Signals. Powerlined Ethernet http://tinyurl.com/8fw7ejq