May 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Purina has created a fun little online tool where users can learn to speak…dog.
You type in words to finish the sentence “Learn how to say ‘I’m _________________’ in dog.” Then, a dog does an action showing how they communicate that feeling.
It would be a fun way for English Language Learners to practice some vocabulary if you have a few minutes left to “kill” in the computer lab.
May 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
State Of Debate is another excellent learning game from the BBC. It’s accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners, and, as strange as it sounds, it’s basically an online video game where you have explain why you’re not wearing a “hoodie.”
Don’t worry about the description — it’s an excellent listening and reading game.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Word and Video Games.
May 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Anthony Cody is publishing a four-part interview with Richard Rothstein, one of my favorite writers on education issues, on his blog, Living In Dialogue.
It’s well worth a visit.
Thanks to John Norton for the tip.
May 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here are some more additions to various “The Best…” lists:
Groupie Guide is the newest addition to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Social Network Sites.
Here’s a video from The Associated Press and another one from The Sydney Morning Herald showing the second spacewalk to make Hubble repairs. I’ve added them to The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope.
I’m also adding PB Works, formerly PB Wiki, and Wikispaces to Part Two Of The Best Sites For Students To Easily Create & Display Online Projects. The best explanation I’ve seen about what a wiki is and how it works is at the Ask Auntie Web blog. It has a great step-by-step guide to using Wikispaces.
May 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Aardvark’s English Forum is one of the many websites out there with grammar and vocabulary exercises for English Language Learners. I’ve had a link on my website to it for several years.
I’m writing a post about it here, though, because it has a number of exercises that offer a slightly unique twist that some students might like. When they take some of the interactive tests, like this one on animals, there’s a place for them to type their name in. Then, after it’s completed and had the computer check their answers, they can print out the sheet — with their name on it — and keep it for future study.
Yeah, I know, it’s not that big of a deal to be able to type a name on the sheet. However, having it printed out with their name on it and then being able to show their teacher and parents can indeed be a benefit to some students. It might seem a bit more “legitimate” than just writing their name on it.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I just made the following additions to The “Most Popular” Blogs That Might Also Be Useful To Educators:
2. BEYOND Bones
5. Egypt at the Manchester Museum
2. Flowing Data
4. Fubiz.net
5. You the Designer – Graphic Design Blog
1. PSDTuts – Just Great Photoshop Tutorials
2. Instructables: exploring, featured
3. Dumb Little Man – Tips for Life
5. Photojojo
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
20 Comments
Post Rank uses a variety of ways to measure levels of “engagement” that readers have with specific blog posts. Recently, they’ve begun a system to tabulate this data and develop lists of the most popular blogs in many different categories. The rankings are adjusted each week or so.
I thought it would be useful — both to me and readers of this blog — to do a quick review of the top five blogs in several categories that might be useful to those of us in the education field.
I have the phrase “most popular” in quotation marks because, of course, Post Rank’s system is just one of several ways that you can gauge “popularity.” I’d just use this list as an opportunity to explore some new blogs.
Sue Waters, the person whom I most respect in the education blogosphere, raises a “red flag” about Post Rank:
“My argument still remains that PostRank’s system of ranking importance of most popular posts is flawed so would hate to think how they are determining what’s the most popular blogs in each category.
The trouble with all these systems is that people see the words “Most popular” and don’t stop to consider the statistics and methods used to provide the ranking. If the underlying system is flawed then the list is.
What is the solution? Not sure. If technorati was working properly than its a better reflection as is number of subscribers using Feedburner. Until someone gets PostRank to properly explain properly how they are determining what’s the most popular blogs in each category I believe we should be viewing their data with extreme caution. And while it is okay to use their data I would be emphasizing strongly this aspect.”
Given those caveats, here are (in my view — in that I’ve chosen the categories –and in Post Rank’s view since its their rankings) The “Most Popular” Blogs That Might Also Useful To Educators (the heading of each section is a live link that will take you to the complete listing and ranking of blogs in that category) They’re also in the order that I thought of them or discovered them — which means the categories aren’t in any order at all:
1. Free Technology For Teachers
2. Live Science
3. This blog, Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites Of The Day…
5. Strange Maps
2. Pharyngula
4. Discover
5. Epicenter
3. Techie Buzz
4. Mashable
1. Web Urbanist
5. Yanko Design
3. New York Times — Technology
3. The Oil Drum
4. paid Content
1. Engadget
2. Gizmodo
5. Gadget Lab
1. Geek Dad
3. Play Library
1. Seth’s Blog
5. Sanders Says
5. McSweeney’s
2. BEYOND Bones
5. Egypt at the Manchester Museum
2. Flowing Data
4. Fubiz.net
5. You the Designer – Graphic Design Blog
1. PSDTuts – Just Great Photoshop Tutorials
2. Instructables: exploring, featured
3. Dumb Little Man – Tips for Life
5. Photojojo
Suggestions and feedback, as always, are welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at the 250 “The Best…” lists (including The Best Places To Find Good Education Blogs) and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
It’s getting that time of year when lots of teachers give-out awards and certificates, and thought that another “The Best…” list would be helpful.
Whenever I give out these kinds of awards to my students, in a nod to what Alfie Kohn says about rewards in his book “Punished By Rewards” (though I’m not a total believer in his perspective), I don’t tell them in advance what they awards are for and make sure that everybody gets one. I also think strategically about which students might like getting serious certificates, and which ones would better appreciate funny ones.
All the sites listed here are free to use and have a very easy process to use for creating certificates. You can also find these links, and many other resources, on my website’s Teacher’s Page.
Here are my picks for The Best Ways To Make Awards & Certificates Online:
Suggestions and feedback, as always, are welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Best Teacher I Ever Had is a good article on critical thinking (from “Readers Digest,” of all places) shared by Dean Shareski on Twitter.
It reminds me why I’m choosing to teach an International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge class next year, and why I’m interested in adapting some of those lessons for use in my Intermediate English class.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here are some new additions to various “The Best…” lists:
View From Above: The Earth From Space is a series of photos from The Denver Post and has been added to The Best Images Taken In Space.
Similar Sites is a new addition to The Best Places To Get Blog, Website, , Book, Movie, & Music Recommendations. Thanks to Alt Search Engines for the tip.
Gangs, Guns & Knives Awareness has a British bent and focuses on how young people can stay safe. It’s now on The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories list.
The I Know That Quizmaker is a pretty easy way to make an online test. I’ve added it to The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”. and to The Best Ways To Create Online Tests.
May 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Satellite Challenge challenges players to identify landmarks on earth from images taken from satellites. It’s probably best for students to play it only after they’ve developed some geography knowledge, though the game does offer three simple hints for each round, too.
The language is definitely accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Sites That Cover Many Areas.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I was preoccupied with some other things earlier this week when Google announced new options for their search engine. Even from what I briefly read about it, my sense was that another option they were going to unveil later this month — called Google Squared — was going to be their search innovation that had the most potential for English Language Learners.
However, after reading more about their new Wonder Wheel (after you type in a query on the main Google page, you clip on “option” on the upper left) by Joyce Valenzuela and Richard Byrne, I decided to give it a second look.
For those that haven’t tried it yet, it presents search results in a “wheel” diagram with the spokes leading to various subcategories of your query. After you click on a subcategory, you’re then shown other subcategories in a new wheel — sort of like a typical “mind-web” graphic organizer. Every time you click on a category, the search results for that category are listed in text on the right side.
I still don’t think I’ll add it to The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2008 because it only shows text results and not visual images of the sites that come up in the results, but, nevertheless, it does have some potential for ELL’s.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Here are the latest additions to The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope:
The Boston Globe has a video of the first space walk done to make repairs to the Hubble.
The Wall Street Journal has a video and a slideshow on that same spacewalk.
The Washington Post has a slideshow on the mission to repair the telescope.
Repair Mission To Hubble Space Telescope is a series of photos from the Sacramento Bee.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
This “The Best…” list is a companion to The Best Sites For Learning About Planets & Space and The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope.
I’ve put it together pretty quickly because I wanted to connect it to the Hubble Telescope that my students learned about earlier this week, and we’re going to the computer lab today. Because of that, I’m sure I’ll be adding to it.
I’m including some collections of images taken by the Hubble, but you can go to that “The Best…” list to find more.
Here are my picks for The Best Images Taken In Space:
The Air and Space Smithsonian has a slideshow of what they consider the 50 Best Images Taken From Space.
Milestones In Space Photography comes from National Geographic.
National Geographic also offers the Top Ten Space Photos of 2008.
Here are Wired’s choices for The Best NASA Photos Ever.
Discover has The Best NASA Satellite Photos From The Last 50 Years.
The Discovery Channel has the Phoenix Mars Lander’s Best Photos.
The Boston Globe’s The Big Picture shares the Best Examples of Astronaut Photography.
View From Above: The Earth From Space is a series of photos from The Denver Post.
Mercury and Messenger are a series of images from The Big Picture.
LIFE has an amazing slideshow of “The 21 Greatest Space Photos Ever.” They have an automatic version of the same photos here.
A Guide to the Cosmos, in Words and Images Dazzling and True is the title of a slideshow from the New York Times showing some fabulous images of space.
April, 2010 is the twentieth anniversary of the Hubble Telescope.
According to The Telegraph:
to mark the observatory’s 20th anniversary, scientists at Nasa have selected the most dramatic and scientifically-important images it has taken.
You can see a slideshow of them at The Telegraph’s article, “Images mark 20 years of Hubble telescope.”
“Amazing Images Of Earth From Space” is a slideshow from Planet Green.
NASA’s Image of the Day gallery is the title of a series of photos posted by the Sacramento Bee.
Photography On The Final Frontier is a slideshow from National Public Radio of some amazing photos taken from space.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2010 is a series of images from The Telegraph. They are all finalists in the Astronomy Photographer of The Year Contest.
Looking Into the Sun is a pretty amazing slideshow from LIFE about…the sun.
40 Spectacular images of the Stellar Universe and beyond, from NASA is a series of pretty nifty photos.
As MSNBC writes: “Britain’s Royal Observatory has selected the cream of the crop from more than 3,000 images entered in its Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.” And you can see a slideshow of these top images here. I know it doesn’t quite “fit” in this list, but they are pretty neat photos!
Around The Solar System is an incredible collections of photos by The Boston Globe’s “Big Picture” blog.
Exceptional NASA Pictures is a nice collection of…excellent photos from NASA.
‘Beyond: Visions of Our Solar System’ is a slideshow from The Washington Post. It shows images from a new Smithsonian exhibition with the same name.
The European Southern Observatory has identified their choices for the top 100 astronomy images.
NASA Deep Impact spacecraft flies by small comet is the title of a Washington Post slideshow showing images from a NASA probe.
“Images Of Black Holes” is a slideshow from The Washington Post.
MSNBC has an excellent feature called “Space Slideshows.”
Amazing Photos Of The Sun is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.
A Trip Around Our Solar System is a series of photos from The Atlantic.
NASA has created an amazing slideshow of the International Space Station compiling photos taking from a recent Soyuz flight.
The Universe, To Scale is a TIME Magazine slideshow.
The Storms of Saturn is a TIME Magazine slideshow.
10 awe-inspiring images of the moon is a great slideshow.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011 shortlist – in pictures is from The Guardian.
If you haven’t yet seen this video from a camera attached to the International Space Station, you definitely want to take a look:
The 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition winners is from The Telegraph.
The Star Wars planet, Martian puppetry, a forbidden star and a falling satellite – in pictures is a photo gallery from The Guardian.
We Are Stardust: Photographs of the Great Beyond is a slideshow from The Atlantic.
Here’s another amazing video taken from The International Space Station:
Planetary Landscapes is a New York Times slideshow.
Best Photos From Space 2011 comes from TIME.
Suggestions and feedback, as always, are welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
David Rosen recommends the videos that demonstrate teaching adults ESL at the Media Library of Teaching Skills for adult learning and literacy. They have links to even more similar videos here.
I’ve added these resources to The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers In The Classroom.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Earlier this week I posted about a Sacramento Bee news story reporting on the dramatically reduced drop-out rate at our school, Luther Burbank High School.
Today, the Bee wrote a nice editorial about us — Burbank Shows How It Is Done.
May 15, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
The over 3,000 people who subscribe to this blog by RSS Reader or email read posts I write, but don’t see the additional resources here unless they visit directly. Because of that reason, I thought it might be helpful to highlight a few other resources you can access here:
My Websites of The Month highlight what I believe are my best ten or so posts each month going back to when I started writing here over two years ago.
My Websites of The Year are a listing of all my “The Best…” lists. Now they’re in chronological order, but one of these days I hope to put them in more useful categories.
Articles I’ve Written! will lead you to various published articles I’ve about education, teaching English Language Learners, and/or community organizing.
Awards I’ve Received will, for what they’re worth, give you information about various…awards I’ve received education and organizing and why I received them.
My In Practice Posts! list posts I’ve written for a group blog I co-write with teachers who work in low-income communities though, admittedly, I haven’t written a whole lot there lately because of time constraints.
My Favorite Posts! is pretty self-explanatory.
Larry Ferlazzo, Teacher takes you to a page-by-page explanation of my website, which contains well-over 8,000 categorized links for English Language Learners.
In addition, you’ll find a list of my favorite blogs that you might want to also consider reading. You’ll also see links to a few other resources I think are particularly useful.
May 14, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Sacramento Bee has published a very accessible interface for users “with which you can easily call up a demographic profile for any U.S. county with breakdowns for age, race and gender.” You can also easily compare this data with previous years.
I’m adding it to my website under Statistics.
May 14, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Search Motive is the newest addition to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Search Engines For Social Media.
Like the other tools on that list, Search Motive focuses on letting you search sites like Twitter, Delicious, Friendfeed, etc.
May 14, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
What Causes Burnout? All of The Above is an insightful post from John Thompson that describes some research findings that, in his words, “show the interconnectedness of conditions that produce the achievement gap.”
Here’s another quote:
“Among teachers with less than 1% of students with limited-English proficiency, less that 1/4th have 25 students or more per class. Among teachers with more than 10 limited-English students, nearly 1/3rd have more than 25 students. The same pattern applies to teachers with more than 75% minority students; it is the teachers with the bigger challenges who often have the most students.”
His post is definitely worth a look.
