Here are some additions to The Best Collections Of Educational Links:
July 28, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Monthly Archives: July 2009
July 28, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
July Top Ten List
I regularly highlight my picks for the nine or ten (or, or in this month’s case, a few more) most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use these in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see back issues of those newsletters here and my previous “Top Ten” picks at Websites Of The Month.
These posts are different from the ones I list under the monthly “Most Popular Blog Posts.” Those are the posts the largest numbers of readers “clicked-on” to read.
Here are the posts I personally think are the best, and most helpful, ones I’ve written during this past month (not in any order of preference):
Make Neat Geography Games With “Map Battle”
Google Voice & English Language Learners
PinDax Is Similar To Wallwisher
What Do You Do On The First Day Of School?
ProProfs Does It Again — This Time With Polls
“Rooh It!” Looks Good For Webpage Annotation
Where To Find The Most Popular News Stories On The Web
Student Evaluations Of Summer School Class
Results From My Year-Long U.S. History Tech Experiment
Flash Meeting Looks Great For Real-Time Collaboration
My Entire U.S. History Curriculum Is Available Online
Bloom’s Taxonomy For Language Learners
July 28, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Online Video Games
I’ve recently added several new online video games to my website under Word and VIdeo Games. You can read about how I use them with English Language Learners here.
The newest ones include:
* Esklavos Chapter Seventeen (here’s the Walkthrough)
* Living Room Escape (here’s the Walkthrough)
* Office Room Escape (here’s the Walkthrough)
July 28, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“Most Popular Websites For Kids”
I thought people might be interested in seeing a list of the most popular websites for kids:
10 Most Popular Websites for Kids
It comes from something called KIDO’Z, and lists what they claim are “top ten” sites most-visited by kids in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.
Read Write Web has a different list that’s about a year old focusing on the most popular sites for those under 12 in Great Britain.
As I’ve explained in earlier pieces, I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites that I think educators might find useful. Of course, there are a number of ways to gauge “popularity.” I just view these lists as opportunities to check-out some new sites, and find it interesting to see which ones might be particularly “popular.”
July 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
“News Lessons In Simple English”
Sean Banville is the creator of several excellent websites for English Language Learners and their teachers.
Most of them are on various “The Best…” lists, including Famous People Lessons.com (which is on The Best Resources For Researching & Writing Biographies), ESL Holiday Lessons.com (lessons from that site are on many of my holiday lists), and Breaking New English (which is on The Best news/current events websites for English Language Learners).
I just learned from U.S. Citizen Podcast that Sean has begun another site called News English Lessons.
He describe it this way:
“FREE Handouts, Listening & Quizzes in Simple English – Read About the Latest News and Learn English – It’s Easy.”
It appears to me that it has current news materials that are even more accessible to English Language Learners than on his Breaking News site.
I’m sure I’ll be adding a link to his new site to more “The Best…” lists.
July 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Good Unemployment Infographic
Visualizing Economics has developed a good infographic comparing unemployment in the Great Depression with unemployment during our present recession.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Recession.
July 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Most Popular Fiction Authors Of All-Time
As I’ve explained in earlier pieces, I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites or books that I think educators might find useful. Of course, there are a number of ways to gauge “popularity.” I just view these lists as opportunities to check-out some new sites or books, and find it interesting to see which ones might be particularly “popular.”
Today, I thought I’d share a list of the most popular fiction authors of all-time.
Wikipedia has an extensive list. You might find it interesting to see everybody they have listed, including the number of books sold and their genres. I thought I’d just list the top eleven here:
6. Enid Blyton
8. Dr. Seuss
10. Leo Tolstoy
11. J. K. Rowling
July 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
July’s Best “Tweets”
Every month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog.
I’ve already shared in earlier posts this month several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in this post.
If you don’t use Twitter, you can also check-out all of my “tweets” on my Twitter profile page or subscribe to their RSS feed.
Here are my picks for July’s Best Tweets (not listed in any order):
See in this infographic how much it costs per passenger to travel by jet,train,bus,SUV,car,scooter
Do Rewards Kill Innovation and Creativity? (Thanks to Chad Ratliff for the tip)
‘The Power of Nazi Propaganda’, a Wall Street Journal slideshow.
How to be a great panelist (Thanks to Keisa Williams for the tip)
A collection of substitute plan ideas from Rick Wormeli (Thanks to Bill Ferriter for the tip)
4 2 Explore — lots of excellent links (Thanks to John Faig for the tip)
Infographic on what average US consumer spends annually — $49,638
Impressive Wall St. Journal interactive on Harry Potter
“A Big National Study vs. 100 Local Experiments”
45 Websites For Students To Create Original Artwork Online
Odysseus and the Cyclops, an interactive to learn about using quotations marks. (Thanks to Diana Dell for the tip)
Collection of Photo Effects, Online Photo Editor
English Tenses Timeline Chart (Thanks to Holly Suel for the tip)
Search foreign language websites in your own language (Thanks to Barbara Sakamoto for the tip)
What Is Your Teacher Personality?
Using The Web To Create Your Own Virtual Field Trips (Thanks to Tom Whitby and Shelly Terrell for the tip)
July 26, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“U.S. Hispanics: On The Upswing”
U.S. Hispanics: On the Upswing is an interactive map from The Wall Street Journal tracking the growth of the Hispanic population in each state.
You can track it from 2002 to 2008. It’s pretty interesting.
July 26, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“Web 2.0 For Dummies”
Last year I made a short and simple slideshow presentation to some teachers at my school called “Web 2.0 For Dummies.”
I spent very little time on it, and it shows. However, I thought readers might find it useful.
July 26, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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July’s “The Best…” Lists
Here’s my monthly round-up of “The Best…” lists I’ve posted in July (of course, you can find all 300 or so of them here):
The Best Sites To Help ELL’s Learn Idioms & Slang
The Best Images Of Weird, Cool & Neat-Looking Buildings (& Ways To Design Your Own)
The Best (& Most Thoughtful) Blogs On “Big Picture” Education Issues
The Best Guides To ESL/EFL/ELL Terminology
The Best Sites To Learn About The Apollo 11 Moon Landing
The Best “Language Maps”
The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn Vocabulary
The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs
The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2009
The Best Sites To Learn About Advertising
The Best Sites For Learning About Nelson Mandela
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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My Policy On Comments
I welcome comments on this blog — suggestions, affirmations, critiques. Recent comments are highlighted on the sidebar. I thought it would be helpful again to share my present “policy” (which is always open to feedback and revision) on comments.
I generally respond to comments very quickly by emailing the person who left the comment. I often don’t, though, respond back in the comment section itself because I think people don’t often check the option that allows them to receive follow-up comments. I want to make sure they do indeed hear back from me.
Another reason I often don’t copy my reply to the comments section is sheer laziness.
I will, however, respond publicly if it appears to me that other readers might find the response helpful.
Though I generally approve comments from the owners of sites who want my readers and me to check-out their websites, I typically will not respond to them.
My posts on the In Practice blog are a different matter. Those posts are usually designed to initiate a public conversation about the topic of the post, and comments from readers and my responses are published in that blog’s comment section.
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“Only A Teacher”
Just by chance I just discovered a PBS website supporting a three-part documentary series called Only A Teacher. It appears to have aired in 2000, but I had never heard of it before.
It seems like a great resource. Here’s a quote from its description:
“The documentary series “Only A Teacher” explores the diverse faces and many roles of the American teacher from the 1830s to the present. In three one-hour episodes, “Only A Teacher” presents historical background about the profession and how it developed, while giving voice to contemporary teachers and their concerns. The series plays out as a dialogue between past and present, as teachers from different eras describe their dreams and setbacks, challenges and achievements.”
The site includes video clips from the series, an exceptional multimedia timeline on the history of teachers and teaching in the U.S., short biographies of “teaching pioneers,” and interviews with teachers today (including Linda Darling-Hammond and the late Frank McCourt). It has much more, too.
Has anyone seen the series? If so, what did you think of it?
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments
New Books On My Nightstand
Even though I don’t have a clue when I’m going to get around to them, I have four recently published books on my nightstand that I’m looking forward to reading:
So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence Of Failure In Urban Schools by Charles Payne
Rules Of Thumb: 52 Truths For Winning At Business Without Losing Yourself by Alan Webber
Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, And Strategy In The California Farm Worker Movement by Marshall Ganz
Teaching the New Writing:Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st-Century Classroom by Kevin Hodgson and others.
What are your recommendations for other books that have been published this year that should join this list?
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Way Behind On Verifying Website Links
As most readers know, one of the purposes of this blog is to update new links I add to my website.
That site is designed for student self-access, and has nearly 9,000 categorized links that are accessible to English Language Learners.
Generally, I “verify” those links two-or-three times a year to make sure they’re still working. It can be pretty frustrating for students to click on a lot of “dead” links.
Unfortunately, I haven’t done it since January of this year, and probably won’t get around to doing it until late fall. Based on my past experience, this means there will probably be up to three hundred or so dead links scattered throughout the site. Of course, that’s still not too bad if you consider it’s out of 9,000, but it can a bit of a hassle.
Sorry. I’ve just got too many other things on my plate right now.
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Wall Street Journal Starts Excellent History Series
Last week The Wall Street Journal began publishing a weekly online video titled “This Week In History.”
It seems like it’ll be an excellent series, and accessible to English Language Learners.
I’m adding it to The Best “Today In History” Sites.
July 25, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
A Look Back…
Each month, I publish a feature where I “look back” at posts I’ve made one and two years ago (at about this time). I share ones that I think people might still find useful.
Here are some from one year ago:
The Best Online Learning Games — 2008
The Best Sites To Introduce Environmental Issues Into The Classroom
The Best Online Instructional Video Sites
Embedded Learning Portal Again
And here are some interesting ones from two years ago:
July 24, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
“Timelines” Is Like A Very Accessible Wikipedia
Timelines is a neat tool that lets users contribute towards making “timelines” of historical events with text, photos, and videos. People can then vote on which ones they like best, though everyone’s contributions appear to remain displayed.
It’s extremely easy to contribute — much, much easier than to something like Wikipedia. Timelines is a great place for students to write for an authentic audience, which is why I’m adding it to The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience”.
Of course, there’s always the possibility of inappropriate content being uploaded, though I didn’t see any in a a quick look. There are some people named “moderators” — perhaps they have a role in removing some items?
(Bob Armour from Timelines says this about the inappropriate content issue: “When items are flagged on the site, our moderators remove or change it. Items can be flagged by users if they are offensive, inaccurate, duplicate, spam or other.”)
July 24, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Searchme Goes Off-Line
Searchme, the number one ranked search engine in The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2008, has gone off-line.
You can read more about its problems at this TechCrunch post.
The site now redirects to Google.
Fortunately, there are a lot of other good options out there for English Language Learners that you can find on that list.
I sure pick ‘em. In addition to the number one site on that list going under, the number one tool on The Best search engines for ESL/EFL Learners 2007 went out of business, too. The same thing happened to the number one app on The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2008.
Perhaps being named number one on a “The Best…” list is a kiss of death…
If I ever wanted to generate some income, maybe I could have companies pay me not to name them number one 
July 24, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Moof
Moof is the latest addition to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Music Sites. It has a large selection of available music, and you can easily create playlists.
It meets my “Raffi” test — there are plenty of his songs. I figure if a music site has them, then they’ll be likely to have quite a few others that are useful in teaching ESL/EFL.
