July 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Kontain is a micro-blogging application that’s been around for several months, and it’s quite simple to use. I haven’t blogged about it before because, up until now, it hasn’t had the ability to let you grab images off the Web. They’ve just added that feature.
It’s worth a look. I’m adding it to The Best Places Where Students Can Write Online, though I think there are still better options on that list for students.
July 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here are some new games I’m adding to The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories.
A Dog’s Life is a simple choose your own adventure story from Scholastic. It’s about…a dog.
A Day In The Neighborhood is another similarly structured game, though this one has serious message on preventing gun violence.
July 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
New Protests in Tehran as Cleric Assails Handling of Unrest is a slideshow from The New York Times. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The Protests In Iran.
Swine flu: the worst affected nations is an interactive from the Guardian. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The Swine Flu Outbreak.
Here’s a VoiceThread created by young students as a “Choose Your Own Adventure Story.” I hadn’t really thought of VoiceThread as a tool for that task, but they pulled it off. If I was going to have my students make one, I’d suggest they make the “chapter numbers” bigger and bolder so they could be seen more easily (that comment will make sense if you watch the story). I’m adding it to The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories.
In Afghanistan Part One and In Afghanistan Part Two are two series of images from The Big Picture. I’m adding them to The Best Sites For Learning About The Afghanistan War.
July 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments
This is the first of many year-end “The Best…” lists I’m writing. There’s a reader’s poll at the bottom of this post which will close on November 1st.
You might also want to read The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2008.
This list brings together what I think are this year’s seventeen best ways to create online content easily and quickly. These web tools are excellent ways for English Language Learners, and others who might not be very tech-savvy, to have a good experience working with technology.
In order to make it on this list, web tools must be:
* accessible to English Language Learners.
* available at no-cost.
* able to be used to easily create engaging online content within minutes.
* willing to host user-created work indefinitely on the website itself.
* appropriate for classroom use.
* accessible without requiring registration.
You can read here how I have students easily display their work online.
A very small number of the applications that have made it on this list are viral marketing tools. You can read this article about how I use these in the classroom.
I’d like people voting in the poll to select no more than ten of the seventeen tools on the list. Please note that voters will only be able to participate in the poll one time, and (at least theoretically) will be prevented from voting more than once.
If you’re reading this post in an RSS Reader, you’ll have to come directly to my blog in order to vote. For some reason, the poll isn’t included feeds from this blog.
Here are my choices for The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly:
Number seventeen is: BECOME A TALKING STAR TREK CHARACTER: Using the text-to-speech feature, choose a Star Trek character and have him/her speak, then post it on a student/teacher website.
Number sixteen is: DESIGN A WEIRD BACKYARD: Create a decorative backyard, write a message using the text-to-speech feature, and post the link to your Eddiegram on website or send it to a friend.
Number fifteen is: MAKE A QUILT ONLINE: The International Quilt Study Center & Museum lets users create their own quilt. They can then email the link to a friend and/or post the link on a teacher or student website or blog
Number fourteen is:CREATE A “PHOTROPISM”: At Phototropism you “create sculptures that react like plants to weather conditions.” You can then email the link for posting. It’s cool – in a very weird sort of way.
Number thirteen is: SEND A TALKING MESSAGE FROM A CHEETAH: Type in a message, and then have Chester Cheetah use a text-to-voice feature to say what you’ve written. Next, email your message so the link can be posted on a website or blog. Better yet, try using Embedit.in so you can embed – in your webpage – any student-created work that only provides a url address
Number twelve is:CREATE A DATA VISUALIZATION:The New York Times Visualization Lab looks like it’s going to be a fascinating place to visit periodically. It provides data the newspaper gathers (it looks like they are adding new information regularly) and then users can choose from a variety of different options to “visualize” it. You’re then provided a link and an embed code for your creation. Students could then post it on their own website and describe it. Not only can this be a neat place for English Language Learners to gain a better understanding and analysis of current events through the use of visuals, but it can also offer them higher-order thinking opportunities to try and identify which form of visualization portrays a more accurate perspective
Number eleven is:MAKE A “BEAUTIFUL CONNECTON”: Nokia lets you choose an artistic creation, type a message that goes with it, and then make an audio recording. You can then email and post the url of the final result on a website.
Number ten is: PUT A CAPTION BUBBLE ON AN IMAGE: Caption Bubble lets you very easily find an image on the web and add a text caption bubble. The link can then be emailed and/or posted on a student or teacher blog. I’ve posted about this site before, but it appears to have gotten even better. You can find many other similar tools on my website at Student Photos.
Number nine is: WRITE A FORTUNE FOR A FORTUNE COOKIE: Unfortunate lets you do just that. There are other similar web applications out there, but those seemed to have example fortunes that were inappropriate for the classroom.
Number eight is: DRAW A PICTURE (& TYPE TEXT): Any Canvas lets you draw something, and includes a lot of “bells and whistles.” You can type in text as well, and post the link to your creation on a blog or website.
Number seven is: BECOME A TALKING POTATO: With Spud Yourself! you can turn your image into a talking potato (or use one of the site’s pictures). By using the text-to-speech feature, English Language Learners can develop their language skills in a fun way through writing and listening. You can post the link to your talking potato on a teacher or student blog/website.
Number six is: SEND A HEALTHY E-CARD: The Centers For Disease Control have a huge collection of E-Cards related to health. You can add your own message, email it to a friend/teacher, and then post the url on a website or blog.
Number five is: CREATE A NEAT-LOOKING ESSAY OUTLINE: aMaps let you create a visualization of a basic essay form – state your position and provide reasons, along with examples. After completing a scaffolded outline, you’re provided with a pretty neat looking visual picture of what you’ve developed, along with the embed code. You can also email the link to a friend or teacher for posting on a blog or website, and then people can respond to what you wrote.
Number four: CREATE AN INFORMATIONAL MAP: Show/World & Show/USA (which are on The Best Map-Making Sites On The Web list ) lets you create visual representations of information using maps. Students can then embed their creations on their blog/website and describe what they’ve done.
Number three is: CREATE A TALKING ANIMAL: Talking Pets lets you do it. You can choose a pet picture, or upload your own. Then, using the text-to-speech feature, you can have it say a short message, then email the link for posting on a blog or website.
Number two is: WRITE A PICTURE STORY: Five Card Flickr Story lets you pick five photos from a group of pre-selected images from Flickr and then write a story about them. It saves your selection and story, and provides you with a link to it. No registration is required.
And, now, the Number one tool to create online content easily and quickly is: POST ANYTHING ONLINE IN SECONDS: File2.ws lets you, without registering, quickly upload any document and turn it into a webpage. This is an extraordinary tool. You can see examples of how my students used it to create multilingual materials on swine-flu prevention. Students can create anything, for example, using Microsoft Word, and immediately turn it into a webpage. (unfortunately, it appears hat File2.ws has now gone out of business — Crocodoc is a new, and even better, substitute).
Below you’ll see the poll. Remember, people can only vote once. The sites are listed in the reverse order that you’ll find within this post — my choice for number one is the first one listed in the poll widget.
If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.
You might also want to explore nearly 300 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
As regular readers know, as part of my “The Best…” series I’ve included lists of useful blogs, including my choices for:
The Best blogs for sharing resource links
The Best (& Most Thoughtful) Blogs On “Big Picture” Education Issues
This list is also sort of a companion list to The Best places to learn Web 2.0 basics.
As another installment in that series on blogs, I thought it might be useful if I shared my picks for The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs.
By that, I mean blogs that regularly share “how-to” posts for people, like me, who are not particularly technologically savvy and learn best through a simply-explained step-by-step approach — ideally with screenshots and/or videos.
It’s a pretty short list. There are lots of great edtech blogs out there (and I’ll be composing lists for other categories) , but really not many who fit this criteria.
Here are my picks for The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs:
I have to start with both of Sue Waters’ blogs. One used to be called Mobile Technology In TAFE, but I see it’s now been changed to…Sue Waters Blog. Her other blog, of course, is The Edublogger.
Another obvious choice for this list is Silvia Tolisano at Langwitches. Her screenshot tutorials are awesome.
Nik Peachey’s Learning Technology Blog is another good one that’s geared towards ESL/EFL teachers, but his practical posts are useful to anyone.
Recently, Richard Byrne seems to have begun including more “how to” screenshots and videos into his blog posts at Free Technology For Teachers so, along with being on a bunch of other “The Best…” lists, I’m adding him to this one, too.
Who else do you think should be on this list?
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.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Map Battle is a very easy-to-use tool to create geography games online.
It’s like a less-fancy The Traveler IQ Challenge game.
I’m adding Map Battle to The Best Websites For Learning & Teaching Geography, where you’ll also find The Traveler IQ Challenge game.
Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Nik Peachey has just written a great post sharing 20 WebCam Activities for EFL ESL Students.
Of course, it’s not possible (or very difficult) for many schools to actually have webcams because of safety concerns or district policy equipment restrictions. However, many of Nik’s suggestions can be used as student-created video projects, which can then be posted.
It’s definitely worth a look.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I’m adding Jahoot to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Search Engines For Social Media.
LIFE Magazine’s The 21 Greatest Space Photos Ever to The Best Images Taken In Space (Thanks to Jeff Kash for the tip. You should check-out his website).
I’m adding an interactive map from Conservation International to The Best Sites To Introduce Environmental Issues Into The Classroom.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
LIFE Magazine has just published a slideshow titled Apollo 11 – Scenes From The Moon.
I’ve added it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Here’s a quote from The New York Times:
“On Thursday, 40 years to the day after the Apollo 11 spacecraft began its journey to the moon, NASA released what it called, “newly restored video from the July 20, 1969, live television broadcast of the Apollo 11 moonwalk.” You can view it here.
I’ve added it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Readers might remember that English Raven is on The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers. In fact, I’ve probably used more resources and ideas from that site than from any other individual site (or book) that I’ve visited or read.
English Raven has just gotten even better with a new feature called World News For Kids. Several stories with images and accessible audio are shown each week, and students can participate in an audio forum, too. All that is free. If you are an English Raven member (and it’s one of only a very few sites on The Best Educational Web Resources Worth Paying For… list — it only costs $20 per year, but also has a ton of materials that are available without paying), additional great materials are provided. In fact, I’m adding World News For Kids to The Best news/current events websites for English Language Learners.
I also just learned that Jason Renshaw, the force behind English Raven, also has a blog. It, too, is called English Raven. I’m adding that to The Best ESL/EFL Blogs.
And, speaking of Jason’s blog, I learned about another great resource that he shared there. It’s created by an English teacher in Japan, and is called My English Images. It’s filled with neat stuff to help ESL/EFL teachers, including his original illustrations. I’m adding that site to The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets.
July 17, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
10 Most Creative Apartment Blocks contains images of some pretty strange apartment buildings.
I’m adding it to The Best Images Of Weird, Cool & Neat-Looking Buildings (& Ways To Design Your Own).
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Cost Efficiency of Transportation is a great, and accessible, infographic comparing the cost of transporting a passenger by jet, truck, bus, train, car, hybrid, and scooter.
It’ll certainly initiate some classroom discussion and, perhaps, action.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I recently received my invitation to join Google Voice, Google’s new phone tool. You can read all about it at Lifehacker’s guide.
In terms of teaching, I could see it as an easy way for English Language Learners, particularly those with no Internet access, to practice speaking “homework.” They can call my Google Voice number, leave a message, and I can then access both their audio and an automatically generated written transcript of what they said. I can then easily embed both on a classroom blog.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English.
Other ideas on how to use it in the classroom?
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Swyzzle is a new slideshow application (or, at least, kind of a slideshow application) that’s seems to primarily be designed as a marketing tool to help people make money, but might have some potential in the classroom.
Generally, I think the tools on The Best Ways To Create Online Slideshows are better. However, Swyzzle might make it easier for students to create slideshows about the books they’ve read.
Users can quickly type in the name of a book and and have the cover immediately turned into a slide. You can also easily type in text about it. Unfortunately, you can only include audio if you upload your own instead of directly recording on the site itself. And, it doesn’t have the ability to have comments left.
If, however, they add those two functions, this might be an excellent edtech tool.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Financial Times has developed an interesting interactive they call Apollo 11 By Numbers.
It shows various numbers connected to the flight. Once you click on one, an image and accessible explanation about it is shown.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Apollo 11 Moon Landing.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Zunal is a tool designed for teachers to easily create their own websites. The interface is clean, simple, and it’s free.
I’m adding it to The Best Ways For Students Or Teachers To Create A Website.
To be honest, there really are a ton of similar free tools out there specifically designed for teachers to create class websites. I decided to highlight Zunal here, though, because Zunal also has an exceptional webquest creation tool that’s on The Best Places To Create (And Find) Internet Scavenger Hunts & Webquests list.
Thanks to Debbie Perkins for the tip on Zunal adding this service.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The New York Times has published an interactive graphic titled Broad Unemployment Across the U.S.
It shows both the official unemployment rate, and what the rate would be if it included “ipart-time workers who want to work full time, as well some people who want to work but have not looked for a job in the last four weeks.”
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Recession.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
New Tools Workshop is the latest addition to The Best Collections Of Web 2.0 Tools For Education.
It’s a well-organized site with plenty of links.
Thanks to Maggie Verster for the tip.
July 16, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Book Box makes it super-easy to create an embeddable widget showing the front covers of the books you’ve read.
It doesn’t have all the capabilities of other similar services like Google Books, but it is very easy to use if students just want to quickly display their books (and write about them).
