August 7, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The New York Times has published an infographic sharing updated statistics on the challenges facing Haiti in light of the earthquake.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Haiti.
August 7, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
HTML to PDF is a new online tool to convert web pages to PDF files.
I’m adding it to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Ways To Convert PDF & Word Documents.
But, really, how many more of these kinds of converters do we actually need?
August 7, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
iScoper makes recommendations for which consumer tech products to buy after it asks you a series of questions. It’s worth a look.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning Which Consumer Electronics To Buy.
Thanks to Go2Web2.0 for the tip.
August 7, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Facts About The Internet” is an infographic that gives fifteen interesting…facts about the Internet
I’m adding the link to The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet.
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Tripline just opened for business, and it’s a great map-making application. You just list the various places you want to go in a journey, or a famous trip that has happened in history or literature, or a class field trip itinerary, and a embeddable map is created showing the trip where you can add written descriptions and photos. You can use your own photos or just search through Flickr. Plus, you can pick a soundtrack to go with it as it automatically plays through the travels.
Here are examples of the ride of Paul Revere and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
It’s super-easy to use, and the only tricky part is that you can’t add photos until after you create your trip and save it. That’s not a big deal, unless you couldn’t figure it out like me and had to contact the site.
I’m adding Tripline to The Best Sites Where Students Can Plan Virtual Trips, to The Best Map-Making Sites On The Web. and to The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience.”
Thanks to TechCrunch for the tip.
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments
Edublogs TV, which many of us have used to host videos from YouTube, other services, and ones our classes have made, has gone off-line. They are working on improving it and relaunching later this year.
In the interim, what are your suggestions for alternatives?
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I just wanted to let readers know that over the past few days I’ve made many additions to two “The Best…” lists about ongoing tragedies:
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Print What You Like” lets you print whatever portion of a webpage you want to actually print-out, and lets you leave the other stuff behind. You can use it without registering, but if you want to save it on the site for future use you need to register.
It can take a little less time than the typical alternative of copying and pasting what you want onto a Word document. The interface could be a little more intuitive — just click “isolate” after you have identified what portions you want to print out.
Thanks to Go2Web2.0 for the tip.
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Duarte blog has a great post about the presentation of a fifteenth century Italian architect. It’s titled Great Moments in Presentation History: The Architect and the Egg.
Its focus is what they call S.T.A.R. Moments ™. This is how they define it:
S.T.A.R. stands for “Something They’ll Always Remember” and S.T.A.R. Moments refer to the memorable moments in a presentation that stick in the minds of your audience long after the presentation is over.
They have another post titled Of S.T.A.R.s and Mosquitoes that talks about these moments at TED Talks, including when Bill Gates let some mosquitoes loose on the crowd.
It’s a good idea to keep in mind when planning a presentation — what is that one defining moment to want to happen?
I’ll add this information, and links, to The Best Sources Of Advice For Making Good Presentations.
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Sharendipity lets you create online games that you can either link to or embed on your own site. It seems particularly easy to create a quick Word Search.
I’m generally not a big fan of word searches, but they can have some value for Beginning English Language Learners if they are the ones who create them
I’m adding this link to The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience.”
August 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Israel And Lebanon: Key dates in the Mideast neighbors’ conflicts” is the title of an Associated Press interactive.
I’m adding it to The “Best” Resources For Learning About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Tomorrow is the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
I’m adding Remembering Hiroshima, a Wall Street Journal slideshow, to The Best Resources For Learning About The Atomic Bombings Of Japan.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
BlipSnips lets you “tag” portions of any YouTube or Vimeo video. You can write a notation about it, and it will indicate when the video reaches those moments.
I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Cutting-Out & Saving Portions Of Online Videos (Or Annotating Them).
Thanks to TechCrunch for the tip.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Associated Press has published an updated interactive on the nomination and confirmation of Elena Kagan.
I’ve added it to The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Supreme Court.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Associated Press and Univision have just published a poll of Latinos in the United States that included quite a few questions related to education.
I’ve written a post about it in my other blog, Engaging Parents In School, which include a number of useful links. The post is titled What Do Latino Parents Say About Schools?
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Ms. Flecha, author of My Life Untranslated blog, has just written up a nice announcement and overview of the next ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival. Check it out!
The deadline for submissions is September 27th.
And don’t forget that Anne Hodgson is organizing a special Blog Carnival on November 1st specifically dedicated to teaching Business English (BE) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). For more information about that carnival, and to use a form Anne has created for submissions to it, please go to her blog.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Just a reminder that one of my more popular posts is Answers To “What Do You Do On The First Day Of School?”
I thought readers might find it helpful as that time approaches.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Earlier this year, I wrote about a lesson I did with my students on the importance of sleep. Since that time, I’ve also posted about new related resources. So, for the benefit of my readers, and for my own benefit of having them all in one place, I’m publishing this short “The Best…” list.
Here are my choices for The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance of Sleep:
“Will Sleeping More Make Me Smarter?” — A Lesson I’m Trying This Week is the extensive post I wrote describing the lesson I did. It went well.
More On Teen Sleep is another post I wrote sharing what a study says about the importance of “morning light” to teens.
Here are two resources I haven’t written about yet, but I’ll be incorporating them in future lessons I do about sleep:
Poor children more vulnerable to effects of poor sleep
Less sleep may add up to more pounds in adolescents
No More Dozing Off in First Period is a new article from Miller-McCune sharing recent research, including a school that has experimented with later start times.
Less Sleep Linked to Blues in Teens is a recent article in Scientific American.
“Later school start times and Zzzs to A’s”
“You Snooze, You Lose: More Weekend Sleep Cuts Kids’ Obesity Risk”
“Catch Some Zzz’s to Lose Some Pounds”
More On The Importance Of Sleep
Night Owls at Risk for Weight Gain and Bad Diet is from Science Daily and reports on a new study.
The Other Big Deficit: Many Teens Fall Short On Sleep is from NPR.
No Rest for the Weary? Analyzing Sleep Habits is from The New York Times Learning Network.
Zombie Prevention: Your Child’s Sleep is also from The New York Times.
“Inside The Teenage Brain” is a PBS program that’s pretty dry, but informative. One its segments is on on teens and sleep (it says its embeddable, but it wasn’t working. Just go directly to the link).
A new study has been released specifically pointing to increased sleep leading to better athletic performances. You can read a San Francisco Chronicle story about the study, and a press release (Snooze You Win? It’s True for Achieving Hoop Dreams, Says New Study). Other studies show there are tons of benefits to sleeping longer. Maybe learning about this new information will provide an extra push to some of my students who have dreams of becoming star athletes or breakdancers.
4 Solutions to Teen Sleep Problems has some useful research on sleep.
10 Risky Behaviors More Common in Sleepy Teens comes from TIME Magazine.
Early to bed and early to rise — study suggests it’s keeping kids leaner is another recent study.
Adolescents Who Sleep Better Score Higher in Math and Physical Education reports on a new study.
After a Good Night’s Sleep Brain Cells Are Ready to Learn is from The National Institutes of Health.
Additional suggestions are welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at the 460 other “The Best…” lists and consider subscribing to this blog for free.
August 5, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Life Is” is just an amazing site from the BBC.
It’s part of television series on “the extraordinary things animals and plants do.”
I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Animals.
August 4, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“The Mosque Controversy” seems like a decent interactive from The Wall Street Journal. It is, of course, about the proposed mosque to be built near the former World Trade Center in New York City.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11.
