Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

May 31, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

EFL Classroom 2.0 Is Now A Public Site

EFL Classroom 2.0, clearly the number one support site for ESL/EFL teachers from around the world, is now a public site. In other words, you don’t have to log-on to access many of the great resources it has available. There are some resources, however, that will only be available to “Supporters,” who just have to pay fifteen dollars a year,and it’s well worth the cost. David Deubelbeiss has written a post explaining the change.

EFL Classroom 2.0 is on many of my “The Best…” lists; I’ve written about it in several articles, and it’s a “must-have” resource for any ESL/EFL teacher.

May 31, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments

Students Making Video “Book Trailers”

(NOTE: Here’s one sample video book trailer our students made)

I’ve previously posted about students making video book trailers. That post shares resources where you can see examples of, and get a lot of assistance, about making great, though fairly involved, book trailers.

We wanted to do something similar, but much more simple — something that students could get excited about doing and providing reading, writing and speaking practice, and something that wouldn’t require much preparation on our part.

So we’re having students work on short video trailers about the favorite book they’ve read during this school year. We’ll videotape them for posting on our class blog and on YouTube. This is just one example of where a teacher having a SmartPhone can come in so handy — automatic posting to YouTube makes this kind of class activity as simple as pie.

Katie Hull, my co-author on an upcoming book on teaching English Language Learners, whipped-up a simple guide students are using to create their video trailer. You can download the hand-out here, and I’ll also share what it says in this post:

Book Review Trailer

You will prepare a short “trailer” about your favorite book that you read this year. It will be recorded and posted on You Tube and will be used next year to help our new 9th graders find good books.

Your book review trailer must include:

• Book Title and author
• A brief summary of the book (you want to make someone interested in the book without giving away the good parts!)
• Give 2 specific reasons WHY you liked this book and explain why someone else should read it

Remember, a trailer is like a commercial—you are trying to “sell” this book to someone. Be convincing and support your opinions with specific reasons. You will need to show the book while you are talking about it. Be creative and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!!!!

I’ll let people know when they’re done and ready for viewing!

Any helpful advice from teachers who’ve had students do similar activities is appreciated…

May 31, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“North Carolina Bill Targets Undocumented Students”

North Carolina Bill Targets Undocumented Students is the title of a new post at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School.

I thought readers here might find it interesting.

May 31, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

May’s Best Posts

I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see back issues of those newsletters here and my previous Best Posts of the Month 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. I have to admit, I’ve been a bit lax about writing those posts, though.

Here are some of 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):

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
22 Comments

What Will You Do Differently Next Year?

In early June of last year, I asked readers to think about the question: “What will you do differently next year?”

I thought then, and think now, that this is a pretty good time to think about those potential changes.

I invited people to contribute their responses and over fifty educators did. I combined all of them into two very popular posts, Answers To “What Are You Going To Do Differently Next Year?” (Part One) and Part Two: Answers To “What Are You Going To Do Differently Next Year?”

I also wrote about it in a commentary published at Education Week.

I’d like to do the same this year. Please contribute no more than three things you want to do differently next school year, along with a sentence or two for each giving your reason for wanting to do it. And, if you contributed last year, it would be great — though not required — to share if you were able to follow-through with what you said then and how it went.

Leave your contributions in the comments section of this post, and I’ll again publish them all in a post or two. The deadline for contributions will be July 1st.

I’ll offer my own thoughts in that post, along with a recap on how I did with my ideas from last year.

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Hashtagify

Hastagify is a neat Twitter app that lets you visualize connections between hashtags, as well as seeing all the tweets connected to a particular hashtag.

I’m adding it to The Best Third-Party Twitter Apps That Don’t Require Your Password.

Thanks to Information Aesthetics for the tip.

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Email Newsletter Just Sent-Out

I just sent-out my free monthly email newsletter. You can read this month’s issue here and view previous issues. It has about 1100 subscribers.

You can subscribe to it here.

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“The Bilingual Advantage”

The Bilingual Advantage is a great New York Times column about…the advantages of being bilingual.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual.

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

More Mount Everest Resources, Including Several Good Videos

Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About Mount Everest:

TIME has a slideshow on Sir Edmund Hillary.

Here are several good videos from CNN, including ones on the first African to reach the summit and several on teenagers who have made the climb:

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

iPiccy Looks Like An Impressive Online Photo Editor

iPiccy is an impressive all-purpose online photo editor. It pretty much lets you do whatever you want with your photo, including adding text and effects. You can upload an image or grab its url address off the Web.

I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects.

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

May’s Best Tweets — Part Two

Every month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a bit easier for me, I may try to break it up into mid-month and end-of-month lists (and sometimes I’m a bit late).

I’ve already shared in earlier posts 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 Twitter profile page or subscribe to their RSS feed.

Here are my picks for May’s Best Tweets — Part Two (not listed in any order):

Confirmation bias comic strip

Video: This teacher keeps her students calm as a gunfight emerges outside (Thanks to Vicki Davis)

“Teacher: Of 8,892 data points, which ones matter in evaluation?” from Washington Post

“Goodbye Food Pyramid, Hello Dinner Plate” NY Times

“Teachers College Hopes to Empower Educators” local San Francisco NPR

“Otter and toddler laugh and frolick” video is really cute

“Children Learn Language in Moments of Insight, Not Gradually Through Repeated Exposure, Study Shows”

“The world’s most surreal landscapes” slideshow, Salon

“80 things we wish we knew before we started traveling “ CNN

“Choose Your Own Apocalypse” Slate interactive

“Educators, business team up to bridge student “digital divide”” San Diego Union-Trib

“What thinking in 140 characters does to our brains” NY Times

“Nice Guys Finish First” by David Brooks, NY Times

You might also be interested in seeing other people’s choices for their best tweets:

Eye On Education

May 30, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a few and list them here with a minimal description. It forces me to look through these older links, and help me organize them for my own use. I hope others will find them helpful, too. These are resources that I didn’t include in my “Best Tweets” feature because I had planned to post about them, or because I didn’t even get around to sending a tweet sharing them.

Here are This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”:

Our tips for getting blogs ready for the end of the school year is by Sue Waters. I’m adding it to The Best Sources For Advice On Student Blogging. I’m also adding 14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging by Pernille Ripp to the same “The Best…” list.

Iceland volcano: Experts say eruption winding down is an Associated Press interactive. I’m adding it to The Best Sites About The Latest Volcano In Iceland To Erupt.

When the Golden Gate Bridge Opened, 74 Years Ago is a video and slideshow from The Atlantic. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About San Francisco.

Are Flashcards an Effective Learning Tool? is an infographic from Voxy. I’m adding it to The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards.

The Global Peace Index is a pretty interesting interactive map from The Guardian. It maps world conflicts over a period of time.

Here’s a collection of “maps in the form of plants, animals and humans” created in the sixteen and seventeenth century. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Historic Maps.

100 Years of Non-Renewable Energy Disasters is an interactive timeline. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Gulf Oil Spill.

INFOGRAPHIC: Amazing Twitter Facts And Figures is pretty interesting. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

Here are some other regular features I post in this blog:

“The Best…” series (which are now 690 in number)

Best Tweets of The Month

The most popular posts on this blog each month

My monthly choices for the best posts on this blog each month

Each month I do an “Interview Of The Month” with a leader in education

Periodically, I post “A Look Back” highlighting older posts that I think are particularly useful

The ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival

Resources that share various “most popular” lists useful to teachers

Interviews with ESL/EFL teachers in “hot spots” around the world.

Articles I’ve written for other publications.

Photo Galleries Of The Week

Research Studies Of The Week

May 29, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

“Askives” Looks Like A Good “Question & Answer” Search Engine

Askives is a new search engine that utilizes many of the question/answer sites that abound on the Web. Like another similar site, Kngine, though, it appears to be able to separate the good answers from the many useless and inaccurate ones that are out there.

I’m adding it to The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners.

May 29, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Today’s Best School Reform Posts & Articles

Here are some recent good school reform posts and articles:

Merit Pay: Pay teachers enough so that money is no longer an issue is by Mel Riddile. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea. Thanks to David B. Cohen for the tip.

Teach For America: From Service Group to Industry is by Rachel Levy. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America. I’m also adding What happened to my TFA? by Gary Rubenstein to the same list.

Rhee Battles Last in, First Out: An Unemployed, New Teacher’s Perspective comes from the Political Ennui blog. I’m adding it to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important & The Reasons Behind Seniority-Based Layoffs.

Creating Educational Monocultures is by John Thompson. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy.

Bolder, Broader Action: Strategies for Closing the Poverty Gap is by Paul Reville. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.

Report: Test-based incentives don’t produce real student achievement is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Posts/Articles On National Research Council Finding That Carrots & Sticks Don’t Work.

May 29, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Photo Galleries Of The Week

Obviously, photos can be great educational tools with English Language Learners and with any students (see The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons). I post about many photo galleries, also called slideshows. To do it in a little more organized way, though, I recently began this weekly feature called “Photo Galleries Of The Week.” This post is a “round-up” of online slideshows I’m adding to various “The Best…” lists:

Daily life in May around the world is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee. I’m adding it both to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures and to The Best Websites For Learning & Teaching Geography.

Even though I’m not thrilled at the BBC’s title for this slideshow, World’s weirdest festivals, I’m still adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures.

Thousands flee ‘ethnic cleansing’ in disputed Abyei region of Sudan is a series of photos from MSNBC. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The Vote In Southern Sudan.

A Trip Around Our Solar System is a series of photos from The Atlantic. I’m adding it to The Best Images Taken In Space.

Top 15 happiest nations: Who’s #1? is a slideshow from CBS News. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About…Happiness?

Great moments of scientific discovery is a nice slideshow from Popular Science.

May 28, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments

“Protagonize” Unveils Its Long-Awaited Feature (By Me, At Least) For Private Group Storytelling

Protagonize is a wonderful free site where people can collaboratively create versions of “choose your own adventure” stories. However, until today, it was problematic for teachers because you couldn’t regulate contributors.

Now, however, you can private groups.

You can read the announcement here, and get questions and answers here.

Protagonize is on two “The Best…” lists:

The Best Sites For Collaborative Storytelling

The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories

May 28, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
17 Comments

The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools

Periodically, President Obama, Secretary of Education Duncan, or various newspapers will highlight so-called “miracle” schools (often charters) that have made quick and dramatic gains in test scores or graduation rates. The message is — since they can’t do it, why can’t the rest of us? Often, however, the student attrition rates behind those achievements are ignored. In other words, these schools often don’t make these gains with the same students, or they really don’t have a 100% graduation rate if you look at who they started with…

I thought it would be useful to create a beginning list of posts and articles documenting some of the facts behind these inaccurate claims. This is just a beginning list, though, and I hope readers will made additional suggestions:

Here are my choices for The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools:

Miracle schools, vouchers and all that educational flim-flam is by Diane Ravitch.

Urban Prep and The Whole Story is by Chris Lehmann.

Where have all the KIPPsters gone? is by Caroline Grannan.

You’ll find an interesting dialogue in the comments section about Caroline’s post. This next article might also contribute to that discussion:

Do self-selection and attrition matter in KIPP schools? appeared in the Washington Post.

A question about Memphis school Obama chose was published in The Washington Post.

KIPP’s Atrocious Attrition and Expulsions from New Orleans Charters are posts by Gary Rubinstein.

Garry Rubinstein has also helped start a Miracle Schools wiki to coordinate research on this phenomena. I’m adding it to the same “The Best…” list.

I’ve previously written two posts about this topic:

One Very Disappointing Part Of President Obama’s Speech Today

TIME Magazine Can Do Better Than This…

An Interesting Few Days is by Diane Ravitch and The “90/90/90 Schools” Myth is by Justin Baeder at Ed Week. Though they don’t specifically deal with attrition issues at so-called “miracle” schools, they raise other important challenges to them, so I’m adding both posts to this list. Education ‘Miracles’ Don’t Survive Scrutiny is by Mike Rose and is in a similar vein.

Some Charters finally admit attrition — then rationalize it is by Gary Rubenstein.

Peer Effects And Attrition In High-Profile Charter Schools is another great post from The Shanker Blog.

Virgin Mary On A Grilled Cheese And Other Miracles is by Gary Rubinstein.

If You Believe in Miracles, Don’t Read This is by Diane Ravitch.

Do You Believe in Miracles? is by Diane Ravitch.

Feedback and suggestions are welcome!

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