May 16, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Democracy Kids” is a nice series of interactives designed to teach young people about how the United States government operates. It provides audio support for the text, which makes it particularly accessible to English Language Learners. It’s sponsored by several respected civic organizations, including the National Conference of State Legislatures.
I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Learning About Civic Participation & Citizenship.
May 16, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
The Travel Photographer of the Year has been recognizing the best photographs from around the world for the past few years. Unfortunately, like most of the photo contest awards, they don’t display the winner very accessibly on their own website.
However, newspaper sites do a much better job displaying the winners in slideshows, so I’ve been able to collect links to some of them.
I’m also adding a link to this “The Best..” list to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures.
Here are The Best Travel Photographs Of The Year:
The BBC has an audio slideshow displaying the 2010 winners.
Travel Photographer of the Year 2010 competition: winners’ gallery comes from The Telegraph.
The Guardian has a similar collection of this past year’s winners.
The Telegraph has a slideshow of International Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 competition winners.
The Guardian has a Travel photographer of the year – past winners from the first four years of the competition (2002-2006).
Travel Photographer of the Year 2011 competition: winners’ gallery is from The Telegraph.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at the 670 other “The Best…” lists and consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 16, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
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”:
Living With AIDS is a Wall Street Journal interactive. I’m adding it to The Best Web Resources For Learning About HIV & AIDS.
Archive Gallery: Personal Computers is a slideshow from Popular Science. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology.
Amphibious vehicle made from a lawnmower and boat is a video from CBS News. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About “Cool” Cars (& Designing Your Own!).
The income made by, and the taxes paid by, the rich, in one graph is a chart from Ezra Klein at The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality.
Here are two new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Achievement Gap”:
Why the Black-White Gap Was Closing When It Was is by James Gee and appeared in The Huffington Post.
The Black-White Achievement Gap: When Progress Stopped is a report from The Educational Testing Service.
Buddha’s birthday celebrations is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee. I’m adding it to The Best Websites To Learn About Various Religions (& English).
Is Poverty the Key Factor in Student Outcomes? is an article and video from The Texas Tribune. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher & Outside Factors Have On Student Achievement.
The Cube Project Squeezes Bachelor Pad Into Charmingly Tiny Box is a video and short article from TIME Magazine. I’m adding it to The Best Images Of Weird, Cool & Neat-Looking Buildings (& Ways To Design Your Own).
The Power of Connection is a wiki containing materials from Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto. I’m adding it to The Best Ways ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers Can Develop Personal Learning Networks.
The Ten Greatest Lateral Thinking Puzzles is from Paul Sloane. I’m adding it to What Do You Do When You Have A Few Minutes Left In Class? — Part Two.
Freedom Riders inspire new generation of Arab protest leaders is from CNN. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Freedom Riders.”
Here are some other regular features I post in this blog:
“The Best…” series (which are now 675 in number)
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
Resources that share various “most popular” lists useful to teachers
Interviews with ESL/EFL teachers in “hot spots” around the world.
May 15, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I didn’t know that there was even a White House News Photographers Association, much less knowing that they had annual awards that highlighted photos that went far beyond the White House.
They just announced this year’s awards, and I thought I’d put together a short list of where you can could find new winners and winners from previous years.
You also might be interested in The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons. I have several other “The Best…” lists focusing on winners of various photography awards, and I will soon be bringing them all together in one “compilation” list.
Here are The Best Photos From The White House News Photographers Association:
The Washington Post’s White House News Photographers Association 2011 award winners is a Washington Post slideshow.
One of the contests they have is called Eyes of History. You can see this year’s winners of that contest here. At the top of the page you’ll see headings like “Still Photography,” “Video Photography,” etc. Click on each one of those to find further links to sub-categories.
The same goes for Eyes of History prize winners for 2010 here.
All winners from previous years can be found at this link.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at the 670 other “The Best…” lists and consider subscribing to this blog for free.
May 15, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
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 One (not listed in any order):
“The disgraceful interrogation of L.A. school librarians” LA Times
“WOW: Gravity-defying cat filmed in slow-motion”
“The 10 most pristine places on Earth” slideshow
“For-Profit Colleges: Targeting People Who Can’t Pay” NPR
Essential questions US history – Google Docs - (thanks to Mr. Potter)
“Library of Congress Launches A National Jukebox”
“Highlights of ‘The Final Edition,’ a New Parody of the New York Times”
“U.S. schools chief backs off on publication of teacher ratings “
“Over or under? The science of toilet paper orientation” infographic
” Parisian street dancer has some crazy moves” video
Onion: Budget MixUp Provides Schools With Enough Money To Properly Educate Students
Citizen children and life under the radar, LA Times
You might also be interested in seeing other people’s choices for their best tweets:
May 14, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Face Flow lets you create a video chatroom for up to four people. It’s free to use, and registration is fast.
I’m adding it to The Best Online Tools For Real-Time Collaboration.
May 14, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
“Why America Needs Immigrants” is an article by Jonah Lehrer in The Wall Street Journal.
He discusses the usual stuff you’d expect about the need for highly skilled entrepreneurs, but also adds an interesting perspective:
But the advantages of immigration aren’t limited to those with particular academic backgrounds. In recent years, psychologists have discovered that exposing people to different cultures, either through travel abroad or diversity in their hometown, can also make them more creative. When we encounter other cultures we become more willing to consider multiple interpretations of the same thing. Take leaving food on one’s plate: In China, it’s often a compliment, signaling that the host has provided enough to eat. But in America it can suggest that the food wasn’t good.
People familiar with such cultural contrasts are more likely to consider alternate possibilities when problem-solving, instead of settling for their first answer. As a result, they score significantly higher on tests of creativity. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that many of the most innovative places in the world, such as Silicon Valley and New York City, are also the most diverse.
I’m adding this post to The Best Sites For Learning About Immigration In The United States.
You might also be interested in:
The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures
May 14, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Over the past week, I’ve been sharing lessons we’ve been doing with students on Bloom’s Taxonomy, as well as studies and ideas on the general idea of helping students reflect on if what they are learning in school is relevant to their lives (see Why Is It Important For Students To Learn About Bloom’s Taxonomy? and “Relevance” & Student Learning).
Today, students began to post on our class blog short responses to the question:
“Is it important to to learn about Bloom’s Taxonomy?”
You can see the first twenty or so responses here, including a couple of Fotobabbles.
The vast majority there are positive, though there are one or two students who answered negatively. There are another twenty students who will leave their responses next week. Again, the large majority are positive, but a few critical ones will also be posted.
One “take-away” from our series of lessons on Bloom’s is that I feel it really is important to do and that it’s basically an excellent lesson plan. However, the negative responses seem to primarily say it’s too confusing, so I think I need to take a little more time explaining and modeling examples. My other “take-away” is that, though I was very clear that it was fine to answer the question positively or negatively as long as they backed-up their position, I think most students still saw that I was probably hoping for a positive response. Even with that, a number felt comfortable standing their ground and responding critically. I’m very pleased that students have enough self-confidence (and feel comfortable with the public relationship that they and I have) that they will say things that they know I don’t necessarily want to hear. It bodes well for their future.
I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom.
May 14, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
We teach a unit on Jamaica, and it includes a major section on Bob Marley. This past week was the thirtieth anniversary of his death, and there have been enough new resources published to warrant a sister ‘The Best…’ list to The Best Websites For Learning About Bob Marley.
Here are my choices for The Best Sites Remembering Bob Marley Thirty Years After His Death:
Photo Essay: 30th Anniversary of Bob Marley’s Death comes from The PBS News Hour.
The quotes of Bob Marley, 30 years after his death comes from The Vancouver Sun.
Images of Marley’s Living Legacy comes from The Root.
Bob Marley’s legacy lives on 30 years after his death is a video from The Telegraph.
Bob Marley: The legend lives on is a BBC video.
Remembering Bob Marley, 30 Years Later is an article from The Root.
Thirty Years After His Death, Bob Marley Lives is from The Wall Street Journal.
Additional suggestions are always welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.
You might also want to explore the over 670 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.
May 14, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Teachers are often required to use specific textbooks in many subjects. And many of these textbooks are horrible. I thought readers might find a list of resources where they could find ideas on adapting their textbooks in ways to make them more engaging. Most — though not all — of these posts relate to language-teaching, but many of the ideas they share can be used in other subjects.
Here are my choices for The Best Resources For Adapting Your Textbook So It Doesn’t Bore Students To Death:
The number one place to start is at the ELT Chat blog, which discussed the topic this past week. You definitely want to read: Summary – How to avoid death by coursebook: suggestions and advice for teachers stuck in a very regimented situation.
Rewriting History, and Nine Other Ways to Adapt Textbooks is by Paula Kluth.
To innovate within concrete, start with the cracks is by Jason Renshaw.
Animating Your Coursebook is a slideshow by Marisa Constantinides that I’ve posted about in the past.
Adapting The Textbook is slideshow by David Deubelbeiss.
The Role of Textbooks In A Language Program is by Jack Richards.
Nik Peachey has written “36 Tools for Digitising your ELT Course Book.”
Beating the Humdrum is from Language Moments, and has some excellent ideas on how to “liven-up” a less than interesting textbook
Additional suggestions are always welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.
You might also want to explore the over 670 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments
David Brooks at The New York Times writes in Homework Follies that a new study shows that homework has no impact in science, English, and history, but it does have a large impact in math.
I think it’s probably also safe to say that (depending on the type of homework, of course) it would also show a large impact with English Language Learners (see Homework For English Language Learners).
I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Learning About Homework Issues.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Edutopia just reprinted the excerpt from my book titled “Finishing The School Year Strong.”
If you didn’t see it last week when it was published at Education Week Teacher, you might want to take a look…
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven”:
Data-Driven Instruction and the Practice of Teaching is by Larry Cuban.
The Obituaries for Data-Driven ‘Reform’ Are Being Written is by John Thompson.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Outreach Editor at the Wall Street Journal has developed a cool tool call “SparkTweets.” They are simple infographics like this one (the tweet itself didn’t come out the way I had hoped, even though I used the Blackbird Pie tool to copy it — oh well, you get the idea):
▇▆▆▇▇▇▇▅▂▁▁▂ Last 12 months of the U.S. unemployment rate, which rose to 9% in April. More data: http://on.wsj.com/jkZPs9less than a minute ago via web 
Favorite 
Retweet 
Reply
Wall Street Journal
WSJ
They’re very easy to create at the Sparkblocks site. You can also learn more about it at the 10,000 Words blog. In addition, you can see how people are using them at the #sparktweet hashtag.
I’m adding this information to The Best Resources For Creating Infographics.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
This news seems pretty neat and, instead of re-inventing the wheel, I’m just going to quote from a Read Write Web post (and I’d encourage you to read their entire piece:
Yale University has one of the larger collections of art, objects and documents of any organization in the U.S. Now, digital images and audio files of the collection are free to access by anyone in the world online, according to an announcement by the university’s communications office.
Yale Digital Commons has debuted with just under 260,000 images. The idea is to encompass the whole of the university’s collections in time.
Here’s the main link to Yale Digital Commons.
The real interesting part of this is that the images are being released with what appear to be absolutely no licensing requirements. Yale says:
“In a departure from established convention, no license will be required for the transmission of the images and no limitations will be imposed on their use….”
I’m adding it to The Best Online Sources For Images.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
World Water Day was back in March, but I’ve recently a couple of new related resources, and I’m now adding them to The Best Resources For Teaching & Learning About World Water Day:
Here’s a video titled “Water Changes Everything”:
The Water Planet Challenge has a ton of good resources.
May 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
A study was just announced today claiming — surprise, surprise — that integrating pair work and small groups in teaching is more effective than straight lectures. Science Daily reported it in an article titled Interactive Teaching Methods Double Learning in Undergraduate Physics Class. The study’s author’s also seem to make a big deal of using “clickers” for student response, but when I actually read the study they said they only used them an average of 1.5 times each class, so it’s difficult for me to imagine they had that big of an impact. Based on my reading, though, the big difference seemed to be pair and small group work. You can access the study here, but it does cost fifteen dollars.
Surprisingly — at least to me — the study was immediately attacked by a many other scientists, including Daniel Willingham, in a New York Times article.
I don’t really understand what the big deal is — tons of other studies have shown similar results over the years.
But, of course, another one can’t hurt…
May 12, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Last week, I read a lengthy and fascinating article in The New Yorker titled “Kuwait on the Prairie.” It’s about oil exploration in North Dakota through the scary (for the environment) process called “fracking.”
Today, I just learned from The Atlantic about a video created by ProPublica which explains fracking in song. I think it’s brilliant, though its speed probably doesn’t make it accessible to English Language Learners. Happily, The Atlantic has also published the lyrics.
Here it is:
May 12, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11:
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is the central link to tons, and I mean tons, of resources.
9/11: The 25 Most Powerful Photos is from LIFE.
One Day After at Ground Zero is from TIME.
President Obama in New York is a slideshow from The Telegraph.
Joel Meyerowitz Revisits Ground Zero is a fascinating slideshow from TIME.
May 12, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
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.
I usually bring these together weekly but, because my blacklog is so big right now, I decided to publish this second “special edition.”
Here are the resources in this special edition of “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”:
The Why and How of Using Facebook For Educators – No Need to be Friends At All! is an important post from Ronnie Burt at The Edublogger. I’m adding it to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources For Learning About Facebook.
World’s tallest buildings, monuments and other structures is a slideshow from CBS News. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The World’s Tallest Buildings.
Here is a selection of video clips from the Nevada’s Test Sites historical film archive (via The Atlantic) that I’m adding to The Best Sites For Learning About Nuclear Weapons:
The Loneliest Plant In The World is from NPR. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Trees.
In pictures: Mexico anti-drugs march comes from the BBC. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Mexico’s Drug War.
MailTemp gives you a temporary email address — it lasts 24 hours. I’m adding it to The Best Temporary Email Address Sites For Students (Or Anyone).
Here are some other regular features I post in this blog:
“The Best…” series (which are now 650 in number)
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
Resources that share various “most popular” lists useful to teachers
Interviews with ESL/EFL teachers in “hot spots” around the world.
