Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

October 28, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

Wow, Storify Has Just Made Some Great Changes!

I’ve mentioned Storify on this blog in passing as an easy way to display “tweets.” In fact, I did just that in my post, Using Storify For “Poverty Matters When…”, when I displayed multiple tweets that began with that phrase. I had thought its use was pretty limited.

Yesterday, though, Storify announced some major changes, and its now one of the easiest tools to use to create a multimedia digital story. You can search the web for just about anything, including images, tweets, webpages, photos and videos, and use their “drag-and-drop” interface to add your own text and create a story (or a collection of labeled images, or just about anything). It’s really become quite versatile, and it would be difficult to find a tool that’s easier to use. You can also read this post from Read Write Web sharing other uses for the tool.

I’m adding it to The Best Ways To Create Online Slideshows and to The Best Digital Storytelling Resources.

October 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

I’ll Be A Guest On #UrbanEd Next Sunday (Plus Some Neat Twitter Tools)

This is an all-in-one post on Twitter:

First, I’ll be a guest on #urbaned Chat on Twitter next Sunday at 6:00 PM Pacific/ 9:00 PM Eastern time, and will be discussing motivation.

Second, if you want to know how to participate in a Chat on Twitter, Read Write Web just posted How to Get Started With Twitter Chats.

And, thirdly, 10 New Twitter Tools That Will Get You Tweeting is a useful post worth checking-out.

I’m adding the last two resources to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

October 19, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments

“What’s Up: Exploring the Most Popular Subjects on Twitter”

“What’s Up” is a fascinating tool that lets you easily explore the most popular subjects on Twitter for any day or for any hour of that day. The Information Aesthetics blog has more information about the site.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

In addition, I’m including this post in a category where I list web tools that help you identify “most popular” items on the Web.

August 18, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“Twijector” Is A Nice Way To See Hashtags On Twitter

Twijector displays tweets using a particular hashtag on an attractive screen that can be displayed at conferences. It can also be used by people who just want to view tweets using a hashtag, like in one of the many educational chats.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

August 12, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

“Twtrland” Is A Neat Twitter App

With Twtrland, all you have to do is type in a Twitter username and you get back a pretty neat profile of the person, their tweets, how many times they’ve been retweeted, and a bunch of other info attractively displayed.

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

June 9, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

Tweetolife Compares How Men & Women Use Words On Twitter

Type in some words into Tweetolife and in return you’ll get a visualization comparing how men and women use them on Twitter.

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

Thanks to Flowing Data for the tip.

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 21, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments

What A Great Way To Get Comments On Student Blogs!

As most teachers who have students writing blogs know, kids get very excited when people leave comments on their posts. Of course, we all appreciate it when people respond to our writing, and nothing beats having an authentic audience.

Today, I learned through Paula Naugle, a teacher in New Orleans, about the ability to solicit comments on student blogs through Twitter by using the hashtag #comments4kids. She relates in her blog post that her students received over 1,500 comments this year. And she told me separately that 70% of them were generated through use of that hashtag.

I think that’s amazing. The hashtag idea is brilliant, and I’d love to give credit to whomever came up with the idea. Let me know if you know who did.

(Paula writes that “The creator of the #comment4kids hashtag is William Chamberlain. There are teachers and student bloggers all over the world who are so thankful to Will for this innovative idea.”)

I’m adding this information to The Best Sources For Advice On Student Blogging.

May 21, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“What The Trend”

I periodically post “most popular” lists of websites (and 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, and find it interesting to see which ones might be particularly “popular.”

You might be interested in The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2010.

Today, I’d like to share about a site called “What The Trend.” It monitors thousands of “hashtags,” the words following the “#” sign, on Twitter. They are used to help Twitter users follow all tweets on a particular topic. What The Trend will help you understand what particular hashtags mean, which are the most popular at any given moment, and which are popular in what country. It actually looks pretty interesting.

Thanks to 10,000 Words for the tip.

April 20, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“Tweet Topic Explorer” Creates Cool Word Clouds From Your Tweets

Type in a user name into Tweet Topic Explorer and you’ll get a multi-colored word cloud in “bubbles.”

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About “Word Clouds” and to The Best Third-Party Twitter Apps That Don’t Require Your Password.

Thanks to Flowing Data for the tip.

April 18, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Tweetmetrics Is Cool

All you have to do to get a ton of data on your use of Twitter is type your user name into Tweetmetrics, and you’re given data galore.

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

Thanks to Lyn Hilt for the tip.

April 13, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“Tweet When”

Tweet When shows you the days and times when you get the most retweets.

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

March 26, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

The Best Ways To Make A Map Showing Your Facebook Friends (& Twitter Followers)

Before I began my “hot spot interviews” ESL/EFL teachers around the world, I thought it would be helpful to see both my Facebook Friends and Twitter Followers on a map. The Facebook sites were particularly helpful. The problem with the Twitter tools was that I could not find any that would show all followers at the same time — they’d only show a limited number at once. But that information was useful, just slightly less convenient.

Here are my choices for The Best Ways To Make A Map Showing Your Facebook Friends (& Twitter Followers):

FACEBOOK:

Where My Friends Are

Placebook is new app that I didn’t know about until yesterday, when it was shared by Information Aesthetics. It looks interesting.

Here are three new ways to map your friends on Facebook: Map My Friends; Social Mine; and Friends Density. Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.

Uwemi shows your Facebook friends on a map.

I’ve previously posted about Tripline, which is an excellent application that students can use for making maps of field trips, historical events, etc.They’ve now just announced new tools that let you create maps of your Facebook friends. They not only do they let you make maps of where your friends live, but you can also make maps of their most recent “check-ins” and where they grew up.You can read all about it at Tripline.

TWITTER:

Your Twitter Followers Mapped

Map My Followers (you can read more about the site at Read Write Web)

You might also be interested in My Best Posts Related To Twitter and A Beginning List Of The Best Resources For Learning About Facebook.

Feedback is welcome.

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.

March 21, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Some Nice Twitter Resources

Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About:

An Educators Guide To Twitter, compiled by Steven Anderson.

A list of educational chats on Twitter, compiled by Cybraryman.

A slideshow on the difference between Facebook and Twitter.

January 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“Your Twitter Followers Mapped”

“Your Twitter Followers Mapped” is a super-easy way to have your Twitter followers shown in a Google Map.

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

Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the tip.

January 22, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Twitter Fountain Is Fun Way To Search & Display Tweets

Twitter Fountain lets you type in a search word and display tweets in an engaging display. It offers a fair amount more than that, and you can read about its features at Jeff Thomas’ blog.

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

January 21, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“8 Fun Twitter Tools for Language Lovers”

8 Fun Twitter Tools for Language Lovers is a very interesting and useful post from Mashable.

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

January 18, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments

Twitter “Chats” For ESL/EFL Teachers (& How To Participate In Them)

There are two regularly scheduled Twitter “chats” for ESL/EFL teachers, and they’re both great professional development opportunities to connect with colleagues from afar.

One is #ELLCHAT, which has a Facebook page. Those take place on Mondays.

The other is #ELTCHAT, which takes place on Wednesdays. It has a webpage. (You can read more about it at this post written by Marisa Constantinides)

Here are two resources offering simple details on how best to participate in these kinds of Twitter Chats:

How to Participate in a Twitter Chat

How to Participate in a Twitter Chat Session

I’m adding these resources to The Best Ways ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers Can Develop Personal Learning Networks.

I’m also adding them to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

January 18, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

Twitter’s Advanced Search Options

In another example of my many ed tech blindspots, I didn’t even know that Twitter had an Advanced Search Option until I read a post by Richard Byrne.

You can go to his post to see a video about how to use it, as well as see other links he has about maximizing Twitter use.

I’m adding the resource to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

You might also be interested in My Best Posts Related To Twitter.

January 1, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“Mom, This Is How Twitter Works”

“Mom, This Is How Twitter Works — Not Just For Moms” is a great visual and text explanation of how Twitter works.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.

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