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March 18, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

The Best Posts Debunking The Myth Of “Five (Or Three) Great Teachers In A Row”

A study by Eric Hanushek claiming that having five “great teachers” in a row can overcome the student achievement gap is used by many school “reformers” to push for unhelpful changes like the elimination of teacher tenure, using value-added assessment for teacher evaluation, and implementing teacher merit pay.

Nicholas Kristof from The New York Times (who I generally like and respect, but he now joins his fellow columnist David Brooks as ones who tend to miss the boat when it comes to writing about education issues) is the latest to bring up this myth.

This “The Best..” list is going to be a very short one. You only have to read two posts to learn why this “great teachers in a row” idea is a myth, with no connection to reality.

The first is from Matthew Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog, who has written a brilliant response to Kristof’s column in his piece, How Many Teachers Does It Take To Close An Achievement Gap?

The second is The “three great teachers in a row” myth by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post, who quotes extensively from Diane Ravitch.

Value Added — Scrutinizing The Most Widely Cited Study is by Gary Rubinstein.

I’d love to hear any additional suggestions.

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.

February 25, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Today’s Wisconsin Update — It’s Not About Money, It’s About Power

Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin:

The most interesting information today, I think, is a few seconds of the following embedded video from tonight’s PBS News Hour. Columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks have a segment every Friday. There’s nothing exceptional about this one until you get to the 5:45 minute mark. Then, Shields points out that there are nine states that have no collective bargaining, and that those nine states have a “higher indebtedness” than the states who do have collective bargaining. Brooks agrees with him. I wasn’t aware of that statistic, and it certainly raises more questions about the purpose behind the move to eliminate it in Wisconsin and other states — it’s not about money, it’s about power.

As Madison Impasse Continues, Schools Eye Layoffs is from NPR.

Of Budgets and Bargaining: Putting the Union Protests Into Context is from The New York Times Learning Network.

Anger In Orange is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.

February 17, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
10 Comments

The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin

The attacks on teachers and other public sector workers in Wisconsin by Governor Scott Walker and his allies could be a dangerous sign of things to come throughout the United States. Fortunately, the courageous and well-organized opposition could be an even more powerful indicator for the future.

I have a particular interest in what happens in Wisconsin — beyond its national implications. I lived in Milwaukee from age ten to fifteen, and know first-hand, and fondly remember, the hard work of educators in that state.

I hope readers will provide additional suggestions for this list — I’m sure there are plenty of good articles I don’t know about.

Here are my choices for The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin:

First off, an important post from the Shanker Blog answering this question: Are Public Employee Unions To Blame For States’ Budget Crises? (the answer is “No”)

Angry Demonstrations in Wisconsin as Cuts Loom is from The New York Times.

Marching On The Capitol is a NY Times slideshow.

Democrats Missing, Wisconsin Vote on Cuts Is Delayed is another NY Times piece.

Wisconsin Crowds Swell to 30,000; Key GOP Legislators Waver is from The Nation.

Wis. union vote on hold after Democrats leave state is from MSNBC, and has links to lots of articles and multimedia.

The Wall Street Journal seems to have a surprisingly good article and slideshow.

Wisconsin teacher Mrs. 4444 suggests this MSNBC clip.

Gov. Walker’s Pretext is an editorial from The NY Times.

Wisconsin in near-chaos over anti-union bill is from The Los Angeles Times.

State Democrats absent for vote as Wisconsin budget protests swell is from CNN.

Unions aren’t to blame for Wisconsin’s budget is a column in the Washington Post.

Obama joins Wisconsin’s budget battle, opposing Republican anti-union bill is an article in The Washington Post.

States, GOP go after teachers unions in budget crisis is from CNN.

The Wisconsin Situation from The Guardian.

Wisconsin Bill in Limbo as G.O.P. Seeks Quorum is from The NY Times.

Union battle echoes beyond Wisconsin: ‘We’re fighting for our very existence’ is from The Christian Science Monitor.

Fiscal Crisis Strikes At Labor’s Core: Public Workers is from NPR.

The real Republican strategy by Robert Reich

Why FDR would support the Wisconsin protests is from Salon.

Here’s a video of firefighters — who are exempted from the changes proposed by Gov. Walker — marching into the state capitol playing bagpipes to support the protest by teachers and other public sector employees:

Here’s an excerpt from a CNN piece titled Wisconsin governor defends budget bill as opposition persists. It gives a pretty good sense of what is going on in Wisconsin right now:

Kennedy (head of the Wisconsin affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers) blamed Walker for refusing to meet with union representatives.

“We are willing to come to the table and negotiate,” Kennedy said. “He is the one not willing to come to the table. He wants to strip our rights and then dictate exactly what the terms and conditions of employment are.”

Wisconsin Assistant Senate Majority Leader Glenn Grothman, a Republican, said Walker shouldn’t have to negotiate.

That exchange says it all…

Why should an elected official talk with constituencies who will be adversely affected by his plans?

Incredible.

Chalkboard: Why one teacher is protesting comes from The Cap Times.

Chris Hayes and Naomi Klein Explain Why the Protests in Wisconsin Matter

Here’s an MSNBC video saying that 70,000 people attended Saturday’s protest against Gov. Walker’s plan to end collective bargaining. Other media outlets estimate the total was closer to 100,000.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Essence of Democracy is from The New York Times.

12 Things You Need to Know About the Uprising in Wisconsin comes from AlterNet. (Thanks to Diane Wallis for the tip)

Larry Miller is an editor at Rethinking Schools in Milwaukee, and is writing useful updates on his blog.

Battlefield Wisconsin: Visualizing the protest comes from Salon.

Wisconsin Teachers Show Us How to Resist the Shock Doctrine is from Anthony Cody at Ed Week.

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Alice Mercer posts What’s up Wisconsin?, which gives her perspective and tells about a support vigil that will be happening here in Sacramento on Tuesday.

Why America’s Teachers Are Enraged by Diane Ravitch on CNN.

This is amazing: Video: Rep. Peter Barca explodes with anger after Assembly Republicans begin voting before Democrats enter the chamber (thanks to Liam Goldrick for the tip). Here’s what happened next:

Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, responded by saying that he started early because “Honestly, I thought you guys weren’t showing up.”
Fitzgerald acknowledged that Barca was correct in his reading of the rules, and members allowed the bill to return to its amendable stage. Fitzgerald then moved to adjourn the Assembly until 10 a.m. Tuesday, prompting a standing ovation from Democrats, who promised to continue working on amendments to the bill.

Protests in Wisconsin – We are Winning

As many people know, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while supporting workers who were striking in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a strong supporter of organized labor. Here is one of his statements that I think indicate clearly what his position would be on what is happening in Wisconsin today:

“Negroes in the United States read the history of labor and find it mirrors their own experience. We are confronted by powerful forces telling us to rely on the goodwill and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us. They deplore our discontent, they resent our will to organize, so that we may guarantee that humanity will prevail and equality will be exacted. They are shocked that action organizations, sit-ins, civil disobedience and protests are becoming our everyday tools, just as strikes, demonstrations and union organization became yours to insure that bargaining power genuinely existed on both sides of the table.

“We want to rely upon the goodwill of those who oppose us. Indeed, we have brought forward the method of nonviolence to give an example of unilateral goodwill in an effort to evoke it in those who have not yet felt it in their hearts. But we know that if we are not simultaneously organizing our strength we will have no means to move forward. If we do not advance, the crushing burden of centuries of neglect and economic deprivation will destroy our will, our spirits and our hope. In this way, labor’s historic tradition of moving forward to create vital people as consumers and citizens has become our own tradition, and for the same reasons.”

—Speaking to the AFL-CIO on Dec. 11, 1961

Wisconsin Power Play by Paul Krugman at the New York Times may be the best piece that’s been written about what’s happening in Wisconsin.

Protesters in Wisconsin Say They Are Staying Put is from The New York Times.

Back to the future? Return to labor unrest?

The irony of Obama’s ‘help’ for Wisconsin teachers is from Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post.

Teachers Unions, ACT/SAT, and Student Performance: Is Wisconsin Out-Ranking the Non-Union States? is a very important post by Angus Johnston. He examines the research connecting the role of teachers unions to student achievement.

I’m going to print an excerpt here, but you’re making a mistake if you don’t read his entire post:

There’s only been one scholarly effort to tackle this problem that I’m aware of. Back in 2000, three professors writing in the Harvard Educational Review did a statistical analysis of state SAT/ACT scores, controlling for factors like race, median income, and parental education. They found that the presence of teachers unions in a state did have a measurable and significant correlation with increased test scores — that going to school in a union state would, for instance, raise average SATs by about 50 points.

Two other findings leap out from the Harvard Educational Review study. First, they concluded that Southern states’ poor academic performance could be explained almost entirely by that region’s lack of unionization, even when you didn’t take socioeconomic differences into account.

And second, and to my mind far more interesting, they found that concrete improvements in the educational environment associated with teachers’ unions — lower class sizes, higher state spending on education, bigger teacher salaries — accounted for very little of the union/non-union variation. Teachers’ unions, in other words, don’t just help students by reducing class sizes or increasing educational spending. In their conclusion, they stated that

“other mechanism(s) (ie, better working conditions; greater worker autonomy, security, and dignity; improved administration; better training of teachers; greater levels of faculty professionalism) must be at work here.”

Egyptian union leader sends message of support to Wisconsin workers:

Teachers’ absence could turn into lesson for students comes from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

From Cairo to Madison: Hope and Solidarity Are Alive

Alice Mercer and I, along with many others, attended a rally at the California State Capitol in Sacramento tonight in support of the Wisconsin unions.
Here are some photos from the rally. The first two, which show me and others, were taken by Alice. You’ll see a picture of her in there, too. The presentation is a little strange — I’m trying out a new tool I haven’t used before (you can find a better slideshow at REAL Teachers):

MSNBC reports:

“A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows the public strongly supports employee bargaining rights. In the survey, 61% oppose a law in their state similar to one being considered in Wisconsin, compared with 33% who favor it.”

Workers’ protests swell in Midwest as budget battles continue comes from CNN.

To my critics: Teachers deserve rights by Diane Ravitch

Wisconsin is about power, not money by Ezra Klein at the Washington Post.

Ezra Klein continues to write some great pieces at the Washington Post, including:

How long can Scott Walker hold out?

What a prank call proves about Wisconsin

The conversation is no longer about Wisconsin’s finances

And he points out that not all Republican governors are inclined to follow Gov. Walker’s lead.

NPR also has some very good pieces, including:

Labor Unions Fight For Their Right To Influence

Here’s an excerpt from that NPR segment, which points out the impact of eliminating collective bargaining:

Mary Bell, head of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, says her members use collective bargaining to speak up on behalf of students. She says WEAC members weigh in on a whole host of education issues, such as “what the parameters are when you need to speak up on behalf of a student [and] what your voice is in setting curriculum.”

State Budget Fights – Wednesday, Feb. 23rd Edition

The Nation: In Wisconsin, It Isn’t About The Money

Governor Walker’s office confirms prank Koch call comes from The Washington Post.

Stephen Colbert did a fantastic piece on Wisconsin:

Here’s another excellent video:

A Wisconsin Moment For Our Education Policy Debate comes from The Shanker Blog.

Public Unions In Wisconsin, Elsewhere Are Scapegoats:Expert comes from NPR.

Unemployed public workers are bad for the economy is another good piece by Ezra Klein.

The state Assembly just passed the bill eliminating collective bargaining. You can read about what happened in this New York Times article, and see what happened in this video after Republicans cut-off debate, even though many Democrats were still waiting to speak:

The most interesting information today, I think, is a few seconds of the following embedded video from tonight’s PBS News Hour. Columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks have a segment every Friday. There’s nothing exceptional about this one until you get to the 5:45 minute mark. Then, Shields points out that there are nine states that have no collective bargaining, and that those nine states have a “higher indebtedness” than the states who do have collective bargaining. Brooks agrees with him. I wasn’t aware of that statistic, and it certainly raises more questions about the purpose behind the move to eliminate it in Wisconsin and other states — it’s not about money, it’s about power. (There might be a problem with PBS’ embed code — you can also access the video here)

As Madison Impasse Continues, Schools Eye Layoffs is from NPR.

Of Budgets and Bargaining: Putting the Union Protests Into Context is from The New York Times Learning Network.

Anger In Orange is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.

Indiana Informs Wisconsin’s Push is a very interesting article in The New York Times. Not only does it provide a scary picture of what happens without collective bargaining, it also includes a quote from a political supporter of Governor Walker’s bill eliminating it that explains what teacher tenure is so important (which is why I’m also adding this to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important & The Reasons Behind Seniority-Based Layoffs):

“I’ve talked to many teachers and public works employees in my county,” he said, “and almost every conversation comes around to the impact on their seniority and their concerns that their boss doesn’t like them and they won’t be treated fairly, and frankly I think there’s something to that.”

Scott Walker’s unprincipled rigidity comes from The Washington Post.

Another huge crowd gathers at Capitol for rally is from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Thousands converge on Wisconsin for more protests is from MSNBC.

Protesters out in force nationwide to oppose Wisconsin’s anti-union bill is from The L.A. Times.

Reuters has an article headlined Voices from the massive pro-union rally in Wisconsin.

Here are two videos from MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Police, who are exempt from Gov. Walker’s bill, have also come to the Capitol to support protesters. Here’s a video:

Rethinking Schools has an excellent resource page titled Teaching About Labor Issues and the Wisconsin Worker Fight Back.

Here’s a video from ABC News:

Here’s a video from a Madison TV station:

Police won’t boot protesters from Wisconsin Capitol comes from MSNBC.

Protesters Defy Deadline in Wisconsin is a slideshow from The NY Times.

Poll Shows Support for Embattled Public Sector Workers is also from The New York Times.

Protest continues at Wisconsin Capitol is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee.

Labor wins the day in Wisconsin is from Salon.

Real leaders don’t bust unions comes from Salon.

With Wisconsin’s Protesters: A Cold Night in Madison is from TIME Magazine.

Wisconsin Senate Okays Arrest of Democrats Hiding in Illinois comes from The Atlantic.

Where the Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana Union Battles Stand also comes from The Atlantic.

Wisconsin Teachers, Students Face Uncertain Future is from The Nation.

Reports: Wisconsin Republicans Wavering on Union Bill is from The Atlantic.

Wisconsin: The Tea Party’s Waterloo? is from Salon.

Unions Hope States’ Attacks Nurture a Comeback comes from The New York Times.

Both Sides Begin Efforts for Recalls in Wisconsin is also from The New York Times.

How To Make A Misleading Public/Private Earnings Gap Disappear is from The Shanker Blog.

The Budget: Who’s Really to Blame? is a cartoon from The Atlantic.

“Everyone who is party to this travesty is writing their political obituary,” said Wisconsin State Senator State Sen. Chris Larson after Republicans used a fishy and potentially illegal maneuver to pass a bill ending collective bargaining for public sector unions.

In addition to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article where he made those comments, here are some other updated resources (I’m adding all of these to The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin).

What happened in Wisconsin tonight by Ezra Klein at the Washington Post.

Here’s a video report from MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Anti-Public Employee Bill Passes Senate in Wisconsin; Only the Beginning of the Fight is a good description of potential strategies going forward.

At a Wisconsin Town Hall, the Mood Turns Against Compromise is from The Atlantic.

Wis. GOP strips public workers’ bargaining rights is from The Washington Post.

Top Ten Union Movies is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.

“Your actions are disgraceful” is what some of their Democratic legislative colleagues tell Republican Senators who leave after voting to end collective bargaining for public sector employees in Wisconsin. Here’s the video:

In Wisconsin Battle on Unions, State Democrats See a Gift is a New York Times article, along with a slideshow.

The Wisconsin union fight goes nuclear is from Salon.

Nelson Lichtenstein: ‘A governor like Walker is completely correct that it’s in his self-interest to ignore public opinion.’ comes from Ezra Klein’s Washington Post column.

Here is a Wall Street Journal video showing at least 100,000 people protesting in Madison today:

Articles also appeared at MSNBC and The New York Times.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a slideshow.

Wisconsin recalls hit deadline: Where things stand is the headline of a Washington Post headline reporting on the latest news out of the campaign by teachers and other public workers. And things are really looking interesting…

Organizers Say 1 Million Signed Petition to Recall Wisconsin Governor is the headline from today’s New York Times article on the effort.

Sixty-two thousand people rallied at the Wisconsin state capitol in March, 2012 to support the rights of workers and the recall of Governor Walker. You can read about it here, and watch this video:

The Atlantic reports:

A Wisconsin panel has voted to hold a recall election on June 5 for Gov. Scott Walker, after the efforts of his opponents in last year’s fight to end state workers’ collective bargaining rights and limit their benefits.

Wisconsin voters chose Tom Barrett to oppose Governor Scott Walker in the recall vote.

Along with that NY Times article about the election, the Times produced a very useful Timeline: The Wisconsin Labor Fight.

What Governor Walker’s Win Means…

Additional suggestions are welcome.

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You might also want to explore the over 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.

January 28, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
8 Comments

The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven”

Last year, two very talented educators — Ted Appel, the extraordinary principal we have at our school, and Kelly Young, creator of much of the engaging curriculum we use at our school through his Pebble Creek Labs — brought-up the same point in separate meetings with teachers at my school: The importance of not being “data-driven” and, instead, to be “data-informed.”

These conversations took place in the context of discussing the results of state standardized tests. Here’s the point made by Ted:

If schools are data-driven, they might make decisions like keeping students who are “borderline” between algebra and a higher-level of math in algebra so that they do well in the algebra state test. Or, in English, teachers might focus a lot of energy on teaching a “strand” that is heavy on the tests — even though it might not help the student become a life-long reader. In other words, the school can tend to focus on its institutional self-interest instead of what’s best for the students.

In schools that are data-informed, test results are just one more piece of information that can be helpful in determining future directions.

Since that conversation took place, I’ve written several posts about the topic. I thought it might be useful to bring together several related resources.

Here are my choices for The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven”:

First, I’m going to list the post I wrote immediately after that conversation – “Data-Driven” Versus “Data-Informed”

Next, a Dilbert cartoon that Alexander Russo shared today on his blog:

Dilbert.com

The cartoon reminded of what the New York judge said earlier this month when he ruled that the School District can publicly release the names of teachers and their “Teacher Data Reports.” Here is what the judge said (and I kid you not):

“The UFT’s argument that the data reflected in the TDRs should not be released because the TDRs are so flawed and unreliable as to be subjective is without merit,” the judge wrote, citing legal precedent that “there is no requirement that data be reliable for it to be disclosed.”

Data-Driven…Off a Cliff is the title of an excellent post by Robert Pondiscio.

An article in Educational Leadership is a year-old, but it’s new to me and certainly worth sharing. It’s called The New Stupid, and has the subtitle “Educators have made great strides in using data. But danger lies ahead for those who misunderstand what data can and can’t do.” It’s written by Frederick M. Hess.

It’s an article worth reading (though I do have concerns about some of its points), and relates to what I’ve written about being “Data-Driven” Versus “Data-Informed.”

Here are a couple of excerpts:

…the key is not to retreat from data but to truly embrace the data by asking hard questions, considering organizational realities, and contemplating unintended consequences. Absent sensible restraint, it is not difficult to envision a raft of poor judgments governing staffing, operations, and instruction—all in the name of “data-driven decision making.”

and…

First, educators should be wary of allowing data or research to substitute for good judgment. When presented with persuasive findings or promising new programs, it is still vital to ask the simple questions: What are the presumed benefits of adopting this program or reform? What are the costs? How confident are we that the promised results are replicable? What contextual factors might complicate projections? Data-driven decision making does not simply require good data; it also requires good decisions.

The Truth Wears Off: Is there something wrong with the scientific method? by Jonah Lehrer is an exceptional article from The New Yorker. David Brooks from The New York Times wrote a nice summary of the article:

He describes a class of antipsychotic drugs, whose effectiveness was demonstrated by several large clinical trials. But in a subsequent batch of studies, the therapeutic power of the drugs appeared to wane precipitously.

This is not an isolated case. “But now all sorts of well-established, multiply confirmed findings have started to look increasingly uncertain,” Lehrer writes. “It’s as if our facts were losing their truth: claims that have been enshrined in textbooks are suddenly unprovable.”

 

 

The world is fluid. Bias and randomness can creep in from all directions. For example, between 1966 and 1995 there were 47 acupuncture studies conducted in Japan, Taiwan and China, and they all found it to be an effective therapy. There were 94 studies in the U.S., Sweden and Britain, and only 56 percent showed benefits. The lesson is not to throw out studies, but to never underestimate the complexity of the world around.

Talking To Students About Their Reading (& Their Data) is a post I’ve written.

“Using data for progress, not punishment”

In a Data-Heavy Society, Being Defined by the Numbers is by Alina Tugend at The New York Times.

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.

California Governor Puts the Testing Juggernaut On Ice is by Anthony Cody at Education Week.

Making the wrong “Data-Driven Decisions” is by Carl Anderson (thanks to Dean Shareski for the tip).

Data-Driven To Distraction appeared on Larry Cuban’s blog.

Larry Cuban has written another interesting post titled Jazz, Basketball, and Teacher Decision-making. John Thompson relates it to school data at Thompson: Duncan Can Shoot — But Can He Rebound?

“Not everything that matters can be measured”

“You Are Not An Equation” (And Neither Are Your Students)

Policy by Algorithm is a nice post over at Ed Week.

Professional Judgment: Beyond Data Worship is by Justin Baeder at Education Week.

This Is Why Our School is “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven”

Bias toward Numbers in Judging Teaching is by Larry Cuban.

The False Allure Of Statistics is by John Thompson.

‘Moneyball’ and making schools better is by John Thompson.

Here’s Another Reason Why We Need To Be Data-Informed & Not Data-Driven

Data Gone Wild

“Why Do Good Policy Makers Use Bad Indicators?” is by Larry Cuban.

New Hope for the Obama/Gates School of Reform is by John Thompson.

“It’s amazing how much it’s possible to figure out by analyzing the various kinds of data I’ve kept,” Stephen Wolfram says. To which I say, “I’m looking at your data, and you know what’s amazing to me? How much of you is missing.”

This is the last paragraph of Robert Krulwich’s article at NPR, titled Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Does The Data Tell It All? In it, he compares authors of books, one by Stephen Wolfram, creator of a the Wolfram search engine, and Bill Bryson, author of a biographical account of growing up in Iowa. The column, though not specifically about schools, hits a “bulls-eye” on our current data-driven madness.


What Does “Stop & Frisk” Have To Do With What’s Happening With Our Schools?

What Does The NYPD Have In Common With Many Data-Driven Schools?

Tired of the Tyranny of Data is by Dave Orphal.

Big Data Doesn’t Work if You Ignore the Small Things that Matter is from The Harvard Business Review.


Test Scores Often Misused In Policy Decisions is from The Huffington Post.

The Data-Driven Education Movement is from The Shanker Blog.

Data Overload

Invisible Data is from Stories From School.

Don’t Let Data Drive Your Dialogue is from The Canadian Education Association.

“The Goal Is The Goal”

On the Uses and Meaning of Data is by David B. Cohen.

Friday Thoughts on Data, Assessment & Informed Decision Making in Schools is from School Finance 101.

The New York Times Has Discovered The Perils Of Being Data-Driven — I Just Wish Arne Duncan Would, Too

Here’s a Part One and Part Two series of posts on the use of data in education, and they’re both from Larry Cuban’s blog.

Data: No deus ex machina is by Frederick M. Hess & Jal Mehta.

Bill Gates is naive, data is not objective is by Cathy O’Neil and is really good.

Bill Gates and the Cult of Measurement is by Anthony Cody.

Sure, Big Data Is Great. But So Is Intuition. is from The New York Times. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s encouraging that thoughtful data scientists like Ms. Perlich and Ms. Schutt recognize the limits and shortcomings of the Big Data technology that they are building. Listening to the data is important, they say, but so is experience and intuition. After all, what is intuition at its best but large amounts of data of all kinds filtered through a human brain rather than a math model?

At the M.I.T. conference, Ms. Schutt was asked what makes a good data scientist. Obviously, she replied, the requirements include computer science and math skills, but you also want someone who has a deep, wide-ranging curiosity, is innovative and is guided by experience as well as data.

“I don’t worship the machine,” she said.

Beware the Big Errors of ‘Big Data’ is from Wired.

The NYPD Probably Didn’t Stop All That Crime

Data-Informed Versus Data-Driven PLC Teams is from All Things PLC.

David Brooks, who generally loses all coherence when he writes explicitly about education issues, has just written an eloquent case for the importance of being data-informed, and not data-driven. Read his column titled What Data Can’t Do. Here’s an excerpt:

The Problem with Our Data Obsession is from MIT.

Data Without Context Tells a Misleading Story is from The New York Times.

Big Data is “not a replacement for the classic ways of understanding the world”

Quote Of The Day: “Data & data sets are not objective”

“Big (Dumb) Data” is by John Thompson.

Data are no good without theory is from The Washington Post.

The Perils of Economic Thinking about Human Behavior is from School Finance 101.

What You’ll Do Next is by David Brooks

At the risk of being accused of taking a “cheap shot,” I just can’t resist embedding two segments from The Colbert Show about the now well-known mistake by the two economists whose work has been cited endlessly to support austerity. And I can’t resist adding it to this list:

Additional suggestions are 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 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.

January 10, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Odd, But Interesting, Article By David Brooks

I generally appreciate columns by David Brooks, the New York Times columnist. Though, when he writes about education issues, he can be way off base.

He’s just published a rather odd, but interesting, piece in The New Yorker Magazine titled Social Animal: How the new sciences of human nature can help make sense of a life.

It’s pretty meandering, but there are some intriguing parts. Here are a couple of excerpts:

One of Harold’s key skills in school was his ability to bond with teachers. We’ve spent a generation trying to reorganize schools to make them better, but the truth is that people learn from the people they love. In eleventh grade, Harold developed a crush on his history teacher, Ms. Taylor. What mattered most was not the substance of the course so much as the way she thought, the style of learning she fostered. For instance, Ms. Taylor constantly told the class how little she knew. Human beings are overconfidence machines…

Ms. Taylor was always reminding the class of how limited her grasp of any situation was. “Sorry, I get distracted easily,” she’d say, or, “Sorry, sometimes I jump to conclusions too quickly.” In this way, she communicated the distinction between mental strength (the processing power of the brain) and mental character (the mental virtues that lead to practical wisdom). She stressed the importance of collecting conflicting information before making up one’s mind, of calibrating one’s certainty level to the strength of the evidence, of enduring uncertainty for long stretches as an answer became clear, of correcting for one’s biases. As Keith E. Stanovich, a psychologist at the University of Toronto, writes in his book “What Intelligence Tests Miss” (2009), these “thinking dispositions” correlate weakly or not at all with I.Q. But, because Ms. Taylor put such emphasis on these virtues and because Harold admired her so much, he absorbed and copied her way of being.

Here a second excerpt:

Harold was gripped by the thought that, during his lifetime, the competition to succeed—to get into the right schools and land the right jobs—had grown stiffer. Society had responded by becoming more and more focussed. Yet somehow the things that didn’t lead to happiness and flourishing had been emphasized at the expense of the things that did. The gifts he was most grateful for had been passed along to him by teachers and parents inadvertently, whereas his official education was mostly forgotten or useless.

I’d be interested in hearing other reader’s reactions — do you think it’s as odd an article as it seems to me?

December 29, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

We See What We Want To See

The Truth Wears Off: Is there something wrong with the scientific method? by Jonah Lehrer is an exceptional article, and it was just released from behind The New Yorker pay-wall yesterday.

It reinforces why we need to be data-informed, but not data-driven — everywhere, including in schools.

David Brooks from The New York Times wrote a nice summary of the article:

He describes a class of antipsychotic drugs, whose effectiveness was demonstrated by several large clinical trials. But in a subsequent batch of studies, the therapeutic power of the drugs appeared to wane precipitously.

This is not an isolated case. “But now all sorts of well-established, multiply confirmed findings have started to look increasingly uncertain,” Lehrer writes. “It’s as if our facts were losing their truth: claims that have been enshrined in textbooks are suddenly unprovable.”

The world is fluid. Bias and randomness can creep in from all directions. For example, between 1966 and 1995 there were 47 acupuncture studies conducted in Japan, Taiwan and China, and they all found it to be an effective therapy. There were 94 studies in the U.S., Sweden and Britain, and only 56 percent showed benefits. The lesson is not to throw out studies, but to never underestimate the complexity of the world around.

It’s also a perfect article for Theory of Knowledge classes.

September 21, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment

Why Am I Disagreeing With Someone Who Doesn’t Like Standardized Tests?

Jonah Lehrer is a very talented writer who creatively applies research from the human sciences to real-life problems. I’ve often linked to his columns from this blog.

Today, though, he wrote an odd column about the somewhat odd column that appeared in the New York Times earlier this week about testing (which I wrote about in “Scientifically Tested Tests”).

My summary of what he wrote is that the standardized tests we use now don’t really measure knowledge. Instead, what it really measures — less than perfectly — is grit, self control, and perseverance. Those are the qualities schools should really be focusing on, and we should develop tests to more accurately measure those kinds of qualities, particularly because those are what are most valued by employers (let me know if you think that’s an inaccurate representation).

I’m certainly in agreement that the standardized tests we use today do not accurately measure knowledge. And I’m also in agreement that we should help students develop grit, self-control and perseverance. In fact, as regular readers know, I’ve written a lot about how do just that in the classroom, and will be writing more in my upcoming book.

But I get frustrated whenever I see people (who tend to either be school “reformers” or columnists who have little background in education — like Lehrer and David Brooks (though I wouldn’t put Lehrer in the same category — Brooks becomes almost incoherent whenever he writes about schools) portray needed school changes in a black/white view.

Yes, we need to help students develop those what I call “life skills” qualities. And, yes, we need to develop useful assessments for them (though I wouldn’t look to KIPP Schools as a model like Lehrer does in his article).

But we also need to help our students, particularly those in many of our schools with limited background knowledge, learn facts and, despite Mr. Lehrer’s criticism of helping our students develop the skills of “critical thinking, or the “ability to think about a situation in several different ways,” we need to teach those, too.

And I think both can be done in a lot more creative, useful, and effective ways than Lehrer’s anecdotes of cramming facts down students throat. I also don’t agree with Lehrer’s definition that this kind of cramming is “learning to learn.” And, despite what many of my colleagues are saying, I’m not entirely dismissive of the potential of a new generation of tests being helpful in that effort.

It doesn’t have to be either/or. How about both/and?

August 24, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

“There’s a metacognition deficit”

David Brooks has written a very good column in The New York Times today headlined A Case of Mental Courage.

He says “there’s a metacognition deficit” in our society and:

“In this atmosphere, we’re all less conscious of our severe mental shortcomings and less inclined to be skeptical of our own opinions.”

It sounds like this quote could fit right in my weekend post “Five Quotes That All Of Us (Including Self-Righteous School Reformers) Should Keep In Mind.”

I often like his columns, except when he writes about schools. Then, he’s almost incoherent.

July 19, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

July’s Best Tweets — Part One

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.

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 July’s Best Tweets — Part One (not listed in any order):

Who Are The Millennials? infographic

Unlikely Tutor Giving Military Afghan Advice, NY Times

Create your own font through your handwriting

The Champion Within

Bill Gates’ School Crusade

Wall St Journal reviews new biography of Saul Alinsky;I worked for many years as community organizer for organization he founded

Supporting Kids: A Conversation with School Counselor of the Year Barbara Micucci

“12 Writing Tips from Mark Twain”

The links between bloggers’ personalities and their use of words

“Sac City Unified gets corporate look” Sacramento Bee

“Matisse’s ‘Bathers by the River’ amazing NY Times interactive showing development of Matisse painting over 8 yrs

What the class size research REALLY says

Wikipedia Explained By Common Craft

“The Medium Is the Medium”, NY Times, David Brooks on books & Internet

Creating Edible Illusions–and Great Art [Slide Show]

World’s Strangest Festivals slideshow

You might also be interested in seeing a list of favorite tweets at Shelly Terrell’s blog.

April 16, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

April’s Best Tweets — Part One

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.

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

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

The Most Ridiculous Detention Slips Of All Time (Thanks to Alexander Russo)

Richard Rothstein grades “Race To The Top”

Who’s Attending College in U.S. Infographic

Why you just can’t trust what you think you’ve seen with your own eyes

Gravity defying illusion

U.S. public education by the latest numbers, Washington Post

Curious Collections: Offbeat Museums Around the World, TIME Mag slideshow

Money Is Not The Best Motivator, Forbes

5 Civilizations That Just Disappeared

Has music gotten louder over the years? NPR Infographic

6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes

Infographic showing budget for “Average College Student”

The Humble Hound, NY Times, David Brooks on leadership

Alfred Tatum’s Latest Work

“Relax, We’ll Be Fine” David Brooks, NY Times

You might also be interested in seeing a list of favorite tweets at Shelly Terrell’s blog.

April 6, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
3 Comments

The Best Sites To Learn About…Happiness?

I use one of my previous “The Best…” lists, The Best Lists Of “Best Places To Live,” in our Intermediate English unit on neighborhoods (see A Lesson Highlighting Community Assets — Not Deficits). Students compare the criteria they’ve used to determine what is a good place to live with the criteria other studies have used.

In a similar vein, I’ve been collecting links related to measuring happiness. I plan is not necessarily to create a lengthy unit plan but, instead, to make it a more fun (and learning) activity where students explore what makes them happy and again see the criteria used by others. In addition, I think this list can be useful in my International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge class when we explore the role of emotions in determining true knowledge.

Here are my choices for The Best Sites To Learn About Happiness:

Mean Happiness is an infographic from GOOD showing how happy people in different countries have been over the years.

Does Money Buy Happiness? is another infographic.

Does Being Happy Make You Healthy? is a short article from GOOD that would need to be modified in order for it to be accessible to English Language Learners.

Here’s the World Happiness Map, along with an article describing how it was developed.

Your path to happiness is a fun little infographic.

Here’s a downloadable PDF of a poster from Yes Magazine: 10 Things Sciences Says Will Make You Happy

Here’s an article claiming which states in the U.S. are the happiest.

Facebook measures how happy we are — and when — in this infographic. Here’s another version of the infographic.

Look at the World’s Happiest Places. Here’s a map showing the results.

David Brooks explores what makes us happy in this recent New York Times column.

Animated Infographic: Which Countries Are Happiest? comes from GOOD Magazine.

The Greater Good Science Center is based at the University of California, Berkeley, and “promotes the study and development of human happiness.” It doesn’t have much that’s accessible to ELL’s, but their resources could certainly be modified.

The New York Times has published a very interesting interactive map charting people’s happiness across the United States, a good graphic, and an article titled Discovered: The Happiest Man in America.

The Atlantic has a fascinating interview with Dr. Daniel Gilbert, an author and researcher who has just completed a study on how to be happy. Ezra Klein in The Washington Post has a good summary of the interview. Here are a couple of the main pieces of advice:

….consider forgoing whatever it is you want to do most:

Imagine making love to the person of your dreams. That will be a good day. But the day after will not. The good thing about peak experiences is that they make us happy while we are having them, but the bad thing is that they then serve as a standard of comparison for all the experiences that follow. When researchers looked at lottery winners, they weren’t happier than a control group, but they did take less pleasure in everyday events. The big happiness rush you get when you receive the big check is gone pretty soon, and then when good things happen you find yourself saying, “That was nice but it wasn’t like the day I won the lottery.”

….buy lots of fun small things, not a few big ones:

If you asked people if they’d prefer an ice cream cone every Monday for the next few weeks or a great meal at a French restaurant, most would probably take the great meal gift certificate. But it turns out that the frequency of positive events is a better predictor of happiness than intensity of those positive events. Let’s say that you had five good experiences and each had an intensity of 10 out of 10. And I had 10 good experiences each with an intensity of 5. Simple math suggests we should be equally happy. But the odds are that I will be happier than you because happiness is affected less by how good your good experience was and more by how many good experiences you had.

Create A Better Life Index lets you, without having to register, create an infographic emphasizing the qualities that you believe are key for a “better life” and showing how different countries in the world are doing in those areas. You can then share your infographic with others. It’s from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Top 15 happiest nations: Who’s #1? is a slideshow from CBS News.

The 10 Things Economics Can Tell Us About Happiness is from The Atlantic.

The Geography of Happiness According to 10 Million Tweets is from The Atlantic.

Feedback and suggestions are 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 400 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.

January 21, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

January’s Best “Tweets”

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.

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

Here are my picks for December’s Best Tweets (not listed in any order):

Visions of the Cosmos is a neat Wall Street Journal slideshow.

‘How Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?’ 30 Million People Wonder is satire from The Onion.

When the question is either/or, sometimes the answer is both (Thanks to Bud Hunt)

What Lessons Those Carrots Are Teaching, New York Times

The Bold, the Beautiful and the Incremental, Public School Insights

More to education than data, Diane Ravitch

Understanding the development of academic langauge for ELLs, Judie Haynes

See how the number of crayon colors have expanded over the years in this infographic

“The time has come for detracking”

Why You Haven’t Donated to Haiti Yet is an intriguing study of why & when we give

Vidinotes lets you create notes of video, including images

“Redefining Achievement”, Deborah Meier

Interactive on Doomsday Clock

Intriguing review of data used by author of Atlantic Teach For America article (Thanks to Susan Ohanian)

Fascinating interactive showing how energy use has developed since the Industrial Revolution

9 Amazing Bridges

Reading In The Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention, New York Times

“Make Beautiful Music on YouTube With This Interactive Video”

The Messiah Complex, David Brooks, critical thinking about Avatar

Hitching All Our Wagons to Tests, Public School Insights

How much data do Americans consume each day? Check out this visual breakdown

You might also be interested in seeing a list of favorite tweets at Shelly Terrell’s blog.

December 18, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

The Best From “Interviews Of The Month”

As regular readers know, in September I began a new series called “Interview of the Month.” In it, I interview people in the field of education. The main criteria is that I want to learn more about them, and I think they have something to offer to me and to readers of this blog.

I thought it might be useful to readers and to me to revisit these interviews and pick-out what I think is the best part of each interview.

Here are my picks of The Best From “Interviews Of The Month”:

KELLY YOUNG

I started off this series with Kelly, who I consider a key mentor.  I’d be surprised if there is  anybody else in the country who knows more about effective instructional strategies than Kelly. Kelly is the founder of Pebble Creek Labs, which provides curriculum and professional development to urban high schools (including ours)  across the United States in Language Arts and Social Studies.  Kelly has been a teacher, principal, and district Superintendent (and a lot else along the way!).

Kelly shared what he thought the three most important skills/strategies for a teacher to have in their repertoire in order to help students learn:

1. Literacy strategies to help students engage with text and make meaning.  There are a lot of them. 2. Strategies to help students talk with one another about their learning.  They like school more, and learn more, when they have to dialogue, purposefully, about their learning.  It is also a vital skill for work and life.  3.  The Inductive Model.   This strategy is so rich, so full, can go so many places.

He went on the explain each in a little more detail:

1) Students HAVE to learn how to make sense of text.  There is no getting around that, as a high school student, college student, worker or adult.  But students have been woefully unprepared, especially with expository text, which is 90% of their reading in high school, college and workplace.  So we MUST learn techniques that teach and help students think while they read. Our curriculum provides strategies, that with modeling and lots of practice, make a big difference for students.

2) Learning groups, and later work groups, talk to one another.  They problem solve, they read, discuss, argue, interact.  Schools where teachers talk and gab and blab some more aren’t doing students any favors, especially with students of limited engagement and lackluster skills.  Students need daily practice with working in teams, with reading text and writing to prompts and talking to one another about their work, their ideas, their problem solving.  We simply don’t have enough classrooms where dialogue is student to student around text, ideas, student work.

3) The Inductive Model is a learning/teaching strategy that is as powerful as they get, and few teachers know about it. It’s a natural higher-order learning strategy, and if students used it daily they wouldn’t just like learning more, AND learn their content better, they’d actually become smarter.   I cannot say enough about its power.

You can read the full interview with Kelly here.

CLAUS von ZASTROW

I was lucky enough to interview Claus von Zastrow, the director of the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of 17 leading education associations. He writes the influential Public School Insights blog, which I highlight regularly here.

I asked Claus to comment on the tendency many have of looking at school reform through the lens of “either/or” — it’s either the merit pay/standardized tests/charter school etc. way or one that has all the elements of what are often considered a “progressive” vision for schools:

I think people like to go whole hog on the newest reform ideas, and they tend to dismiss earlier reform ideas as passé or ineffective. That tendency creates either/or thinking, because people begin to harden into ideological camps.

He shared several examples, including:

The highly-publicized battle between those who advocate for a “schools plus” approach to improving student performance and those who argue that schools alone can get the job done. You would think it would be uncontroversial to argue that factors both within and beyond schools affect student performance—and that we should address both. But somehow the media framed this argument as a debate between those who believe schools are powerless to effect change and those who say schools alone can effect change. What a preposterous debate! And yet national commentators like David Brooks, commentators who should know better, fueled the phony debate with simplistic op eds.

Why does this happen? Many organizations have focused more attention on PR than research into what works. Brass knuckles PR types have made sure that national media outlets like the Times or Newsweek play up the battles between opposing factions rather than actually weighing evidence or learning more about the nuances of education policy. Nuances can make for uninteresting copy, but they sure matter when it comes time to make things better for kids

You can read the full interview with Claus here.

ALEXANDER RUSSO

Alexander Russo is a longtime education journalist and writer of the popular blog This Week In Education (and several others).

Alexander didn’t mince any words (he generally does not) in his critiques:

I think that most think tanks are glorified PR outfits for their funders, and that many many education advocates are sadly ineffective. I think innovation is highly over-rated compared to implementation. (I’m currently in favor of a moratorium on innovation while we implement some of the things we already know how to do. Maybe with a little less distraction we’d actually get down to business and get some things done.)

Later in the interview, he shared some thoughts on the potential education legacy of the Obama administration:

I’d love to be wrong about this, but Arne Duncan could well end up exposed as the Obama administration’s version of Rod Paige – a generally nice guy who’s in way over his head in Washington as he may have been in Chicago. And I worry that the Obama administration will be too focused on innovation and political needle-threading that it won’t get anything meaningful or transformative done on the education front.

You can read the full interview with Alexander here.

DAVID B. COHEN

David B. Cohen is one of the key people behind The Accomplished California Teachers and co-author of a recent Op Ed piece titled Test scores poor tool for teacher evaluation.

I asked David how he would respond to those who criticize teacher unions for supposedly blocking changes that would benefit students:

Randy Ward, the current superintendent of San Diego County Schools, was in a roundtable discussion with John Merrow on PBS about a year-and-a-half ago, and given a chance to criticize unions, Ward made a wonderful comment that I’m paraphrasing here: “I always tell school boards, ‘you signed the contract, too.’” In other words, we shouldn’t expect unions not to stick to contracts, so if in the process of following a contract, the union is doing something the district doesn’t like, well, there’s an item for negotiation next time around. If districts expect concessions in one area, I’d expect them to come to the table offering concessions in some other area. And if unions were the root of our problems, you’d expect “right to work” states that lack collective bargaining to have significantly better results to offer, but they don’t. They also struggle with teacher quality issues and various reform efforts.

You can read the full interview with David here.

JOHN NORTON

John Norton is the director of The Teacher Leaders Network. I was invited to join TLN this year, and it’s helped me become both a better teacher and better thinker on education issues. I knew of John earlier through his generous sharing of resources through Middleweb, one of the “granddaddies” of ways to share education resources on the web.

I asked John how he would characterize any differences between the concerns and questions raised by teachers with whom he’d worked between ten or twenty years ago and now:

Well, that’s a dunk-shot question! Let’s all say it together: No. Child. Left. Behind. Not the idea of it – not the dream of making school better for all kids that led many well-meaning progressive reformers to fall for it. But the reality of it. I’ve always felt that the well-meaning group of folks who supported NCLB (there’s a less well-meaning group too, as we know) fell for a bait-and-switch. The bait was “we need to help these kids get an education and get out of poverty.” The switch was that instead of placing the blame for their condition where it belongs – on our entire society and our culture of haves and have-nots – somebody switched the villain in the story to the American public school teacher.

He went on to say:

Of course I realize that NCLB has impacted teachers across the board, not just in our highest needs schools, but that’s how it started and teachers in those schools still bear the greatest brunt of the top-down sanctions and general professional humiliation. The teachers I hang out with every day at the Teacher Leaders Network are truly top-notch educators. They set the highest standards for themselves and their profession. They’re not in the business of protecting “weak teachers,” they just understand that the real problems in our public schools are not going to be addressed by an “off with their heads” strategy.

These are teachers who are eager to get policymakers to listen and learn about the genuine core problems – and some expert solutions. But it’s a hard go. It’s much easier to grab the public’s attention these days with a cartoon villain — and her/his counterpart, the heroic teacher who is defying the status-quo simpleton teachers who have somehow taken over our schools en masse when the public wasn’t looking. That’s meant to be sarcasm, in case anyone is thinking of sending me a blistering email or tweet.

You can read the full interview with John here.

Look for more interesting interviews in 2010!

October 20, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Interview Of The Month: Claus von Zastrow From The Learning First Alliance

Last month I began a new feature called “Interview Of The Month.” In these interviews, I’ll be talking with anybody in the education world who I want to get to know better and who I think others might be interested in, too. How’s that for a broad criteria?

The first person I interviewed was Kelly Young from Pebble Creek Labs, one of the best people — if not The Best — in the country for assisting teachers develop better instructional strategies.

Next month, David Cohen, one of the key people behind The Accomplished Teachers Forum and co-author of a recent Op Ed piece titled Test scores poor tool for teacher evaluation, will be the guest.

This month, I was lucky enough to interview Claus von Zastrow, the director of the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of 17 leading education associations. He writes the influential Public School Insights blog, which I highlight regularly here.

It’s a bit lengthy, but well worth reading!

Can you describe the Learning First Alliance and how you got involved with it?

The Learning First Alliance is a permanent partnership of 17 major national education associations that collectively represent some 10 million parents, education practitioners and education policymakers. Rather than dump the entire list of members on you right here, here’s a link to the membership list. We represent the people who work in and for public schools every day. We need to have a voice at the national policy table.

We give our very diverse membership opportunities to find common ground on a host of education issues that affect the well-being of children. The Alliance exists because the members believe they can accomplish much more for children if they work together.

We’ve done some important work establishing common ground in areas like reading instruction, mathematics instruction, district-wide improvement and staffing hard-to-staff schools. We want to create alignment among our own members in these important areas, but we also want to remind the outside world that the people who carry out the work of public education have to be partners in the formulation of policy.

How did I get involved with LFA? My previous jobs in education were quite different. I started working on workforce issues and proceeded to curricular issues at a couple of DC think tank/policy organizations. It occurred to me after that work that parents and practitioners were often left out of discussions about school reform. They, after all, will have to carry out many of the reforms currently under discussion. LFA operates on the assumption that the people who work in and for public schools everyday can become a powerful force for improvement.

You’ve written a lot about the fallacies of looking at school reform through the lens of “either/or” — it’s either the merit pay/standardized tests/charter school etc. way or one that has all the elements of what are often considered a “progressive” vision for schools. Can you give us an overview of these thoughts, and why you think so many people have that “either/or” perspective?

I think people like to go whole hog on the newest reform ideas, and they tend to dismiss earlier reform ideas as passé or ineffective. That tendency creates either/or thinking, because people begin to harden into ideological camps.

Take, for example, the biggest proponents of alternative certification. Many discount investments in “traditional” teacher education or staff development. One prominent advocate even counseled the federal government to defund traditional programs. As Linda Darling-Hammond notes, however, neither traditional nor alternative certification programs can boast stellar results across the board, so it’s time to learn what’s best from both to create something much better. (Of course, Darling-Hammond had to endure vicious ideological attacks, but that’s another story.)

The charter school debate offers another example. There are terrific charter schools out there, and we can learn a lot from them. But the True Believers in the charter movement—and their enablers in the media—would have you believe that charters offer the only answers to what ails public schools. There are wonderful traditional public schools out there that are having astonishing results for low-income kids, but you wouldn’t know it from reading the papers. And as a result, the public is getting a distorted view of what’s possible in school reform. For many, the charters vs. traditional public schools discussion boils down to a zero-sum game.

Case in point: A very intelligent friend asked me if we should just convert all schools into charter schools to improve the system as a whole. I had to remind him that (1.) charter schools are on average no better than traditional public schools, and many are worse; (2.) Many of the best charters are difficult to replicate; and (3.) we have important lessons to learn from high-performing traditional public schools as well. These are common-sense positions, but you won’t find them in the New York Times or Washington Post these days.

One more example: The highly-publicized battle between those who advocate for a “schools plus” approach to improving student performance and those who argue that schools alone can get the job done. You would think it would be uncontroversial to argue that factors both within and beyond schools affect student performance—and that we should address both. But somehow the media framed this argument as a debate between those who believe schools are powerless to effect change and those who say schools alone can effect change. What a preposterous debate! And yet national commentators like David Brooks, commentators who should know better, fueled the phony debate with simplistic op eds.

Why does this happen? Many organizations have focused more attention on PR than research into what works. Brass knuckles PR types have made sure that national media outlets like the Times or Newsweek play up the battles between opposing factions rather than actually weighing evidence or learning more about the nuances of education policy. Nuances can make for uninteresting copy, but they sure matter when it comes time to make things better for kids.

I’m often asked by people outside of education what I think should be done to make schools better. What would your response to that question be?

That’s a challenging question, because It invites silver bullet answers. The real answer is actually more complex than many journalists think it is. Any answer that does not consider how reforms affect classroom practice isn’t really much of an answer at all.

We’ve published an “emerging vision” that lays out some big areas for school improvement. I won’t repeat all of that vision here, but I will point to some important themes. For one, we need excellent standards AND curricula AND assessments—and we have to be sure that they support excellent instruction. Standards-based reform often stopped at standards—assuming it went that far. Assessments have too often been lousy, and curricular supports for teachers all but non-existent. So standards that do little to build educators’ capacity don’t accomplish much—other than giving politicians nice talking points.

Another important theme is personal attention to students’ needs. This, after all, is the reason for better data systems. Teachers need information and time to address students’ individual instructional needs. They need the right kinds of information, they need to get it in time to be useful to students, and they need help—professional development—to use it most effectively. Too many commentators have made a fetish out of data systems for accountability purposes without considering how they can boost educators’ ability to provide first-rate differentiated instruction.

And let’s not forget the importance of families and communities. Schools need their help—but they also have a responsibility to engage families and communities as partners in the work of educating children. (Your excellent new book can be a guide here, Larry). The media have distorted calls for greater community engagement as attempts to let schools off the hook. That’s pure rubbish. Schools alone can have a profound effect on students’ lives, but schools working with their communities can tackle the broad array of challenges our most vulnerable students face.

As for the reforms that get the most ink in our national papers—charter schools, merit pay and mayoral control…. They can be promising if they truly improve instructional conditions for kids. Yet too many reformers seem to support them as ends in themselves, even though the evidence for these reform strategies remains murky.

Whose thinking/writing most challenges and pushes your own thinking about education?

Yours!

Otherwise, I’m hesitant to name too many names. The education writers who challenge my thinking in the best ways are often the writers I don’t agree with. Often, they simply irk me, but they can also unsettle some of my own assumptions and force me to reconsider my positions on issues of school reform. It’s important to keep these critical friends on the reading list!

Your blog is widely read in education circles. What do you consider its primary purpose, and what might be three or four posts you’d characterize as particularly good and/or insightful?

The blog’s primary purpose is to highlight what’s working in public schools and districts—and to call for reforms that build schools’ capacity for improvement. A closely related goal: The blog aims to call some received wisdom about school reform into question. The media stage the “reformers vs. establishment” drama. In doing so they turn complex debates about school reform into a kind of morality play, complete with personified virtues and vices. I hope the blog reminds people that true reform has many faces. There’s much more to reform than changes to incentives and governance structures.

What are my favorite posts? Hard to say. It’s often disappointing to reread them. I’ll give you three very recent posts: The first, which aims to sum up the teacher’s predicament, received a fair number of comments. The other two, which I published since yesterday, received few or no comments—and I wish they would get a few more. (Yes, I’m shamelessly trolling for comments):

1.) “You Can’t Win”

2.) “Merit Just Ain’t Worth What It Used to Be”

3.) “Welcome to Our World”

I hope people also visit our “Success Stories” page, which is the heart of our website: One-hundred, fifteen stories and counting.

People might also enjoy our page of exclusive interviews with education visionaries. We’ve interviewed about 75 people, including some big names like Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author Dave Eggers and fitness legend Richard Simmons. More important, we’ve interviewed many educators and parents who are doing remarkable work.

What might be the three most important lessons you’ve learned about making change in schools?

1.) The people on the front lines have to be central players in discussions of school reform.

2.) Don’t oversell any reform idea: You’ll do more harm than good over the long term.

3.) Reformers should have a clear vision for how their reforms actually improve classroom instruction.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with this blog’s readers?

I’m afraid I’ve said too much already. It’s such an honor to be interviewed by you. Thanks so much for the opportunity.

Thanks, Claus!

May 27, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Post Rank’s Top Posts For May

I regularly share my picks for the most useful posts of each month. I also publish a list of the month’s most popular posts, based on the number of times they are “clicked-on.”

I also share a list of Post Rank’s analysis of each month’s top posts. Post Rank uses a variety of ways to measure level of “engagement” that readers have with specific blog posts.  I have a constantly updated “widget” on my blog’s sidebar that lists these posts, but I thought a monthly post would be helpful/interesting to subscribers who don’t regularly visit the blog itself.

Here are their rankings for the month of April (actually, all of these posts tied for the highest rank — once a post reaches a “10″ in Post Rank, it can’t go any higher):

1. The Best Collections Of Online Educational Games

2. National Geographic History Videos

3. Last Call For Submissions To ESL Blog Carnival

4. How Educators Can Use Facebook Effectively — Mark The Date!

5. Article on “Engaging Parents” Is Back Online

6. The Best Images Taken In Space

7. More Videos Of ESL Teachers & Students In Action

8.  The Best Ways For Students To Create Their Own Online Art Collections

9. My “Verdict” On Twitter

10. Blerp Is A Winner

11. Sketchcast Is Back!

12. Great Presentation Tips!

13. What Is Going On With David Brooks?

14. The Best “Week In Review” Sites For English Language Learners

15. “Order In The Library”

16. The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers In The Classroom

17. What Do You Do When You Have A Few Minutes Left In Class?

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

May 12, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments

What Is Going On With David Brooks?

Even though I haven’t always agreed with David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and commentator on the PBS News Hour, I’ve always been impressed with his intellect and reasonableness.

However, it appears that he loses these attributes when he talks about education.

I’ve posted about a relatively incoherent colum he wrote last month (see Relationship-Building, Merit Pay, & Testing).

This week he wrote another bizarre one – this time on the Harlem Children’s Zone, the well known charter school run by Geoffrey Canada.

Instead of going into my issues with what he wrote, I’d encourage you to read two other posts that express similar concerns much more eloquently than I could do:

What ‘The Harlem Miracle’ Really Teaches by Diana Ravitch

David Brooks In Opposite Land by Claus von Zastrow.

There are also some very insightful comments that were left by readers right below his column on the Times’ webpage.

I think Brooks would be better off staying off the education “beat.”

March 21, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments

Relationship-Building, Merit Pay, & Testing

You might be interested in a post I just wrote for In Practice, our group blog written by teachers in low-income communities.

It’s titled Relationship-Building, Merit Pay, & Testing.

It’s my commentary on what I consider to be a pretty confused piece written by David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times (who I generally think is pretty thoughtful).

January 4, 2009
by Larry Ferlazzo
4 Comments

The Best Resources About President’s Day

President’s Day, which celebrates the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, will be coming-up next month. And, especially since it’s the two-hundredth anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, I thought a “The Best…” list would be helpful.

You can find additional resources at The Best Sites To Learn About U.S. Presidents.

You can also find these links and more on my U.S. History page.

Here are my choices for The Best Resources About President’s Day (that are accessible to English Language Learners):

GEORGE WASHINGTON:

Happy Birthday, Mr. President is a simple “talking book” that also describes how President’s Day began.

This Brainpop movie about Washington is good, but you need a paid subscription to view it.  Or, you can sign-up for a free trial.

Though this description of Washington’s ownership of slaves is not accessible to English Language Learners,  teacher’s could certainly modify it.

Father of Our Country is pretty “schmaltzy,” but it is an accessible “talking book.”

EL Civics has a very good presentation on George Washington.

The History Channel has many online resources on Washington.

Though the language in this story is a bit “old-fashioned” it’s of course important for students to know the popular myth of George Washington and the cherry tree.

Enchanted Learning has a number of accessible materials about Washington.

Here’s an online cloze (fill-in-the-gap) about both Washington and Lincoln.

A student has written a simple and short biography.

Take a short quiz on President’s Day.

Here’s another simple biography.

I have to admit that I’m not all that familiar with how Mayor Bloomberg has dealt with public schools in New York City.  However, there’s a great post in the NYC Public School Parents blog titled Lessons For Michael Bloomberg On President’s Day that provides an excellent summary of George Washington’s leadership style. The post’s writer, David Bloomfield, then contrasts that with how Mayor Bloomberg acts in school matters. The Mayor doesn’t come across favorably.  But whether or not you know much about what’s going on in New York City, or even if you support Bloomberg, the summary of Washington’s leadership style is grist for an engaging lesson and student discussion.  And, because of that, I’m adding the post to this list.

“Discover The Real George Washington” is a brand-new and very engaging interactive timeline from Mount Vernon. I’m not so convinced it shows all aspects of the “real” Washington (some non-flattering but true information may be omitted), but I’m still adding it to this list.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN:

The History Channel’s site on Lincoln is not-to-be-missed.

Beacon Learning Center has a simple “talking story” about Lincoln.

Digital Vaults, the exceptional site from the National Archives, has what they call a Pathway game on Lincoln that is worth checking-out.

Scholastic has a good “Listen and Read” Lincoln biography.

Abraham Lincoln For ESL Students is from EL Civics.

Here’s an accessible Abraham Lincoln timeline.

The Constitution Center has an online game, with audio, about the decisions Lincoln made as president. It’s called Abraham Lincoln’s Crossroads.

Here’s a simple biography.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg address is the focus of these ESL exercises.

The Mask of Lincoln is a new Smithsonian exhibition.

Enchanted Learning has Lincoln resources.

Brainpop,Jr. has its own Lincoln movie (again, you have to subscribe or get a free trial).

The Smithsonian has a neat presentation of the Gettysburg address which includes a “zooming” capability, along with providing audio support for the text.

Portraits of Abraham Lincoln is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.

I’m adding a New York Times slideshow on Ford’s Theater (where Lincoln was shot) to this list.

Birthday Party For An American Icon is a slideshow from The Washington Post covering how Lincoln’s 200th birthday was celebrated.

Georgetown College has some very impressive Teachers Resources For The Lincoln Bicentennial. They include excellent lesson plans for each grade (and I’m not impressed by many lesson plans I find on the Internet).

The National Parks Service has put together a really exceptional interactive on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Abraham Lincoln: The Great Campaigner is from Newsweek.

Why We Love Politics is by David Brooks.

The Lincoln Learning Hub is an official “education” site for the popular movie and has been created by Disney. It has several useful features, including:

What Would Lincoln Do? — this looks at various challenges facing the U.S. after his death (including whether or not to use the first nuclear bomb) and considers…what would he have done?

Team of Rivals — read about each of his cabinet members and guess which one he would place in which position.

Who’s Who Of Congress — Learn about individual Congressmen and guess which ones would support the 13th Amendment.

Rethinkin’ Lincoln on the 150th Birthday of the Emancipation Proclamation is by Bill Bigelow.

If you’re ever in a position where you need to teach about Lincoln’s assassination, the new Lincoln Killing interactive from National Geographic is going to be one of your “go to” resources.

Presidents’ Day: A Life Lesson for Students is from Edutopia.

Feel free to offer additional suggestions.

If you found this post useful, you might want to check out my other “The Best…” lists.

In addition, you can also subscribe to this blog for free.

January 21, 2008
by Larry Ferlazzo
24 Comments

My Best of series

I’ve separated my “The Best…” lists here by topics. A number of the lists, though, can fit into multiple categories, so it still might be useful to scan all of them.

The Websites Of The Year page on this blog, on the other hand, has these lists in the chronological order in which they’ve been written. Please note that I continually update and revise all of the lists.

The Best Websites page on my website shows versions of these same lists that are designed for student self-access.

The best way to search is using “Control + F” on your keyboard.

ART

The Best Art Websites For Learning English
The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Animations
The Best Ways To Make Comic Strips Online
The Best New Sites Students Should Use With Supervision
The Best Sites To Learn About Diego Rivera
The Best Ways For Students To Create Their Own Online Art Collections
The Best Images Of Weird, Cool & Neat-Looking Buildings (& Ways To Design Your Own)
The Best Collections Of “The Best” Pieces Of Art Ever Created
The Best Art & Music Sites — 2009
The Best Sites For Learning About Famous Art Thefts
The Best Examples Of “Unusual” Art
The Best Art & Music Sites Of 2011 — So Far

CLASSROOM PRACTICE
When A “Good” Class Goes “Bad” (And Back To “Good” Again!)
Maintaining A “Good” Class
More About Maintaining A “Good” Class
“Why Do You Let Others Control You?”
Have You Ever Taught A Class That “Got Out Of Control”?
What Do Pit Bulls & Cockroaches Have To Do With Learning & Teaching?
What Do You Do When You’re Having A Bad Day At School?
What Do You Do To Keep Students (And You!) Focused Near The End Of The Year?
Writing Letters To Students
“I’ll Work If You Give Me Candy”
What Do You Do On The Last Day Of Class (Part Two)?
What Do You Do When You Have A Few Minutes Left In Class? — Part Two
Answers To “What Do You Do On The First Day Of School?”
My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control
My Best Posts On Classroom Management

ECONOMICS & JOBS

The Best Websites For Students Exploring Jobs and Careers
The Best Sites For Learning Economics & Practical Money Skills
The Best Websites To Teach & Learn Life Skills
The Best Sites For Students To Create Budgets
The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Financial Crisis
The Best Sites To Learn About The Recession
The Best Places For Students To Write Their Resumes

ELL/ESL — GENERAL

The Best Internet sites for English Language Learners 2007
The Best Web 2.0 Applications for ESL/EFL Learners — 2007
The Best of The Best 2007
The Best Online Video Sites For Learning English
The Best Internet Sites For English Language Learners — 2008
The Best Sites For Encouraging ELL’s To Attend College
The Best Sites For K-12 Beginning English Language Learners
The Best Sections On My Website
The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets
The Best Sites For K-12 Intermediate English Language Learners
The Best Sources For Ideas On How To Use Technology With English Language Learners
The Best Online “Chatbots” For Practicing English
The Best Sites For Learning How To Tell Time
The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students — 2009
The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl
The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets
The Best “When I Say Jump” Online Sites For Practicing English
A Collection Of The Best Sites For Learning About The Seasons
The Best “The Best…” Lists For English Language Learners — 2010
The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students — 2010
The Best Resources For Learning How To Use The Dictogloss Strategy With English Language Learners
The Best Funny Videos Showing The Importance Of Being Bilingual Or Multilingual — Part One
The Best Videos Illustrating Qualities Of A Successful Language Learner
The Best Sites (& Videos) For Learning About Jazz Chants
The Best Posts On Students Reading Aloud Individually In ESL Class — But I Need Your Help Finding Research On The Topic
The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2011 — So Far

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2011 — So Far
The Best Sixteen Basic Sites For Beginning English Language Learners (Revised)
The Best Sites To Download Free ESL Board Game Templates
The Best Sites For Helping ELL’s Learn About Completing Forms & Applications
The Best Resources For Learning About Common Core Standards & English Language Learners
The Best Resources On ESL/EFL/ELL Error Correction
The Best Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced English Language Learner Sites
The Best Sites For Learning Strategies To Teach ELL’s In Content Classes
The Best Resources On Teaching Multilevel ESL/EFL Classes
The Best Online Resources For “Information Gap” Activities
The Best Resources On ELL’s & Standardized Tests
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Sites Where ELL’s Can Create Art
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Online Books Accessible To ELL’s
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Online ELL Video Sites
The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2011 — Part Two
The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2011
The Best Summify & Paper.li’s On ESL/EFL/ELL
A Quasi “The Best” List On TPRS (TPR Storytelling) For Teaching ESL
The Best Places For ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers To Get Online Professional Development
The Best Resources On Using Improvisation In The ESL/EFL/ELL Classroom
The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — So Far

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2012 — So Far
The Best Resources For Learning About “Psychological Effects” Useful To Teachers
The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Web Tools For Teaching Irregular Verbs & Verb Tenses — Contribute Your Suggestions!

The Best Pink Panther Fight Scenes For English Language Learners

 

GAMES

The Best online Learning Games– 2007
The Best Online Video Games For Learning Language & Content Knowledge
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too
The Best Websites For Creating Online Learning Games
The Best Online Learning Games — 2008
The Best Sites For Making Crossword Puzzles & Hangman Games
The Best Fun Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2008
The Best Online Games Students Can Play In Private Virtual “Rooms”
The Best “Cause-Related” Online Learning Games
The Best “I Spy” (Hidden Object) Games For Vocabulary Development
The Best Collections Of Online Educational Games
The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
The Best Places To Find Online Video Games For Language-Learning
The Best Online Learning Games — 2009
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2009
Part Two Of The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2009
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Learning Games
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2010
The Best Online Learning Games — 2010
The Best Learning Games For Intermediate English Language Learners
The Best Learning Games For Advanced ELL’s & Non-ELL’s
The Best Online Learning Games Of 2011 — So Far
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2011 (So Far)
The Best “Fun” Online Video Games For English Language Development
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2011
The Best Online Learning Games Of 2012 — So Far
The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2012 (So Far)

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2012 (Part Two)

HEALTH

The Best Life Expectancy Calculators
The Best health sites for English language learners
The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About The Dangers Of Smoking
The Best Resources For Learning About World Malaria Day
The Best Sites For Learning About The Swine Flu Outbreak
The Best Web Resources For Learning About HIV & AIDS
The Best Online Health Assessments For ELL’s
The Best Sites For Learning About Nutrition & Food Safety
The Best Online Resources For Learning About Health Care Reform
The Best Health Sites — 2010
The Best Resources For Learning About the Health Care Debate

The Best Resources On Teens & Hearing Loss

HOLIDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, OR CELEBRATIONS

The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween
The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus
The Best Resources For Hispanic Heritage Month
The Best Sites To Teach and Learn About Thanksgiving
The Best Websites To Learn About Veterans Day
The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa
The Best Sites For Learning About Pearl Harbor
The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11
The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations
The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King
The Best Resources About President’s Day
The Best Sites To Learn About Valentine’s Day
The Best Sites To Teach About African-American History
The Best Resources For Chinese New Year
The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl
The Best Resources For Groundhog Day
The Best Sites For Learning About St. Patrick’s Day (and April Fool’s Day)
The Best Sites To Learn About Mardi Gras & Carnivals
The Best Sites For Learning About Women’s History
The Best Sites For Learning About Cesar Chavez
The Best Sites For Learning About Easter & Passover
The Best Sites To Learn About The Hindu Festival of Holi
The Best Resources For Teaching & Learning About World Water Day
The Best Sites To Learn About “Earth Hour”
The Best Earth Day Sites
The Best Sites For Teaching & Learning About Cinco de Mayo
The Best Sites For Learning About Mother’s Day
The Best Resources For Learning About World Malaria Day
The Best Websites For Learning About Memorial Day
The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
The Best Father’s Day Sites
The Best Websites For Learning About The Fourth Of July
The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day
The Best Sites To Teach & Learn About Ramadan
The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day
The Best Resources For Learning About Mexico’s Independence Day
The Best Websites For Learning About Multiple Holidays & Anniversaries
The Best Sites For Images Of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season)
The Best Sites To Learn About World Food Day
The Best Sites For Learning About Diwali
The Best Sites To Learn And Teach About The Hajj
The Best Resources To Learn About The Convention On The Rights Of The Child
The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World
The Best Sites For Learning & Teaching About The Day Of The Virgin Of Guadalupe
The Best Online Resources For Learning About Eid al-Adha
The Best Resources For World Biodiversity Day (& Endangered Species Day)
The Best Sites For Learning About Flag Day
The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day
The Best Sites For International Day Of The World’s Indigenous People
The Best Sites For Learning About The Birth Of Lord Krishna
The Best Sites For Learning About Yom Kippur
The Best Sites For Learning About United Nations Day
The Best Resources For “Bill Of Rights Day”
The Best Resources For World Book Day — March 1st
The Best Resources For Learning About May Day

The Best Resources For International Mother Language Day

LISTENING

The Best Listening Sites For English Language Learners
The Best Ideas To Help Students Become Better Listeners — Contribute More

MATH

The Best Math Websites For English Language Learners — 2007
The Best Science & Math Sites — 2008
The Best Science & Math Sites — 2009
The Best MATH Sites That Students Can Use Independently And Let Teachers Check On Progress

All My Math-Related “The Best…” Lists In One Place

MULTILINGUAL

The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Learning English
The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Math, Social Studies, & Science

MUSIC

The Best Music Websites For Learning English
The Best Online Sites For Creating Music
The Best Online Karaoke Sites For English Language Learners
Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Music Sites
The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects
The Best Places To Find Lyrics On The Web
The Best Sites For Ideas On Making Simple Musical Instruments
The Best Art & Music Sites — 2010
The Best Art & Music Sites Of 2011

READING

The Best Resources For Learning About The Next Papal Election

The Best Info On Skills Employers Are Looking For In Job-Seekers

The Best Resources On Why Raising The Minimum Wage Is Important

The Best Resources About The New Push For Immigration Reform

The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Europe

The Best Resources For Learning About Flight

The “Best” Multimedia News Content In The World

A Beginning List Of The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Africa

The Best Overviews Of The Boston Terror Attack

A Beginning List Of The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Asia & The Middle East

TEACHER RESOURCES

The Best blogs for sharing resource links 2007
The best articles about Education 2007
The Best 10 tools for learning
The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary
The Best Books For Teaching & Learning ESL/EFL
The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers
The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current Education Issues
The Best Sites Where Students Can Work Independently & Let Teachers Check On Progress
The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current ELL/ESL/EFL News & Research
The Best Ways To Create Online Tests
The Best Teacher Resource Sites For Social Justice Issues
The Best Places To Get Blog, Website, , Book, Movie, & Music Recommendations
The Best Online Sources For Images
The Best Personal Home Page Creators
The “Best” Articles About Education — 2008
The Best Online Resources For Teachers of Pre-Literate ELL’s
The Best Ways To Access Educational YouTube Videos At School
The Best Posts Of 2008
The Best Sources For Advice On Student Blogging
The Best Posts From Other Blogs That Made Me “Think” In 2008
The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2008
The Best Collections Of Educational Links
The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL
The Best Sections On My Website
The Best Places To Learn About Education Grants
The Best Places To Find Free (And Good) Lesson Plans On The Internet
The Best ESL/EFL Software
The Best Places To Buy ESL/EFL Books. Software & Multimedia
The Best Educational Web Resources Worth Paying For…
The Best Places To Create (And Find) Internet Scavenger Hunts & Webquests
The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets
The Best Non-Web Resources, Online Tools, & Websites I Use Most Often With My Students

The Best Articles That I’ve Written
The Best Collections Of Web 2.0 Tools For Education
The Best Sources For Ideas On How To Use Technology With English Language Learners
The Best Digital Storytelling Resources
The Best Places To Find Good Education Blogs
The Best Places To Find New Educational Websites
The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers In The Classroom
The Best Ways To Make Awards & Certificates Online
The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About
The Best Magazine/Newspaper Websites For Useful News & Intellectual Stimulation
The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom
The Best Sources Of Advice For Making Good Presentations
The Best Ways To Find Other Classes For Joint Online Projects
The “Best” Blog Carnivals
The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers
The Best Teacher Resources For “TED Talks”
The Best Teacher Resources For “Foldables”
The Best ESL/EFL Blogs
The Best (& Most Thoughtful) Blogs On “Big Picture” Education Issues
The Best Guides To ESL/EFL/ELL Terminology
The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs
The Best Twitterers For Sharing Resource Links
The Best Resources To Learn About Copyright Issues
The Best Teacher Resources For Online Student Safety & Legal Issues
The Best Resources For Finding And Creating Virtual Field Trips
The Twenty Blogs I Read First…
The Best Resources For Learning About Homework Issues
The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day
The Best Resources For Using Puppets In Class
The Best Sites For Teachers Of English Language Learners — 2009
The “Best” Articles (And Blog Posts) About Education Policy — 2009
The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice — 2009
The Best Ways ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers Can Develop Personal Learning Networks
The Best Sites For Learning Spanish Online
My Best Posts & Articles About Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2009
The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2009
The Best “The Best…” Lists Of 2009
My Best Posts In 2009 (That Weren’t “The Best…” Lists)
The Best From “Interviews Of The Month” 2009
The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators — 2009
The “Best” TED Talks (Well, Really, The Ones I Use With My Classes)
The Best Blogs For Sharing Resources/Links — 2009
The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2009
Best “Tweets” Of 2009
The Best Sources For Interactive Infographics
The Best Online Collections Of PowerPoints For Teachers
The Best Resources For Showing Students Why They Should Continue Their Academic Career
The Best Resources For Learning About Multiple Intelligences
Not The “Best,” But A List… Of Online Video Editors
The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes
The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas
My Best Posts On How To Prepare For Standardized Tests (And Why They’re Bad)
My Best Posts On Parent Engagement So Far This Year
My Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers)
My Best Posts On “Motivating” Students
My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals
The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons
The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation
My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control
The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments
A Beginning “The Best…” List Of Free & Decent Online Practice Sites For State Tests — Help Me Add More!
The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep
My Best Posts On “School Reform”
The Best Posts About The LA Times Article On “Valued-Added” Teacher Ratings
The Best Posts About Getting Our Students To Attend College
The Best Resources For Learning About Formative Assessment
The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers — 2010 (And Earlier)
The Best Sites For Learning About Graphic Recording
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Encouraging Students To Attend College
The Best Rubric Sites (And A Beginning Discussion About Their Use)
The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events
A List of Interviews With…Me — September, 2010
My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Six Months The Best Posts About The Appalling Teacher-Bashing Column Superintendents Wrote In The Washington Post
The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter
A Collection Of The Best “Laugh While You Cry” Videos — Contribute More!
The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources — 2010
The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s — 2010
The Best Articles/Blog Posts On What The Election Results Mean For Schools — Contribute More
The Best “The Best…” Lists Offering Practical Classroom Advice To Teachers — 2010
The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students
Part Two Of The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers — 2010
The Best Blog Posts & Articles About Joel Klein’s Departure & The Question Of Who Should Be Leading Our Schools
My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2010
The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons
The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2010
The Best Quotes About Education — Contribute Your Own Favorites
The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools
The Best “The Best…” Lists On School Reform Issues — 2010
The Best From “Interviews Of The Month” — 2010
The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy — 2010
Best “Tweets” Of 2010
The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice — 2010
The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2010
The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test Comparison Demagoguery — December, 2010
All My “The Best Of 2010″ Lists In One Place!
The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2010
The Ten Best Videos For Educators — 2010
Part Two Of The Best Videos For Educators — 2010
The Best Guides For Helping Teachers Develop Personal Learning Networks — December, 2010
The Best Posts To Help Understand Google’s New “Books Ngram Viewer” — December, 2010
The Best Sites For Figuring Out What To Do If Delicious Shuts Down — December, 2010
The Best Posts & Articles About Providing Students With Choices
My Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success”
The Best (& Worst) Education News In 2010
The Best Sites For Learning Beginning Photography Tips
The Best Resources To Learn About Finland’s Education System
The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher (& Outside Factors) Have On Student Achievement
The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2010
My Most Memorable Classroom Moments In 2010 — Please Share Your Own
The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2010
The Best Sites For Learning That Money Does Matter For Schools
The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy
The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run Like Businesses
The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea
The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Why Teacher Tenure Is Important
The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important
The Best Posts & Articles About Videotaping Teachers In The Classroom
The Best Resources For Learning About Handwriting & Learning
The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common Core Standards
The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven”
A Collection Of My Most Unusual “The Best…” Lists
The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools
The Best Posts About Michelle Rhee’s Exaggerated Test Scores
The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America
The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual
The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin
The Best Places To Get Reliable, Valid, Accessible & Useful Education Data
The Best Resources For Learning Why School Vouchers Are A Bad Idea
The Best Places To Find Research On Technology & Language Teaching/Learning
The Best Posts Responding To Bill Gates’ Appallingly Clueless Op-Ed Piece
The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students
The Best — And Easiest — Ways To Use YouTube If, Like Us, Only Teachers Have Access To It
The Best Posts Debunking The Myth Of “Five Great Teachers In A Row”
The Best Resources For Learning About Schools Providing Home Computers & Internet Access To Students
The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy
The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions
The Best Resources For Learning About The New York Times Paywall
The Best Posts & Articles About “Erase To The Top”
The Best Posts & Articles To Learn About “Fundamental Attribution Error” & Schools
My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Six Months
The Best Posts About The Power Of Light Touches In The Classroom
The Best Resources For Google Earth Beginners Like Me
The Best Resources For Learning About The “Achievement Gap”
The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of “Grit”
The Best Resources For Adapting Your Textbook So It Doesn’t Bore Students To Death
A Beginning “The Best…” List On The Dangers Of Privatizing Public Education
The Best Resources For Helping Students See They Might Not Always Be The Best Judges Of Their Behavior
The Best Posts Discussing Arrogance & School Reform
The Five Best Articles I’ve Written About Education
The Best Sites For Using Aesop’s Fables In The Classroom
The Best Posts/Articles On National Research Council Finding That Carrots & Sticks Don’t Work
The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools
The Best Resources On Students Using Gestures & Physical Movement To Help With Learning
The Best Resources For Learning About The Four School Improvement Grant Models
The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing
The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress
So, You Want To Write A Book? Here’s The Best Advice…
The Best Resources On The “Summer Slide”
The Best Posts Responding To David Brooks Criticism Of Diane Ravitch (& Many Of The Rest Of Us)
The Best Resources For Learning About Small Learning Communities
The Best Posts For Learning About The NEA’s New Policy Statement on “Teacher Evaluation and Accountability”
The Best Posts & Articles About The Atlanta Testing Scandal
My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2011 (So Far)
The Best Posts About Public Officials (& Non-Elected “Reformers) Sending Their Children To Private Schools
The Best Posts & Articles About Compromise
The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — So Far
The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures
The Best Posts & Articles On The Save Our Schools March
The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice In 2011 — So Far
The Best Posts About Trust & Education
The Best Resources For Planning The First Day Of School
The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons”
The Best Resources For Helping Students (& The Rest Of Us) Learn The Concept Of Not Blaming Others
The Best Posts & Articles About The New York Court Decision Releasing Teacher Ratings
The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2011 — So Far
The Best Commentaries On Steven Brill’s Book, “Class Warfare”
The Best Online “Countdown” Timers
My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2011 — So Far

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2011 — So Far
The Best Posts/Articles On This Year’s Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup Education Poll
The Best Articles Describing Alternatives To High-Stakes Testing — Help Me Find More
The Best Posts On Attracting The “Best Candidates” To Teaching
The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2011 — So Far
My Best Posts On Why It’s Important To Be Positive In Class
The Best Resources On “Instructional Coaching”
The Best Resources For Helping Students Deal With Grief
My Best Posts On The Basics Of Small Groups In The Classroom
The Best Resources For Learning About Grade Retention, Social Promotion & Alternatives To Both
The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences
The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas
“The Best Examples Of Parent Engagement Through Community Organizing”
The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers
The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook
The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits
The Best Resources To Learn About High School ID’s & The Scarlet Letter

The Best Resources To Learn About Alabama’s Awful Immigration Law (& Its Impact On Schools)
The Best Posts & Articles On Recent Study About Student Anxiety
The Best Articles On The New Study Showing That Intelligence Is Not “Fixed”
The Best Posts On The NY Times Ed Tech Article
The Best Resources On “Gratitude”
The Best Posts About The Khan Academy
The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read”
The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research
The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom
“The Best Research Available On Parent Engagement”
The Best Reasons Why Parents Should Be Looked At As Allies & Not Targets Of Blame
The Best Overviews Of Parent Engagement
My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement
The Best Resources On Parent Engagement In Countries Other Than The U.S.
The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically
The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — Part Two
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On School Reform Issues — 2011
The Best Tweets Of 2011
The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2011
The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2011
The Best Videos For Educators In 2011
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011
The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2011
The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice In 2011
The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2011
The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Learning — December, 2011
My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2011
The Best (and Worst) Education News of 2011
The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2011
The Best Commentaries On The President’s Proposal For Students To Stay In School Until They’re Eighteen — January, 2012
The Best Critiques Of Ruby Payne — January, 2012
The Best Posts On The Gates’ Funded Measures Of Effective Teaching Report — January, 2012
The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources — January, 2012
The Bests Posts & Articles About Why We Like Lists — January, 2012
The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2011
The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction — January, 2012
The Best Posts On The NY Times-Featured Teacher Effectiveness Study — January, 2012
The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2011 — January, 2012
All My “Best Of 2011″ Lists In One Place — January, 2012
The Best Resources On Teacher/Student Use Of Social Media
The Best Resource Sites For Scholarship Information
The Best Education Articles From “The Onion”
The Best Posts & Articles On The Education & National Security Report
The Best Resources For Learning About “Flow”
The Best Advice For New Teachers
The Best Posts On Helping Students Teach Their Classmates — Help Me Find More
The Best Posts About The Most Bizarre Standardized Test Question Ever
The Best Posts & Articles On Building Influence & Creating Change
A Beginning List Of The Best Posts & Articles On Accelerated Reader
The Best Posts On Computer-Graded Essays
The Best Resources On How Exercise Helps Learning — Please Contribute Other Resources
The Best Resources On The Idea Of Extending The School Day
The Best Resources For Lessons On Trayvon Martin
The Best Sources Of Advice On Helping Students Strengthen & Develop Their Creativity
The Best Posts & Articles About Asking Good Questions — Help Me Find More
The Best Tools For Creating Clozes (Gap-Fills)
The Best Posts Questioning If Direct Instruction Is “Clearly Superior”
The Best Resources For Teaching “What If?” History Lessons
My Best Posts On Metacognition
The Best Resources On The Importance Of Knowing What You Don’t Know
The Best Resources For Learning About Parent Fundraising & Equity Issues
My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (So Far)
The Best Resources On “Race To The Top”
The Best Posts On The Weirdest School Reform Story Of The Year (So Far, At Least)
The Best Resources For Applying “Fed Ex Days” To Schools
The Best Resources On Bringing Students To Nature (& Nature To Students)
The Best Sites For Learning About Google Translate
The Best Places On The Web To Write Lesson Plans — Who Have I Missed?
The Best Posts On “Loss Aversion” & Schools
The Best Resources For Learning About The 10,000 Hour Rule & Deliberative Practice
The Most Useful Resources For Implementing Common Core — I Hope You’ll Contribute More
The Best Sites For Smartboard Resources (& For Other IWB’s)

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2012 — So Far
The Best Multimedia Resources For Introducing Students To The Advantages Of Charts, Graphs & Infographics
The Best Posts/Articles On This Year’s Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup Education Poll — 2012
“The Best Posts & Articles On Parent Trigger Movie “Won’t Back Down””
The Best Funny Movie/TV Clips Of Bad Teachers
The Best Resources On Using Drama In The Classroom
The Best Education Week Posts From My First Year Blogging There…
The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — So Far
The Best Posts On The “Flipped Classroom” Idea
The Best Online Videos Showing Teachers In The Classroom
The Best Videos Showing The Importance Of Asking Good Questions
The Best Resources On The Newly-Released California Educator Excellence Task Force Report
The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators – 2012 (So Far)
The Best Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike
A Sampling Of The Best Tweets With The #SaidNoTeacherEver Hashtag
The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2012 — So Far
The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2012 — So Far
My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2012 — So Far

The Best Posts On “Gamification” In Education — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources On “Brain-Based Learning” — Help Me Find More

The Eight Blogs & Two Email Newsletters I Read First

The Best Multimedia Resources For Learning About Fallacies — Help Me Find More

The Best Online Tools For Using Photos In Lessons

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2012 — So Far

Best Tweets Of 2012

The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset”

The Best Videos I’ve Shared On Google Plus In 2012

The Best Resources On How Hurricane Sandy Is Affecting Schools

“My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two)”

”The best — and worst — education news of 2012″

The Fifteen “Twitterers” Whose Tweets I Read First

The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2012

The Best Videos To Help Students Visualize Success

My Best “Pins” On Pinterest In 2012

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2012

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2012 — Part Two

All My 2012 “The Best…” Lists On Education Policy In One Place

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Analyses Of Today’s Release Of TIMSS and PIRLS International Student Test Results

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Articles Pointing Out That Our Schools Are Not Failing — Please Suggest More

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Resources On Talking With Children About Tragedies

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Five

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Four

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Three

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Two

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume One

A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On The Seattle Standardized Test Boycott

A Beginning List Of The Best Posts On Gates’ Final MET “Effective Teaching” Report

The Best Videos On Parent Engagement

The Best Resources On Peer Assistance & Review (PAR) Programs

The Best Resources On Grading Practices

The Best Resources For Learning About Performance Assessment

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2012

The Best Ways To Help Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Succeed

My Best Posts Of The Year — 2012

The Best Posts & Articles On The “Motivation Trumps IQ” Study

All My “Best Of 2012″ Lists In One Place!

The Best Posts On Student Cellphone Use In Class — Please Contribute More

My Best Posts On Parent “Academies” & “Universities”

The Best Posts On The Annual MetLife Survey Of The American Teacher

The Best Resources On The Value & Practice Of Having Older Students Mentoring Younger Ones

The Best Ways To Deal With Rudeness In Class

The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagement

The Best Posts & Articles On The Impact Of School Closures — Suggest More!

The Best Resources For Learning About Ability Grouping & Tracking — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources For Doing A “One-Sentence Project”

The Best Posts & Articles On MOOC’s — Help Me Find More

My Choices For The Best Posts From The Shanker Blog

The Best Resources For Learning About The Concept Of “Transfer” — Help Me Find More

The Best Of The Hashtag #SaidNoEducationVendorEver

The Best Evidence For Why Giving Schools “Report Cards” Is Bad — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources On The Memo Warning Rhee About Cheating (“It seems to me a responsible executive really ought to have looked further”)

TECHNOLOGY

The Best Eleven Websites For Students To Learn About Computers
The Best Ways To Create Simple Screenshots
The Best Ways To Shorten URL Addresses
The Best Places To Learn Computer Basics & How To Fix Tech Problems
The Best ESL/EFL Software
The Best Sites For Learning Which Consumers Electronics To Buy
The Best Sources For Ideas On How To Use Technology With English Language Learners
The Best Sources For Advice On Using Flip Video Cameras
The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs
The Best Sites For Learning Online Safety
Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Ways To Convert PDF & Word Documents
The Best Ways To Back-Up Your Computer & Online Work
The Best Tools For Keeping Your Own Website Or Blog “Healthy”
The Best “Tech” Blogs For Learning About New Web Applications
The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet
Not The “Best,” But A List… Of Online Video Editors
The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology
A Beginning List Of The Best Resources For Learning About Facebook
My Best Posts For Tech Novices (Plus One From Somebody Else)
The Best Third-Party Twitter Apps That Don’t Require Your Password
My Best Posts Related To Twitter
The Best Sites For Beginning iPhone Users Like Me
The Best Applications For Creating Free Email Newsletters
The Best “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2010
The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Quora Is All About…
The Best Resources For Maximizing The Use Of Dropbox
The Best Tools For Printing Out Webpages
The Best Ways To Make A Map Showing Your Facebook Friends (& Twitter Followers)
The Best Posts & Articles About Curation
The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About
The Best Ways To Upload A Video To The Web — And A Question
The Best Research Available On The Use Of Technology In Schools
Best “Tweets” Of 2011 — So Far
A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011
The Best Good, Inexpensive & Simple Classroom Technology Tools
The Best Guides To Figuring Out Pinterest — January, 2012
The Best — And Easiest –Tools To Use For Embedding A Document
The Best Resources For Beginning iPad Users
The Best Tools For Displaying Instagram Photos On The Web

The Best Screenshare Tools To Help Others With Computer Problems

The Best Ideas On How To Stay Electronically Connected When The Power’s Out

The Best Alternatives To Google Reader Now That It’s Being Shut Down

VIDEO

The Best Online Instructional Video Sites
The Best Online Video Sites For Learning English
The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Videos (Using Someone Else’s Content)
The Best Ways To Access Educational YouTube Videos At School
The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL
The Best Sites That Use Movie Trailers To Teach English
The Best Sites For News & History Videos That Won’t Be Blocked By Content Filter (At Least, Not By Ours!)
The Best Places To Find Theatrical Movies On Science, Math & History
The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers In The Classroom
The Best Ways To Find Fun (& Somewhat Useful) Videos On The Web
The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies
The Best Movie Scenes To Use For English-Language Development
Not The “Best,” But A List… Of Online Video Editors
The Best Tools For Cutting-Out & Saving Portions Of Online Videos
The Best Applications For Sending Online Video Messages
The Best Ways To Create Online Video Playlists
The Best Sources For Advice On Using Flip Video Cameras
The Best (& Easiest) Ways To Record Online Video Interviews
The Best YouTube Channels For Learning English
The Best Videos For Educators In 2011 — So Far

The Best Places On The Web To Find Documentaries (Non-YouTube)

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — So Far

The Best Video Clips Of Sneaky Critters — Help Me Find More

A Potpourri Of The Best & Most Useful Video Sites

The Best Sports Videos To Use With English Language Learners

The Best Resources For Learning To Use The Video App “Twine”

WRITING

The Best Websites For K-12 Writing Instruction/Reinforcement
The Best Places Where Students Can Write Online
The Best Sites For Grammar Practice
Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Mindmapping, Flow Chart Tools, & Graphic Organizers
The Best Resources For Researching & Writing Biographies
The Best Resources For Learning How To Write Response To Literature Essays
The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience”
The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”
The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
The Best Sites To Learn About Advertising
The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary
The Best Online Interactive Exercises For Writing That Are Not Related To Literary Analysis
The Best Online Resources To Teach About Plagiarism
The Best Resources For Learning Research & Citation Skills
The Best Sites For Students To Create & Participate In Online Debates
The Best Online Resources For Helping Students Learn To Write Persuasive Essays
The Best Spelling Sites
The Best Sites For Gaining A Basic Understanding Of Adjectives
The “Best” Sites For Helping Students Write Autobiographical Incident Essays
The Best Sites To Learn “Feelings” Words
The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About Punctuation
The Best Resources To Help Students Write Research Essays
The Best Sites For Learning To Write A Story
The Best Writing Advice From Famous Authors
The Best Resources On Punctuation

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Writing

WEB 2.0

December 23, 2007
by Sue Waters
21 Comments

Websites Of The Year

These “The Best…” lists highlight what I think are the best educational websites.

This page provides a chronological list based on the date I posted them. Please note, though, that I continually update and revise them. The My Best Of page on this blog separates these posts by category (Social Studies, Science, etc.). All these sites can also be found on my website, along with thousands of other categorized links.

You can also visit The Best Websites page on my website to see the growing number of student self-access versions that are available now.

I also go back during the year to update each list with new sites I find that I think deserve to be on them. So even though the date on the original post might be several months or several years old, I might very well have added new sites to them much more recently.

So far, I’ve compiled:

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2007

The Best Web 2.0 Applications for ESL/EFL Learners — 2007

The Best Online Learning Games — 2007

The Best Internet Sites For English Language Learners — 2007

The Best Social Studies Websites — 2007

The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2007

The Best Science Websites For Students & Teachers — 2007

The Best Math Websites For English Language Learners — 2007

The Best Blogs For Sharing Resources/Links — 2007

The Best News/Current Events Websites For English Language Learners — 2007

The “Best” Articles About Education — 2007

The Best Reference Websites For English Language Learners — 2007

The Best Places To Learn Web 2.0 Basics — 2007

The Best Of The Best — 2007/08

These are my own Top Ten Tools For Learning.

The Best Health Sites For English Language Learners – January, 2008

The Best Websites For K-12 Writing Instruction/Reinforcement — January, 2008

The Best Websites For Learning About Civic Participation & Citizenship — January, 2008

The Best Websites To Help Beginning Readers – January, 2008

The Best Websites For Beginning Older Readers – January, 2008

The Best Websites For Intermediate Readers – January, 2008

The Best Music Websites For Learning English – January, 2008

The Best Art Websites For Learning English – February, 2008

The Best Online Video Games For Learning Language & Content Knowledge – February, 2008

The Best Ways For Students (And Anyone Else!) To Create Online Content Easily, Quickly, and Painlessly — February, 2008

More Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily, Quickly and Painlessly — February, 2008

Part Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2008

Part Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2008

Part Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Seven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Eight Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Nine Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Ten Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2008

Part Eleven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2008

Part Twelve Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2008

Part Thirteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2008

Part Fourteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2008

Part Fifteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2008

Part Sixteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – May, 2008

Part Seventeen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — May, 2008

Part Eighteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — June, 2008

Part Nineteen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — June, 2008

Part Twenty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — June, 2008

Part Twenty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — July, 2008

Part Twenty-Two Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2008

Part Twenty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2008

Part Twenty-Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — October, 2008

Part Twenty-Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – October, 2008

Part Twenty-Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — October, 2008

Part Twenty-Seven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — October, 2008

Part Twenty-Eight Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — December, 2008

Part Twenty-Nine Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — January, 2009

Part Thirty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2009

Part Thirty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2009

Part Thirty-Two Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2009

Part Thirty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2009

Part Thirty-Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2009

Part Thirty-Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2009

Part Thirty-Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — May, 2009

Part Thirty-Seven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – June, 2009

Part Thirty-Eight Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2009

Part Thirty-Nine Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — September, 2009

Part Forty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — October, 2009

Part Forty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — November, 2009

Part Forty-Two Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – November, 2009

You can access all parts of the “create online content easily” series at one link here.

The Best Websites For Students Exploring Jobs and Careers — February, 2008

The Best Online Tools For Real-Time Collaboration — March, 2008

The Best Websites For Learning & Teaching Geography — March, 2008

The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English — March, 2008

The Best Websites For Learning English Pronunciation — March, 2008

The Best Sites For Developing English Conversational Skills — April, 2008

The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary — April, 2008

The Best Eleven Websites For Students To Learn About Computers — April, 2008

The Best Online Tools For Collaboration — NOT In Real Time — April, 2008

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — April, 2008

The Best Social Bookmarking Applications For English Language Learners & Other Students — April, 2008

The Best Books For Teaching & Learning ESL/EFL — April, 2008

These next four are a little different from the previous “The Best…” lists. They include my favorite thirty-five positive actions I take for effective classroom management:

When A “Good” Class Goes “Bad” (And Back To “Good” Again!) — April, 2008

Maintaining A “Good” Class — April, 2008

More About Maintaining a “Good” Class — May, 2008

“Why Do You Let Others Control You?” — September, 2008

The Best Websites For Creating Online Learning Games — April, 2008

The Best Sites For Students To Easily Create & Display Online Projects – April, 2008

Part Two Of The Best Sites For Students To Easily Create & Display Online Projects — May, 2008

The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL — April, 2008

The Best Sites To Learn About U.S. Presidential Elections — April, 2008

The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers – April, 2008

The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current Education Issues — May, 2008

The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current ELL/ESL/EFL News & Research — May, 2008

The Best Sites For Learning Economics & Practical Money Skills — May, 2008

The Best Websites To Teach & Learn Life Skills — May, 2008

The Best Ways To Create Online Slideshows — May, 2008

The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Animations — May, 2008

The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Videos (Using Someone Else’s Content) — May, 2008

The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History — May, 2008

The Best Sites Where Students Can Work Independently & Let Teachers Check On Progress – May, 2008

The Best Ways To Create Online Tests — May, 2008

The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Learning English — May, 2008

The Best Listening Sites For English Language Learners — May, 2008

The Best Online Video Sites For Learning English — June, 2008

The Best Ways To Make Comic Strips Online — June, 2008

The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About U.S. History — June, 2008

The Best “Today In History” Sites — June, 2008

The Best Websites To Learn About California — June, 2008

The Best Sites For Creating Online Polls & Surveys — June, 2008

The Best Ways To Create Simple Screenshots — June, 2008

The Best Teacher Resource Sites For Social Justice Issues — July, 2008

The Best Websites To Learn About Various Religions & English — July, 2008

The Best Online Learning Games — 2008

The Best Websites For Learning About Natural Disasters — July, 2008

The Best Sites To Teach & Learn About The Olympics — July, 2008

The Best Sites To Introduce Environmental Issues Into The Classroom — July, 2008

The Best Ways To Shorten URL Addresses – July, 2008

The Best Places To Get Blog, Website, , Book, Movie, & Music Recommendations – July, 2008

The Best Online Instructional Video Sites — July, 2008

The Best Visually Engaging News Sites — July, 2008

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2008

The Best Tools For Making Online Timelines — August, 2008

The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11 — August, 2008

The Best Sites For Students To Create Budgets — August, 2008

The Best Internet Sites For English Language Learners — 2008

The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans — September, 2008

The Best Resources For Hispanic Heritage Month — September, 2008

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2008

The Best Places To Learn Computer Basics & How To Fix Tech Problems — September, 2008

The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Financial Crisis — September, 2008

The Best Sites For Encouraging ELL’s To Attend College — September, 2008

The Best Online Sites For Creating Music — October, 2008

The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Math, Social Studies, & Science — October, 2008

The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween — October, 2008

The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus — October, 2008

The Best “Unusual” Sites To Create Online Presentations — October, 2008

The Best Sites For Making Crossword Puzzles & Hangman Games — October, 2008

The Best Online Sources For Images — October, 2008

The Best Web Resources On The Iraq War — October, 2008

The Best Online Karaoke Sites For English Language Learners — October, 2008

The Best Places Where Students Can Write Online — October, 2008

The Best Web Resources On Darfur — October, 2008

The Best New Sites Students Should Use With Supervision — October, 2008

The Best Sites To Teach and Learn About Thanksgiving — October, 2008

The Best Social Studies WebSites — 2008

The Best Science & Math Sites — 2008

The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2008

The Best Websites To Learn About Veterans Day — November, 2008

The Best Reference Websites For English Language Learners — 2008

The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa — November, 2008

The Best Personal Home Page Creators — November, 2008

The Best Tools To Make Simple Graphs Online — November, 2008

The Best Resources To Teach & Learn About The Terrorist Attacks In India — November, 2008

The “Best” Articles About Education — 2008 – December, 2008

The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations — December, 2008

The Best Map-Making Sites On The Web — December, 2008

The Best Sites For Learning About Pearl Harbor — December, 2008

The Best Online Resources For Teachers of Pre-Literate ELL’s — December, 2008

The Best Sites For Grammar Practice — December, 2008

The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects — December, 2008

The Best Life Expectancy Calculators — December, 2008

The Best Fun Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — December, 2008

The Best Ways For Students Or Teachers To Create A Website — December, 2008

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Social Network Sites — December, 2008

The Best Applications For Annotating Websites — December, 2008

The Best Ways To Access Educational YouTube Videos At School — December, 2008

The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King — December, 2008

The Best Posts Of 2008 The Best Sites For Learning About The Presidential Inauguration — December, 2008

The Best Temporary Email Address Sites For Students (Or Anyone) — December, 2008

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2008

The Best Sources For Advice On Student Blogging — December, 2008

The Best Posts From Other Blogs That Made Me “Think” In 2008

The “Best” Resources For Learning About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict — December, 2008

The Best “Year-In-Review” Features That Aren’t Photo Collections 2008

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2008

The Best Collections Of Educational Links — January, 2009

The Best Sites That Use Movie Trailers To Teach English — January, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Street Gangs — January, 2009

The Best Resources About President’s Day — January, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Valentine’s Day — January, 2009

The Best Sites For News & History Videos That Won’t Be Blocked By Content Filter (At Least, Not By Ours!) — January, 2009

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Music Sites — January, 2009

The Best Sites To Teach About African-American History — January, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About U.S. Presidents — January, 2009

The Best Sites For K-12 Beginning English Language Learners — January, 2009

The Best Places To Learn About President Obama’s Life — January, 2009

The Best Sections On My Website — January, 2009

The Best Places To Learn About Education Grants — January, 2009

The Best Resources For Chinese New Year — January, 2009

The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl — January, 2009

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Search Engines For Social Media — February, 2009

The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About The Dangers Of Smoking — February, 2009

The Best Resources For Groundhog Day — February, 2009

The Best Places To Find Free (And Good) Lesson Plans On The Internet – February, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About San Francisco — February, 2009

The Best ESL/EFL Software — February, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Hudson River Plane Crash — February, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Fires In Australia — February, 2009

The Best Places To Buy ESL/EFL Books. Software & Multimedia — February, 2009

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Mindmapping, Flow Chart Tools, & Graphic Organizers — February, 2009

The Best Online Games Students Can Play In Private Virtual “Rooms” — February, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Recession — February, 2009

The Best Educational Web Resources Worth Paying For… — February, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About St. Patrick’s Day (and April Fool’s Day) — February, 2009

The Best Places To Create (And Find) Internet Scavenger Hunts & Webquests — February, 2009

The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets — February, 2009

The Best Non-Web Resources, Online Tools, & Websites I Use Most Often With My Students — February, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Mardi Gras & Carnivals — February, 2009

The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards — February, 2009

The Bests Places To Find Good Education Blogs — February, 2009

Have You Ever Taught A Class That “Got Out Of Control”? — February, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Women’s History — February, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Diego Rivera — February, 2009

The Best Articles That I’ve Written — February, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Cesar Chavez – March, 2009

The Best Online Slideshows About Current Events — March, 2009

The Best Online Science, Nature, & History Slideshows — March, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Easter & Passover — March, 2009

The Best Places To Find Theatrical Movies On Science, Math & History — March, 2009

The Best Tools To Help Develop Global Media Literacy — March, 2009

The Best Sites For K-12 Intermediate English Language Learners — March, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Hindu Festival of Holi — March, 2009

The Best “Cause-Related” Online Learning Games — March, 2009

The Best Collections Of Web 2.0 Tools For Education — March, 2009

The Best Resources For Researching & Writing Biographies — March, 2009

The Best Places For Students To Write Their Resumes — March, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning How To Write Response To Literature Essays — March, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Tongan Volcano & Earthquake — March, 2009

The Best Resources For Teaching & Learning About World Water Day — March, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning Which Consumers Electronics To Buy — March, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About “Earth Hour” — March, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Yosemite & Other U.S. National Parks — March, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About North Dakota Flooding — March, 2009

The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience” — April, 2009

The Best Earth Day Sites — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Planets & Space — April, 2009

The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience” — April, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Italy — April, 2009

The Best Sources For Ideas On How To Use Technology With English Language Learners — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Panoramas — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes & Mount Redoubt — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Teaching & Learning About Cinco de Mayo — April, 2009

The Best Websites For Learning About Modern & Historical Pirates — April, 2009

The Best Sites To Teach ELL’s About Libraries — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Mother’s Day — April, 2009

The Best Digital Storytelling Resources — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Afghanistan War — April, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Mexico’s Drug War — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Holocaust — April, 2009

The Best Sites Sites For Discussing The Morality of Torture — April, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About World Malaria Day — April, 2009

The Best Online Examples of My Students’ Work — April, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Swine Flu Outbreak — April, 2009

The Best Places To Find New Educational Websites — May, 2009

The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories — May, 2009

The Best Websites For Learning About Memorial Day — May, 2009

The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers In The Classroom — May, 2009

The Best Online “Chatbots” For Practicing English — May, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The California Wildfires — May, 2009

The Best “I Spy” (Hidden Object) Games For Vocabulary Development — May, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About New York City — May, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope — May, 2009

The Best “Week In Review” Sites For English Language Learners — May, 2009

The Best Ways For Students To Create Their Own Online Art Collections — May, 2009

The Best Images Taken In Space — Mary, 2009

The Best Ways To Make Awards & Certificates Online — May, 2009

The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About — May, 2009

The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — May, 2009

The Best Collections Of Online Educational Games — May, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Statue Of Liberty — May, 2009

The Best Magazine/Newspaper Websites For Useful News & Intellectual Stimulation — May, 2009

The Best Father’s Day Sites — May, 2009

The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom — May, 2009

The Best Sources Of Advice For Making Good Presentations — May, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Supreme Court — May, 2009

The Best Ways To Find Other Classes For Joint Online Projects — May, 2009

The Best Sources Of Ideas For Simple Classroom Science Experiments — May, 2009

The Best Places To Find Online Video Games For Language-Learning — May, 2009

A Beginning List Of The Best Resources For Learning About Facebook — June, 2009

The “Best” Blog Carnivals — June, 2009

The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers — June, 2009

The Best Teacher Resources For “TED Talks” — June, 2009

The Best Websites For Learning About The Fourth Of July — June, 2009

The Best Sources For Advice On Using Flip Video Cameras — June, 2009

The Best Teacher Resources For “Foldables” — June, 2009

The Best Sites Where Students Can Learn About Inventions — June, 2009

The Best ESL/EFL Blogs — June, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Protests In Iran — June, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day — June, 2009

The Best Sites To Help ELL’s Learn Idioms & Slang — July, 2009

The Best Images Of Weird, Cool & Neat-Looking Buildings (& Ways To Design Your Own) — July, 2009

The Best (& Most Thoughtful) Blogs On “Big Picture” Education Issues — July, 2009

The Best Guides To ESL/EFL/ELL Terminology — July, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Apollo 11 Moon Landing — July, 2009

The Best “Language Maps” — July, 2009

The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn Vocabulary — July, 2009

The Best “Practical” Ed Tech Blogs — July, 2009

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Advertising — July, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Nelson Mandela — July, 2009

The Best Twitterers For Sharing Resource Links — July, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning How To Tell Time — July, 2009

The Best Sources For Free & Accessible Printable Books — August, 2009

The Best Sites To Teach & Learn About Ramadan — August, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning Online Safety — August, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About The Warsaw Uprising — August, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About The Atomic Bombings Of Japan — August, 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About Copyright Issues — August, 2009

The Best Teacher Resources For Online Student Safety & Legal Issues — August, 2009

The Best Resources For Finding And Creating Virtual Field Trips — August, 2009

The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day — August, 2009

The Best News/Current Events Websites For English Language Learners — 2009

The Best Sites For Students To Record Audio By Phone — August, 2009

Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Ways To Convert PDF & Word Documents — August, 2009

The Best Online Learning Games — 2009

The Best Online Carbon Calculators — September, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The September 2009 California Wildfires — September, 2009

The Best Online Interactive Exercises For Writing That Are Not Related To Literary Analysis — September, 2009

The Best Sites Where Students Can Plan Virtual Trips — September, 2009

The Twenty Blogs I Read First… — September, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About Homework Issues — September, 2009

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2009 — September, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About Mexico’s Independence Day — September, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Georgia’s Floods — September, 2009

The Best Online Resources To Teach About Plagiarism — September, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning Research & Citation Skills — September, 2009

The Best Web Resources For Learning About HIV & AIDS — September, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Tsunami In American Samoa — September, 2009

The Best Websites For Learning About Multiple Holidays & Anniversaries — October, 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day — October, 2009

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2009 — October, 2009

The Best Online Resources For Drivers Education & Car Information — October, 2009

The Best Websites To Learn About The Hmong — October, 2009

The Best Resources For Using Puppets In Class — October, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About The Nobel Peace Prize — October, 2009

The Best Sites For Images Of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season) — October, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About World Food Day — October, 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About The Loma Prieta Earthquake — October, 2009

The Best Online Personality, Career, Political & Just Plain Fun Quizzes — October, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Robots — October, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About Diwali — October, 2009

The Best Sites For Students To Create & Participate In Online Debates — October, 2009

The Best Ways To Back-Up Your Computer & Online Work — October, 2009

The Best Sites For Teachers Of English Language Learners — 2009

The Best Sites To Learn And Teach About The Hajj — November, 2009

The “Best” Articles (And Blog Posts) About Education Policy — 2009

The Best Tools For Making Screencasts — November, 2009

The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice — 2009

Part Forty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — November, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Walls That Separate Us — November, 2009

The Best Ways ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers Can Develop Personal Learning Networks — November, 2009

The Best Tools For Keeping Your Own Website Or Blog “Healthy” — November, 2009

The Best Online Resources For Teaching & Learning About World War II (Part One) — November, 2009

The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2009

The Best Online Resources For Helping Students Learn To Write Persuasive Essays — November, 2009

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students — 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About The Convention On The Rights Of The Child — November, 2009

The Best Lists Of “Best Places To Live” — November, 2009

The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World — November, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning & Teaching About The Day Of The Virgin Of Guadalupe — November, 2009

The Best Places To Find Lyrics On The Web — November, 2009

The Best Online Resources To Learn About Charles Darwin — November, 2009

The Best Sites For Teaching About Latitude & Longitude — November, 2009

The Best Sites For Learning Spanish Online — November, 2009

The Best Places To Find Quotations On The Web — November, 2009

The Best Online Resources For Learning About Eid al-Adha — November, 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Climate Change — December, 2009

My Best Posts & Articles About Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2009

The Best Collections Of “The Best” Pieces Of Art Ever Created — December, 2009

The Best Spelling Sites — December, 2009

The Best Online Health Assessments For ELL’s — December, 2009

The Best Social Studies Websites — 2009

The Best Science & Math Sites — 2009

The Best Interactive Infographics — 2009

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2009

The Best “The Best…” Lists Of 2009

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2009

My Best Posts In 2009 (That Weren’t “The Best…” Lists)

Part Forty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — December, 2009

The Best From “Interviews Of The Month” 2009

The Best “Decade In Review” Sites

The Best Sites To See “Photos That Changed The World” — December, 2009

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators — 2009

The “Best” TED Talks (Well, Really, The Ones I Use With My Classes) — December, 2009

Part Two Of The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2009

The Best Ways To Find Fun (& Somewhat Useful) Videos On The Web — December, 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About The Indian Ocean Tsunami (On Its Five-Year Anniversary) — December, 2009

The Best “Year In Review” Features That Aren’t Photo Collections — 2009

The Best Blogs For Sharing Resources/Links — 2009

The Best Resources To Learn About The Forced Return Of 4,000 Hmong Refugees By Thailand — December, 2009

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2009

Best “Tweets” Of 2009

The Best Sites For Learning About The Winter Season — December, 2009

The Best Art & Music Sites — 2009

The Best Sites To Learn About Los Angeles — January, 2010

The Best Sources For Interactive Infographics — January, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The World’s Tallest Buildings — January, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Weird-Looking Creatures (And For Making Your Own!) — January, 2010

The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects — January, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Vancouver Winter Olympics — January, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Human Trafficking Today — January, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Haiti — January, 2010

Part Forty-Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – January, 2010

The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies — January, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Nutrition & Food Safety — January, 2010

The Best Online Collections Of PowerPoints For Teachers — January, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Australia — January, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Greensboro Sit-Ins (It’s The Fiftieth Anniversary) — January, 2010

The Best “Tech” Blogs For Learning About New Web Applications — January, 2010

The Best Movie Scenes To Use For English-Language Development — February, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About “Cool” Cars (& Designing Your Own!) – February, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Pandas — February, 2010

Part Forty-Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – February, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Canada — February, 2010

The Best Online Resources To Learn About King Tut — February, 2010

The Best Resources For Showing Students Why They Should Continue Their Academic Career — February, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Chile (& Possible Tsunami) — February, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Multiple Intelligences — March, 2010

The Best Resources To Learn About The U.S. Census — March, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About “Word Clouds” — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Gaining A Basic Understanding Of Adjectives — March, 2010

The Best Images Of Spectacular Bridges (& How Students Can Make Their Own) — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Animals — March, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Prehistoric Cave Paintings — March, 2010

A Compilation Of “The Best…” Lists About Natural Disasters — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Human Evolution — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Daylight Savings Time — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The War In The Pacific — March, 2010

The Best Online Resources For Learning About Health Care Reform — March, 2010

The Best Images Of Scary Views — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Creating Sentence Scrambles — March, 2010

Not The “Best,” But A List… Of Online Video Editors — March, 2010

The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas — April, 2010

My Best Posts On How To Prepare For Standardized Tests (And Why They’re Bad) — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Spring Season — April, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About…Happiness? — April, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Genocide In Rwanda — April, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Anne Frank — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The American Civil War — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Nuclear Weapons — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Creating Personalized “Newspapers” Online — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Possible Life On Other Planets — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Volcano In Iceland — April, 2010

The Best Online Applications For Creating Panoramas — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Penguins — April, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The World Cup — April, 2010

The Best Sites That Show Statistics By Reducing The World & The U.S. To 100 People — April, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Arizona’s New Immigration Law — April, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Gulf Oil Spill — April, 2010

Part Forty-Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — April, 2010

My Best Posts On Parent Engagement So Far This Year — May, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Times Square Car Bomb — May, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About Trees — May, 2010

The Best Resources To Learn About The Vietnam War — May, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Flooding In Tennessee — May, 2010

My Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers) — May, 2010

The Best Collections Of Funny Signs (For Use In English Classes) — May, 2010

My Best Posts On “Motivating” Students — May, 2010

My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals — May, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Mount St. Helens Eruption — May, 2010

The Best Sites For Ideas On Making Simple Musical Instruments — May, 2010

The Best Resources For World Biodiversity Day (& Endangered Species Day) — May, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Immigration In The United States — May, 2010

My Best Posts On Books: Why They’re Important & How To Help Students Select, Read, Write & Discuss Them — May, 2010

My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control — June, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Flag Day — June, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Korean War — June, 2010

The Best Online Resources For Teaching & Learning About World War II (Part Two) — June, 2010

“Part Forty-Seven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly” — June, 2010

The Best Tools For Cutting-Out & Saving Portions Of Online Videos — June, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology — June, 2010

The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons — June, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation — June, 2010

My Best Posts For Tech Novices (Plus One From Somebody Else) — June, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Spies — June, 2010

The Best “When I Say Jump” Online Sites For Practicing English — July, 2010

“Part Forty-Eight Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly” — July, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Summer — July, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Effective Student & Teacher Assessments — July, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Famous Buildings — July, 2010

Part Forty-Nine Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — July, 2010

My Best Posts On Classroom Management — July, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Genocide — July, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The London 2012 Olympics — July, 2010

The Best Applications For Sending Online Video Messages — July, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Flooding In Pakistan — July, 2010

A Beginning “The Best…” List Of Free & Decent Online Practice Sites For State Tests — Help Me Add More! — August, 2010

The Best Sites For International Day Of The World’s Indigenous People — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Russian Fires – August, 2010

Part Fifty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2010

The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Northern Lights — August, 2010

My Best Posts On “School Reform” – August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Constitution Of The United States — August, 2010

The Best Web Applications That Lets Multiple People Upload Their Photos To One Place — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Meteor Showers — August, 2010

Part Fifty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2010

The Best Posts About The LA Times Article On “Valued-Added” Teacher Ratings — August, 2010

The Best Third-Party Twitter Apps That Don’t Require Your Password — August, 2010

The Best Posts About Getting Our Students To Attend College — August, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Formative Assessment — August, 2010

My Best Posts Related To Twitter — August, 2010

The Best Ways To Create Online Video Playlists — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Trapped Miners In Chile — August, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About Women’s Suffrage — August, 2010

A Collection Of The Best Sites For Learning About The Seasons — August, 2010

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Learning Games — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Hurricanes — August, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Polar Bears — September, 2010

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers — 2010 (And Earlier) — September, 2010

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2010 – September, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Graphic Recording — September, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Birth Of Lord Krishna — September, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Famous Art Thefts — September, 2010

The Best Online Learning Games — 2010 — September, 2010

Part Fifty-Two Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — September, 2010

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Encouraging Students To Attend College — September, 2010

The Best Rubric Sites (And A Beginning Discussion About Their Use) — September, 2010

The “Best” Sites For Helping Students Write Autobiographical Incident Essays — September, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Yom Kippur – September, 2010

The Best Science Websites — 2010 — September, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Dinosaurs — September, 2010

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Space — September, 2010

The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events — September, 2010

A List of Interviews With…Me — September, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn “Feelings” Words — September, 2010

The Best Infographics — 2010 — October, 2010

My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Six Months — October, 2010

The Best Sites For Beginning iPhone Users Like Me — October, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Oceans — October, 2010

The Best Social Studies Websites — 2010 — October, 2010

The Best Posts About The Appalling Teacher-Bashing Column Superintendents Wrote In The Washington Post — October, 2010

The Best Examples Of “Unusual” Art — October, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Historic Maps — October, 2010

The Best Sites Showing The Most Popular Tourist Destinations In The World — October, 2010

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — 2010

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Blogs & Blogging — October, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About United Nations Day — October, 2010

Part Fifty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — October, 2010

The Best Sites Where Students Can Upload PowerPoint Presentations To The Web — October, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About The Volcano & Tsunami In Indonesia — October, 2010

The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter — October, 2010

A Collection Of The Best “Laugh While You Cry” Videos — Contribute More! — October, 2010

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources — 2010 — November, 2010

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s — 2010

The Best Articles/Blog Posts On What The Election Results Mean For Schools — Contribute More — November, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About Various “Seven Wonders” — November, 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists Related To Social Studies — 2010

Part Two Of The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers — 2010

The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality — Help Me Create A Simple Lesson Plan Using Them
 — November, 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists Offering Practical Classroom Advice To Teachers — 2010

The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students –November, 2010

The Best Applications For Creating Free Email Newsletters — November, 2010

The Best Blog Posts & Articles About Joel Klein’s Departure & The Question Of Who Should Be Leading Our Schools — November, 2010

My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2010

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2010

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2010

The Best Quotes About Education — Contribute Your Own Favorites

The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools — November, 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists On School Reform Issues — 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists For English Language Learners — 2010

Part Fifty-Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — November, 2010

The Best From “Interviews Of The Month” — 2010

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy — 2010

Best “Tweets” Of 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists Related To Science — 2010

The Best Health Sites — 2010

The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice — 2010

The Best “The Best…” Lists About Disasters — 2010

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers — 2010

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2010

The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test Comparison Demagoguery — December, 2010

All My “The Best Of 2010″ Lists In One Place!

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2010

The Ten Best Videos For Educators — 2010

Part Two Of The Best Videos For Educators — 2010

The Best “Year In Review” Features That Aren’t Photo Collections — 2010

The Best Resources For “Bill Of Rights Day” — December, 2010

The Best Posts To Help Understand Google’s New “Books Ngram Viewer” — December, 2010

The Best Sites For Figuring Out What To Do If Delicious Shuts Down — December, 2010

Part Fifty-Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — December, 2010

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students — 2010

The Best Guides For Helping Teachers Develop Personal Learning Networks — December, 2010

The Best Sites For Learning About A Lunar Eclipse — December, 2010

The Best Posts & Articles About Providing Students With Choices — December, 2010

Part Fifty-Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly (Holiday Edition!) — December, 2010

The Best Art & Music Sites — 2010

My Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success”

The Best (& Worst) Education News In 2010

The Best Sites For Learning Beginning Photography Tips — December, 2010

Part Fifty-Seven Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — December, 2010

The Best Resources To Learn About Finland’s Education System — December, 2010

The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher (& Outside Factors) Have On Student Achievement — December, 2010

The Best Sites For Collaborative Storytelling — December, 2010

The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2010

My Most Memorable Classroom Moments In 2010 — Please Share Your Own

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2010

Part Fifty-Eight Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Australian Floods — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning That Money Does Matter For Schools– January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Cartograms — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Vote In Southern Sudan — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The One-Year Anniversary Of The Haiti Earthquake — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Earthquakes — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Teaching About The Arizona Shooting — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Brazilian Mudslides — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy — January, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles Explaining Why Schools Should Not Be Run Like Businesses — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning Why Teacher Merit Pay Is A Bad Idea — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Quora Is All About… — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Creating Infographics — January, 2011

The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Why Teacher Tenure Is Important — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important — January, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About Videotaping Teachers In The Classroom — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Maximizing The Use Of Dropbox — January, 2011

The Best Places For Students To Learn About…Their Names — January, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Handwriting & Learning — January, 2011

The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common Core Standards — January, 2011

The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven” — January, 2011

The Best (& Most Intriguing) Resources For Learning About The State Of The Union Message — January, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Protests In Egypt — January, 2011

The Best Tools For Creating Fake “Stuff” For Learning — February, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About China — February, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The “Blizzard Of Oz” — February, 2011

A Collection Of My Most Unusual “The Best…” Lists — February, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Protests In History — February, 2011

The Best Multimedia Celebrating Mubarak’s Downfall — February, 2011

The Best Resources To See Who Might Fall Next After Mubarak… – February, 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Egypt & Beyond — February, 2011

The Best “World Press Photo” Winners — February, 2011

Part Fifty-Nine Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — February, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools — February, 2011

The Best Posts About Michelle Rhee’s Exaggerated Test Scores — February, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles Raising Concerns About Teach For America — February, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual — February, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Attacks On Teachers & Other Public Sector Workers In Wisconsin — February, 2011

The Best Places To Get Reliable, Valid, Accessible & Useful Education Data — February, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes — February, 2011

The Best Tools For Printing Out Webpages — February, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning Why School Vouchers Are A Bad Idea — February, 2011

The Best Places To Find Research On Technology & Language Teaching/Learning — February, 2011

The Best Sites To Learn About The Christchurch Earthquake — February, 2011

The Best Sites For Seeing “Pictures Of The Year International” Winners — March, 2011

The Best Resources Documenting The Effectiveness of Free Voluntary Reading — March, 2011

The Best Articles & Sites For Teachers & Students To Learn About Phonics — March, 2011

The Best Posts Responding To Bill Gates’ Appallingly Clueless Op-Ed Piece — March, 2011

The Best Ways For English Language Learners To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2011

The Best Learning Games For Intermediate English Language Learners — March, 2011

The Best Ways For Advanced ELL’s & Non-ELL’s To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly (For Their Classmates & Teacher To See) – March, 2011

The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students — March, 2011

Part Sixty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — March, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Japan Earthquake & Tsunami — March, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Japan Earthquake & Tsunami, Part Two — March, 2011

The Best Sites To Learn About Tsunamis — March, 2011

The Best Websites For Learning About Bob Marley — March, 2011

The Best Learning Games For Advanced ELL’s & Non-ELL’s — March, 2011

The Best — And Easiest — Ways To Use YouTube If, Like Us, Only Teachers Have Access To It — March, 2011

The Best Posts Debunking The Myth Of “Five Great Teachers In A Row” — March, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Schools Providing Home Computers & Internet Access To Students — March, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Libya — March, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire — March, 2011

The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy — March, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions — March, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The New York Times Paywall — March, 2011

The Best Ways To Make A Map Showing Your Facebook Friends (& Twitter Followers) — March, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About “Erase To The Top” — March, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles To Learn About “Fundamental Attribution Error” & Schools — March, 2011

The Best (& Easiest) Ways To Record Online Video Interviews — March, 2011

The Best Online Virtual “Corkboards” (or “Bulletin Boards”) — March, 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics — April, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The International Day For Street Children — April, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Mount Everest — April, 2011

My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Six Months — April, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning How To Use The Dictogloss Strategy With English Language Learners — April, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Leonardo Da Vinci — April, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About Taxes — April, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Texas Fires & Forest Fires In General — April, 2011

The Best Posts About The Power Of Light Touches In The Classroom — April, 2011

The Best Resources For Google Earth Beginners Like Me — April, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Achievement Gap” — April, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Tornadoes That Hit The South (& Tornadoes In General) — April, 2011

The Best Of The Sony World Photography Awards — April, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Osama bin Laden — May, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Freedom Riders” — May, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Mississippi River Flooding — May, 2011

The Best Photos From The White House News Photographers Association — May, 2011

The Best Travel Photographs Of The Year — May, 2011

The Best Sites Remembering Bob Marley Thirty Years After His Death — May, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of “Grit” — May, 2011

The Best Resources For Adapting Your Textbook So It Doesn’t Bore Students To Death — May, 2011

A Beginning “The Best…” List On The Dangers Of Privatizing Public Education — May, 2011

The Best Resources For Helping Students See They Might Not Always Be The Best Judges Of Their Behavior — May, 2011

The Best Posts Discussing Arrogance & School Reform — May, 2011

The Five Best Articles I’ve Written About Education — May, 2011

The Best Sites For Using Aesop’s Fables In The Classroom — May, 2011

Part Sixty-One Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — May, 2011

The Best Sites About The Latest Volcano In Iceland To Erupt — May, 2011

The Best Posts/Articles On National Research Council Finding That Carrots & Sticks Don’t Work — June, 2011

The Best Posts About Attrition Rates At So-Called “Miracle” Schools — June, 2011

The Best Resources On Students Using Gestures & Physical Movement To Help With Learning — June, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Four School Improvement Grant Models — June, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing — June, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Puyehue Volcano Eruption in Chile — June, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Arizona Fire — June, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress — June, 2011

So, You Want To Write A Book? Here’s The Best Advice… — June, 2011

The Best Resources On The “Summer Slide” — June, 2011

The Best YouTube Channels For Learning English — June, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About Curation — June, 2011

The Best Sites For Showing Sacramento Destroyed By Floods — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Phoenix Dust Storm — July, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About South Sudan’s Independence — July, 2011

The Best Infographics Of 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Machu Picchu — July, 2011

The Best Posts Responding To David Brooks Criticism Of Diane Ravitch (& Many Of The Rest Of Us) — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Small Learning Communities — July, 2011

The Best Posts For Learning About The NEA’s New Policy Statement on “Teacher Evaluation and Accountability” — July, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About The Atlanta Testing Scandal — July, 2011

My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2011 (So Far) — July, 2011

The Best Posts About Public Officials (& Non-Elected “Reformers) Sending Their Children To Private Schools — July, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About Compromise – July, 2011

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures — July, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles On The Save Our Schools March — July, 2011

Part Sixty-Two Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly – July, 2011

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly In 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Online Teleprompters — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About The Space Shuttle — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Rube Goldberg Machines — July, 2011

The Best Science Sites Of 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About — July, 2011

The Best Online Learning Games Of 2011 — So Far — July, 2011

The Best Funny Videos Showing The Importance Of Being Bilingual Or Multilingual — Part One — July, 2011

The Best Videos Illustrating Qualities Of A Successful Language Learner — July, 2011

The Best Sites (& Videos) For Learning About Jazz Chants — July, 2011

The Best Posts On Students Reading Aloud Individually In ESL Class — But I Need Your Help Finding Research On The Topic — July, 2011

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2011 (So Far) — August, 2011

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Sixteen Basic Sites For Beginning English Language Learners (Revised) — August, 2011

The Best Sites To Download Free ESL Board Game Templates — August, 2011

The Best Sites For Helping ELL’s Learn About Completing Forms & Applications — August, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Common Core Standards & English Language Learners — August, 2011

The Best Art & Music Sites Of 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

A Beginning List Of The Best Folklore & Myth Sites — August, 2011

The Best Tools For Analyzing Census Data — August, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Martin Luther King Memorial — August, 2011

The Best Web Resources About Somalia’s Drought & Famine — August, 2011

The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Posts About Trust & Education — August, 2011

The Best Resources For Planning The First Day Of School — August, 2011

The Best Sites For Finding Folktales To Teach “Life Lessons” — August, 2011

The Best Resources For Helping Students (& The Rest Of Us) Learn The Concept Of Not Blaming Others — August, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles About The New York Court Decision Releasing Teacher Ratings — August, 2011

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Commentaries On Steven Brill’s Book, “Class Warfare” — August, 2011

The Best Online “Countdown” Timers — August, 2011

My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011


The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Posts/Articles On This Year’s Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup Education Poll — August, 2011

The Best Articles Describing Alternatives To High-Stakes Testing — Help Me Find More — August, 2011

The Best Posts On Attracting The “Best Candidates” To Teaching — August, 2011

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

The Best Ways To Upload A Video To The Web — And A Question — August, 2011

The Best Research Available On The Use Of Technology In Schools — August, 2011

The Best Videos For Educators In 2011 — So Far — August, 2011

Part Sixty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — August, 2011

Best “Tweets” Of 2011 — So Far — September, 2011

The Best Resources On ESL/EFL/ELL Error Correction — September, 2011

The Best MATH Sites That Students Can Use Independently And Let Teachers Check On Progress — September, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Alphabet — September, 2011

My Best Posts On Why It’s Important To Be Positive In Class — September, 2011

The Best Resources On “Instructional Coaching” — September, 2011

The Best Resources For Helping Students Deal With Grief — September, 2011

My Best Posts On The Basics Of Small Groups In The Classroom — September, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Grade Retention, Social Promotion & Alternatives To Both — September, 2011

The Best Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced English Language Learner Sites — September, 2011

The Best Sites For Learning Strategies To Teach ELL’s In Content Classes — September, 2011

The Best Resources On Teaching Multilevel ESL/EFL Classes — September, 2011

The Best Online Resources For “Information Gap” Activities — September, 2011

The Best Resources On ELL’s & Standardized Tests — October, 2011

The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences — October, 2011

The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas — October, 2011

“The Best Examples Of Parent Engagement Through Community Organizing” — October, 2011

The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers — October, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook — October, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits — October, 2011

The Best Resources To Learn About High School ID’s & The Scarlet Letter — October, 2011

The Best Resources To Learn About Alabama’s Awful Immigration Law (& Its Impact On Schools) — October, 2011

The Best Posts & Articles On Recent Study About Student Anxiety — October, 2011

The Best Articles On The New Study Showing That Intelligence Is Not “Fixed” — October, 2011

The Best Posts On The NY Times Ed Tech Article — October, 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Our World’s Population Of 7 Billion — October, 2011

The Best Resources To Help Students Learn About Occupy Wall Street — October, 2011

The Best Historical Photo + Video Map-Based Sites — October, 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Sites Where ELL’s Can Create Art — November, 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Online Books Accessible To ELL’s — November, 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists For Online ELL Video Sites — November, 2011

The Best Visualizations Of Poverty In The U.S. & Around The World — November, 2011

The Best Resources On “Gratitude” — November, 2011

The Best Posts About The Khan Academy — November, 2011

The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read” — November, 2011

The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research — November, 2011

The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom — November, 2011

“The Best Research Available On Parent Engagement” — November, 2011

The Best Reasons Why Parents Should Be Looked At As Allies & Not Targets Of Blame — November, 2011

The Best Overviews Of Parent Engagement — November, 2011

My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement — November, 2011

The Best Resources On Parent Engagement In Countries Other Than The U.S. — November, 2011

The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically — November, 2011

The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About Punctuation — November, 2011

The Best “Fun” Online Video Games For English Language Development — November, 2011

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2011 — Part Two

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2011

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2011

The Best Art & Music Sites Of 2011

The Best Resources For Learning About Higgs Boson, The “God Particle” — December,2011

The Best Science Sites Of 2011

The Best Sites For Learning About The Mars Rover Curiosity — December, 2011

The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2011

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2011

The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — Part Two

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On School Reform Issues — 2011

The Best Tweets Of 2011

The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2011

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2011

The Best Videos For Educators In 2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2011

The Best Reflective Posts I’ve Written About My Teaching Practice In 2011

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2011

The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Learning — December, 2011

My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2011

The Best (and Worst) Education News of 2011

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators –2011

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Technology — 2011

The Best Good, Inexpensive & Simple Classroom Technology Tools — December, 2011

The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Holiday Content Quickly & Easily — December, 2011

The Best Summify & Paper.li’s On ESL/EFL/ELL — January, 2012

The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events — January, 2012

The Best Resources For Learning About Protests In Russia — January, 2012

The Best Commentaries On The President’s Proposal For Students To Stay In School Until They’re Eighteen — January, 2012

The Best Critiques Of Ruby Payne — January, 2012

The Best Posts On The Gates’ Funded Measures Of Effective Teaching Report — January, 2012

The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources — January, 2012

The Bests Posts & Articles About Why We Like Lists — January, 2012

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2011

The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction — January, 2012

The Best Posts On The NY Times-Featured Teacher Effectiveness Study — January, 2012

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2011 — January, 2012

All My “Best Of 2011″ Lists In One Place — January, 2012

The Best Resources On Teacher/Student Use Of Social Media — January, 2012

The Best Guides To Figuring Out Pinterest — January, 2012

The Best — And Easiest –Tools To Use For Embedding A Document — January, 2012

The Best Resources For Beginning iPad Users — January, 2012

Part Sixty-Three Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — January, 2012

The Best Resources For World Book Day — March 1st — February, 2012

The Best Photos — In The World? — March, 2012

The Best Resources For Learning About Leap Year — February, 2012

The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria — February, 2012

The Best Resources On Japanese Internment In World War II — February, 2012

The Best Sites For Keeping An Eye On The Future (Help Me Identify More) — February, 2012

The Best Sites To Learn About Saul Alinsky — February, 2012

The Best Resource Sites For Scholarship Information — February, 2012

The Best Resources To Help Students Write Research Essays — February, 2012

The Best Education Articles From “The Onion” — February, 2012

The Best Resources For Learning About the Health Care Debate — March, 2012

The Best Fun Videos About Books & Reading — March, 2012

The Best Resources For World Read Aloud Day — March, 2012

The Best Sites To Learn About James Cameron’s Record-Setting Dive — March, 2012

The Best Sites For Learning About Solar Storms — March, 2012

The Best Posts & Articles On The Education & National Security Report — March, 2012

The Best Wildlife Photographs Of The Year — March, 2012

The Best Sites For Learning About The Titanic — March, 2012

The Best Resources On The One Year Anniversay Of Japan’s Earthquake & Tsunami — March, 2012

The Web 2.0/Social Media Tools I Use Everyday & How I Use Them – March, 2012

The Best Photos & Videos Of The Space Shuttles’ Final Flights

The Best Displays Of Just-Released New York City Historical Photos

The Best Resources For Learning About The Great Depression

The Best Resources For Learning About “Flow”

The Best Resources For Learning About World War I

The Best Advice For New Teachers

The Best Posts On Helping Students Teach Their Classmates — Help Me Find More

Part Sixty-Four Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly

A Quasi “The Best” List On TPRS (TPR Storytelling) For Teaching ESL

The Best Posts About The Most Bizarre Standardized Test Question Ever

The Best Posts & Articles On Building Influence & Creating Change

A Beginning List Of The Best Posts & Articles On Accelerated Reader

The Best Posts On Computer-Graded Essays

The Best Resources On How Exercise Helps Learning — Please Contribute Other Resources

The Best Resources On The Idea Of Extending The School Day

The Best Of Military Photography

The Best Resources To Remember Dr. Martin Luther King’s Death (& Life)

The Best Resources For Lessons On Trayvon Martin

The Best Resources For Learning About May Day

The Best Images Of The Ring Of Fire Eclipse

The Best Nature Photographs Of The Year

The Best Web Tools That Show You Objects To Scale

The Best Sites For Learning About The Golden Gate Bridge

The Best Resources For Learning About The Maya

The Best Sources Of Advice On Helping Students Strengthen & Develop Their Creativity

The Best Posts & Articles About Asking Good Questions — Help Me Find More

The Best Tools For Creating Clozes (Gap-Fills)

The Best Posts Questioning If Direct Instruction Is “Clearly Superior”

The Best Resources For Teaching “What If?” History Lessons

My Best Posts On Metacognition

The Best Tools For Displaying Instagram Photos On The Web

The Best Sites For Learning To Write A Story

The Best Writing Advice From Famous Authors

The Best Places For ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers To Get Online Professional Development

The Best Sites For Learning About The Colorado Wildfires

The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

The Best Resources For Learning About The European Financial Crisis

The Best Resources For The World Day Against Child Labor

The Best Resources To See Connections (or Disconnections) In The World Before & After The Internet

The Best Resources On The Obama Administration’s Plan To Partially Implement The DREAM Act

The Best Sites For Learning About Voyager 1 & Its Departure From Our Solar System

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Venus Transit”

The Best Resources On The Importance Of Knowing What You Don’t Know

The Best Resources For Learning About Parent Fundraising & Equity Issues

My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (So Far)

The Best Resources On “Race To The Top”

The Best Posts On The Weirdest School Reform Story Of The Year (So Far, At Least)

The Best Resources For Applying “Fed Ex Days” To Schools

The Best Resources On Bringing Students To Nature (& Nature To Students)

The Best Sites For Learning About Google Translate

The Best Resources On Using Improvisation In The ESL/EFL/ELL Classroom

The Best Ideas To Help Students Become Better Listeners — Contribute More

The Best Resources For Learning About The Drought Of 2012 (& Beyond)

The Best Interactives Showing How Long Our Non-Renewables Will Last

The Best Places On The Web To Write Lesson Plans — Who Have I Missed?

The Best Posts On “Loss Aversion” & Schools

The Best Resources For Learning About The 10,000 Hour Rule & Deliberative Practice

The Most Useful Resources For Implementing Common Core — I Hope You’ll Contribute More

The Best Sites For Smartboard Resources (& For Other IWB’s)

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2012 — So Far

Part Sixty-Five Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — So Far

The Best Online Learning Games Of 2012 — So Far

The Best English-Language News Sites With An “Ethnic” Focus — Help Me Identify More

The Best Science Sites Of 2012 — So Far

The Best Resources For Learning About Neil Armstrong

The Best Visualizations Of How People Spend Their Days

The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games

The Best Infographics Of 2012 — So Far

The Best Video Collages Of Natural Disasters

The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2012 — So Far

The Best Sites For Learning About Oscar Pistorius

The Best Sites For Learning About The War Of 1812

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice To Teachers In 2012 — So Far

The Best Multimedia Resources For Introducing Students To The Advantages Of Charts, Graphs & Infographics

The Best Posts/Articles On This Year’s Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup Education Poll — 2012

“The Best Posts & Articles On Parent Trigger Movie “Won’t Back Down””

The Best Funny Movie/TV Clips Of Bad Teachers

The Best Resources On Using Drama In The Classroom

The Best Education Week Posts From My First Year Blogging There…

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — So Far

The Best Posts On The “Flipped Classroom” Idea

The Best Online Videos Showing Teachers In The Classroom

The Best Places On The Web To Find Documentaries (Non-YouTube)

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — So Far

The Best Video Clips Of Sneaky Critters — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources On Punctuation

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly In 2012 — So Far

The Best Resources On GIFs — Please Contribute More

The Best Places Where Students Can Post Book Reviews For Authentic Audiences

The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators – 2012 (So Far)

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2012 — So Far

The Best Resources For Learning About “Psychological Effects” Useful To Teachers

The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners

The Best Resources On The Newly-Released California Educator Excellence Task Force Report

The Best Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike

The Best Resources For World Literacy Day

All My “The Best….” Lists Related To Science

A Sampling Of The Best Tweets With The #SaidNoTeacherEver Hashtag

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2012 — So Far

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2012 — So Far

My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2012 — So Far

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2012 (So Far)

The Best Posts & Articles About Why Book “Leveling” Is A Bad Idea

The Best Resources For Learning About Felix Baumgartner’s Jump From The Edge Of Space

A Beginning List Of The Best Online Resources About Hurricane Sandy

The Best Geography Sites For Learning About The United States & Canada

The Best Sites For Introducing English Language Learners To Geography

The Best Online Activities For Learning About Time Zones

The Best Sites For Introducing Maps To English Language Learners

The Best Posts On “Gamification” In Education — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources On “Brain-Based Learning” — Help Me Find More

The Eight Blogs & Two Email Newsletters I Read First

The Best Multimedia Resources For Learning About Fallacies — Help Me Find More

The Best Online Tools For Using Photos In Lessons

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2012 — So Far

Best Tweets Of 2012

The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset”

The Best Ways For Advanced ELL’s & Non-ELL’s To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly — REVISED

All My “The Best…” Geography Lists In One Place!

The Best Reports On Education-Related 2012 Election Results

The Best Videos I’ve Shared On Google Plus In 2012

The Best Resources On How Hurricane Sandy Is Affecting Schools

“My Best Posts On Building Parent Engagement In Schools — 2012 (Part Two)”

”The best — and worst — education news of 2012″

The Fifteen “Twitterers” Whose Tweets I Read First

The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2012

The Best Videos To Help Students Visualize Success

My Best “Pins” On Pinterest In 2012

The Best Screenshare Tools To Help Others With Computer Problems

The Best Ideas On How To Stay Electronically Connected When The Power’s Out

A Potpourri Of The Best & Most Useful Video Sites

A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Writing

The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Web Tools For Teaching Irregular Verbs & Verb Tenses — Contribute Your Suggestions!

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2012 (Part Two)

The Best Science Sites Of 2012 — Part Two

A Collection Of Resources On The Sandy Hook Shooting (Including Video Of President Obama’s Speech)

The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2012 — Part Two

The Best Resources On Learning About “Right To Work” Laws

The Best “Year In Review” Features That Aren’t Photo Collections — 2012

The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2012

The Best Short Video Clips About Hurricane Katrina

The Best Sites For Learning About Mexico, Central & South America

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2012

The Best Theory Of Knowledge Resources In 2012 — Part Two

All My 2012 “The Best…” Lists On Education Policy In One Place

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Analyses Of Today’s Release Of TIMSS and PIRLS International Student Test Results

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Articles Pointing Out That Our Schools Are Not Failing — Please Suggest More

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Resources On Talking With Children About Tragedies

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Five

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Four

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Three

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume Two

My Best Posts Over The Years — Volume One

The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2012

All My Math-Related “The Best…” Lists In One Place

A Collection Of “Best…” Lists On Vocabulary Development

The Best Sites To Learning About This Month’s Fires In Australia

The Best Resources On President Obama’s Gun Control Proposals

The Best Sites For Learning About President Obama’s Second Inauguration

A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On The Seattle Standardized Test Boycott

A Beginning List Of The Best Posts On Gates’ Final MET “Effective Teaching” Report

The Best Videos On Parent Engagement

The Best Resources On Peer Assistance & Review (PAR) Programs

The Best Resources On Grading Practices

The Best Resources For Learning About Performance Assessment

The Best Education-Related Books Visitors To This Blog Read In 2012

The Best Ways To Help Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Succeed

My Best Posts Of The Year — 2012

The Best Posts & Articles On The “Motivation Trumps IQ” Study

All My “Best Of 2012″ Lists In One Place!

The Best Posts On Student Cellphone Use In Class — Please Contribute More

The Best Resources For International Mother Language Day

The Best Multimedia On The Russian Meteor

The Best Resources For Learning About The Next Papal Election

The Best Info On Skills Employers Are Looking For In Job-Seekers

The Best Resources On Why Raising The Minimum Wage Is Important

The Best Resources About The New Push For Immigration Reform

The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Europe

The Best Resources For Learning About Flight

The “Best” Multimedia News Content In The World

My Best Posts On Parent “Academies” & “Universities”

The Best Posts On The Annual MetLife Survey Of The American Teacher

The Best Resources On The Value & Practice Of Having Older Students Mentoring Younger Ones

The Best Ways To Deal With Rudeness In Class

The Best Sports Videos To Use With English Language Learners

The Best Resources For Learning To Use The Video App “Twine”

The Best Tools For Creating Visually Attractive Quotations For Online Sharing

The Best Resources On Teens & Hearing Loss

The Best Resources For Images From The Planck Satellite

A Beginning List Of The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Africa

The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagement

The Best Posts & Articles On The Impact Of School Closures — Suggest More!

The Best Resources For Learning About Ability Grouping & Tracking — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources For Doing A “One-Sentence Project”

The Best Posts & Articles On MOOC’s — Help Me Find More

My Choices For The Best Posts From The Shanker Blog

The Best Resources For Learning About The Concept Of “Transfer” — Help Me Find More

The Best Alternatives To Google Reader Now That It’s Being Shut Down

The Best Places To Create Funny Subtitles For Silent Movies

The Best Pink Panther Fight Scenes For English Language Learners

The Best Overviews Of The Boston Terror Attack

A Beginning List Of The Best Geography Sites For Learning About Asia & The Middle East

The Best Of The Hashtag #SaidNoEducationVendorEver

The Best Evidence For Why Giving Schools “Report Cards” Is Bad — Help Me Find More

The Best Resources On The Memo Warning Rhee About Cheating (“It seems to me a responsible executive really ought to have looked further”)

Part Sixty-Six Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly