Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
March’s Best Tweets — Part Two
Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. 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 post. If you don’t use Twitter, you can
Reducing Attrition In Urban Schools ‘By Listening To Our Teachers’
Reducing Attrition In Urban Schools ‘By Listening To Our Teachers’ is the last post in my Education Week Teacher three-part series on teacher attrition in high-poverty schools. Today, Liam Goldrick and David Orphal are contributing responses, and I’m featuring many comments from readers, too. I also throw my “two cents” into the discussion. Here are a couple of excerpts:
Video: Dean Shareski Interviews Me “All About Curation”
Dean Shareski and I just had a video conversation for a class he’s teaching. The topic was “All About Curation.” I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles About Curation.
Wash. Post Republishes My Piece On SEL: “The manipulation of Social Emotional Learning”
The Washington Post has just republished a post I wrote last month on SEL. Here on my blog, I had titled it Let Them Eat Character. Their title is “The manipulation of Social Emotional Learning.” Here’s an excerpt I had highlighted when I originally posted it here:
More Updated Resources On Ukraine Crisis
Here are new additions to The Best Resources On The Protests (& Crisis) In Ukraine: Breaking Away is a useful map from The Wall Street Journal. Teaching with the News: Ukraine, Russia and Crimea is by Diana Laufenberg. News and teaching resources round up on the Ukraine crisis is from The Guardian. Russia’s Goal In Ukraine: Three Scenarios is from NPR. Crimea and the Hysteria of History is fr
Resources On Daylight Savings Time
It’s that time — we all lose an hour’s sleep tonight. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Daylight Savings Time.
YESTERDAY
March’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Two
There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you
Useful Charts & Infographics About The Internet
Here are two new additions to The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet: 5 Fascinating Graphs That Show How We Use the Internet is from TIME. 25 years of the World Wide Web – An infographic by the team at CWCS
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: 10 ways to use tongue twisters in your class! is from Carissa Peck. It goes along nicely with my last New York Times post for ELLs. Getting to grips with project based learning and I’m interested in project based learning
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth , I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” (you might also be interested in The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2013): Quizlet for learners: a step-by-step guide is by Lizzie Pinnard, and is excellent. Quizlet is on The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards list, so I’m adding this lin
Several Excellent New Posts & Articles On Assessment
Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen several exceptional posts and articles on teacher and student assessment, and thought I’d bring them all together in one post. I’ll be sharing to which “Best” list I’ll be adding each one, but you can also find all my lists on assessment at A Collection Of “The Best” Lists On Assessment. I’ve got to start off with a series of exceptional posts on assessment that
Today’s “Frazz” Comic Strip: “Why Did You Become A Teacher?”
If you’re reading this on an RSS Reader, you may have to click through to see the comic:
MAR 06
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Judge denies motion to dismiss lawsuit challenging teacher job protections is from Ed Source. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights. Former superintendent backs tenure, layoff laws as defense opens in ‘Vergara’ lawsuit is also from Ed Source. I’m adding it to the same list. A Small Request for My Friends at Gates is by Rick Hess. I’m adding it to
Video: Bringing Syria’s Civil War Home
I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria:
Excellent Updated Resources On Ukraine
Here are some excellent new additions to The Best Resources On The Protests (& Crisis) In Ukraine: Ukraine embroiled in East-West divide is an Associated Press interactive. Ukrainian crisis: Situation maps is from The Washington Post. What’s Going On in Ukraine? An Up-to-Date Guide is from ABC News.
My Slide Presentation For Education Writers Association: “Connecting Educators & Education Journalists”
This morning, I joined three other educators, including Jose Vilson, for an online panel discussion sponsored by the Education Writers Association on Talking to Teachers: New Voices, New Views. Participation in the Webinar was limited to journalists. My short presentation focused on suggesting ways journalists could connect with teachers, and have embedded by PowerPoint below. I have to get back t
Khan Academy To Do SAT Prep Not Just For Math, But For Reading & Writing, Too
I’ve previously shared info on the SAT changes that were announced yesterday (see “The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul”). I had seen that one of the parts of the announcement was that the Khan Academy was going to work with the College Board to develop free online test prep materials, and assumed it was only going to be for math. However, I know see in a very good Ed Week story on the program that
“The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul”
The Story Behind the SAT Overhaul is a very interesting piece in this week’s New York Times Magazine. Here’s an excerpt: Still, Coleman concedes that the redesigned SAT won’t quiet everyone’s complaints, and he doesn’t expect there to be a universal celebration of what they’ve done. You can imagine there will be substantial questions, for instance, about whether any standardized test can be fair
“Four questions to ask before using an Ed Tech tool” Is My New British Council Post
Four questions to ask before using an Ed Tech tool is my latest post over at Teaching English-British Council. Here’s how I start: You can see all my British Council posts here.
MAR 05
Excellent Post: “This Brilliant Math Teacher Has a Formula to Save Kids’ Lives”
This Brilliant Math Teacher Has a Formula to Save Kids’ Lives is an excellent post by Glennon Melton. You’ll definitely want to read the entire piece, but here’s an excerpt: Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may
Neat Interactive Shows English Words “Borrowed” From Other Languages
Borrowed Words is a net interactive that shows from which languages English has borrowed the most words from during which periods of time. It’s fun to play around with it. Thanks to Joyce Valenza for the tip.
Resources For Cesar Chavez Day
Cesar Chavez Day is recognized as a holiday by eight states in the U.S., and falls on March 31st — his birthday (or a Monday/Friday that is closest to a weekend). You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Cesar Chavez.
March’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part One
There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you
Getty Images Has Just Become The Number One Source For Images In Social Media — Choose From 40 MILLION!
Getty Images has just unveiled an embed feature for 40 million of their photos, making them available for non-commercial use. 40 MILLION! That’s a lot of images. However, that’s less than a third of the photos on their site, so after searching with a keyword, you have to look for photos that have the embed symbol (circled) on the bottom right, as in the screenshot below: I don’t see how you can
“Earth Hour” Is On March 29th — Here Are Lots Of Related Resources
Earth Hour, the annual time when people around the world switch-off lights for an hour to bring attention to environmental issues, takes place on March 29th this year. You might find The Best Sites To Learn About “Earth Hour” helpful….
The Hindu Festival Of Holi Starts On March 17th — Here Are Useful Resources
The Hindu Festival of Holi starts on March 7th this year. To quote from the UPI, “Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, and many other countries around the world. Holi, is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other.” You might find The Best Sites To Learn About The Hindu Festival Of Holi useful….
Updated World Water Day Resources — It’s On March 22nd
The United Nations designated March 22nd as World Water Day. It’s designed to bring attention to the fact that over one billion people in the world are without access to adequate water, and focuses attention on the growing issue of “water privatization” — forcing many people to pay private companies exorbitant prices to obtain the necessary water to survive. It’s of particular interest this year
MAR 04
New Online Learning Games For Language-Learning (Plus, A Little Science)
I’ve previously posted how I use online video games for language learning, and have shared links to many of them. Here are two new ones: Here’s a link to the game, Words (click English), and here’s its Walkthrough. Escape from Mr. K’s Room 4 and here is its Walkthrough. This next game is a little different. Citizen Sort creates free online video games where players sort and identify items as par
“TED Talks” Unveils Redesigned Website With New Useful Tools
TED Talks has just unveiled a new design for their website, and it now includes some additional useful tools. You can see their list of the new tools here. They include enhanced videos, the ability to save a list of the talks you’ve watched or want to watch, and the addition to many of the videos of speaker-suggested additional resources. I’m adding this info to The Best Teacher Resources For “TE
My New BAM! Radio Program: “What Are the Five Best Practices to Promote Better Student Learning?”
The latest episode of my nine-minute BAM! Radio podcast is on What Are the Five Best Practices to Promote Better Student Learning? My guests are Diana Laufenberg and National Teacher Of The Year Jeff Charbonneau. They have both contributed a written response to that question for one of my future Education Week Teacher columns.
Video: “WKRP: Venus Explains the Atom” Shows Great Teaching In Action
Neil deGrasse Tyson shared this great video on Google Plus. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies:
“Building ‘Political Will’ To Retain Teachers In High-Need Schools”
Building ‘Political Will’ To Retain Teachers In High-Need Schools is Part Two in my Education Week Teacher series on teacher turnover in high-poverty schools. Today, Barnett Berry and Ilana Garon share their thoughts. Here are some excerpts:
MAR 03
New Resources On The Ukraine Crisis
Here are new additions to The Best Resources On The Protests (& Crisis) In Ukraine: Covering the Russian Army in Crimea is a photo gallery from The New York Times. Ukraine crisis: the military imbalance is an interactive from The Guardian. Military movements in Crimea is an infographic from The Washington Post. Newsround Guide – What’s happening in Ukraine? is a very accessible summary from C
The Problem With Including Standardized Test Results As Part Of “Multiple Measures” For Teacher Evaluation
There’s a lot of discussion, and actual implementation of, standardized test results as part of “multiple measures” for teacher — and for principal — evaluation. Among other points, proponents suggest that no one is suggesting that they count as one-hundred percent, only a portion — usually somewhere between twenty and fifty percent. That sounds very reasonable, doesn’t it? Except that it isn’t…
Carnival Updates!
Here are new additions to The Best Sites To Learn About Mardi Gras & Carnivals: From Brazil to Macedonia: Carnival Ignites Colorful Celebrations is a photo gallery from NBC. Carnival 2014 Around the World is a photo gallery from The Atlantic. 2014 Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a photo gallery from The Los Angeles Times.
Updated Dinosaur Resources
Since my latest New York Times post for English Language Learners is on dinosaurs, I thought I’d take the opportunity to update The Best Sites For Learning About Dinosaurs. Feel free to make additional suggestions…
Practice Pronunciation With Tongue-Twisters AND Learn About Dinosaurs!
Practice pronunciation with “tongue-twisters” and learn about the dinosaurs at the same time with my latest New York Times post for English Language Learners. A student interactive and teaching ideas are included. I’m adding this post to The Best Sites For Learning About Dinosaurs.
MAR 02
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth , I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” (you might also be interested in The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2013): Flip Quiz is an easy site that lets you create an online Jeopardy-like game board that students can play. Thanks to a Journey In TEFL for the tip. Common Core in Act
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: my favourite ways of revisiting vocabulary is from Teaching English Notes. I’m adding it to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn Vocabulary. Language Supports for English-Learners Ready for Smarter Balanced Field Tests is f
Infographic: “How the Brain Benefits from Being Bilingual”
Here’s a great infographic I’m adding to The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual Or Multilingual. I learned about it through Katie Lepi at Edudemic, who wrote a nice post sharing additional information on the same topic. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on education policy issues: Class size matters a lot, research shows is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter. Why most professional development for teachers is useless is an excellent piece by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. It’s a follow-up to my previous post, Video: Tho
The Best Posts & Articles On The Florida Teacher Evaluation Fiasco
The state of Florida has just released the Value-Added Assessment scores of teachers to newspapers. It’s a fiasco. You might also be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About The “Value-Added” Approach Towards Teacher Evaluation. Here are some posts on what’s going on — feel free to suggest others in the comments section: The most meaningless teacher evaluation exercise ever? is a Washi
“My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Three Months”
I’ve just posted My Best Posts On Parent Engagement Over The Past Three Months over at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. Readers might find it useful….
New & Easier Embedding Options For Pinterest
I use Pinterest a lot (you can see my Boards here), and share a lot resources there you won’t find on this blog. I’ve liked the site since it came online, but they’ve been a lesson on the worst ways to handle embedding their content. At first, it was quite easy. But then, they changed the system to a cumbersome two-step process and made all their old embeds defunct — in other words, if you had us
It’s Oscar Night! Here’s A Special Collection Of My Movie-Related “Best” Lists
The Academy Awards are tonight, and I thought it would be a good time to bring together all of my movie-related “Best” lists. But, before I start listing them, I’d like to point out an excellent resource that Edutopia just shared: Oscar Week Special: Seven Teaching Resources on Film Literacy. Now, here are my lists: The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies T
“Mythbusters” Music Video: “It’s Time For Science!”
Check out this fun Mythbusters music video, made by Melody Sheep:
MAR 01
Updated Ukraine Resources
Here are new resources I’m adding to The Best Resources On The Protests In Ukraine (though I’ll change the name of that list if the Russians continue with their invasion): Ukraine protests: the roots of the political division is an interactive from The Guardian. Ukraine in Maps is an interactive from The New York Times. Tensions escalate in Ukraine (2nd March, 2014) is a lesson from Breaking News
March’s ( & Some Of February’s) Best Tweets — Part One
Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. 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 post. If you don’t use Twitter, you can
Resources For St. Patrick’s Day (& April Fools Day)
With both St. Patrick’s Day and April Fools Day coming up, readers might find The Best Sites For Learning About St. Patrick’s Day (& April Fools Day) useful. Additional suggestions are welcome….
“Ways To Reduce Teacher Attrition In High Poverty Schools”
Ways To Reduce Teacher Attrition In High Poverty Schools is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s the first in a three-part series on that topic. In today’s post, educators Angel Cintron and Paul Bruno share their thoughts. Here are some excerpts:
Wash. Post Does It Again With “25 maps and charts that explain America today”
The Washington Post keeps on coming up with excellent collections of maps and charts. Last year they published 40 maps that explain the world. It linked to another site called 40 Maps They Didn’t Teach You In School that also has a number of other good maps. However, that second site also includes a few maps with topics and language that wouldn’t be appropriate for the classroom. Then, The Post p
Resources For Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month in the United States and I’ve just updated The Best Sites For Learning About Women’s History. Suggestions for new additions are welcome…