Saturday, May 2, 2020

SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007


SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 
The latest news and resources in education since 2007


Video: “Why is Coronavirus Hitting People of Color so Hard?”
nastya_gepp / Pixabay PBS’ “Above The Noise” videos are great – they always have accompanying lesson plans and transcripts, and they cover timely topics of interest to young people. In addition, they have a direct connection to Google Classroom and offer their videos in versions on and off YouTube in case you’re in districts that make poor decisions (like ours) to have extraordinarily strict limi
Just Sent-Out Free Monthly Email Newsletter
geralt / Pixabay I’ve just mailed out the May issue of my very simple free monthly email newsletter . I sent out two special coronavirus-related editions of the newsletter earlier in March. This is the “regular” monthly version. It has over 3,000 subscribers, and you can subscribe here . Of course, you can also join the eighteen thousand others who subscribe to this blog daily. Here Are 8 Ways Yo
April’s Most Popular Posts From This Blog
As regular readers know, at the end of each week I share the five most popular posts from the previous seven days. I thought people might find it interesting to see a list of the ten most popular posts from the previous thirty 

“Six Weeks Into Remote Teaching & Still Learning …”

Six Weeks Into Remote Teaching & Still Learning … is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four teachers–from 2nd grade to high school–discuss what they’ve learned over the past six weeks of remote teaching, including the need to provide less work and more support to their students. Here are some excerpts:
Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists

(Note: I am going to publish this same post once each month to remind regular readers and inform newer ones about how to access my “Best” lists) As regular readers know, I have about 2,100 categorized and regularly updated “Best” lists. You can find all of them in broad categories here . The link to that page can also be found at the top right of my blog: My Best Of Series I also have them all on
May 4th-8th Is Teacher Appreciation Week – Here Are Tons Of Related Resources

May 4th-8th is Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States. You can find a ton of related resources at The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day .
It’s “May Day” – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

jonye123 / Pixabay Though May Day is an ancient celebration , since the late nineteenth century it has primarily been recognized as a time to celebrate workers’ rights. Though it’s unlikely that there will be the usual demonstrations today, you still might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About May Day .
SEL Weekly Update

I’ve recently begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists. You might also be interested in THE BEST SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO Finally, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources . Here are this week’s picks: High Anxiety: Imagining the

APR 30

“Assessing the Needs of Black Students During the Coronavirus Crisis”

Assessing the Needs of Black Students During the Coronavirus Crisis is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Jamila Lyiscott, Ph.D., writes about the challenges facing Black students before and during the Coronavirus crisis and how schools must invite them to help identify their own needs. Here are some excerpts:
Hmong Community Commemorates 45th Anniversary Of Resettlement In The United States

Soldier in the Secret War recalls experience 45 years after resettling in U.S. is a long and interesting story from NBC News. Thousands of Hmong live in the Sacramento area and make up one-third of our school’s population. I’m adding it to The Best Websites To Learn About The Hmong .
CBS News Video: “Special education students face new challenges during pandemic”

hatice97erol / Pixabay Here’s a new video segment from CBS News:
I Was On A Webinar Panel Today On Distance Learning For ELLs & You Can Watch It For Free

DarkWorkX / Pixabay I helped do a webinar with the American Federations of Teacher’s Share My Lesson platform, and you can access it for free here . Here is how they described it: Join Diane Staehr Fenner from SupportEd; teacher and author, Larry Ferlazzo, and Lydia Breiseth with Colorín Colorado for a webinar on the challenges of distance learning during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Statistic Of The Day: 300,000 Teacher Lay-Offs?

Yesterday, I posted Statistic Of The Day: Upcoming Budget Cuts Will Devastate Schools. For even more depressing news, check out the Learning Policy Institute’s new report, The Impact of the COVID-19 Recession on Teaching Positions.
Are We Going About This Whole “Distance Learning” Thing All Wrong?

ElisaRiva / Pixabay In talking with colleagues and seeing comments on social media from educators and parents alike, I’ve begun to wonder if we might be going about this whole “distance learning” thing all wrong. I’m going to preface what I want to say in this blog post with reprinting what something I’ve written previously : Seventy percent of the school year had already been completed by the ti

APR 29

The Best Ideas For Online Activities To Use When Teaching ELLs Remotely – Share More!

qimono / Pixabay I’ve shared a few of my ideas of what I’m doing during my daily Newcomer English Language Learners class (see VIDEO: HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF MY DAILY ONLINE LESSON FOR ELL NEWCOMERS ). I know there are a lot of other great ideas out there. There have been four Google slides presentations of different ideas that I’ve seen shared regularly on social media that are filled with some coo
New PBS NewsHour Video Segment: “The challenge of distance learning for parents of children with special needs”

JESHOOTS.COM Here’s a segment from tonight’s PBS NewsHour:
Statistic Of The Day: Upcoming Budget Cuts Will Devastate Schools

It’s unfortunately no surprise, but schools are going to get creamed by upcoming budget cuts. The San Francisco Chronicle outlined what it might look like in its article, From bad to worse: California schools face devastating budget cuts due to the coronavirus crisis (which you might not be able to access because of a paywall). And, it’s not going to help that, as of now, additional federal aid t
Google Meet Is Now Free For Everyone

Google has just announced that it’s making Google Meet, its video conferencing platform, free for everybody (see Google Meet premium video conferencing—free for everyone ). Of course, it had made it free for teachers to use previously (though our district, in a ridiculous decision, still has not made it available for students to use). I’m adding this info to The Best Online Tools For Real-Time Co

APR 28

“‘We Do the Best We Can’ – Lessons From Six Weeks of Remote Teaching”

‘We Do the Best We Can’ – Lessons From Six Weeks of Remote Teaching is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four educators share lessons from six weeks of remote teaching, including the importance of communication and community and what they’ve changed in that time. Here are some excerpts:
New TED-Ed Video & Lesson: “The electrifying speeches of Sojourner Truth”

KlausHausmann / Pixabay TED-Ed’s latest lesson and video is on Sojourner Truth. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Teach About African-American History .
Video: “What’s working for teachers, parents during the coronavirus lockdown”

kreatikar / Pixabay CalMatters invited me to participate on a panel of teachers today discussing the school closure crisis:
My Latest BAM! Radio Show Is On Activating Background Knowledge

Make Learning Stick: Activating Background Knowledge When Teaching Remotely is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio show. I’m joined in the conversation by Cheryl Abla, Elizabeth Villanueva, Adam Fachler and Jeffrey Wilhelm, who have also all contributed written commentaries to my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .
CA Governor Says We Might Start School In Late July

The Sacramento Bee reports our governor is suggesting that school begin a lot earlier than usual: California schools might reopen as early as July, Gov. Newsom says. Our district ordinarily begins in late August, so this could be a full four weeks earlier than when we are scheduled to begin. I have to say I have very mixed feelings about this. I feel like I’ve been working incredibly hard since s
This Week’s Resources To Support Teachers Coping With School Closures

Wokandapix / Pixabay I have a number of regular weekly features (see HERE IS A LIST (WITH LINKS) OF ALL MY REGULAR WEEKLY FEATURES ). This is a relatively new addition to that list. Some of these resources will be added to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions ! and the best will go to The “Best Of The Best” Resources To
Video Trailer On New Michelle Obama Film: Really, Who ISN’T Going To Watch It?

janeb13 / Pixabay “Becoming” is a Netflix film coming on May 6th: Becoming is an intimate look into the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama during a moment of profound change, not only for her personally but for the country she and her husband served over eight impactful years in the White House. The film offers a rare and up-close look at her life, taking viewers behind the scenes as she em
“Four Ways to Support African American Students Through the COVID-19 Emergency”

Four Ways to Support African American Students Through the COVID-19 Emergency is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Educator Adeyemi Stembridge, Ph.D., shares strategies to bolster African American students during our present emergency, such as inviting them to share their stories and their art. Here’s an excerpt:
Four New Online Learning Games

The Webby Awards just announced their nominees for this year. It always takes awhile to look through them to distinguish the wheat from chaff, and it’s not helped by its cumbersome navigation process, but here are some online learning games that I discovered there: Passport To Mars is from Scholastic, and puts you in the position of being an astronaut traveling to….Mars. Stax is a game designed t

APR 27

New TED-Ed Video & Lesson: “The dark history of IQ tests”

geralt / Pixabay Here’s the latest TED-Ed lesson and video:
Excellent Series Of Short Videos About Historical Pandemics

Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay FRANCE 24 English has just unveiled a series of excellent and very accessible short videos about famous pandemics in history. You can see the entire playlist here . I’ve embedded an example below. I’m adding it to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS.
Highlighting Scientists Who Succeeded More Through Effort Than Brilliance Enhances Student Motivation In Science

A new study, which actually describes three separate ones reinforcing the same conclusion, finds that students become more motivated to learn science if they are told about famous scientists who supposedly succeeded more from their effort than from their natural talents. You can read about it at Not All Scientists Are Equal: Role Aspirants Influence Role Modeling Outcomes in STEM , and it is NOT
Ed Tech Digest

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this

APR 26

“Visualization of ‘Tips for Remote Teaching With ELL Students'”

Visualization of ‘Tips for Remote Teaching With ELL Students’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Teacher Wendi Pillars shares a visual illustration of the points I made in my video, “Tips for Remote Teaching With ELL Students.”
Free Resources From All My Books

Every two months, I reprint this post so that new subscribers learn about these resources. I have many free resources, including excerpts and student hand-outs, available from all my books. Clicking on the covers will lead you to them. Look for a fourth book in my student motivation series (out in 2022) and a second edition of The ESL/ELL Teachers Survival Guide (out in 2021), along with three bo
Guest Post: Pros & Cons Of Online Learning For ELLs

Editor’s Note: I’ve been publishing a series of posts – both here and at Education Week – sharing teacher’s experiences dealing with the school closure crisis. The first post appearing here was headlined Guest Post: My School Was Closed Because Of COVID-19 & Here Is A Report About Our Online Teaching. Eva Buyuksimkesyan shares her experience in the second, Guest Post: Teaching An Istanbul English
Video: “Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman offers words of hope amid pandemic”

ShonEjai / Pixabay Here’s a new video from CBS News:
Video: “Distance Learning and English Language Learners”

mohamed_hassan / Pixabay Jeffrey Garrett and Manuel Rustin host a great series called All Of The Above . I was honored to appear on their latest episode:
My Most Popular Tweets Of The Month

PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay I used to post weekly collections of my best tweets, and used Storify to bring them together. Unfortunately, Storify went under. Fortunately, however, Wakelet was a new tool that was able to import all of a person’s Storifys. So you can see all those previous Twitter “Best” lists here . You might also be interested in MY MOST POPULAR TWEETS IN 2019 – PART TWO and NEW &

APR 25

May Is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
April’s “Best” Lists – There Are Now 2,150 Of Them!

Here’s my regular round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 2,150 of them categorized here ): THE BEST VIDEOS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING ABOUT – YES – “POOP” THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING HOW BLACK GIRLS ARE TREATED UNFAIRLY & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. GAVE HIS “MOUNTAINTOP” SPEECH 52 YEARS AGO TODAY – HERE ARE TEACHING & LEARNING RESOURCES THE BEST S
New PBS NewsHour Video Segment: “School closures leave homeless students even more vulnerable”

Jon Tyson Here’s a segment from tonight’s PBS NewsHour:
My Favorite Posts That Appeared In April

I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here ). You can also see my all-time favorites here . I’ve also been doing “A Look Back” series reviewing old favorite
Three Useful Videos For Students About The Coronavirus

Abhi_Jacob / Pixabay I’m adding these three videos to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS:


Most Popular Posts Of The Week

I’m making a change in the content of the regular feature. In addition to sharing the top five posts that have received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they may have originally been published on an earlier date), I will also include the top five posts that have actually appeared in the past week. Often, these are different posts. You might also be interested in IT’S THE THIRTE


Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007