Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

“Trapit” Opens To The Public

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 hours ago

I posted about Trapit in June, and it has just opened to the public. I would characterize it as a way to create your own online personalized newspaper, which is why it’s on The Best Sites For Creating Personalized “Newspapers” … Continue reading →

“Graph Words”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Graph Words is a new very simple visual thesaurus. It’s not as fancy as some of the other similar applications out there, but I think some of them are actually pretty confusing to English Language Learners. I’m adding it to … Continue reading →

“Parent Trigger R.I.P.”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 7 hours ago

Parent Trigger R.I.P. is the title of a new post at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. You might find it interesting…

Another Amazing Video Taken From The International Space Station

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

Here’s another amazing video taken from The International Space Station. I’m adding it to The Best Images Taken In Space.

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago

It’s that time of year again when I start posting year-end “The Best….” lists. Coincidentally, this one is also the eight-hundredth “The Best…” list I’ve published! You can see them all here. I figured it was appropriate to make number … Continue reading →

Nominations For Edublog Awards Now Open!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 12 hours ago

Nominations for this year’s Edublog Awards are now being accepted! You can learn all about deadlines, the nominating process, and categories at Nominations Open – The 2011 Edublog Awards are on!

Research Studies Of The Week

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies … Continue reading →

“Jim Crow Is Dead, But His Cousins Are Still Alive”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

The New York Times editorial writers might not have any idea about what they’re talking about when they write on education issues, but they’ve certainly nailed things on the Alabama immigration law. Their recent editorial, On the Rise in Alabama, … Continue reading →

More Google+ Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About: Google+ recently launched “Google Pages,” which allow organizations and businesses to participate in the social network. Richard Byrne has a good post describing them. … Continue reading →

“WingClips” Could Be Very Useful — With Important Caveats

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago

WingClips has organized a huge number of short clips from movies thematically — perseverance, responsibility — and then lets you show them from the site or embed them elsewhere. The important caveats are that it clearly comes from a religious, … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good School Reform Articles & Posts

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Here are some recent good school reform-related posts and articles: Struggling Schools and the Problem with the “Shut It Down” Mentality is by Robert Slavin at Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Four … Continue reading →

“The Best Resources On ‘Becoming What We Read’”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago

Because of an increasing number of studies on the topic, I’ve just converted an older post on the impact reading has on empathy into The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read.” You might want to check it out and … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a … Continue reading →

“How Does Our Brain Learn New Information?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

How Does Our Brain Learn New Information? from Scientific American is a fantastic short explanation of what happens to our brain when we learn something new. It’s probably the most accessible description I’ve read anywhere, and I’ll definitely be adding … Continue reading →

More Veterans Day Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

Here are the latest additions to The Best Websites To Learn About Veterans Day: Veterans Day Observed is a Wall Street Journal slideshow. Armistice Day is an historical slideshow from The Los Angeles Times. Through The Lens: Seeing Veterans Up … Continue reading →

Even More On Wealth & Income Inequality

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago

Here are the latest additions to The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality: Public Opinion and the Occupy Movement is a fascinating interactive infographic from The New York Times. I’m also adding it to The Best Resources To Help … Continue reading →

Ask A Question, Any Question, About Education…

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago

Many readers already know that I write a fairly popular weekly teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher. Readers send in questions, and typically I’ll respond, one or two invited guests will write a short answer, and other readers will … Continue reading →

The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago

This week’s “Question Of The Week” at my Education Week Teacher blog relates to how we can tell the difference between good and bad education research. As a supplement to next week’s response on that issue, I wanted to bring … Continue reading →

This Week In Web 2.0

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago

In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth sharing, I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” It’ll be a short compilation of new decent sites that are worth … Continue reading →

“Call Me Hope”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago

“Call Me Hope” is a fun music video of Paul Simon’s “Call Me Al” song. It’s sponsored by a development organization called “Mama Hope.” I plan on using it in my Beginning ELL class, and have them sing along with … Continue reading →

Engaging Parents In School… - Parent Trigger R.I.P.

Engaging Parents In School… - Parent Trigger R.I.P.:

Parent Trigger R.I.P.

by Larry Ferlazzo

Today, The Los Angeles Times published an editorial reflecting on the parent trigger’s lack of success, and described Parent Revolution’s retooling effort:

Instead of choosing the schools for a possible parent trigger and engineering the petitions, Parent Revolution now leaves it up to parents to determine whether they want to initiate major reforms and what kind.

The article charitably describes the organization’s success at this new strategy as “modest.”

Of course, this “new” strategy is the primary strategy used by all effective community organizers in modern times, and by successful organizers in history before the term was even coined.

If the Parent Revolution had begun its efforts with that perspective, had chosen not to demonize teachers and

Florida’s Higher Ed “Splintered System” has Roots in Jeb Bush-Era Abolishment of the Board of Regents | Scathing Purple Musings

Florida’s Higher Ed “Splintered System” has Roots in Jeb Bush-Era Abolishment of the Board of Regents | Scathing Purple Musings:

Florida’s Higher Ed “Splintered System” has Roots in Jeb Bush-Era Abolishment of the Board of Regents

by Bob Sikes

I made this post Sunday regarding former Florida university chancellor Charlie Reed’s highly critical speech of the state’s system. The St. Petersburg Times published his remarks. Reed called Florida’s system, “splintered.”

Fifteen years ago, I was part of the Business-Higher Education Partnership group that put out a landmark report on higher education in Florida called “The Emerging Catastrophe and How to Prevent It.” The report detailed an expected surge in enrollment and how the system was being underfunded at a critical time. It also called for more efficiency and less duplication to create a more effective system.

If I had to write that report today, I’d call it “A Splintered System.” There is no cohesive mission or

Occupy Movement Coming To An End? | OWSnews.org #ows

Occupy Movement Coming To An End? | OWSnews.org:

Occupy Movement Coming To An End?

November 15, 2011 in Denver, Liberty Park, Los Angeles, Oakland, OccupyTogether, Police Brutality, Portland, Video

This past weekend there were two major crackdowns among the Occupy movement in Oakland, California and Portland, Oregon. The Oakland mayor has expressed her reasoning for cracking down on the demonstrations and says the encampment is no longer a protest of the financial sector but rather a location of repeated violence. According to some reports, the numbers of occupiers are decreasing. Is this the beginning of the end of the Occupy Wall Street movement? David DeGraw, author and journalist, helps us answer some questions.

Daily Kos: Trust me - an absolute MUST READ on education

Daily Kos: Trust me - an absolute MUST READ on education:

Trust me - an absolute MUST READ on education

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

to which I urge you to turn RIGHT NOW. It appeared in Valerie Strauss's Washington Post blog. The title isProof there is no proof for education reforms. Allow me quote Valerie's introduction:

This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.

Burris offers a number of important links, including to the analysis of the invaluable Bruce Baker of Rutgers University.

She also offers the remarks of a key expert who presents on behalf of the NY State Education Department. You will find that interesting as well.

I don't want to quote. I want you to read. I am happy if you simply pass on the link to the Burris piece, although I would also be delighted if this diary helps make that piece more visible.

Let me offer just this much. In-school factors count for only about 20% of test scores, about the same percentage as cannot be explained by other factors - statistical noise/error. Of that, teachers are responsible for about 1/2, or a bit more - only around 10%.

To urge you to read, I will quote only one paragraph:

When the state puts the entire burden of closing the gap on the backs of teachers, while ignoring such gap-producing factors as poverty and underfunded schooling, it hides the truth from the public regarding the complexity of the issues that must be addressed. Perhaps most importantly, it takes the burden off society to address issues such as poverty and inequitable school funding. It gives politicians permission to not address serious problems that affect learning such as teenage pregnancy, truancy, illegal drug use, gangs, and uneven access to health care. And it ignores the effects of racially and socio-economically isolated schooling and classrooms and pretends that separate and unequal are just fine — if only those teachers would do their jobs better.

Pleases - go read, and pass on.

And thanks.