Think and Dream in English: 2009

"Glogster EDU is your original educational resource for innovative and interactive learning. Glogster EDU was conceived to imaginatively, productively, and collaboratively respond to the dynamic educational landscape and exceed the needs of today’s educators and learners. We value the participation of educators and strive to assimilate their contributions to Glogster EDU, Glogster EDU is yours! Educators from all over the world are integrating Glogster EDU’s resourceful platform to make traditional learning more dynamic, more interactive and more in tune with learners today. Most importantly Glogster EDU is FUN for teachers and learners alike!"

10 Things You Must Do Before A New Site Or Blog Launch | Spyre Studios

10 Things You Must Do Before A New Site Or Blog Launch | Spyre Studios:

"Launching a new website can be an intense experience. Preparing yourself for the launch and making sure you’ve got all your ducks in a row will ensure that your launch is successful. Today, I want to discuss with you ten things you must do before a new site launch."

"A(nother) moment of light relief here at Six Things. You know you’re an English teacher when…

1 You spend an inordinate amount of time cutting up bits of paper (yes, even in this technological day and age I’m convinced most English teachers still spend lots of time cutting things up… I still do and I’m pretty into tech)

2 You feel like exploding when you hear someone say ‘It must be great to have those long holidays’* (especially if you are in the private sector and probably don’t get paid holidays!)"

Open Networked Teaching

Networked Student

The Networked Student was inspired by CCK08, a Connectivism course offered by George Siemens and Stephen Downes during fall 2008. It depicts an actual project completed by Wendy Drexler's high school students. The Networked Student concept map was inspired by Alec Couros' Networked Teacher. I hope that teachers will use it to help their colleagues, parents, and students understand networked learning in the 21st century.

Anyone is free to use this video for educational purposes. You may download, translate, or use as part of another presentation. Please share.

A short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

This project was created to inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills. Equally important, it serves to motivate district level leaders to provide teachers with the tools and training to do so.

Twilight Saga Spoofs - So What?

Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus Recipe : Giada De Laurentiis : Food Network

Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus Recipe : Giada De Laurentiis : Food Network:

"To make the turkey: Position the rack in the lowest third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the turkey on a rack set inside a large roasting pan. Place the orange and lemon wedges, onion, and 2 sprigs of each fresh herb in the main turkey cavity. Tie the legs together to hold the shape of the turkey."

Beauty Pressure

Think unrealistic ads don't affect young girls? Think again. Girls are under more pressure than ever.

http://www.dove.ca/en/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Resources/

How to Teach Basic Conversational English

Inspirational Quotes

Now, make your own inspirational videos.

The Don't Quit Problem

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

onestopblogs

onestopblogs:

"Onestopblogs is a new service from www.onestopenglish.com which brings together blogs from throughout the English language teaching community."

Los alumnos investigan

ASÍ INVESTIGAN LOS ALUMNOS EN UNA AULA

BBC BlackAdder - Anyone for archery?

Twitter & Education

Twitter & Education - #140conf LA from RealPlayer SP on Vimeo.

Twillionth

Follow Stephen Fry - http://twitter.com/stephenfry

ICT in the Classroom - 71 Ideas

How to Make a Sports Leaflet

10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports - TheApple.com

10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports - TheApple.com:

"The most dreaded word in school reading for students: book reports. Teachers assign them, viewing them as a necessary component of assessing reading comprehension. Book reports can be a contributing factor to ‘readicide’. “Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.” http://stenhouse.com/html/readicide.htm. So, how can we as teachers continue to monitor our students understanding of reading material without killing the love of reading? Enter technology. Technology can help bring some excitement and creativity to the traditional book report while still displaying students understanding of reading."

Students discovering online collaboration - NJ.com

Students discovering online collaboration - NJ.com:

"Remember when technology in schools meant computer labs and internet connections? New Jersey teachers and students are slowly but increasingly using the tools of Web 2.0 -- the so-called second generation of the web that includes creative, collaborative, shared content.

Students are writing on wiki pages, blogging about their classroom activities, recording audio files for band practice, videoconferencing with people around the globe and chatting online about literature.

For a generation that has embraced a joystick and a mouse since they were toddlers, these technologies can help them learn how to be creative, how to communicate and how to work together, said Lisa Thumann, a senior specialist in technology education at Rutgers University's Center for Mathematics, Science and Computer Education."

60 Second Recap | Romeo and Juliet | 3: The Plot

60 Second Recap | Romeo and Juliet | 3: The Plot:

Watch the video.

"William Shakespeare. It sounds like something you’d see carved in marble.

But let’s not forget that at one time, “Billy the Bard” Shakespeare (no one called him that, by the way—certainly not to his face), was a money-grubbing playwright and part-time theater operator with one mission: To pack his audience with people who bought tickets. That meant Mr. Shakespeare would do anything—anything!—to keep his story humming, and his audience entertained. The plot of Romeo and Juliet is a case in point. Give us 60 seconds and you’ll see what we mean."

The First Thanksgiving Student Activities for Grades PreK-12 | Scholastic.com

The First Thanksgiving Student Activities for Grades PreK-12 | Scholastic.com:

"They spent two months at sea to reach a strange new world, and barely survived once they got there.

Learn how the Pilgrims reached America and lived to celebrate the first Thanksgiving."

Jonathan Zittrain: The Web as random acts of kindness

http://www.ted.com Feeling like the world is becoming less friendly? Social theorist Jonathan Zittrain begs to difffer. The Internet, he suggests, is made up of millions of disinterested acts of kindness, curiosity and trust.

Grim Grinning Ghosts

Farr-Out Links to Learning » Blog Archive » Word Searches…Worthless or Worthwhile?

Farr-Out Links to Learning » Blog Archive » Word Searches…Worthless or Worthwhile?:

"Recently, I came across some really terrific Word Search generators. As I played with the online tools and tried to solve a few of the puzzles I created, I began to question their value. Just because we can easily generate a word puzzle does that mean we should? Do word searches help students learn?"

HigherEdMorning.com » Blog Archive » The top 5 ways students use technology to cheat

HigherEdMorning.com » Blog Archive » The top 5 ways students use technology to cheat:

"They can do it faster and more easily than ever before. But what’s most worrisome: Today’s students may not think cheating is wrong.

Let’s start with the facts.

According to a recent survey by Common Sense Media, 35% of teens use their cell phones to cheat."

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-just-helping-look-at-electronic.html

News Details :: Enhance Learning with Second Life

News Details :: Enhance Learning with Second Life:

"There is a shift afoot in education. The wind is changing. This new digital wind is haling from a virtual world.

Students today need to be immersed in what they are learning - not dealing only with static things like pictures, books, and to some degree even movies. An immersive world allows the student to move, talk, build, and connect with the very information that they are learning - they can be surrounded by it and then they can contribute to it.

In real life (RL) you can’t take students out and let them swim in the ocean, listen to whales singing, touch sharks, see the Monterrey Bay Seashore National Park as only a few have seen it, but, in Second Life (SL) you can."

Guide to Twitter - The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter | Webdesigner Depot

Guide to Twitter - The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter | Webdesigner Depot:

"Twitter isn’t just a cute way for keeping in instant touch with friends on mobile phones anymore. It has ramped up quickly to be the search engine of choice for some with its human driven results.

Applications galore allow you to find friends all over the world with similar interests and keep up with them in real time."

E Learning 2.0, Open Social Learning

View more documents from Dolors Reig.

University Of Texas Moving Into Second Life | Government IT Blog | InformationWeek Government

University Of Texas Moving Into Second Life | Government IT Blog | InformationWeek Government:

"The University of Texas launched a year-long, state-wide initiative to use Second Life in the curriculum for all 16 of its campuses, experimenting with using the platform as a means of providing innovative, low-cost undergraduate instruction involving students, faculty, researchers and administrators.

The Transforming Undergraduate Education Program at the University of Texas System awarded a grant to fund the initiative, driven by a mandate common to many higher education institutions: Reducing or eliminating expensive brick-and-mortar costs while becoming energy efficient. Linden Lab, which developed and operates Second Life, announced the Texas initiative on its blog."

Six internet acronyms your learners really ought to know « Six Things

Six internet acronyms your learners really ought to know « Six Things:

"Could online communication be one future component of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)? Should we start talking about ILF (internet lingua franca)? Whatever the take on those bigger questions, to start with here are six acronyms that I believe are pretty important for learners to know as they navigate the www.

1. lol and variations. This is one of the most common acronyms in online communication. People on the net laugh a lot, it seems. They don’t simply laugh either (l). They’re laughing out loud (lol), or they’re rolling on the floor laughing (rotfl), or they’re laughing their arses/asses off (lmao). I’ve even seen rotflmao, for really funny things."

DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Tools and Technologies for Effective Classrooms

DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Tools and Technologies for Effective Classrooms:

"Classrooms are not always safe places for students to share what they don't know. Call it human nature or whatever, but there are precious few students who are willing to expose their ignorance in public (especially in middle/high school). The result is that the 'loud' and 'overconfident' students often take over the discussion - until you tap the Power of Anonymity..."

Zombies in Plain English

What's New in TweetDeck v0.31

Personal Learning Environments

View more presentations from jgerst1111.

Beauty Before and After Writing Prompt - TeachHUB | Teacher Tips, Fun & Advice

TeachHUB | Teacher Tips, Fun & Advice:

"Beauty Before and After Writing Prompt

K-2: What do you think makes someone beautiful?

3-5: Would you recognize the girl in the beginning from the final billboard photo? Would you ever want to change so much people didn't recognize you? Why or why not?

6-8: Is your image of your body and your looks affected by how models and stars look? Is that a good or bad thing?

9-12: Do you think the media should represent beauty more realistically or should they stick to these airbrushed models? What is their responsibility to the impressionable people (young or old) whom these images affect?"

Talks Bill Gates on mosquitos, malaria and education

Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world's biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them. (And see the Q&A on the TED Blog.)

About Bill Gates

A passionate techie and a shrewd businessman, Bill Gates changed the world once, while leading Microsoft to dizzying success. He plans to do it again with his very own style of philanthropy. Full bio and more links

How To Connect Your Students Globally | always learning

How To Connect Your Students Globally | always learning:

"As Fernando M. Reimers writes in Leading for Global Competency:

Good educators know that the real world is ever more interconnected and interdependent. We all share in facing such planetary challenges as climate change, health epidemics, global poverty, global economic recessions and trade imbalances, assaults on human rights, terrorism, political instability, and international conflicts. We also share opportunities for global collaboration in such areas as scientific and artistic creation, trade, and international cooperation. These challenges and opportunities define the contours of our lives, even in their most local dimensions. Yet in spite of growing awareness of the importance of developing global skills, few students around the world have the opportunity today to become globally competent."

The English Blog: Overseas students are better at English than the British

The English Blog: Overseas students are better at English than the British:

"From The Independent on Sunday:

British undergraduates are nearly three times more likely to make errors in English than those from overseas, according to new research.

A study of written work produced by final-year students revealed that, on average, they had 52.2 punctuation, grammatical and spelling errors per paper compared with just 18.8 for the international students."

ELL teachers can find resources online - Related Stories - Accomplished Teacher® by SmartBrief

ELL teachers can find resources online - Related Stories - Accomplished Teacher® by SmartBrief:

"A California educator who teaches English and social studies to English-language learners recommends several Internet resources that can enhance classroom learning. Some of Larry Ferlazzo's preferred sites include English Raven, a good site for printouts; EFL Teaching Recipes, a site where teachers can share lesson plans; and, EFL Classroom 2.0, a social-networking site for teachers interested in collaborating. Ferlazzo also recommends sites for students. Teacher Magazine (free registration) (09/23)"

What happens when you give a class of 8 year old children an iPod touch each?

Todo sobre la Pizarra digital - wikiespecial

Todo sobre la Pizarra digital - wikiespecial:

"Todo sobre la Pizarra digital

* Vídeo explicativo de las prestaciones de la pizarra digital
* Pizarra digital: sugerencias de uso didáctico
* Recursos on line para trabajar con la pizarra digital
* Pizarra digital Smart board"

The Knowledge Sharing Place - LiveBinders

The Knowledge Sharing Place - LiveBinders:

"Gathering information to share?

How do you pull everything together?
LiveBinders is your online 3-ring binder

Best of all, it's free!"

Classroom Management Out of Control, Regain It

Classroom Management Out of Control, Regain It:

"Stop inappropriate behaviors, increase parental involvement, produce better problem solvers. How about, spend more time teaching? Whether you a new school team player or old school veteran that’s had enough drama for one semester. I might have something that works for you. It’s been a blessing in my life, that’s why I’m paying it forward. Now you can pass it onto those you serve."

Personal Learning Networks | Heads Up English | ESL Lessons

Personal Learning Networks | Heads Up English | ESL Lessons:

"A personal learning network represents a group of people who can:

1: Recommend articles, guides, websites, blog entries, experts, and so on. This tops the list because it supports all the following points. With a personal learning network, we automatically have access to the accumulated references and resources of possibly hundreds of people. For each person in our network, they are similarly connected to other people in other networks. Each person is a hub of sorts. And some people may be very active networkers, connecting to and engaging with thousands of people individually. These can be considered mega-hubs.

2: Guide your learning. When we hold conversations with others in our PLN, they provide knowledge and expertise gleaned from articles, websites, blog entries, and personal experience. They've accessed this information more than once, thought about it, tested it, perhaps retested it, and linked it their pre-existing storehouse of knowledge and expertise. They then share the information with us, as well as possibly recommend the articles, websites, etc. In short, they guide our learning."

Free Technology for Teachers: Two Guides for Constructing a PLN

Free Technology for Teachers: Two Guides for Constructing a PLN:

"One of the most popular posts of the week was the updated version of my blog post Seven Ways to Find Teachers on Twitter. I've heard from a number of people thanking me for the tips included in that guide. But if you're on Twitter and you want to expand your PLN (personal learning network) beyond Twitter, consider trying the tools and tips in my guide How to Build a PLN.

Both of these guides were originally published as Google Docs presentations, but I've also put them on DocStoc for those that would prefer a vertical-scroll presentation. Anyone is welcome to download, reuse, and remix these guides responsibly."

Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day: PrtScr

Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day: PrtScr:

"PrtScr is a free screen capture program. Here are some of its features:

* Captures full screen, rectangle selection, freehand selection, or active window
* Can capture mouse cursor
* Allows annotation over capture, with smooth, natural mouse drawing
* Saves capture straight to desktop or to any file, sends it as email, edits, prints or sends to clipboard
* Exports as JPG, BMP, or PNG (transparent or opaque)"

HOW TO: Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day

HOW TO: Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day:

"Saturday, September 19th is the date of a rather unique holiday made possible largely by the internets. Pirate enthusiasts around the globe will be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day in various ways, but the unifying theme is to shiver up your timbers and adopt some pirate language, me hearties!"

Obama's Full Back to School Speech

Obama's Full Back to School Speech

Shared via AddThis

10 Best Plugins To Get More Comments | Pro Blog Design

10 Best Plugins To Get More Comments | Pro Blog Design:

"Comments are one of the most important aspects of blogging, and something that all bloggers appreciate. And yet, comment areas are a typically boring affair.

By making commenting a more enjoyable experience, you will encourage more commenters to return to your blog to check up on previous comments, and to leave new ones."

How to Organize a High School Teacher's Notebook | eHow.com

How to Organize a High School Teacher's Notebook | eHow.com:

"Organize a notebook to keep all the materials important to your classroom and be the most organized teacher on campus. Everyone will be jealous that you can carry one notebook with all your stuff to parent conferences, to department planning sessions, or even to the faculty meeting to work when no one is looking. Read on to learn how to organize a high school teacher's notebook."

La Web en tus manos

Curso Web 2.0 2009-2010 on PhotoPeach

Merlot in Second Life

A demonstration of MERLOT's new campus in Second Life built by Sify Technologies Limited. Go to the campus here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/clive/81/174/55

Statistics

Thunder:

"Just reading the latest article on the Microsoft Schools blog, that details the following:

8.5 metres: The minimum cell space allocation for each prisoner to avoid torture or degrading treatment, as recommended by the Council of Europe “European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”.

4 metres: The teaching space allocation for a secondary school pupil, according to BB98 (the non-statutory guidance used for school design), based on a 1,000 pupil school. The space allocation extends to a lavish 6m2 in total if you include all teaching, meeting, social and staff space (like the staffroom!)"

TheEngTeacher: Tooble.tv: 5 High School Students Stick It to the Man with Online Video Downloader

TheEngTeacher: Tooble.tv: 5 High School Students Stick It to the Man with Online Video Downloader:

"This post is part of our ReadWriteStart channel, which is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs. The channel is sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark.

So, Sony BMG doesn't want you to embed that AC/DC concert footage in your blog or grab the audio from that footage as an MP3? They'd probably have a fit if if you stored that footage as an MP4 on your computer and distributed it wherever you liked or - worse yet - remixed it to your heart's content.

Thanks to Tooble.tv, a fascinating tool that plays footsie with all kinds of copyright law, you can do all of the above and more. Only high school students would have the audacity (or sheer naivete) to pull off a stunt like this.

That's right: Tooble was developed by five high school students in Wallingford, Connecticut. We applaud their ingenuity and hope for their continued success, but we are rightfully concerned about the potential uses and the future of this product."

It's quite economical / economic to recycle

It's quite economical / economic to recycle:

"Which adjective is correct in the title? Many adjectives end in either '-ic' or '-ical'. This guide to these adjectives also discusses some of the most common adjectives that end in both '-ic' and '-ical' and the differences in usage."

Colloquial Pair Phrases

Colloquial Pair Phrases:

"Here is an advanced level quiz focusing on colloquial pair phrases such as 'by and large', 'ins and outs', 'bits and bobs' etc. common to English. If you can get a perfect score on this quiz, your English is probably fluent!"

TeachersFirst: The web resource by teachers, for teachers

TeachersFirst: The web resource by teachers, for teachers:

"TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. We offer our own professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use and safe classroom use of Web 2.0. Busy teachers, parents, and students can find resources using our subject/grade level search, keyword search, or extensive menus."

Microblogging in the Classroom « From Mr. “A” to Mr. “Z”

Microblogging in the Classroom « From Mr. “A” to Mr. “Z”:

"I believe microblogging tools can be powerful tools to share ideas and content with students. I also believe they give us a new method for assessing student learning. Sharing your thoughts in 140 characters requires communication with precision and clarity. I have talked with one teacher who has used a microblogging tool in his classroom, and he shared that the benefits far outweighed the detriments. I really want to use many of the tools I have learned about, but it sometimes seems an uphill battle to use them as many people fear the negative repercussions of implementing these tools in a middle school classroom. I can see why many teachers simply give up when it comes to using new tech. It seems so much easier to simply maintain the status quo. Anyone out there have any similar experiences?"

Practica inglés en tu tiempo libre | Educa con TIC

Practica inglés en tu tiempo libre | Educa con TIC:

"Para poder mejorar en un idioma es necesario practicar de un modo continuo el mismo, bien sea leyendo, estudiando, realizando ejercicios, escuchando... Independientemente del nivel de estudios que hayamos alcanzado, la competencia comunicativa dentro de un idioma no sólo debe adquirirse, sino que es necesario mantenerla con práctica."

CTU in Second Life Summer 2009

Five Tips for Helping Students Become Better Bloggers | BlogWalker

Five Tips for Helping Students Become Better Bloggers | BlogWalker:

"#1. Provide students with examples. Chances are blogging has not yet been presented to them as its own genre. In order for them to become thoughtful, effective bloggers, they’ll need to see samples from other student bloggers. For elementary age bloggers, I recommend they spend some time reading student work posted to Brian Crosby’s class blog and Mark Ahlness’s class blog. Be sure to checkout Mark’s strategy of having blog reading as part of his SSR program.

#2. Include reflection and self-evaluation as part of the blogging process. I really like the templates for reflecting on posts and reflecting on comments posted by the Rotorua East Lakes Learning Community. While I think students should certainly be allotted a number of “me too” or “that’s cool” comments, they should also be held accountable for a minimum number of self-selected “best” posts or comments."

Dolores Umbridge on Education

Richard Baraniuk on open-source learning

Rice University professor Richard Baraniuk explains the vision behind Connexions, his open-source, online education system. It cuts out the textbook, allowing teachers to share and modify course materials freely, anywhere in the world.

About Richard Baraniuk

Richard Baraniuk is founder of Connexions, a free, open-source, global clearinghouse of course materials. People in some 200 countries tap into its vast store of texts on everything from… Full bio and more links

SileneChristen’s Blog - Second Life Tutorials

SileneChristen’s Blog:

"Sometimes we want a detail in one area, or paint an object esculpted … with details. How do I know where everything will be the object? Textures are numbered for this. The place or object in the face we want to know where to paint. Guided by the grid of numbers and letters and we can find guidance in our canvas photoshop where to draw / paint. As in the SL templates, they must have in SL as in RL."

Homework Timers

Homework Timers:

"Homework timers can be the perfect time management tool for students who tend to get distracted from their studies. And there's a timer design for just about everyone! You'll find timers in crazy shapes and designs and others that shake, vibrate, beep, flash, and ring. There are selections for the hearing impaired and a few for those who like loud noises!

Why do timers work? Timers tend to improve a student's ability to stay on track. Students gain a better concept of time passage as they see or hear the clock ticking away. Which timer fits your personality?"

A Language Learner's Experience in Second Life

A language learner’s experience in Second Life

View more presentations from avatarlanguages_students.

Independence Day - Vocabulary

A Colorado school district does away with grade levels | csmonitor.com

A Colorado school district does away with grade levels | csmonitor.com:

"Westminster, Colo. - School districts across the US are trying to improve student performance and low test scores. But few have taken as radical an approach as Adams 50.

For starters, when the elementary and middle-school students come back next fall, there won't be any grade levels – or traditional grades, for that matter. And those are only the most visible changes in a district that, striving to reverse dismal test scores and a soaring dropout rate, is opting for a wholesale reinvention of itself, rather than the incremental reforms usually favored by administrators."

Tips in Motivating Students

Tips in Motivating Students:

"Maintaining student motivation during classroom discussion is the most difficult steps in delivering educational subject matter. Here are some tips to maintain student's interest. Most of the time, intelligent student stay with you during lesson proper while the average student can lost their attention due to their classmate or friends noisiness.

Classroom management is an skills that teacher learn gradually. Normally, teacher will acquire this after one full year of experience. Knowing this technique will helps teacher easily adjust to the teaching and learning situation."

40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation - Dumb Little Man

40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation - Dumb Little Man:

"After all these years you finally have the courage and opportunity to write the email announcing that you and you alone have single handedly saved the company from utter disaster. You're excited, you type it, you spell check it, and you hit send.

Everything is great except that your gold star memo has dangling modifiers, double negatives and run-on sentences colliding with each other.

Now I am no grammar whiz but I know a good resource when I see it. Purdue University maintains an online writing lab and I spent some time digging through it. Originally the goal was to grab some good tips that would help me out at work and on this site, but there is simply too much not to share.

Learn and enjoy!"

Five New Teacher Tips For De-Stressing Before and After the Holiday Vacation

Five New Teacher Tips For De-Stressing Before and After the Holiday Vacation:

"Embracing a more simplistic lifestyle for new teachers means balancing the time between work and more quiet domains of life. Bringing back simplicity means reconnecting with extended family and friends and rediscovering the pleasure in the small things you used to do for yourself. Teachers are constantly wound up by so many little yet important areas of planning, teaching and assessing that by the time they reach home, they are still thinking about school and find it difficult to disengage from school mentally because planning takes so much time and effort."

Ten Important Classroom Management Tips and Strategies

Ten Important Classroom Management Tips and Strategies:

"- Always aim to model the desire behavior. - Modeling is important for setting the expectations of both behavior and learning procedures.

- Creating opportunities for personal contact with students. - This includes providing tutorials and positive reinforcement whenever needed.

- Taking the student seriously. Students sense when they are taken seriously by the little things a teacher does in the classroom. Teachers can communicate this in a variety of ways using positive reinforcement, communicating expectations, and motivating pep talks.

- Being supportive, encouraging, helpful and available.

- Sharing information and ideas with the students.

- Accepting students' feelings especially regarding assignments and tests."

How New Teachers Can Be More Spontaneous in the Classroom

How New Teachers Can Be More Spontaneous in the Classroom:

"Much of the success in the classroom for a new teacher depends on how much a teacher is willing to go beyond what is written in her lesson plan and to read the students. This takes many years of practice and persistence. But it is important to get into the training of learning to listen to teacher intuition. Having a bank of activities is not always enough. The same goes for sticking to the book. It is important to experiment and try new things. Reach out to the students. They will provide you with the answers.

Spontaneity is putting your lesson plans aside and do something on the spur of the moment. While this assumes considerable classroom experience and perhaps some guts to an extent, a (new) teacher has got to start somewhere."

A New Teacher's Guide to Effective Instruction

A New Teacher's Guide to Effective Instruction:

"As a beginning teacher, you'll find that what you teach is just as important as how you teach. You'll find probably find that as you get to know your class better, your teaching skills will considerably improve.

Those floppy lessons aren't so bad even if they give you great heartache and frustration. In essence, they provide you with valuable information on how to strengthen your lesson plan.

Reflecting on your lesson and your teaching can be very productive and helpful and can leave you with valuable insights. Use the experience to reorganize your lesson plan setup based on the following list."

The Ups and Downs of Lesson Planning For New Teachers

The Ups and Downs of Lesson Planning For New Teachers:

"The type of activity (group work, pair work, individual and the task involved) was the main consideration for assessing how much time students would need. Different tasks need different time orientations. But at the time however, I did not know that too many activities in one lesson would spell d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r. Students felt they were sentup the wrong pipe; many suddenly became confounded when they were introduced to a new activity rather quickly."

New Teacher Tips - How to Deal With Discipline Problems

New Teacher Tips - How to Deal With Discipline Problems:

"Teaching is hard, no matter which angle you view it. You will have difficult days and you will have easier days. But it all boils down to how you can use your power as a listener (one of our many roles as teachers) to help foster positive communication, which will offset discipline problems in the class by 99% once you do it routinely and you mean what you say.

Step 1. Echo. Listen to the person talking. As soon as s/he finishes, repeat what s/he has said. Try to use almost the exact words. Then ask one of the questions: Did I hear you correctly? Do you want to add something?

Step 2. Confirmation. Let the person know that you understand the important of what s/he just said. I can see that... I understand that you feel ...

Step 3. Empathy. Try to see the other person's side. By showing empathy you let the person know you really hear him or her. I feel that.. I understand..."

Preventive Tips For the Hard to Handle Class and Student

Preventive Tips For the Hard to Handle Class and Student:

"There are all kinds of hard to handle students. My purpose is to try and find a hook and connect. If you find you are having difficulty with a particular student, perhaps it pays to find a hook and connect. Observe the following:

When is the child quiet and concentrating? What time? What is s/he doing?

Talks can prove to be effective. Tie it into learning. What does that kid like? What is s/he good at?

I am a believer in preventing problems before they happen. This is why I believe observation and the direct and individual process help me minimize classroom management problems.

Here are some other preventive tips:

Be careful how you seat students.

Be consistent and follow up. Make sure you have a plan on how you deal with those students.

Reward good behavior."

Confidence Building Tips 101 - For New Teachers - What Works and What Doesn't

Confidence Building Tips 101 - For New Teachers - What Works and What Doesn't:

"When new teachers experience a difficult or challenging classroom experience, they quickly loose touch because that one 15 minute segment of an unsuccessful lesson simply tore them down. They quickly forget all those positive classroom teaching experiences. Since new teachers lack the confidence seasoned teachers work hard to establish, it then becomes very hard for new teachers to rebuild a positive flow of teaching energy. The worst thing for a new teacher to do is to start a Monday by bringing a bundle of nerves and and jitters into the classroom. It becomes a no win situation.

When you are able to shift the focus away from yourself and to your students, you are able to focus on true teaching moments of HERE and NOW. Even in the early Monday morning hours after you've prepared a well-prepared lesson and finished marking all those papers yet find yourself absorbing in a series of 'what if's,' stop yourself and ask: What is the most important thing my students need right now? How can I effectively cater to them?

It's hard to do this because much of what happens in the classroom is often determined by a new teacher's personality. But there are tips and tricks of the trade that you can use RIGHT NOW that will help you adapt to new classroom situations and develop the confidence you need."

Classroom Management Tips For New Seating Arrangements

Classroom Management Tips For New Seating Arrangements:

"For a new teacher's classroom arrangements, the classroom seating chart might look typically standard - usually with frontal rows. With a new class, this is probably a good option as a new teacher needs to teach first and talk later. The frontal classroom seating arrangement is probably the best way to go in terms of getting to know a new class and exercising classroom control.

There will naturally come a time however when a teacher will want to opt for group or pair work as one of the primary activities in the lesson plan. If you haven't until now, you might want to plan for a brief 'getting to know you' activity. Experiment a bit. Are the pupils familiar with each other? Who haven't they gotten to know yet? This is a good way to 'test' different classroom arrangements and see how well they appeal to you and your classroom management style."

New Teachers - Why You Need a Long Term Plan For Teaching

New Teachers - Why You Need a Long Term Plan For Teaching:

"New teachers have a serious decision to make after the first year of teaching - should they stay or quit their teaching jobs? Of course nobody can answer that except for yourself. While you might never know if you made the right decision to leave after your first year, a second year of teaching in fact, gives you the bigger picture that you can't get from your first year of teaching."

Classroom Management Exercises For New Teachers

Classroom Management Exercises For New Teachers:

"Concern about the ability to develop an effective classroom management plan is a major concern for both pre-service and practicing teachers. Developing your own program actually begins with yourself. Actually, you are your own best resource resource in addition to other teacher training resources. All teachers have different personality types that can interfere or help with classroom management skills and it is important early on, to identify what will help and interfere with your own classroom management program.

Jot down your concerns about managing a classroom. This will free up some of the tension that may have been stressing you out.

What kinds of personality characteristics, beliefs and values will help you become a good classroom manager? Are you a good listener? Do you believe in nurturing the individual in the classroom and getting to know the students? Do you keep good organizational skills and records? Are you the conscientious type who tends to follow through with consequences and rules?"

Google Wave

A New Teacher Tip to Help You Become the Teacher of Your Dreams

A New Teacher Tip to Help You Become the Teacher of Your Dreams:

"Why are so many teachers unable to really enjoy the profession of teaching?

My take is that they often get too absorbed with testing and classroom management issues.

I understand how difficult it is to manage a classroom. I also understand how important it is to know that YOU are in control as a new teacher.

But when I ask teachers, 'what's the one thing that is still challenging you, they almost always say: 'discipline problems.'

Gee. Now I understand why teachers are constantly stressed and unhappy because they feel they are fighting a war.

I don't know about you but I like to teach and build a connection with the students. And when you build on effective instruction, you minimize discipline problems so much so that you can eliminate them forever.

So here's my tip for enjoying the teacher's life."

New Teacher Tips For How to Write a Lesson Plan That Engages Your Students

New Teacher Tips For How to Write a Lesson Plan That Engages Your Students:

"A good lesson typically has three main parts.

The Pre or the Beginning of the Lesson.

The teacher should aim to teach something new or tie in new information with previously taught material, which can be anything from a quote, to a question or a discussion. The purpose is to set the stage for the main part of the lesson. Typically, anywhere between five to ten minutes is enough.

The Main Part of the lesson is the task or goal you expect the students to achieve. It can be a new skill or a review of a previously taught skill. This is where students spend most of the time processing and digesting the material.

The Post or Ending of the Lesson. This should be the last ten minutes of the lesson, also known as a wrap up or a review."

Ms. Waters Goes to Washington: Food Politics : gourmet.com

Ms. Waters Goes to Washington: Food Politics : gourmet.com:

"We all know her philosophy: Food should be local, seasonal, and organic; in homes and in schools, people should come together at the table; the act of eating is an everyday expression of our most deeply held values. But for the past decade, the legendary Chez Panisse founder has been promoting her agenda in ways that go well beyond her celebrated restaurant and educational initiatives. Inserting herself into the political process—fund-raising for Barack Obama; introducing Michelle Obama at campaign rallies; petitioning for a White House garden and a new chef—here is the story of the political education of Alice Waters."

Five Easy Ways to Avoid Discipline Problems

Five Easy Ways to Avoid Discipline Problems:

"Lack of student cooperation can mean many things - sometimes it's a classroom management issue and sometimes they are tired from running ten track laps. It's hard for a new teacher to constantly read the cues. But there are a few general areas that can help you prevent issues before they interfere with the classroom and the learning environment."

New Teachers Need Ongoing Procedures For Helping Students to Learn More Effectively

New Teachers Need Ongoing Procedures For Helping Students to Learn More Effectively:

"New teachers need to hustle when they are creating a routine to suit the needs and abilities of their students. Aside from the initial pre-assessment and other get to know you activities,teachers need to use their inner and outer resources focus on some teacher training resources and tips that quickly need to be used when maintaining a routine."

A Teacher’s Guide to Twitter « Once a Teacher….

A Teacher’s Guide to Twitter « Once a Teacher….:

"Twitter is apart of my life almost every day because:
- It’s a great source of news.
- There are rich conversations among educators and edtech people.
- People post entertaining, interesting, and very useful links.
- I enjoy the easy interaction with others from around the world.

Most people start off in a rocky relationship with Twitter. It doesn’t seem to be as easy or as useful as everyone has said, it takes awhile before you find your niche, and there is an overwhelming amount of information to deal with. But, just hang on – it’ll be worth it!!! This is a guide to help teachers, or anyone for that matter, have a smoother and more enjoyable experience. It is, by no means, the most comprehensive list of tips but hopefully it’ll be helpful."

Link to a specific part of a YouTube video

Link to a specific part of a YouTube video:

"If you want to link to a specific part of a video on YouTube, you can. For example,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjDw3azfZWI#t=31m08s

Notice the “#t=31m08s” on the end of the url? That link will take you 31 minutes and 8 seconds into that video. Linking to a particular minute and second can be really helpful — for example, that link takes you straight to where someone asks Eric Schmidt a question about Twitter. From there, you can listen to his answer, where he says (among other things):

“We’re in favor of all of these new communications mechanisms. …. I think the innovation is great …. Twitter’s success is wonderful, and I think it shows you that there are many, many new ways to communicate, especially if you’re willing to do so publicly.”

Deep-linking to a specific part of a YouTube video is really easy, so I wanted give a short example to tell how to link to a certain minute and second of a video."

Mermaid Diaries: Natalia Zelmanov's Second Life Adventures: * Getting Started in Second Life Guide *

Great guide for newbies:

Mermaid Diaries: Natalia Zelmanov's Second Life Adventures: * Getting Started in Second Life Guide *:

"This Guide assumes you are a new Second Life resident, fresh from Orientation Island. The goal is to give you the essential information and skills you need to explore the rest of SL on your own."

Learning to Make Your Own Reality

Learning to Make Your Own Reality - IGDA Education Keynote 2009

View more presentations from avantgame.

Resources in Second Life

- ELEARNING 3D: educación en mundos virtuales 3D (Ruth Martínez)

- Hillary Manson

http://4rxt.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/resources-for-educators-getting-started-in-second-life/

http://4rxt.wordpress.com/tag/second-life/

http://4rxt.wordpress.com/

http://nicosiapedagogy.blogspot.com/

http://eloisepasteur.net/blog/

http://www.intellagirl.com/

http://sloancslnet.ning.com/

101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress | Smart Teaching

101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress | Smart Teaching:

"Teachers have one of the most stressful jobs, despite their long vacations. Besides being responsible for large groups of hormonal or destructive students all day, teachers also have to abide by strict government and school district guidelines, attend after-hours workshops and meetings, call parents, submit lesson plans early on, worry about school security and put up with loads of homework thanks to grading, grant writing and certification renewal classes. To help teachers cope with all of this stress, we’ve compiled a list of over 100 different ways you can relax and get centered, whether you’re in the middle of a lecture or already home and trying to forget about your hectic day."

YouTube EDU

YouTube EDU:

"YouTube launched a new site for videos and channels from two and four year colleges and universities. The new site, YouTube EDU, is publicly visible, although participation is currenly limited to invited institutions.

This is a great chance to explore different colleges before applying, but it's an even better chance to just learn something from free lectures and guest speakers. YouTube says there are over 200 free, full courses available right now. Why not plan lunch hour learning?"

SLanguages 2009

The Conference for Language Education in Virtual Worlds:

SLanguages 2009 Conference - 8&9 May 2009

View more presentations from slanguages.

Online classes just got funkier - Local - Kentucky.com

Online classes just got funkier - Local - Kentucky.com:

"The professor extends his arms, lifts off the ground and flies across campus before gently landing his sandaled feet in the center of the classroom to start his lesson.

A half-dozen of his students in this section of Psychology 110 already are seated. With bright flashes, two more teleport in just as the professor, John Story of Bluegrass Community and Technical College, starts his lecture about Sigmund Freud.

If this sounds like a school of the future, well, it might just be, Story said."

The Micro-Sociology of Networks

View more presentations from David Armano.

Second Life Singer: Grace Buford, a.k.a. Cylindrian Rutabaga

Virtual Worlds and Teaching and Learning

Second Life for SAE

View more presentations from jokay.

Facebook Manners and You

Schools hiring bouncers to ensure pupils behave, teachers say - Times Online

Schools hiring bouncers to ensure pupils behave, teachers say - Times Online:

"Bouncers are being employed by schools to take classes when teachers are not available.

One London school went to a doormen’s agency for “cover supervisors”, who watch over lessons when teachers are away, and gave jobs to two bouncers, one of whom is still at the school."

Mr Winkle Wakes

Rip Van Winkle awakes after one hundred years and visits a school...

Created as a conversation starter for professional development on the use of educational technology.

An amusing, animated retelling of the popular education story about the need for twenty-first century skills to be taught in schools.

What's Your Pledge?

Official MIT OpenCourseWare

Here is the official video for the MIT OpenCourseWare 1800 event: Unlocking Knowledge, Empowering Minds: A Milestone Celebration. The event celebrates the publishing of the 1800th course on MIT OpenCourseWare.

Educational Uses of Second Life

An overview of educational uses of Second Life including educational locations, tools, and learning archetypes that are applicable to Second Life.

The Starry Night in Second Life

"The Poweful Link Between Creativity and Play" by Tim Brown

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't).

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About Bill Gates

About Richard Baraniuk