CALL_IS_VSL

"In 2007, my co-teacher and I noticed that students felt increasingly like the world was "happening to them," as if they had no ability to affect positive change. This, coupled with the question "When am I going to use this?" led to the inspiration which has become the Fifth-Grade Environmental Project. "Our goal was to create an educational model in which students' passions are the driving force, empowering them as global citizens. While we have limited time to cover required curriculum, we are committed to finding ways of embedding curriculum in "real-life" applications within the project. "While the project's topic changes each year, the roots (or required elements) are the same, and the work evolves based on student passions, allowing each individual to find and contribute his or her gift to the whole, and reaffirming our belief that together we are smarter." Explains how service learning can inspire student passion, critical thinking, and learning to affect change. Describes partnerships with community nonprofits, and products that students can create to inspire others.

"I have taken all the conventional desks out and replaced them with mostly tables and a number of different kinds of chairs; I've used garage sales and the generosity of friends to furnish my room this way. My classroom looks like a college apartment. But I also build in transitions every 15 minutes or so that require movement (to get into groups, turn something in, write on a paper-covered wall, etc). I have little to no fidgeting problems or issues with attention loss."" This is a whole section of a teacher blog devoted to pictures and descriptions of flexible seating environments.

"Discover free templates for Google Slides presentations" Download templates for presentations on Google Slides. GS is becoming more sophisticated. No guarantees on how long this will remain available, but it's free. Templates are categorized by type: "Formal, creative, simple," etc.

"Groupboard is a free online whiteboard and chat app that can be easily embedded into your website. It works on any web browser including iPhone, iPad and Android with no downloads or plugins required." Has drawing tools. Would be great for tutoring or videoconferencing. Write, draw, type, upload documents.

"Around this time last year I shared a neat Google Spreadsheets script called Flippity. Flippity was originally designed to help you create flashcards through Google Spreadsheets. This morning Steve Fortna informed me that you can now use Flippity to create Jeopardy-style gameboards through Google Spreadsheets. In the video embedded I demonstrate how to use Flippity to create a Jeopardy-style gameboard." T/H to R. Byrne

"Teaching in the 21st Century demands instructors adapt their methods and learn new skills. In an effort to support best practices, we've compiled resources for current and future online educators to help generate quality online education." A list of references on various aspects of online teaching, including authentication of student work, flipping classes, developing engaging courses, best practices, etc.

Build a video library by importing videos from YouTube, G-Drive, or Dropbox. Then control the video with the MoocNote interface to take notes that link back to the appropriate places in the videos. Access notes from anywhere and share. You can also ask questions of the community. This looks like an excellent resource and tool.

For projects and presentations. These are not copyright-free, but a great educational resource.

The activities include hyperlinking documents, a gallery walk with QR codes, sharing documents and pictures related to readings, connecting with other classes around the world, etc. Has ideas for kindergartners as well as teens and adults. Drawing and maps projects as well.

The Pi Zero has 1 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM, with 2 micro USB ports and HDMI slots, as well as an SD card slot. The computer run Linux, and can be programmed, all in a credit card sized board. The foundation hopes to bring millions to the world of programming.

"If you're looking for a quick and thought-provoking writing prompt, a twitter bot account now could have a solution providing you with a random, fictional inventory for a list of items. Just post a tweet with 'i' or 'inventory' to the @YouAreCarrying account for your items." A great way to start writing or creating a do-it-yourself adventure game.

Why it works and why it doesn't work. And how "flipping" may not be so new after all.

"In the playlist you will find videos about tools for flipping your classroom, videos on managing workflow, social media tips, search strategies, and media production. The playlist also contains videos about tools like Remind, Duolingo, ClassDojo, Classtools, Photos for Class, and many other popular web services for teachers and students. " The entire playlist is embedded in this site. A nice way to prep yourself for the school year. From R. Byrne

This may be of interest to middle school students.

This is a BYU-sponsored archive of a wide variety of copora. May be of use in vocabulary work. Includes a Wikipedia corpus, TIME Magazine, Google Books in American and British English, as well as Spanish.

"Essay Map is a handy tool from the folks at Read Write Think. Essay Map provides students with step by step guidance in the construction of an informational essay. Some of my students seem to struggle most with constructing an introduction and conclusion to their essays. Essay Map is particularly good for helping students visualize the steps needed to construct good introductory and conclusion paragraphs." R. Byrne's description of this tool includes some applications. He suggests Essay Map may be too basic for most high school students, but might be a good tool for middle school or high elementary. However, ESL students of any age might benefit.

"Finding images in the Museum of New Zealand's gallery isn't the most intuitive process. You can enter a keyword to search, but if you're too specific you might not find what you're looking for. For example, enter "fish" and scroll through the results rather than entering "salmon" or "trout" to find images of fish. The other way to search is to open the advanced search settings in which you can choose a collection to browse through." Images at the Gallery are labelled to easily find creative commons or other licensing. T/H to R Byrne

"Six years ago I created a short slideshow featuring cartoons that I made to explain the benefits of having a classroom blog. That slideshow focused on the benefits to teachers. Today, I used Storyboard That and Google Presentations to create a new slideshow about the benefits of having a classroom blog. This slideshow is focused on the benefits to parents." T/H R. Byrne

A videocasting and recording app that can be used on mobile or desktop devices. You can add text, and hotspots to make presentations/video interactive, with a wide variety of editing tools. "Professional Camera Controls Turn your iPad or Desktop into an HD video recording device. Switch between the front- and back-facing cameras on the iPad or between multiple HD cameras on the Desktop Adjust focus and mic levels. Import video and place vApps and graphics over the existing video."

"The key to IELTS Writing Task 2 success is to give the examiner exactly what they want and nothing else. "Below you will find everything you need to achieve a high score in IELTS Writing Task 2. "It includes: 5 Step Approach Video Writing Task 2 Tips Essential Skills Sentence-by-Sentence Structures Common Topics Full Lessons On All Question Types. Grammar Sample Answers Correction Service Easy to Understand Infographic" This lesson is oriented toward passing the IELTS Writing Exam, but it is a useful set of exercises and activities, including a video, for anyone learning how to write an academic essay