Group items tagged

This blog explores the option of using Evernote as a portfolio tool. Worth checking into.

THERE IS A DISTINCTION to be made between the anxiety of daily existence, which we talk about endlessly, and the anxiety of existence, which we rarely mention at all. The former fritters us into dithering, distracted creatures. The latter attests to-and, if attended to, discloses-our souls.

fascinating and wide ranging examination of modern consciousness as seen through literature

Ryan Goble, who often coaches teachers in what he calls the "mindful" use of technology, has written today's guest post on user-friendly tools that enable the creation of student projects.

NYTimes article recommending 5 free tools: Visualizing Text, Comic Text, Interactive Timelines, Digital Interactive Presentations, Idea Maps & Brainstorms

Larry Ferlazzo offers tips on the most effective use of those last few minutes of class time.

I like how Bowen is questioning the use of tech for tech's sake. This further shows how it's not about the technology, but about the teaching.

using gdocs in the classroom

aggregate of useful sites

"Flavors.me allows anyone to create an elegant website using personal content from around the internet"

Interesting possibilities for classroom use.

Good writing, like a good watch, should have no unnecessary parts, and that's what great art shouts at us: Tell the story with no unnecessary parts. William Zinsser

AMEN--you do not have to be a religious person to get this. Too often, I understand this idea, but forget to share it with my students. Reading as "equipment for living"

"Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down?"

"A simple way to place useful, formative classroom lessons over any Web page. "

Download free eBook versions of 37 literary classics like Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter, Jane Eyre and more! Each eBook download comes as an easy-to-use PDF file that can be printed or projected on your interactive whiteboard.

AwesomeStories is a gathering place of primary-source information. Its purpose - since the site was first launched in 1999 - is to help educators and individuals find original sources, located at national archives, libraries, universities, museums, historical societies and government-created web sites. Sources held in archives, which document so much important first-hand information, are often not searchable by popular search engines. One needs to search within those institutional sites directly, using specific search phrases not readily discernible to non-scholars. The experience can be frustrating, resulting in researchers leaving key sites without finding needed information. AwesomeStories is about primary sources. The stories exist as a way to place original materials in context and to hold those links together in an interesting, cohesive way (thereby encouraging people to look at them). It is a totally different kind of web site in that its purpose is to place primary sources at the forefront - not the opinions of a writer. Its objective is to take the site's users to places where those primary sources are located. The author of each story is listed on the preface page of the story. A link to the author provides more detailed information. This educational teaching/learning tool is also designed to support state and national standards. Each story on the site links to online primary-source materials which are positioned in context to enhance reading comprehension, understanding and enjoyment.

"Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom. "

This site contains hundreds of visual aids (illustrations) that can be used to support instructional tasks such as describing objects and people (i.e., teaching vocabulary) or describing entire events and situations (i.e., teaching grammar). Illustrations pour l'enseignement des langues étrangères"Ce site contient des centaines de supports visuels (illustrations) qui peuvent être utilisés pour supporter les tâches pédagogiques tels que des objets qui décrivent et des personnes (c.-à-enseignement du vocabulaire) ou décrivant des événements et des situations entières (c.-à-enseignement de la grammaire)."Plus de 400 dessins au trait, consultables et consultable, libres d'utiliser à des fins éducatives, repéré par Larry Ferlazzo. The illustrations were created as part of the Visuals for Developing Communication Skills in Foreign Language Classes project, initated by Paul Toth, former Director of the Less-Commonly-Taught Languages Center.

if you had doubts about the chance to engage more kids with eReaders, this infographic might change your mind. I am planning a digital reading course next year, and will use this to argue my case to administration

This graphic is nice ... but who conducted the study? How was this information gathered? Why should we trust it?