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"Politeness in the classroom is one of the topics that seem almost too obvious to mention; of course, people will be polite in a classroom, just as they're polite in a place of worship or at a job interview. But, the classroom is a bit different; it has its own rules of politeness. And, to complicate matters just a bit, these rules are modified in various ways by different institutions and by different instructors."

Literature has been a subject of study in many countries at a secondary or tertiary level, but until recently has not been given much emphasis in the EFL/ESL classroom. It has only been since the 1980s that this area has attracted more interest among EFL teachers. The purpose of this article is to look at some of the issues and ways in which literature can be exploited in the classroom. There are also links to classroom activities and lessons with literature that you can download and use straight away.

Teachers who want to put web 2.0 technologies to work for them can find many different free options online. There are tools for creating online classrooms, social networks, student podcasts, web-based flashcards, elearning modules, and much more. Here are 10 free web 2.0 tools for teachers to try in the classroom this year.

EFL Classroom 2.0 is an international community of educators and learners discovering better ways to teach and learn the wonderful language of English. http://eflclassroom.ning.com

Useful catalogue of links elated to English-teaching, albeit in an EFL context. Can still be used/adapted to Malaysian students though. :)

ESL students don't share the same cultural context as their instructor in most cases, making humor in the ESL class dicey.

"It's no secret that I am a passionate advocate for using video in the classroom. When used well, videos can help students make connections to people and ideas beyond their usual frame of reference. That's why I've been really excited to see a wave of new (and mostly free or low-cost!) tech tools recently that enable teachers to take favorite clips and make them more valuable for educational use. Whether you use videos to flip your classroom or you just appreciate the power of video to engage kids, maybe one of the tools in my playlist below will help you go deeper in 2014."

Teaching well is about balance.  Easier said than done, but a good teacher, like a good parent, has a sense of balance when it comes to what matters. As I begin to think about the school year ahead, I'm beginning to focus on what matters and what the balance needs to be to best teach my students.

In my opinion there are 10 Commandments for practitioners to follow in the classroom:

The well-researched and accessible pedagogy, Seven Principles for Inclusive Education, is the underpinning for all of Tanenbaum's curricula and teacher training programs (training in the Seven Principles is a core piece of all our teacher training programs). The Seven Principles can be applied to any classroom or lesson plan to increase equity and decrease exclusion. 1. Teaching All Students Educators should take several different approaches to teaching the same material so that information becomes more interesting and tangible to a greater number of students. 2. Exploring Multiple Identities Students who are proud of themselves and excited by the world around them will be more compassionate and understanding people; the same is true for educators. 3. Preventing Prejudice Educators should take a proactive approach to debunking preconceived stereotypes and preventing them from escalating into prejudices and negative biases. 4. Promoting Social Justice Students are good judges of what is fair, especially when they are affirmatively challenged to consider issues of social justice. Educators should talk to them about issues of social justice and injustice in terms of fair versus unfair, respectful versus disrespectful. 5. Choosing Appropriate Materials Inclusive classrooms use books and materials that reflect accurate images of diverse peoples and challenge stereotypes. 6. Teaching and Learning About Cultures and Religions Educators should create curiosity and expand students' horizons by teaching about others in a positive manner. Students should have the opportunity to learn from their peers as well as other cultures. 7. Adapting and Integrating Lessons Appropriately Educators should be flexible when using and adapting lessons in our curricula, as well as in prescribed curricula in general. Many of the most teachable moments are unplanned and unscripted.

blended learning is the thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences. There is considerable intuitive appeal to the concept of integrating the strengths of synchronous (face-to-face) and asynchronous (text-based Internet) learning activities. At the same time, there is considerable complexity in its implementation with the challenge of virtually limitless design possibilities and applicability to so many contexts. To begin, it is important to distinguish blended learning from other forms of learning that incorporate online opportunities. First, blended learning is distinguished from that of enhanced classroom or fully online learning experiences (see Fig. 1). However, it is not clear as to how much, or how little, online learning is inherent to blended learning. In fact, this is only a rough, indirect measure that may be misleading. The real test of blended learning is the effective integration of the two main components (face-to-face and Internet technology) such that we are not just adding on to the existing dominant approach or method. This holds true whether it be a face-to-face or a fully Internet-based learning experience. A blended learning design represents a significant departure from either of these approaches. It represents a fundamental reconceptualization and reorganization of the teaching and learning dynamic, starting with various specific contextual needs and contingencies (e.g., discipline, developmental level, and resources). In this respect, no two blended learning designs are identical. This introduces the great complexity of blended learning.

"This page includes a variety of classroom activities that can be used to teach young children about prejudice, social justice, and the importance of looking at the world through the eyes of others. As the following exercise shows, teaching children about diversity does not have to be difficult or complicated -- it can be as simple as peeling a lemon."

This is a tumble blog where I keep track of issues that affect teachers and classrooms around the world.

In order to put together a list of the best Web 2.0 classroom tools, I polled my Twitter followers, Facebook fans (are they still called fans? Likes?) and ran a contest to try and get as many submissions as possible. This left me with 100 different Web 2.0 tools that are recommended by your peers. After all, what better way to uncover new products than by the people you are already sharing with?

Google Forms is a great tool and I hope to use it more throughout this year. Take a look here for a more detailed introduction and guide to using and creating a Google Form - this was written prior to Google bringing forms into the NEW menu. I have created example forms for each of the different topics, follow the links in each of the ten sections. With help from a Googler I have included a link so that you can get your own copy of the form - click on the appropriate link and it should open in your docs home.

"We are pleased to share these free materials to download and use in your classroom, including worksheets contributed by fellow teachers and the full text of Fun with Grammar by Suzanne Woodward."