iPad Apps for English teaching and learning In our prospective iPad project in our English and Media faculty we are currently trailing the best apps to use in the teaching of English and Media Studies. Here is a useful top ten list (with a few extras with honourable mentions!): Pages: The basic word processing package that is really essential for any and all types of writing. Safari: The essential internet browser for the iPad for all required research essential to presentations etc. Dropbox: The best Cloud app to save work and create an accessible area to share work, ideas etc. iBooks: The essential e-reader and book library for the iPad. ExplainEverything: A brilliant app for individual or group presentations. iFPoems: A fantastic anthology of poems is available on the app. iMovie: A smooth and easy app that allows students to create films instantly, with an array of editing facilities. Penultimate: One of the many handwriting apps on the iPad. This fun app allows students to create comics with ease. Like this: Like Loading...
The Best Videos Illustrating Qualities Of A Successful Language Learner In my book, English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work, I talk about what researchers have identified as some of the key qualities of a successful language learner: intrinsically motivated, a sense of self-efficacy, willingness to take risks, willingness to learn from mistakes, and a willingness to teach others. I have many references listed in the book, and I’m not going to take up the time or space here to list them. In the new book that I’m writing (with my colleague, Katie Hull), I’m including a lesson plan talking about this qualities with students. (Also, check out Interactive Quiz — Are You A Good Language Learner) The first thing I’ve done, though, is modify how I talk with students about them. An appetite for learning, perseverance Being willing to take risks Being willing to make mistakes and learn from them Wants to help and teach others These are the videos I’ve found so far. An appetite for learning and/or perseverance: As does this boy who wants a soccer ball:
Combining Robotics With Poetry? Art and Engineering Can Co-Exist Big Ideas Culture Teaching Strategies Sue Mellon By Barbara Ray At the beginning, people thought she was nuts. “Originally, people looked at me like I was crazy,” Mellon said. Poetry isn’t always easy for students. “Science, technology, engineering, math, art—that’s all really important. “A lot of kids aren’t crazy about poetry,” Mellon said. Stories like Mellon’s can be found all around the Allegheny School District these days as the area, already renowned for its groundbreaking work in STEM, takes on STEAM. [RELATED READING: Girls and Math: Busting the Stereotype] STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math; it’s become a shorthand way for talking about how to prepare American students for a 21st-century, globalized economy. “STEAM is not a new curriculum,” Yakman said. The move to include art and design in the push to advance science, engineering, and math is not just a “feel-good” move. Arts & Bots/ Carnegie Mellon University For others, it has slightly different meanings.
Mobile Learning: 50+ Resources & Tips I believe mobile devices will transform education. This is why I created a free ebook, Effective Mobile Learning: 50+ Quick Tips & Resources with helpful tips and several resources to help support this trend. One reason is because mobile devices are designed in a way that forces the teacher to give control to the learner. Mobile Learning Free Ebooks Mobile Learning Posts/Presentations I’ve Given Mobile Learning LiveBinder of Resources Mobile Learning Mindmap of Implementation This mindmap is full of case studies, schools, teachers, free ebooks, and more to show real examples of mobile learning at its best.
Foreign Language Dictionaries Indo-European Language Tree 2 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. The Center for the Book | Library of Congress The Library of Congress Center for the Book, which also administers the Poetry and Literature Center, promotes books and libraries, literacy and reading, and poetry and literature. Our programs include a diverse range of events, series, lectures, partnerships, prizes, contests and awards. Publications Sponsored by the Center View the Center for the Book Publications List for a selective listing of publications related to the Center for the Book, its mission and history, arranged by subject. Individual titles link directly to digital versions whenever they are available. Links to supplementary materials and digital versions may also be found at the end of each entry. Related Sites on LOC.gov Center for the Book Information Events Author discussions, symposia and other events are an important part of the programming of the Center for the Book. See all events
Technology for very young children I’ve never been one to shy away from technology and you’ll often find me tweeting about the usefulness of different apps and websites for the language classroom or blogging about Youtube videos that we can use or the use of online corpora. I would give teacher training sessions encouraging teachers to use mobile devices and social networking sites with their students and secretly mock those having trouble with moving with the times. I would show my trainees this video to make my point that change may be difficult, but it is inevitable and we have to join the ‘digital natives’ in this game of ‘tech-catchup’. But I’m now a mother of a one-year-old, and everyday, I’m faced with the decision of how much screen time to expose my daughter to. Despite being pro-technology and a big believer in the educational benefits brought about by these screens, I couldn’t help feeling disturbed by the over-reliance on screens and the negative effects of over-exposure.
Fantasy Flight Games Linking Words — A complete List of English Connecting Words Linking & Connecting Words It is essential to understand how Linking Words, as a part of speech, can be used to combine ideas in writing - and thus ensure that ideas within sentences and paragraphs are elegantly connected - for the benefit of the reader. This will help to improve your writing (e.g. essay, comment, summary (scientific) review, (research) paper, letter, abstract, report, thesis, etc.). It is also fundamental to be aware of the sometimes subtle meaning of these "small" words within the English language. "Linking Words" is used as a term to denote a class of English words which are employed to link or connect parts of speech or even whole sentences. Conjunctions and Transition Words Connecting Words Relations Between Words A concept is an idea - and what is an idea? So, a concept can be expressed as something between a single word, and an elaborate and in extenso described philosophy. Complete List of Linking & Connecting Words Download
In Praise of the Hashtag Illustration by Tom Gauld For this, of course, we can thank Twitter. Five years ago, Twitter’s users invented what’s now known as the hashtag: a pithy phrase, preceded by that hungry octothorpe, used to either label or comment on the preceding tweet. (Pretend this sentence is a tweet. In the early days, hashtags were primarily functional — a way of categorizing tweets by topic so that members of the Twittersphere could follow conversations of interest to them by searching for a list of similarly tagged tweets. Over time, though, the hashtag has evolved into something else — a form that allows for humor, darkness, wordplay and, yes, even poetry. As a result, we’ve arrived at a strange moment for the hashtag. Yet the rise of the hashtag’s commercial possibilities shouldn’t lead us to overlook what is truly remarkable about it. But the hashtag, for the dexterous user, is a versatile tool — one that can be deployed in a host of linguistically complex ways.
Persuasion Map Grades 9 – 12 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson Demonstrating Understanding of Richard Wright's Rite of Passage Students use the elements of persuasion for a specific audience to demonstrate their understanding of Richard Wright's accessible and engaging coming-of-age novel, Rite of Passage. Grades 6 – 12 | Lesson Plan Persuade Me in Five Slides! After students write persuasive essays, use this lesson to challenge them to summarize their essays concisely by creating five-slide presentations. Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson Developing Citizenship Through Rhetorical Analysis Students analyze rhetorical strategies in online editorials, building knowledge of strategies and awareness of local and national issues. Grades 3 – 12 | Student Interactive | Organizing & Summarizing Compare & Contrast Map The Compare & Contrast Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to organize and outline their ideas for different kinds of comparison essays. Essay Map Persuasion Rubric
Project Gutenberg - free ebooks Twitter fiction: 21 authors try their hand at 140-character novels Geoff Dyer I know I said that if I lived to 100 I'd not regret what happened last night. But I woke up this morning and a century had passed. Sorry. James Meek He said he was leaving her. Jackie Collins She smiled, he smiled back, it was lust at first sight, but then she discovered he was married, too bad it couldn't go anywhere. Ian Rankin I opened the door to our flat and you were standing there, cleaver raised. Blake Morrison Blonde, GSOH, 28. David Lodge "Your money or your life!" AM Homes Sometimes we wonder why sorrow so heavy when happiness is like helium. Sophie Hannah I had land, money. Andrew O'Hagan Clyde stole a lychee and ate it in the shower. AL Kennedy It's good that you're busy. Jeffrey Archer "It's a miracle he survived," said the doctor. Anne Enright The internet ate my novel, but this is much more fun #careerchange #nolookingback oh but #worldsosilentnow Hey! Patrick Neate ur profile pic: happy – smiling & smoking. ur last post: "home!" Hari Kunzru I'm here w/ disk. SJ Watson OK.
Dream Moods A-Z Dream Dictionary Symbols are the language of dreams. A symbol can invoke a feeling or an idea and often has a much more profound and deeper meaning than any one word can convey. At the same time, these symbols can leave you confused and wondering what that dream was all about. Acquiring the ability to interpret your dreams is a powerful tool. In analyzing your dreams, you can learn about your deep secrets and hidden feelings. Remember that no one is a better expert at interpreting your dreams than yourself. To guide you with your dreams interpretations, we have interpreted over 5900 keywords and symbols and over 20,000 different meanings in our ever expanding dream dictionary. Every detail, even the most minute element in your dream is important and must be considered when analyzing your dreams.