KidLink

Kid Link - "A place for kids to collaborate and network with friends around the world." Kidlink is open for all children and youth in any country through the age of 15, and students at school through secondary school. Most users are between 10 - 15 years of age. Since the start in 1990, used by children from 176 countries The Kidlink knowledge network is run by 500 volunteers in over 50 countries. Information is available in over 30 languages. This is a great site for students to use as a blog and as a way to meet and share information. I like the fact that it is so user-friendly and that there are so many languages available.

I want a dog!!!

Ain't it Tweeght?

When you're looking for an inspirational quote, a thought-for-the-day, or even a writing stem, check out Tweeght. This is a cool site - you can borrow thoughts or add thoughts/quotes of your own.

New to Tweeght? Get started with few easy steps...
Step 1. No Sign up required. Just use your Twitter account when necessary.
Step 2. Post your thoughts or quotes using one of the methods below -
a. tag your Tweets by #tweeght, #thought or #quote keyword
b. or send replies to @tweeght
c. or use "Post a Tweeght" tab below
Step 3. Find your Tweeghts at "Recent" section.
Step 4. Vote up, Retweet and Reply to other Tweeghts that you like.

Portfolios Everywhere . . .

E-Portfolios for Learning was created to discuss ideas on electronic portfolios that support lifelong learning with the major focus on discussions about the current direction of electronic portfolios in Higher Education and K-12 schools. The term "portfolio" is becoming increasingly popular across educational domains. There is a real push for everything from student portfolios to school portfolios to teacher portfolios. The idea of an E-Portfolio is something that we, as PGCPS Cohort members, may need to create at the end of this master's prgroam. There are links on this blogs that may be useful for us.

"One Stop Shopping for all your ESL Needs"

This site 100 Best Resources and Guides for ESL Teachers is not a traditional"blog" but is actually a list of 100 links to various resources which are divided into 7 categories: Lesson Plans & Handouts; Teaching Tips; Specifically for Teachers; Activities; Specifically for Teaching Children; Specifically for Teaching Adults; Videos & Podcasts; and Newsletters & Blogs. A GREAT RESOURCE!!!

This is just Peachy . . .

Three links I found useful on Nik Peachey's website are:

1. Create Your Own Social Network 7 Steps (collaborative learning) - a tutorial for setting up and controlling your own social networking site. This was helpful because it addressed the issue of privacy and safety (who has access to your site). It also provided think abouts - things to consider before stting up the network.


2. Adventure Narratives for EFL ESL Students (games, reading) - the games are very engaging, mentally challenging, beautifully designed, and based around strong narratives.
   
3. Using Word Clouds in EFL ESL (speaking) - word clouds are created by entering into a field. The site then generates a word cloud based on the frequency of key words. Three interesting ways to use word clouds are: revision of texts (vocabulary focus); prediction (pre-reading); short poem/Haiku creation.

The Best Websites For Beginning Older Readers

The Best Websites For Beginning Older Readers is a much needed resource and was created to provide appropriate access for older students and adults who have had some formal schooling in their native countries, but who have had no prior experience with the English language. Ferlazzo ranked his top 8 picks, ranging from sight word practice sites (the best one being Basic Sight Words List One where words are taught in context) to reading skills story sites (Reading Skills Stories 1 and Reading Skills Stories 2) that provide leveled, high-interest stories with several follow-up activities for each one. Since my interest is middle school, I was excited to find this list of sites appropriate for older students.