In the
first part of this series aimed at sharing the sources of the information I blog about, I focused on sites which spread the word about new technology or websites. In this second part I'd like to spread the word about some of the more ELT and Educationally orientated blogs which have provided me with a wealth of information and professional development.
First of course has to be
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day……For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
This site is a huge and constant source of information and new sites and resources. Larry also produces categorised lists of resources so it's well worth searching through his archives.
The blog is up dated a number of times each day, so to really get the best of it and to stay informed you should sign up to his RSS feed.
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/Free Technology for TeachersThis is another great blog. It's aimed more at general education than at EL teachers, but a lot of the sites and activities it mentions could easily be used with EFL ESL students, especially if you are using a CLIL type of approach.
Again, the site is up dated at least everyday, so again this is a good one to subscribe to.
http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.comJane's E-Learning Pick of the DayAgain this isn't an ELT specific website, but is the source of quite a few interesting links to educational software and websites. A new item is added each day along with a short descriptive text (often taken from the site being recommended) so it's well worth subscribing to. Not all of the resources recommened are non commercial though, so be sure to check.
One of the best things about the blog though is that the resources are all added to a
directory that now has thousands of useful tools to help with learning, so if you are ever thinking of buying some software, be sure to check
the directory first as you may well be able to find something free there.
http://janeknight.typepad.comTechnology and Education Box of TricksThis is a blog that I've only started tracking more recently. Again it is aimed at general education rather than being ELT specific, but there are lots of useful tools there and it's really well designed and well written with some good tips about how to use the resources in the classroom etc.
http://www.boxoftricks.net/Instructify This is again a more recent find for me, but one that has a real wealth of information. It's updated regularly and has a mix of content between links to educational sites and information on new web tools and software.
The content is well written, informative and goes into some depth, so well worth reading.
http://blogs.learnnc.org/instructifyThe English BlogLast but not least, is this blog which is written by Jeffrey Hill. This one is aimed at EFL ESL teachers and has links and comments about useful resources, videos and news and opinion from around the web.
This is one of the blogs which I've been subscribed to for the longest and it has a real wealth of information in the archives, so well worth a browse.
http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/I hope you enjoy these blogs and find them as useful as I have. If you write a blog and it hasn't been mentioned here, well then look out for part 3 which you should see in a month or two.
If you want to get the best out of these blogs or any others then I recommend that you have some form of RSS feed reader or personalised homepage. If you don't have one you can download a step by step guide to creating a personlised homepage from my article:
Creating a personal homepageIf you know of other blogs which are regularly updated with useful content for educators, then by all means post a comment at the end of this article.
Related links:Thanks and best wishes
Nik Peachey
Apple's new and free Mac operating system called OS X Mavericks includes a new accessibility feature called Switch Control. Switch Control allows switch users to navigate and use their Macs. Switch Control allows switch users to interact and control their Macs. Switch users are users who are only able to activate a few large buttons and who don’t have the ability to interact with the complexities of a keyboard or mouse. For example, a quadriplegic may be able to activate switches mounted on their wheelchair with their head. Switches come in all different sizes and configurations but they give users who are unable to interact with the keyboard or mouse the ability to control their computers. It is exciting to see Apple continuing to improve OS X accessibility as well as iOS accessibility. Switch Control on the Mac is similar to other switch interfaces and very similar to Switch Control on iOS 7. Click here to read about Switch Control for iOS 7.
