7 Top Twitter Resources for Trainers and Educators

October 3, 2011

Here are some of my favorite Twitter resources that are particularly helpful for educators, tutors and others in the training profession:

Twittonary.com – Twitter Dictionary that provides explanations about Twitter-related word.

Twitter Handbook for Teachers – An 18-page, free downloadable handbook for teachers who are new to Twitter.

9 Twitter Styles: Which One Is Yours? – A lighthearted look at different styles of Tweeting.

10 Steps to Kick Start Your Twitter Network – Practical tips to grow your network in a meaningful way.

How to hide Twitter #hashtag chats from your followers – I really enjoyed this one. While I Tweet regularly about topics relating to my work, I also occasionally indulge in a little #DrWho chat, but honestly, most of my professional colleagues don’t share my love of the man who travels through space and time in the TARDIS. This is a great way not to bombard them with my little indulgence.

How Twitter will revolutionise academic research and teaching – An insightful article about how Twitter is changing how we view research and teaching.

Why Teachers Should Join Twitter… What I Have Learned as a Newbie – Insights from a new teacher Tweeter. This is a great resource for educators who still aren’t sure what Twitter is for and why it can be useful to them.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Free PD Resource: 3 Early Literacy Professional Development Webinar Recordings

September 28, 2011

Are you looking for some material for your next PD or staff meeting to get your early literacy practitioners thinking? Webinars are a great way to build knowledge and generate discussion in your team. You can ask participants to watch the webinar before the meeting and come prepared to talk about it, or you can watch the webinar as a group and then have a dialogue about it.

Get Ready to Read has posted three freely available webinars for early literacy on their site. You can watch the programs and download the slide presentations for each of these three topics:

Shared Book Reading

Reading with children provides valuable opportunities for enriching vocabulary and other important oral language skills as well as for extending basic knowledge about the world. Viewers will learn how to maximize language growth through shared book reading. They will also find out how to increase children’s understanding of concepts of print, how books work, and the wonders of letters and words on a page. Activities will be demonstrated to help prepare children to become motivated, equipped, and successful readers and writers.

Phonological (Sound) Awareness

Phonological awareness, or the insight that words are made up of discrete parts, is one of the strongest indicators of future reading success. Viewers will learn how to use books, songs and conversation to increase youngsters’ ability to learn important preliteracy concepts through play with sounds and syllables. Enjoyable activities will be described and modeled to help children rhyme as well as identify, separate, and blend sounds with words.

Speech to Print Connection

Children can be empowered to match what they know best – speech – with what they need to learn to read – print. Through children’s first exposure to the alphabet, the speech to print connection is built. Activities to strengthen letter naming and children’s own name recognition serve as the springboard for establishing sound-symbol relationships and word recognition. Enjoyable group activities demonstrate how early literacy can be promoted to prepare children for later reading success.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Digital Resource: Using Video with Adult Learners

September 27, 2011

The other day I stumbled across the Adult Literacy Education Wiki, which features dozens of free resources on how to use video with adult learners.

Topics include:

  • How to create videos
  • Video-making tools
  • How to incorporate videos in class
  • Video streaming
  • Ready-made video resources
  • Instructional videos useful for adult learners
  • Blogs
  • Samples of student-created videos

This is a great resource full of resources and ideas. Go check it out.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Happy Banned Books Week!

September 26, 2011

Did you know that September 24 to October 1, 2011 is Banned Books Week sponsored by the American Libraries Association and 5 other organizations.

In celebration of the week, I’m pledging to read at least one banned book (though I haven’t decided which one yet.) Lauren Davis reports in the Eye on Education blog that the Harry Potter series has been the most widely banned book series of the past decade.

My friend and mentor, Dr. Nicholas Zekulin, a professor of Russian at the University of Calgary has what we believe to be the world’s largest collection of Harry Potter books in translation. Maybe I’ll pick up the Spanish version and enjoy Potter en español.

Here’s my invitation to join me in reading a banned book this week, or at least have a conversation with someone else about censorship, freedom of speech or banned books.

Related posts:

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Family Literacy in Canada: What it means in terms of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning

September 24, 2011

In March I was invited to speak on a Family Literacy Panel at the National Metropolis Conference. The conference focused on “the role of immigration in connecting Canada with the rest of the world.” Our panel looked like this:

Family Literacy and the New Canadian

Description: This Workshop will bring together a panel of language experts from across Canada that will outline the importance and value of heritage / international languages and illustrate how schools, academics, community organizations and government policies can assist in maintaining and developing the multiple literacies of all Canadians.

Organizer | Organisateur
Bernard Bouska, Canadian Languages Association
Khatoune Temisjian, Québec Heritage Languages Association / Association québécoise des langues d’origine

Participants

Sarah Eaton, University of Calgary
Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: The Case of Literacy, Essential Skills and Language Learning in Canada

Maria Makrakis, TESOL International and International Languages Educators’ Association (ILEA), Ontario
Language and Literacy for New Canadian Families

Constantine Ioannou, Government of Ontario
Ontario Schools and Communities Can Reflect the Languages of our Families

Khatoune Temisjian, Québec Heritage Languages Association / Association québécoise des langues d’origine
Literacy and Heritage/international Languages in Quebec: An Overview

Michael Embaie, Southern Alberta Heritage Languages Association (SAHLA)
Successful Implementation of Heritage / International Language Programs in Canada: Selected Strategies and Case-Studies

Chair | Modérateur
Marisa Romilly, Society For The Advancement of International Languages (SAIL British Columbia)

Discussant | Commentateur

Bernard Bouska, Canadian Languages Association

I promised to post the paper once it was available. It’s now been archived in the ERIC database. Download a copy here.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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