Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 18-24, 2011)

December 25, 2011

Here are my favorite resources of the week, curated from my Twitter account.

Social Media Resources, Policy tools and How To’s

Crafting a Social Media Policy for Your Business – by Yfran Garcia

5 Tips for Teachers to Navigate Facebook’s Features and Risks – by Linda Fogg Phillips

Social Media Snafus of 2011: A Study in HR Best Practices – by Kyle Lagunas

Social Media News

Tread carefully with background checks on social media: Privacy watchdog issues warning – by James Wood, Edmonton Journal

Ireland tells Facebook to boost privacy – by Tim Bradshaw, Financial Times

Educational Technology

Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2011: Social Media — Adoption & Crackdown by Audrey Watters

Using Social Media to Teach: Keep It Transparent, Open and Safe – by Carol Shakeshaft, NY Times

Literacy

Books vs. screens: Which should your kids be reading? – by John Barber, Globe and Mail

Adult Literacy Resources – Decoda Literacy Solutions

2012: The Year Mobile Reading Grows Up – by Tim Carmody

Fostering a love of reading for success – by Sean Wilson, Ottawa Citizen

English as an Additional Language

12 ways of creating stories with your EFL students – by Simon Thomas

International Languages News and Resources

Oy vey! Yiddish making a comeback at colleges – by Dorie Turner, San Francisco Gate

Chinese is the new English – IBN Live

When it comes to jobs, being bilingual is an advantage – by Catharine Hadley

When Learning Languages, Motivation Matters Most: An Interview with Bruno della Chiesa – by Nancy Walser, Harvard Education Letter

Language Learning Through Hip-Hop Music? Hellz Yeah – by Mikaela Conley, ABC News

Foreign language educators encourage fluency, but students say it’s a challenge – by Stephen J. Pytak

Early Language Learning in Europe – edited by Janet Enever

Education Resources

Using Multiple Intelligences to keep students engaged – WriteToLearn

An Educator’s Guide for Changing the World: Methods, Models and Materials for Anti-Oppression and Social Justice Workshops – SocialJustice.org

Education News

English proficiency test gets ‘F’ for stress – by Kristen Parker – Futurity

Government of Canada Makes Education More Affordable for Part-Time Students – Marketwire

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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.


Apple (Mac) Resources for Presenters, Speakers and Teachers

December 21, 2011

I recently facilitated a lunch meeting at the Calgary chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). The purpose of the meeting was for presenters, workshop trainers and speakers who use Apple products in their professional practice to share their best ideas and resources.

You can download a copy of these resources and use them in your own teaching, training or speaking practice.

View this document on Scribd

Let me know which ones you like or leave a comment to add to our list!
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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.


Literacy for Christmas: Free activities and resources

December 19, 2011

Swirl of giftsAre you looking for activities with a Christmas or holiday theme to promote or improve literacy? Check out some of these great free resources:

Early Childhood Literacy

Christmas literacy resources for K-3 teachers 

Candy cane math and sight words for preschoolers and kindergarten – The Preschool Toolbox blog

Literacy activities for K-12

Tons of holiday literacy resources for a variety of ages (including printables) – Teaching Ideas

Christmas writing activities – Literacy Minute blog

Christmas around the world – Numerous activities for a variety of age groups – TES resources

Literacy at Christmas “How to” kit – NWT Literacy Council (NALD)

Christmas Brainstorm Activities – About.com (There are links to other worthwhile resources from that page.)

Do you know of other free activities for literacy teachers that we can add to this list? If so, leave your comment below.

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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.


Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 11-17, 2011)

December 18, 2011

Here are my favorite resources of the week, curated from my Twitter account.

Social Media Resources, Policy tools and How To’s

Best practices for confronting employee sexual harassment – by Judy Greenwald

15 WordPress Plugins For A Better Facebook Experience – 1stwebdesigner.com

Social Media News

Underground Industry Aims to Dupe Social Media Users – by Tom Simonite

Canada’s Tories to take questions in inaugural Twitter town hall – CTV news

What Insurers Could Do With Your ‘Social Media Score’  – by Sheryl Nance-Nash

Adult Literacy and Essential Skills

Computer Use Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Writing Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Reading Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Tips on Working with others – HRSDC

Oral communication tips – HRSDC

Children’s Literacy

Reading Companion – Great literacy resource by IBM

Robert Munsch’s Reading Website for Kids

Starfall – Excellent literacy resource for children

Top 10 Tips for Teaching Basic Reading Skills – Worksheet library

Technology and E-learning

Bringing Speech Recognition to Reading Instruction – by Marilyn Jager Adams

A lesson plan to introduce YLs to blogging – by Dina Dobrou

Apps and software for students with language-based learning disabilities – by Inov8-Ed

Popular educational Twitter feeds live and streaming – from Splaysoft

Tip of the Week – Six Great Ways to Publish Student Work – Historytech blog

Tutpup – Competitive Educational Games – by Mark Brumley

10 Instructional Design Tips for e-Learning Development  – TheNewLearner.com

The Gamification of Education: What School Can Learn from Video Games – Terrell Hick

Languages and Multilingualism

10 Myths you will be told about multilingual children – Multilingual Children’s Association

Christmas resources in 4 languages – LanguageNut

80 Apps to Learn a New Language – by Joshua Johnson

Elements Of Style Rap: Columbia Journalism Students Tackle Strunk And White Grammar Classic – Huffington Post

Education News

How the Left Side of the Brain Got Left Behind: A Hypothesis – GettingSmart.com

Online schools score better on Wall St. than in classrooms – NY Times

English Continues to Be World’s Most Influential Language, TalktoCanada Reports – SacBee

Teachers concerned about Inclusive Education Planning Tool – Alberta Teachers’ Association

Tech startups ride surge in online education – AsiaOne.com

Related posts

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (December 4-10, 2011)

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (November 20- 26, 2011)

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (November 13-19, 2011)

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Share this post: Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 11-17, 2011) http://wp.me/pNAh3-15q

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.


Canadian English: Not Just a Hybrid of American and British English

December 13, 2011

NALD logoA number of years ago I had the pleasure of participating in a professional development workshop in Cuba for English teachers there. Due to the large numbers of Canadian tourists in Cuba, the teachers were intensely interested in “Canadian” English. They asked, “What is Canadian English?”, “How does it differ from British English? Or American English?” and “Is there really such a thing as ‘Canadian’ words?”

I wrote a paper on the topic of Canadian English for the workshop and I must say, I was surprised at how much I learned about my own language!

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) has archived the paper and has made it available for all researchers, teachers and literacy practitioners free of charge. Download your free copy of “Canadian English: Not Just a Hybrid of British and American English”.

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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.