Great short interviews - Grace Kelly on JFK

This PBS series has some excellent interviews presented as animations. They are with famous figures including Louis Armstrong, Tupac Shakur and Janis Joplin.

This one is with Grace Kelly talking about JFK.

Wiki and Blog champions of ISL

Dear colleagues,

WE HAVE A WINNER...
Thanks to all who entered the Wiki and Blog quiz. Several teachers scored ten out of ten, and the winner of the prize (Flow by Mikhail Csikszentmihalyi)was Patricia Andersson. Incidentally, it was a self-grading quiz using Flubaroo. Let me know if you want to try that out yourself.

MET AND GREETED
We had an excellent turn out at the Upper School Library Meet and Greet. Many colleagues enjoyed the refreshments organised by Nancy and the Library and had a look at the new resources which have recently arrived in the Library. Much Winter borrowing ensued.

WIKI and BLOG CHAMPIONS
Our colleagues also shared their Wikis and Blogs which they have each been developing. I am very happy that there is no template; each teacher works in his or her own way and there were many fruitful discussions. I am hopeful, following several conversations I had, that a new wave of ISL teachers will establish their presence online to the benefit of their students and colleagues.

NEW YEARS'S RESOLUTION OR A PD GOAL?
Should you be thinking of joining their ranks, here are some examples of the wikis and blogs our colleagues use in their work at ISL. Some of them are Private to the teacher and invited colleagues and students, but I am sure you will be admitted if you request it (you will need a wikispaces log in for those). The rest of the wikis and blogs are Public to those who have the link (not Googleable, though).

Walking in a Wiki Wonderland

Please join us from 1545 on Friday 13th at the US Library Meet and Greet party for:

To get you in the mood,  complete the quiz below for the chance of winning a great prize donated by the US library: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (crazy name, crazy book). The first correct answer out of the virtual hat will win.

Best movies and TV shows for teaching ESL and EFL

I have recently started reading this great blog by Larry Ferlazzo, a teacher in Sacramento, California. Here is a typically interesting and helpful post about movies and TV shows which he uses for teaching his ESL and EFL students.



http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/04/26/the-best-popular-moviestv-shows-for-eslefl/

Steve

Five BBC correspondents remember Mandela

There are a lot of programmes about Nelson Mandela in the BBC archives. Here is one they just made featuring five correspondents who knew Nelson Mandela.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03kp474

Unspeak: Words are Weapons

ToK teachers! (and anyone else interested in how language can be used to manipulate).

Unspeak is a website which calls itself an interactive documentary. It looks at the hidden meanings behind words (especially those used by politicians).

Here is a video introducing one of the topics: Words Are Weapons. The choice of images is fantastic!

Wiki Wonderland trailer

For our memorable (not necessarily in a good way) Wiki Wonderland trailer, please click the picture.

Students' personal pages on your wiki

In case you are still wondering, a wiki is a website. It has the collaborative potential exploited by wikipedia, but many teachers (including me) enjoy the fact that wikis are among the easiest type of webpage to create. Many teachers use blogging platforms to create their websites. This is easy too.

Recently, wikispaces, which most of our ISL Wiki champions use, has introduced a new feature called Project Pages in which each student or group in your class has a page on the wiki to which only they and the teacher have access. It is great for reflection, work submission, projects and more.

You can read about it at the link below, or make an appointment with me to get started.

http://blog.wikispaces.com/2013/11/using-projects-as-personal-student-workspaces.html

And don't forget that the wiki and blog champions will be presenting (with drinks and snacks) at the Wiki Wonderland in the US library on Friday 13 December after school.

Steve

Helping students with imaginative writing

There are many apps and websites which help students to get some ideas for their creative writing. Students also get to see the stories written by others or get feedback on their own. 

I have had a look at Plinky which seems interesting. There's also Boomwriter which looks very professional, but they are wanting to sell you things (though your class' own book of stories might be quite cool).

Teachers, please let me know if you have a go with any of them and what you think.

Steve