Wednesday, May 27, 2009

TED Talks for Teachers

A person can find their way to TED.com and stay for hours and hours. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, and it was started in 1984 as a conference that brought people in those fields together. In the years since, it has become a symposium for all kinds of great ideas. The site features hundreds of "talks," presentations by great thinkers and experts in all kinds of fields.

Take a look at three great examples, and let me know if you find other great ones (and you will).

Jay Walker on the world's English Mania
"Mathematics is the language of science, music is the language of emotion, and now English is becoming the language of problem solving."




David Merrill Demos Siftables
"One of the interesting things about this kind of application is that you don't have to give people instructions. All I have to say is, 'Make words' and they know exactly what to do."



Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity

"My contention is the creativity now in education is as important as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status."


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Clippings:5.26.09


The New York Times says the economic downturn is putting new stress on libraries.

Class sets of the comic book, "Barack the Barbarian: Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli #1" are available for pre-order.

Writing on the I.N.K. blog, children's writer David Elliott calls into question the line between fiction and nonfiction in this amusing memoir.

At the MacMillan Dictionary Blog, Gwyenth Fox says maybe we should just do away with apostrophes.

The English Business Letter Generator exemplifies the Internet's capacity for automation.

And David Warlick discusses The 21st Century Skills Incentive Fund Act.

(Picture: "Ann Arbor Library: Pittsfield Branch" by jhoweaa - CC.)


The Best So Far - 3 Months & 16 Days of Literacy Log

Welcome to Literacy Log! I took a little break for finals week and memorial day, but I'm ready to resume the literacy-related awesomeness. This week, I'm going to be adding new strategies, web resources, and perhaps some of my own teaching stories. I thought I'd start off with some of Literacy Log's Highlights so far.

Amazing Ads on Google: 5.26.09

I am a Google addict, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Like millions of others, I started using using Google's search engine years ago, converted my email to Gmail in recent years, and have since become a regular user of Google Documents, Google Calendar, and Google Maps. Oh, and Google's Blogger, which I use to write this blog.

Google makes it's living off of advertisements, but I try to ignore them. Ads on Google pages are nondescript and small. They are also targeted specifically at the user. I find this a bit disconcerting, but the immense utility and coolness of Google's software makes it well worth the discomfort.

I have also discovered that these ads can be strange, hilarious, and revealing. So, this is the beginning of an untitled (for now) series wherein I will post the best ads I see as I'm using Gmail. This is not necessarily literacy-related in any way, but I think these ads can tell us a lot about ourselves. Or perhaps they say something about me, to whom they are targeted. I kind of hope not...

5.26.09

Pick Up Girls at Work
5 Things to do in 10 Minutes. Make Her Want You Instantly.
DavidDeAngelo.com/PickUpLines

What Is Your Self-Worth?

Learn to Connect With Your Inner Voice, Discover your Self-Worth? www.WhatisYourSelfWorth.com

Wake Up and Think
Take Your Life to The Next Level. Lessons from The American Monk.
www.TheAmericanMonk.com

Twitegy: Twitter Strategy
World's only Twitter-only Agency Social Media Marketing Done Right
www.Twitegy.com

And my personal favorite, which appeared beside an email from my fiance, Katie...
Katie Photos
Find Katie Couric Leg Photos at Great Prices.
www.Pronto.com