Teaching Tips » Classroom Tips http://www.teachingtips.com Teaching Tips Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:29:19 +0000 en hourly 1 50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/21/50-useful-blogging-tools-for-teachers/ http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/21/50-useful-blogging-tools-for-teachers/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:59:47 +0000 admin http://www.teachingtips.com/?p=460 Blogging is becoming more and more popular in the classroom. Teachers can blog to stay in touch with parents and students or they can incorporate blogs from all of the students as a learning tool. The beauty of the student blog is that children from Kindergarten to high school can blog. No matter how you use blogs in your classroom, these tools will help you get started, enhance your experience, or bring the students into the fun.

Where to Create Your Blog

Creating a blog is the first step. The following resources all offer blog publishing. Some of these are aimed specifically at school blogs while others are available for anyone.

  1. Class Blogmeister. Created as a blogging platform specifically for educators, this free service will get you and your students blogging in no time. An added bonus to this service is that it is rarely blocked by school filters due to it’s specific safety features.
  2. Edublogs. Another blogging platform made just for educators, this service is based on WordPress, so comes with all the features of WordPress. Another benefit of Edublogs is the short and simple URLs for the blogs that make it easy to share with parents.
  3. WordPress. Get a free blog with WordPress and you will also have access to plenty of tools such as spellcheck, integrated stats tracker, and spam protection. This is one of the more popular blogging platforms.
  4. Blogger. Another popular blogging publisher, Blogger is teamed up with Google and offers lots of tools to make your blogging experience easier. You will need a Google account to create a blog with these folks.
  5. TypePad. TypePad lets you select from thousands of designs and has lots of widgets, custom banners, and more. However, this service is not free. You can take advantage of a free trial before you decide to pay the low monthly fee or annual subscription, though.
  6. LiveJournal. In addition to providing a blog, LiveJournal also makes it easy to create a social network through the blogs. This might work great for your class if all the students will have their own blog as well.
  7. Moveable Type. Another free blog publisher, Moveable Type offers many of the same features as the others with a spam blocker, templates, and more.
  8. Tumblr. Not really a full-fledged blogging platform, Tumblr is designed for smaller posts and a much more personalized experience. If you aren’t ready to go the way of the blog, this might be a good way to get your feet wet.
  9. Windows Live Writer. Get a Space in Windows Live and download Live Writer to start blogging with this publisher. You can connect with others, post video, and more with Live Writer.
  10. Thingamablog. All you need to get started with this blog platform is FTP, SFTP, or access to a server. The setup wizard will guide you through the steps of getting your blog in place.

Blogging Tools and Help for Teachers

The following tools and articles are all focused on helping teachers blog or provide free access for teachers to blogging tools that would normally cost money.

  1. Smilebox. Create scrapbooks, slide shows, postcards, and more to post on your blog with this tool. While it’s not specifically designed for educators, teachers can receive the premium subscription for free.
  2. Using Del.icio.us for Blogging. This article describes how you can incorporate the popular bookmarking site, Del.icio.us, into your blogging program.
  3. avatars. Let your students design their own personal avatars with one of these free tools. Using an avatar lets the students personalize while also keeping their identity private.
  4. VoiceThread. Create an online presentation with audio and text. You can incorporate PowerPoint, Flickr, Word, PDF, and more. Teachers get a free account.
  5. Teacher Training Videos. While this site is not specifically for blogging, it is directed at teaching educators how to use technology in the classroom. There are some blogging videos that will help get you started.
  6. A Vision for Classroom Blogging. Read about reasons to blog in your classroom as well as how to go about doing it in this article written by an experienced teacher and blogger. She also includes links at the end of the article for even more information.
  7. Classroom 2.0. Read blog discussions between teachers with blogging experience ranging from newbie to veteran blogger. You can find helpful advice as well as resources in these blog posts.

General Blog Tools

From adding fun photos to maps showing where your blog readers live, these tools will help you and your students create fun and educational blogs.

  1. Spellery. Type in the URL to your blog and find out if you have any spelling mistakes. This simple tool is invaluable for ensuring your posts are in top shape.
  2. Jiglu. This tool creates tags within your blog that allows readers to find more information from your previous blog posts. You can manually assign tags or let Jiglu assign the tags automatically.
  3. Wufoo. If you would like to create an online form for your blog, use this tool to do it for you. It’s easy to use and you’ll be creating polls, invitations, and more right on your blog.
  4. AddThis. With this simple tool, you can add a button on your blog that allows readers to easily bookmark and share your website. Having this button will allow parents and other teachers easier access to your site.
  5. Buttonator. If you need to create buttons for your blog, this easy tool will help you with the task. Choose the style, font, color, and more.
  6. Bananr. Want to put those photos from the class field trip or talent show on your blog? This tool allows you to enter your Flickr user id or photoset id and easily add the photos to your blog.
  7. Gickr. Add photos to your blog and put them in motion with this tool. Create fun slide shows and more without using difficult software.
  8. Website Ribbon Generator. Create a ribbon for your favorite cause or use an originally designed ribbon to tie all your students’ blogs together with this simple tool.
  9. FeedBlitz. Add this tool to your blog so readers can have your blog posts sent directly to their email. FeedBlitz also offers widgets to add to your blog such as a blogroll.
  10. ClustrMaps. When visitors click on your blog, this tool logs their location on a map. Watch as over the life of your blog, the map fills with information on your visitors’ locations. This tool can also serve as a geography lesson.
  11. MakeBeliefsComix.com. Choose your characters and add word or thought bubbles complete with your own text to create your very own comic strip. This is a fun activity for students to incorporate in their blogs, too.
  12. TagCrowd. Create a cloud of words from your blog with this tool. Once you have created the cloud, the tool will provide the HTML code so you can put it on your blog.
  13. widgetbox. Add any imaginable widget to your blog with this tool. Let your students run wild to allow their individuality to shine with these widgets that range from clocks to animals to word searches.
  14. LabPixies. Add any number of fun widgets like Google maps, games, calendars, and more on your blog. There are some great learning opportunities among these.
  15. gabcast. Record using your phone and post audio on your blog with gabcast. This tool can also be used to host conference calls, which would be helpful with parent-teacher conferences.
  16. BlogRolling. With this tool, you can add a blogroll to your blog to show readers what other blogs you find interesting. The is great for localizing a whole class worth of blogs in one spot.

Blogging and Internet Safety

As a teacher, you are already well aware that keeping your students safe is a priority. Introducing blogs in the classroom is undeniably a powerful learning tool, but it also brings about an opportunity for the teacher to reexamine student safety. The following resources will help you protect your students from harm.

  1. Google Analytics. Keep a close eye on your blog traffic and find out who is visiting your website. This tool breaks down the visitor information in several ways, including plotting a map of where the visitors are located.
  2. Keeping students cybersafe!. This blog post, written by an educator, offers suggestions on how you can protect your students while enjoying student blogs.
  3. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. This law explains how a child’s privacy is protected online. Working with children and blogs, this is a must-read item.
  4. Copyright and Fair Use. This simple primer gives the basics on copyright and fair use laws as it pertains to the Internet. Any teacher posting on the Internet should take the time to read this.
  5. A Teacher’s Guide to Fair Use and Copyright. Another helpful guide to fair use and copyright, this one is specifically designed for teachers. It also includes a chart for fair use to post in your classroom.
  6. Responsible blogging. Taken from a 10th grade class, these guidelines for safe and responsible blogging are not just teacher-generated, but also come from the students themselves.
  7. Blogger’s Contract. This contract between the teacher and student is a great way to remind the student of the safety and responsibility required when blogging. Use this contract as a model for one you can create for your class.
  8. Consent for Your Child to Participate in Online Collaborations. This teacher has drawn up a consent form for parents explaining how technology will be used in the classroom and asking for parental consent. Click on the link at the beginning of this letter for the actual consent form.
  9. Blogging Rules. This list of rules was compiled by a teacher for his classroom. You may find this helpful for setting the rules in your class before you begin blogging.
  10. Discovery Blogging Rules. Another set of rules for classroom blogging, this one is a bit more extensive and also includes clearly defined consequences to breaking the rules. This list can serve as a model for the rules in your classroom.

Getting Students in on the Action

Don’t keep all the fun to yourself–let your students blog too. These resources offer suggestions and tools for getting students into blogging.

  1. 21Classes. Set up classroom homepages and host and manage blogs for your students with this free service. Students can customize their pages and insert photos and videos.
  2. Reflections on Student Blogging. This article written by a teacher working with middle and high school students describes how she implemented a student blogging project. She also offers more generalized helpful tips on blogging with students.
  3. Blogging Basics: Creating Student Journals on the Web. This tutorial covers all the basics for getting your students set up to blog in the classroom. There are even some links to school blogs.
  4. Students 2.0. This blog is run by students and allows them a chance to raise their voice on the topic of education. Not only does this blog serve as an example of what student blogs can be, it is also a great tool to share with your older students.
  5. Student Tools–Let them fly!. Compiled by an educator, this list offers the top tech tools for students. Many of these tools can be used in student blogs or help students set up blogs.
  6. iLearn Technology: Dipity. This educational blog reviews Dipity, a time line generator that students can use to create time lines on any topic. Students can use Dipity in conjunction with their blogs to create personal timelines.
  7. Making it Interesting: What would you add to this classroom. This is a fun little visual to suggest various technology tools to get students excited about learning. Think about what you would add for your students.
]]> http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/21/50-useful-blogging-tools-for-teachers/feed/ 0 The Art of Learning Better: 101 Tips to Find and Fit Your Learning Style http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/10/the-art-of-learning-better-101-tips-to-find-and-fit-your-learning-style/ http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/10/the-art-of-learning-better-101-tips-to-find-and-fit-your-learning-style/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:03:37 +0000 admin http://www.teachingtips.com/?p=402 By Sarah Russel

Sometimes, information is hard to understand just because it’s presented in a manner that just doesn’t quite appeal to the way we like to learn best. While it isn’t always possible to take every class or complete every project in a way that fits into your individual style, there are ways that you can help to ensure that you’re making the most of the material at hand. Here are a few tips to help you start improving your learning experience by helping make it work a little better with your needs, whether you’re a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner.

Visual Learners

Those who are visual learners understand concepts and ideas better when they are presented in pictures, text, drawings, graphs, charts or other visual representations. Here are some tips for making your coursework and schooling a little easier if you’re a visual learner.

Organization

Keeping your stuff together and staying on task can sometimes be a challenge. These tips can give visual learners a leg up on organization.

  1. Color code. If you color code classes, assignments or anything else you’ll be able to identify and locate these items just at a glance. It can be helpful if you’ve got a habit of being messy.
  2. Make lists. One way to organize your thoughts is to put them on paper or on the computer. Once you’ve created this visual representation it will be easier to see what you need to get done.
  3. Keep like materials together. Creating groups can be one way to keep yourself visually organized. If you’ve got books and notebooks for one class, try keeping these together.
  4. Diagram how things are related. Whether you’re trying to get research done for classes or just figuring out anything in your day to day life, you can benefit from creating a diagram or mind map to show how elements are interconnected and how you need to proceed.

In Class

Keep focused in class with these tips.

  1. Always take notes. If you have a hard time remembering things that you hear, make sure to write them down. This can give you a visual reference later.
  2. Visualize how to spell words. Spelling words in your own language or in another can be hard for visual learners who are just hearing them. Tying spellings, especially difficult ones, to visual cues can make it easier.
  3. Relate things through graphs and charts. If your class is filled with facts and figures it can be helpful to lay them out in ways that make more sense to visual learners, like graphs, charts or diagrams. Your information will be more organized and easier for you to understand, helping you in the long run.
  4. Use several colors. Some visual learners find that it helps to use different colors of ink to highlight different areas of their notes. Vocab words can be in one color, definitions in another and so on.
  5. Sketch. Whether you’re taking a class on architecture or human anatomy it can be helpful to sketch out concepts sometimes. It will help you to better remember and understand how they work later.
  6. Look at your professor. Because visual learners are so dependent on seeing things to understand it can help to sit near the front of the class and look at your professor. This can alert you to subtle body language and help you stay more engaged and focused.
  7. Copy information off the board or overheads. If your professor is providing you with visual information to use in class, copy things down to your own notebooks, even if you can look it up later.

Studying

Studying can be a bore sometimes, but you can make the time you spend more effective with these tips.

  1. Create a timeline. When dealing with a sequence of events you’re trying to remember or understand it can be useful to lay them out in chronological order on a timeline. This way, you’ll be able to more easily visualize how things changed over time.
  2. Make outlines. Whether you’re writing a paper or just condensing your notes to key concepts, creating an outline is a great way to organize information in a way you can see.
  3. Study in large blocks. Visual learners are often very good at concentrating for long periods of time. Take advantage of this and get your studying out of the way in big chunks.
  4. Diagram anything you can. Diagramming can be a good way for visual learners to understand a variety of topics, from geological processes to sentence structure.
  5. Make lists of important topics. Listing out the most important topics from your notes or readings can be a good way to help you remember the key elements and provides a visual reference for later.
  6. Watch videos on relevant topics. Videos can be a big help to visual learners when trying to understand coursework. Search the Web for videos that apply to your topic to see if you can find some great visual tools.
  7. Take notes on reading material. While understanding reading material is generally second nature to visual learners, taking notes can help improve the amount of information you retain and gives you something to study from later.
  8. Use flashcards. Using images or text on flashcards can be a great way to associate concepts or vocabulary words with visual representations. Create separate piles for cards you answer correctly and those you miss. Go through the missed ones until you can get them all right.
  9. Highlight, circle and underline. Creating visual cues for yourself as to what parts of your notes or reading are most important can be a a great way get more out of the time you spend working on homework and studying.
  10. Look for photos. If there are images of what you’re learning about in class try to find them. This can often be all you need to understand even the most complex of concepts.
  11. Implement mind maps. Mind maps can be a great way for visual learners to organize information from a class or to come up with ideas for projects and papers.
  12. Use the computer. Much of our interaction with the computer is done in a visual manner, and this can form an ideal learning environment for visual learners. Check the Web for programs and sites you can use to improve your learning experience.
  13. Try creating mental images. When you’re struggling to remember things, sometimes creating a mental image for yourself can help, especially when it comes to things that aren’t visual by nature.
  14. Find visual representations of audio recordings. If your class relies on historical recordings or other audio materials try finding text versions of the same things. This can be a great way to help you get some visuals and possibly remember more.
  15. Keep things quiet. Most visual learners are very easily distracted by noise in the background or other people talking around them when they’re trying to do work or study. Find a quiet place like the library to do your work.
  16. Engage your imagination. Visual learners love to use their imaginations and think of new things. Use your imaginative abilities to come up with new ways of seeing topics in class, ideas for papers or great ways to visually represent an idea.

Using Other Learning Methods

The fact is that sometimes you’re not going to be able to use the learning method that works best for you. Here are some ways you can help improve your skills in auditory and kinesthetic learning.

  1. Work on listening and speaking. Because visual learners are some image and text oriented, make it a priority to work on your listening and speaking abilities. Many jobs will require this from you in the future and you’ll be ahead of the game if you build the skills beforehand.
  2. Don’t always rely on notes. Try testing yourself occasionally to remember material without writing it down. It can be better to do this with less important things at first and work your way up.
  3. Try listening to texts. Improve your listening abilities by getting audio recordings of materials for class instead of text ones. This can be difficult at first but will help you learn to better process auditory information.
  4. Write things down afterwards. See if you can remember a list of things without writing them down immediately. Wait a few minutes before writing them down to work on remembering oral information.
  5. Create a process. Boost your kinesthetic skills by creating a process for everything you do. This interactivity with studying, homework or preparing for class can help you learn to engage your whole body in the learning process.
  6. Work with others. While visual learners are not usually opposed to working with others, they do not require it as much as those that learn through interaction. Working with your classmates can be a great way to boost your abilities to work and learn with others, skills that will serve you your whole life.

Auditory Learners

Auditory learners understand things through hearing them, meaning they are partial to learning that involves music, talking and other kinds of sounds. Make the most of your learning abilities by using these tips to help you get through classes.

Organization

Keep your thoughts and things organized with some of these tips.

  1. Repeat to-dos to yourself. Repeating the tasks you have to do can be a great way for auditory learners to remember them.
  2. Create auditory cues. Have to set aside times to study and take breaks? Set up timers for yourself to indicate when to start and stop to help you better organize your time.
  3. Make sure things are logical. Auditory learners have a preference for information that presented in a logical manner. Give yourself this advantage by keeping all your class materials together in a way that makes the most sense to you.
  4. Leave yourself audio messages. Need to remember tasks or organize your thoughts for later? Get a tape recorder and leave yourself messages that you can listen to later.

In Class

Many class formats suit auditory learners quite well, but here are some additional tips to get the most out of class time.

  1. Use a tape recorder. If taking notes does nothing to help you remember classroom lectures, then try recording them with a small tape recorder instead.
  2. Ask questions. Asking questions can be a great way for auditory learners to cement in their minds the things they do know while helping them understand the things they don’t.
  3. Sit in the front of class. Make sure you hear what’s going on in your classes by sitting up front.
  4. Participate in discussions. If there’s a class discussion going on make sure you take part. It can help you to remember more and take more away from the class.
  5. Close your eyes. If you can manage to do so without falling asleep, concentrating on the audio elements of your class while shutting out the visual can help you focus in.
  6. Don’t skip class. While visual learners can read the material they miss and learn just as easily without going to class, as an auditory learner you may have a much harder time. So, no matter how tired you are, get up and get to class.
  7. Ask for things to be repeated. Repetition can be a great way to remember concepts and can also help to ensure that you fully understand them as well.

Studying

Learn to study better and more effectively with these tips.

  1. Study with others. Bouncing your ideas off others and talking out information from class can help you get a lot more from study sessions, so long as you don’t get distracted.
  2. Read texts out loud. While it may take you a little longer, it can help you to remember more in the long run.
  3. Get audio books. If you don’t want to read to yourself you may be able to find someone else to do it. Check to see if your class materials are available on tape instead.
  4. Create oral stories to narrate ideas. Put the information from your class, whether it’s history or vocab words, together into a story for yourself and repeat it out loud. It may help you remember the material more easily.
  5. Dictate your papers. Auditory learners may find it easier to narrate their papers and homework into a recorder and type them up later.
  6. Work problems out orally. While talking to yourself may make you feel like a crazy person, it can also be a great way to help you understand material and better complete your homework.
  7. Make speeches and presentations. If you’re given a choice, present your work in a oral format rather than a written one.
  8. Create musical ways to aid memorization. Making up a song or a tune to memorize words and processes to can be a great help to many auditory learners.
  9. Read notes to yourself. Reading over your notes out loud can be more beneficial to auditory learners than simply reading them quietly.
  10. Explain ideas to others. Some students may find that they understand their coursework better when they explain it to other students.
  11. Discuss your ideas verbally.Talk with other students, your teachers any anyone else to get your ideas out there. It can make it easier to formulate your ideas and shape your homework assignments.
  12. Watch videos. Just like visual learners, auditory learners can benefit from watching educational materials. Browse video sites on the Web to find pertinent information to help you out.
  13. Read directions aloud. If you’re having trouble understanding an assignment, try reading it out loud to yourself. You may find you understand it better then.
  14. Try finding podcasts. Because auditory learners respond better to things they hear, finding educational podcasts can be a great way to supplement notes and lessons.
  15. Listen to music. Some auditory learners find it helpful to listen to music quietly or to go to a public place to study, as they enjoy the background noise.
  16. Put on headphones. You can help focus on the auditory elements of your environment by putting on headphones. This can help you to concentrate on the task at hand.
  17. Spell things out loud. When learning new words, it can be helpful for auditory learners to say and spell them out loud until they sound familiar.
  18. Use rhymes to remember important things. Rhyming can be a great way to create mnemonic devices to remember all kinds of information you need to know for classes.

Using Other Learning Methods

Learning without noise can be hard for auditory learners but they can boost their skills with these tips.

  1. Mix formats. When trying to learn using another method it can be helpful to mix formats at first. This can mean watching videos, following along in a book to an audio recording, and more.
  2. Write more down. You may not learn the best from things you write down, but you can help start adding note taking to your studying process.
  3. Try to get meaning from photos. To improve your visual skills, spend some time looking at photos and visual representations of the information from class.
  4. Play games and use flashcards. Make your learning process a little more hands on by creating games and using flashcards to study. If you struggle with this method you can also switch to an audio format instead.
  5. Create charts and graphs. Map out the data in your class into graphs, charts and diagrams to give you a more visual representation of what it’s saying.

Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic learners work the best when they can get hands on with things. This means interactive learning experiences like labs, demonstrations and computer programs help them to learn the most. Here are some tips for using these kinds of thing to study, work and organize.

Organization

Take a hands on approach to keeping your school stuff, and everything else, organized with these tips.

  1. Make materials tactile. Because kinesthetic learners are so focused on touch, organizing along those lines can helpful. Buy notebooks and folders with different surfaces or create them yourself to make it easy and fun to touch your materials and distinguish one from another.
  2. Use the computer. Computers are highly interactive devices and can excite and interest kinesthetic learners. Keeping to-do lists and assignments organized on the computer can be a great way to make organization easier.
  3. Create processes. Make your organizational habits more interactive by creating a process. Whether it means turning on your favorite music when you start to pull things together or doing things in a particular order, find a process that works for you.
  4. Make it active. Being organized doesn’t have to mean sitting in one place while you do it. Make cleaning, organizing and ordering more fun by getting active while doing it.
  5. Make sure materials are functional. Kinesthetic learners are all about function over form. Make sure the materials you use to organize are highly functional.

In Class

Make the most of the time you spend in class each week with some help from these tips.

  1. Take lab classes. Lab classes offer kinesthetic learners the perfect opportunity to interact with the materials pertinent to their class. If you can, try taking classes that include a lab element so you get as much hands on time as possible.
  2. Go on field trips. Going to a museum, park or historical place that relates to what you’re learning can be a great interactive way to understand what you’re learning about.
  3. Interact with professors and classmates. Don’t just sit quietly in the back of class, ask questions, interact with teachers, and work with other students. This will create a much more engaged learning experience and you’ll take more away from it.
  4. Write and draw lecture materials. Just sitting and listening to a lecture may not be enough to make it stick in your mind. Take notes and make sketches related to class to reinforce the material.
  5. Sit near the front. It will be easier for you to interact with your teacher and see what is going on if you sit near the front.
  6. Chew gum. when you’re in a quiet classroom tapping a pen or your foot can be annoying to other students but many kinesthetic learners find it difficult to sit still. Chewing gum, quietly, can be a good way to keep moving around without bothering anyone else.
  7. Type notes. If you can bring your laptop into the classroom, try typing notes out as the class goes along. This will keep your hands busy while you listen.

Studying

Keep yourself interacting with your study materials by trying out these ideas.

  1. Study in short blocks. Kinesthetic learners will get the most out of short study sessions with breaks in between to get up and move around.
  2. Role play. One way to get invested in your material is to act it out with yourself or classmates. You’re much more likely to remember material you’ve gotten involved with using your whole body.
  3. Study with others. Working with other students gives you a chance to interact and bounce your ideas off of others, and can be a great way to improve study time.
  4. Use memory games. Playing games to help you remember important vocab words and concepts can make learning fun and much more interactive than reading them out of a books.
  5. Create flash cards. Along those same lines, flash cards are a great tool to help kinesthetic learners remember important information.
  6. Make time to move around. Don’t just sit still and force yourself to study for hours. It’s likely you’ll just be thinking about that instead of focusing on what you should be studying. Incorporate breaks into your study schedule.
  7. Draw or write things out. Get involved with your classroom materials by drawing or writing them out even if they are in audio format.
  8. Create models. Because kinesthetic learners love to make things they can interact with, creating models, dioramas or computer animations can help them to better get a handle on even the most complex concepts.
  9. Trace letters and words. When trying to learn new words in English or a foreign language kinesthetic learners can benefit from tracing them out on paper or using their eraser to spell them out.
  10. Think about studying while working out or walking. You don’t have to sit still to study. Try listening to materials related to class while walking between classes, taking a jog on the treadmill or just cleaning your house.
  11. Go through the motions. When you’re learning about processes it can be useful to act out how they work. You may remember more when you have the motions to go along with the words.
  12. Draw charts and diagrams. Like visual learners, kinesthetic learners benefit from creating charts and diagrams of information from class.
  13. Make things tangible. Abstract concepts may be difficult for kinesthetic learners to understand as they are interested more in things that can be touched and dealt with physically. Think of ways to represent these abstract concepts as tangible objects to make them easier to understand.
  14. Copy notes. Rewriting the material in your notes can be a good way to help you remember it.
  15. Multitask. For some people multitasking simply doesn’t work, but more highly active kinesthetic learners may find it highly productive.
  16. Use interactive learning materials. Whether you create flash cards, pay games, quiz yourself on the computer or talk with friends, make sure the way you’re studying involves a certain amount of interactivity.
  17. Don’t sit still. Sitting still can be a hard thing for many kinesthetic learners. Allow yourself to move around as you study, do homework or work on projects. You’ll stay more interested, no matter how boring the material is.

Using Other Learning Methods

Improve your skills in other learning methods by trying these methods out.

  1. Talk things through. Work on your auditory learning skills by talking yourself through homework problems or to understand better understand notes and class materials.
  2. Try to keep still and focus. It’s not in the nature of kinesthetic learners to sit still for long periods of time but work on improving your ability to stay put can be advantage for times when you have to.
  3. Work at understanding things abstractly. You won’t always be able to create models or drawings of things you’re learning so work on trying to understand concepts without these aids when you can.
  4. Listen to audio materials. Listening to CDs and other audio recordings instead of reading can help you to improve your auditory understanding of things. If it helps you, you can walk around or use your hands to work on something else while listening to these recordings.
  5. Watch videos. Videos combine both auditory and visual learning, and can be a great way to improve your ability to learn either way.
]]> http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/07/10/the-art-of-learning-better-101-tips-to-find-and-fit-your-learning-style/feed/ 0 100+ Resources for Teaching Without Textbooks http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/26/100-resources-for-teaching-without-textbooks/ http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/26/100-resources-for-teaching-without-textbooks/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:41:42 +0000 admin http://www.teachingtips.com/?p=399 What would your classroom be like without your students cracking open their oversized textbooks everyday? Probably a lot more interesting, especially for the kiddies. There are so many other resources out there for teachers to use, online and off, that teaching without textbooks is becoming more and more acceptable. If you don’t believe us, scroll down this list of over 100 different resources — including websites, iPod lectures and field trips — that will encourage you to toss out your textbooks.

Understanding How Students Respond to Technology

Before you can toss out the textbook and replace it with technology tools, you’ll need to understand how your students — whatever their age — respond to and work with technology.

  1. Assessing What Students Learn in Technology-Based Learning Environments: Read this report to understand what students gain from technology tools in the classroom.
  2. GT Prof: Students Learn Better Via iPod Versus Lecture: This article from Campus Technology cites a Georgia Tech professor who believes that iPods are more effective teaching tools for some students.
  3. Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement: Chapters in this report include "Technology and Youth: Wired Schools and Wired Lives," and "Inclusion: Reaching All Students."
  4. Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students: From change in student and teacher roles to more collaboration with peers, this report argues for using technology in the classroom.
  5. Students’ Evolving Use of Technology: This article considers a study of how college students use and benefit from information technology systems.
  6. Kids Outsmart Web Filters: Sometimes, teachers are faced with students who know way more about technology than they do. Learn how to prepare yourself by reading this article.
  7. In Class, I Have to Power Down: This article questions "why are schools lagging so far behind" their students when it comes to using and understanding technology.
  8. Better Students Through Technology!: This guide helps teachers in their plan to implement technology-rich lesson plans and environments.
  9. College Students Score Higher in Classes That Incorporate Instructional Technology Than in Traditional Classes: ScienceDaily reports that technology in higher education classes is very beneficial to older students.
  10. Regular Computer Use for Work, But Not Play, Aids Student Test Performance: Find out how computer practice helps students perform on standardized tests.

Virtual World Tools and Communication

Teachers at some of the best online schools are ditching traditional textbooks in favor of virtual worlds and other innovative communication tools listed below.

  1. Class Home Page Builder: Creating a class home page and website is a great idea for a teacher of any age group. This tool will help you get started.
  2. Second Life: There is no limit to the kinds of educational opportunities you can set up for your students in this virtual world, including museums, simulated cities, stock markets, libraries and a lot more.
  3. Virtual Companion for Choosing a Virtual Communal Space for Your Course: Use this guide to introduce you to the world of virtual teaching and learning.
  4. Teen Second Life: This version of Second Life is exclusively reserved for teens, so all your environments, platforms and projects can come with teen-oriented avatars and other features.
  5. Whyville: This educational platform is designed for kids aged 10-16 and incorporates many scientific challenges and activities.
  6. The Sims Online: This extraordinarily popular virtual game is a great tool for social psychology classes, political science courses, economics, social studies and other subjects.
  7. ClassNotesOnline: This platform lets teachers communicate with parents or even students through a free website.
  8. activeCollab: College professors or high school teachers working with small groups on a project can use this project management and collaboration tool to assign and prioritize tasks, send e-mail alerts, manage time tracking, and communicate remotely.

Mobile Tools

Stay connected to your students and your lesson plans with these mobile tools.

  1. iPod: iPods are catching on as an effective teaching and learning tool, and professors are even making their lectures available on iTunes so students can download them.
  2. Twitterberry: Post to your Twitter account from your BlackBerry to send students updated homework assignments or class discussion questions.
  3. Google Maps Mobile: Perfect for field trips, this tool will keep you and your students on track.
  4. Viigo: View RSS feeds and get "one-click access" to news alerts, package tracking and other services with this mobile app.
  5. Facebook for BlackBerry: If you communicate with your students over Facebook, use this tool to reach them wherever you are.

Library and Reference

Reference books are often too heavy to trek back and forth to the classroom, so use these websites for easy-to-access dictionaries, word puzzles and more.

  1. Library Spot: This site has links to all kinds of reference sites like the Library of Congress and Britannica, as well as a Reading Room, where you can search for journals, literary criticism, newspapers, books, speeches and more.
  2. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition: This Bartleby.com reference has over 90,000 entries that include audio pronunciations, word-root appendixes, usage notes, world history notes and more.
  3. Rhyme Zone: Rhyme Zone is a fun tool for teaching synonyms, rhyming patterns and word definitions.
  4. ArtLex Art Dictionary: Use this reference tool to quickly search for "definitions for more than 3,600 terms used in discussing art / visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and cross-references."
  5. Google Scholar: Bring up academic journals and other scholarly material online by using this quick search tool.
  6. WebMath: This online math tutor has conversions, self-help questions and answers, and even explanations for problems in different math textbooks, from K-8 mathematics to calculus to polynomials to geometry.
  7. Fact Monster: Use this tool to help your students learn about different countries, the city you live in, geography projects, history lessons, science questions, word definitions and everything else.

Games

Access these educational games online, and let your kids have fun during their activity periods or lead one for the whole class as part of a lesson.

  1. Educational Insights: Browse the online store for creative classroom games like Classroom Jeopardy, grammar games, math games and more.
  2. Daily Dose – Brain Teasers: Start your class off with one of these online brain teasers and puzzles.
  3. Free ESL Games: ESL teachers can turn to this resource for word games, team quizzes and brain teasers.
  4. Funschool: sue this website during break time to play games like Lightning Librarian; Michael, Michael, Go Recycle; and Super Hyper Spider Typer.
  5. Earth Day Games: Teach yours kids about recycling and the environment with this collection of computer games.
  6. Buy It: You can get your entire class to play this no-frills money counting game at once, asking them to tell you how many dollars and cents make up the sale price of each item.

In Class Presentations and Ideas

From PowerPoint presentations to guest speakers, here are even more in-class ideas that don’t require textbooks.

  1. Presentations for Teachers: This site has over 3,000 presentation ideas for science teachers alone. Browse other categories like English/Language, Art/Music, Tech and Social Studies.
  2. Teaching With Technology: Lights Out!: This low-tech idea works best for small children. Find out how an overhead projector and a flashlight stimulate students’ learning abilities and interest.
  3. Pete’s PowerPoint Station: Check out these free PowerPoint presentations that you can use to teach lessons in science, math, social studies, language arts, social skills, reading, world culture, drama, or during the holidays.
  4. PowerPoint Tutorial: Oregon State University has published this online tutorial to teach instructors how to use PowerPoint.
  5. Write a collaborative story: This project works well as a grammar and spelling exercise for younger students and as a character development and plot structure lesson for older students in a fiction writing class. Have each student write a sentence or chapter before passing it along to a classmate.
  6. Cook a different food for each continent or country: As a class project, cook a different food that represents each continent or a different country as long as your social studies unit lasts or as long as the school year lasts. Search for recipes here.
  7. Invite a guest speaker: If you’re planning a lesson on healthcare, invite a local nurse to speak to your class. Ask a detective to give a presentation about crime or safety. Your students will learn way more from a real-life presentation than a boring chapter in a book.
  8. Smithsonian Images: Find beautiful photographs of space, American history, sea life, U.S. presidents, nature and fireworks to add to your presentations from this site.
  9. Put on a skit: Have your students put on a short skit and then go over the lesson it teaches or dissect its cultural and historical themes.

Web 2.0 Teaching

Catch up with your students’ Internet savvy and try out tools like diigo, Twitter and Ning. If you don’t have any idea what we’re talking about, you’d better read below.

  1. Twitter: Twitter is starting to make a name for itself in the higher education world, as professors can quickly reach their students and students can track down information for research papers and class discussions almost instantly.
  2. Top 5 Quiz Generators for Online Educators: All teachers can use these quiz generators to post practice tests and study guides on their class websites or let college students take tests online.
  3. diigo: Diigo is an excellent tool for teachers and students: you can highlight, annotate and bookmark websites and specific content, then organize your material in groups to share with classmates or start a study guide.
  4. Zoho Meeting: Distance educators and college instructors can reach their students at any time with Zoho Meeting’s Web conferencing capabilities.
  5. Edublogs: Teachers and students can create their own blogs on this site, which features support tutorials and allows podcasting, image uploading and videos.
  6. Ning: This clever site lest you "create your own social network for anything." You can open it up to your students, your school, or to teachers in your field around the world.
  7. Monkey on Your Back: Sending a forgetful student a "monkey on their back" is the newest way for teachers to get results and keep students prioritized. You can use a different monkey for each task and set up e-mails to a student (or fellow teacher) whenever he or she is about to miss a deadline.

Materials and Books Online

Sometimes you do need to access the text from a book, but you can use these websites to find whatever you’re looking for without searching for a hefty reference book.

  1. TeacherTube: This site connects you to the videos you want, without having to search through all the crap on YouTube.
  2. Google Books: Access summaries and even whole texts of classic literature, math books, physics books, philosophy books and more here.
  3. The Writer’s Block: Chat live with a librarian, find links to college writing centers online, find online references and more on this site for English and writing teachers.
  4. ClassZone: Select your school subject and your state to find online resources for your textbook. If you don’t feel like using the textbook, you can just use the test practice, and unit summaries online.
  5. Children’s Storybooks Online: While it’s certainly beneficial for a child to interact with a physical book, this online database of ebooks has plenty of free storybooks for several age groups that you may not find at your library.

Sites to Bookmark

Bookmark these great sites for finding innovative teaching ideas, accessing tools for your presentations and more.

  1. YouTube: There is a lot of crazy junk out there, so make sure you’re the only one searching for instructional videos before you let your students watch.
  2. Google Image Search: You can find gorgeous pictures on any subject by using this specialty search engine.
  3. Education Search Engines: If you only want to bring up information meant for teachers and students, use these search engines for academic materials and indexes.
  4. Podagogy: This blog is "where podcasting meets teaching and learning." You’ll get updates on how to podcast, cool iPod learning tools, and more.
  5. Web 2.0 Teaching Tools: This blog is designed to give higher education teachers insight into new Internet tools that help them connect with and keep up with their students.

Websites and Online Lesson Plans for Teachers

Visit these sites to access thousands of lesson plans on every subject.

  1. Education World: Lesson Plans: From maps to holiday ideas to printable work sheets to writing prompts, this website has all kinds of lesson plan ideas for teachers.
  2. Teaching History with Technology: This entire website is devoted to K-12 history and social studies teachers who want to access PowerPoint tips, lesson plans, teaching online ideas and more.
  3. Teachnology: Browse lesson plans by subject, like computing, holidays, language arts, mathematics, health, ESL, world languages, music education and a lot more.
  4. MyProjectPages.com: This site was designed by teachers to help other teachers "create structured online inquiry-based learning activities" for their students. You don’t have to know HTML coding or any other technical skills: this site does it all for you.
  5. Mindomo: Lead brainstorming activities in your classroom with this tool, or invite your students to set up their own mind mapping project to help them with papers and research.
  6. Notemesh: Help your students organize their notes by using this collaborative note taking tool online. Students and teachers can share their notes to create one mega study guide.
  7. Teachers.net: The lesson plans on this site have been submitted by actual teachers, and you can find ideas for pre-school, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school and higher ed.
  8. The Lesson Plans Page: Search over 3,500 lesson plans on this site, all of which are free to use.
  9. Hot Chalk: This online learning management system features news videos from NBC, a library of lesson plans, and student and parent access to grades, homework assignments and notes.
  10. A to Z Teacher Stuff: Find lesson plans, work sheets, word search maker tools, and science experiment ideas here.
  11. Notecentric: Notecentric is another online note taking site that lets you share notes with students and encourage collaboration.
  12. edHelper: Toss out your textbooks and access word and phonics games, coloring books, foreign language lessons, special ed activities, puzzle makers and daily skills review helpers.
  13. The Teacher’s Desk: Teachers of reading, spelling, English and writing will find exercises lesson plans here.

Classroom Essentials (Besides the Books)

Check this list to make sure your room is stocked with the newest teaching essentials.

  1. PBS Resources: PBS encourages teachers to sign up in order to access their digital media educational tools.
  2. CutePDF: Create your own PDFs for free with this secure tool.
  3. Plum: Get all the teachers in your department to use Plum, which features a DropBox for your friends to leave you notes and refer you to websites that will help you lesson planning. The Shoebox feature lets you safely store and organize photos, websites and other favorites to save for later use.
  4. Empressr: If you’re sick of PowerPoint, use this free tool to design "visual storytelling and presentations" online. You can also share your creations with other teachers or distance learners.
  5. Writeboard: Writeboard is an excellent tool for all teachers, but college or high school instructors working on projects with their students can use it to store all edit changes, manage project collaboration and share drafts with others.
  6. Assignment Calculator: Keep yourself and your students on task by using this assignment calculator, which also helps you find study resources by subject.

Planning Field Trips and Excursions

Get your students out of your stuffy classroom and into a museum, aquarium, park zoo or any other place that presents a learning opportunity.

  1. Field Trip Planner checklist: Print out this sheet for a mock up permission slip and a check list for planning and what to pack.
  2. Field Trip Ideas: This guide starts you off on brainstorming for field trip ideas, including a trip to the post office, picnics in the park, and adopting a tree.
  3. Elementary School Field Trips: Off-site Ideas and Resources: This guide links to typical field trip locations and gives more off beat ideas.
  4. Field Trip Ideas: From zoos to museums to special park events, this list has lots of great ideas.
  5. Why Take Field Trips?: If you’re not convinced that a field trip would be a good activity for your class, read this guide, which also gives tips for planning the entire day.
  6. Planning a Museum Field Trip: Get tips on taking students of all ages to a museum here.

Teaching Real-Life Lessons

To teach real-life lessons, you don’t need a textbook. Plant a garden, adopt a rainforest or even teach Internet safety tips.

  1. Plant a garden: Teach your kids about the environment, photosynthesis, ecosystems, and responsibility by growing a class garden.
  2. Invest in a stock project: Research, select and buy a stock as a class, and then analyze its progress over the school year.
  3. Figure out your classroom’s carbon footprint: For a lesson on conservation and protecting the environment, figure out your classroom’s carbon footprint.
  4. Adopt-A-Rainforest: This official group invites school groups and other philanthropists to raise money for a specific part of the rainforest. You can raise money by washing cars or writing an producing an environmentally-themed play, and then study the culture and ecosystems of the area you’ve adopted.
  5. Biography Project: Have your kids select a famous person to research, and then have them give a presentation to the class about that person.
  6. Research family tree: Let your kids tell you more about their family history by organizing a family tree research project.
  7. Adopt a City Block: Find out if your class or school can adopt a city block, and then volunteer to have various clean-up days throughout the year.
  8. Local social studies project: This project works for students of all ages: as a group or as individuals, your class can research your school neighborhood or different areas of your city to analyze demographics, culture, poverty, and other statistics.
  9. Online Safety and Logic: This article urges teachers to teach their students "critical thinking online" so they aren’t vulnerable to sexual harassment, e-mail scams or viruses.

Miscellaneous Guides and Resources

For even more guides and resources to help you teach without a textbook, read this list.

  1. 10 Ways to Take Charge of the Web: Learn how to set limits, avoid plagiarism, and understand search engines before you let your students go crazy with the Internet in class.
  2. SchoolNotes.com: Post your notes online so that students and parents can study any time…even if a forgetful child leaves his notebook at school.
  3. Wiki Becomes Textbook in Boston College Classroom: This Computer World article explains how one Boston College professor has started using wikis as a "primary teaching tool," in place of textbooks.
  4. School Says Goodbye to Books: Read about how this school went materials-free and relied on e-resources and conversation to teach.
  5. No Books, No Problem: Teaching Without a Text: This chemistry teacher maintains that "the less I use the book, the more they learn." Find out why by reading this article.
  6. OnCourse: OnCourse tools in this award-winning system include an online grade book, a discipline tracker and lesson planner.
]]> http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/26/100-resources-for-teaching-without-textbooks/feed/ 0 The Ultimate Guide to Special Needs Teaching: 100+ Resources and Links http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/25/the-ultimate-guide-to-special-needs-teaching-100-resources-and-links/ http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/25/the-ultimate-guide-to-special-needs-teaching-100-resources-and-links/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:44:09 +0000 admin http://www.teachingtips.com/?p=398 you need to work with your students and help them succeed.]]> Whether you have an entire class of students with special needs, or you’ve welcomed a student with a disability into your traditional classroom, this massive list of resources will help you research different disorders and conditions, review special lesson plans, and find the support you need to work with your students and help them succeed.

Blind Students

For instructing blind and visually impaired students, turn to this list of resources for teaching math, translating texts into braille and more.

  1. Teaching Math to Visually Impaired Students: Learn all about Nemeth Code and different strategies for teaching the visually impaired how to solve and decode math problems.
  2. National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped: Use this resource to find books in braille and audio books.
  3. Strategies for Teaching Students with Vision Impairments: This guide from West Virginia University helps teachers who aren’t used to teaching blind or visually impaired students understand what kinds of words to use and which tools and lab equipment to use in class.
  4. National Braille Press: Browse the bookstore, have your class join the Children’s Book Club and find textbooks and tests for your visually impaired students here. The NBP can translate study guides, music and worksheets into braille.
  5. Badger Accessibility Services: This resource from the University of Wisconsin-Madison lists places to find enlarged text books e-text to voice conversion teaching materials and audio materials.
  6. Adil’s World: This is the website of a blind Moroccan student who hopes to finish school despite his disability. Search his site for resources and inspiring stories.
  7. eSight Careers Network: Encourage high school or college students to visit this site, which is full of resources about disability employment issues and tips for organizing a job search and finding a job you want.
  8. The Hadley School for the Blind: Teachers who are new to instructing visually impaired students can take correspondence courses from The Hadley School in braille and more.
  9. Lesson Plans and Teaching Tips: The National Center for blind Youth in Science lists two lesson plans for teaching science and math to blind students.
  10. Visual Impairment Resources: Secondary education teachers will find a major list of instructional resources for their students here.

Deaf Students

Learn about the importance of deaf culture and discover intriguing lesson plans for deaf and hard of hearing students in this list.

  1. American Sign Language Browser: Learn to communicate with deaf students by using this sign language tool from the Michigan State University website.
  2. Educating Children Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing: TeacherVision’s article goes over the auditory-oral approach to teaching hard-of-hearing students.
  3. Literary Resources for Teaching Deaf Children: Find deaf school products, deaf literacy websites, and literacy articles here.
  4. How to Become a Teacher of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: This guide goes over why deaf education is such a specialized form of teaching and different places where teachers of deaf students can find employment.
  5. Strategies for Teaching Students with Hearing Impairments: Visit this site for an extensive list of tips and ideas for communicating effectively with your deaf or hard of hearing students.
  6. Methods for Teaching Deaf Children to Read: Read this list of basic methods for teaching your deaf students how to read in this article.
  7. Deaf Culture: Whether you are teaching young students or adults, understanding deaf culture ideals and attitudes is extremely important.
  8. DeafEd Teacher Preparation Programs: Get information on deaf education, applying to an undergraduate deaf and hard of hearing or communication disorders program and more on this website.
  9. Modern Deaf Communication, Inc.: Resources on this site include deaf jobseeker tips, information about the Hearing-Deaf Conference, using the writing communication method, using special technology and sign language.
  10. Ka’lalau’s Korner: This blogger is deaf, has deaf parents, deaf siblings, and many other deaf relatives. Read his strong opinions on ASL and deaf schools here.

ESL Students

ESL classes don’t always include students with disabilities, but teaching English as a second language presents many unique challenges for instructors, which is why we’ve included ESL students on this list.

  1. ESL Flow: Browse games, teacher tools, icebreakers, and other lesson plans for ESL students at the elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate levels.
  2. Teaching Children ESL: Access rhyming games and other lesson plans just for children in ESL classes here.
  3. School of Teaching ESL: Visit the TESOL website for information on becoming a certified ESL teacher.
  4. ESL Classroom Activities: Get lesson plans for writing American business letters and e-mails, using movies and music to learn English and role-playing exercises.
  5. Appropriate Classroom Materials: Consider the difference between using authentic dialogues and scripted dialogues by reading this article.
  6. ESL Lesson Plans and Resources: Find activities for adult education, using conversation questions in class and utilizing the CNN Newsroom ESL program.
  7. Breaking News English: ESL lesson plans are added nearly everyday on this site, based on breaking news stories.
  8. ESL Worksheet Generator: Choose to create a sorting worksheet, scrambled word worksheet or matching pairs worksheet for your ESL students by using this tool.
  9. 20 ESL Teaching Tips: From pronunciation to reading aloud to speaking with other students in English, these tips are a great help to ESL teachers.
  10. Lesson Plans: This collection of nearly 30 different resources links to websites for using flashcards, building your own lesson plans, conversation questions, online handouts, and speaking activities for ESL.

Autistic Students

Autistic students need highly structured learning environments in order to succeed. Learn how to design a classroom and curriculum that can accommodate those students here.

  1. TEACCH Autism Program: Use this resource to help you understand the effective methods for teaching autistic students and why they need a structured environment.
  2. Learning (Dis) Abilities: Autism: Access games, imitative therapy exercises and more helpful resources for autistic students here.
  3. Schools Strive to Meet Needs of Autistic Students: This NPR story chronicles how public schools are making drastic changes to accommodate autistic students and provide effective educational activities and environments for them.
  4. A Better, Much Better Way of Teaching Autistic Kids: The Autism Diva is also a psychology major in the University of California system, and her post outlines the ways in which autism ed. needs a makeover.
  5. Considerations for Social Interaction with Autistic Students: This article asks teachers to be sensitive to "local social interaction norms," establish reasonable social interaction expectations and prioritize social interaction skills when teaching autistic children.
  6. Teaching Strategies and Pastoral Care: This detailed guide goes over strategies for teaching and accommodating reading comprehension, concept development, and cognitive flexibility.
  7. Autism Research Institute: Stay on top of the latest research findings and therapies for autism at this official website.
  8. Teaching Autistic Children to Safely Cross the Road Using Virtual Reality: Medical News Today reports on a research study that used virtual reality technology to improve autistic students’ understanding of the real world.
  9. Imaginative Play Therapy for Autism: Here is another story about how technology can keep autistic students engaged in educational activities.
  10. The National Autistic Society – Lesson Guide: Teachers can find resources for brainstorming, group work and memory games and sensory games here.

Mentally Challenged Students

From downs syndrome to sex education for mentally retarded students, this list includes all kinds of resources for communicating with and stimulating mentally challenged children and adults.

  1. Community Involvement for the Handicapped: This lesson plan was submitted by a speech pathologist, who "uses photographs of foods from restaurant menus, grocery items, and other objects from the community environment of her severely mentally and/or physically handicapped students to help them learn to communicate their needs and behave appropriately in public places."
  2. Teaching the Life Skills: With some mentally challenged students, you may have to prioritize your lessons based on teaching the life skills, like identifying prescription drug labels, warning signs and traffic signs, using a phonebook and understanding how and when to use toasters, microwaves, TVs, radios and stoves.
  3. Sex Education for Physically, Emotionally and Mentally Challenged Youth: Learn the myths and realities of sex and sex education for those with different disabilities at this website.
  4. Useful Methods for Teaching Mentally Retarded Students: Discover new methods for academic training, applied behavior analysis and different educational or treatment settings here.
  5. Teaching Mentally Retarded Adults to Time-Manage in a Vocational Setting: If you’re teaching high school or adult students, you will want to instruct them on ways to manage themselves in the workplace.
  6. Teaching Down’s Syndrome Students: This guide includes links and tips for understanding important issues like self-esteem, intellectual abilities and behavior management.
  7. Social Policy and Mental Retardation: Learn how the United States has started to accept mentally retarded individuals through legislation, education programs and treatment centers.
  8. Child Mental Health: This website has advice and tips for helping children with all types of mental diseases and disorders, including anorexia, trauma, brain injury, ADD, and more.
  9. Toys for Special Needs Children: Use this directory to search for toys, technology and learning devices for your special needs student or child.
  10. Handling Your Child’s Mental Health Issues: Learn ways to help mentally disabled children relax and boos their self esteem here.

Physically Challenged Students

College professors and K-12 instructors will find information about accommodating wheelchairs and limited mobility students in this list, as well as correct behavior when hosting a student with epilepsy.

  1. Teaching Students with Mobility Impairments: These very basic tips help instructors understand how to accommodate students in wheelchairs and those with other mobility limitations.
  2. General Info. About Cerebral Palsy: If you are teaching a student with cerebral palsy, learn more about his or her condition here so that you can make the right kinds of accommodations.
  3. Strategies for Teaching Students With Epilepsy: Learn what appropriate action to take if your student has a seizure in class.
  4. Teaching Students with Physical Disabilities: From paralyzed students to students with sickle cell disease or muscular dystrophy, this guide will help you become more aware of your classroom environment and testing techniques.
  5. Teaching Students with Hand-Function Limitations: These students will need to find new ways to take notes, make themselves visible in class and complete assignments. Learn how to work with them here.
  6. Tips for Working with Students with Severe Handicaps: Writer Sue Watson outlines different physical handicaps and how to accommodate each one in the classroom.
  7. Disability Access: Are We Getting There?: This article considers the progress of schools to accommodate students with disabilities since the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
  8. Tips for Working with Students in Wheelchairs: Learn appropriate behavior when teaching, disciplining, and praising students in wheelchairs.
  9. Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and Guidelines: Make sure your classroom is comfortable and accessible for students with mobility limitations or physical disabilities.

General Materials and Resources for Special Needs Students

These resources and links provide information and tips for teaching all kinds of special needs students. Get connected to lesson plan ideas, art projects and official websites.

  1. BookShare: This library offers free memberships for K-12, higher education and adult education classes or students with "print disabilities."
  2. Art for All: This art project lesson plan was submitted by a teacher with special needs students, ranging from children with muscular dystrophy to spina bifida.
  3. Gentle Teaching: Learn the Gentle Teaching technique of learning with children and adults with special needs, including teaching the student to feel safe, feel engaged, and to feel unconditionally loved.
  4. Will Photographs Increase Time on Task in Adaptive Physical Education?: Take pictures of your students as they try to complete certain tasks. Once they have progressed, show them the pictures from when they first started to take on the project, and they’ll be able to see how far they’ve come.
  5. Knowing Survival Skills: Teaching your special needs students safety rules is exceedingly important. Use this lesson plan for creative ideas.
  6. Special Education: This page includes lesson plans for different life skills, including color recognition, understanding respect and appropriate behavior, thinking skills and more.
  7. Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Tools for Teaching Site, sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley lists several strategies for working with students who have learning, "hidden," or physical disabilities.
  8. Council for Exceptional Children: This website is "the voice and vision of special education," so you’ll find lots of resources about helping your special ed students succeed, as well as support and advice for you.
  9. National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs: This official website has information on conferences, special webinars and articles that discuss different adult education programs and learning disabilities.
  10. The Classroom: Special Education Department: Here you’ll find valuable resources connecting you to various teaching strategies and tips and understanding students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and more.

Inviting Special Needs Students Into a Traditional Classroom

Teachers who need to strike a balance between teaching non-disabled students and students with a disability or special need will find help in this list.

  1. Preventing Accidental Injury – Special Needs: From monitoring children with ADHD to understanding fire and toy safety guidelines for special needs students, this resource will help you keep order in the classroom.
  2. PD*Poll: Students Vote Autistic 5-Year Old Out of Class: In May of 2008, a 5-year old autistic student was ousted from his classroom when his teacher let the other kids "banish" him after vocally abusing him and calling him "annoying" and "disgusting."
  3. Services In School for Children With Special Needs: What Parents Need to Know: This is also an excellent resource for teachers who need to know the laws and evaluation methods that affect and serve children with disabilities in traditional school settings.
  4. Including Students With Disabilities in General Education Classrooms: Get great tips for accommodating disabled students physically, socially and academically.
  5. Teaching for Inclusion: Diversity in the College Classroom: Chapter 13 in this guide for the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill addresses students with special physical or medical needs.
  6. CanTeach: Access numerous resources and links designed to help teachers learn more about students with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, eating disorders, ADD and more.
  7. Inclusion of Students with Special Needs: Teaching and Learning: Find links to resources for effective classroom instruction and more on this page.
  8. Integrating Children With Disabilities into Preschool: Read this article to learn how to administer appropriate programs, lessons and structure in preschool.
  9. Group Activities to Include Students with Special Needs: This book documents different strategies for helping your special needs students develop "social interactive skills."
  10. Examining How the Inclusion of Disabled Students into the General Classroom May Affect Non-Disabled Students: Consider how your traditional students will respond to disabled students in this report.

Technology and Special Needs Students

Discover the ways that technology can help your special needs students develop and learn more effectively.

  1. Barrier Free Education: Math and science teachers learn how to integrate computers and lab equipment into their classrooms to help special needs students learn.
  2. Freedom Scientific: Visit this site for information on learning systems technology and products for the blind or visually impaired.
  3. Accessible Web Page Design: Resources: This page explains that "websites…can be designed to meet the needs of all people, including those with disabilities." Consider building a website that gives your special needs students the ability to interact with their lessons.
  4. Assistive Technology: Discover how different software programs and other technology can aid your special needs students as they learn.
  5. The Accessible Classroom: This CD is designed to "help educators to plan and deliver instruction through assistive and instructional technologies and universal design for learning strategies."
  6. Assistive Technology and Inclusion: This report claims that disabled students who can participate in class with appropriate technology tools will feel more included.
  7. The Alliance for Technology Access: The ATA is a network that is devoted to making assistive technology more available to children and adults with disabilities.
  8. Closing the Gap: Read articles and learn about new assistive technology products and systems for disabled children and adults here.
  9. Assistive Technology for Children who have Cerebral Palsy: Augmentation Communication Devices: If you teach a student with cerebral palsy, read this report to educate yourself on the different technologies available that will help you communicate with that child.
  10. Special Needs and Technology: Teacher Tap lists several links for finding more information about web accessibility issues, assistive technology resources for teachers, and more.

Terminally Ill Students

Learn ways to accommodate and communicate with students who have cancer, AIDS and other terminal illnesses here.

  1. Teaching Students with Chronic Illness or Pain: This list has tips for college instructors who may need to make accommodations for students when organizing field trips, giving exams, or setting policies for make-up work.
  2. Cystic Fibrosis at School: This excellent guide for teachers gives an overview of CF while providing tips for accommodating extra coughing, medications, weight issues and privacy.
  3. Teaching STudents with Other Disabilities: From AIDS to cancer to seizures, this guide has resources and tips for teaching students with other special needs.
  4. Teaching Learners with Special Needs: Check this blog for an unending list of resources for helping students with various special needs, including terminal illness, succeed at school.
  5. Educational Needs of the Terminally Ill Student: Access this article to learn about school reentry strategies and evaluation for terminally ill students.
  6. Scholarships Available for Children of the Terminally Ill: Encourage your student to apply for one of these scholarships, which would help make college possible even for a family burdened by major hospital bills.
  7. Elementary Students Show Support for Their Terminally Ill Classmate: Get your entire class involved if your terminally ill student has to return to the hospital and miss work and friends.

Teacher Support

Teachers of special needs students also need support, so turn to this list when you need help dealing with stress and understanding things from your students’ perspectives.

  1. Our Kids: This website is devoted to the parents and caregivers of special needs children. Find teaching resources and support services here.
  2. Coping With Stress in the Special Education Classroom: Learn how to set realistic expectations and distinguish your personal life from your classroom duties when teaching special ed.
  3. Being at Ease with Handicapped Children: This article helps teachers understand when and how to give special treatment, assistance, and discipline.
  4. National Toll-Free Numbers: Consider calling one of these national hotlines or support numbers if you need help understanding your students’ disability. Numbers listed are for organizations like the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Cancer Information and Counseling Line and others.
  5. Pro Teacher! Special Education: Visit this forum to post messages, ask for support or read inspiring stories from other special education teachers.
  6. Internet Special Education Resources: Learn about ADHD assessment, assistive technology, nonprofit groups, and special needs travel here.
]]> http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/25/the-ultimate-guide-to-special-needs-teaching-100-resources-and-links/feed/ 0 100 Best Resources and Guides for ESL Teachers http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/24/100-best-resources-and-guides-for-esl-teachers/ http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/24/100-best-resources-and-guides-for-esl-teachers/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:43:46 +0000 admin http://www.teachingtips.com/?p=397 Teaching ESL requires a lot of creativity. Students can range from tiny tots to adults, and their skill level can be very experienced or at the basic level. With all these variables, teaching ESL can be challenging, so this list offers 100 of the best resources and guides to help you be the best teacher you can be. Whether you are teaching ESL in a public school in Peoria or a classroom in Kyoto, you will find tons of useful information in the list below.

Lesson Plans and Handouts

Every teacher has sat down to write up a lesson plan and been struck with the teacher’s version of writer’s block. These lesson plans and handouts will help ensure you always have something fun for your class to do.

  1. Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities. Sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, this resource lists links to several ideas that ESL teachers can incorporate in their class.
  2. everythingESL Lesson Plans. Get 40 lesson plans with ESL content. Topics range from holidays to weather to personal essays.
  3. About.com English Lesson Plans for ESL EFL Classes. Find over 500 lesson plans with this incredible resource. You won’t lack for ideas with this tool.
  4. ESL Lesson Plans. These plans are actually more just beefed-up activities rather than entire plans, but with the ideas and hand-out provided, you should have no problem filling in the rest.
  5. eslflow.com. This site offers several categories, which when clicked, open up teaching techniques, suggested activities, and more for each topic.
  6. ESL Worksheets. Download these worksheets that are starred for appropriate skill level.
  7. Talking Point Worksheets. Use these worksheets as a start for discussion. Each worksheet also comes with teaching suggestions.
  8. ESL Teacher Lesson Plans & Worksheets. Broken down by beginner, intermediate, advanced, and all, over 130 lesson plans and handouts are available here.
  9. EFL/ESL Lessons and Lesson Plans. This lengthy list of topics provides links to great lesson plans that indicate appropriate levels, props needed, and provide worksheets if necessary.
  10. esl-galaxy.com. From word searches to movie worksheets to business English, you can find free worksheets and teaching materials here.
  11. ESL Cottage Lesson Plan Room. Scroll through the multiple links to lesson plans, create your own lesson plan with an online tool, or post your own lesson plans at this site.

Teaching Tips

One of the wonderful aspects about teaching is that you are also always learning. These tips offer opportunities for you to learn a bit more in order to better teach your students.

  1. Liz Regan’s 20 Teaching Tips. Click on these tips for an in-depth explanation of how to accomplish each one.
  2. Teaching Tips. Find 54 different tips that range from preschool teaching to communicating with gestures.
  3. 75 ESL Teaching Ideas. This list of ideas offers plenty of creative ways to get your lesson off the ground.
  4. Hands-on English. This article is a list of 40 hints and tips meant to enhance your teaching experience and all are submitted by real teachers.
  5. Discipline in the Classroom. This Q & A format touches on several discipline issues within the classroom and offers tips on how to maintain order while still having fun in the classroom.
  6. Teaching Vocabulary in Context. Learn some helpful tips on how to teach vocabulary in a fun and interactive way with this article.
  7. What is the best way to learn English? Strategy for learning English, Part 1: Listening. Learn about how listening helps learning English, and get tips on ways to facilitate learning through listening.
  8. Teaching Tips. These 12 tips are geared toward teaching children and offer suggestions such as teaching the shy child and motivating students.
  9. Ways to repeat/drill. Find several suggestions for drilling students to ensure that they don’t get bored and they get the most out of repeating vocabulary.
  10. Teaching Spelling Strategies to ESL Students. Learn how to make spelling easier for your students with these five tips.

Specifically for Teachers

All of these resources below offer information, activities, job openings, support, ideas, and more to enhance your teaching.

  1. ESL Cafe. From news and job openings to resources in the classroom, this website offers lots of information for ESL teachers.
  2. ESL Teachers Board. Find lessons, printables, stories, and more on this site. You can also look for a job or post a resume for employment in America or internationally.
  3. Karin’s ESL Partyland. Both teachers and students can get tons of help from this great site. Teachers can find lesson plans, downloadables, a job board, and links. Students have access to quizzes, discussion forums, and interactive lessons.
  4. ESLGold. This site offers lesson plans, handouts, and more for the teacher as well as lots of activities for the student–and they are all organized by skill level.
  5. Wikigogy. This wiki is designed specifically for ESL and EFL teachers. Find useful information on teaching English in these pages.
  6. Lanternfish. Find lesson plans, activities, worksheets, songs, and much more on this ESL site.
  7. Sites for Teachers. This website offers hundreds of links to educational websites. Each site is ranked by popularity.
  8. esl-lounge. Get lesson plans, games, quizzes, embarrassing teacher stories and more at this resource for ESL teachers.
  9. EnglishBanana.com. Find downloadable books, games, drama activities, a picture dictionary, and other fun features on this site.
  10. ESL Mania. "Bright ideas for teaching ESL" are available here. Find idioms, grammar, accent reduction, and classroom materials among other items.

Activities

From songs to idioms to vocabulary words, all of these activities offer help and fun for your students. You can share some of these resources directly for your students to use or you can take ideas and incorporate them into your lessons.

  1. About.com English as 2nd Language. This blog is updated regularly with various ESL tips and tools such as pronunciation guides and helpful phrases.
  2. Readings for ESL students. This site offers a list of stories for ESL students. Each story is followed by a short quiz to test reading comprehension that offers immediate feedback.
  3. TEFLGames.com. Both teachers and students can access this site for tons of fun games and quizzes. Included are lots of downloadables as well as links to other game resources.
  4. Songs for Teaching. This list offers song lyrics as well as downloadable versions of the songs that feature teaching vocabulary.
  5. Musical English Lessons International. The songs on this site are organized by categories such as grammar rules, adjectives, nouns, and spelling. It is based out of the U.K., so American teachers may want to use it with the differences in grammar and spelling in mind.
  6. English Daily. This site provides links to activities for ESL learners such as conversation, idioms, grammar, slang, and even has movie lines and a joke of the day.
  7. Professor Meloni’s Study Hall. This fun site allows the student to select specific topics such as vocabulary, U.S. culture, or listening and provides links to many sites offering activities on that specific topic.
  8. English Learner Website. Find news stories, idioms, jokes, and recipes at this site. You can also sign up for a free newsletter.
  9. Learning Vocabulary Fun. Students can play lots of interactive games on this site to learn and strengthen their vocabulary.
  10. Real English. Watch videos of real people speaking English all around the world. These videos are free, but for more services such as live chat and lesson material, you will need a paid subscription.
  11. A.Word.A.Day. Learn a new vocabulary word every day. This site even provides an audio file so you can hear the pronunciation.
  12. English Grammar. Click through this list of basic English grammar terms to learn about the specific parts of the English language. Visit the "misteakz" page to learn what not to do.
  13. Englishjet. Find links to the top English newspapers, dictionaries, e-books, examinations and more at this site.
  14. Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom. This comprehensive list offers a wealth of topics to springboard classroom conversation. Browse by category or supply your own ideas.

Specifically for Teaching Children

The high energy and short attention spans of children require a distinct method of teaching. All of these resources understand the unique needs of teaching ESL to children.

  1. ESL KidStuff. This site, available for ESL teachers and parents offers "over 1,500 flashcard images, hundreds of worksheets, crafts, games, jobs and lots more," and it’s all geared to teaching children.
  2. Teach ESL to Kids. Written by an ESL teacher in Japan who teaches 2 year-olds, this site offers lesson plans, activities, games, tips, and more.
  3. TeachChildrenESL.com. Get free worksheets, flashcards, games, songs, and posters on this site.
  4. Six Group Activities for Teaching ESL Children. Use these fun activities to incorporate in your ESL classroom.
  5. Teaching ESL to Children. This article offers seven tips for teaching children. Be sure to check out the links to additional resources at the bottom of the article.
  6. ESL Kids Lab. This site is chock full of great resources for the ESL teacher who works with children.
  7. ESL-Kids.com. One of the top 100 kids sites on the Internet, this site offers plenty of information and activities for teaching ESL to children.
  8. Children’s Writing in ESL. This article explains why it’s important not to overlook writing in ESL and offers tips on how to incorporate writing in your lessons.
  9. One World, One Song, Many Dreams. This blog offers lots of resources for teaching ESL to children.
  10. Teaching ESL Students in the Mainstreamed Classroom. For those of you teaching a combination of ESL and native speakers, this article will be especially helpful.

Specifically for Teaching Adults

Adults coming into ESL classes may know only a few words of English or be able to carry on a conversation–and they may be in the same class. Whatever your challenges with teaching adults, you are sure to find some help with these resources.

  1. CAELA. For ESL teachers who instruct adults, this site offers resources ranging from fact sheets to bibliographies to activities for students.
  2. Adult Education ESL Teacher’s Guide. Get lots of information here for teaching adults. Lessons are broken down between beginning and intermediate.
  3. Teaching ESL to Adults. This blog is mostly geared to the freelancer who works with adults, but offers lots of good information for anyone teaching ESL to adults.
  4. Teaching ESL to Adults. Find links and resources for teaching ESL to adult learners.
  5. ESL Lesson Plans for Adult Classes. Find games, crossword puzzles, power point presentations and more on this site.
  6. Top 5 Teaching Adults English Material. These books may cost a little money, but they are well worth the investment to have some extra teaching resources.
  7. Teaching Low-Level Adult ESL Learners. This article offers a basic overview for how to approach teaching adults who are starting at the beginning.
  8. Teaching Adult ESL Learners. Whether you are an experienced ESL teacher or just starting out, this article provides some helpful information on teaching adults.
  9. Mark’s ESL Cottage ESL for Adults. Click through the links for resources helpful for those teaching ESL to adults and for students alike.
  10. Breaking News English. This website provides lessons based on current news events. This is a great tool to incorporate with your adult lessons.

Videos and Podcasts

Bringing videos and podcasts into the classroom can really change the way you teach. Use these tools for a new way to lead a lesson.

  1. ESLvideo.com. Use these free videos and the accompanying lesson plans to bring a new tool into your classroom.
  2. ESL Podcast. Browse through the many podcasts available here. Once you find a podcast, be sure to get the learning guide that accompanies each podcast for a complete transcript, comprehension questions, and tips for improving English.
  3. Teaching Bingo. Watch as this teacher plays bingo with very young Japanese students. You might pick up some tips while watching.
  4. ESL Podcast–First Day of School. This podcast presents a typical first day of high school in an interview style.
  5. Better @ English. These podcasts touch on topics such as the importance of proper spelling and real conversations in English. All the transcripts are available on the website.

Newsletters and Blogs

You may not always have the time to search the Internet for the latest news and new tips for teaching ESL. Subscribe to these newsletters and blogs to get the latest information delivered right to your computer.

  1. ConnectEng. This newsletter comes once or twice a month with information for the ESL teacher.
  2. ESL News. Sign up for this monthly newsletter and get a free Bingo game to use in your classroom.
  3. ESL Progress. Get talking points, lesson plans, and more every month with this newsletter that is designed for both the teacher and the students.
  4. TEFL Inspire. Site of the month, ESL jobs, and book reviews are just some of the information you’ll get with this monthly subscription.
  5. ESL Globe. This newsletter doesn’t appear to have a subscription option, but it is worth bookmarking and checking back each six months for updates. Each issue offers teaching tips, news, and more that you won’t want to miss.
  6. An ELT Notebook. Take advantage of the experience of this thirty-year teacher who offers tips and ideas to enhance your teaching, no matter your experience level.
  7. English 360. This blog provides links to articles in order to promote "community language learning." Both teachers and students can benefit from these more cerebral blog posts.
  8. Grammar Guy. Enjoy this fun approach to grammar as the Grammar Guy looks at the strange and interesting nuances of the English language.
  9. EFL Geek 3.0. This high tech, yet very informative blog offers tips, links, and more to help any teacher–EFL or ESL.

High Tech Teaching

Teaching is more than just chalk and photocopies today. Find out how these high tech tools can help you.

  1. VoiceThread. Offering a great way for students to hear native speakers, this high-tech teaching tool is a great resource for teachers.
  2. Electronic Field Trips. Take your students on a field trip without ever leaving the classroom. Take the suggestions and tips provided or use them as a spark to your creativity so that you can create your own field trips.
  3. Interactive Whiteboards. Learn how interactive whiteboards can add some spice to your classroom and grab your students’ attention in this article.
  4. Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom. This article discusses the benefits of using a digital camera to enhance lessons and even offers some lesson plans.
  5. PoducateMe. This guide instructs you on how to incorporate podcasts in your classroom and provides suggestions for equipment and lessons with podcasts.
  6. Digital Video in Education. Find the benefits, uses, project planning and more for using a digital video camera in the classroom.
  7. GPS Activities and Lesson Plans. Using GPS and geocaching can really enhance the learning experience. Find ways to use GPS and get lesson plans as well.
  8. Videoconferencing for Learning. This handy resource provides the hows and whys of videoconferencing and also offers lots of ideas and examples for specific lessons.
  9. USB Flash Drives. Learn how using flash drives can open up accessibility to computer technology for students in this article.
  10. 5 Creative Ways to Use a Scanner in the Classroom. Imagine having your students bring their family history and heritage into the classroom and incorporating it in your lesson. Using a scanner open up lots of possibilities. Find five ways to use a scanner with your class.

For ESL Teachers Abroad

Whether you are thinking of taking your ESL teaching abroad or if you are already there, the following information is for you.

  1. International vs. Private Language Schools. This article offers an overview of these two options and explains why you may have a preference for one over the other.
  2. TESOL Courses. This company provides courses to obtain your TESOL certification–a common certification accepted with many employers for ESL/EFL teachers.
  3. ESL Jobs. This blog provides postings for ESL jobs all around the world. Choose to browse the site or sign up for "Job Alerts" to be emailed to you directly.
  4. Teach Abroad. Use this search for finding international ESL job postings. Just select a country from the drop-down menu and you will receive listings specific for that country.
  5. AAC. Focusing on Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China, this site offers information on teaching in each country, as well as job postings and links to visa information.
  6. Teaching Abroad. Read these helpful resources offered by the U.S. Department of State on teaching English in a foreign country.
  7. English Now the Foreign Language of Schools Abroad. This article offers an informative look at why teaching English in foreign countries is so popular right now and is a must-read for anyone interested in teaching abroad.
  8. Overseas Digest. This site offers lots of information for anyone thinking about teaching abroad. From how to land a job to ways teachers can earn extra money, if you want to know something about teaching overseas, you can probably find it here.
  9. Teaching English Abroad. Find articles, job search engines, advice, and forums that all focus on teaching English overseas.
  10. This Guy is Teaching Abroad. This blog updates with all the latest TEFL news. Written by an experienced teacher and journalist, this blog will keep you in the know.
  11. Teaching Abroad: Facts and Figures. This post offers interesting statistics on teaching abroad. It also offers teaching tips and red flags for choosing a school.
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