Vocab Ahead: Learning ACT and SAT vocab by video. Vocab Ahead also gives teachers the ability to create custom playlists of vocabulary videos. The playlists can be shared via email, a posted link on a blog, or by posting a vocabulary video widget on a blog or website.

Bubba Brain: Review games with AP and SAT vocabulary.

Flashcard Flash: A search engine that searches twenty-two different flashcard services including Flashcard DB, Quizlet, and Study Stack.

Using publishers ABC, NBC, Fox, AP, and AFP, mapeas maps the most representative video news around the world. View the map and click on the circles to see the video news. The larger the circle, the more recent the news video. Good for current events.

http://www.braineos.com/

Thanks to Bob Perkins on our EHHP faculty, here are some safety measures for young people engaged in social networks, particularly Facebook.

If you have not checked out the blogs and news stories on Common Sense lately, here is a good piece on the continual change of privacy settings on Facebook and at least two important concerns with youth and their settings:

What Parents Need to Know
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/facebook?utm_source=newsletter10.07.10&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feature1 <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/facebook?utm_source=newsletter10.07.10&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feature1>

This review of Facebook was written by Carla Thornton <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/user/carla-thornton>

Parents need to know that teens must be diligent about setting their privacy controls on Facebook. When Facebook unveils a new feature, users must pay attention to their privacy and account settings to make sure they understand what information they are releasing to others or keeping private. The privacy settings can be confusing. There are settings in applications and other places that also need to be selected. The new applications dashboard allows users to view and change what information applications access, and to remove applications. With Groups, users’ friends can add
them without asking first (users can remove themselves after they’ve been added, but cannot prevent themselves from being added). Anyone who is friends of their friends could be added to a group (in other words, possibly strangers), and wouldhave access to anything anyone—including your kid—has posted in the group. Places is a location-based service that lets kids tell others where they are and find out who else is there. This function is easy to use and teens will want to use it, but we recommend teens do not use location-based services <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/managing-location-sharing-apps-keep-teens-safe>  because of safety and privacy concerns as well as the potential to be targeted by advertisers. Parents need to set ground rules about what is and isn’t appropriate to share before letting kids have an account. They also need to go over the privacy settings one by one with teens — not just once, but regularly.

It is almost mid-semester and a great time to take advantage of a tried and true method of gaining feedback from our students about our teaching.

The purposes of a mid-semester student evaluation are three-fold:

1. To gain important insights about our teaching from the perspective of our students
2. To facilitate student understanding of evaluation criteria related to our particular course
3. To encourage students to take evaluations seriously

Steps in the process:

1. Make enough copies of an end-of-course evaluation form (or create your own with the same questions) for distribution to your class just prior to midterm.
2. Collaborate with a trusted colleague. Have your colleague administer this evaluation to your students; you administer those of your colleague.
3. Prior to administration, explain to students that you value their perspective on the effectiveness of the class and request that students respond thoughtfully. Ask students for constructive feedback that provides both positives and suggestions for improvement. Be sure that students understand that their individual responses will be anonymous and will have no impact on course grading.
4. Take time during the next class or one soon after evaluation to discuss the results with your students. What is going well? What are suggestions for improvement? How will these be addressed?

The evaluation and follow-up class discussion are opportunities

1. to reflect on your teaching and grow as an educator
2. to discuss meaningful adaptations with the class
3. to clarify/explain purposes behind methods/materials/activities that are essential to the class and should remain unchanged
4. to recognize and address the needs of the various learner types in the class
5. to promote a “community of learners” climate in your classroom