Author: tokyokevin

This Word List Generator was developed for elementary school teachers using a government grant. It is a free way to create, using the basic 2000 words in English, words that have the same spelling structures.

My students rarely ask me how to spell things, and that is not natural. Mostly because they haven’t developed listening to be able to decode someone spelling out a word. Mostly that is because they haven’t studied common spelling features aurally, only in written form. I use these lists for spelling practice first semester of the first year.

The Pinky Show disguised as something cute, but discusses some serious issues. This one, for example, explores what it is to teach and what it is to learn. Ivan Illich, famous in the 1970’s for his unusual ideas about society in general, wrote a book called Deschooling Society. This is the source of ideas for this short video. A great way to start a discussion on learning and teaching.

An educational initiative brings us thousands of audio books, many with their text and sometimes even with exercises or activities. Definitely worth a look. Shorter pieces available like Kintaro.

TimeToast is a simple way to make a timeline, and share it with others on the web. Great for making a presentation or assigning homework for a story or essay about time order. Here is a sample.

When you can get a video camera that is this easy to use, and has High Definition images, it is impossible to pass up. I bought my Flip Mino HD for about $200 (sadly I’ve only seen it for sale in the US), but is now available for about $150. Very simple one-button operation (turn on/turn off). Once you are finished taking the video, a USB plug pops out of the top and you can load it on to your computer for editing or display. I usually put it up on the web (one-button add) because now YouTube supports HD video, the new standard.

Great for immediate feedback in a class.