I keep getting the same question: how do you make time to read all these blogs? Well, here is the secret I don’t read all of them all the time. Thanks to great apps like Feedbin however, I can check in on these blogs  when I have a free moment: in the TSA line at the airport, the car-pick up line at my daughter’s school, the sixty minutes of peace and quiet when everyone else sleeping in on Sunday morning. Once again, I found a couple of interesting posts that I thought were worth sharing:

  • Proficiency Descriptors Not Numbers – Students React To The Change

    For the past couple of week’s I’ve shared Japanese teacher’s Colleen Hayes posts on formative assessment. While it’s great to follow along with her and read and I couldn’t have been more excited when she brought her students’ voices out this week. As educators we like sometimes forget that every action we take makes the learners in our classes feel something. Reading these student responses to giving up numeric grades is just priceless and should remind all of us of the real purpose of assessment in a world language classroom: performance & feedback. Read Colleen’s post –>

  • Are We Designing Extrovert-Focused World Language Classrooms?

    Good blog posts make you think. Great blog posts make you think for multiple days. High school French teacher Amy Conrad’s, title of course caught my attention. I don’t have a reaction to it yet, because I’m still thinking. It’s worth a read as Amy reminds us to make considerations for all kinds of learners. Her post also reminded of a similar conundrum about teachers and I wonder if there is another post in her about introvert and extrovert teacher needs. Read Amy’s post –>

  • Why I bristle when I hear the term “legacy”

    It was the week of provocative blog post titles. And if great blog posts make you think, the best kind of blog posts make you react. High school french teacher Stacy Finelli’s post did just that. I don’t agree with everything you wrote (that’s the beauty of blogging), but her emotional response to some of the labeling of teachers resonated with me and you can read reaction to her post in the comment section. It’s an important reminder, that every teacher is on their own journey. Instead of labeling, we should figure out a way to help each other. Read Stacy’s post –>

  • Quick tech to start your year: One-Click Timer

    Uberbloger, Sara-Elizabeth started a nice series of quick technology tips on her Musicuentos blog and this week’s timer extension is a good one. Go read it now. Download it. I did and can’t wait to use it. It will be fantastic for when you give students five minutes to complete a task. Instead of giving them five, students ignoring the task for three and you extending it by two, which turns out to be really five more minutes for a total of ten minutes, …. This tool will keep you and your students on task (or at least on time). Read Sara-Elizabeth’ post –>

 

Published by Thomas Sauer

Thomas Sauer is the Director of Design and Communication for AdvanceLearning and an independent consultant. He previously held positions as world language specialist in the Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools for almost ten years and taught German at the University of Kentucky, Georgetown College and Kentucky Educational Television. He has directed a variety of state and federal grants, most recently as program director and consultant for several successful STARTALK programs. Thomas has served as President of the Kentucky World Language Association as well as on the Board of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages and the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Named the 2011 Pearson/NADSFL Supervisor of the Year and a 2010 Global Visionary by the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, Thomas is passionate about helping educators making the shift from teaching to learning.