dragons and such

If you're teaching Beowulf or other middle English and medieval works, you'll appreciate the online Medieval Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages.

A Bestiary is by definition a compendium of all the animals, but of course, we're most drawn to the fantastical. The online source has translated passages from a variety of Bestiaries. Here's what the Harley manuscript in the British Library has to say about the dragon:

The dragon is the greatest of all serpents, or of all living things upon the earth. The Greeks call it "Dracon," whence the Latin name is derived, so that it is called Draco. And this creature often stealing forth from its caverns mounts into the air, and the air is violently set in motion and glows around it. It is also crested and has a small mouth and narrow passages through which it draws its breath and thrusts out its tongue. Moreover its strength lies not in its teeth but in its tail, and it injures by a blow rather than by a bite. It is harmless as to poisons, but they say poisons are not needful to this creature for dealing death, because if it has caught any one in its coils, it kills him.

There are links to ancient manuscripts presented in PDF files, such at this 13th century Arundel Middle English Bestiary, which begins with the description of a lion's behavior when he gets a whiff of humans about:

Ðe leun stant on hille, .
and he man hunten here,
Oðer ðurg his nese smel,
Smake ðat he negge, 4
Bi wile weie so he wile
To dele niðer wenden,
Alle hise fet steppes
After him he filleð,

The Lion stands on a hill
If he hears a man hunting
or scents him approaching,
in fleeing he erases his track
on the ground with his tail.

But it's not all Old English and musty manuscripts. The site has its own blog; that's right, Chimaera, the Bestiary Blog. It's become one of my favorite subscriptions because of enlightening articles such as "Why Kill the Unicorn?"
Why, indeed? I can't think of a single reason why, but it does explain why there are so few around anymore.

a page of grammar

Daily Writing Tips offers one page of grammar, which just might be the perfect amount to give to your students in any class that assigns writing. As you'll see, the one page is comprehensive, yet not overwhelming. Here's an example:
The language is simple and clear for easy comprehension, and there are examples, though they are limited. Assign your students to come up with more.

Divide students into groups to present the different sections, maybe one section per week. Put together a quiz through Google forms after each presentation to make certain they understand the grammar terms and uses.

Place the link on your website for a quick reference throughout the school year.

diablogging: open discomfort

Are you concerned about someone stealing your syllabus or other class materials off the internet? This is not something I'd given much thought to until I read "When a Syllabus Is Not Your Own," a blog on the Chronicle of Higher Education site. Author Jennifer Sinor recounts her discomfort at discovering her syllabus, slightly redacted, put to use for another professor at a different institution. It had been lifted off the internet and customized by the new user.

I understand Sinor's unease, but I always assume anything I put on the internet is available for others to use. The whole point is that we are sharing information. Nevertheless, I can see how some teachers might want to preserve the authorial integrity of their work. Academhack provides an excellent suggestion:

What about syllabus stealing you ask? Here’s your solution: publish all your syllabi on the web, give them a creative commons license. Now another faculty can use as he/she sees fit, but only if they give you credit . . . problem solved.

Obtain a creative commons license for your syllabus, or your entire website, if you like. You may choose how your work is used, and the level of attribution:

• Attribution. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
• Noncommercial. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for noncommercial purposes only.
• No Derivative Works. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
• Share Alike. You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

Licensing your work through creative commons couldn't be easier. Simply embed the license of your choice on your website.

Now, we can all get back to sharing.

Google summarizes form responses

There are lots of benefits to using Google forms to collect information from students, but the primary reason for me is that I can see at a glance how they're doing: how much do they understand? What don't they understand? What needs to be gone over again?

The old-school alternative is collecting dozens of separate pieces of paper and reviewing and grading each quiz. I end up with an idea of what they know or still need help with, but without careful, time-consuming perusal of the responses plus taking notes, it's difficult to tackle each student's individual needs.

Input to Google forms provides me with a chart with each student's responses listed down columns, making it very easy to address any misunderstandings. This is simply better instruction.

Now, Google improves how we visualize the input to forms with a summary showing total responses received, a bar chart for multiple choice responses, and other useful break-outs. You can customize the visual output and publish it with a link from your website, so all your students can see how they measured up to the rest of the class.

Classy stuff!

Related posts:
getting to forms from docs menu
assessing understanding
call forms anything you like, just call them
poetry out loud
FORMing rubrics

to the 4th dimension

If you teach geometry, science, or geography, Dimensions, a series of nine short videos discusses the first through fourth dimensions. The videos are visually amazing, each one 'presented' by a theorist, with beautiful explanatory graphics.

The videos take a holistic approach, as each theorist in history expands the scientific knowledge of the time. Mathematical concepts are developed through exploration of physical geography in a way that makes each more accessible.

You may download the entire series of nine episodes, each 13 minutes long, or view them online. Chapters 1-8 grow increasingly difficult in concepts and mathematics. Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9 are all appropriate for middle and high schoolers, while the others are geared towards more advanced secondary school courses or university level. See the teaching guide for more information.

Below is a trailer for the Dimensions series. Since it is taught in several languages including English, the trailer shows graphics with a musical background. The series chapters, however, are delivered in well-spoken English.

sports reads for teens

While the Olympics have got your students all fired up, there's no better time to list some book titles geared towards their age and interests.

Here are a few recommendations from Suite 101-Teen Fiction:

1. Summerland - Michael Chabon. Both baseball and fantasy, one terrible baseball player is recruited by a 100-year old who wants him to play to help fairies beat an ancient enemy.
2. The Outside Shot - Walter Dean Myers. This book follows a boy from Harlem who was recruited by a small midwestern school to play basketball, but also helps out handicapped kids.
3. Head Above Water - S.L. Rottman. Skye has a lot on her plate in this book, as she is trying to compete in competitive swim, care for her Downs Syndrome brother and enjoy her relationship with her first boyfriend.

Read the whole list here, and post the link on your class website so students will have a handy reference. Maybe you can get your school librarian to display these books for a time.

Related posts:
diablogging: reading tools
reading room
teen literary trends
must reads

Google moves from creator to sites

Earlier this year I recommended Google Page Creator as the easiest way to set up a web presence other than a blog. It was a great place to post instructions and links, or to have students attach their writing.

Google has moved on, however, to their feature-rich website builder, Google Sites, and has announced the decision to discontinue Page Creator. If you use Page Creator, not to worry; Google will automatically transfer your Page to a Site. Check out my @edu Google Site to get an idea of what you can do there.

Here are some instructions from Google Operating System for exporting files from Page Creator to transfer to Sites.

While I appreciated Page Creator for its ease of use in creating an attractive site, I'm thrilled with Google Sites. For my classroom, I call it home.

Related posts:
In my sites: Google sites
what's in your portfolio?