10.+Books+&+readings+of+interest

toc We'll periodically add titles that we think you'll enjoy, that we think will challenge and enrich your understanding of your language and your practice as a teacher. Please feel free to post appropriate titles as well. Be sure to "sign" your post by typing the ~ key three times

**--Tech Tricks for Presentations**
__//Download videos from YouTube and other sites//__ :: [|All-In-One Video Bookmarklet] user:chrisfritz Cross-platform. Download any video from YouTube and a bunch of other sites with only three clicks and without downloading any extra program or plug-in. Follow the link for instructions or ask me (Chris) if you have any questions

__//Play any video or audio file//__ :: [|VLC Media Player] user:chrisfritz Cross-platform. Commonly referred to as the swiss army knife of media players, VLC can handle anything - even the FLV files you'll often get from downloading YouTube videos.

//__Save a webpage as a PDF file__// user:chrisfritz Mac OS X / Linux. If your operating system has a Print-to-PDF feature (like Mac OS X and many distributions of Linux), then you can print from your browser and select the PDF printer. The website will then be saved as a PDF file on your computer, so you can bring up the site during your presentation whether the internet is working or not. *Note* - this basically takes a picture of the webpage, so it will not preserve links or embeddable objects.

//__Save complete webpages to your computer (including links) in...__// user:chrisfritz
 * [|Internet Explorer 7]
 * [|Firefox]
 * [|Safari]

This should preserve links but the problem remains that some embeddable objects (such as YouTube videos) will still be inaccessible unless you have internet access. It's also important to note that this technique doesn't always work perfectly for all webpages, so it'd be good to good to go offline, clear your browser cache and try to open the saved webpage to see if everything's really going to work.

//__Get Office 2007 Ultimate for $59.95 (91% off!) if you have a .edu email address__// :: [|Student Discount from Microsoft] user:chrisfritz Windows XP / Vista. Personally, I find the latest version of PowerPoint to be a godsend when making presentations and with this deal, you get EVERYTHING in the Microsoft Office suite. Unfortunately, I don't think this deal is available for the Office 2008, which is the Mac version :-( . Also, if you don't have that kind of cash lying around, there's always the free, multi-platform, but less full-featured [|OpenOffice suite].

**--Websites from the Technology Conference**
[|Google Docs] - Great for collecting form information and collaborating on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. user:chrisfritz

[|Wikispaces] - I'm think most of you have probably heard of this one. :-p user:chrisfritz

[|Make Beliefs Comix] - Allows you and students to create your own comic strips. user:chrisfritz

[|Bombay TV] - Allows you to put subtitles on clips from Bollywood movies. Hilarious. user:chrisfritz

[|Edublogs] - A blogging site designed specifically for educators. user:chrisfritz

[|Voki] - Have your voice speak along with a customizable avatar. user:chrisfritz

[|Animoto for Education] - Easily make slideshows and MTV-style music videos that can be shared online. user:chrisfritz

[|Blabberize] - Upload a picture of a head and the mouth will move along with audio you upload. user:chrisfritz

[|Voicethread] - A secure K-12 network for students and teachers to collaborate and share ideas with classrooms anywhere in the world. user:chrisfritz

[|Read, Write, Think] - Tons of online resources for any kind of teaching. user:chrisfritz

__//I don't think the sites below are as relevant for modern language teachers, but I'll include them anyway.//__

[|Interactive Mathematics] user:chrisfritz

[|TerraClues] user:chrisfritz

**--Current events and short readings**
[|Tense Rivalries Threaten a Melting-Pot District (NYT, 9/24/08)] user:jbale

[|Fast Food Hits Mediterranean: A Diet Succombs (NYT, 9/24/08)] user:jbale

[|French Muslims Moving to Catholic Schools (NYT, 9/30/08)] user:jbale

**--Books of interest**
[|The Story of French] user:jbale

[|The Line Between Us: Teaching about the Border and Mexican Immigration] user:jbale

[|The Foreign Language Educator in Society] user:jbale

[|Learning and Not Learning English] user:jbale

[|Spelling Trouble: Language, Ideology and the Reform of German Othography] user:jbale

[|The Modern Language Journal] user:jbale

[|Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring] user:jbale

[|Do You Speak American (book)] user:jbale

[|Do You Speak American (website] user:jbale

[|At War with Diversity: US Language Policy in an Age of Anxiety] user:jbale

[|Lasting Change in Foreign Language Education] user:jbale

[|The American Bilingual Tradition] user:jbale

[|Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging] user:jbale

[|Teaching with Your Mouth Shut] user:jbale

[|The First Days of School] user:litwins5 (Very beneficial to me the first few days of my internship!)

[|The Ultimate Spanish Review & Practice] user:litwins5 (I use this almost everyday in my internship!) Also comes in [|French]