Infonews n°346 from 15/11/2008
Pixelator
Innovative Advertisements
Van Gogh and the Colors of Night
Victory of Obama Song
Transition News
Other sites about the Transition
South Park Cartoon
Brave New Obamian World
The American Scholar? Examining Anti-intellectualism in America
Those addresses will be active next week
In Infonews and elsewhere
Songs and Lyrics
Who am I?
Audio resources for the youngest
Pack the 3Rs while on holiday travel
TFK Homework Helper
Insight Plus Podcasts
Poetry
Bio-ed Online
Mac World How to
On eteachNet, Claude Covo-Farchi invited us to
discover this futuristic edition of the New York
Times dated July 4th 2009. You can see it online
on a site provided by The Yes Men, a New
York-based group that some call pranksters and
others culture jammers. The main title is : "Iraq
War Ends" and he newspaper was printed and
distributed for free...and many people believed
the hoax! See for yourself, it does look like a real New York Times edition!
http://www.nytimes-se.com/
You can also download the pdf version and find
more info about the hoax in this article:
http://shenews.projo.com/2008/11/fake-ny-times-o.html
Here is the reaction of the NYT on their blog, in
an article entitled : "Liberal Pranksters hand
out Times Spoof" : "In an elaborate hoax,
pranksters distributed thousands of free copies
of a spoof edition of The New York Times on
Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around
the city, including Grand Central Terminal,
Washington and Union Squares, the 14th and 23rd
Street stations along Eighth Avenue, and Pacific
Street in Brooklyn, among others. " Read more in the article:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/pranksters-spoof-the-times/
"The Associated Press reported that copies of the
spoof paper were also handed out in Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and
Washington, and that the pranksters who
included a film promoter, three unnamed Times
employees and Steven Lambert, an art professor
financed the paper with small online
contributions and created the paper to urge
President-elect Barack Obama to keep his campaign
promises." In this article in the Washington
post: you can learn everything about how it was made possible:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111202062.html
Pixelator
As we were exchanging about Buy Nothing Day, my
American Tandem partner Nicole Dunham found this
site which is art work from culture jammers. Here
is what you can read on the site: "Pixelator
turns those ugly, blinding video billboard ads
into art". "Pixelator is an unauthorized on-going
video art performance collaboration with the New
York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, Clear
Channel Communication, and its selected artists.
Since 2003, the MTA has made available for
exhibition purposes 80 LED screens located at
subway entrances across New York City.
Unfortunately, the high cost of exhibiting (an
estimated $274,000 per month per screen) prevents
most artists from having access to these
facilities. While the MTA's effort to create more
opportunities for video art exhibition in public
spaces is to be commended, selected works remain
wholly fixated on commercial goods and media
conglomerate events, a short-sighted curatorial
choice that regrettably ignores the full
potential of these promising exhibition spaces.
In an attempt to broaden the scope of MTA's video
art series, Pixelator takes video pieces
currently on display and diffuses them into a
pleasant array of 45 blinking, color-changing
squares. Since the project is an anonymous
collaboration, the resulting video is almost
entirely unplanned and unanticipated, with the
original artists helping to create new works of
art without any knowledge of their participation. "
http://jasoneppink.com/pixelator/#prior_art
and the site explain with diagrams how to build
your own Pixelator: a nice handicraft for your
students, if you can find the material require :
white foamboard and Heavy Frost diffusion gel...
Innovative Advertisements
On e-teach, Mathilde Serhan recommends this page
of innovative advertisements. I especially liked
the steaming cup of coffee, the people moving
away because of body odor and the "wet floor"
sign in front of the hamburger ad! ;)
http://www.hemmy.net/2006/10/15/creative-advertisements-around-the-world/
Van Gogh and the Colors of Night
"Companion to a 2008/2009 exhibit exploring
painter Vincent Van Gogh's "nocturnal interiors
and landscapes, which often combine with other
longstanding themes of his art -- peasant life,
sowers, wheatfields, and the encroachment of
modernity on the rural scene." View "paintings,
drawings, and letters from all periods of his
career, as well as examples of the rich literary
sources that influenced his work." Also includes
audio commentary. From the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA)." (from the Librarians' Internet Index)
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/27040
[ for students in Arts level B1+ minimum.]
Victory of Obama Song
On eTeachNet, Florinda Fernandes has found a new
song by Will-I-Am about the victory, with
references to Harriet Tubman, MLK, Lincoln,
Kennedy and Malcolm X. You can use it now or save
it for February which is Black History Month...
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=s7y4IDeKjqk
Transition News
On [et], Isabelle De Lattre recommends the new
site created by the President-elect team for the
transition until the inauguration.
http://www.change.gov/
You can hear the weekly speech through which
Obama intends to keep his promise of
transparency. This week, you can hear his comment
on the economic crisis, see the video and read
the transcript. Here is what's on the site : "
For the first time, the weekly Democratic address
has been released as a web video. It will also
continue to air on the radio. President-elect
Obama plans to to publish these weekly updates
through the Transition and then from the White
House. Today's address from the President-elect
concerns the current economic crisis."
http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/your_weekly_address_from_the_president_elect/
Other sites about the Transition
In the newsletter from November 13th, The
Librarians' Internet Index features several
addresses to learn everything about the
transition and the future government (See the "government" section and here:
http://lii.org/pub/subtopic/6471
You can also find two sites of front pages for
the 5th of November in the "media" section, and
info about the history makers and Ann Nixon
Cooper (the 106 lady mentionned by Obama in his
victory speech) in the "people" section.
http://liiwww.ischool.drexel.edu/cs/lii/print/news/171
South Park Cartoon
On e-teach, Marielle Bianchi recommends this
cartoon of the South Parks watching Obama's
victory speech in an episode called: "We'll name him Sparkles"
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/209726/
This cartoon seems simple, and contains mainly
extracts from the victory speech in Chicago, but
what does the choice of this name "Sparkles" for
the new puppy mean? It refers to Stephen Bubb,
the British CEO of the ASEVO (Association of
Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) who
wrote in his blog : ""Good to see there will be a
puppy in the White House. I stand ready to give
advice on the correct choice . My puppy is now
snoozing in front of the fire as I blog from the
library. And good also that Obama began his
career as a community activist . So I guess that
must be the first third sector person in the
White House? Acevo has sent congratulations and
best wishes to the newly elected President ."
http://bloggerbubb.blogspot.com/2008/11/barack-and-hope-for-uk.html
and Stephen Bubb's new dog who is called Sparkles.
http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=2374&pg=15&cat=58
Here is the page of his blog about his new puppy:
http://bloggerbubb.blogspot.com/2008/07/sparkles-arrives-and-hazel-reminisces.html
and here is a definition of "third sector"
http://www.anztsr.org.au/third1.htm
Brave New Obamian World
In the same vein as the NYT Spoof edition,
Marielle Bianchi recommends this video that she
received from a friend. No script, but fun and
interesting for students level B2....and teachers!
http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/play/1506
The American Scholar? Examining Anti-intellectualism in America
The NY Times features a lesson plan based on the
article "Obama and the War on Brains" with as a
final task the writing of an answer to the
newspaper discussing the content of the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20081114friday.html
As usual, those articles are difficult and full
of references, but the content is indeed very
interesting, opposing figures of non
intellectuals like Sarah Palin or G W Bush to
Obama. And the page of the lesson plan is full of
links to explore. For students level B2, with a
good knowledge of the American culture.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20081114friday.html
Those addresses will be active next week
In Café Pédagogique n°97 which will be published
next week, you can find a special report about
the election of Obama, with more resources than
in Infonews n°345, and lots of addresses about
Thanksgiving (Thursday November 27th), Black
Friday and the reaction to this day of
consumerism : Buy Nothing Day (Friday November 28th).
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/97_Sommaire.aspx
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/2008/97_anglais_ElectiondebarackObama.aspx
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/2008/97_anglais_Thanksgiving2008.aspx
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/2007/87_anglais_BuyNothingDay.aspx
In Infonews and elsewhere
And while you wait for the Café or to find
something in English, you can go to Infonews
n°315 (not updated yet, but very few addresses are in error)
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/315.htm#thanks
also some interesting links in Infonews n°198 (I'll update them next week)
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/198.htm
Some more about Black Friday, and discover Cyber-Monday (December 1st)
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/317.htm#cal
Read also this article : "Cyber-Monday is a joke"
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/11/26/is-cyber-monday-a-joke.aspx
Difference between Black Friday and Black (Cyber) Monday
http://www.makeup.com/blog/best-black-monday-deals-cyber-monday-sales-for-2008/2008/
Songs and Lyrics
Have a look at the page of songs on Cécile
Clavel's site Teacher4U. You'll find a Hello song
and "if you're happy clap your hands" , "Rudolf,
the red nose reindeer" and Molly malone with audio and lyrics.
http://lewebpedagogique.com/cclavel/songs/
Who am I?
On e-teach, Kei Prosper McGregor recommends this
page created by Darren Rigby and Florence Roura.
You can download a deck of cards presenting
people, and there is another deck that you can
personalise with the information you like, for
example to make a Cluedo game. This can be used
in primary school and in special needs classes
(SEGPA). Very useful to encourage your students to talk and interact!
http://pedagogie.ac-montpellier.fr/disciplines/anglais/segpa/ressources.html
Audio resources for the youngest
On e-teach, Sylvie Brod recommends this page of
children's books read by natives on the site of
resources for primary school created by our
colleagues from académie de Clermont
http://www.ac-clermont.fr/ia63/langues/languesress7.htm
Pack the 3Rs while on holiday travel
The Librarians' Internet Index newsletter from
Nov 13th recommends this site about recycling and environment.
http://liiwww.ischool.drexel.edu/cs/lii/view/item/26999
Here is what you can read on the page: "While
you’re traveling for the holidays, don’t leave
your waste reduction and recycling habits at
home. With almost one-quarter of all travel
occurring during the holiday season, we have a
huge opportunity to recycle and reduce waste
without sacrificing our comfort or convenience. "
http://www.epa.gov/osw/inforesources/news/2007news/12-pack.htm
TFK Homework Helper
On e-teach, Kimberly Oger suggests the "writing
Help" section of Time For Kids Homework Helper.
You find suggestions to write a book report, with
also a check list to encourage students to check
their report before handing it out.
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/writeideas/articles/0,28372,634427,00.html
On this page, look at the menu on the left : you
find tips and helps for "writing biography, oral
report, business letters", etc. Level A2 to B1+.
The tips and documents suggested to write a
research paper are exactly what is expected from
the students for the TPE in première.
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/writeideas/articles/0,28372,606651,00.html
Insight Plus Podcasts
Talk about English is another feature from BBC
Learning English : "Insight Plus is your guide to
the language and key issues in the news". You can
receive each week a podcast or go to the site to
listen online or download the mp3 file and the
transcript. See for example this programme about
GM food (part 17) : "GM, or genetically modified,
food is so hotly debated that it's hard to
imagine a time when GM crops weren't
controversial. Find out how the attitudes to GM
food have changed over time - and why." (quotation from the site)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/index.shtml
Poetry
Yet another feature of BBC Learning English is "6
minute English". It is also a podcast and you can
download the mp3 file and the transcript. This
week : "But this week, we'll hear an interview
with Dave Neita who happily shares his poetry
with the world! ". There are also links to sites
about the poets. Level B2, for students interested in literature and poetry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/144_6minute/
Those interested in Old English poetry will also
enjoy this site recommended by The Scout Report:
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2008/scout-081114-re.php#5
Bio-ed Online
The Scout report recommends this site containing
: "resources including slide sets and streaming
video presentations designed for classroom use"
on topics such as sleep and teenagers or "the
effects of radiation and maintaining muscle mass in space".
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2008/scout-081114-re.php#6
Resources level B1+, useful especially for biology TPE or DNL .
Mac World How to
The Scout Report recommends this site where you
can find tips to make the best of you Mac and
your iPod and other accessories. For mac addicts... ;)
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2008/scout-081114-geninterest.php#4
15 ways to boost your teaching confidence
On eTeachNet, Annie Gwynn recommends this site to
help us feel more efficient during those cold and wet winter days...
http://edition.tefl.net/articles/boost-teaching-confidence-2/#more-348
[ It is based on traditional coaching methods
which have proved their efficiency...so it's worth trying. Think positive! ]
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