VerbaLearn

One more flashcard system, but this one is specifically designed for learning vocabulary. Choose from pre-set vocabulary lists for intermediate ESL, advanced ESL, grades from 7 through 12, or SAT or GRE words.

Directions Map

Ace way to practice giving and following directions--using Google Maps and Street View.

Braineos

Seems as though everyone is putting up flashcard sites on the Web now. OK--here's another one. Nothing special so far, but it includes one pleasant little game.

Make an iPod.iPhone-iPad app for your course

Hit them where they live. Create your own class iPhone app.

Compendium of Printable Worksheets

... on all aspects of English learning. Busyteacher.org

A Language Teacher's Cheat Book

As language teachers, we ought to, and rarely do, research the first languages of those we teach. By doing so, we can learn what items in English they are most likely to struggle with--it will be those aspects of their mother tongue that most differ.

This site, 101 languages, gives you a quick run down of the sounds and grammar of 101 different languages. Just a page or two might do.

Grammar Roulette

Another ripping contribution from the always industrious folks at Hong Kong Polytechnic's Virtual Language Centre: two games of grammar roulette. Nice for breaking ice, or for filling in an unplanned half hour once a hard lesson' s done.

The "Education Bubble": A Graph

When shown graphically, it sure looks unsustainable. Especially in a recession.

Comic Master

Create your own graphic novel online.

The Shadow Knows

A professional ghostwriter of academic essays spills the beans about his work:

I, who have no name, no opinions, and no style, have written so many papers at this point, including legal briefs, military-strategy assessments, poems, lab reports, and, yes, even papers on academic integrity, that it's hard to determine which course of study is most infested with cheating. But I'd say education is the worst. I've written papers for students in elementary-education programs, special-education majors, and ESL-training courses. I've written lesson plans for aspiring high-school teachers, and I've synthesized reports from notes that customers have taken during classroom observations. I've written essays for those studying to become school administrators, and I've completed theses for those on course to become principals. In the enormous conspiracy that is student cheating, the frontline intelligence community is infiltrated by double agents. (Future educators of America, I know who you are.)

Pretty depressing reading. Unless you're a professional writer.

What Teachers Make

Sorry to say this, but it actually sounds to me as though this guy is boasting about how good he is at bullying children. It's all about telling kids what to do, and nothing about telling kids something new. That is to say, nothing about actually teaching. And then, of course, if the student is bored--that's the student's fault.

The most chilling thing is that he gets a lot of applause at the end.

Complete Listing of All TED Talks

Some human benefactor has listed all TED talks in a Google spreadsheet for easy reference.

Lingro

Here's a cool tool: open any other website from Lingro's website, and it will automatically either translate or give a definition for any word you click, and will also save it as part of a word list for you.

ESL Video

Great for listening exercises: grab a video from the web, post it here, and make a comprehension quiz to go with it. More or less awesome.

The Troubles of Dictionary Jacques

A good source of illustrations of vocabulary for the classroom, if limited in selection. This was once a popular newspaper comic strip. Jacques keeps running into trouble because his understanding of the word is too literal.

The Idiom Dictionary

A place to look up that English idiom -- or to find an idiom using a vocabulary item you are teaching.

The Gettysburg Address Animated

Nice use of multimedia to make something memorable.

Country School Memories

The Melfort, Saskatchewan, local museum hosts an online exhibition of what it was like a couple of generations ago to go to school on the Canadian prairies.

A Virtual Schoolhouse

From Library and Archives Canada, a view of what school was like in Canada a hundred years ago.