VOCABULARY RESOURCES

The following sites can help students (or anyone) improve their vocabulary in different subject areas.

  

You have probably used dictionary.com, but have you tried their Word Dynamo (link above the search box)? Use this tool to test your knowledge of words at different grade levels. I use thesaurus.com a great deal when writing as well. Can create a free account. Has apps.

Flashcard Stash – Scroll down to the Popular Lists and Categories to select an area to study. Or click on “View all” in the in Popular Lists to find an exact category. Once the topic has been chosen, there are a number of game formats to try. Can create a free account.

Knoword – Challenge your word knowledge by guessing words based on their definition. Can create a free account.

VocabAhead – Students can use the Study Room to learn and practice vocabulary in a number of formats. Teachers click on the Teacher tab for directions on how to create customized lists. Can create a free account. Has apps.

MyVocabulary.com – Resources for both students and teachers including word lists, puzzles, lesson plans and more.

More of a visual learner? Try out Lexipedia or Visuwords to see words represented in a graphic organizer format. 

Now an update on the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2013:

And the winner is…

A Few Tech (and not so technical Terms

A Few Tech (and some not so technical) Terms*

Audio book – a book that has been recorded so that it can be listened to on a device

BYOD – bring your own device, as in mobile device

Crowdsourcing – soliciting services, ideas, etc. from a large group (often online)

Dead tree version – printed on paper

eBook – a book in an electronic format that can be read on a device

Emoji – digital version of the smiley face

Emoticon – smiley face made using a keyboard :-)

Hashtag – when using a social networking site such as Twitter or Instagram, inserting a hashtag (#) before a word or group of words “tags” the term and makes it searchable on the site

Hot spot – an area with a good wireless signal

Huge pipes – large bandwidth, i.e. can handle a large amount of network traffic

Instagram – photo / video sharing social networking site

Phablet – a large smart phone or smart phone / tablet hybrid

Photobomb – when “someone” messes with your photo, like this squirrel…

Selfie – photo that you take of yourself

Here are a few more terms that were added to the Oxford Dictionary this year

Cake pops – cake on a stick!

Dad dancing… does this need an explanation?

Fomo – fear of missing out

Omnishambles (UK word of the year for 2012) – “a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations”

Digital detox – unplugging from technology

Tl;dr – too long; didn’t read

Now before you start thinking tl;dr about this post, here is some brief information on terms that are helpful for educators to know:

24 Ed-Tech Terms You Should Know

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2012/12/24-ed-tech-terms-you-should-know

And

17 Tech Terms Connected Educators Must Know

http://www.edudemic.com/17-tech-terms-connected-educators-must-know/

*Source:

28 August 2013: Oxford Dictionaries Online quarterly update: new words added to oxforddictionaries.com today

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/august-2013-update/