In my job of covering news about the education of English-language learners, my first preference is to get out into classrooms and observe students and teachers. My second preference is to attend a conference featuring educators and researchers who are talking about what's new in the field. That's how I get ideas on what classrooms I should visit.
My last preference, I decided today, is to try to figure out what happened at a conference about ELLs by browsing the Power Point slides of the presenters. But if you'd like to give it a try, check out the presentations from "Academic Language and Content: A Focus on English Language Learners in Middle School," put on Oct. 1 and 2 by the Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners, or CREATE.
The conference had a great line-up of speakers—and some of them produced some dazzling graphics on their slide shows (is that even the right word with Power Point?) Wish I could have been there. But I wasn't.
The Web site promises that transcripts of the presentations will eventually be posted. But I don't think I'll sign back on for them. Reading about a conference rather than participating in it has its limitations.
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