Social Justice/ Social Studies
Civics — Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in US democracy.
DoSomething.org — With a new call-to-action every week, DoSomething.org encourages teens to band together and work for positive social change.
Collaborize Classroom — A free online collaborative platform designed to complement classroom instruction with additional activities, assignments and discussions that can be accessed online
(compliments of @techadvocate)
- Stepping Stones 2.0: Comprehensive Mathematics– from ORIGO Education integrates print and digital resources to give teachers flexibility in how they teach K-6 math. SS 2.0 is loaded with additional practice, effective strategies, visual models, and teacher supports. Slatecast lets the teacher broadcast a resource onto the class whiteboard to emphasize or reteach a concept. Kathy Beach, a teacher in North Thurston Public Schools, says about State cast, “What a great way to practice facts and have everyone on the computer.”
- Geometry Pad– This virtual graph paper allows students to draw shapes, charts, and other geometric features. Students can change the properties of shapes, zoom in, save their work and add written notes on the side. Geometry Pad is a great application that can be used with students of any age and across mathematical disciplines.
- Pattern Shapes– Understanding the properties of shapes, fractions and creating precise figures is easy with Pattern Shapes. Students can use the virtual protractor to measure angles, change the dimensions and color of forms and annotate answers. It is ideal for elementary and middle school students, and the bright colored shapes can inspire creative design.
- Globaloria– Learning math through games is a great educational tool. Globaloria allows students to create games that test STEM subjects. With a gallery full of games, students can explore creations that were made by their peers. This application aims to promote STEM subjects on a global level through games and social networking.
- MathsPlayground– This collection of math-based games is perfect for younger students. Aligned with Common Core standards the games are separated by grade and topic. Students will enjoy learning while playing interesting games. The games test timetables, fractions, and other mathematical concepts. Combining education with easy to play games is what makes MathsPlayground ideal for young students.
- FluidMath– FluidMath is the first “pen-centric “platform that works on iPads and interactive whiteboards. Students and teachers can write, in their own handwriting, as they solve problems and engage with difficult concepts. FluidMath has won many awards, and its many features make it a great tool for both teachers and students in any math classroom.
- GetTheMath– The aim of this tool is to relate algebra to the real world. Through topics like “Math in Music” and “Math in Fashion,” students can learn how math is an integral part of everyday life. There are videos, exercises and other ways that students can engage with algebra in its real world setting. GetTheMath is an excellent way to combine theory with application.
- Dragon Box– This learner-based approach to math claims that 83% of children learn the basics of algebra in an hour. Through interactive games and explanations, students as young as five are introduced to algebra and how variables work. Students have no idea they are engaging with academic content, and the graphics are colorful and cute.
- Academy of Math– Aimed at children struggling with math in school, Academy of Math is a comprehensive tool that helps students get results. Videos and ongoing assessments tools put students in the driver’s seat of their own education. There are various topics to choose from, and educators can implement the resources on this platform into their teaching.
- Studygeek– Mathematical vocabulary is fundamental to understanding math. Study Geek is a great learning tool that has an alphabetical glossary of thousands of math vocabulary words. There is also a selection of informative videos that cover everything from geometry to algebra. The games aim is to test math vocabulary retention, and students will enjoy playing a game and learning at the same time.
(compliments of @elearningindustry)
- Todoist. Research is a time-intensive activity, which means you will need a tool to organize both your professional and personal life. We advise you to give Todoist a shot. Todoist enables you to manage all of your projects and access them from any platform you own, including your desktop computer, laptop, or portable devices. You can share your tasks and collaborate with other people. Another clever feature is “karma” points, which are given to users if they are successful in assigning tasks to projects.
- EndNote. EndNote is a multi-functional research tool which helps you search for information in online databases and full texts based on abstracts, as well as manage and auto-complete all of your references. Like Todoist, EndNote also enables you to share your research data with your collaborators. If you prefer to work alone, you can do that too by saving, managing and tagging your research results for better access. Other features include bibliography maker that is capable of creating citations in over 6,000 styles, as well as automatic journal suggestion.
- EduGeeksClub. Every once in a while, you are going to come across an insurmountable obstacle while doing your research. Instead of giving up, you can turn to EduGeeksClub for professional research help. Get in touch with professional writers and researchers and learn all the ins and outs of thorough research. Also, you can commission a paper from them which you can then use as a resource for your essay, paper, or dissertation. They also provide editing and proofreading services.
- Zotero. Another essential tool all online learners should make use of is Zotero. Zotero integrates itself seamlessly into your browser and uses its clever ability to automatically recognize content for you. After that, all it takes for you to save it to your personal, fully searchable library, which is another feature in Zotero, in a single click. It supports audio and video files, PDF documents, as well as most image formats.
- RefWorks. RefWorks is a browser-based tool which has the ability to help learners find the right research data, organize it, store it, and easily share it with their colleagues and collaborators. All of that research information and written work needs to be supported by proper citations, and RefWorks generates those for you automatically, as well as bibliographies in every style. If you are not sure how to make use of its full potential, there are plenty of tutorials on how to do it, right there on the website.
- DataElixir. One of the best ways to keep up to date with all the latest news, developments and data in science is to find a website which curates all of those on a weekly basis. We recommend Data Elixir. Whether you’re an eLearner, a scientist, or a researcher, you benefit a lot for its weekly collection of all the best data resources and news, and you don’t even have to put in any effort whatsoever. You just have to subscribe to their free weekly newsletter and that’s it.
- Paperpile. Paperfile is a reference management software which, similar to Zotero, works as an extension for Google Chrome browser, making it accessible for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux users. We recommend that you use it to find and import data from platforms like Google Scholar, PubMed, or arXiv. You can easily export all the PDF documents and data to Google Drive, which means you’ll have the opportunity for collaborative editing of your papers. The collaboration doesn’t end there, because you can send data back and forth between Paperpile and Zotero, for example, as well as Mendeley.
- DeepDyve. High-quality research papers and scholarly journals can often set you back a pretty penny, so it’s important for you to know exactly what you’re getting for the money you’ve paid. The only trouble is, you are often allowed to look at an abstract for free, and decide if you want to buy the full-text paper, and then realize it’s of no use to you. DeepDyve enables you to access the full-text articles for a limited period of time, enough for you to figure out if the paper is exactly what you are looking for.
- ContentMine. ContentMine is an online resource which aims to bring over 100,000,000 scientific facts close to the people, by converting the collective knowledge of the world that is present in scientific literature into content which can be read on your computes. All of its tools, features, and services are free and open access. They often cite Wikipedia and similar open projects as a source of their inspiration.
- Plagiarism Checker. In order to rid your work of duplicate content, run it through Plagiarism Checker, which will scan and determine if there is any duplicate content present. If there is, you either need to provide better citations, or rewrite your work so that it’s more unique.
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