What's New
Screentoaster or Screenjelly- free service that records your screen activity along with your voice and allows you to share them instantly
Week of July 19: Top Ten Sites for Brainstorming/Mindmapping
2009-2010 School Year
Gulf Oil Spill Resources from PBS: http://wsre.org/OilSpill/teachers-students-kids.asp
Week of May 31: Technology and Learning Top 100 People that Shaped EdTech
Week of May 24: iCivics.org- an expanded version of a web site that uses computer games to put a fun spin on learning about government
Week of May 17: Sugar Sync- back up your files from any computer; it allows you to access your files from any Web-enabled computer or smartphone. A free 2GB account is available
Week of May 10: Science and Technology of World War II- This interactive online exhibit investigates the role of science and technology in Word War II, including everything from meteorology and materials to mathematical applications. Learn how radar, optics, nutrition, communications, and more affected the course of the war. (from Teachers First)
Week of May 3: PhET- interactive science simulations from The University of Colorado
Week of April 26: The Wonder of Wordles
Week of April 19: New You Tube Channel Features Science Experiments for Families
Week of April 12: Death of the Dream- This PBS site explores the storied history of rural life in the Midwest
Week of April 5: Track the Plastiki- a boat made from 12500 Plastic bottles, sailing from San Francisco to Sydney on a mission to showcase waste as a resource
Week of March 29: Top 10 Tools to Create Digital Books
Week of March 22: Tools for Digital Storytelling
Week of March 15: Slideshow Websites
Week of March 8: The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book
Week of March 1: Google For Teachers Guide
Week of February 15: Learning Science: developed for teachers and students, this site contains science interactives and resources (recommended by Technology and Learning Magazine)
Week of February 8: Vocabgrabber: From Visual Thesaurus, VocabGrabber extracts words from any document and demonstrates how those words are used in context. It analyzes text and generates lists of the most useful vocabulary words.
Week of February 1: Sketchfu- a web 2.0 tool that allows you to draw something and then watch the process of how it was drawn (teachers can use it to show a scientific process, to see student's thinking when solving a math problem or even to depict events in a story
Week of January 26: Eyejot- free video mail; Just login to your account, record or upload your video, and send. The recipient gets a friendly email message telling them they have a new video message, and they can watch it with a single click. No registration required.
Week of January 18: The Rock Cycle from the Geological Society- animated version of the rock cycle with images and descriptions
Week of January 11: Our Courts: 21st Century Civics- a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and encourage them to participate in the democratic process
Week of January 4: 100 Ways to Represent the Number 100
Week of December 14: An interactive Tour of the Brain
Week of December 7: Classroom 2.0 Webinars
Classroom 2.0
A message to all members of Classroom 2.0
Here are this week's live and interactive Webinars. Join us when you can, or look for the recordings--which are typically posted within a day on the event page.
Today, Tuesday, December 8th, 5pm Pacific Time (US) / 1am GMT (next day): Join me and staff from PBS as we interview Producer/Director Rachel Dretzin from FRONTLINE's "Digital Nation" project. Rachel will help us tour the show's website and share her insights and findings from the year-long, multi-platform project exploring the impact of the Web and digital media on life in the 21st century. http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20education-in-the
Wednesday, December 9th, 5pm Pacific Time (US) / 1am GMT (next day): Join me for a live and interactive hour with Angela Maiers, author of Classroom Habitudes: How to Teach 21st Century Learning Habits and Attitudes. http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/angela-maiers-on-classroom
Thursday, December 10th, 5pm Pacific Time (US) / 1am GMT (next day): Join me for another live and interactive hour, this time with Elizabeth Kanna, author of Virtual Schooling: A Guide to Optimizing Your Child's Education. http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/elizabeth-kanna-on-virtual
Saturday, December 12th, 9am Pacific Time (US) / 5pm GMT: Special guest Liz Kolb joins the Classroom 2.0 LIVE crew to discuss "Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools." http://live.classroom20.com
Week of December 1: Google Sweet Searching
Week of November 23: "Science Nation" is a free, weekly online magazine from the National Science Foundation that looks at discoveries with the potential to transform our world
Week of October 26
Week of October 19
Looking for new, authentic, relevant resources for your math or science class? Check out National Lab Day, a new initiative that links teachers with scientists and engineers who volunteer their time and expertise. National Lab Day is supported by the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition, of which ISTE is a member.
Week of October 12
WatchKnow-The site currently provides access to over 11,000 educational videos; They don’t host the videos, they link to them on YouTube, TeacherTube, National Geographic, eHow, Internet Archive, and other hosts.
Week of October 5
Dream Box Learning- gives K-2 teachers free resources for math
Week of September 28
Smithsonian Cultural Heritage Tours- virtual tours that explore the Smithsonian's array of cultural heritage-related objects
Week of September 21
League of Scientists- an online science game series for students in grades 3-5. Students create their own avatars to play the four multiplayer games to collect points that can be redeemed to create virtual science labs
Week of September 14
The Stacks- a social networking community from Scholastic where kids can post book reviews, get reading recommendations, and watch related videos
Engrade- a free set of web-based tools for educators allowing them to manage their classes online while providing parents and students with 24/7 real-time online class information.
Week of September 7
MyNoteIt- a note sharing service that allows students to record important information during class and later compare their work with classmates
Easybib- a service that allows students to enter the ISBN numbers of books and it will automatically provide students with a bibliography
Week of August 31
Assign-A-Day- Assign-A-Day is a free tool designed to enhance teacher and student communication through an online teacher-managed calendar. Teachers create a calendar for each of their classes and add assignments for the students to view. Students view their teachers' calendars in order to see assignments for classes they might have missed, or to get an overview of the class.
New features of Assign-A-Day include:
Create assignments that span multiple dates
Make shared calendar to work collaboratively with other educators
Duplicate and edit your calendars
Week of August 24
PBS Teacher Webinar Series- calendar of upcoming free webinars
Web 2.0 Tool- Odiogo- convert your blog to a podcast and embed the voice button on your blog as well
Week of August 10
Scribble Maps- draw on Google maps with scribbles and more
Week of August 3
Math Interactives- This multimedia resource includes interactive math activities, print activities, learning strategies, and videos that illustrate how math is used in everyday life.
Week of July 27
Educational Videos for Kids- NeoK12- videos are arranged by topic and include topics such as physical science, life science, earth and space, social studies, math, English, and the human body; each topic contains images for students to use in projects. Although the videos are listed on this site, they actually “live” elsewhere on the Internet, so some videos may be blocked in your school (those on YouTube, for example).
Week of July 20
NECC Google Apps Presentations
Week of July 13
Kid Friendly Search Engine- Quintura
Week of July 5
Interactive Teaching Programs from the UK- K-7 programs ranging in topic from measurements and number facts to calculating angles and area
2008-2009 School Year
Week of May 25
http://games.noaa.gov/
Week of May 18
Fun for the Brain- site for early elementary students that focuses on skill based games for topics such as base words, subtraction, parts of speech, sight words, addition and more
Week of May 3
Smithsonian Cultural Heritage Tours- offering a series of free online tours that invite educators, families, and students to learn about America’s diverse cultural heritage by examining objects drawn from the Smithsonian’s vast collections. The cultural heritage tours "allow viewers to delve deeper and learn even more about African American and Latino history and culture through the prism of art and historical objects," said Director of Programs Stevie Engelke.
Week of April 27
Spelling City- a free online spelling program; teachers can enter in the weekly spelling words and students can practice with various activities and games centered around these spelling words
Week of April 21
Web 2.0 Flash Cards
Week of April 12
Woices- TeachersFirst Edge Review: for moderately adventurous technology users. This site, still in beta, offers a FREE service that allows you to create and share "echoes." Echoes are words (audio recordings), left by anyone at any place, and can be played over and over by any visitors who find them. Listeners will feel as if they are really there! Echoes can be anything from personal memories, personal messages to a class, history or art related annotations of a place, music to accompany that place, or any kind of audio you can connect to a location. The audio recordings are linked to geographic locations or real-world objects (in the place where they are located). Echoes could also be fictitious accounts "placed" somewhere in the world to tell a story. Woices states that the goal of the site is to "extend reality by creating a new layer of audio information, what we call the echosphere, that will make the world a more interesting place."
You can create your own "echo" or listen to various "echoes" created by others from around the world. Click Explore to hear the echoes of the world (in every language imaginable). You do not need to join to explore and listen to others' echoes. The site uses Google Maps to share the world. Echoes are also labeled with an "e-code" for easy access by URL and listening via mobile phone. Completed echoes can be shared as an embedded device in a wiki or web page, via email, or by URL link (click Share).
Note: Future plans for Woices (remember, it is still in beta) include integrating it to work with GPS-enabled mobile phones, so you could "listen" to locations as you visit them without knowing or searching for the e-codes -- right on your mobile phone. Imagine touring the Gettysburg battlefields or a museum with an audio guide on your mobile phone, created by other Woices users.
Week of April 6
The Weather Channel for Kids- multiple resources for students learning about the weather; check out the daily forecast, the current temperature, weather games, and video clips
Week of March 23
Reading Quest- a website designed for social studies teachers who wish to more effectively engage their students with the content in their classes (contains many graphic organizers)
Week of March 15th
eFilms- Epals is now offering a variety of educational films called eFilms for free on its website; a teacher's area has also been added for ways to discuss how these films can be integrated into the classroom
Week of March 8
Siemens Science Day Learning by Doing- free hands-on science activities that can be added to existing lessons in earth, physical, and life science applicable to grades 4-6
Week of February 27
Science Up Close- videos and interactive activities for grades 1-6 from Harcourt School
Week of February 23
Lure of the Labyrinth- is a digital game for middle-school pre-algebra students. It includes a wealth of intriguing math-based puzzles wrapped into an exciting narrative game in which students work to find their lost pet - and save the world from monsters! Linked to both national and state mathematics standards, the game gives students a chance to actually think like mathematicians.
Week of February 16
Google Earth- A new version of Google Earth will allow users to explore the oceans, view images of Mars and watch regions of the Earth change over time
Week of February 9
Free Online "Snack Sessions" from Teachers First. You attend these convenient sessions from any computer to learn great ideas you can use in your classroom, courtesy of Teachers First staff. Register here.
Upcoming Sessions:
Envision, Engage: Getting started with project-based learning using TeachersFirst; Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 4-5 pm and 7-8 pm EST, (same content repeated at two time blocks).
Find It, Use It: Exploring the Resources of TeachersFirst to Plan Effective, Technology-Infused Lessons; Wed. Mar 11, 2009, 4-5 pm and 7-8 pm EDT; (same content repeated at two time blocks -- note change to daylight time in March!). This is the same session that was held in January, 2009, back by popular request.
Week of February 2
Pete's PowerPoint Station- over 1200 PowerPoint presentations on a variety of topics for classroom use. Get some great ideas for ways to incorporate them into SMART Notebook or Mimio Notebook.
Week of January 26
Math Java Applets- great for middle and high school math courses to use with an interactive whiteboard; contains some fraction topics as well
Week of January 19
Poll Junkie- a quick way to create a poll that you can embed into a wiki or website; no registration is required; answers can be sent to you email
Week of January 12
Backboard- upload a file such as a Word document and anyone that you give access to can add comments, ideas and suggestions to it (can be used for a writer's workshop); the site also allows users to add webpages so that students can add comments to a CNN student news article all from one location all at the same time.
Week of January 5
Google Lit Trips- using literature books and Google Earth, students course the path of various stories
Week of December 8
Bugscope- a free project by the University of Illinois; sign up, have your students find bugs and mail them to Bugscope. A scientist will magnify your bugs, discuss what's being viewed, and answer your students' questions during a live session
Johnny Money Online Game- started by the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation, this game focuses on what it's like to run a small business. It introduces students to business concepts and shows them how their decisions impact the bottom line.
Week of December 1
Bookshare:
Bookshare.org Library Now Free to All U.S. Students with Qualifying Disabilities
Memberships for U.S. schools and qualifying U.S. students of all ages including K-12, post-secondary and adult education, are now free, thanks to special funding from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Here's the announcement about the OSEP award. To sign up for Bookshare.org, please read more about student access.
Bookshare.org believes that people with print disabilities deserve the same ease of access to books and periodicals that people without disabilities enjoy. The Bookshare.org library provides print disabled people in the United States with legal access to over 42,400 books and 150 periodicals that are converted to Braille, large print or digital formats for text to speech audio. More about Bookshare.org
Week of November 24
Kerpoof- free multimedia browser-based software for students to create animated movies or for digital storytelling
Week of November 17
Global Education Ning- The Global Education Collaborative is an online community for teachers and students who are interested in joining global education projects.
Week of November 10
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use
Week of November 4
NASA eClips are short relevant educational video segments. These videos inspire and engage students, helping them see real world connections. New video segments are produced weekly exploring current applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, topics. The programs are produced for targeted audiences: K-5, 6-8,9-12 and the general public.
Week of October 27
Knowing about Creative Commons
THE CREATIVE COMMONS WEB SITE
Includes videos, FAQ, tools, tutorials, and links to CC divisions including ccLearn
7 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CREATIVE COMMONS
www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7023.pdf
A two-page PDF from the higher education association Educause.
Week of October 20
The Independence Hall Association (IHA) in Philadelphia has released a free digital American history textbook for middle- and high-school students, which will evolve to include interactive displays, video streaming, simulations or dynamic versions of the text, and opportunities for collaboration by students and teachers. (T.H.E. Journal)
Week of October 13
Election Tools for Teachers from Google- enroll your class in the Mock Election
Week of October 6- Web Photo Fixers
Free Browser Based Image Editors
Picnik- take images from your PC or another site (this site does not store photos)
Foto Flexer- various tools such as erasing items from photos
Photoshop Express- built in image organizer which gives you 2GB of storage
Splash Up- Photoshop-like layes and selection tools
FlauntR- photofinishing features, fonts and clip art
Picture 2 Life- create collages, slideshows, and photo sharing
Paint.net- a downloadable program for photo editing
Week of October 1- Virtual Manipulatives
Learning to Use Money- coins, bills (java)
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
Week of September 22
Teacher Rated- just launched in August, this site provides educators with a searchable catalog of teaching resources (lesson plans, student research sites, and online activities)
Nasa E-Clips- online digital media service from NASA for grades K-12
Week of September 15
Kigose School Safe Search Engine- Kigose will find students resources from selected educational websites, provides a web citation builder, and searches for images from selected educational websites as well
Week of September 8
Curriki- short for curriculum and wiki; an interactive open-source online service which contains peer-reviewed K-12 curricula
Week of September 1
Wordle- a visual tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.
Week of August 25
21st Century Skills Map- the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the National Council for the Social Studies have created a new framework for integrating 21st century skills into social studies curriculum.
Week of August 11
MIT Open Courseware for High School Students and Teachers- AP Biology, Physics, and Calculus resources and lessons
Week of August 4
Team Treks- highlighted in ISTE's L&L Magazine, this site offers a free learning game for kids in grades 4-7, teacher toolkits, and classroom integration guides. The blog with more information.
CNN Student News via Video Podcast- links and resources are here
Everything DI- resources to help you differentiate instruction using technology
Week of July 28
PowerUp- a three-dimensional game from IBM's Try Science Initiative designed to engage students in learning about engineering and energy while trying to supply solar, wind, and water power before an ecological disaster hits. Designed for grades 9-12
Week of July 21
iCue- a free online, collaborative learning environment built around video from the NBC News Video Archives; contains videos, games and activities correlated to courses in U.S. History. U.S. Government and Politics, and English Language and Composition
Week of July 14
Lit2Go- an online service of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse, this site contains a free collection of stories and poems in MP3 audiobook format which can be searched by title, author and reading level; many support materials come with each book (contained in the chapters)
Week of July 7
ZAC Browser- stands for Zone for Autistic Children, is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism.
Week of July 1
Audible Kids- a site dedicated to children's literature via audiobooks which can be downloaded to an MP3 player or iPod; most books are downloaded for a fee; AudibleKids-through a partnership with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)-also provides a featured section on its web site where children, parents, and educators can download a select number of audio books free of charge.
Week of June 24
Fun and Games Archive- interactive activities related to children's literature sponsored by Imaginon, a child-centered activity place created by North Carolina's Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Public Library
Week of June 4
Links Learning- math and reading videos for elementary and middle school (teacher resources as well)
2007-2008 SCHOOL YEAR
Week of May 18
Physics Simulations- flash simulations of various physics and math topics (for middle and high school)
Week of May 11
Mindsprinting- K-12 reading and math tutoring provider MINDsprinting has launched its online tutoring program as a free service. MINDsprinting uses comprehensive K-12 curricula for both reading and math that have been approved for NCLB tutoring. They create programs tailored to the student based upon the results of their comprehensive, interactive, FREE Assessment Tests. They can be taken as often as desired from their homepage (to re-assess a student’s progress for example).
Week of May 4
ESL Resource- English Quest
Week of April 28
Google Earth Lesson Plans- Do you want to incorporate Google Earth into your classroom and don't know where to start? Check out this website filled with lessons in various subject areas and formats.
Week of April 22
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is making primary source documents and educational resources from all eras of American history available for free online. The web site receives more than 1 million visits per year, and offers a variety of free online resources to improve the study of American history. Features available on the web site include podcasts of historians discussing their work, lesson plans on major topics in American history, a searchable database of more than 60,000 primary source documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, featured documents with printable images and transcripts for classroom use, and online exhibitions. (from E-School News online)
Week of April 7
Exploratree- by Future Labs is a collection of interactive graphic organizers
Week of March 31
Web 2.0 Tools
Read the Words- upload text to be read or type it in, choose one of fifteen readers, and listen to the reading online, download to your ipod or save to your computer, or turn your reading into a podcast
Del.icio.us- social bookmarking website (share and view yours and other's bookmarks)
Skrbl- draw, text, scribble, and share and online collaborative whiteboard
Convert Tube- converts online videos to a variety of formats to download to your computer (converts UTube and Teacher Tube vidoes as well)
CamStudio-able to record all screen and audio actions on your computer to create streaming flash videos
Week of March 24
Technospud Projects- Are you interested in doing some collaborative class projects? This site contains various online projects for various grade levels to do with your students. All projects require registration to participate and provide you with a project timeline and materials needed to do the project. All classes receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the project
Week of March 17
Class Tools- create your own free educational games, activities and diagrams to be hosted on your website, blog or intranet
Week of March 10
Geosense- test your knowledge of geography; compete against others or do a stand alone game; the game gives you an location and you have to find it on the map; once the area is selected, it lets you know the exact location and how far off you were from that exact location
Week of March 3
Poetry Resources
Crazy Limerick Machine (elementary)
Poetry Writing by Scholastic (elementary) and Poetry Engine
ABC Teach: How to Poems (haiku, cinquain, daimonte, alliteration, name poem)- great to use as SMARTboard poetry writing templates
Week of February 24
SMART Exchange- a community of teachers, administrators and SMART experts sharing ideas, expertise, and lessons using SMART products. There are so many wonderful ideas in these forums to use immediately in your classroom.
Week of February 18
Math
WickED- interactive math activities
Arcademic Skill Builders- math games focusing on basic skills
Interactive Math Dictionary- this outstanding site allows visitors to choose a math term and see the definition in an interactive manner (wonderful for the visual learner)
Ambleside Primary Numeracy (elementary)- many wonderful activities on this site including the function machine, graph maker, and what's my angle
Yenka- 700 classroom resources (interactive animations and graphics) for students 14-16 years old in math and physics
Nrich Maths- Mathematic problems, games, and articles with a different focus each month
Week of February 11
Branches of Government
Ben's Guide- Branches of Government (Grades 3-5)
Kids in the House- games, puzzles and activities to teach about the government
PBS The Democracy Project- about the federal government and balance of power
Time for Kids: Branches of Government- activity
Week of February 4
Election Resources
Countdown to Election 2008- Sponsored by Scholastic
Week of January 27
Primary Source Learning- Funded by the Library of Congress with Primary Sources Program, this site features a collection of teaching materials, a database of online activities, samples of student projects, and primary sources teachers have used with students.
Week of January 21
South Pole Webcasts
Exploratorium Ice Stories: In a series of live webcasts held in celebration of the International Polar Year (2007-2008), educators at the Exploratorium in San Francisco will be talking throughout the month with scientists at McMurdo Station near the South Pole about the many research projects they're conducting. For instance, this season three giant helium balloons will launch near McMurdo Station, collecting data about cosmic rays--very high-energy particles that zip through the galaxy at nearly the speed of light. If conditions permit, Exploratorium educators will be talking with the balloon scientists from their ice facility at Williams Field, where the giant balloons are inflated and launched and their flights are tracked. The museum is holding live webcasts on this and other topics Jan. 4, 11, 12, 18,and 25, and educators also can explore its archive of previous South Pole webcasts, which feature research on penguins, ice cores taken from miles beneath the earth's surface, and construction of a new10-meter telescope at the South Pole.
Open Vault
Open Vault- a new web site launched by Boston-based public television station WGBH. The site features video clips and interviews from WGBH programming created between 1968 and 1993, including clips of Muhammad Ali discussing his refusal to fight in Vietnam, African American students arriving at school during Boston's court-ordered desegregation, and Robert McNamara reading from a letter sent by Nikita Khrushchev to President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Open Vault includes more than 500 streaming video clips and more than 1,000 interview transcripts in all. Users can search by keyword or browse by topic (arts, business, education, humanities, Massachusetts, science and technology, and social science) and can view data alphabetically by person and by series. In addition, resource management tools allow educators to annotate and tag records, create topical lists, and send information to students for further study or classroom discussion.
Week of January 14- RIF
Reading is Fundamental has launched a free educational site to help parents develop the language skills of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. RIF's Leading to Reading is an interactive online resource featuring stories, games, music and other engaging activities for adults to experience together with young children.
Week of January 7- You Innovate: 21st Century
You Innovate: A new website aimed at getting middle school students excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. Sponsored by Scholastic and the National Governors Association, the site includes interactive games and brain teasers.
Week of December 17
Biology in Motion- Here you will find animations, interactive activities, and cartoons designed to make learning biology a richer, more engaging experience
Week of December 9- Maps
WorldAtlas.com- Provides facts, flags, and maps including every continent, country, dependency, island, major city, ocean, province, state, and territory
Map Machine- maps, photos, facts, and more
Education Place: Outline Maps- world maps that can be printed and copied for classroom use
National Atlas- contains an online map maker, printable maps, free geographical data and more
USGS Learning Web: What Do Maps Show?- activities for teachers to teach the concept of reading maps
Week of November 26
Annenburg Learner Interactives- "Interactives" provides educators and students with strategies, content, and activities that can enhance and improve students' skills in a variety of curricular areas (grades 6-12)
Week of November 19
Reference
Library Spot- A collection of reference resources available online as well as a directory of public, academic, and special libraries worldwide.
RefDesk- Refdesk is a free and family-friendly web site that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current web-based resources.
Internet Public Library Reference- Here's the place to go for all your general reference needs! There are links to dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and other sites for homework help or just looking things up.
Week of November 12th
Letters About Literature- The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 to enter Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre-- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves. There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III, grades 9 - 12. Winners, announced in the spring of each year, receive cash awards at the national and state levels. The contest ends December 14th.
Week of November 5
Ball State Electronic Field Trips- Participate in live electronic field trips with your class, sponsored and paid for by the Best Buy Children's Foundation. Some of the field trips this year include the National Park Foundation, Aquatic Adventures, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Week of October 29
Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks- Grades 6-12
This site is an addition to your earth science class, especially if you have an interactive whiteboard. When you are using the interactive page (page 2), be sure to click on the blinking object. By clicking on this object, you will be taken to another window with a more detailed view of the specific topic. When you return to the main interactive page, look again for the blinking object.
Week of November 5- Science
Nature: Crime Scene Creatures- Grades 6-12
Teach scientific inquiry, biology, and chemistry with a CSI twist. Did you know that bugs and other small creatures are now being used to help forensic scientists solve murders and other mysteries? This website takes you behind the scenes to see exactly how biologists from around the world are using maggots, ants, and other animals to solve various crimes. These creatures help scientists to determine the time of death, track a killer's path, and even zero in on a specific suspect. Features of this website include an interactive (determining the time of death), video clips, interviews with real scientists in the field, and much more.
Wild Weather Adventure: Grades 3-6
This interactive website is a virtual weather and geography board game. You can choose 1-4 players, the difficulty level, a name for your "weather ship", the color of your ship, and other personalized features. Students spin a wheel and then move their ship a certain number of spaces. Then, they are asked a question related to the weather (there are different levels of difficulty). Geography skills are also tested in this game; the virtual "gameboard" is a world map. Geography facts and questions are provided throughout the game.
Week of October 22
Free Reading- an open resource center and community for early literacy teachers; contains free reading resources, lesson plans and a 40-week intervention program
Week of October 15
Alphabet Interactive- Click on each letter and students will see pictures associated with that letter. In addition, the sentences showing the letter can also be read to students.
Gapminder is an interactive site designed to present world demographic information in a highly visual way. Using either a world map, or a chart with "bubbles" sized according to each country's population, users can track 30 years of change in a wide variety of economic and social indicators (for example, population size, percentage of GNP dedicated to military spending, proportion of girls in school, infant mortality). Math teachers can use the site to demonstrate data analysis skills with meaningful data.
Week of October 7- ISTE
ISTE's Top 10 Ed Tech Blogs and Podcasts for October 2007
Podcasts
The official NECC 2007 Podcasts
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/collection.php?collection=1087
http://chronicle.com/multimedia/
http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/podcast/TF_Educational_Technology.xml
Blogs
http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com
http://www.thethinkingstick.com
http://www.academiccommons.org
http://principalblogs.jot.com/WikiHome
Week of September 23- Hot Chalk
Hot Chalk- community software hosted online which included curriculum management, automated assignment distribution, lesson plan development, and standards based resources shared by teachers. Sign up for free and have access to NBC News Videos Archive on Demand for one semester.
Week of September 17- Multimedia
Teachers' Domain- A website from PBS in Boston, contains resources aligned to state and national standards- downloadable, sharable, remixable video segments, interactive activities, and lesson plans in earth science, engineering, life science, and physical science disciplines.
Poetry Out Loud- Hear British poets read their own poems including Alfred Lord Tennyson's 1890 reading of "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
Week of September 10- History Websites
History Wiz- Check out the multimedia site with information and exhibits on a variety of world history topics. Featured in MacWorld as one of the best history sites on the web.
HyperHistory- Recommended by the History Channel, this website covers famous people, historical events, political development, empires, and scientific change.
Discovery Education World History Lesson Plans- History lesson plan library for grades K-12
Week of August 27th
Try the pilot version of SMART' Technologies Lesson Activity Toolkit to create professional looking lessons in SMART Notebook. Once downloaded, open Notebook software to find the toolkit in the gallery.