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Spotzi - Spotzi.com
Grades
4 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
A picture is worth a thousand words; a map with information is worth many thousands more. The World Atlas map powered by Esri is unique with its many layers of ...more
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A picture is worth a thousand words; a map with information is worth many thousands more. The World Atlas map powered by Esri is unique with its many layers of information. Layers include temperature data, habitats, volcano locations, natural resources, and more. The map uses street view and high detail aerial maps. Zoom into any aspect of the Earth, regardless of political boundaries (thanks to NASA, the World Bank, and Spotzi data). Browse from a variety of themes available including animals, temperatures, and tectonic plates. Use the search bar to zoom in to a specific area. Several tools are available along the top including a measuring tool.
tag(s): business (47), diseases (66), ecology (100), environment (240), natural disasters (16), natural resources (37), resources (88)
In the Classroom
Use Spotzi to make information more relevant and meaningful when paired with an actual map. Find trends easily. Have students choose a topic and investigate maps to identify and develop general statements from the data. Ask students to generate questions to further research the topic. This tool is invaluable for environmental, ecology, health, economics, and other research topics. Use this map to add new dimensions of information about places in the news. Share on a projector or interactive whiteboard to learn more about countries participating in the Olympics. Use data to compare countries and discuss possible cause/effects for poverty, health challenges, and more.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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House History Timeline - History, Art & Archives United States House of Representatives
Grades
8 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Use The Congressional Timeline to look each Congress's activity beginning with the 73rd (in 1933) up until the present. We sometimes forget "Congress" is not a single entity, and ...more
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Use The Congressional Timeline to look each Congress's activity beginning with the 73rd (in 1933) up until the present. We sometimes forget "Congress" is not a single entity, and there have been over 110 Congresses since the founding of the United States. This is a fairly bare bones site, but with some helpful components. The most interesting is the ability to compare the actions of congress along the top timeline, with major events in history along the bottom timeline. What happened? What did Congress do? The events are all click-able and provide either a brief explanation or links to further information. Another useful function is the ability to filter results by keyword, which eliminates everything not associated with that keyword from the timelines. Also helpful is the ability to highlight events along the timelines by keyword. The keyword fields are completely open, so you will need to experiment a little with your word choice in order to return the most useful results. The timeline is also convenient for research in that it reduces legislative activity to an easy to access summary.
tag(s): branches of government (62), congress (39)
In the Classroom
Although this site is not the most visually exciting, it would still be useful on an interactive whiteboard, particularly when you are discussing a defined time period. Select the relevant Congress, then compare the legislative activity with world events. For example, choose a Congress during wartime, and highlight events related to war or the military. As elections approach, use the timelines to compare the activities of a previous Congress during "election season" to see if there are patterns of Congressional behavior.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The HTML5 Gendered Advertising Remixer - Jonathan McIntosh
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
1 Comments
Do advertisers market to boys and girls differently? The answer is obvious: Yes! Beyond that, how does that affect children's development and society in general? This site does not...more
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Do advertisers market to boys and girls differently? The answer is obvious: Yes! Beyond that, how does that affect children's development and society in general? This site does not offer a specific answer to those questions, but can make distinctions between boy-girl-centric advertising painfully clear. It is a simple concept: run the audio portion of an ad targeting boys under the video of an ad targeted to girls, or vice versa. Then consider what this "mashup" now communicates. The directions ask you to drag and drop icons; do not drag them to the big open box in the center of the page. Instead, drop one ad on the "audio" icon, and the other ad on the "video" icon; the mashup plays in the middle. If you go to the home page for the project, there are other "mashups" available focused on certain kinds of toys and advertising. You can view in either HTML 5 or Flash.
tag(s): advertising (24), consumers (14), media literacy (102), psychology (67), sociology (22), women (137)
In the Classroom
One of the truisms about analyzing culture is that it is difficult to see the impact of cultural norms and practices from the inside. Students will probably agree that advertising targets boys differently than girls, but they may have serious difficulty considering what impact it has had on them. This site may help them see the subtle messages in advertising, and how those messages constrain or empower them. Project the mashups on an interactive whiteboard and then ask students how the audio changes the message on the video portion. Reverse the two and ask the same question. What does this say about the girls' gender roles? What does this say about boys' gender roles? What does this say about the impact of play on learning adult roles? Have student groups create digital "collections" of examples of gender-targeted ads using a tool such as Evernote (reviewed herehttp://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=10550) or turn them into mosaics of ad images using Mosaic Maker (reviewed here). Note: Since students are specifically studying advertising and critiquing the ads, it would not be a copyright violation to add images as part of a media project to illustrate gender targeting.Comments
This is fascinating but somewhat difficult to know how to use. A rich resource. I found the key to making it usable was the list of questions for discussion which are here: http://www.genderremixer.com/curriculum/Sandra, , Grades: 0 - 5
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Knoema - Knoema
Grades
9 to 12
3 Favorites
1 Comments
This easy to use site is a large collection of maps and data sets for access by the public. Find maps, data, and charts for almost all countries. Choose from ...more
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This easy to use site is a large collection of maps and data sets for access by the public. Find maps, data, and charts for almost all countries. Choose from data categories that include Per Capita Income, Government Debt, Housing, Energy Consumption, Agricultural Production, and more. Select a data set to view. Choose the available countries from the drop-down. Export, download, or embed the data into your blog or site. Peruse community boards for information on statistics and apps for sharing (Facebook and Twitter) on Knoema. Upload data and create presentations and pages with the data simply and easily. Find tutorials about all you can do with Knoema here.
tag(s): charts and graphs (169), countries (69), data (146), maps (208), statistics (114)
In the Classroom
Use in Social Studies or World Cultures to compare economic indicators of countries. Create data sets and visualizations of environmental data around the world. Use data in the writing of papers or creation of presentations on the country statistics such as GDP or exported goods. Trying to find meaningful data to include in an infographic? Knoema has it! Math teachers can use data sets for practice activities with statistics.Comments
I absolutely love Knoema! They also have World Data Atlas (Chrome Web Store app for free) - chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/world-data-atlas/knlgfedckdhkgjinnhogmhkbcjpmmhko that I strongly advise to use.Olga, , Grades: 0 - 12
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Spreaker - Spreaker Online Radio
Grades
1 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a live Internet radio show -- free -- with Spreaker! This super easy online tool creates podcasts instantly for you to share with your own URL, on Facebook, Google ...more
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Create a live Internet radio show -- free -- with Spreaker! This super easy online tool creates podcasts instantly for you to share with your own URL, on Facebook, Google +, Soundcloud, Twitter, or add to the Spreaker website. Follow others, or invite others to follow your podcasts. With a click of a button you are creating a live podcast. To create a podcast you do not need Flash. However, there are several tutorials, and these tutorials require flash. There is a free version and a more deluxe premium version. This review is for the free version.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communication (136), podcasts (72), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Enjoy a live radio show from your classroom! Publish written pieces of writing, science reports, social studies reports, and any other reports you would like to share. Create a New Book or Book Review podcast for the media center. Link to your podcast URL on your class website. Publish directions to projects, explanations for difficult concepts, or even a radio show of you reading your favorite books for your students. Have upper elementary students take turns reading aloud for a podcast aimed at little reading buddies in kindergarten. Allow students to podcast to "pen pals" in faraway places. Record your school choir, orchestra group, poetry club, or drama club doing their best work or dramatic readings of Shakespeare soliloquies. Take your school newspaper to a new level with recorded radio articles. Be sure to include interviews with students, teachers, principals, parents, authors, artists, and almost anyone. In younger grades, use to save an audio portfolio of reading fluency, expression, or to aid with running records or even include writing. Be sure do this regularly throughout the year to analyze growth. Have fun at Halloween with your Halloween station filled with favorite spooky stories! Welcome your students to a new school year by sending them your message. Create messages for classmates who move away. Bring your foreign language classes an extra resource of your pronunciations whenever they need more practice. ESL/ELL, special education classes can often benefit from the extra explanations, practice, and elaborated instructions given at their own pace. The possibilities are endless! The site itself is a "web 2.0," social networking style site, so some schools may have it blocked. Ask about unblocking just YOUR teacher account so you can have students access it while at school and under your supervision.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Now I See! Infographics as content scaffold and creative, formative assessment - TeachersFirst: Candace Hackett Shively and Louise Maine
Grades
6 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
Discover how to use student-created infographics as scaffold or assessment for learning in any middle or high school subject. Many teachers are not "visual" people and struggle to implement...more
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Discover how to use student-created infographics as scaffold or assessment for learning in any middle or high school subject. Many teachers are not "visual" people and struggle to implement infographics because they do not know how to help students. Whether you are a visual person or a "data" person, these pages will help your class get started. See the story of one teacher's journey into using infographics and learn from her experience. Find downloadable files to help: a PowerPoint you can use with students, and a customizable rubric. Don't miss the extensive Resources and Tools page for examples, background articles, and more. These pages grew out of a presentation at ISTE 2012.
tag(s): infographics (55)
In the Classroom
Read through this professional tutorial if you have even considered trying infographics with your students. You will find just the encouragement you need. Mark this one in your Favorites and share the many examples with your students, including student-created examples from a ninth grade class, as you launch your own infographics projects. Let your students "show what they know" in a new way.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sozo Exchange - Sozo Exchange
Grades
9 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Sozo offers daily online broadcasts for learning English. Older teens and adults will enjoy learning English through daily feature videos, pronunciation assists, and interview clips...more
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Sozo offers daily online broadcasts for learning English. Older teens and adults will enjoy learning English through daily feature videos, pronunciation assists, and interview clips which include lesson features and online review exercises. You can contribute to online surveys, learn idioms, and take quizzes with free registration. Subject matter is designed for teens and adults.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): figurative language (15), idioms (32), listening (68), news (229), pronunciation (33), vocabulary development (90)
In the Classroom
This is a great find for independent ESL/ELL students who want to improve their oral comprehension and knowledge of vocabulary along with its idiomatic language and slang expressions. Keep the link to this program on your computers at school and on your web page for home use, too. Parents wanting to learn English could use this site too!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Venngage - Venngage
Grades
7 to 12
8 Favorites
0 Comments
Like the looks of Infographics but wish it were as easy as creating a Powerpoint? This website aims to empower you to easily create infographics in a short time. It ...more
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Like the looks of Infographics but wish it were as easy as creating a Powerpoint? This website aims to empower you to easily create infographics in a short time. It is worth the free registration to gain access. Create beautiful Infographics by creating a title and then choosing a template or color scheme. Create your own templates using a range of color, label, and font choices. Click on the elements on the template to change the words, add widgets, create charts, and more. Use the slider along the top right to move between edit mode and preview mode. Go beyond traditional charts by including word clouds, treemaps, bubble charts, and more. Click Save as Template (helpful in creating labels and examples for students to follow) to save your style for later. Click Publish to make the Infographic public or private. You can save the Infographic as an image, share via URL, or use an embed code to place on a wiki, site, or blog. Click on your dashboard to view additional templates shared by creators and to find your Infographics. With the free plan you can create 5 infographics.
tag(s): data (146), infographics (55), posters (47), vocabulary (235)
In the Classroom
Consider creating Infographics of material learned in class and for better understanding and connection with other topics and the "real world." Make curriculum content more real with infographics that students can relate to. Have students create their own infographics with this site to display what they have learned from a unit of study, how vocabulary words are related to the unit content, or as a review before a test. It could even be a replacement for the test! Connect data found on the Internet to information needed to understand that data. (Consider looking at different ways to show the data which can generate bias.) Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to allow student groups to present an Infographic about a book they've read, related news article, etc. Create Infographics about events such as Earth Day, D-Day, Take Your Child to Work Day, and other observances.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Infographics Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
Find a targeted collection of infographic resources including tools for creating them, collections of great infographic examples, and sites with professional information for teachers...more
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Find a targeted collection of infographic resources including tools for creating them, collections of great infographic examples, and sites with professional information for teachers planning to use infographics for student projects and assessments.
tag(s): infographics (55)
In the Classroom
Join the21st century trend of infographics as a way to share a lot of information, quantitative data, and relationships in a compact but effective visual space. Help students learn and construct meaning using infographics. Share this collection on your class web page as a starting point for students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Infographic of Infographics - Ivan Cash
Grades
6 to 12
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This infographic depicts the trends and design strategies used to convey information in today's infographics. See stats on the visual devices used, topics, locations, and informational...more
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This infographic depicts the trends and design strategies used to convey information in today's infographics. See stats on the visual devices used, topics, locations, and informational elements that are "trending" in infographic use. Whether you are an analytic person or a visual one, this site make you stop and think.
tag(s): graphic design (50), infographics (55)
In the Classroom
If you are assigning students to create infographics, this is a must-share. Have students explore this in small groups then find examples of the trend they find most interesting. Share their finds on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Better yet, share them on your class wiki so students can refer back to these ideas when they are "stuck" working on their own visual products. Art teachers can use this as an entry point into a graphic design unit. Reading teachers can use this to help students interpret and analyze the graphics that often accompany informational texts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Grand Challenges for Engineering - National Academy of Engineering
Grades
9 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Grand Challenges for Engineering shares information on several engineering problems that are just waiting for 21st century solutions. Engineering challenge information is presented...more
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Grand Challenges for Engineering shares information on several engineering problems that are just waiting for 21st century solutions. Engineering challenge information is presented and followed by a moderated response forum. Anyone may submit ideas, and no registration is required. Share your name and location on the planet, and your comments may be featured in the forum. There are video clips, interactives, ready to go activities, and more. Information about world needs and next steps towards solutions are available. These topics can be controversial, so preview before you share with the class.
tag(s): carbon (15), critical thinking (112), engineering (119), mars (26), medicine (55), nuclear energy (19), problem solving (226), scientific method (47), STEM (260)
In the Classroom
Use Grand Challenges for Engineering topics as class conversation starters in science, biology, and engineering classes and an inspiration to make STEM a possible career choice. Stimulate a rich discussion by previewing the topic to students at the beginning of a week and discussing at the end of the week. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Encourage them to research the idea outside of class, and provide this website as a major source. Have students summarize the concept and the new things that they have learned through the discussion on an exit slip before they leave for the week. Challenge your students to think of other Grand Challenges that we face. In a gifted program these challenges could serve as themes for extended investigations or individual projects.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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edublogs - edublogs.org
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids ...more
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Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids some of the "public interaction" that can offer inappropriate content. Upgrade to more advanced features, to include more options. The additional information on blogging makes this site very valuable even if you already have a blogging platform. Find a plethora of advice, tutorials, PDFs, and lesson plans for blogging. This site is a great reference site for all who are beginning to use blogs, or even look for more varied and effective ways to blog with students, or even other classes. Compare this tool to other free blogging tools mentioned in TeachersFirst's Blog Basics for the Classroom . This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (66), communication (136), writing (315)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite for all of your blogging needs. Find very informative instructions on blogging, and follow the student blogging challenge lesson plans. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Peruse through the various subjects and discover how other teachers use blogging in their classrooms. Using the given PDFs on blogging start up, parent guidelines, incorporating into subject areas, and adapt to make them suitable for you. Look at a variety of examples to help devise your own unique style to meet your students' needs.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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NetSmartzKids - National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Grades
K to 8
1 Favorites
0 Comments
NetSmartz'® is an interactive, Internet safety resource that uses 3-D activities to teach how to stay safe. Games, videos, and activities provide information using three characters...more
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NetSmartz'® is an interactive, Internet safety resource that uses 3-D activities to teach how to stay safe. Games, videos, and activities provide information using three characters - Clickie, Nettie, and Webster. This site has more than just your typical topics, such as: Inbox Defender Don't Open That File: A Computer Virus Game, The Password Rap, and much more. Router's Birthday Surprise includes a teacher's guide for classroom use along with an ongoing activity that can be saved and revisited at a later time. Be sure to check out Into the Cloud season 1 and 2. Although this site states that it is designed for ages 5-17, our editors found most of the activities were designed for elementary and middle school ages.
tag(s): computers (105), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce and teach Internet safety rules. Use Padlet, reviewed here, to engage students and brainstorm with the class what they know about Internet safety. Then start sharing the different videos and activities with the class or in stations. As students finish a video or activity, have them add what they learned in a different column on your class Padlet. NetSmartzKids is a great site to share on your class wiki, blog, or website for families to peruse together. At the end of your Internet safety unit, enhance student learning by creating a Flip, reviewed here, and asking studens what lessons they learned that they didn't know before or that surprized them. Flip provides a tool for video responses to a question along with comments from peers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book TV - National Cable Satellite Corporation & C-SPAN
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Watch and listen as popular authors talk about their nonfiction books on this C-SPAN companion website. Book TV features 48 continuous hours of nonfiction books every weekend. You can...more
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Watch and listen as popular authors talk about their nonfiction books on this C-SPAN companion website. Book TV features 48 continuous hours of nonfiction books every weekend. You can easily explore the archived programs, video library, or books and topics by searching the title, author, category, keyword, or browsing all of the listings. Watch the online videos or listen to podcasts of interviews with the authors from Book TV's After Words. There is a lot here to explore, and it appears to be ever-growing! You can find past telecast videos on YouTube, as well, in case you want to be able to download them to use offline. Click the YouTube menu. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): biographies (93), independent reading (85), interviews (14), politics (113)
In the Classroom
Use the online resources from this website to accompany your nonfiction literature. This collection is particularly useful when reading about historical figures. Make books and authors come alive for your students by accessing and projecting videos on your interactive whiteboard and sharing "Book Notes," biographies, and more. Lure students into independent reading by allowing them to explore the videos and find a book they might enjoy reading. After viewing a program or reading a book, have students share their opinions in a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, Vevox, Animatron, Renderforest, and Canva Inforgraphic Maker.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TED - TED staff
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
TED is the home of the award-winning TEDTalks video site, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the beginning, the TEDTalks mission was to bring together people from...more
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TED is the home of the award-winning TEDTalks video site, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the beginning, the TEDTalks mission was to bring together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. However, its scope has broadened to challenge the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives (in approximately 18 minutes or less). At the time of this review, TED.com has more than 1,100 of the best talks and performances by speakers with powerful ideas from around the world. The talks are free and the collection continues to grow. The goal of the foundation is to foster the spread of great ideas, thus it aims to provide a platform for the world's smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries, and most-inspiring teachers, so that millions of people can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and a desire to help create a better future. Easily search the site by topics, disciplines, newest releases, or most favorite. TEDTalks offers subtitles in various languages which enhances the accessibility for the hearing-impaired, and for those who speak English as a second language.
In the Classroom
If you are looking for a clearinghouse that offers free inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, this ever-evolving site is perfect for engaging your students with digital videos of the global issues facing our world today. Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to project videos. Watch your students' enthusiastic reactions in science, social studies, or English classrooms as they view a TED video and then follow-up with a debate on the future or the impact of technology on society, or use them as a springboard for interesting writing prompts or to spark a discussion connected with a unit of study. Challenge students to do a compare/contrast activity using an online Venn Diagram tool (reviewed here). Most of the videos are less than twenty minutes, which makes it real doable to embed in a one-period class lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ChronoZoom - Microsoft Research
Grades
8 to 12
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0 Comments
Ready to think big? How about an interactive timeline that covers all of time from the Big Bang to today? Chronozoom is an ambitious project, just launched (at the time ...more
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Ready to think big? How about an interactive timeline that covers all of time from the Big Bang to today? Chronozoom is an ambitious project, just launched (at the time of this review), that seeks to create zoomable, interactive timelines for the entire history of time. At present, the site is still under construction, but it is visually stunning and a little overwhelming. You will need to set aside some time to watch the video tour and to tinker with the site before presenting it to students. Every move of the mouse, every click, seems to create "explosions" of graphs and timelines; you'll need to be patient and get the hang of navigation.
The site's creators freely admit that they don't really know where the project will lead, and what technologies might emerge that will help them create more content for the site. There are some caveats for using the site. First, the site assumes a particular theory of the creation of the universe, and the timeline of its existence. Second, the site can lend itself to aimless "mousing," or the temptation to simply click and move the mouse to see how the site will react, with no attention to the content at all.
The site's creators freely admit that they don't really know where the project will lead, and what technologies might emerge that will help them create more content for the site. There are some caveats for using the site. First, the site assumes a particular theory of the creation of the universe, and the timeline of its existence. Second, the site can lend itself to aimless "mousing," or the temptation to simply click and move the mouse to see how the site will react, with no attention to the content at all.
tag(s): charts and graphs (169), evolution (85), Microsoft (84), timelines (49)
In the Classroom
This is a big idea, still in its early stages. Obviously it has usefulness as a way of visually demonstrating the sheer immensity of time, and the relative insignificance of human existence in comparison. You could use this site as an intro to any history or geology class simply to generate BIG questions that students want to know. Consider asking gifted students, or students interested in technology applications to imagine what the site COULD be. How would they create a visual overview of--forever? How can one prioritize what matters? But on an interactive whiteboard--WOW! If you, as current students seem to be, are comfortable with imagining the world as a series of hyperlinks rather than a linear march, this site has limitless potential.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NOVA Body and Brain - NOVA/PBS
Grades
3 to 12
5 Favorites
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Find great information and interactive activities about the human body and brain on this exciting site. Choose from tabs along the top from Body and Brain as well as Nature, ...more
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Find great information and interactive activities about the human body and brain on this exciting site. Choose from tabs along the top from Body and Brain as well as Nature, Planet Earth, and more. Click on the NOVA Education tab to find great lessons and ideas to use these materials for a variety of subjects and ages. View video clips as well as slide shows and other information. Preview these resources before sharing in class. Some parents/communities may consider some material controversial or inappropriate for younger students.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): carbon dioxide (10), carbon footprint (5), earth (185), environment (240), human body (93), nuclear energy (19), nutrition (134), solar energy (34), space (213)
In the Classroom
Discover some terrific lessons about a variety of topics. For example, under Environment find a great lesson for Capturing Carbon: Where Do We Put It? Find background information to understand the material and questions for discussion that can be used with your class. Find additional resources along the side.
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American Indian Response to Environmental Changes - National Museum of the American Indian
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
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This site documents how four Native American communities are responding to changes in the environment where they live. First click the link in the first paragraph or the picture on...more
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This site documents how four Native American communities are responding to changes in the environment where they live. First click the link in the first paragraph or the picture on the right to find this unit. Through videos and primary sources, you can explore these four Native American cultures. Each tribe's section is broken down into the following areas: Getting Started, Meet the People, About Our Homeland, Our Environmental Challenge, Our Strategies, and Our Future.
tag(s): environment (240), native americans (91), natural resources (37)
In the Classroom
Project this site on an interactive whiteboard and watch the videos on each of the tribes. If you have laptops available, have students navigate on their own. Have the class take the included interactive quizzes to see what they've learned. Group students and have each group read about a different tribe. Then using the online story project planner, have students create a presentation about their tribe that can be uploaded to the site. Be sure to visit the teacher area for lesson plans, links and other resources.
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The Learning Network - The New York Times Company
Grades
6 to 12
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This New York Times site addresses many classroom needs. Scroll down the main section to find current event articles, photos, polls, and more. Find lesson plans by category, a student...more
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This New York Times site addresses many classroom needs. Scroll down the main section to find current event articles, photos, polls, and more. Find lesson plans by category, a student opinion section, contests, a daily news quiz, and timely articles connecting current events to thinking questions. Find many opportunities for a quick learning game or to express your opinion. There is even a student crossword. This site is frequently updated and includes a wide variety of subjects.
tag(s): news (229), vocabulary (235), writing prompts (57)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your class web page for students to find challenges or activities. Substitute teachers can always find an appropriate current events or vocabulary/writing activity if there are no lesson plans. English, social studies, and gifted teachers will want to explore the many lesson ideas that draw on current news stories. Find many prompts for student opinion blogs at this site. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, replace pen and paper and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Weebly, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Algalita - Plastic Ocean Pollution - Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Grades
4 to 12
3 Favorites
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Explore plastic pollution in the North Pacific Ocean at this terrific site. Click Take Action on the top menu, then click "Share our program with a teacher or student+" and ...more
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Explore plastic pollution in the North Pacific Ocean at this terrific site. Click Take Action on the top menu, then click "Share our program with a teacher or student+" and scroll down that page to find Educator Resources to get the free Science Investigation Kit. Be sure to check out the Projects and Solutions to explore accomplishments of students from around the world.
tag(s): environment (240), oceans (146), plastics (4), pollution (49)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard and projector to introduce this site. Use the Trash Tracker lesson as is or adapt for your own use. Consider having students work in groups of four, and have each group explore a different expedition (listed by year and selected by you). Have the small groups of students investigate the first several days of the selected expedition together. After that, have pairs take notes about what they learn, using Memo Notepad, reviewed here, then have partners compare notes for the days they investigated. Once they've investigated their expedition, remix the groups so you have one student from each of the different expeditions together. Have them share information and determine what was alike and different for each year. Use a graphic organizer or mind mapping tool such as WiseMapping, reviewed here, to help students keep track of the information. Once done have students access the additional resources pages (the blogs will often have more information for the expeditions), and look at the maps. Older students may want to investigate information about careers related to GIS, Conservation, and Marine Biology by using the link at the bottom of the page.
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