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Shared Talk - Rosetta Stone
Grades
9 to 12
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By the makers of the language learning software Rosetta Stone, this free site offers language learners an opportunity to have an online pen pal. You can choose to use the ...more
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By the makers of the language learning software Rosetta Stone, this free site offers language learners an opportunity to have an online pen pal. You can choose to use the chat or email function and practice your language skills in the languages of your choice. After a free registration, you can use either voice chat, written chat, or email. You can share as little or as much information as you choose to in your profile. To begin, simply choose a native language for your language partner as well as the language you would like to use to communicate in! There is the option to choose more than one chat partner as well. With an authentic language partner from another culture the opportunity to learn about culture, idiomatic language, things of interest to young people, etc. is a terrific bonus for you. Develop a network of friends at this site.
tag(s): arabic (21), chat (53), chinese (50), french (90), german (65), hebrew (19), idioms (45), italian (34), japanese (43), russian (28), spanish (108)
In the Classroom
Use this site with your world language students. Warning: Due to interaction with the public, be sure to check your school's policy on allowing students to register on a site such as this. We strongly recommend parent permission, as well. Discuss safety issues in advance, such as what to do if the "pal" enters into inappropriate discussions.If you have a group of students participating, prepare a list of interview questions and have your students make culture reports using the information they gather from their partners. You could give them a choice of presentation tools, so all in the class can learn from the other cultures. Use a presentation tool such as authorSTREAM reviewed here, My Brochure Maker reviewed here, or Bookemon reviewed here.
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)
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Digg.com - Digg Inc.
Grades
7 to 12
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Digg is a social news network similar in some qualities to Facebook and other such social media. You can post stories you find interesting and browse "Top Stories" which are ...more
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Digg is a social news network similar in some qualities to Facebook and other such social media. You can post stories you find interesting and browse "Top Stories" which are more or less the most popular stories shared by others on the Internet. It is meant to share a snapshot of the most interesting, relevant, quirky, and fun content on the web! Once you sign up, you can start to Digg your own favorites. This site also features "Digg Dialogg" where members submit questions to notable leaders and community members decide on which questions will be asked and interviews are shared on the site. Be sure to preview items that you wish to share. Noted were a few "violent" warnings at the time of this review, but the other 99% of the shared items were excellent for use in the classroom.
tag(s): debate (44), news (265), social networking (112)
In the Classroom
Try using Digg as a warm up Internet activity in the beginning of the school year by having older students sign up for their own account. Have them scan and read as part of current events teaching. The articles can be controversial which provides a great place to start debates. Are you beginning to integrate technology into your classroom? Use a tool such as WeJIT, reviewed here, or if you are a more experienced technology user try ProConIt, reviewed here, to formalize a debate topic. Digg also provides an excellent resource for research. Have students make a multimedia presentation using Genial.ly, reviewed here. Genial.ly allows you to add polls, videos, embeds, web links, PowerPoint, PDFs, and you can create a variety of formats like interactive posters, images, infographics, charts, presentations, and more.
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Animaps - Animaps
Grades
8 to 12
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Use Animaps to go beyond Google's My Maps, adding animation. You can add text, multiple location stops, and images to maps. Maps that you make can be shared with anyone ...more
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Use Animaps to go beyond Google's My Maps, adding animation. You can add text, multiple location stops, and images to maps. Maps that you make can be shared with anyone or kept private. Connect your Animaps to Facebook and Twitter for direct photo and map sharing. This tool's major advantage is that it adds the factor of time to the map.
tag(s): map skills (81), maps (293), timelines (64)
In the Classroom
To use this tool, create an account and start playing with the features. There are also tutorials and showcases featured on the site to show what can be done. This would be great for creating time lines in social studies class, showing different places and teaching geography and social studies together. Foreign language students could create maps explaining culture aspects of the language or trace the origins of language. Assign students in math or family consumer sciences to be travel agents and plan vacations, including the costs of the trip.As part of a book project, have your students show the setting of a novel they are reading, with images that annotate their impression of what the setting looks like. Have students create visual current events, especially for events that take place over time, such as the primaries and Presidential Elections.
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Show(R) USA - SHOW(R)
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
See a new way to look at the USA (or the World, or Japan). This site resizes countries on the map in relation to various issues: population, resources, employment, religion, ...more
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See a new way to look at the USA (or the World, or Japan). This site resizes countries on the map in relation to various issues: population, resources, employment, religion, death, business, the environment, and more. Each main topic also has numerous sub-topics to explore. Maps adjust to correspond to data. For example, click on "unemployed" on the U.S. map and you see the states in proportion to the number of unemployed workers. Mouse over the state and you can see the percentage of unemployed workers. A list on the right ranks states from 1 to 50 for the percentage of unemployed (or other specified topic). New maps/topics are constantly being added, and you can make suggestions as to what types of maps you would like to see.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): agriculture (57), elections (78), energy (202), environment (318), infographics (47), maps (293), politics (99), population (62), religions (68), resources (112), sports (98)
In the Classroom
When studying a specific topic in class (unemployment, AIDS, drunk driving, religion, energy resources, crops, etc.), share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Ask students why certain state or countries might differ from others. Are there issues that appear to be related, such as alcoholism and unemployment? Is it cause/effect or simply a coincidence? During election years, explore political leanings/polls and other statistics from this site. Have cooperative learning groups explore a specific topic (or state) and possible reasons for the data. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge groups to create an online graphic to share using Tabblo reviewed here. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Remember that you can always take screenshots of a map using PrtScrn key in Windows (then paste it where you want it) or using Command+Shift+4 on a Mac to save the image on your computer. Use the screenshots in explanations and presentations.
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Pinterest - Pinterest.com
Grades
K to 12
2 Favorites
1 Comments
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. Browse the site without registration. Type Edu in the search ...more
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Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. Browse the site without registration. Type Edu in the search bar, and find an Education area with menu tabs like Science, Elementary, English, Higher, STEM, and more. Images have a short caption; clicking on a picture gives the option to Repin or Like. To create/add to your pinboards, register for free. If you have an account, you can Repin the picture to a pinboard you have titled and created within your account. Click on the image again to visit the original site of the image. Often this is just what you are looking for to learn specific details. You can also search Pinterest for specific items such as Guided Reading, File Folder Activities, or other classroom needs. Pinterest members can "follow" other users and see their new items as they add them to their pinboards. Use Pinterest on any device or computer, and there is a related Facebook app.
tag(s): architecture (84), cooking (35), creativity (119), DAT device agnostic tool (170), fashion (10), guided reading (45), nutrition (159), organizational skills (128), professional development (156), social media (21), social networking (112)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for finding printables and other items for classroom use. Create your own pinboards for organizing classroom resources found on the web. Create pinboards for students to view and/or add to as a whole class activity, such as "things that use energy," food groups, or groups of items for primary level vocabulary/practice (clothing items, farm animals, clock faces for telling time, etc.). Maybe even create "which one does not belong?" pinboards for PreK and early grades to view and change on an interactive whiteboard and repeat at home. In higher grades, make pinboards for different subjects or units where you collect videos, images, classroom blogs and websites, etc. Share your pinboards with students and parents by putting the link on your class website. Challenge your older students to create their own pinboards as a research project. Use Pinterest to show their hobbies/passions, wise quotes, recipes that fit a specific theme, art/lyrics, or a travel Itinerary. Follow other teachers using Pinterest to see items that they are adding and using in their classrooms. Add TeachersFirst to your pinboards! Note: Take a screenshot of something you find to upload to Pinterest!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)
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Comments
Sharon, OH, Grades: 4 - 12
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FORA.tv - FORA.tv
Grades
9 to 12
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FORA.tv's claim to fame is as the Web's largest collection of conference and event videos. These videos come from sources such as universities, think tanks, and other intelligent discourses....more
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FORA.tv's claim to fame is as the Web's largest collection of conference and event videos. These videos come from sources such as universities, think tanks, and other intelligent discourses. While one can sign up for this service, it is not required. Joining for free does have some perks such as the ability to rate or comment on videos. At the time of this review, there were over 10,000 FREE videos. An additional 500 videos were available for a FEE.
Videos can be shared through email, embedded, or linked with the URL by copying and pasting it to your own blog or website. Video content is categorized into business, environment, politics, science, technology, and culture. Each category has numerous sub-categories available. Please preview anything before you share it with your students. At the time of this review there was a subcategory "Sex" which may not be appropriate for most classrooms. But always preview! Teachers may want to share ONLY specific video links.
This site includes advertising.
Videos can be shared through email, embedded, or linked with the URL by copying and pasting it to your own blog or website. Video content is categorized into business, environment, politics, science, technology, and culture. Each category has numerous sub-categories available. Please preview anything before you share it with your students. At the time of this review there was a subcategory "Sex" which may not be appropriate for most classrooms. But always preview! Teachers may want to share ONLY specific video links.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): business (57), cultures (110), elections (78), energy (202), environment (318), evolution (101), genetics (95), investing (8), news (265), politics (99), psychology (66), religions (68), sexuality (14), stock market (13), sustainability (20), video (276)
In the Classroom
Search to find videos relevant to the subjects that you are teaching. Videos are thought provoking and suggest different viewpoints. Once you select a video, show it as an inepth look into a topic you are already studying. Share the video and start a class discussion about the viewpoints of the video and the students' own viewpoints. From here, students could write a position paper from their own side or do further research for a class debate. Challenge your students to create their own video about topics being discussed/learned in class. Share the videos using a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here.
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Smarthistory Art History Converstaion - Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker with Khan Academy
Grades
3 to 12
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Take a virtual field trip to explore world class museums and online art institute for free! Avoid budget restrictions and field trip limitations by joining this Webby award winning...more
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Take a virtual field trip to explore world class museums and online art institute for free! Avoid budget restrictions and field trip limitations by joining this Webby award winning site. Investigate the world of art history accompanied by two professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Smarthistory started as a a blog featuring free audio guides, podcasts, and videos. Later it became an interactive exploration of eras, styles, and artists. Smarthistory has recently merged with KahnAcademy utilizing the same concept: that high quality education should be free and available to all. Included in each video are informational resources to give extra information. Many universities use Smarthistory as a required part of their curriculum.
tag(s): art history (72), medieval (27), renaissance (35)
In the Classroom
A must for any art classroom, Smarthistory adds an extra dimension and deeper understanding to any history, social studies, or cultural studies classroom. Use in writing workshops to provide insights to art and culture and to into thoughts and feelings. Study written works alongside the art of past time periods. Tempt students into the amazing world of art history by watching the new videos. Bring unlimited, world-class resources to each class. All of the videos are easily adaptable to an interactive whiteboard or projector. Debate clubs can study techniques and develop their own styles of debate. Gifted classes will devour this website. Provide this link on your class website to offer students extra challenge and exploration.
This resource requires Adobe Flash and PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Docs Teach - The National Archives
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
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Explore collections of primary documents from US History enhanced with tools for teaching. This site adds the ability to manipulate primary documents to build informative and challenging...more
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Explore collections of primary documents from US History enhanced with tools for teaching. This site adds the ability to manipulate primary documents to build informative and challenging lessons. While a few of the documents and lessons are available for the casual visitor to the site, you need to register (and it's free!) in order to make full use of the amazing resources here. Once you have registered, you can access all the documents and use the activity builder to create lessons which use primary documents to teach sequencing, mapping, weighing evidence, interpreting data, and seeing the big picture. Please note that you do not HAVE to create anything, you can simply use what is already here. (And they do already have a lot to offer.) You will need to create a project if you want to package an activity that you can use now and again later.
tag(s): american revolution (89), civil war (145), digital storytelling (153), great depression (26), industrial revolution (25), primary sources (93), westward expansion (29), world war 1 (53), world war 2 (141)
In the Classroom
If you teach history or social studies, you know what a great emphasis is being placed on the use of primary documents in helping students develop an awareness of the perspectives of those who lived during a particular era. Use this site to develop sophisticated lessons using primary documents on US History with the activity builder. Use the ready-made activities (the majority of which are available once you've registered), on an interactive whiteboard or projector for the whole class or assign groups of students to work independently at a computer workstation or at home. These activities encourage higher order thinking among students rather than simply the memorization of facts.
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The Wilderness Downtown - Chris Milk
Grades
4 to 12
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This interactive music video will bring in a street view of any address you enter. The pop group, Arcade Fire, worked with Google to develop this video for its song ...more
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This interactive music video will bring in a street view of any address you enter. The pop group, Arcade Fire, worked with Google to develop this video for its song "We Used To Wait." The video is best viewed in Chrome, but can also be viewed in Safari, and most of it on Internet Explorer. It uses Google Maps and Google Street View to bring the address you entered directly into the movie. You don't have to enter an exact address for the interaction to happen. You can put in a city, state, and country and get some very good results. A warning will appear that the information isn't complete, but click on "continue anyway" to see the results. Not only is this a sentimental trip down memory lane for you, but there are a myriad of ways to use this video with your students. Note: the video actually launches in multiple smaller windows, so allow all of them to montage on your screen! The final "postcard" that prompts you to write to your younger self uses the same artistic font as the title page. Take a screen shot of it to preserve what your message.
tag(s): creative writing (171), descriptive writing (44), poetry (224), video (276), writing prompts (95)
In the Classroom
World history, and world culture teachers could use this video by putting in a city and country where you know there are historical buildings from the time period you are studying. Science and math teachers could put in cities and countries for the origins of famous scientists or mathematicians or locations of major environmental events. And, of course, world language and geography teachers can input any city and country you are studying.Any student, but especially ESL/ELL students, will discover forgotten memories after putting in an address and watching the film. Students who have always lived in the same home may want to put in the address of a favorite relative or vacation spot. At the end there is a prompt to write a postcard; however, it cannot be mailed to anyone in particular. So, have students jot memories ignited by the video on paper or in an open word processing document. Have them use one of the memories as a prompt for a memoir. Have students create blogs using Throwww (reviewed here). This site allows you to create "quick and easy" blogs to be used one time only. There is no registration necessary!
During Poetry Month or a poetry unit, talk about the song lyrics as poetry, then have students write their own poems and read them along with their personal location video (with sound muted). Make poetry a personal performance piece!
Have you ever wanted to show your students the setting of a novel you are reading as a class? Imagine using the setting for Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet and putting in the street, city, and zipcode for Hyde Park and the University of Chicago. Powerful! At the end of the book there is a chase scene, and the students will really be able to visualize this section of the book. You might want to show the setting at the beginning and ask the students to write about why the person is running. After reading the novel, students could select different music to fit their impression of the book. Just mute the music in the video and allow their selection to play. Have students explain why they felt their choice fit that part of the novel better. Have students do this and vote on the musical selection they think fits best by using a tool such as Votesy, reviewed here.
This video could also be used as a prompt for a creative writing. Ask the students to listen carefully to the words in the music and connect the runner with the words, and explain why the figure is running? What might the figure be running from? Toward? Or, students could create a poem for the video, and even put the poem to music, or use the music from a favorite song for their poem. This site invites creativity and multimedia responses.
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Big Think - Big Think
Grades
7 to 12
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News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This ...more
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News and information from top thinkers and doers around the world, screened so that it is condensed to that which is significant, relevant, and applicable, that is Big Think. This website is a phenomenal source for information and news. The philosophy of Big Think is that as we "move to the knowledge era" that you will be able to better function if you know more and understand what you know. This website was awarded one of TIME magazine's best websites of 2011 for news and information. Please screen any articles that you wish to share BEFORE sharing with your students. Some content is NOT appropriate for the classroom. This is not a site you want to send students off to explore on their own.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): brain (72), business (57), cross cultural understanding (120), environment (318), news (265), politics (99), psychology (66)
In the Classroom
Choose a story that relates to your topic that you are teaching such as science or even music with a story such as "How Music is Good for Your Brain." Share the story with your students. Discuss the writings, and then use it as a platform on how students should approach the things that they are learning in class. This way they develop critical thinking skills and extract the most important information and leave the accessory facts to the side. Assign specific articles to cooperative learning groups to read and explore together. Then have students create a multimedia project to share with the class using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.
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Virtual Field Trip - Utah Education Network
Grades
1 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
Save hundreds of dollars spicing up your curriculum with virtual field trips! This site has "field trips" to take, instructions for creating, and resources for other virtual field trip...more
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Save hundreds of dollars spicing up your curriculum with virtual field trips! This site has "field trips" to take, instructions for creating, and resources for other virtual field trip sites. Field trips for; Career, fine arts, foreign language, health and PE, language arts, math, library, media, professional development, science, social studies, and technology are given. There is a plethora of topics - perfect for research and "virtual" travel. The topics are too broad to list all of them, but some include tessellations, dinosaurs, water cycle, medieval times, Civil War, oil painting, and much more! Receive a detailed tutorial for finding instructions on asking permission for field trips, creating virtual field trips, and evaluating the experience. No bus required! At the time of this review, three of the links under "Visit Related Sites" were not working.
tag(s): animals (288), baseball (36), biomes (100), business (57), charts and graphs (195), civil war (145), dinosaurs (55), egypt (70), field trips (12), immigrants (21), immigration (58), japan (62), maps (293), mayans (13), medieval (27), mexico (34), multiple intelligences (11), musical instruments (47), nutrition (159), olympics (49), painting (65), probability (132), religions (68), rocks (50), russia (38), sports (98), statistics (125), tessellations (6), test prep (96), virtual field trips (50), volcanoes (65), water cycle (33)
In the Classroom
Immerse your students into your studies with a close up in depth look through virtual field trips. Visit places where time, money, and mileage inhibit your dreams for bringing your students into wondrous worlds. Find ways to visit where your class has never gone before. Create a personalized field trip to meet your every need with the detailed tutorials given. Find ways to motivate your most reluctant learners. ESL/ELL learners will appreciate the visit. Reach all types of learners through a class visit. Use field trips as a whole class anticipatory guide, a center activity, a home connection, or even as extra credit. Challenge your gifted students to be guides to their own learning. Make your class go global!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History of Medical Discoveries - The New England Journal of Medicine
Grades
9 to 12
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Explore this interactive timeline about the history of modern medicine. Click on images in the timeline to find historical information and articles. The information pops up so as not...more
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Explore this interactive timeline about the history of modern medicine. Click on images in the timeline to find historical information and articles. The information pops up so as not to be taken away from the timeline. Related articles and other milestones appear along the side of the information. Move the slider at the top to find various time periods or search various fields of medicine.
In the Classroom
This site is ideal for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have the students open the site and use the whiteboard tools to do a general overview of the history of medicine. Students can then select specific areas of medicine and find articles to get more information. Have them do an online poster project combining information from here and from their own research using a tool such as Zoho Show (reviewed here). Or have students create their own interactive timelines using a site such as TimeRime (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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obooko - Tony Stanton, Sarah Bainbridge, Tim Johnson
Grades
7 to 12
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Join the writers and readers of obooko, the free site to publish and read ebooks. Readers' Choice Awards of 2011 winner for free eBooks , obooko offers a platform to ...more
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Join the writers and readers of obooko, the free site to publish and read ebooks. Readers' Choice Awards of 2011 winner for free eBooks , obooko offers a platform to share your work and read the works of others. Become a reviewer and write comments on other ebooks. As authors, you retain all rights with no charges or contracts. This site is legal and does not infringe on copyright laws. There are numerous categories to choose from: Romance and Women, Crime, Religion, Thriller, Mystery, Teens, and much more! This site is not intended for children under 13. Some of the content may not be appropriate for the classroom. So be sure to preview.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (171), ebooks (43), mysteries (24), novels (23), poetry (224), religions (68)
In the Classroom
For your language arts class, obooko contains many examples of contemporary writing. Selections for critiquing and editing are readily available without hurting any class member's feelings. Look at examples for current ideas and places to begin brainstorming. Included are free templates for different types of writing. Have each member of your class become a published author! Use the titles as writing prompts or read only half of the story and have students finish it in their own way. Bring each student's story into the lives of many. Assign critiques using obooko. You might even create a school or class obooko literary magazine during poetry month.Library/media specialists may want to select certain ebooks to load on school iTouches for students to read and review. Start an obooko reading club with these free options.
If you are uncomfortable sharing here or school policy prohibits it, have your classes create a similar website (wiki) with published pieces from your school or class. Not familiar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.
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)
Products can be shared by URL
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Kids Talk Radio - Bob Barboza, Kids Talk Radio USA
Grades
6 to 12
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Kids Talk Radio is maintained by educational professional, Bob Barboza to help kids learn to listen, speak, read, write, and compute effectively. Originally the project was started...more
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Kids Talk Radio is maintained by educational professional, Bob Barboza to help kids learn to listen, speak, read, write, and compute effectively. Originally the project was started for students in grade 4 to 8, but is expanding for students that are bilingual or at risk in grades 9 through 12. You can view parts of the radio shows via the website, find them on YouTube, or subscribe on iTunes! Kids radio broadcast by students for students. The topics range from news stories around the world to science to music to world cultures and more. Some of the videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. You could always view that at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube.
tag(s): musical instruments (47), podcasts (55), radio (27), sounds (70)
In the Classroom
Use this to inspire your own students to create their own in school radio programs, or if you can interest your administrators in the initiative, try to start Kids Talk Radio in your school. Use a tool such as PodOmatic (reviewed here). Within science for instance, have students do current reports of controversial science topics. In music, have students create songs and sing them. You can always use this simply as inspiration or join with the initiative.
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Mathematical Chronology - School of Mathematics & Statistics, University of St Andrews
Grades
6 to 12
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This site provides a wonderful chronology of mathematical information starting about 3000 BC on up to the 21st Century. Information can be accessed in several ways. Upon entering the...more
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This site provides a wonderful chronology of mathematical information starting about 3000 BC on up to the 21st Century. Information can be accessed in several ways. Upon entering the site there is a timeline across the top and all information included is in list form on the main page, simply scroll through to view all items. Searches can be narrowed to defined time periods by mousing over that area on the timeline or typing dates into the blank box at the right of the timeline. There is also a link to a chronology index which leads to time periods already broken into smaller portions. Also available is a biographical index which can be used by time period, or choose female mathematicians or use the alphabetical index as an option.
tag(s): biographies (90), cross cultural understanding (120), timelines (64)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource when studying different time periods in history to understand math concepts and famous mathematicians of the time. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to provide background on the development of math concepts over time. Share this site with students to use when researching mathematicians. Allow students to explore the site for information relating to certain countries and their contributions to mathematics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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OPB: Art Beat at School - Oregon Public Broadcasting
Grades
K to 12
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Here you will find an online collection of streaming video clips from OPB's Oregon Art Beat television series. In addition, there are 100 lesson plans designed for K-12 teachers to...more
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Here you will find an online collection of streaming video clips from OPB's Oregon Art Beat television series. In addition, there are 100 lesson plans designed for K-12 teachers to use in the classroom. Each of the lesson plans has related materials such as worksheets and scoring guides to use with the activities. Discover a variety of ways to integrate the Arts across all subject areas with this innovative set of learning resources.
Searching this site is very flexible. You can search by categories (music, drawing and painting, historical and cultural perspectives, dance, architecture, landscape, films, sculpture, and many more) by clicking on the "search video" tab. You can also search by entering a keyword. There is also an advanced search where you can search by topic categories, curriculum categories, as well as keywords.
This site includes advertising.
Searching this site is very flexible. You can search by categories (music, drawing and painting, historical and cultural perspectives, dance, architecture, landscape, films, sculpture, and many more) by clicking on the "search video" tab. You can also search by entering a keyword. There is also an advanced search where you can search by topic categories, curriculum categories, as well as keywords.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): architecture (84), art history (72), cross cultural understanding (120), cultures (110), dance (28), drawing (81), geometric shapes (165), painting (65), plays (36), sculpture (22), video (276)
In the Classroom
This site will help any teacher answer the question, "Why do I have to learn this?" You will also find ways to show connections between the arts and other fields of endeavor. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Here are just a few examples of how you can use the Arts in your academic classes:In math when studying geometric patterns, you might want to show the video about quilt artist Mary Bywater Cross. She likes to take a traditional pattern, blow it up, figure out where to cut to make the repeat in her geometrical patterns, how to achieve symmetry and balance in her designs, and how to make it all work in the quilt she envisions. Mary is also a quilt historian, so your students will also gain background knowledge about quilts and wool.
In science, view quantum physicist-turned-sculptor, Julian Voss-Andreae's stainless steel sculpture based on the molecular structure of an antibody.
This resource requires Adobe Flash and PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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CIESE Tele-Collaborative Classroom Projects - The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
Grades
1 to 12
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This site provides several collaborative science and engineering projects with various start dates. Projects are available for a full range of grade levels. The target grade level is...more
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This site provides several collaborative science and engineering projects with various start dates. Projects are available for a full range of grade levels. The target grade level is listed with the project. Some projects at the time of this review included: The Global Sun (grades 5-8), Bucket Buddies (grades 1-5), Human Genetics (grades 6-12), Home Lighting in Developing Countries (grades 9-12), and several others.
tag(s): animals (288), engineering (127), genetics (95), light (49), plants (153), scientists (70), sun (72), water (130)
In the Classroom
Use these collaborative projects to teach students more about science and engineering. Even though some of the start dates have passed, teachers can still access the information and lessons. Many projects offer the future dates. If you choose to participate during the time frame or not, you can use the materials to collaborate with a class in the same school or in another state.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Learning Media - PBS
Grades
K to 12
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This PBS site is a reorganized collection of over 16,000+ public media offerings (including radio and photographs), arranged specifically for preK-12 teachers. You can search by subject...more
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This PBS site is a reorganized collection of over 16,000+ public media offerings (including radio and photographs), arranged specifically for preK-12 teachers. You can search by subject and grade level across many subjects. After viewing three offerings, you must join (for free) to continue. Membership includes the option of saving favorites. You can also find correlations to state standards. The site is still in development, so material is being added frequently.
tag(s): alphabet (89), careers (136), dance (28), data (153), decimals (131), diseases (69), human body (127), mark twain (10), multimedia (63), music theory (41), percent (83), probability (132), problem solving (273), psychology (66)
In the Classroom
Find more details and teacher information under "Customization for States and District" to align the offerings here with your state's standards. Check this site for an introduction to a curriculum topic or unit or when looking for support activities to reinforce concepts. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. Share the interactives as a learning center or on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This is one that you want to save in your favorites.
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Science (and more) to Music - Dr. Lodge McCammon
Grades
4 to 12
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This site offers many songs related to math, social studies, and science concepts. Science concepts include water & pollution, scientific inquiry, changes in matter, and much more....more
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This site offers many songs related to math, social studies, and science concepts. Science concepts include water & pollution, scientific inquiry, changes in matter, and much more. Math concepts range from order of operations to quadratic and exponential functions. After choosing a topic, you can listen to the song online, download the mp3, view lyrics, and possibly view an accompanying video. (Not all topics include the video.) Some topics also include a teacher guide with lesson suggestions. This site does mention that you can create your own videos. However, at the time of this review, that feature was not working.
tag(s): africa (176), area (68), atoms (57), bill of rights (29), branches of government (50), cells (104), civil war (145), constitution (87), elements (37), equations (153), exponents (42), factoring (31), factors (40), functions (69), inquiry (37), integers (41), matter (60), nutrition (159), oceans (150), order of operations (39), quadratics (34), rainforests (13), ratios (56), songs (53), sound (105), volume (44), water (130), world war 2 (141)
In the Classroom
Play songs related to math, social studies, or science concepts in class to supplement current lessons. Download and play the tunes on iPods or mp3 players in a listening corner. Have younger students sing along with the songs (reading the lyrics). ESL/ELL students will benefit from such an alternate presentation of concepts, as will any who have strong musical/rhythmic intelligence. Give students copies of song lyrics, and have them create their own songs. After listening to a song, have students create their own song relating to current classroom topics. Suggest some familiar tunes so students do not have to start from scratch. Create a video of the songs and share using a site such as SchoolTube reviewed here.
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Disapainted - Matus Lestan
Grades
4 to 12
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Make a series of sketches; then turn them into an animation with one click! Set up an account (free) and create an avatar to practice using the simple drawing tools. ...more
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Make a series of sketches; then turn them into an animation with one click! Set up an account (free) and create an avatar to practice using the simple drawing tools. Draw "cells" in which the action slowly progresses. Finally, click to see your cells together as animation! Typical basic drawing tools include a brush, a line, curvy lines, rectangle and circle shapes, polygons, paint, spray, colors, and an eraser. You can save and publish final animations. Be certain to preview anything you wish to share with your class. This site does not require Flash, but rather Java. It therefore will work on iOS devices!
In the Classroom
Use this site to draw a quick sketch to show to your class instantly. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Use this site as the way to add another dimension to individual or group projects. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects, such as simple animations of the rock cycle or water cycle, cells dividing, etc. Share the various projects on your interactive whiteboard or class wiki by url.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)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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