TeachersFirst Tech Topics

Technical Resources - Click for resources on specific topics.

Information on Copyright and fair use - Now on its own page!

Technology Counts - 2001 - Teachers - Here's the online version of Education Week's extensive survey of the accomplishments and challenges surrounding the use of computers and technology in American schools by both students and teachers. Most interesting for its state-by-state tables and comparisons, the site also chronicles an assortment of issues - and non-issues - which may not be apparent in a casual reading. This one is a "must read."

Acceptable Use Policies Collection - The Virginia Department of Education has created a very usable collection of acceptable use policies from schools, colleges, and universities. These are presented along with some general guidelines as to the information that an AUP should contain. Great resource for schools and districts that want to be clear with students, faculty and staff about on-line rights and responsibilities.

Adaptive Technology and the Internet - This site offers a collection of resources offering assistance with adaptive technologies to make the Internet more accessible to those with disabilities. There are resources for vision, hearing, and motor deficits, as well as general resources on how information providers can accommodate the needs of the disabled. From the American Library Association.

The Babbage Pages - English mathematician, economist, and inventor Charles Babbage was a pioneer in concepts which led to the development of today's computers. This site from Exeter University helps to tell his story. If your students are interested in the history of computing, Babbage is a name to include.

Building a School Web Site - This is a well-written tutorial introducing HTML, site design, server issues, and many other topics. If you're interested in building your own site, or even if you just want to try a sample HTML page, this tutorial has both the detail and the tone to help. Privately published.

Building School Web Sites - No two schools tackle this job in the same way, and the rapid evolution of new software and web management tools means that "how to" guides can quickly become dated. This site, however, offers some basic principles and ideas for districts interested in starting or revising their web presence.

Complying with the Children's Internet Protection Act - A summary of the steps which schools, libraries, and similar institutions must take to comply with this act's security provisions. A useful guide to librarians, administrators, or those developing web content for young people. Developed by the state of Wisconsin.

Diggit! - In a world where searching for images can cause many problems, Diggit is an image search engine that seems safe for use in classrooms. Its filtering appears to be adequate, and it returns useful images for most searchers. If you're looking for images to use in your classroom presentations, this site is worth a try.

Dummies Daily - Sign up for this daily e-mail tip service and you'll get regular tips on using the software you've selected in the registration form. Several teachers have recommended this one to us, and the sample tips are useful and easy to understand. The site has an up-front notice that they share their mailing list, but that may be a small price to pay for helpful information.

Eight Steps to Information Literacy - This is a great guide for teachers interested in getting their students to use the web and related technologies creatively. You'll find a step-by-step process that lets students get organized before heading off on a project and encourages them to sort through their results before building a project. Great backgrounder for teachers getting started with web research.

Electronic Collaboration - A Guide for Educators - This site from Brown University offers a highly detailed discussion of the various ways in which educators can use electronic collaboration - the web, chat utilities, and BBS systems - in learning applications. While the text can be long at times, the material is well-organized and presented using lots of examples. Best of all, the entire document is available for download in Adobe Acrobat format. This is a great resource for teachers and technology professionals interested in electronic collaboration.

Electric Teacher - This is a nice collection of on-line tutorials and related information on software frequently used in schools. The author has clearly "been there - done that." If you'd like to do more with the programs on your computer, start here.

Ergonomics Simplified - There's nothing fancy about this site explaining the importance of good ergonomics in setting up computers for students. The information is presented clearly, though, and the emphasis on how to achieve a computer setup that won't contort your students without spending hundreds of dollars is sure to be on target for teachers in most schools. If you're responsible for any student's use of a computer, this is information you should know.

Falling Through the Net - This site from the National Telecommunications Information Agency is part of an ongoing examination of the extent to which Americans with low incomes or minority status tend not to be part of the online community. This "cybergap" will likely receive increased attention in the months to come. The report is especially worth a look if you're teaching in an urban or multicultural setting.

GetSpeed - Is your dial-up connection at home making you crazy? Click here for a search tool that will tell you what high-speed services are available at your location. We've no good way to test the accuracy, but this information should be helpful in places where DSL and cable modems are sprouting.

How Good are Web Filters? - This article from consumer reports suggests that parents or schools that rely entirely on filtering programs to police students' web surfing may be in for unpleasant surprises.

Inspiration Tutorial - Here's a step-by-step Inspiration tutorial for those already familiar with the software. The site includes links to examples and related information.

Inspiration and Graphic Organizers - This SCORE page offers teachers a comparison of several different graphic organizer strategies and software applications that are appropriate for different teaching situations. This page can be helpful in showing the variety of options available for concept mapping.

Inspiration and Mapping Tools Tutorial - A Wisconsin district's multi-part tutorial on Inspiration offers lots of opportunities to see examples, and some practice at concept mapping.

The Invisible Web - Well not really... but this site provides a nice discussion of some of the web resources - and especially resource collections that typical search engines might miss. This is an evolving topic, so some of the information may be dated, but the underlying principle that you may need to use specialized tools to find what you're after is well worth learning. Privately published by a faculty member at Rider University.

The Journey Inside - Grades 4-8 - Intel's tour of the inside of your computer has reappeared in the Web world. Use it for an interactive, highly visual look at what goes on inside the typical PC. This one can be a useful introduction for both students and teachers.

KidsCom - Grades 2-8 - This site has several "rooms" to enter. "Around the World" enables students to send messages to world leaders via the Internet. "Make New Friends" allows you to make friends all over the world as pen-pals, or express your opinion on a bulletin board. "Kids Talk About" encourages students to think (and respond) to questions or topics. "Just for Fun" is as it says, games for fun! Included is a parent/teacher section. Interesting site! This site is sponsored by Circle 1 Network.

Montage - A Collaborative Projects Site - This Australian site offers a rich collection of collaborative projects for schools and students. The site includes everything from projects which allow students to collaborate individually via e-mail to comprehensive projects involving sharing information and experiences among dozens of schools around the world. The interface is attractive, and so is the scope of projects. If you're willing to make the effort on a cooperative project, this could be a great place to start.

Noodletools - This site combines an on-line bibliographic entry generator with a search engine designed for the truly novice user. Users enter searches using fill-in-the-blanks forms to narrow their search results. While it's hard to compare the quality of various search engines, the format of this tool can help new users understand how to format and limit a search to get the results they want.

Student Web Publishing - Empowering Students - Here's a quick guide for teachers who are beginning to explore web publishing with their students. There are guidelines on privacy issues, group development policies, and even some advice on the publishing of personal web pages. The site also offers links to additional resources, for those who want to dig into the topic more deeply. Created as part of a collaborative effort with Philadelphia's Franklin Institute.

Photolibraries - Historical images can be a powerful teaching tool. This site offers a manageable metalist of reputable museums and other archival images sources, along with links to some of their most prominent collections. Naturally, copyright and reproduction rights to these images vary greatly, but many of the sites catalogued here could be useful as resources themselves. If you like working with images, this is a great starting point.

Protecting Children's Privacy Online - This is a guide to the fundamentals of the new federal on-line protection law protecting children's privacy on the web. Written for a blended audience of parents and educators, there are fundamentals on what information web sites can collect about children and how they can use that information. An understanding of this act is probably a good prerequisite for using the web with students.

Plagiarism on the Web - While lots of sites complain about this problem, this one offers some usable strategies to combat it. Developed by a faculty member at Western Illinois University, the site notes some of the sites most notorious for encouraging plagairism, and offers a number of suggestions on ways to ensure that the writing you get from your students is theirs, not someone else's. This site could be a really practical tool for teachers who encounter work that doesn't appear to be original.

Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) - This online tutorial was originally designed to make competent web users out of University of Texas undergraduates. Teachers will find it a great way to learn more about Internet basics and hone their academic search skills. Secondary students who are already accomplished surfers will also learn how to use the web for research. The Flash-enabled version of the site includes animations and narration, and the tutorials give users lots of choices specific to their personal interests.

Do's and Don'ts for Students On-Line - This lesson plan from the U.S. Department of Justice is designed to help students stay safe when using the Internet. It includes basic information on privacy issues and copyright, as well as guidelines regarding divulging information when on-line. Applicable for elementary and middle school students.

ClarisWorks and AppleWorks tutorials - This is a neat little collection of tutorials, tips, and other ideas to help Claris and Appleworks users get the most out of their software. In addition to introductory ideas, there are plenty of tips for more advanced users on topics like using spreadsheet functions. If you use either of these software packages, this is a great resource.

Living Internet - One of the more complete on-line guides to the Internet, its history, its capabilities, and some of its more famous, and infamous, personalities. Some of the content looks a bit dated, but if you're searching for a comprehensive treatment that's well organized, you could do a lot worse than this one.

How Microprocessors Work - One of Intel's old favorites is back. This Shockwave enhanced site teaches students the fundamentals of how a microprocessor does its decision-making. The animations make the presentation particularly interesting, and the topic can be integrated into a number of science or technology applications. Well worth a look.

How Transistors Work - The companion to Intel's microprocessor introduction, this site explains the fundamentals of how transistors work as solid-state switches, and introduces the concept of binary notation and counting. You can even spell your name in binary code! Great starting point for interested upper elementary or middle schoolers.

Quia - Learning Activities - Teachers - This site lets teachers create web-based learning activities, quizzes and puzzles for their students. A selection of templates and pre-drawn utilities lets teachers adapt web interactivity to their individual content. There are also samples of activities created by other teachers. This one's really different, and it may be just what you need to motivate your students.

Report of the Commission on Web Based Education - The final report of the Web-Based Education Commission (WBEC) was published on 19 December 2000. Senator Bob Kerrey (D. Neb.), Chairman, and Representative Johnny Isakson (R. Ga.), Vice-Chairman of the Web-Based Education Commission urge the new Administration and 107th Congress to make E-learning a centerpiece of the nation's education policy.

Search Engine Features Compared - Not all search engines are the same, and using the right search tool is critical to finding what you want on the web. This site offers both quick comparisons and in-depth reviews of more than a dozen major search engines, to help you find a search tool that will work best for you. If you're into web research, this is a great starting point.

Technology White Papers - This is a collection of papers on technology-in-the-classroom issues. Written by university students, they provide some insights into the factors involved in managing classroom technology. They are student works, however, and may not, therefore, represent expert opinion on the topics discussed.

Techtutorials - Not quite what the name implies, but this is a useful resource nonetheless. While there are some actual software tutorials listed, the collection is more a metasite for tips, resources, ideas, and add-ons for popular software. This is itself could make this collection invaluable for stumped software users.

TransMac - It's one of teachers' most common computer nightmares: a spreadsheet or word processor file created on a MAC - and you have a PC. Transmac is a neat little shareware program that lets your PC read MAC files and floppies. Click on this link for the shareware site from which you can download this utility.

Virtual Resource for Teaching with Technology - This site from Bell Atlantic is more than a how-to. There's a rich collection of studies, information, examples, and other content for those interested in using technology to teach. The content ranges from the theoretical to the practical. This one's worth exploring.

W3History - This is a chronological history of the World Wide Web intended primarily for programmers, marketers, and people who earn their living working with the web. Parts of the history may be useful in explaining web behaviors, or they might be helpful to a student researching the web for a class project.

Webopedia - When you hit a computer technology term that even your students don't know, Webopedia comes to the rescue with explanations of computers, the web, and all the jargon that go with them. There are also links to other computer-education resources and information.

Web Site Evaluation - Lesley University has created a nice tutorial on evaluating the veracity and/or bias of web site content. The page is notable for its examples of biased and unbiased content on the same topics. It's a great introduction for teachers just beginning to search the web, and also for high school students conducting web-based research.

Worlds of Web Searching - This page is KidsClick's introduction to the various types of searches and search utilities. While the content is a couple of years old, the approach - helping students think through what kind of search they need - can be useful at any time and with any age group. This one's a good starting point for first-time researchers.

Wired Guide - Billed as a help resource for new computer and Internet users, this site offers a collection of tips and instructions on how to accomplish simple computer tasks like cutting and pasting, creating browser bookmarks, etc. It's by no means an exhaustive resource, but could be helpful if you're a newcomer who needs help with the basics.

Virus Resources - Viruses are something every computer user should take seriously. This meta-page from Northern Light lists information on current virus issues, explains common virus problems, and - most importantly - gives links to numerous vendors who sell virus detection and elimination products. If you're unsure about the security of your computer, this page is worth a visit.

	Do it Yourself - Web-based services: surveys, quizzes, etc.
	Web Filters - Making Web Browsing Safe for all ages - Here's a description of some popular web filter software which controls what pages your browser can view.
	Web Graphics - Here's a description of how web pages use graphics.
	URL Tutorial - You can learn a lot about a web site just by examining its URL. This page shows you how.
	Webquest 101 - TeachersFirst's WebQuest Tutorial - Here's a short on-line tutorial for teachers interested in creating webquests for their students. We've included lots of webquest examples, as well as a number of practical suggestions to help you create a web experience that will actually work in the classroom.
	TeachersFirst's Webquest Collection - This page reviews dozens of webquests drawn from the various TeachersFirst subject areas. If you'd like to create your own webquest, there are lots of good examples here. If you're looking for a great way to interest your students in a new topic, these quests may be just the ticket.

 

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