TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 4, 2014
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
The Math Dude: Quick and Dirty Tips - Jason Marshall, PhD
Grades
6 to 12
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Put math (and related science) fears behind you with podcasts with text transcripts from The Math Dude. The Math Dude makes complex math problems easy to decipher with his easy ...more
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Put math (and related science) fears behind you with podcasts with text transcripts from The Math Dude. The Math Dude makes complex math problems easy to decipher with his easy to follow explanations and tips. Listen to podcasts while viewing text explaining common math questions from basic algebra through SAT prep questions. Be sure to check out the "The Math Dude's Most Popular Tips" and "The Math Dude's Archives." Download podcasts as MP3 files and play through iTunes, QuickTime Player, and RealPlayer installed on a local computer. You can also simply play them from the site. Just be sure you click on the podcast play button and not one of the annoying videos or other ads! This site is loaded with advertisements. However, there is some great material underneath them all. NOTE: This site includes tools for blog users to interact with others. Any visitor can comment on the posts and podcasts or participate in Forums. There are also links to other tip blogs on the web page. Check your school policies on students posting comments, etc. to the web and whether they are permitted to do so anonymously and/or with name or initials.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): measurement (174), operations (117), podcasts (62), problem solving (288)
In the Classroom
Check ahead of time to be sure this site is not blocked at school. If it is blocked, consider subscribing to the blog via iTunes to avoid all the ads. External speakers connected to the computer will help broadcast the sound throughout your classroom. Help students follow along by opening the podcast article (transcript) ad-free using the Readability Test Tool, reviewed here. Project the ad-free article as you play the podcast. Share the link on your class web page or select specific episodes links to offer support for concepts you are studying, such as absolute value or sine/cosine. Extend the concept of The Math Dude by having students write and produce their own math tip podcasts or English tip podcasts to explain the grammar demons that haunt their writing. Use a site such as Spreaker, reviewed here.
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ArtsAlive.ca French Theatre - National Arts Centre
Grades
8 to 12
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Learn about theater and theater arts in this site about the French-language theater in Canada and beyond. Explore over one hundred and fifty headings divided into six sections, a reading...more
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Learn about theater and theater arts in this site about the French-language theater in Canada and beyond. Explore over one hundred and fifty headings divided into six sections, a reading list, and a games section. Investigate theater genres or the history of the theater from Ancient Greece through Theater after World War II until now. Read about major playwrights such as Sophocles, William Shakespeare, Moliere, and many more. Find information on famous directors, great designers, major actors, and theater architecture. Get down to basics by investigating the various aspects of a theater production, specialized vocabulary, and a description of the tasks and trades involved. There are also links and information about professional training for those interested in a theater career. For extra fun, read the site IN French by clicking the link top right.
tag(s): acting (25), architecture (83), design (89), plays (28), producers (8), shakespeare (109)
In the Classroom
Use a projector or interactive whiteboard to present this site to students of drama, English, history, art, or architecture students. Make theater more accessible in your literature class by letting students investigate an aspect of interest to them. History teachers may want to introduce the history of theatre and divide the students into small groups to investigate a specific time period. Have the groups create timelines using Timeline JS, reviewed here. Timeline JS offers the option to upload and add photos, videos, audio, Tweets, and Google Maps making it interactive., to share with the class. Art and design teachers may want to present the sections for design and architecture and then change to the sister site, Arts Alive.ca English Theatre, reviewed here, to learn even more about these theater professions. English and drama teachers could focus on the basics of theater vocabulary, genres, and the various stages of a theater production. Use the French version of this site (click top right) for articles to explore in advanced French classes, perhaps before staging a short play in French.
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Big Facts on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security - Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security, CGIAR
Grades
6 to 12
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With so much talk about climate change, which information is correct and important? Use "Big Facts" for a new way to visualize facts about climate change, agriculture, and food security....more
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With so much talk about climate change, which information is correct and important? Use "Big Facts" for a new way to visualize facts about climate change, agriculture, and food security. More importantly, the reliable information offered through this research-based program counters many of the misrepresented and incorrect offerings in the news and other sources. Search for relevant facts and infographics by region or specific issue. All facts, figures, and material are cited with the original source. Site content has been peer reviewed.
tag(s): climate (94), climate change (71), disasters (40), environment (301), food chains (26), population (62)
In the Classroom
As climate change's effect is being seen on every region of the Earth, this site is a great resource for finding accurate information and figures. Share this site in conjunction with your science curriculum as well as in government, current events, and geography classes. Click on one of the specific regions of the Earth or choose from the various topics in the icons along the bottom. Divide the World's seven regions among student groups in class. View the various impacts including undernourishment, population, dietary change, food waste, climate impact on crops, disasters, mitigation, and adaptation. Have groups present their regions to the class. View the comparisons by region by choosing one of the various impacts. Click the Climate Impact on People icon and view the infographic information as a class using a whiteboard or projector. Use the information presented to view the source material and understand the science behind the numbers. Use these facts as a springboard to further discussions about climate change impacts. Talk about what governments can do both proactively and in response to the changes. Besides the really large ways to cut carbon emissions, what are the little things others can do to make a difference? Begin a grassroots campaign to make small changes. The many infographics on this site provide valuable experience reading and understanding graphic presentation of information as required by Common Core.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Listen to Nature - British Library Sound Archive
Grades
K to 8
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Listen to nature, literally, through this enormous library of animal and bird sounds. There are 400 sound recordings to explore on these pages. Search by habitat, animal group, location,...more
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Listen to nature, literally, through this enormous library of animal and bird sounds. There are 400 sound recordings to explore on these pages. Search by habitat, animal group, location, or bird language. Use the location tab to click on an interactive map and find 150,000 animal sounds throughout the world. Learn how and why birds communicate by checking out The Language of Birds tab. This site requires Windows Media Player or a Mac compatible player for .wma (Windows Media) files. Flip Player for Mac works fine.
tag(s): animal homes (68), animals (322), birds (51), habitats (115), sounds (68)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and speakers to share the various sounds of animals and birds when studying habitats and the animals who live there. One of the most interesting sections is The Language of Birds. This could be an entire investigative unit completed by your students. Explore the text heavy introduction where you can extract information together with your students. Let them explore the different sections of the contents. In small groups, upper elementary and middle school students could create an online poster about the habitat or bird language they learn about. Try a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here. They could play the bird communication in the background while they are explaining their poster to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Screencastify - Chrome Web Store
Grades
K to 12
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Screencastify is a screen capture/screencast software created for use ONLY with Chrome browsers. It even runs on Chromebooks. Choose the "Free" link to add the extension to your Chrome...more
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Screencastify is a screen capture/screencast software created for use ONLY with Chrome browsers. It even runs on Chromebooks. Choose the "Free" link to add the extension to your Chrome browser. Screencastify captures video and audio within tabs. Find the application icon on your browser toolbar and click Record to easily record presentations, tutorials, and more. Be sure to ALLOW Screencastify access to your microphone to enable voice recordings. Choose from recording tabs or your entire desktop. Recording the desktop is currently experimental, however, and may not work as well as the tabs option. Once your recording is complete, return to the Screencastify icon on your browser to name the recording, download to your computer, or upload to YouTube.
In the Classroom
Create screencasts showing how to do various computer tasks or navigate websites. Demonstrate how to use a website or software for specific tasks within the classroom. For example, show how to use the comment feature in Word for annotating class notes, reading passages, and other items. Make how-to demos for instructions on using and navigating your class home page, class wiki or blog, or other applications you wish the students to use in creating their own projects. By narrating how students should navigate through a certain site or section, you can eliminate confusion, provide an opportunity for students to replay the information as a refresher for the future, and maintain a record for absent students. Software demonstrations add an increased flexibility with helping students who need it while allowing students to begin and work at their own pace. Added audio is a great asset for many students, including learning support and those who might need to access the material in smaller "chunks." Use this site for students to give "tours" of their own wiki or blog page. The presentation of their web-based projects and resources can be more engaging. Use screencasts to critique or show the validity of websites, identify a resource site they believe is most valuable, or explain how to navigate an online game. Social studies teachers could assign students to critique a political candidate's web page using a screencast. Reading/language arts teachers could have student teams analyze a website to show biased language, etc. For a powerful writing experience, have students "think aloud" about their writing choices as they record a screencast of a revision or writing session. You will probably need to model this process, but writing will NEVER be the same! Math teachers using software such as Geometer's Sketchpad could have students create their own narrated demonstrations of geometry concepts as review (and to save as future learning aids). Teachers at any level can create screencasts to demonstrate a computer skill or assignment, such as for a center in your classroom or in a computer lab. Students can replay the "tutorial" on their own from your class web page and follow the directions. As a service project, have students write and record how to screencasts to help elderly or less tech savvy computer users navigate the web, register to vote, or find important health information. Writing for such a project would fit right in with CCSS informational writing and digital writing standards in middle and high school.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Surfmark - Vivek Agarwal
Grades
K to 12
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Collect, express opinions, and collaborate on any web content easily using Surfmark. Get started with the quick sign-up process. Add the Surfmark bookmarklet to your browser's toolbar...more
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Collect, express opinions, and collaborate on any web content easily using Surfmark. Get started with the quick sign-up process. Add the Surfmark bookmarklet to your browser's toolbar or add the Chrome or Firefox extension. Visit any web page and activate the app when ready. Type in thoughts and annotations as notes, then save. This creates your Surfmark. Add additional annotations to any page, or highlight text directly from web content. View saved pages as a mind map, or create books for multiple pages. Privacy options allow for public editing or password protection to access saved information. View other's pages and grab those pages to add to your own. Easily share any creations using the share link with a custom URL or links to social networking options. Because public content is shared on this site, adults may want to explore this site on your own and not send students to explore unsupervised.
tag(s): bookmarks (56), collaboration (74), organizational skills (106), professional development (248), social networking (93)
In the Classroom
Use Surfmark to collect and organize information for lessons throughout the year. Share with older students (age 13+) -- if school policies permit -- to use when collaborating on projects or as a resource for gathering and organizing information for year end review. Create a Surfmark and share the link on your classroom web page, have students add their own notes and thoughts then share the finished session on your interactive whiteboard. Surfmark provides opportunities for limitless collaboration and sharing of information from across the web, not only with your class but with others around the world!Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
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
Requires download/installation of software
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Here is Today - Whitevinyl
Grades
1 to 12
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Here is Today offers a visual look at time. Click Okay+ to the next step in time - from today to this month. Click again to go to the year, ...more
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Here is Today offers a visual look at time. Click Okay+ to the next step in time - from today to this month. Click again to go to the year, and keep moving through eras of geologic time until the creation of the universe millions of years ago. Each step includes an arrow pointing to this day in relation to the rest of the timeline.
tag(s): 20th century (53), calendars (40), cells (104), earth (206), geologic time (10), timelines (57)
In the Classroom
View on your interactive whiteboard or projector to help students visualize and gain perspective of events over time. Here is Today would be great to use when studying dinosaurs, in biology class, in Earth science or geology units, or just as part of a philosophical discussion on the world today. This is a great tool to share with students where "our time" fits into the continuum of the earth's 'life." This site could be used with younger students as well. Share the easier concepts (day, month, year) visually during your calendar math lessons. Extend the concept of proportionality by having older math students create simple visual timelines to scale showing their own life vs the life of the United States and other major, longer periods.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Seminole Tribune - Seminole Tribune of Florida
Grades
4 to 12
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Published monthly, The Seminole Tribune of Florida is the official newspaper of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Current issues and archives are available via PDF download. Click...more
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Published monthly, The Seminole Tribune of Florida is the official newspaper of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Current issues and archives are available via PDF download. Click on the appropriate tab on the left. You can also read the history of the tribe and view a timeline. The cultural information includes art, basketry, beadwork, housing, clans, language, legends, green corn dance, food and recipes, and clothing. Read an explanation about the current government within the tribe. Florida Seminole Tourism offers information for events and places to visit. Note: You do not need to subscribe to use this site. Simply click to view Current Issue or Archives.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): civil rights (135), cross cultural understanding (147), cultures (115), myths and legends (25), native americans (85)
In the Classroom
Use this site to study the Seminoles as part of a unit on Native Americans. Have students compare and contrast to the Native Americans within your own state or region. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Use this as a resource when discussing civil rights. In language arts class, use it to explore legends.
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ArtsAlive.ca English Theatre - National Arts Centre
Grades
8 to 12
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Learn everything you ever wanted to know about acting, producing, directing and the theater in general. This site is focused on the English Canadian Theater, but is applicable to all...more
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Learn everything you ever wanted to know about acting, producing, directing and the theater in general. This site is focused on the English Canadian Theater, but is applicable to all dramas. Find an introduction to acting, biographies of actors, and video interviews with professional actors. For those interested in other theater related work, visit the design and production area to learn about sets and props, costumes, wigs, make up and all the physical details of the play and environment. Learn about script writing at The Playwright's Corner. Find activities for improvisation, Shakespeare, script creation, and study guides. Don't miss the FREE teacher, parent, and student resource links. See the sister site Arts Alive.ca French Theatre, reviewed here, to learn more about theater terms, genres, theater professions, and the history of the theater.
tag(s): acting (25), design (89), plays (28), shakespeare (109)
In the Classroom
Use a projector or interactive whiteboard to present this outstanding site to your students. Students of drama, English, history, art, and architecture will find something of interest. Although the site is text heavy in places, the interview videos will help weaker readers access information. Have students choose a category (design and production, playwright's corner, Shakespeare's plays, acting, etc.) of interest to investigate. Group students by interest. Within their small groups students can jigsaw, each taking a different facet of the category to learn about. After that they can put together a mini-presentation using one of many TeachersFirst Presentation tools reviewed here. Once everyone is done studying their categories, suggest producing a play by one of the scriptwriters from the group.
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