These web resources are a sampler of the many useful, creative, and/or transformational education sites available to educators today.
LESSON/UNIT PLANS and TOOLS for TEACHERS
Using Cell Phones for Learning in the Classroom -- Lots of tips on how to integrate cell phones that many students already have.
Thinkfinity.org -- Excellent resource for teachers, students, and parents with 55,000 standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials, reviewed by leading education organizations to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, unbiased and appropriate for students.
Intel Online Thinking Tools -- Very cool resources for developing critical thinking and more!
Blue Web'N -- Online library of over 2000 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hotlists, resources, tutorials, activities, projects). Part of the ATT Knowledge Network Explorer site.
TeachersFirst -- Rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. Offers professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use and safe use of Web 2.0.
Apple Learning Interchange -- Lots of educator-created lessons and activities, rich with movies, images, and podcasts, as well as special collections from content providers. Here's a quick link to the Search Engine.
4Teachers.org -- Lots of cool tools for teachers and students. Check out the list on the right side of the home page.
RECOMMENDATIONS for TEACHERS by TEACHERS
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers -- Excellent two-page guide.
14 Ways K-12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media -- Very timely and useful in teaching kids and adults how to legally and responsibly interact with digital media. NOT just for librarians!
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators -- Categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning. Hosted by Discovery Education.
21st Century Information Fluency -- Dedicated to searching for and evaluating information on the web. Began as a project of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and recognized by heavyweights in tech education. Check out the Wizard Tools for searching, evaluating, and citing web resources.
Top 101 Web Sites for Teachers -- Sort of a blog format. See section categories on right of page.
The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education -- ELL teacher Larry Ferlazzo compiles lots of "Best of" sites (also see "My Best of" link on right of page) for ELL and regular ed teachers.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT and COLLABORATION
TICAL -- Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership, a wonderful repository of technology related resources and professional development opportunities for California's administrators. A superb resource for school and district administrators!
Technology for Learning Partnership -- Great archival site for resources used in tech workshops done for teachers and administrators in Santa Clara and neighboring counties. Administrators should check out the Web 2.0 for Admin page!
21 Things Teachers Need to Know About Web 2.0 -- This site uses popular free Web 2.0 tools to guide you on a path towards familiarity with using Web 2.0 tools, on your own time and at your own pace.
Apple Learning Interchange -- ALI hosts a large variety of educator forums and groups that exchange questions and practices of promise and success.
Edutopia -- Billed as "What Works in Public Education", this is a tremendous collection of thoughtful articles, videos, and reports about changes in education around the globe. Check out the Digital Generation Projects section under Special Reports. Financed and hosted by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
Classroom 2.0 -- The social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. Host lIve "shows" on Saturdays for teachers and they are archived for use later. Great place for beginning and experienced educators.
Tapped In -- Collaborative site for real time and archived teacher support for professional development and projects with students. Provides a safe and secure place for students to interact with other students, under the teachers' controls. A complete transcript of your PD session is emailed to you upon exit, which is very useful for reference later.
ThinkQuest -- Collaborate with other classrooms around the world on projects of your or their design. See the Projects tab for a link to a tour of the site. We have a district account and can add individual schools, so you can skip that step.
ePals -- Advertised as the Internet's largest global community of connected classrooms. Safe and secure protected email and blog services for kids. See Tour tab on the home page.
VIDEO RESOURCES and ONLINE COURSES
KhanAcademy -- A HUGE selection of quick tutorials, mostly in math and science, that are clearly presented and free to use by kids, parents, and teachers (donations are accepted). Try the Brain Teasers for fun critical thinking practice!
Webcast.Berkeley -- Fascinating archived lectures, courses, and events in video and audio formats from UC Berkeley.
MITOpenCourseware -- More intriguing archived lectures, courses, and events in video and audio formats from MIT.
OpenLearn -- Learning with a British twist from Open University.
iTunesU -- (Not a web link--requires free iTunes application) Many great audio and video podcasts for download or free subscription from major universities. Check out the Lit2Go MP3 audio files from South Florida University, organized by K-12 grade levels.
Graspr -- Searchable education videos and more.
TeacherTube -- Searchable education videos and more.
