Rural Education Network

Bibliography of Personalized Learning Support Themes

2011-05-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Topic: Neuroscience: links to Canadian researchers working in the fields including brain development, early learning, language acquisition, self-regulation, behaviour. The sites have general information for parents and educators)

Adele Diamond, PhD and director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, University of British Columbia http://www.devcogneuro.com/
Fraser Mustard, MD, Fraser Mustard Chair in Childhood Development, Alberta Children’s Hospital and University of Calgary http://www.frasermustardchair.ca/resources/
Stuart Shanker, PhD, director of Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative , York University, http://www.mehri.ca/people/shanker.html
Clyde Hertzman, PhD, director Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, http://www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/people/directors/

Topic: Adolescent Learners and Student Engagement

John Abbott, with Heather MacTaggart, Overschooled but Undereducated: How the Crisis in Education is Jeopardizing our Adolescents, Continuum International Publishing Group, London, 2010. John Abbott is the leader of the 21st Century Learning Initiative (http://www.21learn.org/ ) based in the U.K. He has visited British Columbia several times to exchange ideas about school reform.
Eva Oberle, Kimberley A. Schonert-Reichl, Bruno D. Zumbo, “Life Satisfaction in Early Adolescence: Personal, Neighborhood, School, Family and Peer Influences”, J Youth Adolescence, November 2010. Two UBC professors and a PhD candidate studied the factors contributing to life satisfaction among 4th – 7th graders in British Columbia contexts. http://www.uwlm.ca/why-united-way/overview?quicktabs_3=3#quicktabs-3
“Middle Childhood Inside and Out: the Psychological and Social Worlds of Children 9 – 12”, a report of research undertaken by the United Way of the Lower Mainland, the University of British Columbia and the Human Early Learning Partnership. 2010 http://www.uwlm.ca/why-united-way/overview?quicktabs_3=3#quicktabs-3
Stuart Shanker “Self-Regulation... What is it and why is it important for learning?”http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/webcasts1.htm

Topic: System Reform

Michael Fullan, The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, Ontario Principals’ Council and Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2003.
J. Douglas Willms, Sharon Friesen, and Penny Milton, “What did You Do in School today: Transforming Classrooms through Social, Academic and Intellectual Engagement”, Canadian Education Association, 2009.
Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills our Children Need – and What We Can Do About It, Basic Books, New York, 2009. A U.S. perspective, with some practical recommendations.
Fenton Whelan, Lessons Learned: How Good Policies Produce Better Schools, Fenton Whelan, UK 2009.

Topic: Research Related to Student Achievement:

John Hattie, Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, Routledge, London, 2009. John Hattie is a professor of education in New Zealand. He presents research findings about what works – and what doesn’t – is an easy-to-read format.

Topic: Curriculum

Heidi Hayes Jacobs (ed.), Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World, AECD, Washington, D.C., 2009
Principles of Learning – from the British Columbia curriculum (page 3) http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/english_language_arts/2006ela_k7.pdf
First Peoples Principles of Learning – from English First Peoples Grades 10, 11, 12 curriculum http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/subject.php?lang=en&subject=English%20Language%20Arts
Nine Early Learning Principles - from the Early Learning Framework http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/early_learning_framework.htm
Conference Board of Canada: Employability Skills 2000+ http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning-tools/employability-skills.aspx
Premier’s Technology Council: A Vision for 21st Century http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision%20for_education.pdf
Council of Minister of Education, Canada: Ministers of education discussed how provinces and territories are addressing the broad range of skills that young people will need to be fully engaged workers and citizens in the knowledge society of the 21st century. http://www.cmec.ca/Press/2011/Pages/2011-02-23.aspx
International Baccalaureate Learner Profile: describes the type of learner this program would like to develop. http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/

Topic: Assessment and Data Use

Robert Epstein, Steven M. Schmidt, and Regina Warfel, “Measuring and Training Creativity Competencies: Validation of a New Test”, Creativity Research Journal,, 20,(1), 7-12, 2008.
Elena Silva, “Measuring Skills for the 21st Century” Educator sector, Washington D.C. 2008.
Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind: Assessment for Learning, Assessment as Learning, Assessment of Learning.http://www.wncp.ca/media/40539/rethink.pdf 2006.
Assessment as Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximize Student Learning, as published in Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind, Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, 2006, p. 15. http://www.wncp.ca/media/40539/rethink.pdf
The BC Performance Standards http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/

Topic: BC Perspectives:

School District 43, Coquitlam, “Learning without Boundaries”, 2010.
“21st century learning— Widening the frame of focus and debate: A BCTF Research discussion paper” by Charlie Naylor, Ph.D. http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/21CL/21CL-DiscussionPaper.pdf
“A Vision for 21st Century Education” by the Premier’s Technology Council http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision%20for_education.pdf

Topic: Technology and Digital Literacy

James Paul Gee and Elisabeth R. Hayes, Language and Learning in the Digital Age, Routledge, London, 2011. Two professors from Arizona State University look at the pros and cons of how digital media is impacting children’s language learning in particular and education and society in general.
Mary Ann Wolfe, “Innovate to Educate: System [Re]Design for Personalized Learning; a Report from the 2010 Symposium”, Software & Information Industry Association, in collaboration with ASCD and the Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, D.C., 2010.

Topic: National and International Comparisons

Canadian Education Statistics Council, “Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective”, Ottawa, 2010
Mona Mourshed, Chinezi Chijoke, Michael Barber, “How the World’s Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better”, McKinsey & Company, 2010. Ontario is among the jurisdictions profiles. Forward by Michael Fullan.
OECD publications based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

“Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education” Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010. Canada is among the jurisdictions profiled.
“PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do: Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science, Volume I”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“PISA 2009 Results: Overcoming Social Background: Equity in Learning Opportunities and Outcomes, Volume II”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“PISA 2009 Results: Learning to Learn: Student Engagement, Strategies and Practices, Volume III”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“PISA 2009 Results: What Makes a School Successful? Resources, Policies and Practices, Volume IV”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“PISA 2009 Results: Learning trends: changes in Student Performance since 2000, Volume V”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“Against the Odds: Disadvantaged Students Who Succeed in School”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.
“Quality Time for Students: Learning In and Out of School”, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2010.

OEC Publications, policy and research, from the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
OECD, Innovating to Learn, Learning to Innovate, 2008. A collection of nine essays that look at what recent research tells us about the way students learn.
OECD, Personalising Education, 2006. A collection of essays related eight essays related to personalized learning and its potential to improve life outcomes for students.

Bibliography of Personalized Learning Resources

2011-05-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

These are not “approved” resources and some even provide contrarian perspectives.
The resources go beyond Personalized Learning and/or 21^st Century Learning. The idea is to use what is known about things like neuroscience and brain development to inform learning and teaching.

John Abbott, with Heather MacTaggart, Overschooled but Undereducated: How the Crisis in Education is Jeopardizing our Adolescents, Continuum International Publishing Group, London, 2010.

Check out Abbott’s Born to Learn site: http://www.born-to-learn.org/

British Columbia Ministry of Education, The British Columbia Performance Standards for Reading, Writing, Numeracy and Social Responsibility http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/

British Columbia Ministry of Education, “Principles of Learning”, in English Language Arts curriculum guide , 2006 (page 3)http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/english_language_arts/2006ela_k7.pdf

British Columbia Ministry of Education, “First Peoples Principles of Learning”, in English First Peoples Grades 10, 11, 12 curriculum guide http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/subject.php?lang=en&subject=English%20Language%20Arts

British Columbia Ministry of Health, British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development, British Columbia Ministry of Education, “British Columbia Early Learning Framework” , 2008. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/early_learning/early_learning_framework.htm

Conference Board of Canada, “Employability Skills 2000+” http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning-tools/employability-skills.aspx

Council of Minister of Education, Canada, press release, 2011, http://www.cmec.ca/Press/2011/Pages/2011-02-23.aspx

Michael Fullan, The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, Ontario Principals’ Council and Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2003.

Hargreaves, D 2004, Personalising Learning: Next Steps in Working Laterally, http://bit.ly/gfo5d3

International Baccalaureate Organization, “IB Learner Profile Booklet”, 2008. http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/

Charles Leadbeater, Personalisation through Participation; New Script for Public Services , 2004. http://www.demos.co.uk/files/personalisationthroughparticipation.pdf?1266491309

Learning About Personalisation, an Education-focused pamphlet based on the previous title http://www.demos.co.uk/files/learningaboutpersonalisation.pdf?1240939425

Mulford, B. (2008). The leadership challenge: Improving learning in schools. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research, Australian Education Review 53. http://www.acer.edu.au/research_reports/AER.html%20

National College for School Leadership (NCSL). (2005a). Learning-centred leadership: Towards personalised learning-centred leadership. Nottingham: Author. http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/download?id=17270&filename=learning-centred-leadership.pdf%20

Leading personalised learning http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leadingschools/personalisedlearning

Charlie Naylor, “21st century learning— Widening the frame of focus and debate: A BCTF Research discussion paper”, British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, 2011. http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/21CL/21CL-DiscussionPaper.pdf

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do: Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science, Volume I, II, III, IV, V, VI, 2010. http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,3343,en_2649_35845621_46567613_1_1_1_1,00.html

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, 2011.

Premier’s Technology Council, “A Vision for 21^st Century”, 2010. http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/attachments/PTC_vision%20for_education.pdf

The Digital Backpack

2010-02-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I posted a blog entry about the Digital Backpack, a directory of Web 2.0 tools,online applications, and resources for students and teachers.

This site has recently been refreshed and contains a number of additions.

http://www.goodhue.k12.mn.us/school242/genie224/images/files/backpack2010.html

25 places to find instructional videos

2010-02-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

From Jane's Learning Pick of the Day blog.
A number of wonderful resources here.

http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/2010/02/25-places-to-find-instructional-videos.html

Seeing Math™ Secondary Interactives

2010-02-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

All of the Seeing Math™ Secondary interactives are free for you to use. Most are copyrighted by The Concord Consortium and licensed to you under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

Seeing Math™ has developed interactive software tools to clarify key mathematical ideas in middle and high school mathematics. Each interactive provides a real-time connection between representations of the mathematics (symbolic, graphical, etc.), so that changes in one representation instantly cause changes in the other.

http://www.seeingmath.concord.org/sms_interactives.html

Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles

2010-02-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

Here is another good set of math activities that vary from introductory to complex applications of mathematical principles.

http://www.cut-the-knot.org/

Math Interactives from LearnAlberta.ca

2010-02-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

This multimedia resource includes interactive math activities, print activities, learning strategies, and videos that illustrate how math is used in everyday life. The resource addresses the following mathematics topics:

Fractions;
Integers;
Percentages;
Rate/Ratio/Proportion;
Square Roots;
Exponents;
Patterns;
Algebra;
Linear Equations;
Polynomials;
Angles;
Circles;
Surface Area and Volume;
Area and Perimeter;
Triangles;
Pythagoras;
Trigonometry;
Similarity and Congruence;
Transformations;
Shape Classification;
Data Display and Graphs;
Central Tendency and Distribution; and
Probability.

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mejhm/index.html

Digital Storytelling from Silvia Tolisano's Blog

2010-02-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

Siliva's blog, langwitches, contains a number of good posts on digital storytelling skills, resources and ideas for use in classrooms. Check it out folks.
http://langwitches.org/blog/category/digital-storytelling/

Smartboard Lessons from Wichita Public Schools

2010-02-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

This site contains lessons organized by:

Click the content area links below to view lessons.
Pre-K
Elementary
Middle School
High School
Foreign Language
Music
SMART Technologies Lessons
Treasures Resources

http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smartlessons.htm

Starfall.com

2010-02-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to motivate children to read with phonics. Their systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development.

http://www.starfall.com/

100 Coolest Science Experiments on YouTube

2010-01-26T09:46:00.000-08:00

Although YouTube has something of a reputation as a repository for inane content, some videos clearly illustrate fascinating scientific principles. The X-Ray Technician Schools blog has a collection of videos demonstrates various principles, theories, and laws that offer visitors a chance to learn something about how the world around them operates. By this point, it should go without saying that many of the following videos contain procedures that may be dangerous to perform at home or without the proper equipment and/or training. Please do not duplicate any of these experiments unless assured that they are entirely safe for amateurs.

http://www.x-raytechnicianschools.org/100-coolest-science-experiments-on-youtube/

Virtual 3D Tour of the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010-01-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

Today, Google announced the completion of 54 3D models of the 2010 Winter Olympic venues in Vancouver. You can view these models in Google Earth by selecting in the 3D buildings layer. You can also view and tour the buildings by visiting the official 2010 Winter Olympics website and selecting the 3D View tab for any venue listed in the spectator guide. You can see the hockey venue here.

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/01/take-virtual-tour-of-olympics-in-3d.html

ConnectSafely.org

2009-12-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

ConnectSafely is a website for parents, teens, educators, advocates - everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social Web. The user-driven, all-media, multi-platform, fixed and mobile social Web is a big part of young people's lives, and this is the central space – linked to from social networks across the Web - for learning about safe, civil use of Web 2.0 together. The forum is also designed to give teens and parents a voice in the public discussion about youth online safety.

ConnectSafely.org is a project of Tech Parenting Group, nonprofit organization based in California, and Utah.

http://www.connectsafely.org/

Wiki: Social Networking for Teachers

2009-12-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

This wiki contains a lot of ideas and applications to support social networking in the classroom, but also contains background information that speaks directly how social networking can benefit to learning and student engagement.

http://socialnetworking4teachers.wikispaces.com/

Vocational Information Center

2009-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Vocational Information Center website is an education directory that provides links to online resources for career exploration, technical education, workforce development, technical schools and related vocational learning resources.
This is a huge site and well worth the visit.

http://www.khake.com/

Calculator.net

2009-11-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

This website, Calculator.net offers a large number of free, on-line calculators for public use. There is also a snipped of code you can insert on your own website to include sample calculators.

http://www.calculator.net/

UBC Global Minds Challenge

2009-11-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

Calling all K-12 teachers and students and schools from across the globe!

Are you and your students using technologies in innovative ways?
Would you like to engage your students with new technology in the classroom?
Are you interested in connecting your school and classroom with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games? (Like to see some examples?). Pending approval by the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC), all submissions will be posted and hosted on the VANOC Education's Featured Showcase website page.
Could your school use a cash prize of $2,010?

Then take the Global Minds Challenge and share your experiences and ideas with classrooms everywhere. Tell the world how you are creatively using digital technologies.

The UBC Global Minds Challenge will award up to five (5) prizes of $2,010 (CAD) to schools that submit projects that are: original, exciting, and pedagogically significant applications of learning technologies in a K-12 school context; and inspirational to a theme of:

sport
culture,
sustainability,
and/or global citizenship (focusing on indigenous and aboriginal education, internationalism, equality, social justice and inclusion).

Join the UBC Global Minds Challenge in three easy steps:

Share the details of your project on VANOC's 2010 Winter Games Education Project Submission page by December 19th, 2009.
Insert "Global Minds Challenge" in the Project Description box so that it will be identified as part of this challenge and differentiated from other competition submissions when posted on the Featured Showcase site.
Once your project is posted, email us at global.minds@ubc.ca with your name and the project title. You’re entered!

Good luck. UBC encourages you to be a champion of learning!

Click here for submission details and project ideas.

(http://educ.ubc.ca/globalminds)

Social Media in Learning

2009-11-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

The British Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies has identified a great list of 100+ ways to use social media for learning

http://c4lpt.co.uk/handbook/examples.html

ORISINAL: Free Online Games With A Difference

2009-11-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

From our friends over at the DE Tools of the Trade blog:

ORISINAL is a free online games site with a number of simple, kid friendly games.

It’s Friday! Time for something just a little frivolous, like ORISINAL.

As gaming sites go, this one is both extraordinary and mundane. The games themselves are relatively generic but fun and easy to play. Even pre-schoolers can handle most of ORISINAL’s offering but that’s not why I included them here. It’s the graphics and music. All the games appear to have been created by a children’s story book illustrator. They have that lush, rich, appealing look common to a well crafted children’s book. Here’s an example. The game involves moving a bar back and forth to help the deer cross the stream. Not particularly difficult as games go but beautiful to look at.

Check it out at:

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

Its a matter of scale: How big is a coffee bean compared to a carbon atom

2009-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

This page allows you to view a coffee bean and then zoom in to compare the size of other sized organisms and particles.

For more genetics links, go to their main page at http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/.

International Childrens' Digital Library

2009-10-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/index.shtml

The goal of this project is to:

To create a collection of more than 10,000 books in at least 100 languages that is freely available to children, teachers, librarians, parents, and scholars throughout the world via the Internet. The materials included in the collection reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, lifestyles, and priorities of peoples around the world. The collection's focus is on identifying materials that help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live. It is hoped that through a greater understanding of one another that tolerance and acceptance can be achieved.

9 Sources of Content for Your iPod Learning Mix

2009-10-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Quick and Dirty Tips: Probably best known for the Grammar Girl podcast, Quick and Dirty Tips offers short and snappy content on a range of other topics, like nutrition, public speaking, investing, and even dog training.
LearnOutLoud: I’ve been a fan of The Philosophy Podcast for a while now, but LearnOutLoud has a lot more to offer. In fact, the site claims to have “the Internet’s first directory for podcasts you can learn from.” LearnOutLoud also has a great selection of learning resources for kids.
MindBites: This company’s site offers a large and growing collection of video “instructionals” on topics ranging from sewing to calculus to baby sign language.
Radio Lingua Network: Radio Lingua offers the popular Coffee Break Spanish and Coffee Break French podcast series as well as “My Daily Phrase” and “One Minute” podcasts for a number of other languages.
iTunes U (Opens in iTunes: iTunes U is the place for great free content from top universities and other educational institutions. Apple claims there are more than 200,000 educational audio and video files available. Here are direct links to a few of the participating institutions and organizations. (You will have to have iTunes installed for these to work):
Carnegie Melon
University of Oxford
Open University
Stanford University
Edutopia
Teacher’s Domain (WGBH/PBS)
Education Podcast Network: The Education Podcast Network bills itself as “an effort to bring together into one place, the wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century.”
The Naked Scientists: The Naked Scientists is a site you will want to subscribe to if you are at all interested in science. A project of the BBC, it offers up a continuing stream of interviews with famous scientists along with news and information about science, medicine and technology.
Librivox: Librivox is the source for free audio book content on the Web, and it offers a variety of podcast options. You can pull pretty much any audio book on the site into your iPod, or try out one of these five channels for an automated stream of content:
LibriVox Books Podcast
LibriVox Community Podcast
LibriVox Poetry Podcast
LibriVox Short Story Podcast
LibriVox New Releases Podcast
TED Talks: I’m continually amazed at the stream of high quality content coming out of the Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference. The Web site is very popular, but you might not be aware that you can subscribe to both a video and an audio version of TED talks through iTunes.

A Maths Dictionary for Kids

2009-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Check out this flash-based dictionary of math terms. This Australian site contains some good illustrations and activities.

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jeather/maths/dictionary.html

Flip Flop Fly Ball

2009-09-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

This site contains a number of graphical representations of statistics as they relate to baseball trivia. There are a number of great examples of graphs and charts here.

http://www.flipflopflyin.com/flipflopflyball/index.html

Spezify

2009-09-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Spezify is a search tool that presents results from a large number of websites in different visual ways. They take web searching further, away from endless lists of blue text links and towards a more intuitive experience. They want users to get a good overview of a subject, find useful information and be inspired. Spezify mixes all media types and makes no difference between blogs, videos, microblogs and images. Everything communicates and helps building the bigger picture.

http://www.spezify.com/

Learning and H1N1: Students Skyping into Class

2009-09-23T12:46:00.001-07:00

Here is a great story of a teacher in Colorado who is using Skype to communicate with her students who are at home sick with H1N1:

I had a few students take me up on the offer to Skype into class yesterday and today. The students have different computers at home with two capable of using a webcam and microphone and the other just being able to listen and text/chat back to class. What was really impressive was that the students’ willingness to be connected back into our class when they are at home feeling crummy. They want to participate, they want to stay in touch, they want to continue to learn and aren’t letting the flu get in their way. Watching my other students react to the webcam in our classroom and then being able to watch the girls and boy connect into class, many of the students thought about what an amazing use of technology they were witnessing. We were truly extending the walls of the classroom to homes in Littleton doing our own part, along with the number of hand sanitizing dispensers we have installed here at AHS, to put H1N1 out of our minds and keep on exploring the wonderful world of Macbeth.

http://learningandlaptops.blogspot.com/2009/09/learning-and-h1n1-students-skyping-into.html

100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

2009-09-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice collection of free web-based tools ; the authors write:

There are new web 2.0 tools appearing every day. Although some of these tools were not originally meant for use in the classroom, they can be extremely effective learning tools for today’s technology geared students and their venturesome teachers. Many of these teachers are searching for the latest products and technologies to help them find easier and efficient ways to create productive learning in their students. More and more teachers are using blogs, podcasts and wikis, as another approach to teaching. We have created a list of 100 tools we think will encourage interactivity and engagement, motivate and empower your students, and create differentiation in their learning process.

Tools are organized into the following categories:

Interactivity
Engagement
Motivation
Empowerment
Differentiation

Rouxbe Cooking School

2009-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Rouxbe (pronounced roo-bee) is the web’s first-ever online cooking school. We are currently teaching home cooks in 180 countries around the world.

Their goal is to help budding chefs become a better and more confident cook by teaching you basic to advanced cooking skills and techniques – the same things that chefs learn in a professional cooking school – so you can be free from being a slave to just recipes.

Unlike other online cooking sites that focus on recipes, celebrity chefs and short technique videos, the Rouxbe Cooking School is a fully integrated experience that mirrors an actual culinary curriculum, complete with instructional cooking video lessons, practice video recipes, culinary chef exercises, progress reporting, cooking quizzes, and personal chef support.

Rouxbe is a complement, not competitor, to other cooking and recipe resources. If you have a favorite cookbook, culinary magazine, television food program or other online food site, that’s great, keep it. Come to Rouxbe to learn cooking techniques and skills and then use your newly-acquired cooking skills to tackle any recipe, from any resource, with confidence.

Full access to the Rouxbe Cooking School requires a paid Premium Membership that is a fraction of the cost of any cooking school or recreational cooking program. For the cost of a single fancy dinner out, you can attend a professional cooking school at home for an entire year, complete with personal chef support. Payment options are monthly ($15), annual ($99) or lifetime ($199) for enrollment.

Rouxbe offers a free sample lesson every day and all of our instructional video recipes, text recipes, tip and technique videos and community forums are free. You don’t even have to sign up to learn a great deal on Rouxbe.
http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school

Thirty-Eight Interesting Ways* to use Wordle in the Classroom

2009-08-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wordle.net is an interesting way to create word clouds from text you or your students provide. The presentation below by Tom Barrett is well worth the look.

Technology Training Videos for Teachers

2009-08-12T13:38:00.001-07:00

The sheer amount of new tools being released on the Internet makes it difficult to stay up to date with what’s new and what can apply best to your specific discipline. Instead of wasting hours randomly searching for new things when you have a spare moment, try some of the instructional videos prepared by Russell Stannard. He runs a great site called http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/index.html. Already he has a multitude of great videos, including videos on topics like:

JING-Fantastic Screencasting Tool
Easy podcasting
Introduction to Moodle
Make on-line surveys
Downloading from YouTube
How to use Blogger
All about Delicious
Photoshop basics

All free for you to use. Russell Stannard is a principal lecturer in Multimedia/ICT at the University of Westminster in London England and his academic focus is on English language teaching. He has taken the time to create several videos outlining tools and websites that are specifically useful to English language teaching, such as:

Amazing 3D dialogue builder
Best ELT sites 2008
Best pronunciation Sites
Great dictation site
Voicethread presentation tool
Review of the best ELT podcasts

So overall he provides a fantastic repository of short videos that can help you in your research for useful tools in your teaching related practice. You can keep up to date with Russell’s new material by either subscribing to his email newsletter on his website or following him on twitter.

Education Blogs by Discipline

2009-08-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a place to find and list subject-specific, P-12-oriented blogs that are worth sharing with others.

http://movingforward.wikispaces.com/Education+Blogs+by+Discipline

10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports

2009-07-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

1. Let students create a cartoon version of the book they have just finished.
2. Let students create a short video clip about the book.
3. Create a virtual poster advertising the book.
4. Encourage students to create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari http://shelfari.com.
5. Book Adventure http://bookadventure.org is an online reading motivation program.
6. Bookcasting is a recorded audio podcast about a book.
7. Allow students to create a timeline of events in the story they just read in an online timeline.
8. Wikis are an excellent place for students to share book reviews.
9. Excite and motivate students to read with Book Wink http://bookwink.com.
10. Voice Thread http://voicethread.com is an amazing site that allows students to create web 2.0 slide shows that become interactive and collaborative.

From:
http://www.theapple.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports

Goodhue Public School's Online Teacher Technology Training program

2009-07-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some new training modules to Goodhue Public School's Online Teacher Technology Training program.

The following are free training modules anyone can use. Goodhue Teachers get a stipend for completing a set amount of these modules. So far this model of technology training has been fairly successful. Feel free to use and share:

1.1 - Understanding File Properties
1.2 - File Formats & File Extensions
1.3 - Hooking up a Periphials
1.4 - Burning CDs and DVDs
1.5 - Backing Up Your Files
1.6 - Wireless vs Ethernet
1.7 - Dealing with a frozen computer
2.1 - Search engines
2.2 - Language Translators
2.3 - Databases – ebsco, Google Scholar
2.4 - Anatomy of a URL
2.5 - Netiquette & Internet Safety
3.1 - Fair use
4.1 - Google Docs & Spreadsheets
4.2 - Zoho
4.3 - Presentation Programs
4.4 - Online Storage
4.5 - Emailing Large Files/Batch Files
5.1 - Digital Cameras + Digital Image Basics
5.2 - Digital Image Software (Gimp, Photoshop, Picassa, Splashup, Picnik, etc.)
5.3 - Image sharing – Flickr, Photobucket, etc.
6.1 - Capturing Video
6.2 - Digital Video Content
6.3 - Video Editing
6.4 - Publishing video online – YouTube, TeacherTube, etc.
6.5 - Online Broadcasting
7.1 - Podcasts
7.2 - Audacity
7.3 - Creating a podcast
8.1 - Concept Mapping Software
8.2 - Wikis
8.3 - Self Publishing
8.4 - Building a Custom Search Engine
9.1 - Blogs
9.2 - Social Bookmarking (del.icio.us)
9.3 - RSS
9.4 - Power of the comment
9.5 - Skype
9.6 - Educational/Social Networks
9.7 - Microblogging
9.8 - Virtual Meeting Rooms
10.1 - Updating your website (basics) / webpage design considerations
10.2 - HTML tricks to enhance your webpage
10.3 - Embedding Video
10.4 - Widgets
10.5 - Online Quizzes and Worksheets
10.6 - Digital Drop
10.7 - eFolio
11.1 - Rubistar
11.2 - Online Lesson Plan Sharing
11.3 - SMARTtech lessons and teacher toolkit
11.4 - WebQuests
12.1 - Open Source vs. Proprietary Software
12.2 - Serious Games
12.3 - Virtual Worlds

Wired Science Top 10 Science Videos

2009-07-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/sciencemusic/

Music can make the driest scientific concepts entertaining, or even hilarious. Catchy tunes about DNA blend genetics with jokes. Ballads about the heart and pi bring dull facts to life. Here are some videos that show how hard science rocks.

Also check out

Animated engines

2009-07-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.animatedengines.com/

Here you'll find animated illustrations that explain the inner workings of a variety of steam, Stirling, and internal combustion engines. Enjoy.

Zoom into a Tooth

2009-06-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.dailymotion.com has a number of videos that zoom in on a number of common, everyday articles. Check out this video below to zoom in on a tooth - over 24 million times magnification.

Zoom into a Tooth
Uploaded by Weird_Weird_Science. - Explore more science and tech videos.

80+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy

2009-05-26T11:46:00.001-07:00

This blog entry contains a number of interesting Internet videos that would be appropriate for lessons and presentations, or personal research, related to technological and media literacy. Here are 80+ videos organized into various sub-categories. These videos are of varying quality, cross several genres, and are of varied suitability for classroom use.

80+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy

Wolfram Alpha Search Engine

2009-05-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

As you may know, there is a new search tool on the block; Wolfram/Alpha. First released May 15, this search tool is still in its fledgling stages, but many are looking to Wolfram as a viable alternative to Google.

It's not a search engine. Though widely compared to Google, Wolfram/Alpha does not try to match queries against a list of indexed documents. It attempts to compute answers to questions based on established facts.

To help understand this site, check out the range of examples they've posted. As you click through the examples, there is a description of the type of search that can be conducted in the search box based on the topic you have chosen. This is a great way to help users to learn the most appropriate use of the tool and the proper syntax for searches.

2009-05-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, a group out of Eugene Oregon, has published two documents for schools to send home to parents.

Cyber Safe Kids: A Guide for Parents
Cyber Savvy Teens: A Guide for Parents

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

2009-05-13T14:39:00.001-07:00

This is a fabulous video that provides an overview of our consumption-driven wasteful economy and describes it as a system in crisis. It comes from an American perspective and the NY Times says , "it has been embraced by teachers eager to supplement textbooks that lag behind scientific findings on climate change and pollution."

This video, though simplistic (as is necessary when describing a global system in 20 minutes) is essential viewing. It is an essentially accurate representation of the problem we face as a global society. And it represents one of the key ways in which technology in the classroom can have a beneficial and sustaining effect on society as a whole.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Flash Animation of the Growth of the International Space Station

2009-05-13T12:04:00.001-07:00

This site contains a great flash animation that illustrates the components and growth of the International Space Station.

http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

USATODAY.com feature

Oxygen (Video)

2009-05-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Oxygen from Christopher Hendryx on Vimeo.

SpanishConnects.Us: Recorded conversations between native Spanish speakers and students learning Spanish

2009-05-05T13:36:00.001-07:00

SpanishConnects.Us is an audio blog that documents student discussions with native Spanish speakers in distant parts of the world to better understand each other’s culture and share perspectives on local events impacting the world today.

http://www.spanishconnects.us/?page_id=51

Magnetism explained beautifully

2009-04-17T14:46:00.001-07:00

If you're a science teacher trying to explain magnetism, you could do a lot worse than showing this beautiful animated film produced for Channel 4 with Arts Council England. As the blurb says:

"Are we observing a series of scientific experiments, the universe in flux, or a documentary of a fictional world?"
Plenty of other videos for scientists, geographers, writers over on the Vimeo site.

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

33 Ways to use blogs in your classroom and in the educational setting

2009-04-15T13:30:00.001-07:00

Drawing a blank on how you might use a blog in your own classroom? Here's a list to jump start your creativity. By no means is this list exhaustive; there are as many ways to use blogs in education as there are to use paper. :)
Remember, blogs are a medium, not a genre.

Web 2.0 in the Classroom: 33 Ways to use blogs in your classroom and in the educational setting

Save The Words

2009-04-15T13:28:00.001-07:00

Do you enjoy strange and seldom-used words? Check out this fun site powered by the people from the Oxford Dictionaries.

Save The Words

The SciTech Journal | Answers, titbits and news on science and technology

2009-04-15T11:11:00.001-07:00

The SciTech Journal is a richly informative project. As its name and the catch line suggest, it attempts to answer various questions arising in common man's mind relating to science and technological phenomena.
It is said that knowledge is power. I would like adding to it. Power is the knowledge of right things. And the aim of the STJ is empowering minds.

Today, the human race thrives on science and technological developments. Hence it becomes highly imperative for one as a human to be aware of things happening around, keep updated on the developments, and most importantly, good and bad effects of them.

The STJ covers all of it -- and much more may follow. Just browse through it. It speaks for itself. Even if you are not a student of science and tech., you will find it surprisingly delightful. That's a promise!
So keep checking in for new posts regularly.

Suggestions for better explanation of points are appreciated. Ask questions, or comment if you feel like.

The SciTech Journal | Answers, titbits and news on science and technology

the art teacher’s guide to the internet

2009-04-08T11:48:00.001-07:00

Ideas, tools, and resources for teaching art and design in a post-digital age.

This blog attempts to address the question, “How can we use the new tools and capabilities of the Web to enhance or even transform art education practices in schools?”

the art teacher’s guide to the internet

Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids!

2009-03-31T15:41:00.001-07:00

This is a great site of book reviews by kids for kids. Check out this site and read some of the great reviews from students of all ages…such as this one:

A review of Cinderella, by Shanie, age six:
One day there was going to be a fancy ball. Cinderella wasn't going to get to go, but then something very exciting happened. I liked to read this book because I like fairy tales. I also like to read about evil people. It's exciting and a little scary. I would recommend this book about Cinderella to my mom because she likes to do chores.

Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids!

Blog2Learn

2009-03-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

Blog2Learn is a wiki used to teach teachers and others about blogging to improve literacies. Check out the links in the sidebar – there are some good examples of how blogs can be used in a variety of educational applications:

Language Arts Examples

ESL and EFL Examples

Math Examples

Social Studies Examples

Science Examples

Reflective Edubloggers

Blogmeister blog examples for 2007 Workshop

Guidelines and Responsibilities

Shaping Pedagogy through Blogging

Significant Comments

Evaluation and Reflection

Relevant Posts

Flickr Fun

Finding images for your blog

Web Tools 4 Teachers

Web Tools Used in 2007 Workshop

Slide Show

Slide Show GaETC

Slide Show KSU Workshop 2007

Additional Links for Educators

Voices

Looking Ahead

Credits

http://adavis.pbwiki.com/

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

2009-03-27T11:18:00.001-07:00

YouTube has launched a new channel dedicated to videos from colleges and universities. There are probably 75 colleges and universities represented. If you ever wanted to go to MIT, here’s your chance.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Biology in Motion

2009-03-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Welcome to BiologyInMotion! Here you will find animations, interactive activities, and cartoons designed to make learning biology a richer, more engaging experience. After years of teaching biology in various colleges and universities, this site's creator began developing his own graphics and multimedia, mainly for in-class presentation. New additions will include interactive tutorials, quizzes, and other activities, in addition to updated versions of the many biology cartoons in his portfolio.

Biology in Motion

Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning - Emerging Technologies for Learning

2009-03-18T09:34:00.001-07:00

This Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning (HETL) has been designed as a resource for educators planning to incorporate technologies in their teaching and learning activities.

Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning - Emerging Technologies for Learning

Essay Writing Tutorial

2009-03-18T09:26:00.001-07:00

This tutorial is intended to help students understand the important components of constructing an essay. This essay, "What I Have Lived For" is an encapsulation of some important elements of an essay. If you are able to follow and/or reproduce the elements of this essay, you will be over a major hurdle most students have in writing papers.

Electronic Essay Writing Tutorial

GameGoo - Learning that Sticks!

2009-02-26T11:49:00.001-08:00

Check out these online games that help students learn about phonics, grammar and other reading skills.

GameGoo - Learning that Sticks!

ePortfolio Tools from The Clever Sheep Blog

2009-02-24T13:55:00.001-08:00

Whether you're looking for a place to share group portfolios, to publicize culminating performances, or to encourage students to post personal learning histories, it may be well worth your while to become familiar with one or more of these tools:

Posterous: Thanks to the fact that students and teachers can post content by simply emailing all manner of media to their custom blog address, this tool is now at the top of my list. Automate the embedding of audio files, documents, and recorded video on your custom site.
ScrapBlog: In using the concept of electronic 'scrapbook', this tool may be the easiest for your charges to understand. Rich templates professionalize the photo and video work of students, and the results can be shared in many ways.
PBWiki: The humble wiki can play a lead role in allowing students to gather their work either individually, or as members of a group. Through a universally understood edit and share format, a variety of wiki tools are available, for use by schools.
WetPaint: My favourite wiki tool can be made 'ad-free' for educational purposes by simply drafting an email request to education@wetpaint.com. WetPaint wikis make it easy to create community around evolving projects, and the inviting 'easy edit' button and WYSIWYG editor make it easy for anyone to contribute.
Wix: If you want a look and feel that's sure to be a hit with young people, this site engages animated menus and rich templates to embed all types of media. Although the site is in beta release, you can do things you can't do in traditional wikis & blogs, like rotating media to play on custom angles!
Carbonmade: One of only a few tools designed specifically for e-portfolios, this free online app allows you to showcase images, flash media, or video. Creators can conveniently add text explanations or artist statements to pieces that appear on the site.
Weebly: If you're looking for simple drag and drop utility in a web-based interface, this page creation tool can help you to highlight your digital work, or to bring attention to the multimedia creations of your students.
WebNode: This tool is another free WYSIWYG page editor that allows you to post media into a number of ready-made templates.
SimplyBox: If you require your students to pull together pieces from across the world wide web, this solution can be leveraged to highlight one's own online work, while referencing other sources that may have inspired the work.
Google Sites: If you're a fan of Google services for email and document creation, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the free site creation tools available to registered users. Before going in too deep, familiarize yourself with the terms of service.
Viewbook: If you're looking for a place to host photos, or scans of student artwork, and have a budget to do so, this tool's professional-looking interface may be your solution.
Jalbum: This free alternative allows you to organize photos or scans in an offline layout, and then to post your work in the Jalbum community or elsewhere. The album creation software is free to download and to use.
Drop.io: More than file sharing, this site uses a simple and clean interface to embed all types of media for playback or download.
DropBox: While this resource is traditionally effective for sharing desktop files 'in the cloud', it can also be used to help students collect their work into one online location.

For those looking for an e-portfolio reference to share with colleagues, you might find what you're looking for in the JISC document Effective Use of e-Portfolios.

French in Primary

2009-02-16T11:30:00.001-08:00

This relatively new blog is from a Languages Teacher and Community Link Coordinator at St Margaret’s C.E High School in Liverpool, England. The blog provides material to teach French at Primary level and is updated weekly.

French in Primary

Teach Digital: Curriculum by Wes Fryer wiki / cellphones

2009-02-16T11:27:00.001-08:00

This wiki contains ideas, resources, guidelines and instructional applications for using cell phones at school and for digital storytelling.

Cell phones are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many school communities, but their presence in the classroom is commonly viewed as disruptive and unwanted. Modern cell phones offer a variety of capabilities, which are being used effectively by educators in different schools to support curricular learning objectives and boost student achievement. Explore reasons some school districts are embracing the use of cell phones for learning both inside and outside the classroom and examine specific guidelines school districts are utilizing for student cell phones. Explore specific applications of cell phones for learning, including use as electronic response systems, data access, media recording, homework tracking and social networking.

Teach Digital: Curriculum by Wes Fryer wiki / cellphones

BuiLD YouR WiLD SeLF

2009-02-16T11:22:00.001-08:00

Build Your Wild Self is a collaborative project between the New York Zoos and Aquarium and the Wildlife Conservation Society. It allows users to build wild creatures by selecting from a wide variety of attributes. There are some great choices even if you choose to have the computer choose some random bits.

BuiLD YouR WiLD SeLF

Top 100 Leadership Blogs | Best Universities

2009-02-16T11:17:00.001-08:00

This site has sections on student and youth leadership, community leadership, team leadership and others.

Whether you want to work on standing out as a leader or just want to improve your confidence and charisma for all aspects of life, you can find some great guidance and advice on the Internet. These bloggers, some of whom are well-known writers, CEO’s and business professionals, can help you discover the leadership potential that exists in you so you can be more successful, productive and happy in any role in your life.

Top 100 Leadership Blogs Best Universities

Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech » Blog Archive » Defining “Teacher”

2009-02-16T11:03:00.001-08:00

This post by Dean Shareski, a teacher in Moose Jaw, reminded me so much of the work of Russell Bishop's work.

What was formerly seen as nice, but not necessary, must now be first and foremost: teachers who care and relate to students. Teachers who will seek out what specific needs each student has and leads them in the right direction. What great lectures and content can never provide is relationship and caring. I don’t necessarily define caring and relationship as a seen in the movies, but rather someone who recognizes that their job is to create opportunity for students to not only learn content but pursue and find their passions. While that may seem like rhetoric, to me it’s become my mantra. I see all my students as desiring to be teachers, I see all the teachers I work with as teachers desiring to be better. I realize that may not always be the case, but that’s the premise I begin with.

Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech » Blog Archive » Defining “Teacher”

Classroom Resources to Counter Cyber Bullying

2009-02-11T12:43:00.001-08:00

From the Media Awareness Network

Lessons on Cyber Bullying for Grades 5-12. To help educators address this issue in their classrooms, Media Awareness Network has developed a series of lessons, in English and in French, to give students a better understanding of the ethical and legal implications of cyber bullying and to promote positive Internet use. This group has included lessons intended to support and enhance school-based anti-bullying and empathy-building programs.

Web 2.0 That Works: Marzano & Web 2.0

2009-02-05T10:39:00.001-08:00

In this day of high-stakes testing and frequent complaints from teachers that they “don’t have time to use technology” in the classroom, this wiki seeks to bridge the gap to help teachers see that technology doesn’t have to be an add-on that distracts them from focusing on the curriculum. Rather than accepting an either/or mentality, we can begin to connect technology to the accepted “best practices” that our districts expect to see in our classrooms.

Readers and contributors will learn and share information about specific Web 2.0 tools that can be used by teachers, and strategies that can be used with those tools that align with and support research-based effective instructional methods. Reference will be made to specific instructional strategies and a variety of examples will be shared covering all content areas from K-12 to college/university levels.

Main Page - Web 2.0 That Works: Marzano & Web 2.0

Astronomy Resources for Teachers | Edutopia

2009-02-04T13:33:00.001-08:00

From our good friends at Edutopia - the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Links include:

GLOBE at Night
Find easy-to-follow instructions for participating in this project at this site, where students can also record their observations of the night sky. Prior to the star-hunting event, students can log on to learn about Orion's role in Greek mythology, star magnitude, and other topics.

International Year of Astronomy 2009
A list of global projects designed to promote awareness of astronomy and dark skies. Some activities are too advanced for elementary school students.

The GLOBE Program
Abundant resources for integrating related lessons about such topics as atmosphere and climate, clouds, and hydrology.

400 Years of the Telescope
Information about a new documentary that follows astronomical discoveries starting from Galileo's first peek through the telescope. The site offers a viewing schedule and "Profiles in Astronomy" that may serve as excellent bases for history lessons.

Hands-On Optics
Six modules for teaching about optics. Lessons range from studies of lasers to magnification and communicating with light.

The International Dark-Sky Association
Lessons about the solar system and the effects of light pollution on wildlife, as well as science, writing, and art projects for students ages 7-12.

National Optomical Astronomy Observatory
Contact Connie Walker at (520) 318-8000 to apply for a Light Pollution Education Tool Kit, which contains instructions, CDs, tips for demonstrations on light pollution, and a sky-quality meter.

Astronomy Resources for Teachers | Edutopia

Digital Research Tools (DiRT)

2009-02-03T11:01:00.001-08:00

This wiki collects information about tools and resources that can help scholars (particularly in the humanities and social sciences) conduct research more efficiently or creatively. Whether you need software to help you manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts, Digital Research Tools will help you find what you're looking for. They provide a directory of tools organized by research activity, as well as reviews of select tools in which we not only describe the tool's features, but also explore how it might be employed most effectively by researchers.

digitalresearchtools / FrontPage

Relevance Magazine: Career Options for your Future

2009-01-30T12:18:00.001-08:00

Saskatchewan Career Resource - this may be of some interest to your students involved in making career decisions.

What other resources do you use in your school to help students with career choices?

Relevance Magazine: Career Options for your Future

Academic Earth - Video lectures from the world's top scholars

2009-01-29T11:14:00.001-08:00

It's new and it is in a 'beta' state; however, Academic Earth is something to keep your eyes on. Currently, it offers thousands of post-secondary lectures from authorative sources - all free. The creators of this repository have worked hard to integrate features into it that make it extra useful.

Each lecture has a side bar with a selection of special options, such as a download to iPod option, a citation option, an 'embed' option that gives you code you can copy and paste into your website (this means that you can distribute the video to your students without having to host the video on your server. Nice!).

Each lecture is rated by registered users of the website (registration is free!). So over time, the most highly rated lecture will float to the top. While in the 'beta' state, Academic Earth strongly encourages users to leave feedback on any bugs you find as well as to make suggestions on how to improve the service. At the time of launching, it is billed as "Thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars." Not bad for a start, where will it be a year from now! What do you think?

Academic Earth - Video lectures from the world's top scholars

NFB makes films free online

2009-01-22T15:48:00.001-08:00

The National Film Board of Canada has launched a new project to allow Canadians to see its films through online streaming.

Oscar winners such as 1952's Neighbours, 1977's I'll Find a Way and 2004's Ryan are among the more than 700 films now available for screening online at NFB.ca.

The online screening room was created as part of a $1.3-million project to digitize the NFB's collection of historic films.

Check out http://www.nfb.ca/ to see their Online Screening Room and view a great diversity of Canadian film.

NFB makes films free online

Exploratree - Exploratree by FutureLab

2009-01-19T08:55:00.001-08:00

Thinking Guides are tools or frameworks for thinking through an issue and considering different aspects or perspectives. They can help to develop thinking skills.

This website has a number of templates that students can fill in to help organize and communicate their thinking on a particular topic. There is a free registration option which allows the completed template to be customized, saved and forwarded to others. If you do any mind mapping or employ organizational tools in your classroom, check this out.

Exploratree - Exploratree by FutureLab

Cell Phones in Education

2009-01-14T10:38:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wondered how teachers are using cell phones for educational purposes? This collection of links illustrates a wide variety of applications.

Cell Phones in Education

Free Audio Books

2009-01-13T10:20:00.001-08:00

I found this site with over 100 free audio books available for download or streaming. There are many great resources here.

Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free Open Culture

Jan 28: another site is http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/. Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format.

A Growing List of Free Learning Tutorial Sites

2009-01-09T16:01:00.001-08:00

From http://zaidlearn.wikispaces.com/

Here is the initial quick list:

Learning 2.0 Programme
This blog has been set-up as part of PLCMC's Learning 2.0 project to encourage staff to experiment and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today.
An Introduction to Social Learning(Jane Hart)
Provides you with a practical approach to getting started with using social media for both formal and informal learning - either in the form of best-of-breed stand-alone tools or in an integrated suite of social media tools.
ELearning T4T (WikiEducator)
eLearning Training for Teachers is a project node for the collaborative development of "just-in-time" tutorials to help educators implement eLearning successfully.

WebTools4u2use
The purpose of this website is to provide a place for K-12 school library media specialists to learn a little more about web tools that can be used to improve and enhance school library media programs and services, to see examples of how they can be used, and to share success stories and creative ideas about how to use and integrate them. Hundreds of free and inexpensive web tools are available for school library media specialists to use that can make us more productive, valued, and, perhaps, more competitive.

Paul's E-Learning Resources
This E-learning resources website is developed and maintained by Paul Andrews (Learning Technologist). On this site you will find his favourite links to free on-line services that allow you to provide your students with enhanced learning opportunities which you can then embed into, or link from, your school/college/university's website, course blog or VLE/MLE.

Teacher Training Videos (Russell Stannard)
These videos were created for teachers to help them to incorporate technology into their teaching. Just click and a video will open and take you through how to use that technology. These videos are for any teachers or lecturers, indeed for anyone interested in learning how to use the technologies. WOW!

Resource Kit for Creative Communities (e-Learning)
In this resource kit, community organisations can find helpful online guidance, ideas and tools for developing and facilitating e-learning in communities and regions. The kit includes suggestions and options on the why and how of e-learning. You'll find guidance on low cost tools and technologies, as well as ideas and stories to help you get started.

Multimedia Training Videos
A series of free learning videos (by Russell Stannard and Savraj Matharu) that explore Flash, Director and Photoshop.

ALISON
Free Interactive Workplace Skills Courseware including Touch Typing Skills, European
Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), British Computer Society (BCS) Unit E, Financial Literacy and e-Citizen

The Moodle Academy
Is designed to be a drop in centre for you to reinforce your Moodle skills. While we are thinking Moodle, we might want to check out Using Moodle 2nd Edition, which is the second edtion of the O'Reilly book "Using Moodle" by Jason Cole and Helen Foster.

Moodle Tutorials
Ops, can't get Moodle out of my head! Check out this collection of 2 Minute Moodles - an attempt to simplify and show how to use a range of Moodle features. The tutorials try not to assume too much previous knowledge and are presented for the pragmatical and not necessarily tech-savy users (Moodle purists please excuse).

Google Apps Training
The Google Apps interactive tutorial provides clear audio and text directions and practice exercises for using six Google products; email, calendar, talk, docs, sites, and start page.

Go-2-School
A great resource for learning Google SketchUp and Google Earth.

W3Schools
Here you will find all the Web-building tutorials you need, from basic HTML and XHTML to advanced XML, SQL, Database, Multimedia and WAP.
Edumax
Edumax is an online learning website that provides
free lessons on topics from personal development to computer programming.

TechTutorials
A directory containing thousands of free tutorials for IT professionals, hobbyists, and home users.

PhET: Free online physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math simulations

2009-01-08T10:33:00.001-08:00

These are great Java-based simulations you can either download to your computer or run off their website. Check out these great applications to help students visualize a number of science concepts.

PhET: Free online physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math simulations

PicLits.com - Create a PicLit

2009-01-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

Check this out - a place where budding authors can create and share their work.

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

PicLits.com - Create a PicLit

ElectroCity

2008-12-18T10:03:00.001-08:00

ElectroCity is a new online computer game that lets players manage their own virtual towns and cities. It’s great fun to play and also teaches players all about energy, sustainability and environmental management in New Zealand.

ElectroCity

Virtual Macbeth

2008-12-11T09:57:00.001-08:00

Virtual Macbeth is an island in Second Life which is dedicated to the exploration, adaptation and performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

virtualmacbeth » home

Think Big - Start Small

2008-12-10T15:17:00.001-08:00

This wiki is maintained by a group from the Good Spirit School Division in Yorkton, Sask. It contains a lot of good online resources and websites.

100+ Web 2.0 Tools

Think Big - Start Small / FrontPage

Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?

2008-12-10T13:14:00.001-08:00

YouTube - Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?

Interesting Things for ESL/EFL Students (Fun English Study)

2008-12-10T10:41:00.001-08:00

Interesting Things for ESL Students

A fun study site for learners of English as a Second Language. There are quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities.

Web 2.0 in Education (UK) Home - Web 2.0 in Education (UK)

2008-12-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

The Web 2 in Education Wiki is designed to provide teachers with a directory of free web tools along with some suggestions as to how they may be used in the classroom.

Web 2.0 in Education (UK) Home - Web 2.0 in Education (UK)

YouTube - Lost Generation

2008-12-09T12:52:00.001-08:00

YouTube - Lost Generation

Exemplar Schools

2008-12-08T11:56:00.001-08:00

The multimedia stories in this website describe how six Australian schools have used technology to improve student engagement and learning outcomes, sustain professional learning, promote curriculum change and make connections with their wider community.

Exemplar Schools

Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies - Web2forDev | dotSUB

2008-12-02T14:10:00.001-08:00

Whenever people are able to connect and collaborate, engage in conversations, share expertise, and access information, the impact on a society (or quality of life to individuals) can be enormous. This is obviously true for developed countries. But can the same be said about developing countries? Does giving Internet access to a poor farmer in South America, Africa, or in poorer regions of Canada, US, or Europe, benefit? Don’t people need the basics of life first?

Yes. And no.

Web 2.0 in Africa (via Elearning Africa blog) suggests web 2.0 tools can assist farmers in regions such as Uganda gain and share important knowledge about farming. Rather than external experts being the main providers of information, farmers share information about banana growing/harvesting with each other. Reminds me of E. M. Forster’s statement “only connect”.

The rest progresses from there…

Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies - Web2forDev dotSUB

MusTech.Net! | Music Education Bloggers

2008-12-02T11:56:00.001-08:00

Looking for ideas from music educators - check out MusTech.Net! - A Symphony of Music Education, and Technology!

MusTech.Net! | ME Bloggers

Teacher Training Videos created by Russell Stannard

2008-11-12T14:17:00.001-08:00

These videos were created for teachers to help them to incorporate technology into their teaching. Just click and a video will open and take you through how to use that technology. He covers a wide range of technology concepts and tools.

Teacher Training Videos created by Russell Stannard

Four Tenets for Rural Economic Development

2008-11-12T14:02:00.001-08:00

http://carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/PB-Brown-Graham-Measures08.pdf

The Carsey Institute just released a policy brief on rural economic development in the "new economy" (the globalized, volatile one, I assume). The authors, Anita Brown-Graham and William Lambe, propose four tenets for contemporary rural development:

1. Innovation is key to driving growth and prosperity in today’s global economy.
2. Significant capital investments are required to put innovations to use.
3. Development efforts must seek to protect valuable natural assets.
4. Development is a “contact sport,” best pursued through dense networks of personal contacts.

Engaging Science - Online Games

2008-11-12T13:56:00.001-08:00

Here are some more primary science games, this time from a BC group of museums and science centres.

Engaging Science - Online Games

Discover Primary Science - teacher training, classroom resources, primary science education, science awards

2008-11-12T13:48:00.001-08:00

This Irish site has a number of activities, videos and simulations to help with primary science concepts.

Discover Primary Science - teacher training, classroom resources, primary science education, science awards

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

2008-11-05T13:27:00.001-08:00

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) is an NSF supported project that began in 1999 to develop a library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials, mostly in the form of Java applets, for mathematics instruction (K-12 emphasis). The project includes dissemination and extensive internal and external evaluation.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

BBC - Entertainment - Hard Spell

2008-11-05T13:22:00.001-08:00

Drive yourself crazy - this is an online game that you play against the clock. Spelling is not my strong suit.

BBC - Entertainment - Hard Spell

Rural Schools Blog

2008-11-04T15:27:00.001-08:00

Hello folks - here is another blog from one of our colleagues in rural BC. Check it out and leave a comment for the blogger.

Rural Schools Blog

Blogs from Lower Post

2008-10-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hello folks - we received this email from a colleague in Lower Post, BC

Hi, thanks... I was inspired by the conference and started two blogs based on ideas and info from conference. www.denetiaschool.blogspot.com for students, parents and community. www.denetiastaff.blogspot.com for staff development at our school. Share if you want I am proud of our small rural one room school.

Just for those of you who don't know, Lower Post is in northwestern British Columbia, located on Highway 97, the Alaska Highway, approximately 15 miles South-East of Watson Lake, Yukon. Its historical mile designation is Mile 620. (from Wikipedia)

GELessons.com

2008-10-29T13:03:00.001-07:00

GELessons.com - A Free Public Resource - Providing Teachers with the tools needed to enhance their instruction using Google Earth®, the free program that brings the world to the classroom! A Website By and For Teachers.

GELessons.com

Blogging Rubric

2008-10-29T13:01:00.001-07:00

Are you using blogs with your students? Here is a rubric that helps guide students in their use.

Blogging Rubric

BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free

2008-10-29T12:54:00.001-07:00

Welcome to BibMe! The fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It's the easiest way to build a works cited page. And it's free.
Search for a book, article, website, or film, or enter the information yourself.
Add it to your bibliography.
Download your bibliography in either the MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats and include it in your paper.

It's that easy!

BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free

How To: Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips | Edutopia

2008-10-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

Teachers share their secrets for making virtual excursions worth the journey.

How To: Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips | Edutopia

Eight Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in a Classroom

2008-10-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hello folks - this is an interesting presentation that overviews eight interesting ways to use Google Docs in a classroom
Enjoy

3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference

2008-10-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 24, 2008

3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference

2008-10-23T08:19:00.001-07:00

Opening Remarks

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Rural Schools Pre-Conference

2008-10-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Vancouver