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David Warlick's new InfoGraphic-a-Day is a great way to help kids (and adults) understand how data can be formatted and analyzed. The site's organization with specific subjects and some interdisciplinary themes like Health works well with a 21st century approach. Students also can work on developing skills related to understanding all of the content that is available and creating and sharing their own work. Conveniently, Warlick has included a section just for data sources - although teachers and students could certainly seek out their own. If you like this site, you might like to check out his Blogroll too - I liked the DailyInfographic.com because I thought its Glogster-like posters looked like a great idea for a student project - with models already created. Check out this one about technology and the environment to see! http://dailyinfographic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/earth-day-internet-infographic.png

Fun games for middle school that cover Citizenship & Participation, the Constitution & the Bill of Rights, Separation of Powers and the Three Branches of Government. Content can be customized to your state standards and teachers can print out reports of student work for assessment. Great role-playing to understand content. Modules designed to fit in most class periods. Recommended by the ALA and Sandra Day O'Connor.

Online games and simulations to explore topics like refugees, world hunger, and natural disasters. Great example of content in games being great because of its link to a high-level institution.

More information about copyright and the internet. Create, remix, and share - legally. "The infrastructure we provide consists of a set of copyright licenses and tools that create a balance inside the traditional "all rights reserved" setting that copyright law creates. Our tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to keep their copyright while allowing certain uses of their work - a "some rights reserved" approach to copyright - which makes their creative, educational, and scientific content instantly more compatible with the full potential of the internet. The combination of our tools and our users is a vast and growing digital commons, a pool of content that can be copied, distributed, edited, remixed, and built upon, all within the boundaries of copyright law."

Primary source material from the time is interspersed with modern-day photos of the land the party encountered. Contextual information ranging from Native American beliefs to Natural history are included. Videos of people speaking about issues of the day and an audio presentation of Lewis and Clark day-by-day add further enhance this multi-modal presentation of history. The section on technology might provide a starting point for an interdisciplinary unit between Humanities and Technology for an MYP program.

Oceans, Nature, 3D Buildings

Always looking for a good way to engage students, this blogger makes math appear dynamic and interesting. Most of the math content in the projects he proposes is HS level. However, his manner of thinking through HOW to present the lessons in meaningful, real-life situations is relevant to any teacher. This is one of those blogs that makes me wistful about being in the classroom full-time.

Students need access to plenty of content that is available for them to use if they are creating - useful for everything from Animoto to websites.

Morguefile.com free stock photos Students need access to plenty of content that is available for them to use if they are creating - useful for everything from Animoto to websites.

Short direct videos that explain concepts in easy-to-understand terms. Mostly focusing on technology topics, these videos could be used to help with staff development or in the classrooms with students. For students, these videos would make great intros to technology topics or stand as excellent examples that they could model their own videos after for an assignment (eg. explain Google docs to an incoming student through a video they can watch again and again). Generally speaking, accessing Common Craft videos through You Tube is easier, but this has a nice table of contents.

Example of an interdisciplinary project and digital collaboration - with some fun science content. To participate in the current project with your elementary or middle school class, investigate Bugscope at http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/.

Intended for HS and College chemistry students. Older students will be able to work through virtual labs or solve a murder mystery in a game. The interactive periodic table would be useful for MS students who are becoming familiar with the elements. There are also many links to hands on activities for younger students. Many partnerships and sponsorships with private institutes and journals help to ensure the highest quality of content. The Chemical Collective site is gathering information on teacher use of and student response to the use of virtual labs.

Simulations of scientific processes for middle and high school level content. Topics include semi-conductors and cellular respiration. Students can submit their assignments or print them out after they have completed working through a module. The website also provides options for teachers and students to create their own simulations. Free, open source tool.

Wikis are very easy to use and they allow for collaboration and organization. You can use a wiki to post information or answer questions. Wikis are suitable for publishing assignment dates or content. Students can use a page to work together on a project. Wikis can be good spaces for eportfolios, too. Like websites and blogs, other media can be embedded. This video talks about wikis in general.

The interactive map is the best content on the site. Being president for a day is a fun activity - using facts from throughout Presidential history. Teachers may like the activities suggested for more learning activities in the classroom. Writing style is best suited for the 4th to 6th grades.

Information, animations, and interactives help students understand cells, heredity and DNA. An amazing amount of information presented beautifully. Teachers could begin to explore the more basic concepts in MS, but this would make a great resource for HS. Teachers should check out the new companion site Teach. Genetics, which includes a list of lessons and resources (http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/).

Flikr is the BEST way to find a photo to illustrate your point. If you are posting a photo in any public way, you will need to be aware of what you can and cannot post according to copyright law. Flikr has made it easy to find what you need with their Creative Commons section. Under the advanced search tab, you are easily able to select photos that you can use on your website or blog. The site is very easy and fun to peruse. I use it for nearly every project that would benefit from an image, personally and professionally. *Teachers do need to be aware that there may be some inappropriate content for students on this site that may be accessed even during a routine search. Try it yourself to get a sense of how well it would work in your community.

Add content to a picture - label it, color it, include lines and shapes, and add links to closeup pics. Lots of possibilities with the editing tools. Could be used with diagrams from science, maps, historical photos or artwork. Easy to embed or share. Below is a picture annotated to give more information about JFK's assassination.

"Class Blogmeister" allows classrooms to set up their own blogs that students and teachers can contribute to. This seems to be most appropriate for early elementary. "Citation Machine" is a reasonable option for students who want to have their citations formulated for them on the basis of the information they give, but most kids will probably end up with a more popular site like EasyBib for this purpose. "The Education Podcast Network" has a variety of subject specific recordings for teachers and students. Personally, the section I have used the most is the "Library of Links." Many of the links lead to sites with data, especially under the science section. Accessing the material with students gives them an opportunity to understand that information is available and that there are different ways to present findings about data. Great for projects! Upper Elementary and up.

In this game, you get to visit China. As you explore the environment, you can interact with everything around just by clicking. You can engage in conversation, completing tasks, or try on different jobs. All of the work involves repetition with words and sentences in pinyin. You can also see the character writing and English translations, and you are always able to tailor the amount of support you need. In addition you can hear audio (native Chinese speakers!) for single words, complete sentences and entire conversations. There is a space where you can record yourself saying the same words and listen to both recordings to see if your pronunciation is improving. Along the way there are tips on grammar & syntax to help you recognize things like the difference between addressing someone formally or informally. The places you can visit and the encounters you have also give a taste of Chines culture. You can learn about money at the bank in the airport. Across the street from your hotel in Beijing there is a center where they talk about calligraphy and Chinese literature. Overall, the software addresses how to speak in many very practical situations. There is a ledger for your money and energy so you have to be active in the game to earn more. It is fun and makes you want to explore. I really think middle school would be best for this, but the content on some of the literature was in a pretty high range. This could be worked through as assignments or individually paced.