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In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. Merlot is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a community of resources designed to focus on providing learning materials for faculty members in higher education. As a member of Merlot, you not only have access to the free online resources, but you can contribute material as well. There are also opportunities to become a peer reviewer of the posted content. I think this is an excellent way for an educator to be assured that the learning materials obtained from Merlot has a stamp of approval from others in the discipline.

In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. The Orange Grove Digital Repository is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a repository of instructional resources. It can be integrated with a Learning Management System and educators can import resources directly from a teacher's LMS. The collection of resources consists of open textbooks and open courseware. There are resources for higher education and K -12, both of which contain categories that are easy to navigate. Among the available content: videos, presentations, audio, spreadsheets, syllabi, assessments, and images.

MERLOT which stands for "Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching" is repository site that contains images, video, as well as audio. The site contains information suitable for all grade levels k-12, however the resources being looked at or 9-12 Science resources. MERLOT is an established community of resources that offers a variety of resources to its members. User can browse for material across many different subject matters. They can also create a collection of resources to use with learning exercises to practice or teach concepts. MERLOT also provides its user with the opportunity to meet and collaborate with expert's virtually form all over.

This is a free web-based resource which includes images, audio, and visuals. This resource can be used for all grades. This resource allows anyone to create a free slide show very quickly. You can use your own images and music, or you may use music they have provided. This resource also allows you to add text to the slide show you create, you are able to embed different things, and you even have some control of transitions. This resource can be used to introduce a topic to your students. You could create a slide show with texts and sounds to introduce a social studies lesson. For example, let's say you wanted to teach students about Athens, Greece. You could use this resource to upload pictures of Ancient Greece to display its architecture and add text to label what the picture is displaying. You could also use it in reading as a storytelling slide slow. You could even allow your students to create an "All About Me" project. They would be able to upload pictures of themselves, family, pets, and anything else that allows people to get to know them. This resource can be used in ways. It is a fun, free, and almost effortless resource that allows teachers to easily integrate technology in their classrooms. As I reflect, there could be some difficulties or problems that arise with using this resource. Since this resource is easily accessible to anyone, students may upload inappropriate content into their slide show or add inappropriate music. To avoid misuse, I recommend teachers require students to get their slide show approved by a teacher before showing it to the class or sharing it with anyone else. Also, there is only a limited amount of music available that is provided by the website. Due to this issue, teachers or students may struggle finding and uploading their own music. Teachers should also monitor what content is being uploaded to make sure the slide shows meet the fair use laws. As with any form of media, teachers have to be sma

Teachers Pay Teachers is an open martketplace for educators who wish to share, sell, and buy resources, images, clipart, fonts, graphics and more created by fellow educators. The majority of this content is created specifically for instructional purposes rather than for student use. Users do not have to join to view content, but do need a free membership to download purchases. There is a huge gallery of free resources for download, accessed via the 'See What's Free' button on the homepage. In terms of copyright, an extensive FAQ page can be found here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Copyright-FAQ. A truncated version of general copyright terms explains that, "A Creative Commons license is a simple legal document attached to the individual works of the Teacher-Authors which let Teacher-Buyers know what they can do with the work. For more on Creative Commons, see http://creativecommons.org/. There is a special Creative Commons area for Education uses: http://creativecommons.org/education/." Thusly, it is best to locate terms of use on a teacher by teacher basis.

EduPic Graphical Resource was created by a teacher and is a free image resource for educators and their students. There are over 6,000 different photos and illustrations to pick from. Most of the images seem to be geared toward middle and high school science and history classes; however, there are a few images for other subjects. A few examples of how I can see this resource being used would include a high school US History class studying Abraham Lincoln or washington monuments or a 7th grade Life Science class learning about biomes. The only downside I can see to this resource is that the main focus is on science and history so it would be limiting for certain subjects or grade levels.

This website has an abundance of royalty-free material available. The material resources offered range from photos, illustrations, as well as video clips. This website could best reach a wide-spread audience from K-12, and I mainly say that due to the variety that is offered. Also, there is an option to search by photographer or artist. So, if there is a particular style of art or artist that an educator may be most supportive of, or comfortable choosing work from, this will help filter out all others. The photos are arranged in a form of galleries which makes searching for photos much neater and concise, and the price range is from $2.50- $10 depending on the size. The qualities of the resources are superb. They contain great color quality, photo/video aspect, and variety.

This is free educational blogging site. It could be used for any subject and grade level, but it is probably best for students ranging from 3-12 and higher education. It contains images, videos, audio, and visuals. This online resource allows students and teachers to collaborate, share thoughts and ideas, and so much more! There are tools within this site that allow you to upload quizzes, set due dates, and post assignments or required readings from the web. This website can be used to facilitate discussions about lessons you teach in class. For example, after reading a story or book with your students, the teacher can pose an open-ending discussion question on the blog. Students would then be asked to answer the question during center time or even for homework. Other students in the class will be able to read and respond to each other's posts to create a rich discussion. Teachers can also use the blog to post upcoming events, tests, or quizzes in the classroom and parents can use it to stay informed. Teachers can also use the website to post videos, podcasts, and documents they create. Students are able to view these things at home. This is especially helpful when parents are unsure how to help their child with homework because they do not understand the concept you taught that day. For example, if you introduce a new concept in math and assign homework that night, parents and students can watch a lesson you recorded to get a better understanding of the material. Using Edublogs is a safe and easy way to integrate technology in the classroom! As I reflect, I think about the possible difficulties this resource could possess. Being that it is not a program you can purchase and install on your computer, problems could occur with the being able to connect. Since it is a resource that anyone could use, a lot of people can be on the website at one time and cause it to "crash" or free up. Also, I think about routine maintenance or updates that must be d

School Clip Art: a free educational clipart resource. After reviewing this resource, I see it being beneficial for elementary age students and teachers. Teachers can use the clip art in their presentations, worksheets, and lesson plans. In addition, students can use the clip art to complete their assignments. The images are easy to save for both Windows and Mac users. The clipart is free, teachers and students just have to reference the website in order to use it. There are many categories to pick from and navigating the site is very easy. The only challenge I see is that the clipart would not work well for students over 5th grade because of the cartoon like nature of the images.

This website provides thousands of resources for educators. This is a sight created by the federal government to promote educational excellence. What ever the idea, topic, or lesson plan may be about, I am sure you will find the perfect resource you can use.

Thousands of copyright free and copyright friendly images and photos for teachers and students. This site contains different categories of pictures. The rights belong to the owners of the pictures. Students and teachers are free to use the pictures for projects, teaching, posters, multimedia and educational purpose. This site also contains ideas, trading posts, activities and other resources for teachers and students. Latina

Pcs4 Learning is designed for education and is "copyright friendly" and searchable. It contains five popular categories, animals, food, education, space, and countries. Click on collections, however, and plethora of other categories appear. Click on the lesson plans link and teachers will find ideas for using pictures in lesson plans. A small sample of the lessons that appear includes symmetry, alliteration and ancient cultures. The pictures on this website have been donated by educators, students, and amateur photographers. Images here are suitable for grades k-12, any subject.

This website is a government site, so it is a public domain and provides all resources including photos, videos, animations and podcasts for free to the public. The acronym USGS stands for United States Geological Survey, which means the photos and resources on this site pertain to elements of the geologic structure in the U.S. This site would be useful for all audiences of school age in grades 4-12. I chose that range because with the real-life depictions of our country's geography, it could easily bore and audience that was any younger. They are excellent quality resources and precise photography at our disposal for nothing out of pocket.

I re-located this resource, that has been around since the year 2000, while searching for AUDIO files for adding to multimedia presentations for but, the site also advertises that, "you can find over 1,000 pages of free resources, tutorials, PowerPoint templates and backgrounds, graphics, sounds for presentations and much more for everyday use and productivity." The sound clips are simple enough for students in grades 5 - 12 to use however, many of the other resources are probably more appropriate for educators. After brief teacher modeling, middle & high school students could easily click on the midi sound files, listen to the preview that opens in Windows Media Player, right-click on the sound title they wanted, "save-target-as" to a file, and insert the free sound clips into their multimedia presentations. Students will also appreciate the wide variety of clear-quality, relevant sounds, a few of which sound like renditions of background hip-hop/rap music that I believe they would enjoy like, "Dr. Tekno," "Nightfunk," and "R&B Bassbeat." In the "Terms of Use" the owner, Nan Shastry, states that "items marked 100% free" can be downloaded free for "personal or business or educational use" but users may not resell downloads, make available as downloads on your website, or link to items without prior permission. While the sound files and many other resources are 100% free, students who try to branch out and download many of the PowerPoint backgrounds or animated graphics will encounter zip file popups that ask/require them to evaluate "WinRAR" software for a 40-day trial before purchasing it, to continue using the download. Educators could mitigate this problem by distributing a list of preferred download link titles from the site that students could easily access without any difficulty or, by simply instructing them to click "cancel" or "close" on any of the downloads that require purchasing.

This is a wonderful social networking site for education. It is for students and teachers. The teacher can set up an online component to their traditional classroom. It allows the teacher to grade work and give instant feedback. Students can hold online discussions about course topics too. Students have backpacks where they can file any resources they would need to complete an assignment. Also teachers are able to create and post assignments that students turn in with the click of a button. A problem that can take place is that the Edmodo site may be down or the school network is not communicating well with the sites network. Edmodo provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices. Our goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner

University of Iowa might move to Unizin, a data management and learning software that allows professors to share technology more fluidly. Unizin is also university owned and recreates the idea of educational software by skipping the large corporations

SHMOOPDOTCOM:At Shmoop, they work for kids, not just the bottom line. Founded by David Siminoff and his wife Ellen Siminoff, Shmoop was originally conceived to generate a love of learning in kids, who were still learning with the same tools that they had used when they were in school. Every day we provide 10 million + users consistent, reliable support for their 21st century educational needs. This is currently a Channel on Youtube.com They have 524 videos on varying topics ranging from elementary to ACT and SAT prep. This is a great resource. One challenge in using this resource is of course taking time to find what you need. This might be a challenged for the overworked educator. The owners of this Channel are working on organizing the videos to be useful to its users. Math teachers, English teachers look out this resource is full of videos to be used in your classroom. We used the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAai4HTxYZM in class this week when discussing Irrational Numbers in Math. More resources can be found a www.shmoop.com 1 post for the UWG Photographers

KidsKnowIt is a copyright free video and audio repository that provides users with a variety of free educational videos and resources. No membership is required to access any resources. The website is user-friendly and provides videos and resources for grades 1-8, in several different content areas. Therefore, this repository will work best in a 1-8 educational setting. In addition, it will be extremely helpful in a science classroom, to assist with introducing acids and bases.