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Find historical maps, geographical maps, cartographic maps, maps of battles, cities, town... This is a very good resource for a social studies teacher. It contains over 4.5 million items. This website may also be good for science teachers who are studying conservation or the travels of an explorer like Darwin. History teachers who study battles during war can find American Revolution, Civil War, WWII battle and campaign maps. Any lesson that requires a map, this is the place to go to first.

Contents of this site: This site contains images of influenza, natural disasters, environmental health, bioterrorism, electron micro-graphic imagery, everyday activities, health behaviors, public health in action. The websites recommend that the site is good for those studying in the primary, secondary, or graduate levels. However, there is a "WARNING: This library includes subject matter that may be unsuitable for children. Viewing discretion is advised." This site would be ideal for science, health, social studies, language arts (research and informational writing) with regard to any of the topics listed above. Copyright and Protection: The site states with regard to copyright that most of the pictures are copyright free, but you need to double check. Below is a question answered from the websites FAQ that will help clarify the copyright regulations of the images in this website. "What regulations govern the use of images in the PHIL? Answer: Images are either "Public Domain" (free use) or "Copyright Protected" (restricted, obtain permission before use) Most of the images in the collection are in the public domain and are thus free of any copyright restrictions. If you look directly beneath the image you will see a fair use statement that tells you if the image is public domain or copyright protected. Permission is not required for public domain images, but we do ask that you credit the original institution and contributor, when known, whenever the image is used in any publicly distributed media. If the image is copyright protected, you will have to contact the content provider to obtain usage permission. PHIL does not have the authority to grant usage for any copyrighted images in the library. If you have difficulty contacting a content provider, we may be able to help, but we cannot act on their behalf."

This website contains collections of images from many different government agencies. For example, the National Parks Service, NASA, the U.S. Mint, branches of the Military, and many, many more. The photos could be very useful in Science, Social Studies, and probably other classes as well. From just some quick research, it looks like the collections of images might best be suited for middle and high school students. The website states that some of the images may be used without permission or fee but the user should read the disclaimers to make sure of the copyright status.

This website offers a collection of out of copyright recordings, which would greatly serve to enhance a podcast. The site is easy to navigate and allows the user to download the audio file (MP3) to his/her desired location. After this file has been downloaded to the computer, students could then import the file into Audacity in order to edit the audio file to better fit their podcast. Student created podcasts would be a great way for middle school and high school students to convey their ideas or topics to a class. These can be done as individual or group projects. I especially see this type of activity being well suited for a Social Studies context, especially as a way to present research information. The correct application of music, to serve as an intro in a podcast, could greatly assist in the development of a polished final product. However, I would recommend sticking with the instrumental music for most uses within the educational context. But, the creation of a podcast within a history course could be enhanced with the accurate incorporation of time appropriate music. I believe for these music files to be incorporated into a podcast, to benefit the listener, the creator must have a working knowledge of Audacity. However, with the ability to pair Open Music Archive with Audacity can give the individual the tools necessary to create a product that would benefit learners through the multimedia platform.

This is a great resource for instrumental jams. I have used a few for animoto when I didn't want any lyrics, but wanted a certain beat or mood to go along with the images. It would be great for students making movies as well as the music is categorized i.e. blues, horror, dramatic, tense... and it allows a full preview before downloading along with a fairly large collection of free music.

This site is more functional than the other two I posted. One of the unique features is its large collection. There are not only objects (photos or illustrations) but also materials/textures available. Another feature is that they have some pull-down menus to narrow down the search. We can select the images by the topic (animal, architectures, etc), dominant colors of the image we want, the number of items we want to see at once, etc. These functions meet the users' needs. The site also asks for donations of the images. The challenge might be the filter set by the districts. Almost all the time this is the case some teachers are discouraged. It is strongly recommended teachers check this site on a school computer before the intended use. If blocked, requesting unblocking may be the next thing to do. Furthermore, as a school or department it may be a good idea to secure several online repositories that are not blocked; therefore, any teachers can use at any time safely for educational purposes. Lesson Example: 3rd grade and above in Visual Arts Direction: In our life there are many signs. Common features of those signs are simplicity (restricted numbers of colors, shapes, lines, etc.) and clearness of a message (directly represented by an object). Suppose you are a professional illustrator and the city has asked you to create a symbol/sign useful to the community. Make sure to provide good reasons to back up your creation. (Ex. how your creation will promote the welfare of the city, reduce the crimes, or promote business, etc.) Search the needs of the city so that your creation is timely and meets the needs of the city. Save the resources. Image citation: Dario sign no baby carriages warning lift. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.imageafter.com/image.php?image=b17dario103.jpg

Dreamtime is an amazing site that allows users access to a variety of quality images. These images can be used as valuable resources to enhance classroom instruction.

Dreamstimes is a photo repository that supplies a numerous amount of quality digital images. This resource could be used to aid in several different content areas. However it works extremely well for science because of the variety of images available and the attention to details provided in each image. The primary audience benefiting from this resource would be 9-12 secondary science classrooms. More specifically an anatomy & physiology classroom would enjoy it most. In the classroom students would be able to search, share, and save images of various body systems in the human body. An excellent lesson would be to have students break into small groups, locate 2-3 images of the body system being introduced in class, then collect images of the organs that the system is composed of. Once they are finish they can describe how each organ works together to maintain homeostasis within the system and the body. Finally students can share what they have discovered with their peers and they will have quality images to help aid in their presentations.

Users of this repository are advised that they will need to purchase store "credits" to download images. Please see this page for their details: http://www.dreamstime.com/credits.

eRiding Media Library contains a collection of several thousand resources deemed copyright-free for educational use. It has 4 sections listed for available media: Images, Movies, Photographs, and Sounds - but some of the resources under images are duplicated under photographs. The organization of the images is a bit messy and hard to navigate but there are lots of pictures should you take the time to explore the site. I thought the Math section was interesting as it contained images of math related terms in a real world context, like angles or parallel lines to name a few. This section could be used for a variety of grades and I think it's a great resource for images students would likely use for presentations in Math class. The movies section currently contains Science related content regarding forces, which could be used for any grade level depending on the need. There are also sound files available; some in .wav format, and others in .mp3. Under sounds, there is a category for English Language - Phonemes which we thought would be useful for grades Pre-K through 1st.

PD Photo is a website that has a large collection of photos that are free and available for use under the public domain. There looks to hundreds of photos that fall under a variety of categories. Many photos are available for geography use and would be beneficial in a social studies classroom; there are also many images that can be used in a science classroom, like the Macros or Plants category. The images on this site are not limited to these two content areas as there are plenty of ways students and teachers can use these photos in an educational setting, for any and all grade levels.

Photo laboratory - this is a collection of exclusive photo images of high resolution. You can download any stock image at no cost or buy photo under royalty-free licence. This is a great resource for middle and high school students who are making a website or any other fictitious marketing products and need some "real-looking" pictures to include but maybe do not have the time or resources to take the pictures themselves. I think this could be used for any subject area as they have a wide range of pictures including all types of people and objects. I think it would be especially useful in my business classes where my students are always wanting high quality photos for their projects. Directing them to this website would be a great alternative to searching Google which is their first "go-to" search engine. The thing that I liked the most about this site is that the pictures do not look fake. They look more like what you would actually take yourself so I think that would be a positive and a draw to get more students to use them.

Resources in this site are free for any non-commercial use. Commercial use requires fee payments. Users are directed to check the Legal page for specific details.

This site is a massive collection of information that is valuable to Foreign Language teachers. It contains links to royalty free clip art, streaming video, radio, and online dictionaries in multiple languages. In addtion, there are links to ACTFL for educators to stay up to date with the current trends and issues in teaching a modern language.

4 Free Photos are a collection of photographs that are made available for free download by the group of photographers that manage the site. These photos are available for private or commercial projects. The photos are divided into alphabetized categories, and a search bar allows users to search for a specific image. These photos would work well in any classroom setting. They would work especially well for students in a graphic design course or photography course who are learning to manipulate photographs using editing software.Students could practice editing photos that they would not have means of taking, perhaps because of limited resources or their location.

Images on this site are protected by International Copyright laws. Users are advised to refer to the Terms and Conditions page in this site.

Everystockphoto is a copyright free search engine that provides users with a variety of free photos. Users do not have to signup for a membership, unless they wish to rate, tag, collect, and comment on photos. This repository will work best in a 6-12 educational setting, in several different content areas. For example, students can use the search engine to locate photos for supporting an art project.

Resources on this site are protected by International Copyright laws. Users of this site are directed to the Terms of Use web page: http://www.everystockphoto.com/termsofuse.php

FreeSFX offers over 450,000 sound effects, available for free MP3 download. The site requires a free membership to download, but no other costs are associated with the use of these sound effects. The effects are easy to navigate, as they are organized into alphabetized categories. In addition, a search bar makes locating a specific desired effect quick and easy. The enormous collection is sure to offer sound effects for teachers of all grades and subject areas.

Resources on this site are protected by International Copyright laws. Users are advised to refer to the End User License Agreement page in this site for when, where, and how you may use sound files - see: http://www.freesfx.co.uk/info/eula/

This online database contains very high-quality "Public Domain," "Copyright-Free" photographs that are easily accessible from 10 different category divisions on the "Gallery Index" page; Abstract, Architecture & Cityscapes, Food & Drinks, Industrial & Machinery, Miscellaneous, Nature, Sports & Recreation, Technology, Textures & Backgrounds, and Travel. In the "Terms of Use" statements, the creators state that "Picdrome.com is a growing Public Domain digital photography collection, free of copyright and licensed under Creative Commons…all images are free to download for personal, educational and commercial use, without restriction." They also advise users to check the "Disclaimer" statement link regarding any additional licenses; however, in the disclaimer statement there didn't appear to be any other restrictions listed. Students in upper Elementary school through High school would be able to easily navigate and download these photographs that were relevant to project work they were completing. For example, my Middle School students would greatly benefit from the close-up photos of food from all of the food groups in this repository, when they complete "Family & Consumer Science" class projects that present visual examples of nutritionally balanced menus. The only problematic portion of the website is the banner advertisement located directly below the title/search box and right above the category links…it often advertises products and sites that require purchasing but, the banner looks so much like the website heading that it is easily clicked on by "mistake." Educators would need to forewarn students of this obstacle before giving them free reign of the site's valuable images.

Vicfirth.com is a site that is beneficial for educating percussionists of all age and skill levels. Vicfirth.com is host to a variety of media teaching aids such as how-to videos, image clips, and audio files. There is also a large collection of demonstration videos. This site is most beneficial as a technology based tutor for the student percussionist/drummer. the student can learn or supplement their learning while moving at their own pace. This site is copyright-free for use thought they do advertise and give descriptions of Vic Firth products. I see no difficulties involved with the use of this site.