This can be used in all content areas. It is a terrific tool for pre-assessment. This can be for yourself as an educator or as a student. This can be helpful so that we -as teachers- know our audience. One con of this is not necessarily the fault of the site, but I have found that students' learning styles seem to vary. For this reason, I would have students take the inventory several times during a school year. 4-12
Purpose of the Website: This website is a tutorial that students can follow through to learn how to access and navigate the Internet. Each section, or lesson, has worksheets that help students navigate through the information and to assess students understanding of the tutorial. Some topics include The Beginning, Getting Started Online, Staying Safe, Using Your Browser, Searching Online, Trying Top Tricks, and The Welcome to the Web Challenge. Students learn things such as what the Internet is for, what links do, how to use the toolbar, etc.
Grade Level: 4-8
Classroom Connection: This a wonderful resource to use with upper elementary and secondary students at the beginning of the year to help them review information they already know and introduce them to new information about the Internet. This can be completed independently in class or as a homework assignment.
Negatives of this Website: Some parts of the website have a lot of information and is not extremely easy to navigate, therefore might not be used by younger students independently.
K-12 Secure online class forum for teachers and students to extend learning outside of the traditional classroom.
Con: Probably need your district's permission.
Elementary Grades appropriate
Classroom Connections: This website that explains to students how the U.S. Constitution came to be. Teaching 4th Grade social studies, I want my 9 year old students to understand what they are learning about and specifically the hard work our forefathers put into our government. This is a great site to do that.
It also gives a section titled "show what you know" to give students a chance to review what they learned.
This site also gives more information on governmental social studies topics.
Grade level- 7-12
CC- A student can post a comment on the discussion board about the class debate on Islam to furher ehance their undertanding of the topic.
Overview- This facebook like site allows a teacher to create a safe place for students to collaborate, discuss ideas, and enhance their learning by socializing over the computer.
Cons- Needs district and parent permission
Grades K-12
Internet based science learning experiences, lesson plans and resources.
This site can be used by teachers to help plan engaging and interactive science lessons and give students necessary resources to go along with lessons. Students will receive interacitve activities to help reinforce conepts.
Purpose of the Website: Students and teachers can create collaborative multimedia projects that incorporate video, pictures, and voice. This will allow students and teacher to present materials in a visual way.
Grade Level: K-12
Classroom Connection: Voicethreads can be used for a variety of activities, but one possible project could be for student to share their experience on a field trip. Students can take pictures of their day on a field trip and create a voice thread to share what they learned about their experience.
Grades 3-12
A great resource or tool to learn how to create screencasts.
This site can be used by teachers and students as a tutorial of how to create scrrencasts for specific projects.
Grade level- 9-12
CC- A student can create their own social networking group to collaborate on a class and community project for a Project-Based Learning assignment.
Overview- A user can create their own social networking group to their liking and control how it operates. Also it is free.
Cons- Needs district and parent permission.
K-12
Flash cards, vocabulary memorization, and study games for all ages. Teachers and students can use already pre-made or create their own.
Con: Must review before using pre-made, just to be cautious.
Grades 3-8
Interactive- step by step process for students to do a research project. Links are included at each step--to provide students help with that step/skill.
Classroom Connections:
* Use to teach each step of the process whole group- interactively using SmartBoard--Teaching one step per day.
* Students can do interactive activities as a center choice
Purpose of the Website: This is an unbelievable tool for introducing the research process to students. The website is particularly helpful for the visual learner. Students can explore different ways to plan their research, search for information, take notes and use the information they find.
Grade Level: 3-8
Classroom Connection: Using this website as a learning tool, students can use guided inquiry to develop a plan for research. Students could also use the information on this website to participate in a webquest in which they need to develop a "research guide" for their district to help new students understand how to perform a research project.
k-12-Professional
Virtual tours of reading and writing workshops---14 videos of all components of reading/writing workshops
Classroom Connections:
* Use videos to see how to set up your classroom for reading writing workshops
* Use videos to see how to conduct a reading and writing workshop, as well as conferences and sharing
* Use blog to communicate with other educators to learn more about managing a reading/writing workshop
Grade Level: 6-12
This is quite possibly my favorite go to website in my collection. I have been using this resource since my first day of teaching. Not only does this website offer a number of great assignments and resources, but the teacher is also quick to respond to any questions you might send his way. My first year teaching I came across this website and was in pretty regular contact with this teacher for the first couple months. I learned a solid foundation from his resources.
Grade Level: 6-12
This website allows students to create their own music. This is great when dealing with the whole issue of copyright infringement. For students who are more interested with the audio side of video production this could be a bonus opportunity.
Con: Their isn't anytime in the video production curriculum to go over new software. This would have to be something students learn on their own. Luckily the website is very user friendly.
Grades K-2
A supplemental reading program to help young readers.
This can be used as a reading center to help students with reading skills and strategies.
Grades K-8
A resource for lesson plans and activities for all subject areas.
Teachers can find engaging lesson plans as well as great printable activities for students to practice skills and concepts.
Con-have to be a member