Classroom 2.0 is an online community for teachers who are interested in education technology. Members share web 2.0 tools and learn through online events.
A great differentiation resource, this wiki has all of the information contained in our book and more. With templates for many of the related strategies discussed and everything you need to know and how to do it. A free web resource this really is a great, easy to navigate wiki for all to use for free - but no support is available - but none needed. Aesthetically the wiki has a very nice design and i believe students in High School and above might take some interest in this site. Published two years ago the content is right up to date and of good quality.
OurTimeLines.com is a useful website for social studies classrooms who wish to connect history to their students lives. It is a free site (and there is a whole page on the site dedicated to explaining how and why it is free) that allows users to create timelines from 1000 A.D. to current times in history, then add their own events relating to their lives or to those of their ancestors. I believe that it could appeal to users, specifically students because it involves them in creating history and relating it to their lives, their ancestors' lives, or their interests. It is not the most aesthetically appealing website; it is not created or managed by a large corporation, so the platform is not what one would expect from a professional website, but because I discovered this site through one of our class textbooks, I believe this to still be a good site. Its information says it is up-to-date, and it has a great page for feedback with other user comments. I believe this could likely be used for any age, though teachers would need to help younger users more. I think this would be appealing to students because it involves them in a history lesson and gives them a chance to use an easy technology in class.
This a interesting website that students can visit every day and find sections like "This Day in History", "Mind Benders", "Word of the Day", "Word of the Day". Give students the opportunity to choose a subject and a grade level and compare themselves to other students by taking a quiz. In the section "Graph" gives students a chance to create different types of graphs.
Word Steps is a resource for learning the vocabulary of choice in nine different languages. It is free to sign up and to use. This website can be used by an instructor in a language arts or foreign language class. The user can select the language to be learned and there are six different types of practice activities for each set of vocabulary words. Each set of vocabulary words is called a dictionary in Word Steps (interesting). One can use dictionaries (words) created by other Word Steps users or one can create his/her own dictionary (words). The website is easy to use and navigate through. The website could be use with or without creating an account.
Free website used to develop lesson plans in art. Lesson plans contain the objectives, materials, planning, assessments and examples. This website is better used for teachers, but students who are interested in art projects would enjoy this website. This is very effective learning tool because the website uses various forms of art from clay, abstract, collage, sculptures and etc. The information is up-to-date and contains unique art projects. The website is organized by grade level to help find appropriate art for each grade. There is an email available to contact the creator by email. The art lesson were submitted by teachers and allows users to add comments about each lesson.
This is a great tool for students learning a foreign language. I personally used it for 2 years in my Spanish class in high school and it helped me a lot! It's a great way for students to practice their conjugations. There is a suggested fee of $35; however, if your school truly cannot pay, you can send them a note saying so and can use the site. There is also a contact us page available for support. Graded activities and games available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Latin. This would probably be most effective if used with middle school to high school students in a foreign language class. It is very user friendly and the quality of the content is great. I think this site would be very appealing to students because it is simple and easy to use. I believe that it is an effective way to skill and drill while still being interesting.
Thousands of teachers have discovered the value of classroom blogging, both as an avenue for their communications, but also as a tool for giving voice to what their students are learning and how they are learning.
Class Blogmeister is one of several blogging engines that have been developed specifically for classroom use. You are welcome to explore the writings of teachers and students alike.
Founded in 1999, BrainPOP creates animated, curriculum-based content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement. Our award-winning online educational resources include BrainPOP Jr. (K-3), BrainPOP, BrainPOP Español, and BrainPOP ESL. All are supported by BrainPOP Educators, our teacher community now more than 125,000 members strong and featuring free lesson plans, video tutorials, professional development tools, graphic organizers, best practices, and much more.
Teachers and students create their own word search, criss-cross, double puzzles, fallen phrases, math squares, mazes, letter tiles, cryptograms, number blocks and hidden messages. Useful for all subjects!
This site is free to all users. I feel that with a brief introduction to the site, it should be very easy to navigate for all students and other users. Considering the content, this site would be useful to students grades 8-12. Much of the site is also dedicated to teachers of these grade levels. It does not look like the most exciting website one will ever visit, but it seems like it could be a nice break from a history textbook. What might be difficult for some users is trying to find historical information that is not featured in the main exhibit at the time. While it seems like if you dig deep enough, you can find what you want to about American History, it is much easier to simply explore the featured exhibit, which currently (as of 6/8/11) is the Reconstruction era. The information is very credible and up-to-date. Aesthetically, it may be more appealing to students who like an online platform than a textbook. It has a look of being very organized, though personally I feel like it could look slightly more "professional." In terms of user-help, the site notes that its "Ask a Historian" and "Contact Us" features were disabled due to SPAM. Therefore, users can no longer contact the site managers. I believe this to be a huge drawback of the site.