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So, you want to know how to edit Wikipedia? There's a course for you. We are delighted to announce a new round of our free online course, "Writing Wikipedia Articles: The Basics & Beyond" (#WIKISOO). The course runs from 25 February - 8 April 2014, and is now open for enrollment. As many of you know already, WIKISOO teaches the nuts and bolts of Wikipedia. We focus on building and improving articles related to Open Education. Enrollment is open to all. We'd especially like to invite past students to re-register: your knowledge and experience will be valuable to your fellow students, and it's also a great opportunity to deepen your learning about Wikipedia and OER. WIKISOO students learn about the values and culture that have driven hundreds of thousands of volunteers to build Wikipedia. Through your work in the course, you will join an effort that has generated millions of free articles in hundreds of languages since 2001. The course covers the technical skills needed to edit articles, and also offers practical insights into the site's collaborative norms and social dynamics. You will graduate with a sophisticated understanding of how to use Wikipedia both as a reader and as an active participant. Sign up is free.

As an online student, there are plenty of free educational video games at your fingertips, with material targeted to every age

Mulitmedia resources for educators at all levels. There are ways to conduct International projects too.

digital media for the classroom

Some lovely video resources. For US educators, they have the resources aligned with US standards. You can register on the site and organize the resources into your own folders (like for your classes.)  "Teachers' Domain is a free digital media service for educational use from public broadcasting and its partners. You'll find thousands of media resources, support materials, and tools for classroom lessons, individualized learning programs, and teacher professional learning communities."

The puzzlemaker from Discovery Education is free and incredibly useful. Our teachers at Westwood love it. The only trick is that if you have short words you need to add a few longer ones in so that it has enough words to make the puzzle.

Great sessions from Discovery - one is coming up on October 22nd about Bernie Dodge.

Discovery education has the greatest WEbinars. I'm going to attend the one next Wednesday with Bernie Dodge. These are free great sessions. I highly recommend listening to the one with Bernie Dodge - he is doing some great work and came on wow2 last year and talked about webquests and web 2.0 and was getting ready to embark on some really cool work. I"ve GOT to hear what he has to say. This is great for teachers and anyone teaching educators.

Free case studies for education

So many great health and science lesson plans running around. This is from the American Heart Association and is three lessons to help kids. This from the site: "Sudden Cardiac Arrest can strike anyone, anywhere - and a victim's chance of survival depends on the people around them. Be the Beat offers free games, music, videos and giveaways to educate teens about recognizing a cardiac arrest, calling 911, CPR and using an AED, while they have fun! Schools play a vital role in this movement to train teen lifesavers. As a complement to your CPR and AED program, or other curriculum, check out our free resources and register now so we can keep you updated on the latest news. Then, encourage your students to play and learn on Be the Beat. Together we can create the next generation of lifesavers!" With summer approaching in the USA and the inevitable tragic drownings that always happen - your teaching could save someone's life!

Free graphics for education

Cool free events for educators -- you can subscribe to the google calendar.

Cool free pd events for educators.

Another software visualization tool. This one is from IBM. The URL is an odd one so you'll have to bookmark this. This is free and is listed as an "experiment". It looks like many educators are gravitating to the site as I've found some nice infographics for literature here as well. On the homepage you can scroll through some of the ideas. There are also some nice articles about how to create effective visualizations on this site that will give you ideas if you are using infographics in the classroom.

Time for K12 online conference proposals: "We are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the third annual "K12 Online Conference" for educators around the world interested in the use of web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice. This year's conference is scheduled for October 20-24 and October 27-31 of 2008, and will include a pre-conference keynote during the week of October 13. The conference theme for 2008 is "Amplifying Possibilities." Participation in the conference (as in the past) is entirely free. Conference materials are published in English and available for worldwide distribution and use under a Creative Commons license. Some changes in the requirements for presentations are being made this year and are detailed below. The deadline for proposal submission is June 23, 2008. Selected presentations will be announced at NECC 2008 in San Antonio, Texas, USA on July 2.

K12 online 2008 call for proposals.

SOS Classroom offers a directory of free online educational resources for K-8 Language Arts and Math. These sites are submitted by parents and teachers, and they are all reviewed and organized by members of the SOS Classroom team!

CO14 is happening this weekend and so many great people are presenting. It runs from February 7-9 and is free. My session is sharing how writing has been reinvented as I share the 9 tools that have changed how we teach forever (a sneak preview of my book coming out in May.) If you teach writing, work with curriculum or teach, feel free to join in. The session is at 8 am EST on Saturday morning, February 8. Anyone can join. Lots of amazing presenters are speaking so check it out.

Free, downloadable, eBooks - great source to use to allow students to choose their own reading.

A social network for elementary students.

A social network for first and second graders -- this is free. Cheryl says it is a little bit "clunky" -- access is not so fast, however, it is a growing free tool for very young children.

In October and November, WestEd's SchoolsMovingUp will host a series of nine free webinars presenting the latest research and practice on the instruction of English learners. Hear from national experts including Aida Walqui, Diane August, Claude Goldenberg, and Jana Echevarria -- all without leaving your home or office. All webinars will also be archived for free access any time, anywhere.

Schedule your own webinars in a free public elluminate room -- it must be free for all to join! There are so many webinars that are cropping up here and learn central has a lot of potential.

Free customizable message board widgets you can put on your website

Free customizable message board widgets you can put on your website

PinDax offers a fun real-time alternative to the traditional message board. Sign up for free, and get up and running in minutes.

Another free place to give tests and exams online. Let computers do what they do best. What I do is IF I have a few multiple choice, etc. I may do them online BUT I also do other ways of assessment with my test. I just don't think the bubbles can get it all. That said, if you have to do it, you shouldn't have to grade it unless it is open answer or essay and this is a free tool to help you.