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Poignant song for our times. Download the QT version here: http://kevinhoneycutt.org Visit my sites for more stuff! http://artsnacks.org http://podstock.ning.com/ http://mysafesurf.org

Miguel Guhlin is doing what many of us are doing after the last straw - Google pulling GoogleReader. He's documenting how he's going to pull his dependence upon Google. For me, my biggest decision caused by Google is that I'll be moving to Wordpress over the summer. I do think Google Sites is next although I've received several heated emails that this isn't accurate - if you look at the market share of google sites, it is far less than that of Google reader. Yes, it is something educators depend upon but you get what you pay for. I think Google would be better served to have a freemium model -- if advertising doesn't pay for it, we'll let you keep the service if you pay. I don't know how I"d move from gmail. I just don't but if I had to, I guess I could. I don't think gmail is going anywhere, but I do have my personal email boxes going into that inbox. I agree wikispaces is far superior to Google sites. It started quite a few years a go with Google Lively and it has just continued every year. Thank you Miguel for your transparency. I hope Google is listening, many of us are still HOT about Google reader going away.As great as Feedly is, it doesn't have Diigo or ifttt.com integration yet which is a problem.

Within this site you will find lesson ideas, examples, and downloads for mathematics that embrace active learning, constructivism, and project-based learning while remaining true to the standards. The initial focus will be for grades 5 and up, but teachers of younger students may be able to find some uses or inspiration from the site. Higher level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and creativity are encouraged as well as technology skills and social learning. The scope of this site is mathematics, but many lessons lend themselves to interdisciplinary activities also.

The Web site iWASwondering.org is a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and to highlight for young people the varied and intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent scientists. The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume series of biographies entitled Women's Adventures in Science, co-published by the Joseph Henry Press (an imprint of the National Academies Press) and Scholastic Library Publishing.

Starting your own online program. Advice annd resources from iNACOL

"Finding good quality websites for kids is a bit of a challenge. That's why I was delighted to find this site chock full of great sites and learning resources for children. The site is sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Animals, Art, Sciences, and Reference sections are some of what you'll find there. I really liked the Reference section, but all other segments have great content."

Health teachers will love this site for kids. If you have a rainy day and have access to some computers, this would be a great place for activities. As we emphasize health, we should seek out engaging content in this area. This site is free. Love it. "The multi-award winning program is focused on teaching the basics of cardiovascular health, including anatomy, nutrition, and exercise, by offering comprehensive curriculum materials to teachers and a site just for elementary school children to explore. The curriculum was developed as part of our mission to educate the public in a collaborative effort with medical professionals and certified teachers.  Project Heart is completely free to use and free of advertisements. It is also fully translated into Spanish. 

I don't really give details about the sites I'm listing here because they're all very similar - the music and sounds here are royalty-free and it's just an easy matter of searching and downloading them. Of course, credit should be given to the source when they're used in online projects. I've also tried avoiding sites that have obvious content not appropriate for classroom use, but something might have slipped by me. I also don't believe that any of the sites here require any software download or registration. Here are my choices for The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects:

This is a list of sites compiled by librarians to safe use internet sites. A great reference for school administrators, techies and teachers. It is a maintained directory of sorts and you can submit safe sites.

Excellent overview of Rupert Murdoch's taking on of Google and that they should not index his sites, even though he can easily opt out of indexing, that they are somehow demonetizing his work by searching since he wants to "reduce his audience to those who will pay" not "increase his audience." This is a fascinating read and case study for those following Fair Use.

Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, has launched a new web site designed to gather and organize educational videos for students ages 3 to 18. The site, WatchKnow.org, currently features more than 11,000 videos across 2,000 categories on subjects such as math, science, and history.

Created by ETV for K-12 students, teachers, and parents, Knowitall.org is a free online collection of resources designed for classroom use. This educational web portal contains interactive sites, simulations, image collections, virtual field trips and streaming video that support and provide quality inquiry-based experiences for students on the Internet.

Online social networking is now so deeply embedded in the lifestyles of tweens and teens that it rivals television for their attention, according to a new study from Grunwald Associates LLC conducted in cooperation with the National School Boards Association. Nine- to 17-year-olds report spending almost as much time using social networking services and Web sites as they spend watching television. Among teens, that amounts to about 9 hours a week on social networking activities, compared to about 10 hours a week watching TV. Students are hardly passive couch potatoes online. Beyond basic communications, many students engage in highly creative activities on social networking sites - and a sizeable proportion of them are adventurous nonconformists who set the pace for their peers.

New School 2.0 site - etoolkit.org/etoolkit

This is a new School 2.0 site with interactivity, not complete as of 4/10/08. Includes the Learning Ecosystem Map, Leadership Resources, a Reflection Tool (questions to consider), a Bandwidth Planner, and a Transformation Toolkit.

A safe alternative for broadcasting your classroom. FIZZ provides technology, professional development, digital cameras, and support. Be sure to check out the example school site at http://yourschool.onfizz.org.

If you have something on the ballot in your state and want to have more information, go to ballot pedia which explains the initiative and lets you know who is paying for and against this. This is another method of wikis and collaborative writing playing a role in more open government and transparency. Students could run a student version of this sort of site, or -pedia sites on all kinds of things.

A great site for seeing how websites are put together. Drag the 'X-ray Goggle' button into your favourites bar and click to see the coding of a site. Then you can edit the code to make changes and publish online. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Reddit is increasingly a site where technology news breaks as well as having a tight integration with top technology sites like Twit.tv (they use Reddit to curate topics for the show.) This app is the highest recommended app for using reddit on the ipad and for that reason I've installed it.