PSU Professional Development

For those of you looking for online professional development, these webinars would be of interest to school librarians. This publishing company offers webinars on "Best Graphic Novels of 2009" and "Beyond the Big 6" among others.

Education is pushing more towards differientiated instruction in the classrooms. This site contains lessons plans, multicultural activities and research.

This is a great site for any classroom teacher. The site is intended to link curriculum with computers to engage students. The curriculum is K-12 and all subjects. The site has ready to use content and works well with any Interactive White Board. This site does cost around $50, but has a 30 day free trial to make sure it will be useful to you.

Blog designed for elementary and middle school aged students. It is free, simple and teacher maintains the control over the blog. Parents can be invited to read the blog.

Add written text, choose an animated character, and xtranormal creates a movie! Great for creative writing lessons in the classroom. If students know that their 'writing' will be used to create a movie, they will be more cautious about their editing, wording, etc. Plus, they get to 'watch' something they created!

Have cell phone? Will VOTE! Sites such as this one eliminate the need for personal voting devices during lectures. The only requirement is that students each have a cell phone, but most high school students do. Regular texting charges apply, so the 'unlimited' plan is certainly best - it WILL come to this though!

Even without a Promethean Board (interactive whiteboard), teachers can download tons of lessons (called flipcharts) and, using an overhead projector, can operate them from their computer. You do have to 'subscribe' but one version of the subscription is free. You can search for lessons by state, subject, even the standard being taught.

This site is FULL of amazing podcasts. They are well organized and it is easy to locate what you are looking for. There is a massive range of podcasts. The ones I checked out were really interesting and I thought they were og good quality.

This is a stellar site. There is lots of great materials for the classroom as well as professional development. There are online modules that you can take or ready made materials you can use to deliver.

This is a professional development site for educators and librarians. There are video collections, technology tools, higher education learning and lots of great development resources. There are 4 main areas: Technology and Learning, Internet Resources, Libraries and Literacy and Technology Tools.

"Here are 15 blogs and podcasts that almost any teacher can learn from." These resources are for teachers who are interested in implementing technology into their classroom.

4Teachers.org is designed to help teachers integrate technology into their classroom by offering online tools and resources. There are also tools for student use. Here teachers can discover valuable professional development resources addressing a variety of issues including technology planning, and at-risk or special-needs students.

PAEC E-Learning Workshops allow educators to have professional development opportunities online. You can view streaming videos for free and collaborate with other teachers!

This is an e-Learning blog. The author of this blog tries to find new web 2.0 tools that would be beneficial to educators who are looking to integrate technology into their classrooms. He describes new tool that he has discovered and shares his thoughts, feelings, and findings about each tool.

The Knowledge Loom is a site where teachers around the world can access educational research on various practices and learn how to get the same success in their school from the shared stories in real schools or districts. Teachers have the opportunity to add their own stories and knowledge and to discover links to supporting organization and resources.

The KNEA website provides a listing of professional development opportunities available to Kansas teachers. Teacher tips and links to various teacher resources for those employed in Kansas are shared as well.

This site offers a database for teachers to use to find lesson plans or class activities using Adobe products, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, or Acrobat. The site also provides other teaching and learning resources, as well as articles and tutorials on using Adobe products.

Advanced Education is a online professional development site that provides information and training on the latest 21st century technology that is used in the classroom, such as the SMART Board. Lesson plans for these technologies are provided, as well as links to other helpful educational resource websites.

Education Oasis is an online "oasis" for teachers, administrators, and parents to visit to get ideas, information, and inspiration for their students. The site provides graphic organizers, printables, bulletin boards, lesson plans, subject resources, and instructional and classroom management tips and tricks. Links are provided for articles on various educational topics, as well as websites for teachers and students. It also shares book reviews and book lists for children and teens.