This site is designed to provide teachers with strategies on how to build multicultural curriculum. It offers helpful steps on how to achieve this in any classroom setting.
This site is a portion of the University of Texas's "Foreign Language Teaching Methods" site and is devoted to helping teachers understand the components of creating a multicultural learning environment.
Cybersmart is a free online collaborative workshop designed to prepare students, parents and teachers to the dangers of the Internet. This site provides hands-on opportunities for teachers to learn internet-safe methods they will be encouraging in their classrooms. The curriculum is based on the categories of S.M.A.R.T: "safety and security online, manners, bullying, and ethics, authentic learning and creativity, research and information fluency, and twenty-first century challenges. It also provides Internet solutions to some of the world's most impoverished regions. CyberSmart! Africa, for example, finds solutions for schools in Africa so they can be engaged in 21st century technology.
Common Sense Media provides a extremely useful guideline for teachers to use Internet-appropriate materials online. It provides lesson plans for grade (K-12) that detail how students and teachers can successfully navigate the dangers of the Internet while provide quality content to the classroom. It also provides reviews of movies, magazines, and television shows that can be used in the classroom. These reviews are based on the age they are most appropriate. It allows teachers to filter the results by age, subject and learning objective.
This article describes how researchers at Harvard initiated a Peer Instruction Network for users of interactive teaching methods. The Peer Instruction Network is based on the idea of the flipped classroom. Used at the university level, the PI has transformed how professors are conducting college courses. Instead of lecturing, class time is spent addressing questions, discussing topics more in depth, and correcting mistakes.
This article provides a theoretical background to the discussion of the efficacy of the Khan Academy. Two important epistemologies, objectivism (the theory that information exists independent of the learner) and constructivism (the idea that knowledge is constructed through the learner's interaction with the world) are discussed. The three learning theories associated with these two theories (behaviorism, information processing, and constructivism) are also discussed. Those who espouse the constructivist (more traditional) approach to learning, have been the most critical of Salman Khan. Some argue against the Academy's approach by stating that, for example, mathematics is not just the acquisition of skills but also the processing of mathematical thought in the mind of the learner.
This article details the use and success of the 'flipped' classroom model in Wisconsin schools. As mentioned in other sources, the article outlines some of the drawbacks of the model including equal access to technology not afforded to all students. With first hand accounts, it demonstrates that, when used effectively, the flipped classroom can be an effective learning strategy.
Duolingo is a fantastic new website for learning languages. It offers courses in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian. Each course allows the learner to progress along various logical steps towards greater fluency. Additionally, it has a cooperative, social-media aspect in that it allows users to exchange information how to best translate materials. Overall, the site is an excellent tool for students to learn a language at their own pace and in an entertaining manner.
This is a website designed for students of foreign languages and it includes a wide variety of different foreign language offerings. After they register, students can play games, listen to conversations, complete puzzles, and learn essential points of a foreign language in a fun and interactive manner.
The CMSI is an excellent site that really ties in both science and the history of technology. Students interested in transportation and flight will be particularly interested by the information here. What is also useful is the portion of the site dedicated to online learning. Here students can play games, download apps, watch videos or gather more information on topics related to science and industry.
The D-Day museum site is an excellent resources for students wanting to learn more about the Second World War. The site includes information for students, parents and teachers which can be used in a variety of ways. It also includes a variety of games, activities, and videos especially designed for young learners.
The Franklin Institute is a virtual science website that offers information over the museum and its exhibits. Of particular interest are "resources for science learning" which includes a variety of information over science topics students would find interesting. One aspect here is the "case file" which highlights individuals important to the history of science.
The American Association of Teachers of German is a site dedicated to providing professional assistance, resources, and information. As the title suggests, most of the material is specifically designed to help German teachers. Of particular usefulness is the site's links to hundreds of other sites which can also be highly effective in instruction.
This is a site developed by the University of Texas which provides a myriad of different practices used in effective second language instruction. Topics range from vocabulary, grammar, culture to skills such as speaking, writing, listening and reading. The primary benefit of the site is that it provides an overview of what successful language teaching looks like.
The U.S. Department of Education features content related to funding, policy, research, certification, job opportunities and news. Very useful for an educator, the site offers research on how to organize instruction, what works in the classroom, and improving teacher quality as well as providing resources on lessons plans. This site would also be particularly important to teachers needing to correlate their lesson plans to national standards.
