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Virtual schools might seem like a foreign land from your three-dimensional classroom. But you can visit that world and offer your students some of its benefits -- like fluency with online collaboration and communication -- from right where you are. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Here are some destinations where you and your students can start to dabble in online learning.

Footnote.com is a place where original historical documents are combined with social networking in order to create a truly unique experience involving the stories of our past. The Footnote.com collections feature documents, most never before available before on the Internet, relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, US Presidents, historical newspapers, naturalization documents, and many more. Footnote.com is more than just an online repository for original documents. In addition to hosting millions of records, Footnote supports a community of people who are passionate about a variety of topics relating to history. See what people are doing on Footnote right now with Member Discoveries. Footnote.com creates an environment where members can share their content and insights, ranging from major historical events to personal accounts and family histories. Footnote.com, together with its members, is revealing a side of history that few have seen before.

"New from NCLRC: The Culture Club Update The Culture Club is an online environment where teachers of foreign languages can find materials and information to help them teach about the culture(s) of their target language(s). Below you will discover what is currently featured in each of the nine rooms of the Club. Each room also has a link to its Collection where you will find all the previously-featured materials. Please let us know what you think of receiving this update. If you have trouble following the links from the email, paste this URL into your browser: http://nclrc.org/cultureclub/email_club.html"

"About Our Motivation: Challenges and opportunities, created by our global society, invite teachers, administrators, and students to rethink the way they teach, lead, and learn. The rise of social networking, the ease with which information is shared, and the growth of our global economy are just a few factors that have made it obvious that the 21st century is a much different world than the 20th century. And yet, when we take a good, hard look at the culture within our schools, do we see that much has changed from yesterday to today? We may see more technology used in the classroom and maybe more discussions on the "content vs. skills" debate in the faculty rooms. But underneath it all, have things really changed? Have we successfully forged a culture where life-long learning, personal growth, and collaboration are valued and practiced among all members of the school community? In Richard DuFour's article "Why Look Elsewhere?: Improving Schools from Within," he states that "it is context-the beliefs, expectations, behaviors and norms that constitute the culture of a given school-that plays the largest role in deciding whether a professional development program will make a difference in that school." If a school's goal is to improve student achievement, and a school considers learning to be the crux of its community, then effective professional development-where teachers and administrators themselves become learners-is the bridge to achieving that goal."

Youngzine is a one-of-a-kind Web site where children can learn about current news and events shaping their world -- in a simple, engaging and interactive manner. Our goal is to help parents and educators create a vibrant community of globally aware young citizens in an increasingly connected world. Along with news stories written specifically with our young audience in mind, Youngzine strives to inform using fun trivia, compelling visuals and videos. Youngzine is more than a passive website; it is a community of children, parents and teachers who recognize the importance of living in this highly interconnected age where our actions have far reaching impact. Children are encouraged to express their views, submit articles, book reviews or travelogues, and all content is moderated by the editorial team.

Now you can create your own sign generator! Just find (take your own with a digital camera, maybe a DVD still image grab, search graphics sites, take a pic from TV, etc) an image of a sign or a photo where there is a clearable area to place text. Use GIMP (best freeware photo editor) to clear out the text area (if there is text already in the way) and then import it to this site to manipulate the text with hundreds of fonts, also make sure the image size does not exceed 650 pixels (height or width). You can even use a photograph of yourself (use free hosting so you have a web URL to use) or loved ones and add comic book styled bubbles (sample) where you can change the text characters to suit your needs (captionize your photographs), you can literally turn any image or clipart into a sign generator!

We're creating the world's first safe children's global online community, for kids 7-12 years old. A place where kids discover the world, share what they learn, and are inspired to become involved.

"Where educators interested in Moodle can meet, learn and teach!"

Play the Election is a free, collaborative, online tool that teaches students about the 2012 Election and the election process through a series of games, resources and competition. Students predict the election winners for each state on an interactive election map, and compare their predictions to their class and the country to see where they rank.

Today's classrooms are more diverse than ever before. As a result, teachers find themselves searching for ways to meet the needs of each student. Add to it the pressures of academic achievement goals mandated by NCLB and many may feel ill-equipped to meet the challenges of diversity in the classroom. Planning perfect lessons with exciting activities looks great on paper, but will it help your students reach their potential? Probably not. If there is anything I learned during my time as a public school teacher is this: The height of student achievement is directly correlated with the strength of the classroom community. By building  community in the classroom, you build an environment where students feel safe to learn, grow and be themselves.

"Digital citizenship is a key component of the technology and media literacy. We do not teach our students how to be  good citizens in the real physical world  but how they can be good netizens of the online world  as well.Today's learning requires alot of use of technology and most imprtant of all, our students are using technology on a daily basis- text messaging, blogging, Facebooking, Twittering, watching videos, gaming and networking. They live in two different but interconnected worlds. What they do online can have a severe repercussions on their real life if not properly instructed on digital safety issues and this is where digital citizenship fits in."

But in an increasingly connected and digital world, the things a student needs to know are indeed changing-fundamental human needs sometimes drastically redressed for an alien modern world. Just as salt allowed for the keeping of meats, the advent of antibiotics made deadly viruses and diseases simply inconvenient, and electricity completely altered when and where we slept and work and played, technology is again changing the kind of "stuff" a student needs to know.

I've gotten several emails after my last post and they all ended with the same line, "Where do I start?" It can be overwhelming to start by Googling "makerspace." What do you most often see? That stark modern space with expensive 3d printers. But that? It's not the reality of what making in the classroom can be. I know the constraints faced by many of us in education, and I've lived them before. You make do with what you have, get creative, and repurpose existing materials to MAKE making happen in your classroom. You gotta start somewhere, right?

Voisse has three core features at its heart - Record, keep and share. 1. Record Voisse allows users to record any audio (or sound) they choose in whatever way they want - on-line using any modern browser, phone by calling a dedicated number or uploading existing recordings. In doing so anyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult can create recordings (Voisses). 2. Keep The heart of Voisse is a personal store for all your Voisses, called My Voisses. This area is private by default and provides users with a simple method of cataloguing and tagging their Voisses. These Voisses can then easily be grouped together to create fantastic slideshows each with their personal narrations, giving relevance and context and a rich user experience. Slideshows can be viewed on-line through a custom built viewer or downloaded to an iPod device so that they can always be with you and viewed whenever you want. The portable slideshow is in technical terms a podcast. No-one else gives the you the ability to easily create their very own podcasts. There's desktop software that does similar things to Voisse, but it's infinitely more complex and require considerable technical ability. 3. Share A core reason people choose to record audio is to share. Voisse gives you this ability, if you choose, via email or social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Many people have things to say, experience and wisdom to pass on, things which others value. For those who have popular or unique recordings or slideshows, we have created a Marketplace where they can be bought and sold. The Voisse Marketplace offers you a unique area to create and sell your audio content.

"ClassJump.com provides teachers web sites free of charge, where multiple classes can be managed and updated using an easy to understand interface. No knowledge of web site programming is needed to get your class or classes set up and quickly providing up-to-date information for your students and parents. "

"Project Global Inform (PGI) is an in-school project where students use media to spread awareness about human rights violations. PGI came out of the idea that we too often "teach" our students about genocide and human rights violations, but never "do" anything about it. This project's main objective is to create awareness about current human rights violations in our schools, communities, and abroad. Through the use of media and technology students have the power to make a difference."

We all know that Google offers a great search program, and you might even use other apps like Gmail or Google Calendar, but have you realized what Google has to offer for educators and students? Using Sites, Google Earth, Wave, and more, you can turn your classroom into a place where you can share, collaborate, and publish on the world wide web. Read on to find out how you can put Google to work for your class.

tudents need to know what they are expected to accomplish when they are working within a project based unit. When they know where they are headed and what you expect from them, they will always do their best plus a little bit more. At the same time the teacher should understand how to manage the unit's progression from the beginning through the end.

A nice site where you can type and it writes in cursive or manuscript.. allows you to create practice worksheets for students or items that can easily be captured to use on the IWB.

"Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here."