Wissahickon Staff Developers

or much of the world, it's that special time of the year when students head back to school. The good news for students is that even though that means waking up early and doing homework, there are a number of web-based and social tools to help you get through the school year. From staying organized to improving study habits to making sure you reference your research sources properly, the web can help you be a better student.

Game Classroom is a one-stop web destination for accessing high-quality educational games, and homework help for K-6 students: * We scoured the web for the best and most trustworthy games, and conveniently sorted them according to skill, topic and grade level. * We spent thousands of hours creating an abundance of interactive content for parents to better understand the building blocks behind their child's development. * We created a comprehensive, free homework help section for parents/teachers to provide to children including learning tips, online resources and sample problems. All of Game Classroom's educational content has been created by professional educators with over 200 years of teaching experience, and has been outlined using state educational standards. We hope you (and your kids) enjoy Game Classroom and find it a fun place to learn and play games!

examples of social networks for educators articles on the benefits of social networks for teachers

whyzz is the place where parents with curious young children can find and contribute kid-ready information about how the world works!

The National Educational Technology Plan is being developed by the U.S. Department of Education with support from the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International, a nonprofit research organization. This website is hosted by SRI International for the U.S. Department of Education.

Personal Learning Networks defined: * Personal - particular to a given individual * Learning - the acquisition and development of memories and behaviors, including skills, knowledge, understanding, values, and wisdom * Network - an interconnected system of things or people

The most dreaded word in school reading for students: book reports. Teachers assign them, viewing them as a necessary component of assessing reading comprehension. Book reports can be a contributing factor to 'readicide'. "Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." http://stenhouse.com/html/readicide.htm. So, how can we as teachers continue to monitor our students understanding of reading material without killing the love of reading? Enter technology. Technology can help bring some excitement and creativity to the traditional book report while still displaying students understanding of reading.

So where do you start learning how to integrate technology into your classroom as well as how to use it for your ongoing professional development? And how do you stay current with the almost daily changes in the technology landscape? To find answers both general and specific, I talked to three strong advocates for incorporating technology into the learning process: Darren Draper, director of technology services for the Canyons School District, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah; Louise Maine, a science teacher at Punxsutawney Area High School, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania; and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, a digital-learning consultant and a cofounder of Powerful Learning Practice, a professional-development company that aids educators in adopting 21st-century teaching and learning practices.

Virtual conferencing

use this as a virtual site to hold group meetings

One of the major benefits of using technology in the classroom is the ability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of every student in every lesson. Just as every student grows and develops at different rates, they learn in different ways and at different speeds. Technology makes it possible to pace lessons appropriately for each student's learning level and can be used to promote learning in the multiple intelligences. Below you will find website suggestions that address the different learning styles in your classroom with the help of technology:

True tech integrators know the digital projector can be used for much more than projecting. Here is a sampling of some creative ways to use your projector in any curriculum.

Although YouTube has been blocked from many/most schools, for obvious reasons and not so obvious ones. YouTube does provide great resources and content for teachers and students. View the list of the Top 100 Videos for Teachers. This list is provided by SmartTeaching.org, a leading online resource for current teachers, and aspiring education students and student teachers.

Teaching and learning math with SMART Notebook software is now easier, more interactive and, of course, more fun. That's because the SMART Notebook Math beta is now available to download. SMART Notebook Math extends the capabilities of SMART Notebook software with a dynamic set of math-specific tools and features, so when you create and explore lessons on your SMART Board interactive whiteboard, you only need one application. Designed specifically for middle and high school math classrooms, SMART Notebook Math has built-in features such as an equation editor and custom graph builder. You can manipulate shapes, use interactive measurement tools and even launch your Texas Instruments brand emulator from right within the software. SMART Notebook Math is also the first interactive whiteboard application to have handwriting recognition for mathematical symbols. Try the beta today, and you'll discover that everything you need to make math more interactive is in the software you already love. The beta ends October 1, 2009, and the Microsoft Windows version will be available to purchase in fall 2009.

The following tips are from the series Empowering the Beginning Teacher in Mathematics, by Cynthia Thomas.

You can find just about anyone on Twitter, and leaders are no exception. Whether you're looking for motivational speakers, authors, social media experts, or politicians, you can find quite a few interesting personalities. Read on to learn about 100 leaders on Twitter that you can learn from.

Sammy Garey, a recent graduate of Burlingame High School in Burlingame, Calif., is a devoted user of Twitter. She's used the website with her classmates for online book discussions for her AP English class, in which they post and share feedback, analysis, and questions about novels such as Crime and Punishment. Garey also turns to the website to check breaking news and feed her interest in science by following the tweets of specialized Twitter accounts such as MedUpdates and DrugInfo.