I use Google for most of my quick searches. I am guessing that students do as well. If you are looking for classroom lessons and resources about improving student search skills, then this is the web page for you – Google For Educators – Web Search The main topics are… Understanding Search Engines Web Search Techniques and Strategies Google Web Search Features All lessons and resources were created by Google Certified Teachers, so you know [...]

My introduction to Ning was over a year ago when I was asked to build a social networking site for an upcoming technology conference. Since then, in addition to the conference site, I have created a Ning site for graduate students to explore in a class I teach. There are a lot of things I like about Ning. For example, I can… adjust the appearance of my network and customize it to my liking control [...]

Are you looking for another way to connect with community of teachers to share ideas, collaborate, and support the effective use of technology to enhance learning? Of course you are! And here is a link to the PBS Teachers Connect web site. On this site you can… personalize your home page utilize bookmarking tools access and participate in discussions and find more than 3,000 resources (e.g. classroom activities, lesson plans, interactive resources) Check it out!

Originally published in the August 2008 issue of eSchoolNews, here is a partial list of virtual field trip resources. With anticipated budget cuts for schools year because of the current economic situation, it might be worth the time to consider using some of these resources, or others like them, in the future. Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration Tramline California’s Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students National Park Service Distance Learning Opportunities The National [...]

One of the advantages of technology is the ability to review content over and over again. The Khan Academy’s Channel on YouTube gives its’ students the opportunity to watch tutorials of complex subjects explained simply. There are more than 800 videos ranging from Algebra to Venture Capitalism. Are other schools producing similar videos (perhaps on TeacherTube or iTunes) to share?

BBC – CBBC – Me and My Movie This site, sponsored by the Children’s BBC, is an online filmmaking community. Kids can make their own films, and watch and rate their peers.

If you haven’t visited this web site, make some time to do so! The free federal resources are organized by subject areas – Arts & Music, Health & Physical Education, History & Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, and Science. Content for these areas includes animations, primary documents photographs and videos. Want to know which agencies contributed to the site? Find out! Did I mention these resources are FREE?!

Awhile back I wrote about EtherPad, a web tool that allows for simultaneous, realtime text editing. At the time, accounts for the service were being restricted due to overwhelming popularity of the tool. I revisited the site recently while working with a group of educators and and was pleased to discover that accounts are not required anymore! They have made it so easy now that all you have to do is click a button and a [...]

You may have noticed a new link at the top of this blog – Videos. I recently created an account with YouTube and created a few playlists. Currently there are two choices if you mouse-over the Videos link. The first playlist will consist of videos that I find interesting or thought-provoking. The second list is a compilation of all the great videos created by the folks at commoncraft. I hope you enjoy the selections I [...]

PBS has created teacher activity packs, a collection of educational resources focused on a theme, and packaged as a widget that you can be embedded in class web sites, blogs or wikis. Packs include links to PBS web sites and a sets of grade level activities. There are several categories of activity packs from which to choose – The Arts, Health and Fitness, Reading and Language Arts, Science and Technology, and Social Studies. Within each [...]