Saturday, April 2, 2011

Weekly Core Subject Resources

A welcoming April Spring day in Kentucky. Lots of rain in March, so it is good to see the sun today. UK plays today, so guess where everyone in this state will be tonight? I will probably watch the game too, but I cheer for their rival, so I won't be watching it for the same reasons....he he.

English
1.) Synonym Finder is a website designed to helps writers from using the same words over and over. You will also find antonyms and definitions as well, and examples of use in a sentence.

2.) Wordis is a website where visitors can share their thoughts on any word. "Share your insight, your story, your vision…We give you words; everything else is after you."

3.) Memidex is a free online dictionary and thesaurus with a simple interface, complete inflections, auto-suggest, adult-filtering, frequent updates, a browsable index, support for mobile devices, and millions of external reference links for definitions, audio, and etymology. It's fast too.

4.) Idioms 4 You is a website dedicated to providing several examples of English idioms. Not only can you read them, but you can also hear them. The author of the website has recorded the samples of idioms for visitors.

Mathematics
1.) Dan Meyer is a math teacher and math blogger. He recently did a TED talk "Math Class Needs a Makeover." If you are a math teacher, I highly recommend watching his talk.

2.) Uses for Math is a website that provides lessons and activities for how math can be used in the real world. Everyday jobs, sports, medicine, and even solving crime.

3.) The Math Worksheet Site allows users to create an endless supply of printable math worksheets. The intuitive interface gives you the ability to easily customize each worksheet to target your student's specific needs. Every worksheet is created when you request it, so they are different every time.

Science
1.) Wonderville is a fun, interactive destination for kids to discover the exciting world of science. This award-winning site encourages exploration and curiosity, while helping kids discover how much fun science can be.

2.) The Science Spot is a website for middle school science teachers that provides links to various web resources. You will also find lessons and activities as well.

3.) Late Nite Labs offers students and teachers hundreds of preset and customizable science labs that can be conducted completely online. Teachers can get access for free, but their is a cost for students. So it is a great tool to use in the classroom by the instructor. It should probably be the other way around.

Social Studies
1.) Best of History Web Sites is an award-winning portal that contains annotated links to over 1200 history web sites as well as links to hundreds of quality K-12 history lesson plans, history teacher guides, history activities, history games, history quizzes, and more. (Source: US History Teachers Blog)

2.) The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on around 35,000 slave voyages. You can search the voyages database, examine estimates of the slave trade, and search through a African names database.


3.) The Demographic Chartbook provides a wide-ranging audience of persons interested in American history – including historians, other social scientists, teachers, and students – with graphics portraying the demographic history of the United States, as shown by the decennial census of population. (Source: US History Teachers Blog)


An EdTech Tip for Adminstrators

In the coming years I plan to be finished with my Administration certification and pursue an assistant principal position.  When I get to that position, I don't want to forget several of the awesome tools and services that are available to teachers that can be adapted to being an administrator.  The first order of business for a new administrator is to setup some Google Alerts.

With Google Alerts you can add in the search terms you are looking for, determine the source of alert you want (Everything, blogs, news, etc), determine how often you want to receive alerts (as it happens, daily, or weekly), and the volume of results (All results or just the best results).  You then provide the email attached to your Google Account.  You can see the image below of the menu options.
So how could administrators use Google Alerts?  Here are several ideas:
1.) Get alerts for your school district
2.) Get alerts for your school
3.) Get alerts for your name in case it is in the news
4.) Get alerts for your school mascot/athletic teams
5.) Get alerts for your town/city/neighborhoods
6.) Get alerts for Central Office staff as well.

How would you use Google Alerts?