Free Web Resources

There is certainly a plethora of resources in this amazing collection! My two favorites, however, are the following:

The Literacy Web

This incredible website offers everything from professional development for educators to practical hands-on lesson plans to current research in the field. My title is "Education Specialist," which means that I cover a lot of ground, from directing our before and after care program to doing "push in" support in second and third grade in the next several weeks as our students prepare for the CMTs. I could easily use many of these resources toward that end. I could also see using some of the prepared lesson plans during after care sessions.



Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art


Project Gutenberg

Okay, I admit it, I'm a closet Steve Guttenberg fan (remember Cocoon and all those Police Academy movies?), so when I saw "Project Gutenberg," it got my attention because I thought it had something to do with the '80s actor. However, when I clicked on the link listed it didn't appear, I think because it came up as .net instead of .org. Although this site has nothing at all to do with Steve, it does offer free e-books for "humans users only," as it says on the bottom of the home page, presumably as a disclaimer against machines trying to infiltrate the site. I checked to see if they offer picture books, and they do--41. They're mostly poetry and nursery rhymes, but teachers could still use them with students. I could see this site being utilized by high school teachers and students, or by older elementary school students. My school will be adding fourth grade this fall and fifth grade in 2013; some of the listed titles would definitely be of use, especially in light of the new iPads teachers will be receiving soon.



Image credit: realsea.net



Explore

·    I LOVE Lesson Plan Sites for K-12 Teachers! I’m going to send the link to my colleagues at school.

·    "11 Must Read Education Blogs" is great! There’s so much amazing information, it’s almost dizzying.

·    Animoto: This site is incredible! I had fun just putting together a silly little 36-second video held together with a few random photos. I can definitely see the potential for creating some unique projects. I’m thinking of possibly experimenting with all the photos taken tonight at my school’s exhibition night. This would be a great way to capture the enthusiasm and creativity on display throughout the halls.




Image credit: Lisa Cushing (my two boys)

 

"New Literacies"

I enjoyed reading about the New Literacies in this week's assignment. Here are my thoughts on some of the links:

·    American Memory is operated by the Library of Congress and contains millions of primary documents related to social studies. Having access to primary sources is an invaluable resource to teachers. It can save time from having to track down items or traveling to and from historical societies and/or museums. The minute I accessed this site I e-mailed it to the two theme coaches at my school, particularly the page with the resource links to grades 3-8 and 9-12. Right now our third grade classes are working on immigration and have been using immigration trunks from the Connecticut Historical Society Library and Museum in Hartford. Most of the artifacts are replicas, though, so being able to access primary source documents would be a huge boon for the teachers.



Image credit: Google images; faculty.mercer.edu



·    GoENC.com is a subscription service (a one-time payment of $29.95) that offers high-quality math and science resources, as well as professional development, lesson plans, and web resources from The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. This seems like a good resource, but I’m not sure teachers would be willing to pay the subscription fee, even if it is a “one-time” thing.

·    Drexel University offers The Math Forum, an online resource for improving math learning, teaching, and communication. The site offers problems and puzzles; online mentoring; research; team problem solving; collaborations; and professional development. The “Problems of the Week” section looks very promising—my oldest son, who’s 9, would love them! I can also see using this site in my weekly Saturday Academy classes, where I teach CMT prep (reading and math skills) to some of our third grade students. Right now we're using IXL.com, which is also a subscription service.

·    Web English Teacher offers an array of resources to incorporate reading activities into the classroom. Two dozen topics are presented for educators to choose from—from poetry to drama to Shakespeare. I can see this as being a great resource for secondary school English teachers.

·    Starfall is a resource for children ages preschool through second grade. It offers decoding skills, phonemic awareness, and other essential early reading skills. Teachers at my school use Starfall frequently, particularly in our five preschool classrooms. The kids LOVE it and some of the parents have started using it in their homes, too. I used it with my own kids when they were in preschool and they really enjoyed the activities.



Image credit: Google images; mscrosswhite.edublogs.org

·    The Literacy Web, offered through the University of Connecticut, offers resources for children’s and adolescent literature, writing, and various resources for grades K-12. This seems like a great resource for teachers, and it has the added benefit of being published by a well-known (and local) university.

·    CyberSurfari is an online scavenger hunt. I played a variation of this game  many years ago when the Internet first became a sensation. It’s fun to jump from site to site looking for clues.

·    Education World, Enchanted Learning, National Geographic for Kids and the International Reading Association are all amazing sites that I’ve visited and utilized in the past.

      I'm curious...would any of you be willing to pay subscription prices--even if they're small, one-time charges--for access to some of these sites, particularly when so many of them are free? Teachers make more money today than in the past, but they're still woefully underpaid. I tried out IXL.com at home with my sons, but it only allows you up to 20 free practice problems, then you're expected to pay to continue. My kids liked it and wanted to continue, but I wasn't willing to pay the membership fee. My school bought a package deal, which is how we're able to use the site for Saturday Academy.