 Check
out Education World's weekly Internet Scavenger Hunt! This ready-to-print activity engages students in learning
about timely topics as they visit sites created just for them. Click to go to our Scavenger
Hunt Archive. |
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Reflections on India
Education World tech columnist Bernie Poole reflects on his experiences as a Fullbright Scholar in Tirupati, India.
Online Safety Tips for Parents
Linda McCarthy, author of Own Your Space: Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online, offers parents these 10 tips for keeping their kids safe online. Provide a copy of our printable version to your students’ families.
Creating Your Own Web Site
Bernie Poole provides 11 easy-to-read handouts designed to lead you or your students step-by-step through the process of creating a content-rich education-oriented Web site.
Social Networking: More Hype Than Help?
If you believe the hype, just about everyone between the ages of 16 and 34 who thinks he or she is hip -- or would like to be perceived as hip -- is logging into a social networking site and having a ball. But, asks Bernie Poole, can you believe the hype?
Who's Talking Online?
Are social networking sites appropriate for school use? Should schools ban the use of such sites -- or incorporate
them into the curriculum and teach students to use them safely? Members of the EW Tech Team tell us how their schools
deal with the issue.
Free Online Teacher Tools
Bernie Poole describes a few of his favorite online teacher tools -- including RubiStar, BlogMeister, Survey Builder,
and Web Collaborator.
Best of the Web
Members of the Education World Tech Team share their favorite educational Web sites -- online resources that have
helped them teach better in general, better teach a single topic, provide better resources, or better engage students.
Included: A few personal favorites!
Tap In to Tapped In
You've heard about it. You've read about it. Friends and colleagues have raved about the professional development
opportunities it provides through ongoing events, groups, and chats. But you still haven't visited yourself. What
are you waiting for?
Time-Saving Search Strategies
Bernie Poole offers a few quick tips and tricks for saving time when you're searching online.
Searching with Savvy
You can find almost anything you want on the Web if you look for it long enough. But if you know how to "phrase" your
Web search questions, you can find what you want in a fraction of the time. Discover the secrets that savvy searchers
know!
The Best Search Engines
If you're frustrated by search engines that give you unrelated responses... if you're spending too much time looking
for online resources … if you're worried students might access the wrong kind of information... these search engines
can help you find pertinent, accurate, and safe information.
Online Projects Are for Everyone:
Jennifer Wagner, online project guru, talks about how she first got interested in online projects, and shares tips
for selecting the best online project for your classroom. Included: Half a dozen links to online project resources.
Discover Mars
What time is it on Mars? Is there water on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? What does Mars look like? Discover the
sites that can help you and your students explore the answers to those questions and more. Included: More than two-dozen
online resources for teaching and learning about Mars.
Voice of Experience: Teacher -- Alias Telementor
Opportunity is often difficult to recognize and it frequently takes the form of an interruption or additional work.
This week, Brenda Dyck shares a teaching opportunity that opened her eyes to the potential we have to influence students
via the Internet.
Learning Games for Students in Grades 3-5
This week, Education World searched the Web for interactive learning games for students in the elementary grades.
The sites below represent some of the best we found. Keep them in mind when you're looking for a way to engage students'
interest while increasing their knowledge or enhancing their skills!
The Concept-Mapping Classroom
By providing a framework that allows users to focus on topics, and a structure that permits them to easily convert
diagrams to outlines and back again, Inspiration and Kidspiration simplify the task of organizing thoughts into effective
project plans.
Pre-K-2 Students Play and Learn Online
This week, Education World searched the Web for engaging -- and safe -- sites offering learning games for pre-K-2
students. The sites below fill the bill -- whether you looking for a learning center activity -- or just an activity
for yet another indoor recess.
You Can Create a Class Web Site
If you've read the Education World techtorial HTML Basics, you know how easy it is to create a basic Web page. In
this article, you'll learn how you can extend the lessons from that techtorial to create your own classroom Web page
-- in four easy steps.
Science Sites to See
The Web offers thousands of science sites on every imaginable scientific subject. The sites below represent some of
the most recent additions to online science education -- and a few of my all-time favorites. Whether you’re a science
teacher or a science enthusiast, you’ll want to check out these online science treasures.
Ten Great Resource Sites for Educators
Those of us who spend a great deal of time online often stumble across valuable Web sites that contain unique resources
we think many educators would like to know about. This list represents ten of those sites; online resources guaranteed
to save you time and effort as you search for new ways to integrate technology into your curriculum.
Technology Integration Made Easy
Nineteen activities and nearly 50 Web sites to help you integrate technology into your daily routines.
Web Sites Worth Their Weight in Gold
When you spend as much time online as I do, you frequently stumble across online treasures -- Web-based resources
that don’t always get the attention they deserve. The sites below represent a dozen of the most valuable -- or most
interesting -- online treasures I’ve unearthed in the past few months.
Gee Whiz! Great Site-Building Advice from 'Web Wizards'
Is this the year you're finally going to create your classroom Web site? Have you been admiring other teachers' home
pages and wondering how they make it look so easy? Do you wonder why some sites are naturally appealing and others
are simply overwhelming? To help those of you who are ready to add an online component to their classrooms this fall
but are new to Web site creation, Education World turned to its panel of 'Web Wizards'. These educator-Webmasters
have "been there and done that" -- and share their best tips for Web site success!
Linking to the Library
For educators, online libraries offer a haven of respectability in the search for accurate and appropriate Internet
resources. Virtual libraries present their own challenges, however. Locating and choosing the best library sites for
students can be a daunting task! Where does a teacher begin?
Ensuring Student Privacy on the Internet
The Children's Internet Protection Act requires that school districts develop an Internet safety plan addressing the
unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors. School districts
need to consider a variety of issues as they attempt to comply with this safety plan requirement. Learn what those
issues are and discover how your district can ensure student privacy online.
Keeping Kids Safe Online
The Children's Internet Protection Act requires districts to monitor student use of the Internet and to implement
technology-based measures to protect against student access to inappropriate online material. Technology fixes have
their place, but such fixes are neither completely reliable, nor always available. As educators, our primary focus
must be on helping young people develop effective filtering and blocking systems that reside in the hardware that
sits on their shoulders.
More Teachers Taking Online Classes
Teachers increasingly are using computers for teaching and learning -- not just for their students' education but
for their own as well. This week, Education World talks to two teachers who have experience with online courses.
Free Online Web Site Creation and Publishing for Teachers
Are you an educator interested in establishing an online presence for your classroom? Many Web sites offer teachers
free tools and free hosting services, with no HTML knowledge needed. Whether your goal is a home page, a hotlist,
a WebQuest, or a full-fledged Web site, these online resources will allow you to create the online "home" of your
dreams!
WebQuest Sends Students Back in Time
Three middle school teachers in Greece, New York, combined technology, research, and creative writing skills in the
Back in Time project in which students imagined themselves at historical events.
Imagine the Schoolhouse of the 21st Century!
"This country's system of schooling was developed largely during the Industrial Age to prepare students for a workplace
characterized by sitting in straight rows and performing repetitive tasks under close supervision," says Internet
educator David Warlick. "It has to change." Learn how Warlick's New Century School House project offers you a chance
to help design education's future. Included: Tips on designing your own classroom of the future.
Childnet Awards: Linking Children Around the Globe
Although it may sometimes seem that the sole purpose of the Internet is e-commerce, Childnet International
is working worldwide to create a safe, barrier-free, e-community for children. Each year, the organization
recognizes 12 or more outstanding Web projects developed by and for children. Today, Education World talks about the
awards program with Childnet founder and director Nigel Williams. Included: Learn what two Childnet Award recipients
have to say about their "winning" experiences, and tour their innovative Web sites!
Danger Online! Educating Kids and Parents About Internet Safety
According to a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, one in five Internet users younger
than 17 received an online sexual solicitation or approach during the past year. One in 33 received an aggressive
sexual solicitation involving offline contact or a request for offline contact. What can you do to help keep kids
safe online? Included: Printable Internet safety tips for parents and Internet safety rules for kids.
Encourage Student Writing -- Publish on the Web!
Publishing student writing encourages the reluctant writer, strengthens kids' self-confidence, rewards interest, and
promotes a positive attitude toward literature. If your school is like most, however, you lack an easy and effective
way of publishing your students' work. Now, help is as close as a mouse click away! Today, Education World writer
Glori Chaika explores opportunities to publish student writing -- and teacher writing -- on the Web.
How Can Schools Make Better Use of the Internet?
According to a report recently released by the National School Boards Foundation, the majority of parents see the
Internet as a powerful tool for education and a positive force in their children's lives. According to Peter Grunwald,
whose firm researched and produced the report, those findings present educators with both an opportunity and a challenge.
Included: Guidelines to help schools make the most of the potential of the Internet.
Revisiting the AUP: A Digital Double Take
In the beginning, when the Internet was new, many schools attempted to keep online students safe by establishing strict
standards and rules known as acceptable use policies (AUPs). Now, according to instructional technology consultant
David Warlick, schools can protect students without restricting their ability to participate in valuable collaborative
learning experiences.
Wired@School: 20 Teaching Units at Your Fingertips!
The Wired@School Web page ---part of a terrific on-line resource from The Franklin Institute of Science--- grows each
year, thanks to the efforts of the institute's special fellowship program. This week, Franklin Fellow and Education
World writer Hazel Jobe introduces her fellow Fellows and the great on-line teaching units that each has created.
Included: More than 20 units ---full of great lessons and activities--- that every teacher should know about! Units
about the ocean, rocks, Native Americans, sound, and much more!
Getting Started on the Internet: Developing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Internet use is one of the most important documents a school will produce. Creating
a workable AUP requires thoughtful research and planning. Education World offers food-for-thought and a few useful
tools for educators faced with developing a workable AUP for their school's students.
Getting Started on the Internet: Safe Surfing How can teachers and computer
specialists help teach students the skills they need to be efficient and safe Internet surfers? Education World
offers ideas and Internet resources for tackling the task in this article, the sixth article in our "Getting Started
on the Internet" series.
Getting Started on the Internet: Add YOUR Name to a Listserv -- TODAY!
Every teacher should join a listserv. Listservs offer a quick and easy way to connect with teachers around the world.
Don't miss out on the sharing, the learning, and the fun! Included: Links to hundreds of listservs for educators.
Getting Started on the Internet: Searching the Web Is as Easy as ABC!
The third article in our Getting Started series focuses on simple searching. Teacher Tammy Payton's first graders
are the super-est searchers around! Her "easy-as-ABC" project can work at any grade level. Included -- Ideas for searching
across the grades and the curriculum!
Getting Started On the Internet: All Navigators On Board!
This second lesson in the Getting Started series introduces students to basic navigating skills -- the skills
they'll need in order to get around on the Internet.
Getting Started On the Internet: Start Simply!
The Internet? Don't even think about it -- yet! First, use a few simple activities to get students comfortable with
using the computer as a word processing tool.
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