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Welcome Back to Another School Year!
Here's a repeat of my listing of Icebreakers, to help get your students interact with one another. I have since added links to this list.

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Robert Lang Talks About the Mathematics of Paper Folding:
O r i g a m i

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A Personal Plug for My Talented Nephew
Ken Greller, 2010 Park School graduate, playwright, and future freshman at NYU is proud to present his play, "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" on August 12-29, 2010 at the Copeland Theater Le Clerc Hall College of Notre Dame Street, 4701 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21210. Tickets are only $10.00, so if you are in the Baltimore area or plan on being there next month, go see the show. This is not the first time one of Ken's plays has been performed by a theatre group; he has worked previously with the Run of the Mill Theater in Baltimore, MD. Information can be found on FaceBook or here.

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The Library of Congress Has its Own YouTube Channel!
If you have ever explored the Library of Congress' site, you will agree that there is an incredible amount of information there. With 13 million digitized items, it is one of the greatest free resources a teacher could ask for their classroom. Below is an example of film from 1906 which documents the arrival of immigrants at Ellis Island. It is one of the hundreds of uploads to their YouTube Channel. (I downloaded the flash video using MacTubes)

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New Section on Web 2.0 Tools
I've just posted a new list of great resources for Web 2.0 tools! It's a project I've worked on for a few months and hope that you'll find some great apps for your teaching. This section will constantly be updated.

 

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John Underkoffler Speaks About Computers in the Future
Will the mouse become extinct? Watch this 15 minute video and see.

 

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Geo Teachers Institute
Here's what they have to say about this FREE event July 21-22, 2010: "This July, Google is hosting the first Google Geo Teachers Institute. This event is a FREE professional development experience designed to help educators get the most from Google's Geo products and technologies. The Geo Teachers Institute is an intensive, two-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's Geo products: Google Earth, Google Maps, and SketchUp, including a focus on features like Mars, Moon and Sky in Google Earth. Attendees will learn about innovative instructional strategies and receive resources to share with colleagues. The Google Geo Education team hopes this event will empower educators to bring the world's geographic information to students in a compelling, fresh, and fun way". To apply, send email to geoedu@google.com.

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Create Motivational Posters for Your Classroom
Upload your own photo or use one of Automotivator's choices; you can order prints for as low as $9.95. Students need motivation these days! .................................................................................................................................................

Snag Films Offers Free Documentaries
Watch online or embed ("snag this") on your site, blog or wiki. They currently have about 1300 films, covering the environment, history, politics, music, women's issues and much more.

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Teaching About the Holocaust?
This site is very interesting and takes you inside the house that Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. You see 3D images which are 360 degrees, as you move from one room to the next. .................................................................................................................................................

Google Docs Explained
Collaboration is a snap when using Google Docs online. One copy. One location. Many people to work together. Take a look at why Google Docs rock.

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Getting Around YouTube at School
Many schools have decided to block YouTube, leaving teachers frustrated because there are videos on the site they would like to use in their lesson plans. Have no fear, there is a way around this problem. As a Mac user, I was easily able to locate a program which would allow me to download a video from YouTube (at home, of course) and then embed it here on my web site for you to see. You can also download the video as an MP4 movie, viewable in Quicktime in your classroom. Below is the very file I got using MacTubes. (short PSA) Now for the PC, there is a program called YouTube Downloader, which allows you to download the video and convert it to many different formats, even for the iPhone!

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Ideas to Keep Students Focused at This Time of the Year
With only weeks left until school ends, here is a list from Larry Ferlazzo's blog (he compiled it last year but it's timeless..) to help you with ideas on keeping your students (and yourself) focused.

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Create Your Own Badges Online
I've used Badgemaker to create badges for the newspaper staff, but you can even make ID cards for class trips and much more.Choose your colors and style. All you need is a color printer and the cards to print on. (I found them at Staples.)

 

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Convert PDF Files to Microsoft Word Files
Did you ever get a pdf file you just needed to edit? To fill out? I've tried a few free online programs, but PDF Online is by far the best. I uploaded a large manual and it converted it to a Word file which left all the formatting in tact!! Sweet.

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Today is National Teacher Day, so here are a few of my favorite quotes about my profession:

1. "Teachers teach because they care. Teaching young people is what they do best. It requires long hours, patience, and care." --Horace Mann
2. "Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth."                                                --Helen Caldicott
4."The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." --William Arthur Ward

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First Report on the Internet from CBC Primetime News
It seems like just yesterday, but a lot has changed since this report.

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Just Added: Jobs for Teachers
With all the job cuts to education, I felt that it was necessary to create a section on jobs for teachers. There are three sections: Job Interview Tips, Job Search and Resumes and Cover Letters.

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Helping Young Authors With Their Stories
Lightning Bug is a great resource which aids students in writing their story from beginning to end. There are teacher resources, including worksheets, ideas for lessons, blogs from famous authors and "dozens of writing ideas for the classroom".

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Bullycide Takes Center Stage Again
The January suicide of Massachusetts teenager Phoebe Prince reminded me of how mean kids can be to one another. As a preventitive measure, I put together a section on this site with Cybersafety resources. Sections include: chat rooms, cyber bullying, general Internet safety sites, Internet predators, netiquette and privacy online.

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Professional Looking Diagrams
Create flow charts, organization charts, sitemaps and more. Lovely Charts offers this service for FREE.

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Open Cuture Offers FREE Educational Media
This site is packed with resources, including audio and podcasts, eBooks, movies and online courses. It's all FREE.

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Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity
The author of "Eat, Pray, Love" talks about the "impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk". (description from TED.com)

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History Teachers: Bookmark This Blog!
If you teach about The Civil War, here's a blog that you need to bookmark. Written by Dr. James Beeghley, you will find links to other Civil War related blogs, videos, primary sources, lessons, famous people and much more.

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Teachers Connect, Share Ideas and Lessons
TES Connect has well over 900,000 education professionals in their community, as well as close to 45,000 teaching resources and lesson plans. This web site is based in the UK, so the 6,000 job postings are just for that country.

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21 Things for the 21st Century Educator
From blogging to podcasting, online videos to productivity tools, this is a one-stop resource for every teacher. (just a coincidence that today is the 21st......)

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Newsmap Is a Visual Palette of Current Events Stories
You can choose from 15 countries as well as how recent the news was posted on the site. Simply roll over a story and you will see a sample of the news article. Click and you are directed to the original page of that article. Very interesting concept.

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Tagul Takes the Word Cloud to Another Level
Have you used Wordle? Well, Tagul takes the word cloud a step further,
by connecting to a Google search for each word you roll over. (the rollovers
look really nice!)

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Share Files Up to 5 GB Via File Dropper
Ever want to end a really large file via e-mail but were blocked? File Dropper makes it as easy as uploading your file and sharing your personal link. Although the limit is 5 GB, that should be plenty for most people. Best of all, it's free.

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What Adults Can Learn From Kids
Child prodigy Adora Svitak (age 12) has been writing (over 300 short stories) and blogging since she was seven years old. Her speech explains how the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Diane Sawyer, of Good Morning America, referred to Adora as a "tiny literary giant." Her first book, entitled "Flying Fingers, Master the Tools of Learning Through the Joy of Learning," was published when she was only seven. It runs only 8 minutes, but has a powerful, inspiring message.

 

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A Nation Without School Librarians
Shonda Brisco's map shows where school librarians (media specialists) are being eliminated/cut/fired from school districts. In a world where children need to be information literate, this is truly a crisis. Click the map to view it full size.

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Excellent Handout for You to Download
Richard Byrne teaches in Maine and has one the BEST blogs for teachers I have read so far. (And I read about 30+ blogs a day!) He has written an excellent 33-page guide called Google for Educators. I am very impressed at the wonderful free resources Google has, and it is well worth your while to download this file and read it. According to Richard, "This guide avoids some of the obvious things, like using Google Docs for collaborative writing and instead focuses on some of the lesser used Googletool options like publishing an online quiz using Google Docs."

Google for Teachers -  

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Education Widgets for Your Webpage
Education.com has several widgets you can put on your website: worksheets, activities and articles to name a few. I just added this on the left side of this page so can see them in action. I was able to choose the color and measurement of the widget so it could fit my column. You can choose any grade level for the worksheets.

 

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PicGhost is a FREE online image editor which allows you to crop, rotate & resize your photos. All your work is done online (you can upload up to 20 images at a time) so there is no program to download. You can create a watermark on your images. FREE is always good.

 

Destroy Your Old Hard Drive the Correct Way
DriveBurn will melt it down and recycle what is left.

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Going Green- It Can Be Done!
After being inspired by the blog TeachPaperless, (I signed the pledge to go paperless on Earth Day 2010) I've put together a page with ideas for teachers and students to save paper and energy in their schools. I will be constantly updating the list and I urge all teachers to take the pledge for April 22, 2010.

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Search American Writers from the 1600s-Present
The American Writers site has a portrait gallery, videos and teacher resources. This is a companion site for
C-Span.

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ESL Students Will Enjoy Using Wacky Web Tales
Remember MadLibs when you were a kid? Well, Wacky Web Tales is today's online version. ESL students will learn to use nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech by creating a funny story.

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Create Your Own Online Jeopardy Game
Without the use of PowerPoint, use any of the 1,000+ templates (all different subjects) or make your own. Perfect for all grade levels.....kids LOVE to play games.

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Social Studies Teachers Take Note
C-Span Classroom has tutorials, videos and current special offer, a 6 ft. American Presidents Timeline Poster. Membership is FREE, so take advantage of this great resource.

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Self-Graded Quizzes in Google
Use Google Spreadsheet to create a quiz for your students which grades itself automatically. Step-by-step directions can be found on Robin's Technology Tips. Best of all, it's FREE.

 

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Feel Like You're Actually Turning the Pages of Your PDF File
Turn pages like a real document. Youblisher is a free service which allows you to upload a pdf file and link to it on your website. Here's a sample of what they do.

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Web-Based Tool for Your Series of Websites
Take your students through a series of websites based on your lesson plan. Here's a sample to view and Jog the Web's home page.

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LiveBinders is Your 3-Ring Online Binder!
Organize your information with this free online tool. Upload pdf files, web URLs etc. to your personal binder. View the video and see how helpful LiveBinders can be for you.

 

 

Wonderful Video From TeacherTube
A colleague in my school told me about this video, and after watching it, I believe every teacher should take 7 minutes out of their day to watch it. It will change the way you create your lesson plans. Thanks, Alex!

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Haiti 360 Offers Views After the Earthquake
Three different videos can be paused, then you can click and drag around 360 degrees. The devastation will bring tears to your eyes.

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Language Learning Games
With 59 language choices, this site offers students 19 categories, including: vocabulary, clothing, colors and food. Games can be played with or without audio.

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Motivate Your Students Through Contests
Loads of opportunities here to win big while your students have fun. Take a look today and keep coming back for new contests.

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Science-Science Science!
Extreme Science boasts that they are "the place online to find the biggest, baddest, and the best in the world of extremes and learn about the science behind what makes each the most extreme example of its kind."

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2009 Archives

National Punctuation Day
Very Unique!

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Contribute or Delve into Thousands of Resources
Curriki is set up as an educational community, where teachers can find lesson plans, student worksheets a whole lot more. Every subject you can think of is located on this excellent site.

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Network Offers Standards-Based Teaching Resources
On ArtsEdge, you will find instructional guidelines, lessons, web resources, & articles for foreign language, language arts, math, physical education, science, social studies & technology.

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Need History Resources?
History on the Net is a very comprehensive site, which includes worksheets, online lessons, games & loads more.

 

Lincoln Bicentennial Teacher Resources
Lessons include web sites.

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ePals Allows Students to Connect Globally
This is the "Internet's largest global community of connected classrooms!" There are currently sixteen million students in twenty countries who are currently members online. It is FREE to join, and you can communicate with any country thanks to the translation software in their E-mail, which translates 72 language pairs!

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An Alternative to YouTube
School Tube offers videos which are uploaded by teachers and administrators. If you have some free time, navigate the site and see what it has to offer.

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Shmoop, a New Educational Website
Shmoop has been touted by School Library Journal and Librarians' Internet Index. It is in the early stages of development, having been created by mostly Ph.D. and Masters students from Stanford and Berkeley. Your students will find it easy to navigate and understand.

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Another Great Resource
Annenberg Media Learner offers teachers interactives, videos, distance learning, workshops & courses. You can also purchase products.

 

Presidential Inaugurations is a "collection of approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital files relating to inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001." This site is part of the Library of Congress.

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2008 Archives

OK, I know I missed the holiday deadline on this one, but for all your future photo printing jobs, here's a listing of 14 companies which offer all sorts of printing, from calendars to mousepads. SNAPFISH scored the top rating.

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SimplyBox is simply great! Organize your ideas, websites etc. online so you can access it anywhere, anytime! SimplyBox is a "free service to capture, share, and organize ANYTHING you find on the web". I haven't seen anything like this before. Keep all your videos, photos, clip art etc. in different folders on the site. You can save portions of a web page. Watch the video tour to see all the things you can do. Best of all, it's FREE.

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Free Collection of Stories & Poems
From Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse, Lit2Go says it offers:
---Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go,
---Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer,
--- View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen,
--- Print out the stories and poems to make your own book.

 

Google's Life Photo Archive
Millions of photos!

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Thinkfinity is Awesome!
Teachers, students & parents will all find loads of information on this site. Twelve subject areas are listed, with lesson plans, homework help & standards alignment available. The Arts & Foreign Language areas each have eighteen subcategories!

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Discovery Education's New Teacher Survial Central is very helpful. It covers everything, including technology integration & a survival toolkit.

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New Video Site is Worth a Look
Everyday Explorers is a web site created by National Geographic which showcases films made by up & coming filmmakers. The visuals are stunning! "Our goal is to display the powerful impact that science & nature have on audiences in a fun, creative way," says Scott Lunt, senior producer for National Geographic Digital Media.

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Here's a great online tool to help you organize your classroom. Set your room's demensions and drag & drop pieces of furniture.

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Google is Not JUST for Searching the Web
Educators can find tools for the classroom, classroom posters & the educator community. Of course GOOGLE shows you all things GOOGLE, but the resources are very helpful.

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MiddleWeb
If you haven't already heard of this site you have been missing a lot. You will find loads of resources for middle school teachers, a section just for new teachers, a slew of middle school blogs & a section on hot links.

 

Teacher Tube's Take on Teaching

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The American Museum of Photography
You'll find many exhibits here, including "The Face of Slavery", "How Photography Bridged East & West", & "Masterworks of Photography"

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Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
If you never watched this video, you must see it. The lecture was given by Dr. Randy Pausch, former professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who passed away in July 2008 of Pancreatic Cancer. His performance is anything but morose and is very uplifting.

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FREE Teaching and Learning Content from Around the World
OER Commons offers subjects from Arts to Social Studies, and covers grades K-12 and college. You can contribute your own lesson plans too.

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20,000+ Backgrounds, Themes and Templates for
PowerPoint Presentations!
Presentations ETC offers a friendly license which allows teachers and students to use up to 50 items in a single, non-commercial project without further permission.

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Did You Know?
According to the American Diploma Project, 40% of high school graduates feel unprepared for college or work.

Teacher Icebreakers for the Classroom
Teachnology has a great list of teacher icebreakers to start your year off with a bang!

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Scratch Lets You Get Creative on the Web
"Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design." Best of all, it is free! Works on Windows or MacIntosh computers..................................................................................................................................................

Looking for Graduate Credits?
PBS TeacherLine boast that it is "the premiere provider of high quality online professional development, PBS TeacherLine has been recognized for its excellence by organizations such as the United Distance Learning Association, National Educational Association, and the Software and Information Industry Association. Our collection of more than 130 top-quality, graduate-level courses for educators spans the entire curriculum: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Instructional Technology, Instructional Strategies, and Science".

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K-12 Science Teachers: Great Resource!
The National Science Digital Library offers tons of information for science teachers by grade level. You will also find blogs, wikis, publications, science literacy maps, web seminars and a podcast.

Free Video Training for Adobe Products
Learn about Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash and any other Adobe product on this great web site! Sponsored by the National Assoication of Photoshop Professionals, Cory Barker and R.C. Concepcion produce a weekly show which is filled with great tips.

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New Version of Word Saves Files With A Different Suffix!
If you are using the newest version of Microsoft Word, be aware of the fact that the file will save as a .docx instead of the old .doc. Make sure to save as a Word '97 file.

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Daryl Cagle's Cartoon Index for Schools
Teachers can utilize the lesson plans on this wonderful site, which contains hundreds of cartoonists' work from all over the world. There is a special section with lesson plans which covers elementary, middle and high school.

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Pestworld for Kids
This site is managed by the National Pest Management Association, and has really cool facts about all sorts of pests, including bedbugs, ants, termites, rats and mice. The kids will love the educational games and teachers will love the lessons and worksheets.

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InvestorEd Offers Lots of Money Tips
The site has"free teacher resources to help teachers develop students' saving, budgeting and investing skills."

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The Digital Library for Earth System Education is an easy to search site with "electronic materials for both teachers and learners, such as lesson plans, maps, images, data sets, visualizations, assessment activities, curriculum, online courses, and much more" in the area of the study of the Earth.

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George Lucas Goes Beyond the Movies
The George Lucas Education Foundation produces a magazine entitled Edutopia, which is a fabulous free resource for teachers. When you go to their web site, you will find many resources. According to Edutopia, they offer "An in-depth and interactive resource, practical, hands-on advice, real-world examples, lively contributions from practitioners, and invaluable tips and tools. Edutopia video: Through an extensive offering of documentaries, Edutopia video is a catalyst for innovation by helping educators and parents, as well as business and community leaders, see and understand pioneering best practices."

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Collaborate with Schools Across the Globe
Check out my new section on Internet Projects. You can connect with schools alll over the world on a variety of projects, in many subject categories.

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2007 Archives

 

 

Last Updated July 11, 2010

3,000 links checked July 2010