Whiteboard Resources

Hey everyone,

My blushing bride and I got back from our honeymoon late last night (actually almost 1 this morning). It was super fantastic, and we had an amazing time. Nevertheless, I am a bit tired, so I thought I'd hand the reins off to frequent guest poster, Karen Schweitzer.

So without any further ado...

15 Whiteboard Resources for K-12 Students

There are many different games and sites online that are perfect for use with interactive whiteboards. Here are 15 that are free, fun, and educational.

Elementary Students

Tutpup - Tutpup is an award-winning site for students between the ages of 5 and 14. The site allows students to compete in fun and competitive math and spelling games with other children around the world.

Professor Garfield - Designed for students in grades K-8, the Professor Garfield website offers standards-based learning materials and fun games that work well with interactive whiteboards. Covered topics include reading, art, science, trivia, and more.

Math-A-Thon - Math-A-Thon is a volunteer-based fundraising program for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition to offering students the opportunity to participate in an educational math event, the site also provides fun, math-based games that work with interactive whiteboards.

Robot Obstacle Course - The Robot Obstacle Course is an excellent game for young students. In addition to testing observational, analytical, and critical-thinking skills, the game also teaches students about elementary programming.

Thinkuknow Cyber Cafe - The goal of the interactive Thinkuknow Cyber Cafe is to teach students how to be safe online. The Cyber Cafe is designed for students between the ages of 8 and 10 and covers topics like online forums, instant messaging, and social networking.

Middle School Students

Whyville - Whyville is a virtual city designed for educational purposes. As Whyville "citizens," students can learn about art history, science, journalism, civics, economics, and much more.

Bugscope - Created by the Imaging Technology Group at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Bugscope gives students free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to study insect specimens. Before accessing the microscope, teachers must register ahead of time and make sure that students collect the bugs for examination.

Stop Disasters - The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction created this interactive disaster simulation game to teach students about natural disasters and hazards. Students must assess disaster risk, limit damage when natural disasters strike, and create a safer environment for the population. Each disaster scenario takes approximately 10 to 20 minutes to complete.

The Road to the Capitol - The Road to the Capital is a government game that teaches students about the election process. While playing the game, students must register as a candidate for congress, make campaign stops, and debate an opponent.

Stage'D - Stage'D is a free digital tool that can be used to create animated comics. After a comic is created, it can be emailed, embedded in a blog or website, or shared via social networking applications.

High School Students

FreeRice - Created by the UN World Food Program, this free trivia game allows students to make a difference in the world while they learn. For every question that is answered correctly, 10 grains of rice will be donated to hungry people. Trivia topics include English vocabulary, English grammar, Spanish, Italian, German, French, geography, chemistry, math, and famous paintings.

FreePoverty - FreePoverty is similar to FreeRice--it is a trivia game that creates donations for people in need. Instead of donating food though, this site donates cups of clean drinking water. Students can have ten cups of water donated for every geography question that is answered correctly.

Edistorm - Edistorm is a great tool for collaboration and works well with an interactive whiteboard. The free, web-based program allows users to organize ideas on an interactive brainstorming wall. Created ideas can be saved, stored, and retrieved at a later date.

Classroom Jeopardy - This free classroom tool makes it easy for teachers to create a Jeopardy-like trivia game on any topic imaginable. Each game can include 25 questions and can be created and played within minutes.

Smithsonian Virtual Museum - The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History allows site visitors to take a panoramic virtual tour of the museum. Teachers who can't get their class to the actual museum will find this tour is a good substitute when used with an interactive whiteboard.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about pharmacy technician certification for PharmacyTechnicianCertification.com.

A post for new teachers

Christmas Break is here!! WOOHOO!! I'm sorry, but I just refuse to call it Winter Break, Holiday Break, December Break, or "2-weeks-off-for-sanity's-sake Break.

2 whole weeks of good food, good rest, a few papers to grade, good relaxation, and good visiting.

Plus, I'm in the final four in my fantasy football league, and I'm visiting the new Cowboys Stadium today to watch the Texas Longhorns beat the Tar out of the Carolina Tar Holes. (Sorry, Chad.)

What better way to start off the blogging aspect of Christmas Break than another wonderful guest post by our good friend Karen Schweitzer? Karen has written so many guest posts here at Learn Me Good (as well as other places), that I've lost count. But every one has been full of useful information and valuable tips and links.

Today, her post is designed especially for new teachers or folks considering going into education.

15 Resources for First Year Teachers

The first year of teaching can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are a number of sites online that offer free resources and practical information for the novice teacher. Here are 15 sites to explore in your spare time.

First Year Teacher Program - The Reading Rockets First Year Teaching Program is a free online course for new K-3 teachers. The self-paced course includes ten modules that cover effective strategies and techniques for the classroom.

New Teacher Survival Guide - Scholastic provides a New Teacher Survival Guide to novice teachers who are looking for resources, tools, and tips for the classroom. The guide also offers a newsletter and a new teacher helpline.

ED.gov Survival Guide - The Department of Education Survival Guide for New Teachers offers tips on communicating and working with veteran teachers, parents, principals, and teacher educators. The guide also links to helpful resources around the web.

New Teacher Center - This national organization is dedicated to supporting new teachers and improving student learning. Site offering include news, stories, and information about upcoming education events.

Teachers Network - The Teachers Network site offers a special section just for new teachers. The section includes lesson plans, new teacher how-to's, and web mentors who can offer more help.

The Teacher's Corner - The Teacher's Corner is a good place for new teachers to find lesson plans, worksheets, teaching tips, and other teaching resources. The site also provides a forum to connect with other educators and a job board.

The Educator's Reference Desk - The Educator's Reference Desk offers a wide range of dependable resources, including 2,000+ lesson plans and 3,000+ links to educational information around the web.

Education World - Education World provides lesson plans, practical information for new teachers, regular columns, employment listings, principal profiles, a search engine for educational sites, and many other useful resources.

Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies - Created by California State University-Northridge, this web page links to hundreds of tested lesson plans and articles on teaching strategies and classroom management.

Teachers.net - Teachers.net is a comprehensive teacher's resource. Site features include teacher chat boards and mail rings, lesson plans, classroom project ideas, articles from teachers around the world, and a job board.

TeacherTube - TeacherTube was created so that educators would have a place to share teacher videos, lesson plan videos, and other instructional materials. The site is a good place for new teachers to find teaching tips, classroom management strategies, and curriculum guidance.

Teacher Lingo - Teacher Lingo is an online community for educators who want to connect over the web. Community resources include lesson plans, a message board, and a place for teachers to share and publish blogs.

The Apple - This Monster site for teachers combines social networking with teacher's resources. New teachers can find lesson plans, sign up for a free newsletter, and chat with other teachers in The Apple forum.

TeachAde - TeachAde provides free articles, videos, lesson plans, and other teaching resources. The site also serves as a space for teachers to meet and network online.

Teachers First - The Teachers First site provides a long list of education-related professional associations and organizations that provide teacher resources and support.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online schools for OnlineSchool.net.

20 great online sites for kids' education

Once again, Karen Schweitzer -- Guest Poster Extraordinaire -- is at it again! This time, she has contributed a list that can help teachers and kids who have internet access at home or nearby.

Her list is titled, "20 Online Tools and Sites to Engage Students in Learning," and without any further ado, here it is!

The Internet is loaded with tools and websites that teachers can use to engage their students in math lessons, language arts, history, art, music, and other subjects. Here are 20 online tools and sites to try throughout the school year:

Math

Numbernut.com - Rader's Numbernut.com is an excellent mathematics site with fun and interactive games, exercises, and activities. Resources are designed for students who are working with basic to advanced math concepts.

Math.com - Math.com is an online mathematics site where students can play games, practice math, use online calculators, and get homework help. This math site is a great way for students to learn about math while having a fun and engaging experience.

AplusMath.com - Developed specifically to help math students, AplusMath uses interactive games, flashcards, puzzles, and worksheets to encourage effective learning and better grades.

Gamequarium - Gamequarium offers free online tools and games that are wonderful for helping students learn math. The site provides tools for general math, calculators, and converters along with multiple interactive math games.

Language Arts

The Story Home - This site features classic and original audio stories designed for younger students. The stories can be listened to on the computer or transferred to a CD or MP3 player.

WordAhead - WordAhead provides free online vocabulary videos for college bound high school students. Users of this site can browse through the videos, watch them in the study room, and read word lists. The site also features a word of the day and useful study widgets.

Visuwords - This graphical dictionary makes it easy to see how words relate to one another. Visuwords can be used by students and teachers as an interactive dictionary and thesaurus.

Bookwink - Bookwink uses podcasting and videos to connect elementary and middle school students with books they may find interesting. The monthly updated videos take an average of three minutes to watch.

History

HyperHistory - This impressive history site features thousands of files that cover about 3,000 years of world history. HyperHistory has links for people, events, and maps. Hard copies can also be printed.

KidsPast.com - KidsPast.com has unique history games that are designed to entertain students while teaching important history facts. The site also features online history activities for reviewing previously learned facts.

History Matters - Designed for students and teachers, this history site provides innovative teaching materials, primary documents, and historical evidence guides.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - The Smithsonian Museum has several interactive tools and resources that students can use for studying natural history. Resources include lesson plans, web-based student activities, and classroom resources.

Arts and Music

Artopia - This comprehensive art site for middle school students concentrates on visual and performing arts. Artopia allows students to study imported works while taking part in activities that teach principles, styles, and processes.

Canvastic.net - Canvastic.net is a free online tool that students can use to get in touch with their creative side through drawing, painting, and writing. This mess-free site can be used without installing any software.

DSO Kids - The DSO Kids site offers games and activities that engage students in the art of music. Just a few of the games worth trying are time machine, music match, and picture paint.

Glogster - This free beta site makes it easy for students to express their creative side through mixing images, text, music, and videos.

Miscellaneous

Nota - Nota is a free collaborative web tool that can be used for collaborating, creating, and sharing online material. The site allows you to integrate text, maps, video, photos, clip art, and much more.

Bugscope - This free interactive online microscope allows K-12 students around the world to explore insects under a scanning electron microscope. Teachers wanting to sign their class up for a session need to apply six weeks in advance. However, five previous sessions can be found online.

BrainPop - BrainPop is an educational site that provides curriculum-based games for engaging students in learning. Throughout this site, you can find educational games for science, social studies, English, math, art, music, health, and technology.

Cyberbee - Cyberbee encourages students to discover educational content on the Internet through a series of treasure hunts. The site also provides teachers with curriculum ideas, postcards, research tools, web links, and web projects.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online degree programs for OnlineDegreePrograms.org.