Zipping Along The Information Super-highway

(Or: ‘How I Traded in the ‘79 Pinto for a 2008 Porsche’)

Deborah Byrne, Glendaal ElementaryBetsy Farquhar, Lincoln ElementaryMarch 2008

Slow Zone

Use Caution: Super-highway roads can be curvy and slippery!

Evaluating Web Sites

» First impressions are important!!:

» Is it student friendly…by age & interest level?» Does the site load quickly…are the links all

active?» Is the site (mostly) advertisement-free?» Do you feel comfortable and confident getting

around the site?

The 5 W’s of Web Site Evaluation

» Who? – Who wrote the pages…reputable and reliable source?

» What? – What is the purpose of the site and what makes it easy to use?

» When? – When was it created and last updated?» Where?– Where does the information come

from?» Why? – Why is this information useful for my

purpose? Why is this page better than others?

Next Exit: ‘20 in 25’

Twenty great websites in Twenty-five Minutes

(Rev your engines…!)

Cruisin’ Through Your Own Neighborhood

Some of the best resources are already in your own backyard….

NOVELlist Literature Info

» http://search.ebscohost.com/

» Looking for the perfect book? Read up on general literature topics, or search for the perfect book by subject, reading level or age range for kids, teens, and adults.

Grolier: Amazing Animals

» Amazing Animals: Search for information about each animal by category, or animal name in the search box and click “go.” It’s that easy!

» Username and password required… check with your Library Media Specialist

PowerMedia Plus

» http://www.powermediaplus.com

» Download and stream videos for classroom use on a variety of topics.

» Browse by subject and grade level; create playlists for various topics.

Meta-Search Engines and Portals

(No….not potholes…)

Dogpile

» www.dogpile.com

» A Meta-search engine that uses the best search engines: Google, Yahoo, Ask, Looksmart, MSN, and more

» Easy ‘advanced search’ » Relevancy ranks sites by ‘sponsored

sites’ and ‘unsponsored sites’

Kids.gov

» www.kids.gov» The official U.S. Government portal for kids» Students can learn about the gov’t and the

election process, however…» It doesn’t just have gov’t information!» Provides links to great K-5 educational sites by

curriculum area. » The site can be used by teachers as well as by

students – many of the sites compiled here are kid friendly

ALA Great Web Sites for Kids

» www.ala.org/greatsites/

» Reviewed sites for students- compiled by the American Library Association

» Browse through the sites using a Yahoo-style subject index or…

» Target search by grade level and subject» Results are tagged by grade level

Library of Congress

» www.loc.gov

» The Library of Congress has a portal for teachers

» Provides social studies lesson plans and multimedia resources across many curriculum areas for use in the classroom

America’s Story from America’s Library

» http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi

» This Library of Congress site allows students to read more about different time periods, people, and places in American history

» The site provides documents, images, video and sound from the library’s collection.

SearchEdu.com

» www.searchedu.com

» This search tool allows you to search for materials, ideas, & research sources by only searching educational institutions (‘.edu’ sites).

» Other bells and whistles…..biography searching and more

» This site is powered by Google.

Education World

» http://www.education-world.com

» This is a free site that provides a wide variety of templates, printables, and lessons plans.

Teachnology

» www.teachnology.com

» This site is a great resource for teachers» Free access to:

» 28,000+ lesson plans» 6,700+ printable worksheets» Rubrics» Webquests (and a webquest generator!)» And more…..

Discovery Education

» http://school.discoveryeducation.com

» Includes a lesson plan library, puzzles, ‘learning adventures’ (webquests) and more.

» Provides classroom activities that support core science curriculum topics

Geography Games

» http://sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm

» Interactive games to learn about the 50 states, capitols, and regions

» The material is leveled by: initial tutorial, beginner, intermediate, and expert levels.

PBS

» PBS has resources for teachers (www.pbs.org/teachers/) …..

» And for students (at www.pbskids.org)

» PBS provides standards-based educational resources across most curriculum areas

Create a Graph» http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx

» Collect all your data, and then enter it into this graph wizard to make different graphs.

» When you’re done, you can print, or save the document as an image or PDF!

Teacher’s Domain

» www.teachersdomain.com

» Multimedia resources for the classroom – from NOVA and PBS

» Produces results that are based upon our state standards

» Can search resources by grade level» Includes resources for professional development» Free registration for unlimited access

Time for Kids

» www.timeforkids.com

» Based upon the student version of Time magazine (Time for Kids!)

» There is a teaching resource section for current events and current information on a variety of topics

» This section provides mini-lessons, worksheets, graphic organizers, and more

» There is also a section for students – with current news, activities, homework helpers, and research guides.

DK Clip Art

» http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/clipart/

» This site provides high quality images from DK’s fabulous image library

» Covers a variety of topics: science, animals, the human body, plants, rocks and minerals, and more. Permission is given for educational and home use.

School Discovery Puzzlemaker

» http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

» Create word searches and crossword puzzles customized to your curriculum. Students also enjoy this site!

ThinkQuest

» www.thinkquest.org/library

» Oracle’s library of 6500+ web sites created by students

» Can be used to generate project ideas or to provide examples to students

» Many are very well executed and can be used for projects