This page contains a list of resources I have found useful thus far in my teaching endeavors. As I continue to learn and grow in my profession, I hope to add many more resources to this list. I hope you will find these helpful.
TED-Ed is an online community which allows people from all over the world share their passion about education. The resources this community provides include online lesson plans, chat boards, collaboration opportunities, and much more. TED has developed a reputation for spreading ideas worth sharing, and TED-Ed makes these ideas accessible to students of all ages.
|
Google Drive has proved to be an invaluable asset in my interactions with students and colleagues. This version of the cloud allows multiple individuals to simultaneously edit projects and share the results with anyone they choose, from a small group of individuals to the general public. I have used this resource to view and edit student assignments, collaborate with colleagues, and for my own personal papers. One of the most useful aspects of Google Drive is that everything is automatically saved and accessible to all parties involved.
|
Through the process of experimenting with many online polling sites, I have come to the conclusion that Poll Everywhere is, hands down, the most useful out of all of them. While other sites only work through smart phones and other advanced devices, Poll Everywhere allows several options for answering questions, including sending a text from simpler mobile phones. Poll everywhere also allows the surveyor to embed the questions in a PowerPoint presentation, which saves time that would otherwise be spent switching programs, introducing your audience to the polling software, and asking the audience to sign in to a foreign program. Poll everywhere allows surveyors to include questions with text, graphics, opinion questions, and team competitions.
|
With the ever-growing amount of information on the internet, it is becoming harder to find accurate information about topics. Google Scholar is a public resource that provides access to academic journals, articles, books, and other documented research. I use this site to research content-related material as well as techniques for encouraging, including, and enhancing student performance within and beyond the classroom.
|
Another beneficial online community is Edutopia. This community includes articles written by experienced educators from which I have gathered more than a few pieces of advice. Once you register (for free), you can ask questions regarding each article and discuss various topics in education.
|
This site is dedicated to educating, encouraging, and empowering young girls to become the best version of themselves. What I especially like about this site is that while its target audience is young girls and their mentors, this site suggests many activities that can be used to educate and engage both genders. The blog page includes inspirational stories about modern girls and women as well as model historical figures.
|
While the physical version of the Encyclopedia Britannica is no longer being printed, the wealth of information this resource provides continues to grow each year. This encyclopedia offers many specialized searches, including databases geared toward primary, middle, and high school-aged students. This is one of many sites that nostalgic side of me gravitates toward, because it includes the memory of the printed resource while growing and changing with the modern world.
|
Until recently, I have relied on mostly printed and derivations of printed resources to research the majority of "how-to" explanations. It was only a few months ago that my younger sister told me that you can find explanations for just about everything you could want to know how to do on YouTube. The benefits of this resource do not end there; explanations for just about any academic subject can be found in the form of a YouTube video, from Khan Academy to OpenCourseWare lectures from MIT. I have used countless YouTube videos to further both mine and my students' education, and I look forward to using it many more times in the future.
|
In the past few weeks, I have been brushing up on my content area skills. There are 1000's of websites and videos which will teach you everything you need to know. Khan Academy is a non-profit website that includes activities in their playlists, and tracks your progress through the lessons. An optional benefit includes a weekly e-mail listing your accomplishments and congratulating you on your progress. Teachers can create their own online classroom and provide videos they believe will be the most help to their students. These videos and activities would be a great addition to any classroom.
|
The PBS Learning Media website offers place-based documentary-style videos as well as info-graphics and textual explanations, all organized according to subject matter and grade level. I have only begun to use this resource, but I can already see that this website offers many opportunities for interactive activities that would be very useful when incorporated into everyday lessons.
|
While scoffed at by much of the professional community, social networks are becoming an increasingly useful source for networking and information. Linked In provides a worldwide professional networking service. Facebook now provides news articles in their news feed, and many organizations and businesses have profiles and pages you can follow. Facebook and Twitter offer the hashtag (#) feature, which allows users to search for any posts on a particular topic, ex. #cellbiology or #TEDEdChat. Pinterest posts contain endless craft ideas, inspirational quotes, educational cartoons, and the list goes on.
|
Last but not least, I feel it is only right to acknowledge the resource that is allowing me to communicate this information to you. Weebly is an incredibly user-friendly website creation software, which includes the option of manually encoding different aspects of your pages. Weebly has allowed me to create eye-catching websites where I can display information for students in my class as well as information regarding extra-curricular activities. The more I use it, the easier it is to mold into my desired style of presentation.
|