Jonathan Bird's Blue World

Jonathan Bird's Blue World is an Emmy award winning educational program that explores the wonders of the world's oceans.

The program airs on public television, but the website also has webisodes on the site for you to view. They also have an educators' section with study guides for each episode, sea stories and web links. You can even book him to come to your school and do a presentation (for a fee). He is very dynamic and you can see an example of one of his presentations.

Some of the episode topics include: Sharks, whales, airplane graveyard in the sea, tropical fish, manta rays, and much more. There is also a section with videos describing the SCUBA gear that they use when filming and exploring the oceans.

There is also a blog, http://jonathanbirdsblueworld.blogspot.com/, where they post information and news.

I found the program to be well done and very interesting and the resources on the site for educators were great. Definitely a great resource for your classroom.

On a side note, I actually went to college with Jonathan at WPI. He was two years ahead of me, but was in a band with a friend of mine. He's a great guy and it's great to see another engineer doing educational work.

some of the episodes:

PDF Online - free PDF Services

PDF Online is an online service that has both fee and FREE services relating to PDF files.

One of the free services is "Doc2PDF" that will convert a document to a PDF file. You can only convert files up to 2GB (to convert files up to 10GB you need to subscribe to the premium version).

This is good for people who don't convert many files to PDF. If you want to convert a lot of files to PDF, I suggest CutePDF.

The other free service is "PDF to Word" which converts your PDF documents to RTF Documents for viewing and editing Word. It works very well and fast. After uploading your file, it will convert it and then leave a link for you to download with the converted file.

Another way to do this is with PDF2Word.

PDF files are very handy for sharing files and posting files online. The ability to create them or edit them is very useful for teachers.

Interactive Engineering for 9-11 year olds

Engineering Interact is a great site with interactive lessons for 9-11 year olds that help them explore and learn science and engineering concepts.

The activities fall under the following topics: Light, Sound, Forces and Motion, Earth and Beyond, and Electricity.

The activities are in game form and are well done. I played with two of them and had fun myself.

There is also information about how engineers use the science of that particular topic which is a great way to show them why the topic is important.

I was very impressed with these games and I can actually see them being used for older students up to freshman in high school as a fun way to learn or review the topics.

It was created and is supported by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering.

The games and activities require FLASH, so you won't be able to use these on an iPad or iPod Touch.

Nat Geo's Traveler's Guide to the Planets

National Geographic's Traveler's Guide to the Planets is a wonderful, fun, visually spectacular resource for students learning about our solar system and the planets. When you first arrive at the site, it has a stunning, exciting opening animation and then it gets to the main page.

The main page, seen above, has two panels. The left side panel allows you to select which planet you want to learn about (Pluto is still listed, Earth is not since we live there) and what you want to know about each planet. The site is set up as a true traveler's guide and includes info such as history, trivia, sites, advice, climate, and luggage. This is a great way to get students to learn about the planets in a new way.

I had a lot of fun going through the site and learned some new things about the planets. It is appropriate for grades 5-12 (and maybe even younger with some teacher help).

CSI: The Experience Web Adventures

CSI: The Experience Web Adventures is a great web site that teaches students about forensics and then gives them virtual cases to work on and apply their knowledge. It is supported by the National Science Foundation and partners Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, American Federation of Forensic Sciences, CBS, and Rice University Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning. Some pretty big names!

There are three different cases for students to solve ranging from beginner to intermediate to advanced. Each case has the student learning new topics and concepts in order to solve the case. The cases are very well written and designed and I had fun trying them out.

The site also has a reference section for help with the cases, topics and characters and the "fun stuff" section has an educators guide with lessons and activities, family guide and more to make the experience even better.

This is a great site and experience for any science student. It is definitely appropriate for grades 9-12 and I think 7-8 could do very well too.

Microsoft Research Worldwide Telescope

Microsoft Research has created Worldwide Telescope.

WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world. Experience narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interestingplaces in the sky.

A web-based version of WorldWide Telescope is also available. This version enables seamless, guided explorations of the universe from within a web browser on PC and Intel Mac OS X by using the power of Microsoft Silverlight 3.0.

Note: The web-based version will ask for more local storage (about 40MB), but that shouldn't be a problem for anyone.

You can just explore the skies by location, constellations, planets, stars, and more. You can select from digitized skies, ultra-violet, and more. You can even look at earth!

There are also guided tours available. These were set up by astronomers and researchers and are very well designed and informative. The guided tours include galaxies, planets, stars, Apollo missions, Mars missions, and much more.

The earth at night view is great to use to show students where the most lighted areas are. The United States and Europe are the brightest areas at night (Japan is pretty bright too).

I had way too much fun playing with this today. I think that this would be a great resource for science classes to show our solar system and galaxy.

50 Free Collaboration Tools That Are Awesome for Education

image from http://www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/Resources/Publications/digital-strategy-2-draft/draft_collaboration/

This site has a list of 50 free collaboration tools that can help with distance education, group projects, homework collaboration, or working with other schools. The tools allow for group papers, file sharing, communications, and much more. The resources are listed by topic for easy searching.

Some of my favorites: Google Docs, Zoho, Skype, drop.io, Blogger, and Twitter.

I already use some of these, but I found some really good new ones too.

CoSketch.com - Online Whiteboard Collaboration

CoSketch.com is a free service that allows you to create online sketches and share them with other people, in real time.

You can also save your sketch as an image. The sketch tools include text, colors, lines, curves, shapes, and more.

It is completely online and runs in any browser without the need for plugins.

You can also import images and Google maps images.

This would be great for teachers to use with their students, or for student groups to use while at home for collaboration.

one word. so little time.

One word is a simple, free site. It will display one word and give you 60 seconds to write about it.

This is a great resource for helping students write and communicate their thoughts. Simple and easy.

The site also has a blog and podcast.

HP Learning center - free classes

HP's (Hewlett Packard) Learning Center offers free, 24 hour available, online classes on software and technology.

Courses include: Photoshop, digital photography, Microsoft Office, website design, small business tips and technology, PC basics, maintenance, and security, graphic arts, and more.

Three courses I found interesting where "Technology and your elementary school/middle school/high school student"

I took a look at the one for high school students and it provides parents with information about technology that their high school student may be using and ways to keep them safe online.

Many of the courses are great for teachers and students.

WiZiQ Free Online Teaching and E-Learning with Web Conferencing

WiZiQ is a site that provides free hosting for online classes and learning.

Teachers can create free virtual classrooms, create and share online tests and content, and teach live with Moodle.

This would be a great resource to keep resources online for students, create distance learning courses, or provide a learning system for homebound students.

PBS Parents: Your Resource for Parenting Tips & Parenting Advice

PBS Parents is a great site for teachers to use with their own students and to share with parents of younger students.

The site contains information and resources on early childhood development, fun and games, education and your child, and much more.

There are games and activities to help young children learn and develop properly.

The education section has tips on finding appropriate books for different ages and gives parents (and teachers for that matter) tips on helping children learn math and science. Some of the science activities are really well designed and can be done at home. The science concept is related to everyday things, like cooking, and can stimulate their interest in science.

Free Book - Amazing Web 2.0 Projects

Terry Freedman has put together an excellent, free, book entitled "Amazing Web 2.0 Projects." This book has links, resources, tips, and examples of projects to do with your students using Web 2.0 technologies.

Some of the features of the book:

• 87 projects.
• 10 further resources.
• 52 applications.
• 94 contributors.
• The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
• The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
• How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues...
• ... And what they recommend you do if you run them.
• What were the learning outcomes?

This is a great resource for any teacher. The projects can be easily modified and there is so much other information and links to help educators come up with their own projects. I recommend this to any teacher, especially teachers who are just starting to use Web 2.0 technologies.

It is available for download, for free, as a pdf file. http://www.ictineducation.org/free-stuff/

PS - my blog is listed in the book as a resource.

Genetics resource

Learn Genetics and Teach Genetics are great resources from the University of Utah.

Learn Genetics has interactive videos and demos that explain different concepts of genetics. The web site is nicely designed and easy to navigate.

Teach Genetics is a beta preview teacher companion site for Learn Genetics. There are some resources now, with more coming in the future.

These are great resources for Biology and Genetics teachers.

My wife, a Biology teacher, found them and told me about them. She found them very useful and easy to use.

List of Discovery Education Training Resources

I found this great list of Discovery Education Training Resources on Jen Dorman's blog (she is a DEN Account Manager).

Most of the great resources Discovery Education has to offer for educators are listed here.

Training Resources

Discovery Educator Network

Discovery Education streaming - Links to service overviews, demonstrations, and efficacy research

Discovery Education streaming Getting Started Guide
Discovery Education Classroom Resources - Links to free resources, sponsorships, and competitions

• Puzzlemaker
• Lesson Plans
  
• Siemen’s STEM Academy
• Web 2010
• ReadyZone H1N1 - Continuity of Learning
• Ready Classroom - Emergency Preparedness
• ThinkGreen Classroom
• New Teacher Survival Guide
• Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
• Curriculum Center
• Brain Boosters
• Worksheets to Go
• Learning Adventures
• NASA at 50
• Understanding Epilepsy
• Discovering Diabetes
• Parent Corner
• Discovery Student Adventures
• Scotch Science Fair
• Siemen’s Science Day
• Siemen’s We Can Change the World Challenge
• USADA True Sport Award Program
• Fuel Our Future Now - STEM resources, Dash+, and Automotive Xprize

Tutorials and Learning Resources

• Glogster
• VoiceThread
• Diigo
• Google Tools (Docs, Earth, Maps, Calendar, Reader, etc.)
• Digital Storytelling
• Digital Storytelling with Web 2.0
• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Wikis
• Digital Learning Networks
• Copyright and Fair Use
• Project Based Learning (Challenge Based Learning) / Why Teach With Project Based Learning? / EL Project-Based Learning / BIE PBL
• Discovery Education - My Admin
• Discovery Education -My Classrooms
• Discovery Education - The Builders
• Widgets for the DE Builders

Related Articles:

Discovery Education Resources for Educators

Web 2.0 Conquering Technophobia

New Teacher Survival Central

RefSeek - Reference Directory

RefSeek is a site that I found that is a great place to start when looking for information or links. The site's start page is just a simple listing of categories (see above).

The site has categories from dictionaries, encyclopedias, and health & medical to multimedia and teacher resources. When you click on a category, you are brought to another page that has a list of web sites and descriptions of them. There are some great resources for each category.

The site is in Beta and doesn't have a huge number of resources for each category, but it is a great starting point when you are looking for resources.

NASA - NASA eClips™

NASA eClips is another great site by NASA for educators. The site contains short video clips that can be used to engage students and excite them about different topics, explain a topic, or generate a discussion.

The videos are sorted by grade level (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) and have educator resources available. There is also a Teacher-to-Teacher blog and a teacher toolbox to help teachers use the video clips in class.

The videos are well done and relevant to many different subject areas. Give them a try.

Related Posts:

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/nasa-educators-resources.html

Green Fluorescent Protein - The GFP Site

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a great site for science teachers. It talks about the discovery and uses of fluorescent proteins in science. There are some great applications as well as some controversial ones, so there are plenty of opportunities for classroom discussions.

There are some really impressive pictures, descriptions of the uses of GRP, links, classroom ideas and more. The college professor who runs the site is very approachable and will get back to emails and will help you use the material in your classroom.

It's an interesting topic and the pictures alone can get your students' attention.

List of Resources I've recently posted to Twitter

Here is a list of the resources I have posted on Twitter recently:

Tech Tip - how to mask your email address - http://trunc.it/5l6sb

Google Maps adds Lab features like aerial tilting view - http://trunc.it/5icy2

Tips on Using Google Buzz - http://trunc.it/5hyxi

Surf Dog promotes literacy in children of all ages. http://www.surfdogsunsetbeach.com/

Online Tech Tips - Google Buzz - http://trunc.it/5euvr

20 Free Apps for the Web 2.0 Student http://bit.ly/ckzSvH - and some more - http://trunc.it/5hfmc

Digital Textbooks - online resources to replace your textbooks - http://trunc.it/5hue5

Blogs as a teaching tool - some ideas for teachers and examples -http://trunc.it/5gjeh

Resources and tips for Using TV in the classroom - http://trunc.it/5jbpb

Evernote - note taking, web capture, image search & much more-great resource for getting organized- http://trunc.it/5htym

Aviary online graphics editors and web screen capture - http://trunc.it/5dqbg

Science Lesson Resources - some great material - http://trunc.it/5hti2

Alternative to Microsoft Office - OpenOffice - now with improved performance - http://trunc.it/5hq7g

Google Chrome Browser review and features - http://trunc.it/5dozu

Tech Tip - are you being recorded in your classroom? http://www.180techtips.com/100.htm

Great new Web 2.0 Resource from Discovery Education - http://web2010.discoveryeducation.com

Tech Tip - What Does "beta" mean - http://www.180techtips.com/98.htm

Some great PowerPoint tips and resources: http://goo.gl/SAbu , http://www.180techtips.com/99.htm

Enjoy.

Scribblar - online whiteboard - UPDATED

(originally posted 10/11/09)

Scribblar is an online meeting room / white board. Students can use it to collaborate on projects, teachers can tutor via the computer, and teachers can use it for collaborative meetings and projects.

Scribblar gives the users a virtual white board on the screen and writing tools to create text, lines and shapes. They can even add images.

There is also a chat window on the side bar so that users can talk to each other while working. There is even a live chat system if you have a microphone and speakers.

I see students using this to work on homework problems together. Teachers could use this to help students with homework after school or on the weekends.

Dweeber is another resource that has some similar functionality for students.

UPDATE: Scribblar can now support PDF files. Free users can upload PDFs with up to 5 pages. Your uploaded PDF will be turned into an editable image in Scribblar. Thanks to Free Technology for Teachers for the tip!