Technology Tidbits

MarcoPolo Education for the Classroom

This is a FREE resource for teachers, but you need to register online. The partners, ArtsEdge, EconEdLink, EdSiteMent, Illuminations, Read-Write-Think, Science NetLinks, Xpeditions, and MCI Foundation, provide standards-based Internet content, teacher-reviewed lesson plans, a monthly calendar of activities, and resources for curriculum integration.

NetTrekker – FREE to Cleveland City Schools employees & students

http://nettrekker.com

If you wish to use NetTrekker from home or school, just visit the website while at school and click “Register”. Complete the required information, choosing a username and password of your choosing and you will be guided through the steps of registration. You will be ask to enter the first word of your school name, next you will select your state, then you will choose your school from a list provided. You will, after setting up your account, be able to access NetTrekker from anywhere on the Web. You will find fast and easy access to high quality, pre-screened, and educationally relevant K-12 online resources that align with each state’s academic standards.

Tennessee Electronic Library Public K12 – sponsored by the Tennessee Department of State, State Library & Archives, & paid for by Library Services and Technology Act federal funds

http://access.gale.com/tel2

This is a must-see and must-use site. Categories include:

Professional Collection (full-text periodicals for faculty & administrators)
Contemporary Literary Criticism – (collection of essays on contemporary authors)
Expanded Academic ASAP (from arts & the humanities to social sciences & technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines)
General Business File ASAP (analyze company performance & activity, industry events & trends, & the latest in management, economics & politics; access broker research reports, trade publications, newspapers, journals & company directory listings with full text & images)
General Reference Center Gold (general interest database; articles from newspapers, reference books, & periodicals)
Health Reference Center Academic (database of articles on fitness, medicine, nutrition, diseases, public health, occupational health & safety, alcohol & drug abuse, prescription drugs, etc.)
Health & Wellness Resource Center (find magazines, journals, newspapers, definitions, directories, & info on fitness, medicine, nutrition, diseases, public health, occupational health & safety, alcohol & drug abuse, prescription drugs, etc.)
National Newspaper Index (quick access to the indexing of America’s top five newspapers in one search: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times, & The Washington Post)
Junior Edition (middle school; periodical database with magazines, newspapers, reference books for info on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports, etc.)
Student Edition (high school students; periodical database with magazines, newspapers, reference books for info on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports, etc.)
What do I Read Next? (includes over 100,000 recommended titles, more than 60,000 plot summaries, more)
Computer Database (find computer-related product introductions, news & reviews in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications & the application of technology)
Kid InfoBits (meets the research needs of students in K-5; features a developmentally appropriate, visually graphic interface, a subject-based topic tree search and full-text, age-appropriate, curriculum-related magazine, newspaper, and reference content for info on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports & more)

BrainPOP - FREE to Cleveland City Schools http://www.brainpop.com/
What is it? "BrainPop produces educational animated movies for grades K-12 to explain concepts in a voice and visual style that is accessible and entertaining to both children and adults. Each day 3 million students watch BrainPOP movies and exchange messages with a dynamic cast of five characters who lead users through related activities on the web site - interactive quizzes and games, comic strips and experiments." You may also register for a FREE TRIAL offer.
Login for Cleveland City teachers and students: clevelandcs
Password for Cleveland City teachers and students: ccsbp

4Teachers - FREE http://4teachers.org
What is it? "4Teachers.org works to help you integrate technology into your classroom by offering FREE online tools and resources. This site helps teachers locate and create ready-to-use Web lessons, quizzes, rubrics and classroom calendars. There are also tools for student use. Discover valuable professional development resources addressing issues such as equity, ELL, technology planning, and at-risk or special-needs students."

HPR-TEC - FREE http://hprtec.org/
What is it? "You will find a combination of development and collaboration tools and resources, designed for online access, that address the problems you face daily." Some of these tools are also featured on 4Teachers.

Filamentality - FREE http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/index.html

What is it? "Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Internet, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into online learning activities. Support is built-in along the way through Mentality Tips. In the end, you'll create a web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML or serving web pages." This is a great tool for creating hotlists of websites that you want your students to access, creating samplers, scavenger hunts, or webquests.

Pics4Learning - FREE http:www.pics4learning.com
What is it? "Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection."

WebQuests	Netscape	Word	Excel	Publisher	Kidspiration	DreamWeaver
Windows	PowerPoint	Photoshop	Imovie	Explorer	Inspiration	HyperStudio

WebQuests	Netscape	Word	Excel	Publisher	Kidspiration	DreamWeaver
Windows	PowerPoint	Photoshop	Imovie	Explorer	Inspiration	HyperStudio

Melody Buckner, StaR Center, 476-1794, mbuckner@clevelandschools.org

Please visit http://www.clevelandschools.org/training/ to find the monthly calendar of training opportunities, webquests, tutorials, lesson plans, teacher tools, resources in all content areas, global projects for class participation, virtual field trips, Internet scavenger hunts, and MUCH more.

Check the CCS Teacher Web Pages link for Cleveland City teachers’ sites. If you have a web page posted but it isn’t linked, send an email and I’ll get it linked.

Please email (mbuckner@clevelandschools.org) resources that you’d like to see added to existing ones, as well as to report any dead links that you may encounter.

Internet4Classrooms (Bill Byles & Susan Brooks) Completely FREE