Iconographic Videos, K-4
New Social Studies Videos, 7-12
History Channel, 7-12 (41 titles)
Geography, K-12 (27 titles)
American History Series, 7-12 (21 titles)
ABC News Classroom Edition, 7-12 (16 titles)
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran [various media types and grade levels] (20 titles)
NBC News Time Capsule, 7-12 (9 titles)
Know-It-All: The DVD Quiz Game, 7-12 (7 titles)
New Science Videos, K-12
Advanced Physics (5 titles)
Bill Nye (12 titles)
Animal Babies: Born Wild, K-6 (13 titles)
Inspector Gadget's Field Trip, 3-8 (12 titles)
Green Matters: What in the World Is Going On?, 7-12
Show Me Science: Wonders of Chemistry and Physics, 9-12 (7 titles)
Heads Up! Series, 7-12 (26 titles)
Mythbusters, 7-12 (20 titles)
Know-It-All: The DVD Quiz Game, 7-12 (7 titles)
Thousands of reviewed Web sites are searchable by title, category, subject, grade level, person, image, etc. netTrekker will be part of the federated searching component in Com Cat in mid-September.
Soundzabound: Royalty Free Music Library for Schools, K-12
One group of students wants to create a presentation about the 2008 election using technology that highlights the turning points of the election. Another group of students is creating a podcast and wants to put patriotic music at the beginning and end. A third group of students is putting together a digital movie and wants music that provides an effective background for the theme of their movie. Another group of students is using digital storytelling and wants different short clips of music to add emotional impact in their story.
Where do these students go to access music they can use in their presentations and still adhere to copyright law?
Soundzabound is a music library created by educators for educators to protect against copyright infringement. Heartland has purchased this database, and it is now available to teachers and students 24/7 at home and at school. It provides royalty free music that meets the licensing and technology requirements for education. This high quality music is downloadable as mp3 files for use on Macintosh or Windows computers in software applications such as Garageband, iMovie, MovieMaker, Photo Story and more. The Soundzabound music library includes all kinds of genres such as cultural, rap, techno, sports, podcasts, classical, instrumental, etc. Within each genre there are many categories for teachers or students to choose the exact music clip that fits their presentation.
For further information on copyright issues and music check out the Soundzabound podcasts on Copyright Issues When Using Music, Copyright Wisdom for Music in Technology, and Making Your Podcasts and Music Pop in the Project Examples link.
Remember Soundzabound will be searchable in Com Cat (http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com) by mid-September so you can search for books, articles, photos, music clips, etc. at the same time. Contact your teacher librarian for your building username and password for Soundzabound.
Playaway Audiobooks, 5-12
Heartland’s children’s and young adult library has added a new collection called Playaways. Playaways are mp3 players pre-loaded with audiobooks. The simple, portability of Playaways allows students to listen to an audiobook anytime, anywhere. Special equipment, cassettes or CDs, or lengthy downloads are not needed. The entire book is already loaded on the durable Playaway unit, which is about half the size of a deck of cards and made of “droppable plastic”. Each Playaway comes with earbuds, a triple A battery and a lanyard. Your students just plug in the earbuds and press play. With the high-quality digital technology of Playaways, the sound is sharp and clear. The Playaway also allows the student to control the speed of the narrator's voice and automatically remembers where the student left off when it is powered down.
Playaway audiobooks can be plugged into a powered desktop speaker for whole class participation. Students can read the print text as they listen to the Playaway for audio-supported reading that increases the development of critical listening and reading skills. Playaways can also motivate students to read more by an author they've been introduced to and to read books at their interest level, which may be above their reading level. Reluctant, struggling, or non-readers can have the same "reading" experiences as their peers. The variable speed feature can also be used to assist struggling and reluctant readers while they follow along with the printed book.
Playaways offer ELL students the opportunity to listen to spoken English with correct pronunciation of words, vocal inflection and fluency. The playback functions of the Playaway also support repeated listening of key phrases when necessary.
Flying Fingers and Dancing Fingers, K-6
Diane Sawyer called her “a tiny literary giant.”
She’s been called “a gifted child prodigy writer and Harry Potter fan with a passion for books, storytelling, poetry, arts, history, technology and education.”
She’s known internationally as a writer, poet and humanitarian.
She writes historical fiction, fantasy adventure stories, contemporary fiction, and poems.
She says, “Reading and writing is my life.”
She was disappointed by the way girls were portrayed in books and movies, so she works to create the kind of “strong, intelligent, and sassy protagonists she herself would want to read about.”
She has taught writing workshops to schoolchildren on three continents
She is ten years old and she is Adora Svitak.
Adora Svitak’s book, Flying Fingers: Master the Tools of Learning Through the Joy of Writing, is a great resource as you plan lessons for motivating your students to write creatively and with passion. This book, designed for parents, teachers and children, is a collection of adventure stories that includes tips on teaching kids to write, key vocabulary, and interviews with Adora. Adora's stories have “well-developed plots, funny characters, and the type of down-to-earth humor that keeps kids reading.” Each story has step-by-step instructions for a writing activity that explores a specific aspect of writing: plot, character, theme, etc. Check out the Web sites below for excellent resources to infuse technology into your classroom learning and inspire your students to be writers like Adora.
Adora Svitak Website
Teacher Tube: Adora’s Flying Fingers Channel
Teachersnet Gazette (Read a transcript of a live chat with Adora from April 2008)
Adora.TV (Use ChannelME.TV to create your own TV website)
GirlsHealth.gov: Interview with Adora, March 2008
In addition, Adora and her sister Adrianna have written Dancing Fingers, a book of and about poetry. In this book, Adora’s poems are divided into six sections. She introduces each section with an essay on one of her favorite sources of poetry inspiration and shares practical and inspirational writing tips. A seventh section introduces a more modern style of poetry with Adrianna’s poems. With its diversity in style and content, Dancing Fingers is great as a classroom resource, a teaching aid, and a vehicle for thoughts.
Make Educational Comic Strips, K-12
MakeBeliefsComix is an online educational comic generator. Teachers can use it to help students share their ideas or as a tool to help deaf and autistic students communicate. This site is a motivating resource to encourage writing skills and to practice vocabulary or storytelling skills. Students choose a human or animal character, pick a mood and then fill in a talk or thought balloon in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Latin. Students can make print or electronic copies of their own comics. The site has a story ideas tab for helping struggling writers get started. For more help in their writing, students can go to MakeBeliefsComix creator Bill Zimmerman’s blog at http://www.billztreasurechest.com/blog/ to see even more writing prompts that get them thinking and writing. Students’ written responses to the prompts can also be posted if they are sent to Zimmerman.
Remember to access Com Cat at http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com to find all kinds of graphic novels available in the Heartland children’s and young adult library as extensions of a comic strip unit.
Borders Open-Door Policy Poetry Web Site, 8-12
This is a new Web-based entertainment program for budding poets and for teachers who want to expose students to real poets' writing advice and readings from well-known poets. Students will see, hear, and interact with poetry. Students may also submit their own poems for judging by September 30.
Also, for more poetry readings remember to check out ProQuest Learning: Literature at http://proquestk12.com/. Type in your online database username and password available from your building teacher-librarian and then click on ProQuest Learning: Literature. This database provided by Heartland is a comprehensive resource including 3,000+ author biographies, 40 searchable full-text literature journals, full-text literary works, and other key criticism and reference sources. The Poets on Screen collection showcases contemporary poets reading selections of their own work and their favorite classic poems. Each Poets on Screen reading gives students the chance to see and hear one poet's interpretation of the work, prompting the discussion of what form alternative readings might take and how this reading has influenced their thoughts about the poem and other works they have studied.
Another great Heartland resource for poetry readings is TeachingBooks.net. Go to http://www.teachingbooks.net/home/ and type in your school email address if prompted. Type “poetry” into the search field and click the subject radio button. Here you will find author programs with authors talking about writing poetry and reading their poems as well as other poets’ poems.
Poetry Out Loud, K-12
Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Poetry Out Loud builds on that momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theatre into the high school English classroom. It encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. The Poetry Out Loud state finals are March 7, 2009.
FreeReading is an open-source instructional program that helps educators teach early literacy. Because it is open-source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. The site features a complete set of activities for a typical forty-week core program. Users can also just access specific activities and downloads.
The FreeReading 40-week scope and sequence of activities includes the following categories:
- Phonological Awareness: Students learn to blend and segment the sounds in spoken words.
- Letter Sounds: Students learn to say the most common sounds for printed letters.
- Letter Writing: Students learn the correct way to write letters.
- Sounding Out: Students learn to produce and blend the letter-sound patterns in written words. For the first time, they read.
- Word-Form Recognition: Students learn to read written words without sounding them out. (Some educators refer to these words as “sight words.”)
- Irregular Words: Students learn to read high-frequency irregular words such as the and was by sight.
- Reading Connected Text: Students learn to read their first stories.
- Letter Combinations: Students learn to say the most common sounds for letter combinations such as sh and oa.
- Irregular Words II: Students learn more high-frequency irregular words to read by sight.
- Advanced Phonics: Students learn to read words with features such as inflected endings, silent letters, and multiple syllables.
Mathemania 3 Videos, 6-8
Click here for a listing of new videos and links to order online:
Naming and Measuring Angles
Similarity, Ratio and Proportion
Triangles and Quadrilaterals
10 Web 2.0 Tools that Support 21st Century Learning Skills,K-12
Here is a list of ten Web 2.0 tools that support 21st Century skills which your teachers may want to explore. All the tools listed here are currently being used by K-12 teachers around the world with various content areas and grade levels. Use the text box to search for already created projects within your content area.
Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site that lets users share Web sites they feel are important to their work and life.
Flickr is an image and video hosting Web site, web services suite, and online community platform.
GabCast allows students to use a phone to create podcasts which can then be posted and shared with the class and parents.
Squidoo is a network of user-generated lenses --single web pages that highlight one person's point of view, recommendations, or expertise.
Students can create their own music video simply by uploading images and selecting music. Limit of 30 seconds.
Students allows users to create and edit documents and spreadsheets online while collaborating in real time.
Footnote allows students to access thousands of primary source documents and photos, and easily create online history reports. Their URLs can then be posted, and students can also leave comments on their peers' reports.
A very user-friendly online application for creating timelines that incorporating images. It can be used in any number of lessons across various content areas.
Students can upload images, record their voices over each image, and invite others to collaborate. It can be embedded in classroom blogs or used for collaborative storytelling.
The Zoho Office Suite is a Web office suite that includes tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications.
New ISTE NETS Standards for Teachers, K-12 http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) recently released their new technology standards for teachers. Teachers can use these standards as a framework to guide their use of technology in the classroom. The new standards focus on what teachers should know and be able to do "to promote student abilities to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world."
The NETS for Teachers includes five categories, each with its own set of performance indicators:
1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments
3. Model digital-age work and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
The NETS Standards for Students, Second Edition, were released in 2007 and include six categories, each with its own set of performance indicators:
1. Creativity and innovation
2. Communication and collaboration
3. Research and information fluency
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
The NETS Standards for Students were used as one of the foundational documents for writers of Iowa Core Curriculum in support of 21st Century Learning Skills. To view these documents in their entirety, go to http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS. Click on the link to download a free .pdf version to your computer.
Honor Diversity in Your School Community, 9-12 http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/index.html
As society becomes more diverse and our world more global, teaching students how to be culturally competent and accepting of diversity is an important goal. RaceBridges for Schools offers resources to help teachers create a school climate that fosters knowledge of and respect for diversity. The lesson plans on this site assist teachers in building community in their classrooms while honoring the wide range of differences among their students. It includes lesson plans on topics such as Japanese internment during World War II, tracing the roots of racism, reconciling the two worlds of being American and Mexican American. Some of the lesson plans have Web site links and audio clips. There also teacher resources on creating a welcoming classroom, storytelling as a way of building bridges and creating community, and starting a high school diversity club.
Baseball’s Greatest Hit: 100 Years of Musical History Electronic Field Trip, 3-8 http://www.bsu.edu/eft/home/00front.htm
Ball State University is offering several electronic field trips. This field trip starts with the song, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” written a century ago by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer. The song was originally written to be performed on home pianos and the vaudeville stage. This field trip explores the song’s history; how it has been performed in various musical genres (waltz, swing, jazz, and modern) for the past 100 years; and how these musical styles reflected the way people enjoyed entertainment and family life. It's a standards-based curriculum in language arts, music, history, and technology. Music teachers will find the content particularly applicable to their classrooms. The EFTs created by Ball State University and their sponsors provide:
- Online webisodes of 5- to 10-minute video clips that provide interesting tidbits of information. Webisodes can be viewed through the site’s online player, or teachers can subscribe to them through the iTunes online music store.
- A website specifically geared to provide teachers with the background and materials to guide their students through the field trip, and to provide interactive content.
- A teacher side and a student side on the Web site. The student side is for one-on-one use by students with educational content. The teacher side answers any questions teachers may have about the field trip program. It also has suggested grade-appropriate classroom activities to use in preparation for the live broadcast.
- A live television broadcast as the culminating element of the EFT experience. After having spent time on the website and learning in the classroom, students watch a 60-minute, live broadcast from the museum, park or institution. The program features experts as well as other students and teachers who have also been using the curriculum on this site.
- An interactive experience for your students. Students can call in with questions that will be answered or discussed by the onscreen experts. During the broadcast, the website will feature an online Bank of Experts who will answer questions in the discussion forum. There are also "Your Turn!" segments, which are a way for students to participate in an activity or experiment from their own classrooms.
eLections Online Game, K-12
Cable in the Classroom created this free 3-dimensional multimedia game. One or two players role-play their own virtual candidates running for president. The teacher section of the game includes learning guides, a matching to state social studies standards, helpful links, and a preview area of the videos included in the game so that lesson plans can be generated. eLections was created with support from CNN, The History Channel, and cSpan.
Experience the Culture of China—Virtually, 6-12
As a follow up to the recent summer Olympics in Beijing, students can explore a new, free Web-based role-playing game to learn more about the culture and languages of China. Called Zon/New Chengo, the multiplayer game was created by Yong Zhao, Michigan State University distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology. A native of a poor, remote area of the Sichuan Province, he has become a highly influential researcher in Chinese education. The goal for the player is to fare well and advance socially and economically, with players moving from “tourists” to “residents” and finally to “citizens” of modern China. At the different stages, players encounter quests, have access to learning materials—including live Chinese tutors—and are able to organize and participate in social activities.
The map, developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), details how to align teaching and learning to the demands of the 21st century by providing lesson examples that combine core skills like critical thinking, creativity and innovation with interdisciplinary themes (civic, economic and entrepreneurial literacy and global awareness).
Des Moines Civic Center Applause! Live School-Time Performances For Young Audiences, K-12
All tickets are $1.00 each. Go to the Web site and click Education for complete information, downloadable curriculum guides, links to grant resources, and enrichment opportunities.
The Velveteen Rabbit-- October 20, 2008
Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer, and Prankster--November 17-19, 2008
Lewis & Clark: A Celebration of American Teamwork--November 20-21, 2008
Enrichment Collaboration: Add a visit to the State Historical Society of Iowa for “Patterns of Living”, limited to the first 60 students per show. Additional $4 fee.
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad--February 11, 2009
The Phantom Tollbooth--February 19, 2009
Flat Stanley--March 26-27, 2009
Mathcasts 500 Project, K-8
Mathcasts are screencasts, or digital videos of on-screen writing with voice, created by students to focus their thinking on mathematical concepts and problem-solving steps. It was developed by a teacher, Tim Fahlberg. It contains hundreds of elementary and middle school math problems for students to solve using VoiceThread, a free Web 2.0 tool which features annotation and audio tools. Students across the world can now communicate, problem solve, and share math ideas online. This resource could be used to support the Iowa Core Curriculum goal of moving students beyond superficial knowledge to deep conceptual and procedural knowledge through learning for understanding, problem-solving, and inquiry. Teachers and students are encouraged to make their own mathcasts and post these to the Mathcast wiki located at http://math247.pbwiki.com/FrontPage. Teachers can choose to set up private VoiceThread accounts for individual classroom use or collaborative learning spaces that can be shared with classrooms around the world. To access Tim Fahlber's Web page, go to http://www.mathcasts.org To access VoiceThread, go to http://voicethread.com
The Iowa Core Curriculum, K-12
The World of Media will feature an article on the Iowa Core Curriculum each month. This month's article attempts to answer the question, What is the Iowa Core Curriculum? In her June 3, 2008 letter to Iowa school leaders, Judy Jeffery, the Director of the Department of Education stated that, "The Iowa Core Curriculum specifically identifies essential skills and concepts in literacy, math, science, social studies, and 21st century earning skills. The 21st century learning skills are employability, financial literacy, health literacy, and technology literacy. The Core Curriculum is aligned with Iowa’s statewide core content standards in reading, math, and science, which were adopted by the legislature in 2007.
The essential concepts and skills in the core curriculum that are now mandated for school and school districts in Iowa will not only raise the expectations for what our students should know and be able to do, but they will also assist in increasing our student proficiency. The Iowa Core Curriculum can help students reach this goal because it goes beyond simply putting words on a page. The curriculum has direct implications on teaching and assessment. The essential skills and concepts are just that – essential. A look at what other countries that outperform the United States on international tests clearly indicates that we need to tighten the scope of what is considered core content. At the same time, however, we must go much deeper into student understanding. Going deeper means teachers will need to integrate higher-level thinking, problem solving, relevant-to-life classroom experiences, and timely classroom assessments that impact instruction. The Iowa Department of Education and its partners, which include the Area Education Agencies, will assist Iowa educators with a variety of support, including providing model units of study to demonstrate this approach. In addition, professional development opportunities will help teachers understand and implement authentic intellectual work through their assignments ad student work products." Any questions concerning the Core Curriculum can be addressed to the following Heartland staff: Cindy Yelick, Sharon Kurns, Kim Thuente, Brad Niebling, Lynn McCartney, Becca Lindahl, Linda Hoobin, Teresa Bellinghausen, Julie Hukee, and Jen Riedemann.
Free K-12 Content and iTunes University
K-12 education has a category all its own within iTunes University. It includes professional development, curriculum resources, best practices, and samples of student work. The idea is to bring state and district resources to K-12 educators within their own states, and to provide nationwide and global access to educational content, curricula, learning materials, news, best practices, and other resources. This comprehensive collection of quality digital content offers teachers and students a single location to access resources on topics from Florida history to the Navajo language to nano technologies,” said Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of SETDA. “The new K-12 resources on iTunes U address the critical need to engage students through technology-based resources in the core curriculum areas." iTunes, a free software download for both Macs and Windows, is required.