6 Education websites you may not have seen

RSA Animate 
RSA Animate is a You Tube channel from RSA.org that contains a series of  thought provoking videos about education, economics and a variety of other important topics such as this one about human behavior and what motivates us. After watching this video you will want to share it with your bosses, managers, CEO's, politicians and other people in power. One of my personal favorites is  this one that describes the changing paradigm shift in education by Sir Ken Robinson. RSA Animate currently has 18 videos in their collection and I highly recommend you check out their collection of videos.

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Problem Attic
The school year is more than half over and end of the year state exams are looming. If you teach science, social studies, math, or ELA at the secondary level then you should really take a look at Problem-Attic. With this site you can quickly and easily create review tests and quizzes as well as flash cards for your students to use. Problem-Attic has a test bank of over 80,000 questions from old New York State Regents exams as well as science, math, and social studies state assessments from around the country. It is free to join and so simple to navigate. You name your test, browse their huge question bank, select your questions, format the test, and you are done. Problem-Attic is a fantastic tool for teachers because it will help you save your most valuable resource, your time.

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Learners TV 
Learners TV is an online resource that provides thousands of videos, lectures, tests, and animations on a wide array of college subjects and disciplines. The website currently has over 29,000 video lectures on topics such as biology, history, law, philosophy, and economics to name a few. This website is an excellent way for college students to support their classroom instruction and best of all it is free to join.

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Sketch Toy
Here is a website that allows you to draw a picture on their website and share it on your Facebook page. One advantage to Sketch Toy is their "graph paper" background to help you keep your art centered and symmetrical. They also have a feature that makes your art vibrate much like an old cartoon. If drawing is your thing, why not give Sketch Toy a try.

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Daily Infographic 
Daily Infographic is a website that features the best and most dynamic infographics found on the world wide web. If you are searching for an infographic about a specific topic then this website can help you as well. You can use their search bar or just select the category that interests you and they will more than likely have the infographic you were looking for. If you really enjoy their site then you can subscribe to their site and have daily infographics emailed to you.

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Google Tutor
Seems as though just about everyone uses some type of Google product these days. Google Tutor is a site that wants to be your resource for all things Google. They are one of the leading websites for news, tips, and tutorials for Google and their products and services They are not affiliated with Google, but are just huge fans of Google who want to share their passion with the world. If you have any Google related questions, go to Google Tutor and they should have the answer.

Symphony of Science - Science Based Music Videos

Symphony of Science is a project that combines science videos with music to create new and novel ways to learn science concepts. The videos are from well known scientists like Carl Sagan and Bill Nye and the content shared ranges from dinosaurs, to astronomy, to global warming. Symphony of Science videos are an excellent resource to support science curriculum in the classroom of from home. Science teachers and students should take the time to watch these videos and bookmark this site because their library continues to grow.

Annenberg Learner Interactives- A Powerful Education Resource

Wow! That was my reaction when I began to explore the Annenberg Learner website. Videos, lesson plans, and resources for math, science, social studies, arts, and literature. In this post I will be focusing on their powerful interactive learning section. My favorite part of the Annenberg  Learner website is their interactives page which contains hundreds of "hands on" web based activities that challenge students (and teachers) to apply learning concepts. The activities are searchable by grade, discipline, and audience or a combination of the three. These interactive tools are very powerful and engaging and I strongly encourage teachers to look through them. You'll be saying "wow" too.

Berlin Wall, Earth Cams, and TV Theme Songs

I have shared the Denver Post's Photo Blog on multiple occasions. The quality of pictures they share as well as their highly relevant topics make their site one of my all time favorites. In 2009 they published a collection of 73 pictures about the Berlin Wall to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Wall's collapse. As with everything published by the Denver Post's photo blog, the pictures are spectacular. I encourage everyone to take sometime to look through this important part of world history at the Denver Post's Photo Blog.

Earth Cam is a cool site that features live web cams from all over the world. See live shots of Times Square, Florida beaches, the Statue of Liberty, Caribbean Islands, or the Eiffel Tower. You can choose a country from their map and take a look at their wide variety of web cams as well. Earth Cams is an enjoyable way to see the world. Foreign language and history teachers should bookmark this site today.

Listening to music can often lead to feelings of nostalgia. A song can send your mind to an event in your past and flood you with the emotions from the memory. Hearing and old television theme song can do the same thing. TV has been a force in our lives for a long time and hearing the opening song to our favorite show can bring us back to earlier and simpler times. Television Tunes is site that contains a library of theme songs from television shows old and new. Head on over and browse through their extensive collection and I am sure you'll find a few theme songs that will bring a smile to your face.

History World and the 1960's

History World is a tremendous asset for history teachers and students. It contains a large amount of historical information about nations and people from around the world and the creators are always adding more information. The site allows you to search alphabetically or use their search bar. It also contains timelines, quizzes and maps that identify historic locations. History teachers should really take the time to look around this amazing site. Best of all, the site is free to use.

Next is a site called the 1968 exhibit, which instantly appealed to me because that is the year of my birth. The 1968 exhibit chronicles the year that saw the election of Nixon, the escalation of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. The site offers a month by month glimpse and a timeline of 1968. This site is great for history teachers, students, and for those old enough to remember, a way to relive this turbulent year.

Speaking of the 1960's, I wanted to share this very interesting web page dedicated to discount stores of the 1960's. It is a web page that shares pictures and descriptions of various stores that thrived during the decade. Anyone old enough to remember will certainly enjoy this trip through time.

Math, Daring Librarians, and "How to" Videos

I certainly have been paying a lot of attention to history sites lately but I'm a history teacher. Today I am giving the history sites a vacation and will give some attention to some other neglected areas.

Math was always a struggle for me in school and it still gives me nightmares. If only there was a site that could help me with difficult problems and show me the step by step process afterwards. It would be awesome if this site could help struggling math students with basic math, algebra, trigonometry, and even calculus. To top it off, it would be fantastic if this site had a worksheet generator for teachers. Well such a site does exist and it is called Mathway. This site is just what math students and math teachers need. My long nightmare has ended.

It is always exciting to discover cool websites and blogs. I recently stumbled upon the award winning blog the Daring Librarian, an education technology blog written by a middle school librarian named Gwyneth Jones. Her blog posts are as entertaining as they are informative like this one about called 10 Super Geeky tips for 2013. She creates her own cartoons and by my count, manages eight other websites. The cartoon character she created about herself is that of a super-hero, and based on all she does, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

Last on today's agenda is Monkeysee, a "how to" website for just about everyone. It features videos produced by experts on just about any topic you can imagine. Their list of categories and subcategories is quite extensive. There are videos about cooking, safety, parenting, sports, and even education just to name five. Take a few minutes to browse their collection and you will be sure to find something interesting.

The website sharing dilemma

Each week I come across so many interesting websites and I have to decide on which ones to share? I try to hit upon a wide variety of interests and yet I don't want to overwhelm my readers by sharing too many websites at one time. The obvious solution is to post more often which is what I will be doing but in the near future so without further interruption here are the best web finds for this week.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm
These sites are not about the 90's song by the C&C Music Factory but are intended to make you think. Here is a page titled "365 things to make you go Hmmm." It is found on an education site called Sparky Teaching and it poses thoughtful questions for students to answer. It could be used as a warm up activity or a writing prompt. Examples can be found here.

A second site, RSA Animate, contains a series of  thought provoking videos such as this one about human behavior and what motivates us. After watching this video you will want to share it with your bosses, managers, CEO's, politicians and other people in power. This You Tube channel has many other excellent videos like this one that describes the changing paradigm shift in education. I highly recommend you check out their collection of videos found here.

Not just for RPI students
There is no question that people who attend RPI are smart but can they cook? While I am sure there are many RPI grads who are excellent cooks, you don't have to have an engineering degree to appreciate Cooking for Engineers which touts itself as the "cooking site for people who have an analytical mind." Once you browse this site you will discover that it is a useful site for anyone, even those of us who suffer from "scatter brains."

Engineers are know for having to perform long and complicated calculations. This site, called Calculator Edge, provides a huge collection of calculators that are useful for engineers, math students, science students, and everyone else as well.

Last but not least
The internet is full of websites that are intended to make you laugh and smile. Wanna Smile is another one one those sites. If you like funny pictures and videos then have look. It's very entertaining.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a place for you to keep all your favorite website in one location? There are many places that will provide that service to you and one of the best is All My Favs. You can join and create a page where all your favorite sites can be accessed on one page. You can also share your page with others. This could also be a  useful tool for teachers who want to share resources with students and parents.

Cool Web Finds

As the teachers in my building can attest, I have been regularly sharing many of the websites that I have recently discovered. In order to simplify matters for anyone who has enjoyed the sites I have shared, I have decided to start using this blog as the new and permanent way to share my discoveries. So without further delay, here is my latest edition of "cool web finds."

We have all had moments where we feel down on humanity or even worse, down on ourselves. Reading the stories at Helpingothers.org will help restore your faith in humanity and perhaps inspire you to "pay it forward."

If you are looking for a website to make you smile go to Waveatthebus and see a real life dad wave goodbye to his son's bus while wearing a different costume each day. 

At Retronaut you can view  memories, pictures, advertisements, and videos from your life or even your grandparents childhood. This site is a great place to reminisce and social studies teachers could  certainly use this site in their instruction at some point.

Speaking of memories, Moment.Me is a place where people can share their pictures and videos from weddings, parties, concerts, or other special days. 

At a site called tackk, users can make amazing online posters using pictures, text and video. Check out their samples page to see some of the possibilities. This site could be used for invitations, advertisements, or school projects.

Finally, I am a sucker for strange and unusual gifts. With the holidays just around the corner why not check out Greenhead. This is a site that offers the latest in unusual gift possibilities with items for just about any taste.

Election Resources

Students from around the nation are returning to school at the same time that America's two big political parties are holding their conventions. As a result there is no better time to share a few web resources that can assist teachers who want to help students understand presidential elections in our country.

The most difficult aspect of presidential elections is probably the electoral college system we use in this country. An excellent resource that addresses this issue is this You Tube video from C.G.P. Grey titled How the Electoral College Works.

Another aspect of campaigns is political advertising. Helping students to understand how propaganda is used in the political process is another challenge. A great resource to address this is the Living Room Candidate. This site features political ads from 1952 up to 2008 which can be search by year, political issue, and type of ad. This site is also a good resource to show how American culture has changed over the past 60 years. One final resource is the You Tube Politics channel. It is the go to resource for videos from the current presidential election. This site could be used in conjunction with the Living Room Candidate to discuss political propaganda and how it is used.