9 Wonderful Weather Websites for kids

Tree House Weather for Kids
Tree House Weather Kids is a site from University of Illinois Extension that is designed to help kids 5th through 8th grades get a better understanding of weather. The site's videos and interactive learning activities are meant to support the learning of weather topics in the classroom.

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Edheads Weather
Edheads weather section is a place where students can learn to predict and report the weather. Each activity is divided into three levels with the difficulty increasing as the student progresses. Teachers should do a test run on the devices that the students will use to make sure it runs correctly.

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Weather Watch
Scholastic has two very cool weather websites. The first, called Weather Watch, has multiple interactive experiences that helps students observe,  analyze, investigate and gather data on weather information.

Interactive Weather Maker

Their second website is the Interactive Weather Maker allows you to control the weather by changing humidity and two different global temperatures. This simple site show how these factors can influence weather in their region.

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Discovery Kids Weather
Discovery Kids Weather has information on basic weather phenomenon such as seasons, rain, fog and rainbows. There is a separate section on extreme weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes. This site is primarily an information site for reports or projects.

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Weather from Science Kids
Weather from Science Kids has a nice selection of resources to help make learning about weather more fun. There are lessons, weather experiments, games, quizzes, videos, images, and project ideas.

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NOAA Weather for Kids
NOAA - Weather for Kids contains a collection of links to weather related activities. There are games, information, and educational resources to help students better understand the science of weather.

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Web Weather for Kids
Web Weather for Kids is another great site with various learning activities including games and interesting weather stories. The site also has real world weather experiments that can be performed from home or in the classroom.

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Weather Wizkids

Weather Wizkids has the largest collection of weather related activities among the sites listed. They too have games, and experiments but Weather Wizkids offers so much more. They provide jokes, flashcards, images, and other resources including a feature that allows kids to see their local forecast.

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6 websites to discover stunning images from around the world.

1- One Big Photo
One Big Photo is a site with a simple concept, just show amazing photographs. You can browse scroll through their pictures, browse their 12 categories or use the search bar to find pictures that go from simple to stunning. Users can upload their own pictures to the site but it must be reviewed and accepted before it gets posted. If you enjoy the site's content then you can subscribe to their site and get One Big Photo in your inbox. If you love photography or just incredible pictures then you should take a peek at One Big Photo.

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2- Clik/Hear
Clik/Hear is a multimedia web page from the Palm Beach Post that features compelling stories, stunning images, and amazing videos from around the world. Their extensive collection has six categories; South/Florida, World/Nation, Sports, Lifestyle, Video, and Pictures of the Week. Just browsing through this last category (pictures of the week) can take up a lot of your time due to the sheer volume of photographs on display. If you are a fan of incredible photography, thought provoking stories, and remarkable videos, then take a look at Clik/Hear and be prepared to spend a lot of time browsing around.

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3- Trek Earth

Planet Earth is an amazing place and Trek Earth wants to share it with you. This is a travel themed website that features some of the most amazing photography from all over the world. The sites incredible pictures are searchable by their search bar, by favorites, by category, by theme, and under "statistics" you can search by nation. Trek Earth's 1.1 million images must be seen to be appreciated.  Many of the photographs rival any you will find anywhere. Trek Earth is not only great for travelers, nature lovers and photography buffs but it can be used by foreign language, geography, science and history teachers as well.

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4- All that is Interesting
All that is Interesting is a website that feeds our desire to be amazed by our world. The site contains a large collection of photographs from the web and each photo is captioned explaining the picture. You don't need to look too deep into through their website to find a picture that will capture your attention. The photographs are sorted by categories such as "astounding", "curiosities," and "photography." Teachers will be interested in knowing that other categories include "history", "science", and "art." All that is Interesting is a website worth browsing and may prove to be useful to some educators out there.

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5- Earth Cam
Earth Cam is your window to the world. This very cool website features live web cams giving you a front row seat to cities over the globe. 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 without the expense.

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6- Beauty in Everything
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then this next website is a site to behold. Beauty in Everything is a site that features hundreds of photographs from Flickr. The subject matter of the photographs is widely varied and consists of people, animals, landscapes, nature, objects, cities and just about anything else. You can scroll through pages of beautiful photographs from today, yesterday, or go to their calendar and pick a date. You are sure to find many pictures that appeal to your sense of beauty.

10 Websites for Foreign Language Learning

1- Memrise 

Memrise is an education website that will help you learn languages, history, science, math, geography, arts, and literature. Their methods are scientifically based and their lessons are interactive and fun. Teachers will be able to use Memrise to help reinforce curriculum and parents will love Memrise because they can use it  at home to help their child review and to support their learning. Memrise also allows members to create their own courses. The site offers such a wide variety of courses and lessons and it is free to join. Anyone who values learning will find Memrise to be a handy educational support tool.

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2- Lingt Classroom

Lingt Classroom is a free website that serves as an extension of your classroom. You create an online assignment by using text, audio,video, and images. The student complete the assignment and you can review theri assignments and respond with feedback. Lingt allows you to use spoken dialogues, dictations, oral exams, and reading practice and students can listen to the lesson as often as they need.

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3- Wordsteps

Wordsteps offers a free online dictionary for learning a language. Just select the language you are learning as well as your native language and the site gives you hundreds of words that are sorted by categories such as numbers, foods, and actions to name a few. By clicking the speaker symbol, you can hear the word being spoken in the language you are learning. Wordsteps has online courses but these do require a fee. This site could be very handy to new students of a language.

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4- Airpano

With Airpano, language students can see 360 degree views of cities and landmarks from all over the globe. See beautiful panoramas from North America to Europe and beyond. The side bar has a list of their most recent additions and if you are looking for a specific sites, use their search bar or scroll to the bottom of the page. Airpano's beautiful images make a nice companion when learning about another nation.

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5- Duolingo

Duolingo is a site that offers lessons for learners of English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese. Students learn by taking a series of rapid-fire quizzes, which tests your speaking, listening, and writing skills. If you achieve a high score you can unlock further lessons. Duolingo also has a social feature which allows you to compare your progress with your friends' via Facebook.The gaming and social aspecst of Duolingo make it a highly engaging site.

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6- BBC Languages
BBC Languages is a site that helps promote learning a language with a variety of resources. The site offers free online courses in 40 languages including French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. There is a guide to languages section, a video section, and even an area for children. BBC Languages is a great site for anyone trying to learn a new language.

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7- Language Guide

Language Guide provides several resources to help a new language student learn a new language. You start by choosing the language and then select either vocabulary or grammar. Choose the vocabulary section and you'll get to hear and practice common words and phrases in that language. The grammar section helps the learner with conjugations of words and how they are used in sentences.

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8- Visuals for Foreign Language Instruction 

Visuals for Foreign Language Instruction contains hundreds of illustrations that teachers can use to assist in the learning of objects, people, places, and the vocabulary. You search by using their search bar or you can browse their collection of images and once you find an image you simply print from your browser. The site is free to use and come to you from the University of Pittsburgh's Visuals for Developing Communication Skills in Foreign Language Classes project.

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 9- Imendi

Imendi is another terrific website that helps students learn basic vocabulary by using simple game mechanics where you pair meanings in selected languages.Start by choosing the language you want to learn then select a lesson. After the lesson is complete you can see how well you did. Repeat the lesson of move on, you have the control. Imendi is a simple to use tool for language students. 

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 10- Hello World

Hello World is a site that helps students to learn a new language with a wide range of resources. The site has games, songs, worksheets, and a dictionary, all designed to make learning a language less of a chore. Some of the resources require a paid subscription but there many free resources as well.

 

5 websites to find amazing historic and vintage photographs

1- New York City Municipal Archives

I love old photographs. That may be due to the fact that I am a history teacher but whatever the reason, I am mesmerized by them. Early last year, the New York City Municipal Archives released over 870,000 vintage photographs to the public on their webpage found here. I would encourage you to take some time just to peek at the collection because you are bound to find some amazing pictures. Alan Taylor from The Atlantic published over 100 of these historic photographs on the magazine's website in two separate collections. The first has 53 pictures and can be found here, while the second has 50 and can be seen here. I would strongly encourage everyone to take a look at these tremendous resources from New York City's past.

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2- The Denver Post's Photo Blog

The Denver Post's Photo Blog's combination of high quality historic images and their 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. In commemoration for the Statue's 125th anniversary in 2011, they published a collection of pictures from the creation of the Statue of Liberty as well as many rare pictures of the Statue over its 125+ years of existence. The Denver Post photo blog features many more historic photo galleries that are a "must see" for history buffs and fans of old photography.

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3- Retronaut

Retronaut is a website for people who love history. Not only that, it is a website for nostalgic people to relive fond childhood memories. Retronaut is one part history site and one part social media site. Much of the content is uploaded by the sites members and membership is free. At Retronaut, you can browse pictures from past decades and even past centuries. The site is searchable by decade, by topic and by search bar. Whether you love history or just like reminiscing about the past, Retronaut is a site you should check out. Be careful, you may end up spending hours of your day browsing all there is to see. Don't say you weren't warned.

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4- Old Pictures

Old Pictures is a fantastic site that features an extensive collection of historic photographs from the 1850's through the 1940's. They have sorted their pictures into three categories; themed collections, picture collections, and defining moments. The website also contains an extensive library of old maps dating as far back as the 1300's. Their map collection is sorted by date, nation, and state. Social studies teachers need to set aside time to view these great vintage images. Old Pictures compilation of old photographs and maps makes for an excellent resource for teachers  students, and people who cherish the past.

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5- Life Magazine Photo Collection

The final site I would like to share is the Life Magazine historic photo collection hosted by Google. This site offers millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published but are available on this terrific website. You can choose a decade or use the accompanying search bar to find what you are looking for. If you love history or vintage photography, be prepared to spend quite a bit of time at Life Magazine's photo collection.

Three Civil War sites you should know about.

The America Civil War is one of the most fascinating and yet tragic events in our history. It was the first American war to be photographed and many of those pictures can be found here at the American Civil War Photo Gallery. There are over 1400 photographs of the people, places, and events of this tragic war. The site has 20 photo albums and most contain dozens on up to hundreds of Civil War pictures. If you teach American history or are just interested in the Civil War be sure to check this site out.

Next is Mike Lynuagh's Virtual Civil War website. This site is dedicated to remembering the nation's most devastating period with pages full of photographs of battlefields and monuments as well these vintage Civil War pictures from the time period.

Last, the  Civil War Daily Gazette is among the best resources I have found regarding the Civil War. It is blog that gives a day by day account of the bloodiest war in America's history. The Gazette was started on November 4, 2010 to commemorate the War's sesquicentennial and will continue until the year 2015. History teachers, students, and Civil War buffs should definitely bookmark this site.

World War II in Color

World War II Pictures in Color is a site that contains over 30,000 photographs from history's most devastating war. As the title of the site suggests, many of the pictures are in color. You can search using their search bar or browse by category. The site also contains discussion forum for people interested in sharing information or asking questions. They also sell the photographs from their site as well as other items such as posters and videos.  If you are a history teacher or are interested in World War II, then head on over and bookmark World War II Pictures in Color.

Denver Post Photo Blog - Great collections of Historic Photographs

I love the Denver Post's Photo Blog. 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. A 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.

Next there is the Denver Post's Photo Blog about the Statue of Liberty. This post was published in 2011 for the Statue's 125th anniversary. It features pictures from the creation of the Statue of Liberty as well as many rare pictures of the Statue over its 125+ years of existence.

Finally there is this post from Denver Post photo blog. It is a photo gallery of 77 pictures of American cities before 1950. Many of the pictures are from the 19th century and go as far back as the Civil War era. These pictures are a "must see" for history buffs and fans of old photography.

Historic Photographs of New York City

I love old photographs. That may be due to the fact that I am a history teacher but whatever the reason, I am mesmerized by them. Early last year, the New York City Municipal Archives released over 870,000 vintage photographs to the public on their webpage found here. I would encourage you to take some time just to peek at the collection because you are bound to find some amazing pictures. Alan Taylor from The Atlantic published over 100 of these historic photographs on the magazine's website in two separate collections. The first has 53 pictures and can be found here, while the second has 50 and can be seen here. I would strongly encourage everyone to take a look at these tremendous resources from New York City's past.

Pingram - When Instagram meets Pinterest

Fans of Instagram and Pinterest can now have the best of both worlds with Pingram which allows you to save your Instagram photos on a Pinterest style interface. When you sign up you get your own "vanity" url and you can upload your Instagram photos directly to your Pingram account. As with Pinterest and Instagram, people can follow you and pin your photos to their account just as they do with Pinterest. With Pingram you can enjoy all the features of Instagram with the clean look of Pinterest.

Photo Pin - Free photos for your blog

Photo Pin is a site where you can search and find millions of Creative Commons photographs from Flickr and add them to your website of blog. Once you have decided on a picture you choose the size and then download it to you computer be sure you copy the attribution to your post. I love photography and I got caught up in looking at all the amazing pictures. Below is a picture I grabbed from Photo Pin and I found the experience to be both easy and fun. 

photo credit: fatboyke (Luc) via photopin cc

Picfull - Fast and easy photo editing

Picfull is an easy to use photo editor that requires no sign up and is free. The site offers a wide range of standard photo editing tools which even a novice can manage. Once you are satisfied with your work you simply save your picture and you can share your picture on your favorite social media site. If you want a quick and simple way to edit and share photos, you can't go wrong with Picfull.

PicMark - Brand your pictures before sharing them

PicMark is a simple tool that allows you to brand your pictures with a custom frame before you post them online. Adding a mark is as simple as uploading your picture to their site, choosing a frame, and sharing it to Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. The site allows you to further enhance your frames by choosing colors, styles, and typing messages on the frame. If you'd like, you can even design your own custom frame to use anytime. PicMark is great for teachers to share class pictures on their class web page or with students in projects. PicMark is free to join and it makes sharing pictures just a little bit more fun.

Picclick - Visual search engine for eBay and Etsy

Online shopping can sometimes be frustrating especially when you use eBay. Searching eBay for a certain item can sometimes take awhile as you scroll through page after page looking for the item you want. Picclick is a site that makes searching for items on eBay and Etsy so much easier by making the search 100% visual. Using their search bar, you simply type in what you are looking for (you can also set price and location) and the site gives you up to items, pictures only.(Below is a screenshot of a search I did for desk organizers)  The images start off small but you can adjust their size to make them easier to see and you simply scroll until you see the item you want and clicking on the picture will bring you to the item page. Once you use Picclick, you won't ever use eBay's tired old interface again. After all, you know what you are looking for, you just need to see it.

Old Pictures - Thousands of historic photographs and maps

Old Pictures is a fantastic site that features an extensive collection of historic photographs from the 1850's through the 1940's. They have sorted their pictures into three categories; themed collections, picture collections, and defining moments. The website also contains an extensive library of old maps dating as far back as the 1300's. Their map collection is sorted by date, nation, and state. Social studies teachers need to set aside time to view these great vintage images. Old Pictures compilation of old photographs and maps makes for an excellent resource for teachers  students, and people who cherish the past.

Trek Earth - Learn about our world through amazing photography.

Planet Earth is an amazing place and Trek Earth wants to share it with you. This is a travel themed website that features some of the most amazing photography from all over the world. The sites incredible pictures are searchable by their search bar, by favorites, by category, by theme, and under "statistics" you can search by nation. Trek Earth's 1.1 million images must be seen to be appreciated.  Many of the photographs rival any you will find anywhere. Trek Earth is not only great for travelers, nature lovers and photography buffs but it can be used by foreign language, geography, science and history teachers as well.

Clik/Hear - A Compelling Multimedia Showcase

Clik/Hear is a multimedia web page from the Palm Beach Post that features compelling stories, stunning images, and amazing videos from around the world. Their extensive collection has six categories; South/Florida, World/Nation, Sports, Lifestyle, Video, and Pictures of the Week. Just browsing through this last category (pictures of the week) can take up a lot of your time due to the sheer volume of photographs on display. If you are a fan of incredible photography, thought provoking stories, and remarkable videos, then take a look at Clik/Hear and be prepared to spend a lot of time browsing around.

Good Commercials, Comics, and Humor

I hate commercials. Not all commercials, just the average, run of the mill commercials. Now good commercials are often better than the television show I am watching, but outside of Superbowl Sunday, they are as rare as  a solar eclipse. I would love it if there was a place I could go to view great current commercials as well as classic ones. Well that place exists and it is called Sharethrough.tv. This site finds the best advertisements, both past and present, and posts them on their website. Why not go there and perhaps you will discover cool commercials like this kindness themed one from Coca-Cola.

As I shared in an earlier posting, one of the best resources for discovering new websites is Diigo. Yesterday, one of the cool sites that was shared (by Michelle Brown) is called Chogger. With Chogger you can create your own online comic either by drawing them on the site or uploading a picture and adding word balloons. Best of all you can save and share your comics with the world. This site is a great way to utilize your creativity and have fun.

Last up today is a fun site I recently discovered via Stumble Upon. The site is called Humor-Image.com and is simply a humor site that shares funny images from around the world wide web. We all enjoy a good chuckle so if you head over to this site you'll find funny things such as This is What Humor Looks Like.