6 powerful interactive history sites

Colonial House
What was it like to live in 1628 Colonial America? To find out, go to this interactive site by PBS and discover the people, food, clothing, houses and ways of life for Colonists, indentures servants, and Native Americans. The site contains a variety of learning activities including audio, video, quizzes, maps, dress the colonist, and an interactive journey across the ocean. Colonial House is sure to make learning about colonial life more fum and engaging for your students.

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Annenberg Learner
I have shared this awesome site previously for these posts about math and science and their collection of interactive history activities is second to none. You will find over 90 different resources on topics ranging from the Spice Trade to Civil Rights. I cannot possibly do justice to this site so you will have to check it out for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

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BBC Interactive History Content
The BBC always seems to have terrific content and this site is no exception. Visitors will discover audio, video, animations, timelines, games and galleries on many historical topics. The World Wars, Ancient Rome and the Egyptians are all topics you will find here. If world history is your "cup of tea," then head on over to this BBC site to find out more.

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NAACP Interactive Timeline
This terrific site shares the history of the Civil Rights Movements through the history of the NAACP itself. Upon visiting you are greeted by actor Laurence Fishburne's introduction to the site. The site offers a variety of wonderful resources that are interactive and informative. Each dot on the timeline connects to other times and places that relate to the chosen event. When you click "more info" you get a wealth of additional material including history, impact, people, multimedia and resources. The site is a "must see" for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement and the NAACP

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Civil War 150

This interactive site from the History Channel brings the American Civil War to you in a series infographics which identify key details about America's most tragic war. The people, the weapons, the deadliest battles, and economics behind the war are all shared in fascinating detail. Visitors can find out even more about the war by clicking "explore topics and vote" below the site's title. From here you will be presented with more topics and more information and you can vote on whether the topic left an important legacy.

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World-ology Maps

World-ology's offers a nice collection of interactive maps that cover European history from the Dark Ages to the Cold War period and modern Europe. There are currently a dozen maps to explore and each offers much more than just political lines and capitals. The maps all share detailed information on the topic when your mouse hovers over selected points. There are many options available including the ability to show modern political boundaries over the different historical maps. The site also offers timelines and articles as well.

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Three cool web tools for teachers

1- 365 Things to make you go Hmmmmm

365 Things to make you go hmm has nothing to do with the C&C Music Factory song. It is a resource from a site called Sparky Teaching that challenges students to think and respond to a question. 365 Things is a good warm up activity or or writing prompt. Students can leave their response on the website or teachers can display the question and have students respond at their desks on paper. Either way, 365 Things to make you go hmm is an good resource for any teacher to spark think, writing, or conversations within the classroom.

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2- eQuiz Show

When I first discovered eQuiz Show, I knew I had to write about it on this blog. eQuiz Show allows you to create online Jeopardy style games which you can use in the classroom or students can play them from home to review. Creating the games is very easy and you can always edit them at any time. A password is required to edit any quiz so no other user can edit your quiz unless they have your password. Teachers, if you are looking for an engaging way to review with your students, then really should give eQuiz Show a try.

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3- Embed Plus

Embed Plus is a tool that enhances viewing You Tube videos by giving you full control like you have with DVD players. Embed Plus allows you to fast forward, rewind, pause, instant replay/loop, play in slow motion, zoom, crop, and mark chapters. It is available as a Chrome extension or Word Press plug in and can also be embedded into a blog or website.  Check out Embed Plus and you will likely be changing the way you watch You Tube.

4 websites for creating student projects

1- Mural.ly
Mural.ly is a fantastic online tool that appears to be intended for business but would work really well in the classroom. The site allows you to create online poster like presentations by adding pictures, text, websites, documents, and a host of other bells and whistles. The site also allows others to collaborate on the poster with you by a simple email invite and then they can join in. Mural.ly is a great resource for group projects and it is free to join and free to use.

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2- Word Draw
Word Draw is a site that offers free professional looking templates for newsletters, flyers, labels, and resumes. The sites newsletter templates are categorized for education, business, family, holidays, and by month. The templates must be downloaded and are compatible for all versions of Microsoft Word.
These templates can also be utilized for a class newspaper, projects or even reports. If you desire professional looking documents and newsletters then head over to Word Draw and their excellent selection of Word based templates.

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3- Tackk
Tackk is a site I wrote about in one of my first blog posts and I thought it was worth mentioning again. Tackk allows you to create online posters that can be shared via email, social media or be embedded onto a webpage or blog. As soon as you arrive on the website you can start creating your poster by editing their ready made template. You can easily add a title, body text, pictures, videos, and even songs. You can add content from You Tube, Instagram, Vimeo, Sound Cloud, Hulu, and Spotify. Creating an online poster with Tackk is so easy to do. Check out their Tackkboard to see what other people have created. Teachers could also use Tackk and have students create online posters as a project. Tackk is free to join and it is one of those great websites that anyone can use and everyone will enjoy.

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4- Picovico
With Picovico, you can turn simple photographs into cool videos. Once you sign up (it's free) you begin by choosing a video template and then adding your pictures from Facebook, Flickr, or your computer. You can set the order of your pictures, add captions to them and add text slides if you wish. Next you add music, either from their library or add your own from your computer. Your last step is to add a video title and any additional text and you're done. Completed videos can be uploaded to You Tube or Facebook and can even be embedded into a website or blog. The site does have a 30 picture maximum but that is long enough for most people. If you like making great videos and sharing them with friends and family then give Picovico a try.

Media College - free resources for all types of electronic media

Media College is a website that provides free resources for all types of electronic media. If you want to learn about video, audio, photography, computers, lighting, graphics, or the internet, this site offers free tutorials and guides that most people will find useful. Media College also has a free media download section that contains sound effects, music, stock videos, and even website templates. They also have guides on a variety of topics related to electronic media such as journalism, copyright, and products. Media College provides a wide array of free resources that will be useful to anyone creating a project using electronic media or people who want to be better photographers and videographers.

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.

Pinterest Battle of the Decades - the 1970's

This is the decade of my childhood. My memories of the 1970's are the good kind that you are supposed to have when thinking about growing up. I was completely oblivious to any of the negativity that people often associate with the decade. I wasn't worried about gas shortages, Watergate, Vietnam, or that disco sucked. I was too busy being a kid and having fun.

The first 1970's Pinterest board I'd like to share is my own. I have put a great deal of time into accumulating over 300 pins that offer a fairly thorough representation of the decade.

There is this board by Mary Howells that has over 160 pins but what makes it stand out is the frequent detailed descriptions below the pictures. Plus, she has a video the legendary "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" commercial.

Check out this 1970's board by Deby Doerhoff. It contains over 300 pinned items and features many fashion and home interior pictures.

Finally, there is this very extensive 1970's board from Evreux France. It contains over 800 pins and covers all aspects of life in the 1970's. The highlight of this board is the extensive collection of videos featuring the best music from the decade.

From this point on I become a biased observer due to the fact that I was alive and kicking from this decade on. As stated earlier, my recollection of the 1970's was through the rose colored glasses of a child so I am far from a fair judge of this time period. Were the 70's your favorite? Comment below or at least participate in the poll at the top of the page.

Can I get a Woot Woot!

Today, I will be starting with a site called Zeen. This free site allows you to collect your favorite pictures and videos from the internet and add your text to create an interactive digital magazine that you can share with other people. This site could be used for school projects, invitations, online memory books, business portfolios, and advertising just to name a few options.

Woot is a personal favorite of mine. It isn't your typical shopping site because it doesn't offer a wide variety of products to purchase. Instead, it gives you one deal per day at a deep discount. While I usually don't buy their "deal of the day" I have been known to make purchases when it is something I really need or want. Woot has grown in popularity to where there is a wide variety of Woot sites including techWoot, sportWoot, homeWoot and even a wineWoot. If you have never heard of Woot, head on over and check it out.

"How 'bout cupcake?" is one of my all time favorite videos (very cute) but seriously  how about cupcakes? Here is a collection of 30 cupcake recipes from a site called Slow Robot. It includes pictures for each recipe and it will make you hungry as you look at all the choices. Happy baking.

Three is the magic number

Since I started this blog a few months ago I have been experimenting with how many resources I should share in any given entry. Sharing too many websites in a post may be overwhelming and you may not get the opportunity to explore all of the resources. I also want to be sure to include enough resources that each post will be a worthwhile read. I have shared as many as 10 websites and as few as , so I have come to the conclusion that three resources per entry is a good compromise.

The first resource is Publisher to PDF, which allows you to convert a Publisher document to a PDF file without scanning and without cost to you. Once you upload your file and submit your email, the site sends you the PDF via your email. It does a take a few steps but it works and it is free.

Today's second resource is called TV Schoolhouse which has a collection of "old time" educational videos. They are sorted by content area and could be another resource for the hard working teachers out there.

Finally, since holiday shopping is well underway, it is a good time to share the Gift Professor. If you have someone in your life who is difficult to shop for then this is the site for you. Gift Professor helps you to choose a gift for someone by asking you a few simple questions and then revealing a variety of gift choices. You can buy direct from their site or shop for the best price elsewhere.

The 2012 Election

I have two reactions to the fact that the election is only two days away. My first reaction is "thank God!" because this process is exhausting to watch. My other reaction is one of excitement and anticipation because it is historical, as are all elections. With that in mind I have a few election resources to share.

For anyone who is a political junkie or is interested in finding out more about this election there is 270 to Win which offers the latest in electoral projections, state by state polling, and more including election simulations.

At this website you will find videos of election coverage based on the three basic political points of view. The videos are sorted into collections with one labeled conservative, another is labeled liberal, and a third is labeled politically neutral. There is a fourth choice which is "watch it all" and videos from all three points of view will play. The videos come from various news and information sources, many of which are known for their strong political leanings.

The last of the three new resources is called Legistalker which sounds creepy but it is actually a useful site. This site tracks the Tweets, YouTube videos and other online activity of legislators from around the country. Just type your zip code in the search bar and it is supposed to show the three members of Congress that represent you (2 Senators, 1 House member). It got my Senators correct but it was wrong for my member of the House of Representatives. While the site clearly has some bugs to work out it is actually a good way for someone to keep tabs on what your elected representatives are doing. Many members of Congress use Twitter to communicate and if you aren't part of the Twitterverse, this site allows you to follow what they are saying.

Then there are some resources that I have shared before but they may be new to some such as I Side With which is a survey you take and it matches you with the candidate with whom you have the most in common. Try it and you may be surprised.

Lastly, I shared other resources in a previous post which can be found here.

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.