Archives: Resources

Columbia University in New York has mounted a site for wildlife preservation and monitoring environmental conditions. While the bulk of the resources have traditionally pertained to New York … learn more

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on … learn more

While Tony Phillips day job is Professor of Mathematics, he has an affinity for the songs and calls of New York State birds. The special attraction of this … learn more

For specialized tools and data important in the study of marine life look at the National Data Buoy Center via NOAA.

If you took the water out of salt water, would it just leave salt? Grant Thompson wanted to find out. Hint: It’s more than just NaCl (sodium chloride).

Just how deep does the ocean go? Way further than you think. This animation puts the actual distance into perspective, showing a vast distance between the waves we … learn more

Jeff (no last name) has compiled a time lapse video showing what it’s like to be on the ocean for 30 days, transporting cargo around Asia. Sailing in … learn more

Aquanauts fund the easiest way to study the health of marine organisms is by becoming their neighbors. The month-long project aimed to study the effects of global warming … learn more

The Ocean Science Education Institute deploys high quality curriculum and labs for middle school students by collaboration among universities, science centers, and teachers.

Bartleby has almost 400 titles of literature, reference and verse available for free online. Includes homework help for all subjects. The collection spans Henry Adams and Aesop to … learn more

Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s … learn more

Google has started a project to digitize whole libraries of books, with full on-line access available to those books that are out of copyright or where the author … learn more

The Southern Oregon Write Site (SOWS) project originated as support for the writing process, but evolved into an online discussion forum. What the Internet adds to the writing … learn more

The Concord Review publishes academic essays of high school students, especially on topics for college AP exams.

National Scholastic Press Association, with more than 1,350 members, is a national community of student journalists and scholastic journalism advisers. NSPA advances journalism and media as a vital … learn more

Purdue OWL offers over 200 free resources for a wide variety of student groups including ESL learners, junior high and high school students, adult education and even professional … learn more

How do you write a short story really quickly? Choose a style, opening and type of ending, name your character, choose a few adjectives and Plot Generator will … learn more

A well-told story can help a person see things in an entirely new way. It can change a law, inspire a movement, and make people care fiercely about … learn more

StudyGuide was created by Mrs. Adams, a teacher in Birmingham, Alabama. Lessons include how to write a research paper, note-taking, and examples from different genres. Keep up with … learn more

Outta Ray’s Head contains 250 very interesting lesson plans; in addition to Ray, lessons were developed and tested in classrooms. The literature and poetry sections are very good.

Use these free English teaching and learning resources for English, Literature, and ESL classes.

Poets’ Org contains a listening room as well as biographies and links. This site is more representative of American poetry than others and is a good research launchpad.

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is committed to helping educators countywide build capacity and confidence so they can provide high-quality, evidence-based instructional and assessment practices which … learn more

Clive Thompson has an interesting take on Minecraft and games like it. In addition to instilling spatial reasoning, math, and logic, it also teaches something else: good old-fashioned … learn more

This video looks at the origin of the term OK, tracing how a cheesy joke from the 1830s became the most widely spoken word in the world. A … learn more

The Encyclopedia Britannica has devoted a site to Shakespeare, including the remodeling of the Globe Theater and Elizabethan life. Different renowned actors read similar passages and it is … learn more

Welcome to Jane Reichhold’s world of poetry that will make you say, “Ah-ha!” as you discover and explore the many short-form genres of poetry AHA! POETRY utilizes the … learn more

Google Lit Trips, is an educational technology project of GLT Global ED. The site is not part of Google, but integrated Google Earth into it’s presentations. Their goal … learn more

Here’s an example Dreamtime Story. Fun for younger students and a great introduction to storytelling for older students.

Dreamtime Stories is a collections of folk tales from Australian aborigines, many never set to paper. The oral nature of these stories lend themselves better to new technologies … learn more

Lewis Carroll’s influence remains far-reaching today. His writings and ideas have sparked countless creative efforts of all kinds in all fields of the arts and sciences, all over … learn more

Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, believes that poetry is a vocal art, an art meant to be read aloud. Reading a poem silently … learn more

Explore over 15,000 computer terms and definitions. Learn the different between WiFi and Widget or Bits, Bytes and Bricked.

Understanding 16th century English can be a challenge for students. This site lists thousands of words, from abjure to wot, provides their definition, and shows where each word … learn more

Created by the Great Schools Partnership, the Glossary of Education Reform is a comprehensive online resource that describes widely used school-improvement terms, concepts, and strategies for journalists, parents, … learn more

If you ever wonder the meaning of an astronomical word, check out this site to find the definition of the space term, from Absolute Magnitude to Zodiacal Light … learn more

Roget’s Thesaurus has been re-imagined into this graphically rich site. Enter a word and search thru related words using tabs, sliders and word links. While not as animated … learn more

The Merriam-Webster dictionary was originally compiled by Noah Webster and has been a student standard for many decades. It is another example of the many dictionaries and thesauruses … learn more

The Free Dictionary combines a dictionary, thesaurus, medical dictionary, legal dictionary, financial dictionary, acronyms, idioms, and an encyclopedia into a single online reference. Check out the hangman’s game … learn more

Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White is a must-have for any … learn more

Here’s another view of a data center. Who knew that the Internet included man traps, a kitchen, cooling towers, and bathrooms … keeping your data secure and the … learn more

Wonder what “the cloud” really looks like. Here’s a look at a Google data center, one you can explore yourself, on the web.

You think of this web site as k12irc.org. Your computer or phone thinks of it as 165.140.71.129. How a web site name is converted to an Internet address … learn more

HowStuffWorks provides a more in-depth explanation in words and video.

A slightly tongue-in-cheek explanation from the BBC.

How big is the Internet? How about approaching 2 billion web sites! This page shows the growth of the Internet and the year some of your favorite web … learn more

The internet is not a fuzzy cloud. The internet is a wire, usually buried in the ground. Aaron Titus takes you on a journey, showing how your computer … learn more

This journal article compares the use of WebQuests with traditional instruction. While the results were mixed, with WebQuest, the students seemed to have more ownership and sense of … learn more

Leslie Lott created this walk through a few years back on using the WebQuest tool, Zunal.com. Using a tool like Zunal.com or QuestGarden.com, you can quickly create a … learn more

This article from the British Council shows how WebQuests can help students learn. The article covers… Defining a webquest Reasons for using webquests Structure of a webquest Producing … learn more

This post goes thru the process of creating a WebQuest step-by-step and looks at some of the attributes that will make your webquest a success. Have a “hook, … learn more

A set of short videos describing webquests and how to make them.

I’m happy to formally announce that CC Search (with the new name Openverse) is now part of the WordPress open source project. Both Matt and I are long-time … learn more

Baidu – China’s version of Google – provides image search. While the site is in Chinese, it will easily process English search terms.

Google Images has indexed millions of images on the Internet. Odds are you can find an image for just about any topic here. Bing and Yahoo can also … learn more

Abbreviations.com is a large and comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the Internet. Abbreviations.com holds hundreds of thousands of entries organized by a … learn more

Freesound is a good place to search for sound files. Its goal is to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, and bleeps, … all … learn more

Carrot2 takes search results and assigns them into thematic folders. Search on a topic like 3D Printing to see it in action. It was created originally as a … learn more

Back when the Internet was starting, Yahoo was the go-to search web site. Yahoo still maintains an independent web search engine that provides good results.

Bing is another popular search engine which many prefer. Try a few and see which one you like.

Compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledge base, and AI technology Wolfram|Alpha is a fundamentally different way to get knowledge and answers, processing questions rather than matching … learn more

Google is our webmaster’s preferred search web search site. For better results, click on the the gear icon when searching and check the following settings… : SafeSearch : … learn more

DuckDuckGo does not track or store anything about your searches. They do not profile users and show all users the same search results for a given search term. … learn more

Google groups is a great resource for crowd-sourced answers. No matter what the topic, there’s an answer – and group – out there. Want to quickly start a … learn more

Bing also offers a safe search option. You can implement it using these directions.

PBS is another example of a wide-ranging content site that’s safe for students to search. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET), have been … learn more

Another safe avenue for allowing students to do their own searches of discovery is to search one of the larger wide ranging content sites, like The Smithsonian Institution. … learn more

Similar to KidzSearch, with keyword and site blocking, the site is appropriate and formatted for younger students.

KidzSearch combines Google safe search with a constantly updated list of blocked keywords and site names to provide safe search results for students. (Not recommended for the youngest … learn more

When searching within a specific domain, remember to check out the domain’s journal and magazine web sites. Many offer searchable indexes of articles and resources to speed your … learn more

Matt Cutts, a software engineer at Google, provides tips for better web searching.

The Multnomah Library Homework Center provides a list of primary sources for a wide range of subjects and topics. Historical research relies on documents and artifacts that date … learn more

You can use search operators and other punctuation to get more specific search results. A fast way to focus your results with just a few keystrokes.

Google has a few tips and tricks to help you easily find information.

Here’s another web page to spring on students. Makes a fun and engaging introduction to the topic of information evaluation.

Snopes is a well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors on the Internet. It is a great source for identifying and debunking urban legends and similar stories … learn more

The U.C. Berkeley Library has developed a methodology for evaluating the quality of resources and evaluate their authority and appropriateness for your project. Useful for both students and … learn more

S.O.S. for Information Literacyis a dynamic web-based multimedia resource that includes peer-reviewed lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos and other resources to enhance the teaching of information literacy (K-16).

Dihydrogen Monoxide is one of the most dangerous chemicals in existence. It causes death and severe tissue damage, is a major component of acid rain, causes severe burns, … learn more

You don’t have to be a science news junkie to find yourself constantly confronted with scientific facts and factoids. The truth is slippery, and it’s not always graspable … learn more

If you are looking for an alternative to WampServer or want to use a different operating system, this up-to-date list can guide you.

Editing PHP files can be done with any text editing program, like Windows’ built in NotePad editor or one of a number of free, open-source options. Our webmaster … learn more

Another good starting point for learning PHP is this entertaining tutorial series written in part by Vikram Vaswani.

W3Schools has a good introduction to PHP, as well as other web technologies like HTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and XML.

Google Maps includes satellite zooming in and out as part of its map service. Your younger students will get a kick out of finding their home and school. … learn more

W3Schools’ tutorial starts with a simple Display Date button and goes thru the language step-by-step. The built in Try It Yourself buttons allow you to see and modify … learn more

This video teaches some basic programming concepts using JavaScript. It introduces programming using RoboBob (worth watching just for that) and goes on to show how you can start … learn more

Here is an index to Code.org resources broken out by age range, plus links to additional videos and resources.

Find the right learning opportunity for you, Explore the world of computer science with engaging videos, self-paced tutorials, programming activities, and more for all ages and experience levels!

This news report by CBS News includes an overview of what happens in the classroom and how kids are engaged.

Code.org, sponsor of CSEdWeek, is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Their vision is that … learn more

Here’s an overview of what Code.org can offer, why it’s important, and how it works.

This web site allows you to create fully functional applications for Android cell phones. It uses a variant of Scratch, the drag and drop programming language. While App … learn more

This video introduces MIT App Inventor, which allows anyone to create Android apps using just your cell phone or tablet and a web browser using a variant of … learn more

Alice is an innovative block-based programming environment that makes it easy to create animations, build interactive narratives, or program simple games in 3D. Unlike many of the puzzle-based … learn more