Archives: Resources

This is a quirky web site that can be used to generate random words, phrases, sentences, and whole paragraphs. Great for “use this word in a sentence” or … 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.

While aimed at younger students, the quiz is fun and can be taken by students (and teachers) of any age. It covers topics like Internet shopping, data backups, … learn more

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

Matt Cutts from Google explains how search engines work. Everything from spiders to quality ratings to the ads.

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

Zunal is one of the original Internet sites that allows you to create web quests quickly and easily. It’s also a great place to see what other teachers … 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.

Located in San Francisco, California, the Exploratorium is a public learning laboratory exploring the world through science, art, and human perception. We value lifelong learning, curiosity, and inclusion. … learn more

Bing has gotten high marks for its video search feature. Google and Yahoo also do video searches. Most of the results are YouTube videos. If you are not … learn more

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

USZip indexes geographic and demographic data by zip code or city name. Information includes population age and race distributions and income, employment and housing data. Sites like these … 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

BASE is one of the world’s most voluminous search engines especially for academic web resources. BASE indexes more than 150 million curated documents from more than 7,000 sources. … 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. When using a site like … 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.

How busy is the Internet? Way, way busy. Here’s a site that show’s you what’s happened so far today in real time.

The world wide web is just one way to access information through the internet. While it does represent a considerable portion of the internet, and is unquestionably the … learn more

The Internet is a child of the Cold War. It started with a question, “How could the US authorities successfully communicate after a nuclear war?” Here’s the story … learn more

Browse a replica of the the first website posted to the Internet. Use the line-mode browser simulator to see how the Web looked back when it was invented. … learn more

The internet is one of the most important tools in recent history, giving us access to countless amounts of information. Here’s a 3 1/2 minute history of how … learn more

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

Anyone, in theory, can publish on the Web. Therefore, it is imperative for students to develop a critical eye to evaluate the credibility of Internet information. Virginia Montecino … learn more

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.

How do I install it on a computer? You can download it directly from the PHP.net web site and install it yourself, or …

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

JSFiddle.net creates an interface in your web browser window where you can easily create, test, and share JavaScript programs. This video by Jason Diamond introduces JSFiddle and some … learn more

jQuery allows JavaScript to interact with the web browser. Everything from simple menus (like the one on this web site) to complex animations — jQuery drives a lot … 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.

Includes the Hour of Code one-hour introductory segments, and computer science fundamentals courses for all ages.

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

This review shows the Sphero SPRK Edition robot and SPRK app are a great introduction to robotics, coding, and STEM principles. The SPRK app lets kids give their … 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

Wanda Dann, Dennis Cosgrove and Caitlin Kelleher go into detail on the new version of Alice (3.0) and why you might want to use it in the classroom … learn more

Kodu lets kids create games on a PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem solving, storytelling, as well … learn more

This video shows you how to crate a basic game using Kodu. By layering on simple commands, you can create complex games.

Here’s an overview of the CS Unplugged project, where you learn about computer concepts without touching a computer.

CS Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. … learn more

Michelle has created a free, printable “Coding a LEGO Maze” activity that can grow with kids. No computers are used. Just paper and (optionally) a maze made of … learn more

Scratch for Educators.  Students can use Scratch to code their own interactive stories, animations, and games. In the process, they learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work … learn more

Scratch is an educational programming language and multimedia authoring tool developed by MIT. It can be used by pupils, teachers, and parents for a wide range of educational … learn more

Colleen Lewis has an extensive collection of YouTube videos on Scratch. This one shows how to get started with a simple guessing game. You can see how students … learn more

A video introduction produced by Paula Aguilera and the Scratch Team at the MIT Media Lab.

Marshall Brain looks at a number of different options for teaching kids about programming, from simple games (like Light Bot and Magic Pen) to working with robots and … learn more

Here is a fun site for younger children from the BBC. Takes them from the home row thru more advanced skills. Includes worksheets you can print out (make … learn more

What happens when you show kids 6 to 13 a typewriter. No, it’s not a computer that prints while you type.

Here are some more keyboard exercises and games from Crazy Games.

Fact Check has received many awards as a neutral and non-profit group. Located within the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania, it assesses the accuracy of U.S. … learn more

This HowStuffWorks page talks about the magic chip that changed everything.

Supporting weather and climate learning, The UCAR Center for Science Education provides online educational resources and professional development opportunities for educators. How does a cloud form? What’s a … learn more

Saurabh Narain is 12 years old, in 7th grade, and created a robot out of Legos and a microchip controller that can solve any Rubik’s Cube in about … learn more

HowStuffWorks includes a number of good articles on the workings of computers. How Bits and Bytes Work describes the basic element of computer technology — 1’s and 0’s.