The Top 101 Web Sites for Teachers

The Exploratorium is one of the best science museums in the world. Period.

They also have an excellent online presence through interactive versions of their in-house exhibits and much more on their web site. (don’t click the button on the main page that says “Don’t Push This Button” :-)

A good example of that “much more” is the Teacher Institute Teaching Tips podcast.

Created by science teachers who have participated in the Exploratorium’s summer programs, these five minute audio programs offer “hands-on activities, science facts, science history, pedagogy tips for new teachers, or other ideas for your science classroom”.

In addition to downloading individual shows, the page also offers links to subscribe in iTunes or any other podcast management program.

Since April 1 they have been posting one podcast a week and seem to be planning to maintain that pace for the foreseeable future.

Incidentally, if you’d like to apply to attend one of their summer institutes, contact information is at the bottom of the podcast main page.

Posted on May 3rd, 2009
Filed In: Science & Math

Ok, this entry could be a little controversial but if you teach science, especially anything related to biology, the topic of evolution will probably come up.

Assuming you want to teach the topic from a strictly scientific perspective, the University of California Museum of Paleontology has put together an excellent resource: Understanding Evolution for Teachers.

The site has a simple layout which starts with the basics and includes a section on the misconceptions that arise when discussion evolution.

Each section features short essays on the topic and also includes lesson plans for teaching about it.

While the site is designed for teachers, the information and reading level is appropriate for high school students to use directly.

Posted on April 18th, 2009
Filed In: Science & Math

Last month we told you about how you could follow a team of explorers as they made their way across the Arctic.

This month a team from the National Geographic Society is exploring “the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean”, the southern Line Islands in the Pacific and you can follow them as well at Ocean Now.

The site features regular updates through their blog along with excellent photography, video, and interactive maps.

Another good example of how your students can virtually travel with science explorers all over the world.

Posted on April 8th, 2009
Filed In: Science & Math

A fascinating example of international exploration is now going on and there are many ways for teachers and students to follow along with.

The Catlin Arctic Survey is an international collaboration between polar explorers and some of the world’s foremost scientific bodies. It seeks to resolve one of the most important environmental questions of our time: How long will the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice cover remain a permanent feature of our planet?

The trip began in February and is slated to take around 100 days.

There’s plenty of information about the expedition on the web site, of course, but members are also communicating with the world using a variety of web 2.0 tools including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more.

You can also download a layer for Google Earth (kml file) and follow their progress in that program.

This is a great example of how scientists can use the internet in creative ways to make their work understandable and important to the rest of the world.

Posted on March 18th, 2009
Filed In: Around the World, Science & Math

A quick look at a few interesting and/or new online exhibits from around the web.

America by Air looks at the history of commercial air travel in the US. It includes lots of pictures and a collection of interactive activities. Look Behind the Scenes to see how the physical exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum was created.

Blue Wales is a site to accompany the program Kingdom of the Blue Wales which premieres Sunday, March 8th on the National Geographic Channel (and which will probably be repeated many times after that). A small collection of excellent photographs and one or two video clips from the program.

Islam in Southeast Asia is based on a book by the Asia Society. You can purchase the book for $25 or use this site which contains all the materials. The resources cover the history and culture and mixes wonderful photographs with video, animation and interactive maps.

Finally, this one isn’t designed for students but includes materials that would be great for high school economics or government. Frontline, the excellent PBS documentary series, recently produced a program on the economic problems so much in the news called Inside the Meltdown. The site includes the full program in segments along with lots of great supplementary materials.

Posted on March 6th, 2009
Filed In: General Resources

With the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln coming up next week, the Library of Congress has added a small collection of photographs of our 16th president to the Commons section of the flickr photo sharing site.

Each has extensive notes about where and when the picture was taken and all carry no known copyright restrictions.

The notes on the main page of this collection also include links to more portraiture of Lincoln as well as to an article about the science and mechanics of early photography.

For much more on Lincoln, including links to more information and teaching resources than anyone could ever use, visit the Library’s official Lincoln Bicentennial site.

Posted on February 7th, 2009
Filed In: US History & Government

Panoramas.dk is a wonderful web site that offers 360° interactive photographs of cities and attractions all over the world. They recently began assembling a virtual tour of the USA.

On the map, click on a marker to see the name of the attraction and a thumbnail of the image. Click the link to open the full panorama.

Click and drag inside the image to move around or use the controls in the lower right corner. Also in the corner is a button to make the image full-screen.

You’ll need a fast connection to download the pictures and an up to date Flash player to view and use the interactivity.

At the time this is written, there are 23 locations posted but check back frequently for new panoramas from the USA.

Posted on January 26th, 2009
Filed In: General Resources, Information & Current Events

The Smithsonian is a big place, both the physical buildings in Washington DC and their web site. To make it easier for visitors to find materials in their American history collection, the museum has created the History Explorer.

On the main page you can search for materials based on key words, appropriate grade level, the type of resource you need, and/or the historical era. In addition, they provide an interactive time line to assist finding things along with a separate search tool for interactive activities and other media.

If you’d rather wander through the virtual stacks, the site offers several opportunities for browsing history. Starting on the main page you’ll find a random artifact that changes daily along with today’s top 10 resources.

For educators, there is a section of lesson plans and activities as well as one for professional development opportunities.

The History Explorer is one of the newer pieces of Thinkfinity, a consortium of ten learning sites sponsored by the Verizon Foundation. The Thinkfinity search engine makes it easy to find instructional materials within all of them.

Posted on January 9th, 2009
Filed In: US History & Government

Next week, November 16 – 22, 2008, is Geography Awareness Week and MyWonderfulWorld.org is celebrating with a new collection of resources and activities for helping kids learn about their world.

Each weekday has a different theme beginning with Cultures on Monday and continuing with Environments, Geo Technologies, Global Hotspots, and Careers.

Look for lots of great pictures, overlays for Google Earth, interactive activities, games, and plenty of teacher materials to help you make use of it all in the classroom.

Realistically there is more here than can fit in one week but don’t worry about it disappearing. This feature-rich site will stay around for quite a while along with the materials from previous years and more. Dig in!

Posted on November 14th, 2008
Filed In: Around the World, Information & Current Events

We in the US have just finished an historic election, one that resonated around the world.

People have posted all kinds of information about the events surrounding the election of Barack Obama to be the next American president but nothing is more powerful than pictures.

One of the best is Bernie Dodge’s set of front pages for the day after the election from newspapers all over the world. The images are posted on flickr and you can watch the slide show or see each picture individually.

The shots of the newspaper front pages were captured from the always excellent Newseum which posts the front pages of more than 600 papers in almost 60 countries.

Also on flickr, is an excellent set of behind-the-scenes pictures of Obama and his family taken the night of the election. It’s a large collection but the candid nature of the photos offers a glimse into the news that we have rarely had before.

Posted on November 8th, 2008
Filed In: Information & Current Events, US History & Government