12 Ways to Create Quizzes and Tests for Free

 With budgets being cut left and right, teachers are trying to find ways to administer quizzes and tests without exceeding their copy limit at school. (A ream of paper for the entire year??) I'll admit that it's hard to find a lot of truly "free" programs online which offer grading and statistics. My list also includes a survey app which can also be used for small quizzes. (20 question limit with free account)If you have any suggestions, please...

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All About Podcasting: 82 Sites Which Will Show You Everything You Need to Know

ABOUT PODCASTINGApple in Education Podcast GuideBeginner's Guide to Podcast CreationHow Podcasting Works- from How Stuff Works How to Create Your Own Podcast- step-by-step tutorialHow to Podcast- Audacity tutorialsMaking a Podcast- using iTunes to create a podcastPodcasting- explained by K12 HandheldsPodcasting Basics- from Teaching TodayPodcasting in the Classroom- includes...

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Sparknotes Videos Illustrate the Classics

While assisting a teacher yesterday with videos to explain Lord of the Flies, I came across Sparknotes videos. I knew that Sparknotes offered study guides in 19 subject areas, with detailed information from biology to U.S. government and politics, but was also pleasantly surprised that they also have videos which look like the drawings in graphic novels. (Kids love those graphic novels!) With a listing of 26 videos, language arts teachers can find...

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Library of Congress Has So Much to Offer Teachers!

A few summers ago, I took a wonderful course called Teaching Information Literacy Using Primary Sources.Using The Library of Congress' American Memory Collection, I was exposed to an incredible amount of information, including photos, maps, journals, audio tapes and videos. The name of the course has recently changed, but the content seems to be the same and is still taught by Mary Alice Anderson. Check here if you are interested. This digital collection...

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Thousands of Science Fair Project Ideas! Find Them on These 25 Web Sites

Agricultural Ideas For Science ProjectsAll Science Fair Projects- this site boasts that it has "hundreds of science fair projects"; all grade levelsAnimal Science Fair Project IdeasBiology and Chemistry Science Project IdeasDiscovery's Science Fair Central- everything you need to get you startedEarthquake Related Science Projects- from the US Geological SurveyFree Science Fair ProjectsIPL2 Science Fair Project Guide- step-by-step instructionsMake...

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Joyce Valenza at TEDxPhildelphiaED: See Sally Research

Teacher-Librarian Joyce Valenza teaches at Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, Pa. In addition to her job there she also writes a blog for School Library Journal entitled The Neverending Search. Having met her her at this year's Edcamp Philly unconference, I am very impressed with her passion for her work and what she has done for all teacher-librarians. Here is a speech she made on September 5, 2011 at TEDxPhiladelphia...

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Guidance Counselors: Here Are 15 Web Sites Where Students Can Compare Colleges

College Board Matchmaker- over 3,900 collegesCollege Finder-browse by location, major, degree; then compareCollege Navigator- site maintained by the National Center for Education StatisticsCollege Prowler- compare collegesCollege Results Online- compare colleges of your choiceCollegeSearchCollege Search Engine-search by school directory, program directory or by state and compareCollege SolvedGet Recruited- search technical, vocational and traditional...

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Have You Tried Backchanneling in Your Classroom? Why Not Try These 33 Web Sites and Videos!

Backchanneling: using networked computers to maintain real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks- WikipediaSeveral of the junior high school language arts teachers in my building have been using Edmodo with great success. It's great to see seventh graders excited about sharing ideas and communicating online. It doesn't hurt, of course, that Edmodo reminds the kids of Facebook.5 Ways to Use Twitter to Avoid a Backchannel Disaster-...

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Why You Should Get to Know LiveBinders: Here Are 33 Examples For School Librarians (and Other Tech Geeks)

If you've never seen a LiveBinder, let me introduce you to them. LiveBinders are your 3-ring binders for the web. Think of them as resource links in a virtual binder. LiveBinders is offered for free and allows you to add as many tabs as you like to your binder. The following are mainly for my fellow teacher-librarians and media specialists, but there are several that many of you tech geeks should love. NOTE: This post will also be added...

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Games Add Fun To Any Classroom: Try These 14 Sites For Game Templates

Game Templates- editing required and add your own contentGame Templates for Teachers- includes Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Weakest Link and Twenty QuestionsGames for the Classroom- many different PowerPoint gamesGames for the Science Curriculum- includes Science Jeopardy, Science Bingo, Science Baseball, Science PictionaryJeopardy Games- long list covers elementary, middle school and high school and includes many curriculum areasJeopardy...

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30 Websites Which Show the Pros and Cons of Social Networking and Students

Last year, one of our administrators asked me to compile a list of sites on pros and cons of social networking and students. The more information I gathered, the more I realized what an important post this would be for teachers. All of the infographics can also be found on the page I made for infographics. Here are  sites with information on the topic:7 Ways to Fix Rude Tween Behavior Anti-Bullying Programs- speakers for assemblies; online bullying...

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Infographics Page Updated

Several more infographics have been added by subject area....

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39 Sites For Using iPads in the Classroom

How Much Did Steve Jobs Change the World? You might be reading this on your iPhone, iPad or computer, but whether or not you have a Macintosh or a PC, Steve Jobs is responsible for so much of the technology we are using today. Did you know that Windows computers copied the drop-down window interface from Apple computers? Yes, all true. So today, when the power went out in the school...

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Oh, How Young Kids Love Dinosaurs! Here Are 33 Web Pages About Dinosaurs

When I worked as a media specialist in an elementary school, the most popular section  was 567.9, the Dewey number for dinosaurs. Most of the time it was a boy who checked out the dinosaur book, although now and again a girl asked for one. I even had a kindergartener who only wanted books on dinosaurs. Week after week he took another book from the section until there were no more left for him to choose. Today, dinosaurs are still very popular...

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