Character Education, K-12

http://www.learn360.com
Learn360 has recently video clips from recent Hollywood films with content related to friendship, self-esteem, respect, bullies, families, conflict management, etc.
Teachers can use the video clips with advisory groups, guidance/counseling, health education, and when studying themes in literature.

A Christmas Story
A Walk to Remember
Adams Family
Akeelah & the Bee
Ant Bully
Antwone Fisher
Antz
Apollo 13
Babe
Back to the Future
Batman Begins
Bend it Like Beckham
Big Fat Liar
Billy Madison
Born on the Fourth of July
Boundin'
Bridge to Terabithia
Bringing Down the House
Chariots of Fire
Charlotte's Web
Cheaper by the Dozen
Coach Carter
Cool Runnings
Dead Poets Society
Drumline
Eight Men Out
Fellowship of the Ring
Finding Nemo
Forrest Gump
Glory
Great Outdoors
Hoot
Ice Age
Incredibles
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
Into the Arms of Strangers
It's a Wonderful Life
Jimmy Neutron
Kicking & Screaming
Legend of Bagger Vance
Liar Liar
Mean Girls
Mighty Ducks
Monsters, Inc.
Napoleon Dynamite
Parenthood
Pay it Forward
Remember the Titans
Return of the King
Rookie
Sandlot
Saving Private Ryan
School of Rock
Seabiscuit
Secret Life of Zoey
Shrek
Skyhigh
Spirit of America
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Teen Wolf
Truman Show
War
War Games
Wizard of Oz
World Trade Center
X-Men

Virtual Field Trips, K-8

http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org/
Children's book author and former teacher Donna Guthrie has launched Meet Me at the Corner, a web site that allows students to create original videos, virtual field trips, and podcasts to add to an expanding collection started by the site's creators. It was developed to allow kids to meet fascinating people from all over the world. New educational, kid-friendly episodes are uploaded every two weeks.

Examples:
--November 16: visit New York City to learn about the history of knitting and crocheting
--December 1: visit New York City to meet a working clown
--December 14: interview with the National Yo-Yo champion

Braingle, K-12

http://www.braingle.com
This site has over 20,000 brainteasers, riddles, logic problems, quizzes, and mind puzzles submitted and ranked by users. Braingle can be a useful teaching tool for all educators who are working on integrating creativity and critical thinking into instruction. Includes advertisements.

Students Creating Videos, K-12

Classroom Video: Tools and Strategies to Engage Students in Learning (written by Sony) was recently released as an e-book, http://newbay.ebookhost.net/tl/sony/1/. It addresses some of information literacy and visual literacy skills required for an informed citizenry. As you read about the strategies and ways to engage students, remember that students have access to editable videos in both DEStreaming and Learn360—go to advanced search and click the box to limit the video type.

Glogster Edu, K-12

http://edu.glogster.com
This is a handy, easy-to-use visual learning tool. Glogster is a multimedia collage-building platform—think of interactive posters or collaborative class projects. You can add graphics, text, images, video, and sound. There is now an education version that removes many of the privacy and inappropriate content issues that teachers previously encountered when trying to use Glogster in the their classrooms. The new Glogster Edu is hosted separately from the commercial version. Glogster Edu also provides teachers with a virtual classroom space in which they can manage the accounts of up to 200 students.

Current Events and World View, 7-12

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/
Each morning, almost 800 newspapers from around the globe send the front page of their newspaper to the Newseum, which posts these original, unedited pages online. Newspaper pages can be viewed as a gallery, list, or map, and may be sorted by region or continent. Front pages can be downloaded as a PDF. There is a newspaper archive where newspaper front pages are grouped by “events of historical significance.” Includes the Des Moines Register, Marshalltown Times-Republican, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Dubuque Telegraph Herald, and Sioux City Journal.
Imagine the possibilities when talking about bias, information literacy, points of view, the relationship between the press and democracy, etc.
Newseum can be used in social studies, English, communications, science, journalism, foreign language instruction, etc.

VoiceThread, K-12

http://voicethread.com/about/blog/2010/20100928/
Look at some new articles in the Digital Library on how it can be used in teaching and learning. You can embed a VoiceThread in Glogster (see the related article). Examples:
• online course (for teacher professional development or to teach students)
• 10th grade Chinese language practice
• 7th graders practice math in action
• 4th graders study plants in collaboration with Pakistani students

American Time Use Survey, 7-12

http://www.bls.gov/tus
The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) provides statistics and graphical data on the amount of time Americans spend on various activities: watching TV, eating, and working in the yard. Use the ATUS tables or charts to find statistics by either demographic characteristic (older Americans or students, for example) or area of activity (such as work, leisure, or sleep). If existing tables and charts are not sufficient, microdata files from 2003–8 can be freely downloaded for additional analysis. Supporting documentation explains how the government uses the data.
Imagine how you could use ATUS in math, social studies, consumer and family science, and guidance.

Louvre Museum Virtual Tour, 6-12

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp?bmLocale=e
Students can navigate their way through the hallways. By right clicking, you can zoom in on a display. Virtual tours are available for these departments:
• Near Eastern Antiquities
• Egyptian Antiquities
• Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
• Islamic Art
• Sculptures
• Decorative Arts
• Paintings
• Prints and Drawings
• Architectural Views
• Medieval Louvre

Speech Accent Archive, K-12

http://accent.gmu.edu/
The Speech Accent Archive is a teaching and research tool for linguists, ESL teachers, and anyone interested in the accents of various English speakers. It provides short audio recordings of native and non-native speakers of English saying the same English paragraph. Basic demographic information, such as age, place of birth, and languages spoken, are provided for each speaker. Phonetic transcriptions and linguistic analysis of the recordings are available. Users need to download a free Apple QuickTime plug-in to hear the recordings. The Archive is a project of the Linguistics Program in the Department of English, the College of Arts and Science’s Technology across the Curriculum Program, and the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

LIFE photo archive, K-12

http://images.google.com/hosted/life
This is an amazing resource that is a collaboration between Google and LIFE. Millions of photos are available to learn about U.S. history and world events. Many of the photos were never published. Users can search by keyword, browse by decade, or explore featured events, people, or places. Names of photographers and the dates that photos were taken are identified. With images ranging from the 1750s to the 2000s, the site will be popular with users wanting images with historical context.

Primary Sources, 6-12

http://docsteach.org
The National Archives opened a new web resource called Docs Teach. It includes over 3,000 primary sources along with tools to use them in the classroom. Users can also browse by primary source type (audio/video, charts/graphs/data, image, map, or written document) or check out a collection of featured documents. There are pre-made activities, which can be clicked through online, or printed out and completed on paper. For example, take a look at the “What Kind of Leader Was General Douglas MacArthur?” lesson. The landing page gives teachers information about what students will see, in this case, “video clips, photographs, and written documents related to General Douglas MacArthur,” what they will learn, and how they will complete the activity. The MacArthur activity uses 10 primary resources, including military orders, photographs, video, and more. Students analyze each source and then “weigh the evidence” and consider what this information says about MacArthur.

The sources on the site are organized into eight historical eras:
• Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
• Expansion and Reform (1801–61)
• Civil War and Reconstruction(1850–77)
• The Development of the Industrial United States (1870–1900)
• The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
• The Great Depression and World War II (1929–45)
• Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
• Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)

PBS on iPad, K-12

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pbs-for-ipad/id398349296?mt=8
A free iPad app was released October 25. It features more than 300 videos, including full-length episodes and documentaries, segments and previews with new content updated daily.

Free Online Collaborative Whiteboard, K-12

http://cosketch.com/
This is a multi-user online whiteboard tool designed to give users the ability to quickly visualize and share their ideas as images. Anything they create will show up for all other users in real time. Just click once to save a sketch as an image for embedding on forums, blogs, or other digital files. Like the name implies, users can collaborate using different draw and shape tools and they can type messages in a collaborative fashion. The originator can pick from several backgrounds, upload a picture as a background, or use maps found in Google Maps as the background. This collaborative tool also includes a chat window so all users can chat as they sketch, type, and use various shapes and stamps. This tool can be used to encourage students and colleagues to brainstorm ideas, share a sketch, collaborate on a drawing, mix pictures with text, or import a background and share.

Stay Up-to-Date in Your Field, K-12

The Search Alert service is a powerful teaching/learning/organizing tool. It is available for (most of) the EBSCO databases. Teachers can use it to develop units or to contribute to their continuous professional development. Students can use it for big research projects or to stay up-to-date on a personal topic of interest.

Let’s say you want to track a topic for an entire school year or want some assistance in finding resources to keep current on a topic you’re teaching. Let’s use the example of a secondary teacher trying to stay up-to-date on African culture. You can create a search profile in most of the EBSCO online databases (except Student Research Center) and then receive an e-mail daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly with new magazine and/or newspaper articles on the topic; or receive an RSS feed.

Follow these steps or watch the silent demonstration video.

Go to http://search.ebscohost.com
--Enter the online database username/password assigned to your school (this step might be optional depending on IP).
--Click Sign In and create your own personal account.
--Click Choose Databases and click the boxes next to the appropriate databases and click Continue. For the African culture search, we’ll choose Advanced Placement Source, History Reference Center, MasterFILE Premier, Newspaper Source, Newspaper Source Plus, TOPICsearch.
--Enter your search topic—note the various search options of full-text, peer reviewed, reading level, journal name, etc.
--Click Search.
--Peruse your results in case the search strategy needs to be changed.
--Click Alert/Save/Share in the blue bar.
--Choose E-mail Alert. Add your e-mail information and select your settings.
--Click Save Alert.

Famous Artists DVDs, 3-8

Two new DVDs have been added to the Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series: Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt. This series mixes animation with photographs of the actual works. The DVDs are available for checkout through media reservations.

Andy Warhol #808830
Claude Monet #805077
Da Vinci #808039
Edgar Degas #810068
Mary Cassatt #810091
Michelangelo #808038
Rembrandt #808040
Van Gogh #805078

Brothers Grimm DVDs, K-8

This new DVD series adapts these famous stories to more modern and multicultural settings. The DVDs are available for checkout through media reservations.

Ashpet: an American Cinderella #810063
This live-action version of "Cinderella" is set in the rural South in the early years of World War II.

Jack and the dentist’s daughter #810065
African American actors in period costumes and vintage cars re-enact a version of the Grimms' comic story, "The Master Thief," in a small 1930s American town.

Hansel & Gretel, The frog king, and Bearskin #810066
Hansel & Gretel are sent in Appalachia; Frog king is set in an upper-lcass, late 19th century dining room; Bearskin is set during the Civil War.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel; The goose girl; and Bristlelip #810067
Rapunzel is set in America in 1900, Goose girl is 17th century America, and Bristlelip in federalist Virginia in 1815.

Willa: an American Snow White #810064
The setting is early 20th century America.

Science of Disney Imagineering DVDs, 6-12

The Walt Disney Imagineers demonstrate how they use the engineering design process throughout Disney's theme parks. Four new DVDs have be added to this series: Design and Models, Electricity, Energy, Friction. The DVDs are available for checkout through media reservations.

Animal adaptations: communication #809644
Design and models #810056
Electricity #810054
Energy #810057
Fluids #810055
Friction #810053
Gravity #809177
Levers and pulleys #809176
Magnetism #809645
Newton’s 3 laws of motion #809646
Trajectory #809175

American Presidents DVDs, 6-12

These Disney programs feature 2-4 minute biographies. The DVDs are available for checkout through media reservations
1945-2010: Postwar United States and contemporary United States #810062
1890-1945: The emergence of modern America / The great depression / WW II #810061

Rosetta Stone® Software, K-12

The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) has negotiated an extension of the special rate for Rosetta Stone® Classroom licenses to December 15, 2010. There will be a demonstration of the software at the Heartland Learning Center, November 17, 1:00-4:00. Please contact Franklin Moomaw to register or to schedule a personalized consultation, BMoomaw@rosettastone.com or 800-788-0822, ext. 7866.

Edward Cullen Died From the Flu, 7-12

Twilight fans know about the famous vampire. Do they know the back story? Do you suppose Edward was toe-tagged before his death like thousands of others? What caused the 1918 flu pandemic? What’s the connection to WWI? What was it like to live through it? How did medical needs and the war effort clash? American History in Video has a fascinating video called Influenza 1918 that includes primary source information and survivor interviews. You can:
• view the video full-screen
• view the video half-screen and read the written transcript on the side
• keyword search in the transcript to go directly to the exact video frame
• print the transcript and use as a dramatic reading
• embed the URL in a wiki or class homepage
• create a playlist

Use the online database username/password assigned to your school.
http://ahiv.alexanderstreet.com/View/654043

BP Oil Spill, 7-12

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/oilspill
Want to link science, social studies or political science content to the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill? Check out the collection of free resources gathered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). There are teaching suggestions for different grade levels, videos of the gulf coast ecosystem, an interactive map showing the spread of the spill, and links to online lessons on everything from how ecosystems naturally purify water (including a virtual tour of an “urban river”) to role-plays on the tradeoffs between development and preservation of the environment. There is also a collection of news articles on the science of the oil spill.
Remember the additional online resources provided by Heartland for teachers and students at home and at school. There are resources on the BP Oil Spill in each of these databases: EBSCO, Discovery Education Streaming, SIRS Researcher, World Book. Go to Com Cat at http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com to search all these databases at the same time.

You Can’t Argue With the Numbers, 7-12

http://numbrary.com/
Numbrary® is a free online service dedicated to finding, using, and sharing numbers. It includes economic indicators about inflation, employment, wages, manufacturing, etc. This site has a good set of links to statistics of all kinds, including material from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The World Factbook, and more. Find data on topics such as global warming, inflation, employment, corporate debt, and many other current issues. While you can't argue with the numbers, your students can certainly use them to argue.

American History, 5-8

http://www.mission-us.org/
Mission US is an innovative multimedia project that features free online interactive games covering events in U.S. history, and related web resources to support game play and classroom teaching. Students are invited to be "players" during pivotal eras in the country’s past. Brought to you by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Hollywood Film Clips for Character Education, K-12

http://www.learn360.com
124 video clips are available online at Learn360. You can embed a hyperlink in a wiki or class homepage. Students will be prompted for the online database username/password assigned to your school to view the video clip.

A Christmas Story
A Walk to Remember
Adams Family
Akeelah & the Bee
Ant Bully
Antwone Fisher
Antz
Apollo 13
Babe
Back to the Future
Batman Begins
Bend it Like Beckham
Big Fat Liar
Billy Madison
Born on the Fourth of July
Boundin'
Bridge to Terabithia
Bringing Down the House
Chariots of Fire
Charlotte's Web
Cheaper by the Dozen
Coach Carter
Cool Runnings
Dead Poets Society
Drumline
Eight Men Out
Fellowship of the Ring
Finding Nemo
Forrest Gump
Glory
Great Outdoors
Hoot
Ice Age
Incredibles
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
Into the Arms of Strangers
It's a Wonderful Life
Jimmy Neutron
Kicking & Screaming
Legend of Bagger Vance
Liar Liar
Mean Girls
Mighty Ducks
Monsters, Inc.
Napoleon Dynamite
Parenthood
Pay it Forward
Remember the Titans
Return of the King
Rookie
Sandlot
Saving Private Ryan
School of Rock
Seabiscuit
Secret Life of Zoey
Shrek
Skyhigh
Spirit of America
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Teen Wolf
Truman Show
War
War Games
Wizard of Oz
World Trade Center
X-Men

Deployment, K-12

Here are just a few resources to help students:
Operation Military Kids Backpacks
These bookbags contain activities books to foster resiliency in Iowa students who have a loved one deployed or in the military. The books and activities will help students cope with separation issues, develop problem-solving skills, learn about other cultures and geographical regions, and build pride for their military family members. Reserve online or call reservations:
Grades Prek-K #255986
Grades 1-4 #255984
Grades 5-8 #255985
Grades 9-12 #255986

Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployments
This DVD will help young children and families understand that they are not alone as they experience separation. Features Sesame Street Characters. DVD #255979

Mr Poe and Friends Discuss Family Reunion After Deployment
This DVD helps families deal with deployment separation stress. It was written and performed by children and their parents who have experienced deployment and present common family scenarios. The DVD includes a 30 minute video, facilitator's guide with suggested discussion questions, and informational handouts. For ages 6-11. DVD #255980

Military Youth Coping with Separation: When Family Members Deploy
This DVD will help adolescents understand that they are not alone as they experience family separation. It provides tools for students to begin to understand and cope with their feelings and emotions related to military deployment. DVD #255981

Children’s/Young Adult Books
Heartland has some excellent fiction and nonfiction books and picture books that may help students understand different cultures. Examples:
Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad
Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle
Midnight Tales: A Woman’s Journey Through the Middle East
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story From Iraq
The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella
Count on Us: American Women in the Military
Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (graphic novel)
14 Cows for America
Count Your Way Through Afghanistan
Life Under the Taliban
Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea
Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan
Parvana’s Journey
The Roses in My Carpets
Under the Persimmon Tree
Welcome Afghanistan
The Breadwinner
My Name Was Hussein
The White Nights of Ramadan
The Best Eid Ever
Coming to America: A Muslim Family’s Story

Early Childhood Reading Support, PreK-3

http://www.worldbookonline.com
Early World of Learning is a new database from World Book Online. Log in with the online database username/password assigned to your school. Students can also use Early World at home. If you advertise to parents, be sure to protect the username/password—don’t post on the Internet, or include in a school newsletter (print or electronic) that might be circulated to the community at large. The basic content (and, many stories are in Spanish):
favorite children’s stories read aloud
download the audio story
interactive games and activities
fun facts
numbers, size, sequencing, shapes, time, opposites
colors
place

Teachers and parents will find value in finding just the right story or activity for those special events: riding a bus, reading a map, going to the doctor, seasons, feelings, sharing, loosing a tooth, bike safety, show and tell, birthdays, pets, family, moving, etc.

Educator features:
the read-aloud book has a Lexile scale
download a little foldable book
links to standards
Spanish language text and reading

Click here for a teacher and parent handout.

KU Writing Center, 9-12

http://www.writing.ku.edu/
This University of Kansas site offers writing support for students in the form of writing guides. Although it is designed for KU students, secondary students and teachers will find many useful resources. Writing is an important skill that requires practice and support while learning. The Students section offers many resources, including guides created by the writing professionals at KU’s Writing Center, that cover such topics as academic essays, grammar and usage, and avoiding plagiarism. Students can also view writing samples in the gallery or use the assignment planner to put the writing process in a timeline for completing a research paper on time. Teachers wanting to incorporate more writing into their curriculum can find resources and information on a wide variety of topics.

Webinars for Using Google Apps, K-12

http://groups.google.com/group/IA-Teach-GApps-UserGroup
Join this user group for support, tips, Q/A, and free training on using 2.0 applications in your classroom. You don’t have to have Google e-mail to use these apps or to participate in the group. Free 1-hour webinars begin at 3:30. All live webinars will be accessible at http://iowaec.na4.acrobat.com/googleapps and do not require a pre-registration.
October 21 - Using Google Docs
November 11 - Using Gmail
December 16 - Using Google Groups

Twitter—Why and How?

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/How-to-Start-Tweeting-and-Why/26065/
This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses how Twitter is more than following celebrities—you can actually use it for instruction and for your own professional development. It also explains how to get started.

Twitter—Professional Development

http://www.uwstout.edu/static/profdev/blog/twitter_favorites.html
The University of Wisconsin-Stout has listed some national educators and innovators that you might want to follow. Remember, you don’t have to send a Tweet, you can just follow. Examples: collaborative learning, online learning, digital storytelling, instructional design, Web 2.0, etc.

Twitter--Rubric

http://www.uwstout.edu/static/profdev/rubrics/Twitter_Rubric.html
This rubric may be used for assessing use of Twitter for instruction. It addresses content, frequency, hyperlinks, mechanics, comments and contributions.

Twitter—Professional Learning Network

http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=2547
This article in District Administration talks about the importance of following vetted educators and participating in a national/international PLN. Includes hyperlinks to education experts.

Twitter—Search

http://search.twitter.com/
Enter a name, organization, or topic. It’s not updated in real time, but lets you know when there’s a new tweet that matches your interests.

Twitter—Directory

http://justtweetit.com/
Browse the listings of the education directory to find other Twitter users that share your interests or add your own listing. Click the hyperlink to view some recent tweets before you add them.

Learn How to Use Web 2.0 Tools, K-12

http://www.classroom20.com/
To learn about Web 2.0 programs and resources, visit Classroom 2.0. Sign up and access all resources and support free from other teachers. This site is especially for those teachers who are beginners in using Web 2.0 resources. Links to just about every educational resource are provided. The site also hosts free workshops and a weekly Saturday webinar where teachers can listen to, read about, and learn about all the programs.

EBSCO Mobile, K-12

We’ve had requests to re-post the instructions for adding the EBSCO Mobile icon to your smart phone or iTouch. The app works with Android, Blackberry, DellAxim, iPhone, Palm750.
1. On your device, go to http://search.ebscohost.mobi/
2. Click the + button on your browser toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
3. On the options menu, select Add to Home Screen.
4. Type in a name for your icon and click Add.

Lesson Plans on the WWW, K-12

http://www.thegateway.org/
The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) is a one-stop source for high-quality Internet lesson plans, curriculum units, and other educational resources. It currently contains over 24,000 education resources. This extensive collection is categorized by subject area and grade level, and is keyword searchable. Each collection is reviewed and must meet certain standards to be included in the Gateway. Search results provide a comprehensive list of annotated links. Each record provides a "more info" option that provides the complete GEM review and gives a short description of the resource, including author, title, and location.

FREE Lesson Plans on the Internet, K-12

http://free.ed.gov
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) is among the most popular K-12 web sites maintained by the U.S. Department of Education because it makes it easy to find teaching and learning resources from the federal government. These resources are made available by 60-plus government agencies, from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to the U.S. Mint. The materials include animations, primary documents, photos, and videos. A detailed subject map allows searching by curriculum area, such as language arts, math, and U.S. history. Access is also provided through an alphabetical listing of specific topics.

Nova, 7-12

Here are 28 of the newer titles available for checkout from Heartland on DVD.

Alien From Earth: The Little People of Flores #809495
America and the Holocaust #809368
Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land #809371
Arctic Dinosaurs: Warm-Blooded Creatures of the Cretaceous? #809490
Battle Plan Under Fire #809367
The Bible’s Buried Secrets #809493
The Big Energy Gamble #809967
Descent Into the Ice #809374
Extreme Ice #809969
Fire Wars #809373
The Great Escape #809366
Hitler’s Sunken Secret #809365
Hunt for the Supertwister #809377
Is There Life on Mars?: Reports From the Phoenix Lander #809507
Mars: Dead or Alive? #809387
The Mummy Who Would Be King #809364
Mystery of the Megaflood #809095
Newton’s Dark Secrets #809370
Nova: Secret of the Wild Child #809182
Ocean Animal Emergency: Troubled Waters for Marine Mammals? #809489
Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution #809386
Saving the National Treasures #809362
Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness #809369
Tsunami: The Wave That Shook the World #809378
Typhoid Mary #809372
The Viking Deception #809363
Volcano Above the Clouds #809375
Volcano Under the City #809376

Obesity and Wellness Curriculum, K-5

http://EnergyBalance101.com
Energy Balance is a wellness curriculum for an active, healthy lifestyle in the fight against childhood obesity. It includes standards-based lessons, videos, interactives, hands-on activities, and assessments for grades K-2 and 3-5.

EBSCO Mobile App, K-12

http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/ehost_mobile_tut/ehost_mobile_tut.html
The app allows you to search the EBSCO online databases from your smart phone. Imagine the possibilities when you can search the databases from any spot in your room, help students in the hallway, check resources from the lunchroom, etc.

New EBSCO Search Features, K-12

http://search.ebscohost.com
The online databases were upgraded this summer that can have quite an impact on how your students learn. Reluctant readers or young readers tackling difficult text can use the read-aloud feature; research skills are easier to teach with the search strategy tracker; critical thinking can be enhanced when students are referred to relevant, related pieces of information. Search all the online databases with Com Cat, http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com. New features include:
• text-to-speech full-text articles
• text translation to 33 languages
• limiters and date slider
• search tools for related information
• breadcrumbs for tracking search strategy
• when viewing an article, you can see the table of contents for that issue and go to other issues of that magazine
• results are sorted by relevance in default mode
• phrase searching is W5 so it's with 5 words of each other rather than side by side

Wolfram Alpha and Language Arts, 9-12

http://blog.wolframalpha.com/2010/05/07/wolframalpha-goes-to-college/
Many teachers think this is a tool for math and science. It’s so much more. Check out the links in this blog for information on word web and synonyms; writing assignment help; calculating and finding anagrams, word puzzles and patterns; you can even calculate how long it should take you to read a 500 word speech.

Constitution Day, K-12

http://www.constitutionday.com
Commemorate this important living document on September 17 with rich instructional materials such videos, interviews, historical documents, primary source documents, commentary, primary source documents, etc. Go to http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com to search the Heartland collection, school libraries, and all the online databases with one log-in and search statement.

iCivics: Interactive Civic Education, 6-12

http://www.icivics.org/
This interactive site is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support. Each iCivics game is playable in one class period, and has a detailed printable report at the end for grading purposes. iCivics games are best played with students on individual computers, but they can also be played on a single computer with the help of a smart board or projector. iCivics games don't require prior knowledge. They teach students everything they need to know to play.

iCivics webquests are quick and interactive. They are an engaging way to learn about specific civics topics. They include reading and questions with links to specific web resources that help students see how the topic relates to the real world. Webquests can be used by the whole class with a projector or a smart board or on individual computers.

iCivics lessons are practical and engaging. Individual activities are easy to manage, self-contained, and there is always something the teacher can collect from students at the end of the period. Lesson materials are visually appealing and written in a conversational tone to foster students’ interest. They teach the material in the context of problems and issues that are relevant to students.

Teachers’ Domain Public TV Videos Online, K-12

http://www.teachersdomain.org
This is an extensive library of free digital media resources produced by public television and designed for classroom use and professional development. The continually growing online library now includes more than 1,000 free media resources from the best in public television. Classroom resources, featuring media from NOVA, Frontline, Design Squad, American Experience and other public broadcasting and content partners, are easy to use and correlate to national standards. Create your own personal log-in.

Reading Rainbow on Learn360, K-6

http://www.learn360.com
938 episodes are now online for streaming or download. It can be a little overwhelming if you don’t know the exact title, so there are some built-in search filters. For example, there are 12 episodes on math, 100 on science/technology, 58 on arts, 37 on social studies, 17 on vocational guidance, 68 on health/wellness, 23 on music, 20 on family, 19 on work, etc. Don’t forget, Heartland also has 157 titles (VHS and/or DVD) available for checkout and/or loan.

BookFLIX, K-3

http://bkflix.grolier.com
New fiction / nonfiction book pairs and Spanish language books will be added to BookFLIX this September. BookFLIX is for beginning readers and may be accessed at school or home with the online database/username password. Click here for color and b/w half-sheet fliers you can send home with students.
New fiction / nonfiction book pairs:
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? / This is the Way We Eat Our Food
Do Unto Otters / We Are Citizens
Teacher from the Black Lagoon / This is the Way We Go to School
I’m Dirty! / Backhoes
Otto Runs for President / Let’s Vote On It!

New Spanish versions:
Is Your Mama a Llama / Animal Babies
Harold and the Purple Crayon / Where Can Art Take You?
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin / All About Sound
Happy Birthday Moon / The Moon
Chrysanthemum / We Help Out at School

Story of Read-Alee-Deed-Alee DVDs, PreK-3

These programs from IPTV feature the use of phonics and whole language to introduce letters, sounds, blends, and rhyming. You can request a DVD copy to keep. Go to http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us, scroll down to Print & Production, click Duplication Services.
The Story of Read-Alee-Deed-Alee: Programs 1-5 (073639)
The Story of Read-Alee-Deed-Alee: Programs 6-10 (073640)
The Story of Read-Alee-Deed-Alee: Programs 11-14 (073641)

Iowa HS Battle of the Books

Registration is now open. Qualifying tests will be given online at your home school with the final rounds for the top 16 teams on April 21, 2011 at Marshalltown High School. Official web site: http://ihsbob.iowapages.org/

Timelines and netTrekker, K-12

http://school.nettrekker.com
Reviewed web sites. Students can enter a date range and find noteworthy events in world history, visual art, U.S. history, innovations and discoveries, famous people, and American literature. Students click on the category to go to reviewed web sites on narrower topics. Timelines can be used to expand background knowledge in a novel study; put historical events in context; or generate discussion on politics, science, culture, etc. Here’s an example from the 1952-1962 timeline:
• nuclear arms race
• McCarthy era
• Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Invisible Man
• Lord of the Flies
• polio vaccine
• structure of DNA

Iowa Inventors Database, K-12

http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/patents/
The State Library has a rare online database of Iowa inventors and inventions from 1843-2009. It is searchable by inventor's name, title of the invention, the inventor's residence (town or county), date the patent was granted, and patent number. Did you know there were 1,738 patent from 1900-1902 and 4,450 patents from 2000-2002.
If you look at the 1900-1902 patents and then used the timeline feature in netTrekker, http://school.nettrekker.com, you could help students put those inventions in context with what happening in the world. 1900-1902 was the time of Gilded Age and Early Modernism, the Boxer Rebellion, Boer War, allied intervention, Casey Jones, the control of Yellow Fever, discovery of radioactive half-life, etc.

Rivers and Life DVD Series, 7-12

The Rivers and Life: How Waterways Cradle and Confound Human Society series explores the benefits of the water; the challenges it presents to human life; and the human activities that have affected its path, strength and biodiversity. Each DVD is about 50 minutes. Previews are online at http://bit.ly/c4vPOy. The DVDs are available for checkout from Heartland.
The Amazon River : pristine and unprotected (810026)
The Ganges River : sacred or sullied (810012)
The Mississippi River : triumphant and tragic (810013)
The Nile River : shared or monopolized? (810011)
The Rhine : a river of unity and diversity (810014)
The Yangtze River : China's wild lifeline (810015)

Financial History of the World DVDs, 9-12

The Ascent of Money series looks at financial schemes, structures, and institutions through the centuries—with equal attention given to booms and busts. It explains the development of specific markets, the innovation of monetary systems, and the ascension of corporate finance. Viewers will learn how seemingly abstract financial forces nurtured early civilizations, laid the foundations of the Italian Renaissance, sustained the Dutch and British empires, and propelled the rise of the American economy—as well as its new age of instability. Each DVD is about 50 minutes. You can preview the series at http://ffh.films.com/search.aspx?q=ascent+of+money. The DVDs are available for checkout from Heartland.
Blowing bubbles : the emergence of stock trading (810016)
Chimerica : an economic love story gone sour (810017)
Dreams of avarice : credit and interest through the ages (810028)
Human bondage : the evolution of bond trading (810027)
Risky business : insuring against the future (810018)
Safe as houses : real estate values and mortgage trading (810019)

Iron Science/Math Teacher, PreK-12

http://www.exploratorium.edu/iron_science/index.php
These webcasts show teachers competing before a live audience. It’s a parody of “Iron Chef.” The teachers have 10 minutes to create a science or math activity based on everyday items such as a plastic bag, a milk carton, or a nail. The lesson is taught to the audience. The archive of competitions goes back to 1999 and is grouped by topic such as household items, holidays, kitchen items, desk items and the recycling bin. Some of the particular items used include candles, chocolate, pumpkins, corks, Jell-o and water bottles.

NOAA Photo Collection, K-12

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/index.html
The copyright-free photographs from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are meant to be used in student presentations and reports. All images are keyword searchable. It includes 22 topic areas such as: coastlines, coral kingdom, fisheries, flying, space, sailing, weather, etc. Create classroom posters from the images, link photos to your class wiki, add images to the online class in Moodle, display the “image of the day” to start classroom discussions. To download an image, click on High Resolution Photo below the image caption then save it.

STEM Online Videos, 6-12

http://stem.definedlearning.com/
Futures Channel videos now have lesson plans, interactive simulations, and performance-based learning tasks. Teachers can bring relevance to the classroom while providing the understanding and application of science and math concepts. Click here for the module on testing baseball bats that includes a simulation for finding the sweet spot http://stem.definedlearning.com/demo.cfm?id=5

Math Park DVDs, 2-4

This is a standards-based, interactive math series. Go to http://www.mathparkvideos.org/ to preview some titles. The DVDs are available for checkout. Each title is about 15 minutes.
Check out the thousands! (809990)
Easy to win : multiplying 10 (810000)
From greatest to least (809991)
Greater than? less than? (809989)
Introduction to three digit numbers (809986)
Multiplying mysterious number 9 (810006)
Sakes alive : multiplying by 5 (809994)
Standard and expanded form (809987)
Strategies : multiplying by 3 (810001)
Strategies : multiplying by 4 (810002)
Strategies : multiplying by 6 (810003)
Strategies : multiplying by 7 (810004)
Strategies : multiplying by 8 (810005)
Three digit numbers : those pesky zeros (809988)
Understanding ten thousands (809992)
What to do? : multiplying by 2 (809993)

Rosetta Stone Classroom Version 3, K-12

Iowa schools can purchase Rosetta Stone at special pricing through September 15, 2010. For details on how to order:
http://www.iec-ia.org/vnews/display.v/ART/4c5723aaab0d1
For general information about Rosetta Stone:
http://www.rosettastone.com/schools

Integrate Physical Activities with Curriculum, PreK-8

http://www.ncpe4me.com/energizers.html
This site provides “energizers” or classroom-based physical activities that integrate physical activity with academic concepts. Teachers can find information on working with special needs students and students with limited English proficiency in physical education at http://www.ncpe4me.com/inclusive_pe.html

Copyright for Students and Teachers

Copyright BriefNOTES for Students is a four-page brochure that explains copyright, fair use, and use of online databases. The PDF is online so teachers can link it to the class wiki or online class, http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/medianet/library.html. Color paper copies are also available.
Copyright Condensed goes into more detail for teachers and includes some teaching resources such as Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Age, http://www.ipreducation.com. The PDF is also online (see above), or paper copies are available.

Academic Success DVDs, 9-12

This five-part series, developed and tested by Dartmouth College, helps students master the learning strategies they need to succeed. Presentations are short, concrete, and highly visual. Previews are online at http://cambridge.films.com/search.aspx?q=academic+success. DVDs are 10-18 minutes each. You can check them out from Heartland.
Active listening and note-taking (810024)
Critical thinking and problem-solving (810022)
Researching, reading, and writing (810023)
Studying and test-taking (810025)
Time management (810021)
Values and goals (810020)

Google Docs Ideas, K-12

http://edte.ch/blog/2008/08/23/10-google-forms-for-the-classroom/
Here are some applications for using the free tool—Google Docs. This is a summary of a blog. Go to the blog for examples, lessons, and hyperlinks.
1. Get to know your class
Use this form to gather some indication from your new class about their likes and dislikes, their favorite lessons or after school clubs they enjoy. It will help you to build your relationships with children as you quickly learn more about them.
2. Emotion graph
An emotion graph is a simple line graph comparing a range of happiness to sadness against different points (time) in a story or film. This technique of graphing the emotional ups and down within a story really helps children to visualize the whole story in a different way. Use a Google Form to gather the children’s responses to different parts of any type of linear narrative, written or visual. It can be used in a film narrative literacy unit.
3. Spelling test
For your weekly spelling test use simple 1-10 or 1-20 numbered form (with a name question too of course) and ask the students to type in their answers as you read out the list of words. Once these are submitted apply formula to judge if they are correct or not and it becomes self-marking.
4. Comprehension questions
A Google Form could collate the students’ comprehension answers in one place for any given text. You could also share the answers with the class so that they can review what their peers are doing. This could be a formalized assessment of their understanding of a text or something more informal to start class discussions.
5. Weekly reading record
A form could be created for the students’ reading diary. It can be accessed from any computer.
6. Math data handling
A form could be a simple way of collecting information about the class – shoe size, eye color etc. Read online for a link to a spreadsheet for analysis.
7. Guided reading record
Create a form as a class record for small focused group reading--such as 15-20 minute guided reading sessions.
8. Prior learning assessment
Use a form to assess what the students already know about any given topic that you are beginning. The form could be a formalized assessment with specific questions about the topic or it could be more general and open for them to explain what they know.
9. Library book review
Create a form as a simple way of collecting the students’ thoughts about what they read. The children in the class could use it as a reference to help them choose a book to read.
10. Learning success
Create a form to assess student learning from a single lesson or series of lessons on a topic. Invite the students to assess their own confidence after practicing something – such as a lesson on one of the written multiplication methods. The form would collate the views of all of the class very quickly and allow you to make a quick assessment on next instruction needed.

Heartland Print/Production Services Handbook, K-12

Click here to download the new Guide to Heartland AEA Print & Production Services booklet which details the many print and production services available to schools. You'll find prices and examples of items that you can use in your classroom. Please share this booklet with appropriate staff members or direct them to the Print & Production section of the Web site at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us.

Dispute Finder, 6-12

http://disputefinder.cs.berkeley.edu
You've probably used FactCheck.org in the past. Dispute Finder is a similar service in beta version on the Web. Readers can check facts from a Web page or a printed page, find arguments for other points of view, and get alerts if a claim is disputed when reading a page that contains resembles a paraphrase of a disputed claim.

Points of View Reference Center, 9-12

This EBSCO database now includes the text-to-speech feature. Students select the text and clik the Listen button for the read-aloud. It's available in three different speeds and threee accents (American, British, and Australian). This is a great support to auditory learners. Search Points of View Reference Center directly or through federated searching in Com Cat.

Dipity Timeline, K-12

http://www.dipity.com/
This Web sites makes it easy to create and share interactive timelines about any topic. Students can embed You Tube videos, Twitter, RSS feeds, Blogger, Flickr, Picasa, Last FM, and more right into their timelines. Dipity makes timelines relevant and fun for students and best of all, students are creating timelines integrating the tools they are familiar and comfortable using. There are plenty of samples to check out to see how truly superior these timelines are to the traditional paper/pencil timeline!

Dipity is a great tool for creating a timeline for any subject in your classroom. Students can bring history to life by embedding relevant You Tube video into their timelines. Create a timeline of your day by combining Dipity with your classroom tweets from Twitter. Timelines can be created by students individually or as a class and posted on a class Web site as a study resource.

Students can look at the content they add to Dipity in four different views: Timeline, List View, Flipboook, and Map View (this only works if the timeline has been tagged with locations.)

Dabbleboard Free Online Whiteboard, K-12

http://www.dabbleboard.com/tour
Dabbleboard will help students visualize, explore and communicate ideas. It makes drawing diagrams, jotting notes and sketches, and sharing work online easy. Dabbleboard comes with a library of objects for piecing together organizational charts, mind maps, network diagrams, floor plans, photo annotations, interface designs, electrical diagrams, etc. Users can share Dabbleboard work via e-mail and then watch, in real-time, as changes are made to it. There's also a public library of Dabbleboard drawings that can be copied and edited.

Wetoku, K-12

http://wetoku.com/
This new Web service makes interviews easy to do and share. Wetoku makes doing an interview as easy as filling out some basic info, creating an interview session, and sending the created interview session's URL to the target interviewee. Once the recording is done, the interviewer can embed the copy of the URL to easily embed the interview content on blog or other sites.

Boolean Search Tool, K-12

http://www.boolify.org/index.php
Boolify makes it easier for students to understand their Web search by illustrating the logic of their search, and by showing them how each change to their search instantly changes their results. Boolify enables students to be able to visualize the search process by using puzzle pieces to put their search together. It uses the Google Safe Search engine so results are appropriate for children and it teaches children to use proper Boolean searches. While aimed at primary and middle-school children, Boolify is a great tool for anyone who is not familiar with the ins and outs of Boolean searching.

Mitosis iTouch/iPhone App, 9-12

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speed-anatomy-lite/id356127528?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2
In Mitosis, students learn about the process of cell division by directly interacting with the cell. It also includes a glossary of definitions and a recording that describes mitosis while following along in the text. This application is available for download from the iTunes Store

Amazon Interactive, 6-12

http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html
This interactive site lets students explore the basic physical and human geography of the Amazon rainforest and the risks and benefits of ecotourism through online games and activities.
Students can explore the geography of the Ecuadorian Amazon and learn about the rainforest and the Quichua people who call it home. Students can get answers to questions like where the Amazon is, where the name comes from, who lives there, how inhabitants make a living, and what is grown there as they interactively learn about how the Quichua live off the land. Students can also play the interactive Ecotourism Simulation Game where they plan and manage a locally controlled ecotourism project along the Rio Napo and try to make it sustainable.

Big Adventure DVDs, K-3

These award-winning DVDs feature people at work. Click on the title to read the annotation and to order online.

• The Big Air Show #809950
• The Big Aircraft Carrier #809951
• The Big Aquarium #809952
• The Big Auto Plant #809953
• The Big Boom #809954
• The Big Christmas Tree #809964
• The Big Hotel #809955
• The Big Newspaper #809956
• The Big Park #809957
• The Big Plane Trip #809958
• The Big Renovation #809959
• The Big Rescue #809960
• The Big Space Shuttle #809961
• The Big Submarine #809962
• The Big Train Trip #809963
• The Big Zoo #809965

Environmental Health Science Education, K-12

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/scied/
This Web site explains the link between human health and the environment. It includes fact sheets, news articles, videos, and pamphlets that can help with reports, papers, and homework in general; interactive online activities and storybooks to enhance learning; and opportunities for summer jobs and research. Teachers will find a long list of curricular materials grouped into several categories. There are also lesson resources such as interviews, fact sheets, videos, flyers, and Web sites, as well as professional development opportunities. The third section for scientists will also be of interest to teachers, as it includes classroom activities that use simple strategies to effectively communicate complex ideas on toxicology to students.

Animated Cellular and Molecular Concepts, 9-12

http://icarus.med.utoronto.ca/neurons/index.swf
This site offers interactive presentations and animations that explore how the neurons work and what actions they perform. The content is divided into eight chapters: Anatomy of a Neuron, Axonal Transport, Ions and Ion Channels, Resting Membrane Potential, Action Potential, Neurotransmitter Release, Postsynaptic Mechanisms, and Removal of Neurotransmitter. Each of the sections includes explanations with hyperlinks for viewing the images or animations. Students can also review the pages in a chapter by clicking the page numbers in the bottom left corner of the pages. Included is a “How to Use the Program” guide with helpful hints for navigating the site and a list of all the available animations that can be downloaded for non-commercial purposes.

Green Careers DVD Series, 9-12

This DVD series for checkout showcases careers that can help address global warming, energy conservation, and environmental protection. It includes interviews and profiles of workers, entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers. Information is included on the educational requirements for entering various fields. Click on the title to read the annotation and to order online.

• Clean Energy: Biofuels #809973
• Clean Energy: Geothermal Power #809974
• Clean Energy: Solar Power #809977
• Clean Energy: Transportation #809976
• Clean Energy: Wind Power #809975
• Green Careers: Environmental Justice #809978
• Green Careers: Green Design #809979
• Green Careers: Restoring the Land, Hazardous Waste Management #809980
• Recycling #809147
• Water Management #809148

Nova DVDs, 6-12

This DVD series has some new titles for checkout. Click on the title for the annotation and to reserve online.


• Absolute Zero #809450
• Alien from Earth: The Little People of Flores #809495
• Arctic Dinosaurs: Warm-Blooded Creatures of the Cretaceous? #809490
• The Bible’s Buried Secrets #809493
• The Big Energy Gamble #809967
• Car of the Future: Engineering for the Environment #809528
• Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster #809494
• Four-winged Dinosaur #809449
• Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension #809452
• Ghost in Your Genes #809448
• Is There Life on Mars?: Reports from the Phoenix Lander #809507
• Naturalist E.O. Wilson: Lord of the Ants #809547
• Ocean Animal Emergency: Troubled Waters for Marine Mammals? #809489
• Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives #809451
• Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius #809446
• Solar Energy: Saved by the Sun #809447

Sports and Nutrition, 6-12

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/hsnut/index.html
Health and physical education teachers can use this online resource to help students understand the relationship between food and physical performance. There are several main sections, including: Don't Let Your Diet Let You Down, The Pregame Meal Planner, Keeping Energy Levels Up, and Keeping Fluid Levels Up. The information can help students understand how participating in sports can increase their food energy needs and learn the dangers of not practicing good nutrition. Included are recommended training table diets, questions asked by other young athletes, tips for eating right, a planner for making wise food choices, and more.

Great Hearts of Courage DVDs, 6-12

This series of DVDs is for checkout. It features 30-minute biographies. Click the title to read the annotation and to reserve online.

-- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn #809937
-- Billy Graham #809934
-- C.S. Lewis #809938
-- Elie Wiesel #809936
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. #809933
-- Mother Teresa #809939
-- Nelson Mandela #809935

Personalized Commemoratives, K-12

Would you like to give something special to your students to leave a lasting impression on your time together? Perhaps you want to give personalized certificates to outstanding students, bookmarks with a check-off list of books to read over the summer or a personalized picture of the class (like the one shown below). Heartland AEA has skilled graphic artists that can create and design almost any concept into reality.

For more information on Heartland’s Graphic Design Services, go to http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/print/Graphics.html or contact the graphic artists at graphics@aea11.k12.ia.us.

National Parks DVDs, 6-12

America's Great Historic National Parks DVD series is available for checkout. Click the title to read the annotation and to reserve online.

--Yellowstone: America's First National Park #809942
--Grand Canyon: America's scenic treasure #809941
--Yosemite: Inspiration for Conservation #809940

Virtual Math Manipulaataives, K-1

http://www.dreambox.com/teachertools
DreamBox Learning Teacher Tools include a variety of lessons using virtual manipulatives, ideas for incorporating the lessons in the classroom, and resources to support teachers’ professional development as they use the toolkit. The virtual manipulatives are Web-based tools that help students more easily grasp math concepts in visual terms. The lessons are designed to be successful in a wide range of classroom environments.

Probability Tutorials, 9-12

http://www.probability.net/
"...What are the changes?" includes 20 tutorials on measurability, product spaces, Jensen inequality, finite variation, differentiation, Gaussian measure, and more. The tutorials are accompanied by a page of proved theorems, a glossary of terms, and a history page with links to biographies of all the mathematicians mentioned in the tutorials. The solutions to exercises are provided and can be printed. Also, a discussion board, a page describing the notations used, and links for further exploration are included.

Book Rotation 2010-2011, K-8

Register online to receive a box of 30 fiction and nonfiction books every five weeks to supplement your school library and classroom collections. Students will enjoy a variety of books at appropriate reading and grade levels. Click here.

Summer Reading and Parents, K-6

Summer reading loss is real. One way to engage students during the summer is to alert parents to the rich online resources that are available with the school username/password: BookFLIX, Searchasaurus, EBSCO Animals, World Book Kids, etc. Click here for a black/white and color half-sheets that you can copy and send home with the students.

6+1 Writing Traits: Interdisciplinary Approach, K-12

http://senior.billings.k12.mt.us/6traits
The InterActive Six Trait Writing Process Web site provides an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and improving student writing based on the 6+1 Traits writing model. The site provides an overview of the model along with scoring rubrics for each trait. Exercises give both teachers and students a chance to read sample writings, rate them and compare

LIFE Writing Prompts, 3-12

Last month the World of Media featured an article on the LIFE Discovery Education streaming video series. The series is narrated by Oprah Winfrey and captures never-before-seen animal behaviors using the latest high definition filming techniques. Writing prompts are now available. Click here.

Bookwink, 3-8

http://www.bookwink.com/index.html
Through podcasting and Web video, Bookwink connects students with books that will make them excited about reading. The videos are approximately three minutes long and are updated monthly. Each video booktalk is about a different topic, and additional read-alikes can be found on the Bookwink Web site. You can look for books by subject, grade level, author or title. Subscribe to the video podcast to automatically receive the latest videos.

Storyline Online, K-4

http://www.storylineonline.net/
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Foundation created an online streaming video program featuring SAG members reading children’s books aloud. Each book includes accompanying activities and lesson ideas.

2010 Horizon Report, K-12

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-201http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/0/
The Horizon Project is a research-oriented effort that works to identify and describe emerging technologies that will likely have a significant impact on education. The technologies to watch in the “near-term horizon,” or entry into the mainstream for schools within the next twelve months, are cloud computing and collaborative environments. The “midterm horizon,” technologies identified as being in schools within two to three years, are game-based learning and mobiles. Finally, the “far term horizon,” technologies likely to be in schools within four to five years, are augmented reality and flexible displays. According to the Horizon Report, “All six of these technologies, taken together, will have a significant impact on learning-focused organizations within the next five years.”

2010 Horizon Report, K-12

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-201http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/0/
The Horizon Project is a research-oriented effort that works to identify and describe emerging technologies that will likely have a significant impact on education. The technologies to watch in the “near-term horizon,” or entry into the mainstream for schools within the next twelve months, are cloud computing and collaborative environments. The “midterm horizon,” technologies identified as being in schools within two to three years, are game-based learning and mobiles. Finally, the “far term horizon,” technologies likely to be in schools within four to five years, are augmented reality and flexible displays. According to the Horizon Report, “All six of these technologies, taken together, will have a significant impact on learning-focused organizations within the next five years.”

Library Circulation Program Demos, K-12

Heartland has asked these three vendors to demonstrate their resource management and library circulation modules. Requests for information were sent this fall and schools identified these vendors of interest. The goal is to provide students access to information and materials that will impact student learning. Register online at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us, click Professional Development, Professional Development Catalog, then enter the IL number listed below.

TLC
April 13, 12:00-2:00
Heartland Computer Lab
IL003992111001

TLC
April 13, 2:30-4:00
Webinar (log-in from your school)
IL004092111001

Auto-Graphics VERSO
April 15, 10:00-12:00
Heartland Computer Lab
IL004392111001

Auto-Graphics VERSO
April 15, 12:30-2:30
Webinar (log-in from your school)
IL004492111001

Follett Destiny
April 19, 10:00-12:00
Heartland Computer Lab
IL004192111001

Follett Destiny
April 19, 12:30-2:30
Webinar (log-in from your school)
IL004292111001

PBS SciGirls, 3-9

http://pbskids.org/scigirls/
This new series premiered in February on PBS. In addition to the weekly series, a Web site has been created to encourage girls to think about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Earth Day, K-12

http://www.earthday.net/earthday2010
“A Billion Acts of Green” is the campaign slogan for Earth Day 2010. Click on Programs and Education to find over 300 standards-based lesson plans, school greening tips, grants for teachers, and links to more than 25,000 teachers. Go to Resources for materials such as environmental fact sheets and an ecological footprint calculator that help build a cleaner, healthier, and safer world.

Get Body Smart, 9-12

http://www.getbodysmart.com/
Get Body Smart is a fully animated and interactive e-book about human anatomy and physiology that offers free tutorials and quizzes. Students and teachers can view detailed instructional diagrams, drawings, and other items related to the systems of the human body. Within the sections, they can view illustrations of the various anatomical parts and read through the tutorials to learn about each system.

Comparing Global Warming Potentials, 9-12

http://tinyurl.com/yl24mub
Wolfram/Alpha provides information on the relative global warming effects of about 30 common pollutants in the atmosphere using the global warming potential (GWP) index.
The GWP index estimates how much a certain chemical will add to global warming compared to the same mass of carbon dioxide over a certain time span. Here’s an example with methane: Choose timeframes of 20 years, 100 years, and 500 years to see the short-term and long-term contributions of methane in the atmosphere. You’ll see that the longer the timeframe, the GWP decreases. This may seem counterintuitive, but makes sense when you discover that methane has an atmospheric lifetime of about 12 years. As a next step, compare methane to other greenhouse gases in the short and long term.

ChemTutor, 9-12

http://www.chemtutor.com/
This basic chemistry resource can be used for independent study, review of lessons taught in class, or a tutoring program. The content is grouped into sections by topic including how to learn, the periodic table, kinetics, reactions, atomic structure, elements, solutions, and thermochemistry. Within each topic area, students can read the text and view charts, tables, sample problems, and diagrams.

Stellarium, K-12

http://www.stellarium.org
This is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

Open Notebook Science, 9-12

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/started-open-notebook-science/
Open Notebook Science (ONS) is slowly making a splash in the scientific community. By publishing all experiments in online notebooks via blogs and wikis, scientists are bypassing the lengthy patent process and working toward creating faster solutions to world problems.
Example: Useful Chem Project http://usefulchem.wikispaces.com/

LIFE Series on Discovery Education, 3-12

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com
LIFE premiered on Discovery Channel in March. For the next several weeks, the new episodes will be available the following Monday morning on DE streaming Plus. Each episode will be broken out into clips and have teacher guides and writing prompts.

The LIFE series narrated by Oprah Winfrey captures never-before-seen animal behaviors using the latest in state-of-the art high-definition filming techniques.

Titles:
• Challenges of Life
• Reptiles & Amphibians
• Birds
• Creatures of the Deep
• Fish
• Hunters and Hunted
• Insects
• Kingdom of Plants
• Mammals
• Primates

Students can log in with the school online database username/password. Teachers will need their private log-ins to access the teacher materials. Ask the school teacher librarian or call Heartland AEA for assistance. More information about the LIFE series is at http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/life/

Audio/Video Assessment Feedback, K-12

http://tinyurl.com/ygqerep
This URL links to an example of using Jing to capture and share teacher suggestions to a student on his writing. Jing is a free screen capture tool where you can record audio over a video screen in five minutes or less, http://www.jingproject.com/. This example shows a secondary teacher commenting on the sources, thesis statement, and suggestions to improve an essay a student submitted in a blog format. While this example critiques a student blog, the same procedure can be used to comment on an essay written in MS Word. Notice the background music and how it contributes to the effectiveness of the commentary? Teachers and students have access to free sound clips at http://www.soundzabound.com. Use the online database username/password assigned to your school.

Formative Assessment Resources, K-12

New professional books for checkout
Call the Heartland library to checkout.
Advancing Formative assessment in Every Classroom: A Guide for Instructional Leaders (371.26 Mos)
Assessment-centered Teaching: A Reflective Practice (371.14 Ass)
Assessment Essentials for Standards-Based Education (371.26 McM)
Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom (371.2 Fis)
Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (371.26 Pop)
Critical Thinking and Formative Assessments: Increasing the Rigor in Your Classroom (370.15 Moo)
Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Assessment: Deriving an Appropriate Model (371.26 Enh)
Exploring Formative Assessment (371.26 Bro)
Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students (371.1 Tut)
How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students (371.1 Bro)
Mindful School: How to Assess Authentic Learning (371.26 Bur)
Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning (371.26 Cha)
Test Less, Assess More: A K-8 Guide to Formative Assessment (372.12 Bra)
Uncovering Student Ideas in Science: Another 25 Formative Assessment Probes (507 Kee)
Uncovering Student Ideas in Science: 25 New Formative Assessment Probes (507 Kee)
Uncovering Student Thinking in Mathematics, Grades 6-12: 30 Formative Assessment Probes (510.71 Ros)
What Formative Assessment Teaches Us: Formative Assessment in the Writing Workshop (808 Ove)

Inservice Collection
Click the title hyperlinks to go to Medianet, then log-in with your personal username/password to reserve the materials, or call media reservations.
Assessing Inquiry, 60 min. (#254600)
Formative assessment in content areas, program : Elementary school, 29 min. (#256120)
Formative assessment in content areas, program 2: middle school, 31 min.
(#256121)
Formative assessment in content areas, program 3: high school, 32 min. (#256122)
Giving effective feedback to your students, volume1 : the impact on student achievement, 30 min. (#256059)
New mission, new beliefs: assessment for learning (#255566)
The power of formative assessment to advance learning (#255860)
The power of professional learning communities at work: bringing the big ideas to life, 80 min. (#255653)
Under-resourced learners: A six-step process to track student learning, strategy 6, 17 min. (#255956)

School Reform Film Series, K-12

http://www.mobilelearninginstitute.org/21stcenturyeducation/
“A 21st Century Education” features 10-15 minute videos about the best ideas in school reform. The series is meant to start, extend, or nudge the conversation about how to make change in education happen. Download the videos or view them online.
Topics:
· Steve Barr and the Takeover of Locke High School in Watts
· James Dierke and Leadership Models for Urban Middle Schools
· David “T.C.” Ellis and Essential Learning at Hip Hop High
· Randall Fielding and Designing Schools for 21st Century Learning
· Stephen Heppell and Empowering Young Learners
· Jean Johnson, Notschool.net and Online Learning for Disaffected Youth
· Doug McCurry and the Success of Achievement First
· George McKenna and Personalizing Public Education
· Alan November and the Myths and Opportunities of Technology
· Larry Rosenstock and Project-based Learning at High Tech High
· Elliot Soloway/Cathie Norris and Educating the Mobile Generation
· Yong Zhao: No Child Left Behind and Global Competitiveness

100 Video Web Sites, K-12

http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2010/100-video-sites-every-educator-should-bookmark/
These Web sites link to videos to augment lessons, lectures to inspire students, documentaries to show them how things work, and many additional videos to help teachers become better and smarter and engage their students more easily and effectively. This is definitely a page you’ll want to bookmark or add to del.icio.us.

Texting, Driving, and Sexting, 6-12

Take a look at these resources that can be used when researching texting and driving. The following was retrieved from Com Cat, http://comcat-agent.auto-graphics.com where students can log-in with the school online database username/password and search these databases simultaneously. Replicate the search of texting driving in SuperSearch 9-12.
Rosen Teen Health and Wellness – 2 resources
MasterFile Premier – 102 resources
Newspaper Source Plus – 1741 resources
Points of View Reference Center – 928 resources
SIRS Researcher – 21 resources

This DVD is available for checkout from Heartland AEA:
B careful when U txt : the dangers of texting and sexting #809780
You can watch a preview online at http://www.hrmvideo.com/items.cfm?action=view&item_id=3070

Ellison Die Cuts and LAP Posters, K-12

Thanks to a partnership with AEA 267, Heartland now has a large selection of Ellison die cut letters, numbers and designs, as well as an expanded collection of Learning Activity Posters (LAP). The Ellison die cuts are great for bulletin boards, rewards and recognition, flash cards, signs, nametags, bookmarks, math manipulatives and more. The Learning Activity Posters are great for independent student activities or can be used as bulletin board starters. For more information or to download catalogs and order forms, go to http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us, click Educators Tab, click Print and Production.

Printing and Production Services, K-12

Heartland’s print and production services are offered year-round. Cut down on your stress level by sending us your fall print and production requests this spring and early summer. The updated print and production request forms are available for download by clicking on "Print and Production" under the Educators Tab at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us.

Create Online Research Modules, 3-12

http://questioning.org/module/module.html
Online learning represents an exciting new way to structure and guide student research efforts so they will focus upon higher-level thinking and rich electronic resources along with good print resources like books and live data from sources such as interviews. Research modules can be an effective way of addressing the standards.

Module Maker guides teachers through the process of creating online research modules for their students. The research model presented on this site is intended to “challenge students to make up their own minds while supplying them with rich information to support such thinking,” and the guidance includes advice on asking good questions, scaffolding the assignment to direct student efforts, and setting up the online module in stages. Module Maker includes examples and templates to help teachers get started with their own online research modules.

Develop Computer Literacy, 6-12

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?strategy-guide-series=30098
The new ReadWriteThink.org Strategy Guides provide examples of effective literacy teaching and learning strategies and offer related resources such as lesson plans and student interactives.

--Online Safety Strategy Guide: describes the strategies involved in ensuring that students understand how to be safe when they participate in online discussions and join social networks.
--Reading Online Strategy Guide: explains how online reading differs from offline reading and presents strategies to build and reinforce the skills that online reading requires.
--Teaching with Blogs Strategy Guide: describes the processes involved in composing blogs in the classroom, the process of writing regular posts, or entries, that are published online.
--Teaching with Podcasts Strategy Guide: describes the processes involved in composing and producing audio files that are published online as podcasts.

Google Squared, K-12

http://www.google.com/squared
http://www.google.com/support/faqs/bin/answer.py?answer=139211
Google Squared is a search tool that helps you quickly build a collection of facts from the Web for any topic. It’s a new way to organize information so it’s more structured and useful. Here’s how the Google help page describes it, “… say you're curious about which roller coasters are the fastest, tallest, and longest in the world. Until now, you would have had to comb through dozens of webpages to compile the information. With Google Squared, all you have to do is type "roller coasters" into the search box…and click Square it to see an automatically generated table of roller coasters and their attributes.”

Facts about your topic are organized into a table of items and attributes (called Squares).
Customize the Squares to see just the items and attributes you’re interested in.
See the Web sites that served as sources for the information in your Square.
Save and share Squares with others.

Online Film School, 3-12

http://kidsvid.altec.org/
Teachers interested in producing video as part of their project-based learning will find lots of tools and information at Kids’ Vid. Students will enjoy displaying their work. Information is available on how to script a video, including a storyboard tool; how to produce a movie, including setting up a shot, lighting, and audio; how to edit using music and effects; and how to compress a movie into various formats. There is a teachers’ section with lessons on how to integrate video production into the curriculum and tips for improving video techniques, advice from other students, and ways to use video in class. The theater showcases some of the work that classes have submitted to the site.

New Big Book Collection, K-3

Heartland now has 107 big book titles for checkout. Call the Heartland library to check out or go to Medianet and request a title online, http://median.aea11.k12.ia.us.
Acids and Bases
All About Wood
Amazing Eggs
Amazing Sharks
America’s Landforms
America’s Regions
America’s Symbols
Animal Legs
Animal Senses
Animals Around the World
Animals
Animals in Danger
As Big as a Whale
At Play in the Community
At the market
Bats!
Because of a Sneeze
Being a Scientist
Being Human
Big Bears
Biosphere
Bringing Water to People
Building Roads
Call of the Wolves
Caring for Our Land
Cells to Systems
Charts, Graphs, and Diagrams
Clay Hernandez: A Mexican American
Come Into My Garden
Counting Animal Babies
Crocodile Tears
Digging for Dinosaurs
Ding-a-Lings and Flutterbys
Dream Catcher
Every Landmark Has a Story
Exploring Everyday Wonders
Fifty States, One Country
Flower Garden
Food From Plants
Forces and Motion
From Father to Son
From Here to There
From the Factory
Fungi
Getting Information from Maps
Give It a Try
Great Kapok Tree
Growing Pumpkins
How Do Animals Sleep?
How Do We Learn?
I Am of Two Places: Children’s Poetry
In the Tall, Tall Grass
Inventions
Kids for the Earth
Leading the Way
Let’s Experiment
Life in a Coral Reef
Life in the Desert
Life in the Polar Regions
Life in the Rainforest
Life in the Sea
Life in the Temperate Forest
Life in your backyard
Life on the African Savannah
Little Red Hen
A Look at Lizards
Machines
Made by Hand
Make Mine Ice Cream
Map It!
Mark’s Kwanzaa Celebration
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Big Biography
Oil: A Natural Resource
Old Black Fly
Out in Space
Parts of a Whole
Passing It On
Pattern Everywhere
Penguin Rescue
Pickles and Preserves
Plants
Rain Forest
Remarkable Rocks
Rockies
Signals for Safety
Sort It Out
Sounds on the Farm

Adolescent Literacy Report, 4-12

http://tinyurl.com/yl75o3g
Time to Act PDF: http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/tta_Main.pdf
This new report, Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success, outlines a national agenda for fully supporting adolescent learners, including details on literacy needs, case-studies, professional development and specific action steps for school leaders, district leaders, state leaders and federal policymakers.

New Iconographic DVDs, PreK-3

These picture books on DVD from Nutmeg Media are available for checkout. Reserve online http://median.aea11.k12.ia.us or call Heartland AEA.
Bebe #809681
Monarch and Milkweed #809832
Bats at the Beach #809678
Halloween Treats #809676
Bats at the Library #809675
Ruby the Copycat #809677
White Owl, Barn Owl #808663
A Mama for Owen #809831
Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating #809830
Counting Crocodiles and Monster Math #809827
The Apple-Pip Princess #809826
A Box Full of Kittens #809672
The Best Place and Hog-eye #809673
Little Rooster’s Diamond Button #809679