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.