National Geographic animal photo galleries

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/photogallery/animals.html

This collection of photographs of animals around the world includes birds, some insects, spiders, land mammals e.g. bears and apes, reptiles, underwater animals, and some habitats.

Parents, kids don't see need for math, science skills

With lawmakers and school leaders alike stressing the importance of math, science, and technology (MST) education in preparing students for 21st-century jobs and careers, one might... Full Story

Converged Wireless

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7155

Two technology trends that have been taking place separately in K-12 and higher-education institutions across the country are now beginning to come together: (1) the proliferation of wireless networks, and (2) the convergence of voice, video, and data on a single network infrastructure.... Full Story

Top 10 Social Skills Students Need to Succeed

Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic and… good manners? Researchers have found that 10 basic social skills such as taking turns, listening and simply being nice are just as important to children’s academic success as the subjects they study, and that students can and should be learning these skills in the classroom.

Read on ...

Teachers urged to save voice with a mic

Teachers are being advised to use microphones, loudspeakers, and other techniques to save their vocal cords. A team of scientists issued the recommendations after a study... Full Story

Visiting the Museum: Activities to download and print out

http://www.amonline.net.au/visiting/general/activities_download.htm

This page from the Australian Museum Online presents a range of activity sheets and booklets for young children on the topics of: thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, marsupial lion, dinosaurs, frog, skull, bird, bone, fish, fairy penguin, bug with wings, freshwater habitat, mangrove habitat, scorpion. Activities include colouring in, dot-to-dot, cut out and make, make a booklet, picture spinners.

My Wonderful World

[Macromedia Flash Player] From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/

National Geographic has been keeping tabs on the geographic literacy of Americans young and old for decades.

Some of their findings are a bit depressing, but they've always believed in well-thought out outreach programs, and this website is just one such program. The "My Wonderful World" site is intended for young people, but anyone will benefit from the numerous interactive activities, quizzes, and such offered here.

Visitors can start by taking the National Geographic Roper Survey, and then take a look through the "Games & Cool Stuff" area. Here, they can take a look through the world of map "mashups", learn about wayfaring, and even take an aural trip around the globe.

Additionally, there are sections designed specifically for parents, educators, and teens. Overall, it's a delight and for those yet unconverted to the importance of geography, this site will likely win over a new cadre of budding geographers.

Art Education 2.0

http://arted20.ning.com/
Craig Roland created this site for fellow travelers and art educators in order to help colleagues find out how to use new technologies in their classrooms.

First-time visitors will need to start out by signing up for a free account, and after that they are most welcome to participate in forums, groups, blogs, RSS feeds, and photo and video sharing. Some of the groups include "Art Partners", "Students of Art Education 2.0", and "First Year Art Teachers".

The forums are quite useful, and recently they have included discussions on summer research opportunities, arts censuses, and the use of streaming video in the classroom.

For art educators, this site is quite a find, and others who are interested in art and technology more generally will also find it useful.

Bouncing Balls and Geometric Series

[Real Player, Windows Media Player]

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/4/pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1550

The introduction to this intriguing exercise and article begins "If a ball bounces an infinite number of times, it must take an infinite amount of time to finish bouncing!" This piece appeared in The Journal of Online Mathematics and Its Applications in May 2007, and it was authored by Robert Styer and Morgan Besson of Villanova University. This particular article and its accompanying teaching module "explore the time and distance of a bouncing ball and leads to a study of the geometric series." Along with the actual article, this site also includes a video clip and several interactive Flash mathlets. It's a fun way to get students thinking about geometric series, and mathematics educators will definitely want to tell colleagues about the site as well

[From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/]

Acting out the Water Cycle

http://www.nrw.qld.gov.au/education/teachers/water/activities/activity03.html
This activity reinforces student’s understanding of the water cycle through the use of a role play. It will reinforce the concepts of evaporation, condensation and precipitation and provides the option of introducing the concepts of run-off, transpiration and groundwater.

Artificial Boy’ to be a learning companion

‘At 17 inches tall and 6 pounds, the artificial Zeno is the culmination of five years of work by a small group of engineers, designers and programmers at Hanson Robotics. They believe... Full Story

Animals of Antarctica

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jmresources
A page of links to animals that live on and around the Antarctic continent.

Minimizing Classroom Disruptions

Computers and the internet have become welcome instructional tools in most schools, ushering a wealth of additional resources into today’s classrooms. Unfortunately, they also bring with them the potential for unwanted distractions—such as online content that ranges from off-target, to inappropriate, material.With the generous support of Faronics, a maker of solutions that help manage, simplify, and secure complex IT environments, we’ve assembled this collection of stories and columns from the eSchool News archives to help you leverage technology’s potential for education, while minimizing classroom disruptions. We hope you’ll find these resources helpful as you seek an appropriate balance in your own institutions..

Minimizing Classroom Disruptions

Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson:

For an inspirational moment, find 20 mins of peace to view this comment on education. Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. A typical review: "If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, please stop whatever you're doing and watch it now."

NASA: Rocket Activities

[pdf]
http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/TRCRocket/RocketActivitiesHome2.html
There are many things in this world that are described as not being as difficult as rocket science. Then, of course, there is the actual science behind rockets. Understandably, this can be difficult for budding space scientists to grasp. Fortunately, NASA has created these fun and interactive activities which relate both to the science and math of rocketry. These particular activities are taken from the "Rocket Educators Guide", and they include activities related to altitude tracking, the world of pinwheels, balloon staging, and of course the construction of an actual paper rocket. Each activity comes complete with instructions, diagrams, and information on the necessary materials. Taken as a whole, these activities could be equally fun whether outside on a brisk fall day as in a classroom setting
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The Song Room

http://www.songroom.org.au/

The Song Room is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing music and arts programs in Australian schools and communities. The Song Room provides a range of free programs to schools and communities that otherwise would not have access to such opportunities.

Scaffolding Literacy in the Middle Years

http://www.dest.gov.au/literacynumeracy/innovativeprojects/pdf/oakley_scaffolding.pdf

This report was written in conjunction with the Department of Education, Science and Technology and Deakin University with the aim of improving the literacy outcomes of educationally disadvantaged students in the middle years of schooling.

ThinkQuest International 2008

http://www.thinkquest.org/

ThinkQuest inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way, they learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills and compete for exciting prizes. Entry submission closes April 2, 2008.

NASA images to be archived online

NEW YORK - NASA's images from the Apollo moon landings, the Voyager planetary flybys and the many space shuttle missions will be accessible through a central, searchable Web site under a partnership between the space agency and the nonprofit Internet Archive. Read on ...

Find latitude and longitude

http://perso.orange.fr/universimmedia/geo/loc.htm

An online tool to locate latitude and longitude of specific destinations. A useful tool to use with online maps.