TeachersFirst: Week of July 6, 2008

Featured Sites - Week of July 6, 2008

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Here are this week's features. Clicking the "more resources like this" link below each listing will present a list of our most recent additions for the same subject area and grade level .

National First Ladies' Library - Grades 6 - 12
The wives of U.S. Presidents have often served a crucial, but unofficial and sometimes unrecognized, role in U.S. History. Hillary Clinton's recent run for the White House even prompted a spirited discussion of what her husband might be referred to if she became the first woman president.

The National First Ladies' Library, located in Canton, Ohio, is dedicated to teaching others about the contributions of the First Ladies of the United States, as well as other notable women in U.S. History. In fact, the library is housed in the former home of Ida Saxton McKinley, the wife of President William McKinley. The Library is both a physical resource, but also a comprehensive virtual library of information. The site contains biographies of US First Ladies, lesson plans, and a searchable timeline. There is an online catalog of the many resources available in the library itself; those who do not live nearby could still use the catalog to identify resources associated with former First Ladies. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. 9405

In the Classroom:
These resources might be useful to those doing First Lady biographies for Women's History Month or other famous Americans reports. Students doing more in-depth research for History Day projects will find the online catalog helpful. Check out the link to facts and trivia for a good First Ladies Trivia page.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: First Ladies | US Presidents | Women's History | biographies |

Connect The States - Grades 0 - 3
Learn the state flags, state animals, popular food from the state, the shape of the state, and more at this interactive matching activity all about the United States. Come along with Buster (from the PBS Show, Arthur) to play this matching game. Students are presented with a game board with sixteen pictures (Buster has his own board also). Students flip cards from the deck in the middle of the screen to see if they have the matching picture on their game boards. Each picture is a state, state flag, state animal, popular food, or other cultural information about the state. The best part of this site is that it provides full audio, so even non-readers can easily navigate and learn the states. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page. 9338

In the Classroom:
Use this website as a learning center on a cluster of computers or on individual computers in the lab or classroom. With younger students you may want to introduce this activity using an interactive whiteboard or projector. This site would work well in any class learning about the states that comprise the United States (regular education, ESL, ELL, or others). Create a class game about your home state (or country, if not from the USA). Have students research and create "game cards" about the state flag, shape of the state, state animal, and other "stately" information.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: maps | United States | state animals | state flags |

Wild Sanctuary - Grades 0 - 12
Ever wonder what exotic wildlife sounds like? Use Wild Sanctuary to listen to the surrounding areas around the globe. Visit areas on every continent where pure wildlife exists. Examples of city life can also be heard from areas on the globe. Choose either Google Maps or Free Earth to open the sound maps on your computer. Both of these applications are free. Click on either a cityscape area or a sanctuary area to bring up a short description of the area, climate, location, and animals that can be found there. The sound file can also be played or downloaded. Some school filters may block Google Maps, Free Earth, or streaming audio files, so be sure to check this before using it in the classroom. Note: Clicking on the Wild Sanctuary logo takes you to the store where sound recordings can be purchased. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9399

In the Classroom:
Pique your students’ interest by playing the sound files and having them envision life in that area. With elementary students, turn off the lights and imagine you are there. Consider it an auditory writing prompt! Use the sounds to accompany a read-aloud of a story from a far off location. Students can create projects with or without additional research based upon what they hear. Students can create posters or multimedia projects, act out the sound file, write a story of life in that place, or have groups create a series of stories of various animals from that area (their stories can overlap as animals interact with each other.) Use these sound files to introduce biomes and how sound files in the same biomes are similar or different. Use these sound files to introduce many ecological topics including ecosystems, populations, biodiversity, and others.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: environment | biomes |

Google Sky - Grades 0 - 12
Google Sky is a great way to view the planets, constellations, birth of galaxies, and other items in the universe. It uses some of the best images from the Hubble Telescope and other observatories around the World. Select thumbnail images along the bottom of the screen to quickly access planets, constellations, stars, galaxies, and nebulae. Use layers that are created using different wavelengths such as x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Type in the name of your favorite planet, star, or constellation in the search field to find it quickly and then zoom in for greater detail and information. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. 9401

In the Classroom:
No matter what subject you teach, bring the wonder of the night sky to your students. Google Sky provides a look at millions of stars and galaxies in the universe which can be a springboard to many activities in your class using art, geography, math, and writing. Use Google Sky as a complement to a planetarium field trip by showing the solar system in your classroom. Use Google Sky to track the life of a star from birth to death, begin discussions and multimedia presentations of mythological orientations of names, and histories or trajectories of planets. Elementary teachers will enjoy being able to share the night skay to accompany or inspire writing poems and stories aout the stars. Find great resources from Google here.

Digital Vaults - Grades 3 - 12
TeachersFirst Toolbox page. 9314

In the Classroom:
Use this site as an anticipatory set for a unit in history or on inventions. Share a collection of images or invention drawings on a projector or whiteboard and ask what the invention will do. Or use the site as the starting point for individual or group projects. After demonstrating on an interactive whiteboard or projector, have students use laptops or lab computers to "collect" resources related to their assigned inventor, decade, or era in American history. Check your school policy regarding accessing student email. You may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how. Students can use their log-ins to collect resources.

Since the documents are in the public domain (are not copyrighted), students may also download and use the files as part of other projects, such as video compilations, Powerpoint presentations, or multimedia of any sort. To access the resources in non-Flash format, click the small link to "research this record in ARC" in the detailed view of the item. You can then view and Save As for use elsewhere. Be sure you teach students about copying the URL and relevant information from this ARC page to cite the source and give credit in any presentation they make. This site is excellent for enrichment or projects for the gifted, as well. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class for students who are working in History Day projects or other assignments for your class.

ArtRage 2 Starter Edition - Grades 3 - 10
Teacher's First Edge Review: for very slightly adventurous technology users and their students. Traditional art media become digital with the free ArtRage 2 Starter Edition paint program. Pencil, chalk, paint and marker tools smear, smudge, blend,and flow just like real art materials. You and your students can paint with thinned oils, use wet or dry markers, soften the pencil and control the hardness of the crayon, and much more. 9410

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: ArtRage Starter Edition can be downloaded and installed on machines running Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or later. Check with your IT department or administrator for download and installation approval and help (if needed). ONly the need to download and install pushes this tool to the "Edge."

The ArtRage 2 interface is simple and intuitive, with large icons which clearly identify tools and options. While the program has a user guide and the website offers a quick start tutorial plus several technique-specific tutorials, fifteen minutes of clicking on icons, exploring the menus and playing with tools will give you a good start creating works of art. Teachers and students who are familiar with standard paint programs included in Windows and Mac machines will quickly grasp the basics and enjoy exploring the artistic possibilities of ArtRage 2. The program supports English, French or German language labels on tools and menus.

Possible Uses: Students can use ArtRage 2 to create illustrations, drawings and paintings for storybooks, book reviews and author posters in English or language arts activities. Math and science concepts can be explained through illustrative drawings, such as a diagram of a flower's parts or the steps in oxidation. Make visual represntations of mathematical operations or concepts such as fractions. Have ELL or foreign language students import images into ArtRage 2, trace and color them to create unique vocabulary cards and posters illustrating new words. Recognize and celebrate your students by importing their digital photos and applying textures and effects to create special birthday cards, awards, bulletin board pictures, and desktop signs. Share students' curriculum-related digital art projects on your class web page, blogs, or wiki (with parent permission) as well as your bulletin board. There are no safety concerns with this program because it is locally installed and does not involve interaction with the "general public" or social networking.

Ning in Education - Grades 7 - 12
Teacher's First Edge Review: for thoroughly adventurous or organized technology users. Ning is a tool for creating social networks. Though that may be a scary term to parents and a concept prohibited in your school, this education initiative from Ning provides advertising-free, private spaces for classroom use in K-12. Because of concerns over COPPA (federal legislation protecting children on the web), Ning specifies that the tool is for ages 13 and up. Users outside the U.S. do not need to worry about this law. There are related blog posts and debate about whether the law applies if you configure your Ning a certain way, but TeachersFirst cannot recommend circumventing the law. A Ning provides an online space for forums (threaded discussions), blogs, “friends,” groups, personal spaces for members, and more. As the administrator of your Ning, you can control the actual set-up. Assuming you can access the Ning URL at school, this tool can provide a PRIVATE online space for your classes or teaching team as an electronic home for use in and out of school. 9415

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Before you start, make sure your specific Ning URL will not be blocked by filtering on the school network. See some of the tips from the Edge team . Join Ning and set up a network, including name, URL, and description. Be sure to choose Private to limit viewing of your network to those you INVITE to join. Drag your desired features to create your Ning layout. You can always change it later. Make appearance choices. Create a “master key” (and for heaven’s sake WRITE IT DOWN somewhere secure – not on a sticky note at your classroom computer). Customize at will, but right away you will want to follow Steve Hargadon’s blog entry with detailed directions to remove the ads from your Ning for education space. The ad-free offer began in November 2007 and may not continue forever, so do it now!

Safety/security concerns: Since the Ning tool establishes profiles for each member; you will want to customize the profile settings to stay in accordance with your school policies. You will probably not want students to be able to set up groups, since they might make them “private” and lock you out. You can also change the questions they are asked as part of their profiles. The simplest way to set up student accounts may be through a teacher Gmail account with subaccounts. You could then create the accounts and passwords on your own or have students enter the information. Even though your space is private, we recommend asking for parent permission mostly to be sure that they are aware of this positive use of social networking and all the lessons about Internet safety that can grow from its use in class. A modified version of the Blogging agreement offered by TeachersFirst would work (a word doc).

Possible uses: A class social network has limitless possibilities. Engage students in discussions on current events, independent reading, literature, and more. Create groups for students to work on projects and use the space as a forum to work out tasks, scheduling, and file sharing. Get creative and ask students to play the role of a historical figure on a social network across time: Ben Franklin networks with Harry Truman to argue about the atomic bomb. Use the Ning as a forum for any simulated or real task. Invite parents to join to give their points of view on upcoming elections. Include the principal or superintendent in your class discussions of students’ rights as you study the Constitution. Your students themselves will suggest ways to use this all-too-familiar tool from their world. Imagine the “profiles” they could create as characters from fiction or inventors from history! Steve Hargadon, creator of this Ning in Education initiative invites participants to join a Ning for teachers who are using this tool. We hope you will tell them where you heard about it and send them over to check out (and suggest) more tools at the TeachersFirst Edge.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: social networking | internet safety | online tool |

World Wide Telescope - Grades 5 - 12
TeachersFirst Edge Review: For moderately adventurous technology users with permission to install software. This project is in beta release as of June, 2008. How do the parts of the universe relate to each other? How does the universe work? Why does it look the way it does? What does it look like from somewhere else? World Wide Telescope answers these questions and more. It is a free download of the total data and images that NASA has collected. With World Wide Telescope you can explore the universe in a free form way. The application allows you to use the data to make presentations that are infinite in variety and content. The images and data fluidly and seamlessly explore different objects in the universe. This site contains engaging pictures and content. Students are able to see relationships by distance, size and scale. Students can zoom in and out of all objects and literally look at the Universe from the inside out. Two different images can be compared effortlessly. Move through the parts of the universe to generate a unified perspective and bring awe to the eyes of your students. Some sample images are available without the download by clicking on the press information, but they do not show the power of the full,interactive program. This is a download for PC only and requires access to the Internet or a network. 9309

In the Classroom:
Skills needed: Check your school policies regarding permission to download and install prior to downloading. Many schools also prevent you from installing your own software, so you may have to request the installation. Download and install the program. The download will take a long time, even over a fast connection. Set it and forget it. Once installed, choose from existing guided tours by clicking on "Experience it," and then "Guided Tours." Pause these and begin your own exploration when ready.

World Wide Telescope has been described as a “web browser for the Universe” and is easily navigated using a variety of views from the visible light view or x-ray view, among others. Moving through the program is a simple visual interface. Simply browse by dragging the sky around and scrolling and clicking to zoom in and out. Any object from the dashboard can be combined together seamlessly, and other materials not in the program can be combined to create a unique experience. The possibilities are endless.

Safety/security concerns: Students can easily become "lost in the universe" and may need help staying focused on tasks. Journeys can be shared among teachers and communities of students. Please check with your district's acceptable use policy about sharing student work. Use a teacher-generated account for sharing unless your school permits students to establish their own accounts. Teachers creating their own "community" within WWT would be able to keep it private for their students and invited guests, including classes from other schools. Perhaps you could create a personal learning network for your classes by bringing in university professors, etc. As of this writing, the education portions are just beginning.

Possible uses: On an interactive whiteboard, this would be fascinating! Share on your interactive whiteboard or projector to "orient" your class to the tools. If bandwidth is an issue on your network, you may be limited to a single classroom computer using WWT at a time. If you can, have students use laptops or a lab to view one of the guided tours available and generate list of questions for small group or individual research. You could also assign a starter set of questions and allow students to add their own. Students can then use their questioning to design their own journey, project, and story to tell. Students can create space videos or a document similar to a PowerPoint of "where they have been." See directions in the authoring section. Students can also create communities of interest within the classroom, school, or beyond, assuming you have mastered the teacher monitoring of the communities. Your class could weave their stories together to create unbelievable content and sharing. Since scale and location are maintained throughout the program, the possible questions and discoveries are endless. Students can view the same object from different points within the universe to gain a unique perspective.

For similar resources, click the appropriate keyword: universe | astronomy | NASA | Hubble telescope |

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