From: "Education World Reviews Newsletter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 14:30:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Education World Site Reviews Vol. 7 Issue 27
Education World Reviews ---------------------------------- Volume 7, Issue 27 July 2, 2002 ********************************************** Dear Education Professionals, Welcome to the Site Reviews Newsletter, published weekly as a free service by Education World(R)! You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to Education World's Site Reviews Distribution list. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml ********************************************** This Education World newsletter is brought to you by The Education Center Need ideas and activities that work for teachers? Get them in The Mailbox -- America's #1 Teacher Magazine! The Mailbox ideas and activities are... * Based on your curriculum and national standards * Introduce and reinforce basic skills * Easy to use and grade specific * Reliable, with clear and complete instructions * Timesavers -- require little preparation, can be used almost immediately With The Mailbox magazine you'll never run out of great ideas and activities for your classroom! Click the following link (or copy and paste the link into your browser window) to subscribe to The Mailbox today: http://www.educationworld.com/go/base?id=TED ********************************************** THIS WEEK'S REVIEWS ********************************************** For the next four weeks, Education World will highlight some of the best sites we've reviewed in the last 10 months. Each of the sites earned our A+ award! We will resume posting new daily site reviews on Friday, July 26. WhaleNet http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0102-30.shtml Real time data help students learn about marine life. LiftOff! Education http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0102-28.shtml Lift off to math and science. whitehousekids.gov http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0102-21.shtml The president's animals encourage kids to read, dream, and make good decisions. ArtAccess http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0102-10.shtml Resources "enrich visitors' understanding of content, style, and historical context," using pieces in the collections. Teachers@Work http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2002/r0102-07.shtml A rich resource of curriculum links and tips on integrating the Internet into the classroom. ****************************** REVIEWS ****************************** OVERALL GRADE: A+ WhaleNet http://whale.wheelock.edu/Welcome.html GRADE LEVEL: K-12 CONTENT: A+ This site from Wheelock College offers research data and field studies about marine animals with suggestions for using the data in the classroom. AESTHETICS: A+ The site is visually appealing with marine graphics and wide margins. It is available in several languages. Users will need QuickTime to view the movies. ORGANIZATION: A+ Visitors can access different areas of the site from the main page. An on-site search engine and an index also help users find information quickly. REVIEW: A+ WhaleNet has been around for a while, but it is regularly updated and revised. In addition to its maps and databases, the site offers students and teachers the opportunity to share information and to use the data to learn more about marine animals. Three main sections make up the site: Students, Teachers, and Public. Students will find more than 25 videos and slide shows of various kinds of whales and their activities. They can also e-mail questions to a marine scientist, track marine animals, find up-to-date information, and play an identification game. Teachers will find a downloadable information packet as well as other curriculum material, classroom opportunities, organizations that can be useful contacts, and professional development opportunities. Additionally, the site offers help for finding information and a tour for first-time users. WhaleNet is available in four languages. RELATED REVIEWS: Science: Life Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml#Life%20Scienc e Social Sciences: Geography http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Geography Math & Finance: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/math.shtml ------------------------------- OVERALL GRADE: A+ LiftOff! Education http://www.aviationnow.com/liftoff GRADE LEVEL: K-6 CONTENT: A+ LiftOff! Education, part of Aviation Week's The Next Century of Flight, features lesson plans and activities that will "inspire young people to pursue careers in aerospace." AESTHETICS: A+ The layout of this site is direct and easy to follow. Categories are separated into different sections. ORGANIZATION: A+ The four major sections are accessible from the main page. Each section has an index of lesson plan titles with a short descriptive sentence and notes the subject emphasis. Each page links back to the main page. REVIEW: A+ This great resource for math and science teachers provides integrated hands-on activities that enrich the math curriculum and enhance the understanding of science concepts. The four major topics are Astronomy and Space, Forces and Motion, Life in Flight, and Weather and Climate. Lesson plans are offered for each topic that include background and strategies for teachers to integrate the plan into their existing curriculum, hands-on activities, assessments, and extensions. The lessons include activities not only on weather science, physics, and mathematics but also on literature, biology, social studies, current events, and career education. These lessons are ready to be used in the classroom or can be adapted to create your own unit. RELATED REVIEWS: Math & Finance: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/math.shtml Science: General Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml Science: Earth Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml#Earth%20Scien ce Science: Space Science http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/science.shtml#Space%20Scien ce Social Sciences: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml Social Sciences: Current Events http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/soc_sci.shtml#Current%20Eve nts ------------------------------ OVERALL GRADE: A+ whitehousekids.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/index.html GRADE LEVEL: K-5, 6-8 CONTENT: A+ Whitehousekids.gov contains lots of information about the White House itself as well as its residents and other historical personalities. AESTHETICS: A+ Bright primary colors, kid-friendly images, and engaging activities make this site appealing to its intended audience. ORGANIZATION: A+ This well-organized site features a left-side navigation menu with links to the biographies at the top and bottom of the pages. REVIEW: A+ This site is designed to encourage kids to read, make good choices, and dream about the future. These themes are woven into the activities and text "through the personification of the president's pets and animals." Students can take Spotty's White House Tour with Spotty, the Bushes' springer spaniel; practice Barney's White House ABC's with Barney, the Scottish terrier; meet Ofelia's American Dream Team with Ofelia, the longhorn cow; or take India's History Quizzes with India the cat. Biographies of President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and his wife, Lynne Cheney, as well as the pets are written in a way that is interesting and informative for kids. Teacher's Guides, suggestions for parents, self-correcting quizzes, and a photo album of the White House animals are included. RELATED REVIEWS: Students: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/students.shtml#General History: American http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#United%20Stat es History: Biographies http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#Biographies History: U.S. Presidents http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/history.shtml#United%20Stat es%20Presidents Language Arts: Reading http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/lang_arts.shtml#Reading ------------------------------- OVERALL GRADE: A+ Art Access http://www.artic.edu/aic/artaccess/ GRADE LEVEL: 3-12, Parents, Teachers CONTENT: A+ Art Access is a site that presents online resources, from the Art Institute of Chicago's collection, for parents, students, and teachers. AESTHETICS: A+ The site uses wide margins and high-quality photographs to make the site very attractive and uncluttered. ORGANIZATION: A+ The main page of the site offers four collections. Users can click on the graphic or text link to enter the collection of choice. Each collection has a top menu bar and graphic links to the art. REVIEW: A+ Teachers, parents, and students who are interested in multicultural art will find a wealth of resources here. Art Access gives access to four of the institute's collections: Ancient Indian Art of the Americas, African American Art, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and Modern and Contemporary Art. Resources in each area include lesson plans, family activities, a glossary, books and media, and maps as well as thumbnails of the art. The lesson plans are geared toward particular grade levels but can be adapted for any level, and the art projects in the family activities can be adapted for classroom use. RELATED REVIEWS: Fine Arts: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/fine_arts.shtml#General Fine Arts: Art History http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/fine_arts.shtml#Art%20Histo ry ------------------------------- OVERALL GRADE: A+ Teachers@Work http://www.treadwell.co.nz/index.htm GRADE LEVEL: Professional CONTENT: A+ Teachers@Work, created by Mark Treadwell of New Zealand, is a rich resource for teachers who are looking for curriculum links, help with integrating the Internet into the curriculum, or tips on using the Internet in general. AESTHETICS: A+ This well-designed site uses a consistent color scheme and layout to make the site user friendly as well as attractive. ORGANIZATION: A+ Visitors can navigate through the site in several ways. Choose a left-side index of reviewed sites categorized by curriculum topic, a right-side menu of articles, and the top-ten sites of the month. The database is also fully searchable. REVIEW: A+ Busy teachers looking for curriculum links will find that Teachers@Work has done the research for them. This site is a rich resource with more than 5,000 educational Web sites that have been reviewed and meet the 23 criteria for quality. All the links are annotated, categorized by curriculum area, and assigned an appropriate grade level. Other freebies at the site include acceptable use policies, recommendations for server software and hardware, descriptions of network architecture, recommendations for connecting to the Internet and publishing your own Web pages, and links to agencies filling teaching vacancies in several countries. The Teacher's Toolkit links to a variety of free and inexpensive tools for teachers. RELATED REVIEWS: Teachers: General http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#General Teachers: Online Tools http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/teachers.shtml#Online%20Too ls Internet: Internet Directories http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/internet.shtml#directories ********************************************** Sincerely, Lisa Gryskiewicz =================================== Education World (R) http://www.educationworld.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] =================================== ******************************************* For digest instead of individual postings, send the message: set k12newsletters digest to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] K12 Newsletters mailing list is a service of Classroom Connect - http://www.classroom.com Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS **********************************************************
