From the Desk of Kay Ezzell Technology Resource Specialist at Resource Materials & Technology Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Resource
Materials & Technology Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing /FDLRS
207 North San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
1-800-356-6731
Bob Stern
Kay Ezzell
Shelley Popson Ardis
Carmelina
Hollingsworth
There will be no Tech Notes next week. I will be out of town. Bob and
Shelley will be in the office if you need assistance.
Media
Literacy and Children
This report was released by the National PTA and Cable in the Classroom and
provides tools to help parents take control of TV viewing and other media
activities. The report offers a guide to help families develop a
comprehensive media plan that allows them to take greater control of their
TV viewing, Internet, and other media activities; a chart with how to use
media to support age-appropriate development; and ideas and strategies to
help parents and caregivers select and use media in ways appropriate for
their children.
Be sure to click the link at the bottom to learn more about teaching Media
literacy to students - both at home and at school.
This contest gives students the opportunity to write about their favorite
teacher and why he or she is special. The winner wins two computers - one
for the student and one for the teacher. The contest is open to 6-8 graders
in the United States and its territories. The essay should be no longer than
250 words and be sent via the web or postmarked no later than May 31, 2004.
My Teacher is the Best Essay Contest Link
Grammar Bytes - http://chompchomp.com/menu.htm
This is a no-nonsense but fun and sassy way to learn grammar. It's geared
for middle school students and up. There are terms, exercises, handouts, and
tips & tricks. The exercises are interactive with accompanying handouts.
Great resource!
Big Dog's Grammar - http://aliscot.com/bigdog/
This site is a list of the bare essentials of grammar. Good resource to
keep
bookmarked.
New
York Wild Webcams - http://www.newyorkwild.org/webcams/webcams.htm
The mission of New York Wild is to bring to the viewing public a diverse
group of wildlife in their natural habitats within New York State. Visit the
nests and see live feed from a webcam of a Screech Owl, an Iroquois Great
Horned Owl, and a Montezuma Osprey.
FearOf Physics.com
- http://www.fearofphysics.com/
Have questions about some of the laws of physics? Or just want to explore?
See why things fall, what an atom is, what friction is, the doppler effect,
etc. You put information in a form or field and click to see the results. A
new screen appears with an animation representing the answer.
Webmath - http://www.webmath.com/
This site is composed of many math "fill-in-forms" into which you
can type
the math problem you're working on. Linked to these forms is a powerful set
of math-solvers, that can instantly analyze your problem, and when possible,
provide you with a step-by-step solution, instantly! Look at the sections
at the top, including Math for Everyone, and K-8 Math.
Pyramids: The
Inside Story - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/
Enter this site and wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great
Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were
built. You can also follow the 1997 field season of a team of archaeologists
as they excavated the bakery that fed the pyramid builders.Citation Machine
-
http://www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine/index.php
Citation Machine is an interactive web tool designed to assist teachers and
students in producing reference citations for crediting information from
other people. [Thanks, Lisa!]
Professional
Development Modules -
http://www.glef.org/foundation/courseware.php
From the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), these free teaching
modules were developed by education faculty and professional developers.
They can be used as extension units in your existing courses, or can be used
independently in workshops and meetings. Each module includes articles,
video footage, PowerPoint® presentations, and class activities. They draw
from the wealth of GLEF's archives of best practices and correlate with
ISTE/NCATE NETS standards.
Global Virtual
Classroom - http://www.gsbi.org/gvc/index.html
The Global Virtual Classroom is a free online educational program to promote
communication, collaboration and understanding among students around the
world. There are currently two major projects in the GVC program. The first
is a contest in which schools from around the world collaborate to build
websites that are judged on the quality of their content and presentation,
and on the collaboration. View the winners from the 2003-2004 Contest and
think about the possibility of participating in next year's contest. You
have to register by August. The second project is a "clubhouse "in
which a
"kid-safe" environment is provided for schools to come together to
communicate and work together on topics of mutual interest.
100
Picture Books Everyone Should Know -
http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=61
The NY Public Library released this list of 100 picture books everyone
should read. I've read 58. How many have you read?
100 Best
Books for Children - http://www.teachersfirst.com/100books.htm
Here is a list of one hundred books selected by the National Education
Association as great reading for children and young people. To help make
these books more useful, there are book and author links to any resources
and lesson ideas.
Great Resources for Integrating
Technology in Schools (GRITS) -
http://www.gritsonline.org/
GRITS––Great Resources for Integrating Technology in Schools––is
connected
to curriculum standards in reading/language arts, math, science, social
studies, and instructional technology from the six southeastern states
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South
Carolina). Specific projects are sorted into four conceptual categories:
Gritzley (online collaborative projects), Southern Culture (projects that
encourage student investigation of southern culture), Southern Trails
(projects that encourage student investigation of the southern outdoors),
and Southern People (projects that encourage student investigation of
southern people).
ExploreLearning -
http://www.explorelearning.com
ExploreLearning offers a catalog of modular, interactive simulations in math
and science for teachers and students in grades 6-12. We call these
simulations Gizmos . Gizmos are fun, easy to use, and flexible enough to
support many different teaching styles and contexts. Our Gizmos are designed
as supplemental curriculum materials that support state and national
curriculum standards; in addition, Gizmos help teachers bring
research-proven instructional strategies to their classrooms. You can sign
up for a 30-day free trial.
NOVA Online
Activities - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hotscience
All of NOVA's online activities are archived by categories, such as
Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Disasters, Earth, Exploration, Flight,
Forensics, Health, History, Nature, Physics & Math, Space, and Technology.
Syvum - http://www.syvum.com/
Author Your Own Quizzes or use the ones they have already created. Hundreds
of topics are covered in their interactive learning material, ranging from
reading and math for elementary school to preparation material for the GRE.
The pre-made quizzes are free, but their different levels of membership give
you other options. There is a month's free membership so you can try it out.
[Note: There are pop-up ads if you don't have a membership.]
Kids Domain Games
- http://www.kidsdomain.com/games/
Fun school activities includes free interactive online games that are good
for elementary-age students. [Note: This site does have pop-up ads.]
SodaPlay - http://sodaplay.com/
SodaPlay is an advanced "tinker toy" set where students can build
simple
robots that can move and walk (SodaConstructor). There are several examples
included on the web site. Sodarace is the online olympics pitting human
creativity against machine learning in a competition to design robots that
race over 2D terrains using the SodaConstructor virtual construction kit.
Check out http://sodarace.net/education/index.jsp for Lesson Plans and
Activities for the SodaRace.
Windows to the Universe
- http://www.windows.ucar.edu/
This is a great site that includes a rich array of documents, including
images, movies, animations, and data sets, that explore the Earth and Space
sciences and the historical and cultural ties between science, exploration,
and the human experience. This site is being developed with the goal of
being appropriate for use in museums and libraries, and to be a resource for
students in their studies of the Earth and Space sciences.
The Perpetual
Preschool - http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/
Lots of theme units for preschool-age children. The units include songs,
snacks, games, etc.
AG Bell Florida Annual Convention
April 23-24, 2004, Tampa
For more information, go to http://www.agbellflorida.org
Educational Interpreter Summer Institute
June 13-18, 2004, FSDB, St. Augustine, FL
For more information, contact Shannon Simon at ssimon@unf.edu
Florida Symposium on Early Childhood Hearing Loss
October 1-2, 2004 - St. Augustine
For more information, contact Audrey
Largent
Gail Strassel
FEHI
November 5-6, 2004
Hotel Orlando North, Maitland, FL
For more information, go to http://www.fsdb.k12.fl.us/rmc/fehi
Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA):
Orlando - January 18-20, 2005
Caribe Royale Hotel, Orlando, FL
Fore more information, go to http://www.ATIA.org
Florida Educational Technology Conference 2004 (FETC):
Orlando - January 27-29, 2005 in the Orange County Convention Center.
For more information, go to http://www.fetc.org/
Page last modified
September 12, 2005
Contact
us with comments, questions, or suggestions.