Featured: 1-29-2014 NOVA Education

NOVA Education is a collection of resources from the PBS science series NOVA. The purpose of the site is to bring science, technology, and engineering to life in educational settings.

 

NOVA Education’s free digital library is linked to teaching standards and includes video, audio segments, interactives, and much more. You can browse content by education topics such as Earth and space science, technology and engineering, and more. The library is also searchable by keywords.

 

You can sign up for Spark, the NOVA Education newsletter, to receive updates on new media resources for educators, upcoming NOVA programs, and on opportunities for you and your students. 

 

 

NOVA is the highest rated science series on television and the most watched documentary series on public television. Since 1996, NOVA has been working with journalists and scientists to put great original web-content online. Thousands of resources cover everything from string theory to the evolution of flight to how the Pyramids were built.

 

Note: NOVA Education is required to begin every video with a funder pre-roll, essential to supporting streaming video. For technical reasons, this has caused NOVA Education videos to be blacklisted at certain schools. 

 

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Featured: 9-9-2013 Kids for Saving Earth

Kids for Saving Earth provides educational materials, posters, and a highly acclaimed website featuring environmental education curriculum and activities.

 

 

The goal of Kids for Saving Earth is to "educate, inspire, and empower children to protect the Earth's environment."

 

Kids for Saving Earth has made many of its programs web-friendly so as to make it easier for Earth-savers to get the latest information.

 

A few examples of environmental programs KSE offers include:

• Let the Forest Be With You
• The Arctic is Cool
• The KSE Rainforest
• The Rock the World Concert Kit and CD
• The KSE Action Guide
• The Little Kids Guide for Teachers
• and much more

Kids for Saving Earth was started by a Minnesota boy, Clinton Hill, who died tragically at the age of 11. After Clint died, his parents carried on his dream of a healthy planet by establishing KSE as a nonprofit organization. There are now hundreds of thousands of kids and adults all over the planet working to protect the Earth.

 

 See a video introduction to Kids for Saving Earth

 

With a free membership to Kids for Saving Earth, you receive an educational packet, or you can join as a paid member and receive The KSE Action Guide or Little Kids Guide for Teachers and receive KSE Promise certificates.

 

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Featured: 2/14/2013 Disaster Hero [Safety]

Disaster Hero is a free online game designed to teach children aged 6-13, parents, and teachers how to prepare for disasters. The overall goals are to ensure that players know what to do before, during, and after a disaster.



Parents and teachers are included in Disaster Hero so that the family and school are familiar with the main concepts of disaster preparedness: make a plan, get a kit, and be informed.

Disaster Hero covers four main topic areas:

1. Basic preparedness steps (get a kit, make a plan, and be informed) to protect the participant and family before, during, and immediately following an emergency.
2. Common disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes), their associated danger signals, typical effects, common injuries, and appropriate responses.
3. Basic quick-care tips and techniques for common injuries.
4. Basic information about geographic-specific disasters.

There are three levels of difficulty in Disaster Hero: Bronze level is recommended for early readers (grades 1 through 3), Silver is recommended for average readers (grades 4 through 6), and Gold is recommended for advanced readers (grades 7 and 8).



Disaster Hero will work with all major web browsers, but you must have the latest version of Adobe Flash installed. This program is  administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.

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Featured: 11/14/2012 Curiosity in the Classroom [STEM]

Together, Discovery Education and Intel have created Curiosity in the Classroom, a program designed to "guide teachers and students on a journey through life's biggest questions."

Curiosity in the Classroom helps you explore some of life's most interesting and important questions with your students by providing free, standards-aligned lesson plans and videos for students in grades 6-12 (ages 11-17).

Download free content and materials to help your students become the innovators, scientists, and engineers of the future. These lesson plans, activities, videos, and interactives can bring key concepts to life and inspire an interest in science-related careers.

Explore ways to develop students' scientific thinking using the lessons and other things available at Curiosity in the Classroom. Transition from textbook science to authentic inquiry and scientific practices with these engaging resources.

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COD - 8/6/2012 - Lectrio [LMS]

Lectrio is a free and simple way for educators to share course materials with students. Upload almost anything you like to this intuitive LMS. 

Lectrio can be used to link content on the web, integrating online multimedia like videos or presentations into materials. View documents within Lectrio with its internal document viewer. The file types that can be viewed in Lectrio include Word, Excel. Powerpoint, Pages, PDF, Photoshop, and many more. It also works with Google Docs.

Create attractive calendars for your courses. Lectrio will automatically notify all your students of any changes you make to important dates, such as deadlines for assignments and test dates.

Create assignments and grade student submissions, including Pass/Fail. Easily track which students didn't submit their work, and what needs to be graded.

Teachers and students can participate in group discussions. Students can leave comments for lecture materials, so you can be sure they understand the content.

Lectrio helps you easily follow students' progress. Track attendance, record students' grades, and make notes about their performance. Information about students' submissions, grades for assignments, and their attendance is aggregated on one page.

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COD - 2/8/2012 - NatGeoEd.org [Social Studies]

The NatGeoEd.org beta site offers an expanded and updated library of National Geographic’s popular education content with a wide range of free educational resources that bring geography, science, and social studies to life for both teachers and students.

NatGeoEd.org includes a new feature called Audience View that allows visitors to see versions of materials aimed specifically at teachers, informal educators, families, students, or kids. Different versions include changes in look-and-feel, organization, and text. When you search for content, you can filter by audience to go directly to the most appropriate version.

National Geographic’s exemplary media and expert resources are integrated into NatGeoEd.org to provide you with engaging instructional materials. The available multimedia includes photos, videos, illustrations, diagrams, and cartoons. A new feature called a resource carousel provides all the media you need right at your fingertips.

Interactive maps with thematic data layers and customizable black-and-white outline maps are among the new mapping tools at NatGeoEd.org. FieldScope is a web-based mapping, analysis, and collaboration platform designed to engage students as citizen scientists investigating real-world issues.

A new search tool allows you to search by keyword and see results for NatGeoEd.org, for all of National Geographic, or for our Thinkfinity partners. You can filter results by grade and age, type of resource, and subject. To make it easier to use it flexibly and in a variety of ways, content on the new site is modular.

Note: At this time, NatGeoEd.org is still under development, so you can see only some of the planned features and content.

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Free Smithsonian Environment Webinar

You may be interested in the Smithsonian’s "Shout" free webinar series about the environment, scheduled to begin next Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 7-8) with "Water Questions: When We Want to Learn More."

The webinar will feature seven sessions led by Smithsonian experts from both the arts and the sciences, giving participants a global view of the issues associated with a critical natural resource: water. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with Smithsonian experts and other participants.

The series offers K-12 educators multi-dimensional resources to expand their curriculum, as well as comprehensive teacher lesson-planning materials and hands-on activities.

The webinars are open to those who want to learn how teachers are making this topic more engaging for their students or anyone interested in environmental issues.

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COD - 12/13/2011 - ElectroCity [Energy]

ElectroCity, from New Zealand, was developed to increase awareness among students of the basic aspects of such topics as energy generation, the cost of energy, and its environmental impact.

The aim of ElectroCity is to spark an interest in and lay an unbiased foundation for later learning about these important energy industry topics. To this end, ElectroCity set out to make a fun and educational game that gives kids something different to do in class and to share with their parents.

ElectroCity players create and name their own town and work towards a balance of sustainable energy, city growth, and profit. Players have 150 turns to create their city, generate revenue, build power generation, and manage the resulting environmental impact while keeping their citizens happy.

ElectroCity is sponsored by Genesis Energy, a leading generator and retailer of energy in New Zealand.

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Catch of The Day - Alliance for Climate Education - 11/1/2011

Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) is a national leader in high school climate science education dedicated to educating students about the science behind climate change.

Alliance for Climate Education tries to make learning about climate change fun and hopes to inspire students to do something about climate change. All of the climate science presented by Alliance for Climate Education comes from peer-reviewed published science articles.

ACE offers two principle components:

• ACE Assembly presents climate science via an in-school assembly that blends storytelling, animation, music, and video. The presentation explains greenhouse gases and their sources, how human-caused emissions risk altering the world’s climate, and specific local impacts for students.
• Student Action Program helps get students started in taking action with the national Do One Thing (DOT) campaign to help the environment and student-led Action Teams to take on carbon-cutting projects at school

ACE offers several additional climate change resources for teachers: presentation worksheets, fun websites for students, and climate change lesson plans

View a video overview of ACE

ACE is based in Oakland, California, with educator teams in most areas of the country.

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Catch of The Day - GM Education - 9/26/2011

The General Motors Education website offers teachers and students resources and activities that highlight energy, environment, and sustainability topics.

Teachers can find many resources at GM Education, including free lesson plans, that have been developed for the classroom through partnerships with Weekly Reader, Junior Achievement, and Keystone Center covering a variety of topics around energy, advanced technologies, and alternative fuels.

GM Education lesson plans are designed for specific grade levels and meet national education standards for a variety of subjects. Games, articles, technology animations, and career information designed specifically for students can also be found on the site.

GM Education's Teach Green blog is a place where educators share their tips and inspirations for teaching lessons about the environment. Teach Green encourages conversation, information sharing, and the exchange of advice among teachers who want to promote "green" lessons in their classrooms. The blog was recognized with an Impact Award by the New Jersey Technology Education Association.

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Catch of The Day - BAM! Body and Mind - 8/23/2011

BAM! Body and Mind is a site designed for kids 9-13 years old to provide the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The site is focused on topics that BAM! has learned are important to kids — such as stress and physical fitness. The site uses kid-friendly language, graphics, games, quizzes, and other interactive features.

Some features of BAM! Body and Mind:

• KABAM is a comic creator that helps kids resolve conflicts and stressful situations with the help of the cartoon BAM! bunch
• An exercise personality quiz that leads to a custom activity list for each user
• The BAM! Game Room includes interactive games to help kids learn about issues like bullying, advertising, peer pressure, and more

BAM! can also be useful to teachers, providing them with interactive, educational, and fun activities linked to the national education standards for science and health.

BAM! Body and Mind is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Catch of the Day - BP Educational Service - 3/10/2011

BP Educational Service (BPES) makes and distributes curriculum-linked teaching resources about BP and the energy industry for students aged 5-19.

BPES provides educational resources designed to reflect the focus of BP, one of the world's largest energy companies, on energy, environment, leadership, and business skills.

BPES, in cooperation with classroom teachers and other educational experts, has produced educational materials about BP and the energy business, and has made them available to all schools all over the world.

The BPES subject matter touches on the key curriculum areas of:

• Science
• Geography
• Citizenship
• Literacy
• Business Studies
• Design and Technology
• Engineering
• Enterprise

Teachers can search a database of primary and secondary resources by age appropriateness, Key Stage (UK), and/or subject area. Resources include detailed resource packs, booklets, leaflets, DVDs, interactive resources, hands-on kits, fun games, and posters. BPES resources are generally available to download free-of-charge.

BPES also responds to students, teachers, and parents, as well as BP employees  with questions about BP.

Click here to learn about BP's UK education program.

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Catch of the Day - Shout - 1/6/2011

Shout encourages educators and students to take an active role in global environmental issues.

By connecting with experts in the field, sharing ideas, and collaborating with people around the world to solve environmental challenges, Shout helps students develop the 21st century skills of collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking.

The Shout program offers:

• Online events hosted by the Smithsonian Institution that feature some of the world’s leading scientists and environmental experts.
• Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Network, a global community of educators who value innovative uses of information and communication technology.
• TakingITGlobal's online community with resources, action tools, virtual classrooms and collaboration spaces.
• A web portal that integrates all of these elements and provides access to additional tools and resources to support student challenges.

Shout is partnered with the Smithsonian Institution, The Microsoft Partners in Learning Network, and TakingITGlobal.

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Catch of the Day - Tox Town - 11/16/2010

 

With color, graphics, sounds, and animation, Tox Town adds interest to learning about the way chemicals, the environment, and public health are connected. Tox Town is aimed at middle-school and higher level students and teachers as well as the general public.

Tox Town visitors can find …

• common locations where you might find toxic chemicals
• non-technical descriptions of chemicals
• links to authoritative chemical information
• how human health is affected by the environment
• resources on environmental health

Tox Town uses five imaginary neighborhoods to introduce environmental health concerns and toxic chemicals. In each neighborhood, visitors can click on a location or on one of over 30 chemicals. Tox Town describes the health concerns at the selected location and links to web resources for more information. Clicking on a chemical shows where it might be found in that neighborhood. There is a description for the chemical and links to information about how it might affect health.

The Tox Town Teacher Pages provide activities and resources that can be used to stimulate learning about environmental health issues. You will find classroom activities, interactive resources, career information, and more resources.

Launched in October 2002, Tox Town is a project of the Specialized Information Services Division of the National Library of Medicine and is a companion to the TOXNET collection of databases that are typically used by toxicologists and other health professionals.

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Catch of the Day - Shedd Aquarium - 10/14/2010

 

At Shedd Aquarium, your students can connect to the living world through aquatic animals.

Located in Chicago, IL, on the shore of Lake Michigan, the goal of Shedd Aquarium is to inspire you to make a difference as a result of learning about the aquatic world.

Shedd Aquarium furnishes a large number of teacher resources including …

• Free educator admission
• Teacher guides
• Learning lab guides
• Fun Finds maps
• Activity guides
• and more

Shedd Educational Adventures enrich learning with interactive online aquatic science resources for K-12. Interactive programs and animal facts connect your students to Shedd Aquarium’s diverse collection of animals. Grade-specific lesson plans supplement your curriculum. All content aligns with Illinois and national science, language arts, and math standards

The classroom experience is enhanced by using inquiry and problem-based learning in immersive environments. Students can explore the world of water, making discoveries in science, technology, engineering, and math.

For those in the Chicago area, the Shedd Aquarium offers in-house 50 minute classes and labs for grades K–5 and 90 minute programs for grades 6–12. All programs are held in the Aquatic Education Center. Shedd Aquarium can bring small- or large-group programs for grades K–5 to your school, too. Themed presentations may include animal encounters.

Watch a video about the Shedd Aquarium

John G. Shedd, a self-made millionaire, decided a world-class aquarium would be the most beneficial gift he could make to the city.

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