In this podcast three educational leaders discussed the students of today, what they understand about the world they live in, how prepared are they to live and work in a global economy. Global literacy was discussed, a term that describes how our students can learn from and work with different cultures from around the globe to solve the world's problems and how we as educators can help prepare our students for this interconnected world we live in. Several statistics were mentioned regarding students studying foreign languages and geography. The most concerning were the statistics from National Geographic survey of young people that showed 85% of respondents couldn't find Afghanistan or Iraq, 60% couldn't find Great Britain, and 29% couldn't find the Pacific Ocean. The point of these statistiics is that if our students can't find a country on a map, how can they understand the source of conflicts in the world.
This entire series of podcasts addresses the current issues in education with discussions with educators and educator leaders.
I think the very first site any teacher needs to have is a Tumblr page. It's a free, easy way to keep track of websites online. What I like about this is that no matter what computer or if I'm on my iphone I can pull up all of my favorite links.
A great website to explore all of the "ologies" of science. Each ology has fun activities to learn about the subject, interviews with scientists in field, videos and games. My favorite was the biodiversity link that explained working in museum as an assistant and illustrator.
The Smithsonian Institution Online Here is a link to one of the most amazing museums in the world, one I hope to visit one day! Browse the current and permanent collections including the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key which allows you to see the flag and learn about the various pieces missing by clicking on the interactive flag. If you only go to this site for a virtual field trip you are missing out on an incredible resource for educators that allows you to select your state standard, grade level, and subject area to find specific resources to use in your classroom!
Teacher Resources Rubistar
Rubistar is site that provides a variety of rubrics for many subjects but also allows you to create your own rubric. For those of us who are "rubric challenged" this is great way to learn how to write your own rubric.
Technology for Teachers Jamendo- Royalty Free Music
This site is filled with an amazing and diverse collection of music that is free and legal to download. I really enjoyed the Hope album by Kendra Springer, beautiful piano music that works well as background music in a slide show or to have on for a little relaxing time in the classroom.
in Computer Programming is a reusable element of a graphical user interface that displays an information arrangement and provides standardized data manipulation.
a character in Marvel Comics
Also known as a "doohickey" or as I like to call it a web thing that is on a web page to show data. I made my own Tumblr widget to place here on my blog.
The site is free, it does come with a few ads that are related to your site's subject. Like most free sites you can pay a fee each month to turn off the ads. So far I haven't had a problem with the ads.
