Editor’s note: When he’s not writing and editing for education non-profits, our consultant John Norton likes to work on his favorite personal project: spotting and sharing web-based teacher resources through vehicles like his MiddleWeb site and biweekly newsletter. As a summer treat, John agreed to compile 5 blog posts highlighting some favorite resources in key content areas. John wraps up his summer of great teacher resources with three tantalizing go-to websites for technology integration ideas.
“Digitally Speaking”, a great PD-oriented wiki by sixth-grade teacher Bill Ferriter, is regularly nominated for national awards. Bill, who blogs as “The Tempered Radical,” has a brand-new book out from Solution Tree titled “Teaching the iGeneration: 5 Easy Ways to Introduce Essential Skills With Web 2.0 Tools,” and knows his stuff. You’ll learn about wikis, of course, plus podcasting, using Voicethread, videoconferencing, social bookmarking and more, all built around student engagement. If you’re a middle grades teacher, you’ll also benefit from Bill’s English and social studies handouts. And drop by his blog to see some ideas from his new book, including classroom wiki projects (with links to some of his own favorites).
THE K12 ONLINE CONFERENCE ARCHIVES
Writing about the 2009 K12 Online Conference, the ASCD Inservice blog noted with amazement how much rich professional development content was being offered for free by participating teachers and consultants. Co-founded by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach (who led ABPC’s 21st Century Learners project for several years), K12 Online invites teachers who are using digital tools in the classroom to create and present informative videos during an annual online event each fall. Everything is archived for posterity – more than 150 presentations so far. At this link you’ll see the 2006-09 archives in the right margin. Scroll down to access categories like “basic advanced training,” “overcoming obstacles,” and “kicking it up a notch.”
What better way to end my summer series of great teaching resources than to offer a freebie. Teachers love ‘em and social studies teacher Richard Byrne has got ‘em at his super-popular (and aptly named) Free Technology for Teachers site. As one reviewer said: “When the advice is good and the price is right, what’s not to like?” Richard not only reviews the latest online web tools but offers ideas for integrating them into instruction. If there’s a slight bias in the direction of history, his 21,000 subscribers will testify that much of what Richard has to offer applies across content areas. He also features lesson plans and a growing collection of free ebooks with titles like “Google for Teachers” and “Twelve Essentials of Technology Integration.” A great service.
