Connecting Curriculum & Computers

Connecting Curriculum & Computers
An Internet Hotlist on Connecting Computers and Curriculum

Introduction

The web is brimming with useful tools and resources for teachers. Here are some that are sure to get your creative juices flowing. Be sure to visit your favorite search engines for even more resources.

The Internet Resources

Online Tools for Teachers and Other Adults

Filamentality - Filamentality walks you through creating your choice of five different formats for web-based activities. The nice folks at Filamentality will even store your creation on their servers for you and students to visit. Formats include Hotlists, Subject Samplers, Treasure Hunts and more. I used Filamentality to create this page!

Funbrain - What a fun page to use. Teachers can create quizzes for students to take online. Have results emailed to you after students are finished. Great for unit reviews!

PuzzleMaker - The puzzle maker web site lets you make 11 different styles of custom puzzles, including word searches, mazes, and crossword puzzles. There are even some beautiful hand-drawn mazes. Print from your browser or move the puzzles into your favorite piece of software for further editing.
Quia - The Quintessential Instructional Archive, Quia for short, lets you develop 11different types of games and two types of quizzes. All you need to do is fill in the blanks. Teachers can also create a class page to share games and favorite links with students.

Rubistar - Rubistar is an online tool developed to allow teachers to easily develop rubrics for their lessons. Choose a rubric and edit it to suit your project.

STEPS - STEPS is an online lesson architect linking Florida's Sunshine State Standards, Best Practices and web Links. Rich, professional lesson plans couldn't be easier.

TeacherWeb - TeacherWeb is an online tool for free class web pages. Do you know how to fill in a form? You know how to create a TeacherWeb!

Trackstar - Trackstar is an online tool that allows teachers to collect and annotate web sites to use for lessons. The key questions remain visible, along with the resource, helping students stay "on track."

Curriculum and Standards

Curriculum Frameworks - Orange County Public Schools has developed a beautiful web site with grade level specific information on standards, benchmarks, lessons and Internet sites. The site is still under development, but very useful.
National Educational Technology Standards for Students - Searchable database correlating curriculum, technology and lesson plans.
Sunshine State Standards and GLEs (pdf format)
ExploraSource: connecting resources, standards and learning needs
STEPS - Support for Teachers Enhancing Performance
InTech2000 Forum - This web site includes standards and related ideas and URLs.

Lesson Plan Sites

Blue Web'n - This library of Blue Ribbon learning sites on the web was sponsored by Pacific Bell.
Busy Teachers' Web Site - This award-winning site has links and ideas for most curricular areas.
Education index - Sorted by lifestage and subject, this collection of links offers something for everyone.
EduHound - Everything for K-12 education. Over 20,000 prescreened links, clip art and your choice of English or Spanish languages.
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse - This searchable database is an excellent resource, especially for science and math teachers. A must visit!
ISTE Teacher Resources - The International Society for Technology and Education resource page has a variety of resources, including research, to improve your classroom.
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - One of the best educational sites on the web! Be sure to look at Kathy's collection of assessment resources when designing lessons for your own students.
New York Times’ Daily Lesson Plan - Connect your lessons to "the real world." Today's news provides the inspiration for the featured lesson plan. Be sure to look at the archives too.
Surfing the Net with Kids - Barbara J. Feldman, syndicated columnist, has some of her favorite picks. The site features on upcoming holidays, as well as other high interest topics for kids.
Teachers First - This web site contains a number of matrices to organize the content. Visit your area of interest today.

Curriculum Content

The Learning Page - The Library of Congress' American Memory Collection is home to rich historical documents. The Learning Page offers advice and lesson ideas for teachers wishing to use the vast array of resources contained in the American Memory Collection.

National Geographic Online

PBS Online

Thousands of Newspapers on the Net
The History Channel
The History Place
The WebQuest Page - This is the original WebQuest page by Bernie Dodge.
WebQuests - An impressive collection of brief descriptions and links to WebQuests.

WebQuests created at Southwest - Take a look at some of the WebQuests created during a summer workshop at Southwest.

Technology & Learning Web Sightings - This page has links to some of the best curriculum web sites identified by Technology & Learning magazine.

Other Useful Information

Advice for Parents - Need advice for parents? This page has loads of tips for parents.

Test Taking Skills
Florida Public Schools and Organizations
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Strategies
Florida DOE Software Catalog - Browse this database of educator nominated software offered at a specially negotiated price.
Family Education Printables - Ready to print handouts, puzzles, and worksheets.

Rubrics - This web site is loaded with rubrics for most projects you might imagine.

Content by Rebecca L. Fiedler
Last revised Friday, February 15, 2002