Hot Websites April 2007
By Linda Lindroth

Open the walls of your classroom with these free web resources. Create treasures from trash for Earth Day and find an etrip that will be perfect for your next unit.

The Imagination Factory
www.kid-at-art.com

Designed to help children create art from things that can be reused and recycled, this web resource is perfect for your Earth Day curriculum. Many of the art projects feature materials that are usually thrown away. Lessons and activities fall into 10 main categories: drawing, painting, fiber art, printmaking, collage, sculpture, crafts, modeling, holidays and general information. Each detailed lesson lists materials, how-to instructions and tips and tricks for completing each art project. Try Make a Tray for Mother's Day or Create a Butterfly Mobile for spring.

Use the Trash Matcher to find solid-waste trash and link to the recycled art students can make with that waste. The Badge Matcher helps match art lessons to scout badges. The Project Matcher takes environmental education topics and matches them to activities for science and social studies fair projects.

Be sure to look at A Kid's Columbus for famous art and architecture features of Columbus, IN.

eField Trips
www.efieldtrips.org

Yes, it's getting close to the end of the school year and time is short, but your class can still go on a field trip - an electronic etrip! There are dozens of possibilities that will fit your core content curriculum and let students make a virtual visit. Each free etrip consists of a Trip Journal, Virtual Visit, and Ask the Experts web mail or live chat. Pearl Harbor, Carlsbad Caverns, Glacier Bay and the Everglades are just a few of the possible destinations.

Sony® Reader -- Tech Spotlight

The new Sony® Reader with eInk imaging film is the new generation of electronic paper. It's the perfect traveling book size and just 1/2-inch thick. The device allows for one-hand navigation and uses an electric ink technology that requires no backlight and no power once the text image is displayed. This small device will hold up to 30,000 pages of text – and allows for the use of an optional memory stick or secure digital (SD) device to increase the capacity even more.

The readability is at 170 pixels, which puts it about the same as newspaper print and allows the reader to change font size for better readability. One can even store PDFs and JPEGs.

Visit www.sony.com/reader for more information and to see content products, or call 888-315-SONY. $299.

Linda K. Lindroth is Teaching K-8's technology editor and website coordinator, and a technology resource teacher at Russell Cave Elementary School in Lexington, KY.

April 2007, Vol.37, No.7