Technology in Your Classroom : Hot Websites :
Hot Websites October 2005
By Linda Lindroth
Integrating technology in your curriculum is a snap with these terrific resources from the web
October is Computer Learning Month and these great web resources for research and project-based learning will help you integrate technology in your curriculum.
Answers.com
www.answers.com
Teachers and students need reliable, safe information when researching topics of interest in the classroom. This free research resource gives students quick access to accurate, up-to-date information from more than a million resource pages to support your curriculum.
Answers.com is a research engine that returns "answers" rather than the hundreds of often unrelated links obtained in "keyword hits." The results are organized by category from resources such as Dictionary, WordNet, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia, Best of Web, Mentioned In, Thesaurus, Images, News and keyword topics related to the search. A drop-down menu of categories makes it easy to navigate each results page. Definitions of keywords include an audio button for pronunciation. One-Click lets you access this feature for any word you select in your browser.
Each results page provides specific information for your search topic with words throughout the document linked to new information pages about that word or topic. For example, if I am researching plants, then the parts of a plant will be hyperlinked to additional pages that will define each plant part and provide more information.
Icons at the bottom of each results page or article let you e-mail or print the page. There's even a Cite icon, which provides a complete bibliographic citation that you can copy, then paste into a student research report. You can even click to change the citation style for MLA, Chicago or APA – awesome!
And there's more! Browse the Answers Directory for a research or science fair topic. You can also click on Today's Highlights for an Event Spotlight, Today's Birthdays, links to Today's News and Today in History – there's even a Quote and Today's Word.
Blue Zones LifeQuest
www.bluezones.com
Remember the MayaQuest and Dan Buettner? Well, he and his bicycle are off on another research quest – this time it's Blue Zones, the LifeQuest expedition to find the areas of the world where people tend to live the longest. Sign up now for this free online quest – the first day of this fascinating expedition is October 31, 2005.
The downloadable 80-page curriculum guide, matched to NETS standards with activities for life science, health and wellness, supports the quest to explain the longer, healthier lives in some parts of the world. The Blue Zone Health Challenge and Vitality Compass lets students participate in data gathering on good health habits.
Packetville
www.cisco.com/go/packetville/
Packetville, from Cisco Systems, is a free, content-rich eLearning web portal to teach students ages 8-14 about the Internet and IT careers. Tied to ISTE standards (NETS), the lessons, games and fun activities integrate technology into the core content as well as reflect the different ways the Internet impacts the world.
Packetville consists of Packet Riders (ages 8-11), Hacker Busters (ages 12-14) and areas for both Parents and Instructors and Administrators. There are dozens of hands-on adventures in both student areas with tech vocabulary, downloadable characters and stickers and a Young Heroes section with technology service projects. The extensive facts and links in Cool Techie News are exceptional!
LCD-16 Wireless audio -- Tech Spotlight
With the rapid growth in the use of LCD projectors in the classroom and the need to clearly hear the auditory elements in multimedia presentations, Califone's Wireless LCD Projector Audio Transmitter LCD-16 easily provides the amplification to better use the sound capabilities of multimedia lessons. The small, wireless transmitter is the size of a deck of playing cards. With a single connection to any LCD projector, it will amplify and transmit sound to a Califone Wireless PA or to a wireless receiver that can connect to your own PA system. Sound can be received up to 50 feet away, reaching students in all parts of the room and providing accommodations for hearing impaired students.
Visit www.califone.com for more information and to see other Califone products, or call 800-722-0500. $144
Linda K. Lindroth is Technology Editor and Web Coordinator for Teaching K-8. She is also a Technology Resource Teacher in a K-5 computer lab in Lexington, KY.
