Archive of the Link Share
For Teachers Guide to the Internet
Summer 2001

Select a Section to Visit

Section 1
Orientation & Web Browsers

Funbrain

This is a "fun" educational site for teachers, parents, and students. It has a teacher's lounge, curriculum guide, and standards finder. For students it has several academic games and activities. There is an area that provides parents with advice on the growth and learning of children. 

internet tips and secrets

This site gives an "Internet Tip of the Day" among other great, informational tips and secrets that can be used when surfing the web.

SchoolNotes.com

This site provides a simple and effective means to communicate school information to your education community. SchoolNotes.com complements school websites by allowing teachers to post school information (such as student lesson plans/school notes)on the world-wide-web without worrying about HTML or FTP because there is no programming required! And best of all, SchoolNotes.com is a free community service! It allows parents, teachers, and students to access school information from home, work, school, or anywhere the Internet is available. 

Old Books

I thought someone might enjoy this site.

Teachers.Net

The Teachers.Net Lesson Bank is a giant virtual bulletin board where teachers from all over can access and post successful lessson plans and activities.

techtv Browser Tips

A small but super collection of tips for browser use. I especially like the keyboard shortcuts.

northwestern middle school web page

This is the web page for Northwestern Middle School

RefDesk.com

A very, very comprehensive place to find all sorts of information on the Internet!

Section 2
Internet Overview

Distance Education Chat

It is a place where teachers can share ideas,teaching techiques,web sites, and documents. 

The History of the Internet

This site gives a timeline and explanations of how the Internet has been used from 1957 to current time.

Guidance and Counseling

This is a good site for school counselors. Lot's of links to college information, scholarships, career education, interest inventories etc.

The Teacher's Lounge

A real beginning. Very easy read in a humorous format. Something to pass along to anyone who feels they are intimdated by the Internet.

Advice to New Users of Usenet

Just what it says. This post gives the beginner a lesson in how to navigate around in this arena. 

k12.Chat.Teacher

An interesting site for active, retired, regular or special ed. teachers. The purpose of the site is to discuss issues of general interest, discuss problems and share ideas. There is a lot of information on posting guidelines and explanations of how to ask for advice. 

Fact Monster from Information Please

Put an end to the long line of students at your desk who are asking an array of questions with the help of "Information Please Kids' Almanac". For the classroom, this Web site brings a virtual encyclopedia that is organized for kids and searchable.

livinginternet.com

Helpful 'How it works' site that explains much of the workings of the net.

National Center for Education Statistics: Internet Access in Public Schools 1994-2000

Interesting snapshot of Internet usage and availability in the nation;s public schools over the past few years. Helps identify trends and other helpful information.

Undertandng and Using the Internet

This site gives an introduction and overview of the Internet and how to use it. It also gives you some information about PBS.

internet tree

This site about the internet was set up in a very well organized manner. It divides the program into branches and roots to give a more visual effect. It also answers important questions that you might have about the internet.

Your Internet Consultant-The FAQ's of Life Online

The site is actually a full text of a book with questions and answers regarding the Internet. Chapter 1 is Just What Is This Internet? There are many questions and answers just within this one chapter.

Alice

A simulated conversation between myself and another person waiting for a psychology class to begin. She began and then I would respond. She would continue by responding to what I said until the class started.

Ballad of an email Terrorist

A fourth grade teacher was describing a situation that happened where one of her students recieved an obscene message. It goes through the steps she had to take to find out where it originated. The originator was found and a consequence issued. 

Future of the Internet

This site is quite informative in terms of the information it provides. It is very simple to read. It lists several categories of current and upcoming internet technology (Mobile computing, Merging Mass Media, Internet Accessibility). Under each category is a list of specific changes and upgrades that are soon to be made within that category

Netiquette

This site gives you advice on both good and bad manners when communicating via the Internet.

FTP Find Search Engine

This is an FTP search engine that will find everything form text files to pictures and audio.

WiredKids: From Safety and Privacy to Literacy and Empowerment

WiredKids provides free materials to help parents and teachers learn about positive uses of the Internet and practical strategies for keeping kids safe.

Neat Net Tricks

A "neat" little site that give all sorts of interesting tidbits about using the Internet. You can also sign up to receive the Neat Net Tricks free e-mail newsletter.

Contributed by Vicki Pharis

etiquette for computer users

Another interesting article on etiquette on the Internet. Many quick bullet points on the "best" way to treat users of the Internet. A "10 Commandments" of netiquette is also included.

Webopedia2

Try this link--I don't think I entered the first one correctly. Sorry!

Blue Mountain cards

This is a cool site for sending e-mail cards for free. You can even buy flowers, candy, and other gifts to send with your personlized cards. A great site for encouraging teachers and students!

internet101

This is a very helpful site about the basis of the internet. It is written in very simplistic terms that would be good for many ages of students.

Section 3
Communication

Strategies for Teaching in Moo Spaces

This article provides usefel tips for the individual who has gained confindence in manuveuring him/herself around a Moo space and now wants to embark on teaching in a Moo Space. The article begins by explaining what a Moo space is and continues by listing the benefits of utilizing this avenue for teaching.It ends with an outline of how one would organize in order to teach this way.

Distance Education Chat and Resources

It is a place where teachers can share ideas, teaching techiques, and documents. Visitors are welcome to

 

Yahoo Groups

A huge selection of mailing lists. YOu can start your own, or join one of the many already in existence. A search for "education" found many, many mail lists that may be helpful in sharing information among colleagues and peers.

Special Education Chat Room

This is a great chat room, one in which you can ask any question pertaining to Special Education.

Net Teacher Chatboard

Lots of topics to respond to and announcements to read. Many opinions shared and disscussed.

Chatboards for teachers

At this sight you could ask questions about anything that applied to early childhood education. Other teachers respond with answers/ideas. 

What's MOO's?

This site defines Moo, tells how Moo can be used in education, and provides overviews and links to a number of resources.

Athena University

Athena University is a virtual college. Degrees in History, English, Foreign Languages, Computer Science, Computer Aesthetics, and Business Administration can be earned through this Moo.

List of Moos

This site gives you a list of moos. It also gives some history of Moos and some helpful Moo commands. 

PUESD Webboard

Another support and discussion site for teachers. I went to Elementary Chatboard(grades 1-3). I found a post by Cyndy on 6/28 that I could really relate to. It was titled, "Help! I am so discouraged". I was laughing so hard that my husband came up to see what was so funny. He also could relate to this one. Again, I'm not sure I would spend my time on these chatboards but at least I now know how to get to them if I feel the need. Contains listings and links for several education-related mail lists and other communication tools among educators.

L-Soft List Search

This site is helpful for finding mailing lists related to topics you can search on. However, not too many specifics are given about the list, and one is directed to contact the author by e-mail for more information.

Online Community Papers

I went to Tapped In by Terrie Gray. In this section I reviewed Feature Stories. An index of the site's lead stories can be found. The features include articles and video clips.

teachers chatboard

This site was full of valuable information for teachers. It offered a wide variety of subject areas. It was also easy to access.

The Teachers.Net Chatboard Network

This site is basically a support group for teachers. Teachers can post questions and receive responses. I checked out classroom management,substitute teachers, and early childhood. Kind of interesting to see what different people have to say about a topic. I'm not sure that I would use my time with it.

Teacher Talk Forums

This sight contains all kinds of topics from penpals, to questions about decorating you room to useful web sites for teachers. It's a place to get ideas and help from others teachers.

Section 4
K12 Resources

Simplified Tax and Wage Reporting System (STAWRS)

This site teaches students about taxes, and also how to start their own business. 

Fifth Grade Bibliography

This site lists the correct way to cite bibliographies for print and electronic(internet) sources. I chose Fifth Grade Bibliography because citing sources is done more often at this grade level in the elementary school as they are preparing for middle school. I also can direct teachers to this site when they request information about documenting sources and writing bibliographies. I found this site under Galileo Student Resources at one of Kathy Schrock many wonderful sites for educator.

Marco Polo: Internet Content for the Classroom

The Marco Polo Guide for Elem. Teachers is a new resource for grades K-6. It gives a step by step tour of the Marco Polo web sites. I plan to request a free copy of the guide. I'll be using lots from this guide beginning in the new school year with Geography. 

School Discovery

This site covers lesson plans, teaching tools,a teacher store,clipart, puzzlemaker etc. It has something for all grade levels. I found this one while searching Galileo.

TeachNow

A new company headed by Frank Shaffer and his sons. This site has lots of resources that you can purchase, download, and print yourself. Also included are lots of good resources, ideas, and links.

KidsClick! Web for Kids by Librarians

Links to great sites for kids on all topics (current events, science and math, fine arts, sports and recreation, reading, writing and grammar, reference sources and more). Searches can be limited by reading level (up to grade 2, grades 3-6, grades 7 and up). I find this to be an excellent site when students need information for class research activites/projects.

Probability with M&M's

I found many wonderful lesson plans on the AskEric website. I especially liked a lesson on probability using M&M's. This is a multi-sensory lesson which I think the children will enjoy while they learn about probability. There are lessons with easy as well as difficult questions on probability with M&M's.

teacher stuff #2

This site has tips and lesson plans. It is organized by grade level or by theme. There are many printable pages which are ready-to-use. I am posting again in order to get a direct link under the title.

Make a Snowman

This is a site full of different ideas for young students. They can build a snowman using this website, but htere are so many other things. You can find games, puzzles, worksheets etc. on this website. Definitely worth a look!

Cool math for kids--fractions

I found this site through the Georgia Learning Connections. (Teacher Resource Center)Cool math for kids was a very colorful site that dealt with many areas in mathematics(k-12). The section that I viewed was on fractions. It was a very comprehensive lesson on fractions. What I liked about it was that it was colorful and kid-friendly where the graphics were not too distractful.

Chuck Eby's School Counselor resources

This is a good resource for secondary school counselors, parents and high school students. It has a lot of useful information.

 

Georgia High School Graduation test

I was interested in this site because I had two children in a position to take the georgia high school graduation test. One last year, and one this year. I am not a teacher, but I work at my children's high school as a school assistant. It was very comforting to be able to access this site in a parental capacity. I was able to put my mind at ease as to what was expected of my children. I found it very informative. I'm sure other parents would, too.

EduPuppy

This is a prescreened database of links for early childhood educators. It is user friendly and includes links to lesson plans/themes, technology integration sites, educ. articles and research,and special ed materials. Also puts out a weekly newsletter. Won the Golden Web Award for 2001-2002. Found this site through an early childhood magazine.

Ideas for using Eric Carle's books

This is a wonderful website all about Eric Carle and his books. There is a listing of all of his book titles and ways that teachers have incorporated his books into their classroom. I plan on using The Grouchy Ladybug to help teach time this year. One idea used visuals to help demonstrate the passage of time which is a difficult concept for kindergarteners. 

the magnet man

I went into the teachers resource site and found this good lesson plan on magnets. It gave experiments, terms,math projects,and many other helpful information on presenting this topic. I will use this site many times.

funbrain.com

This site contains more than 50 interactive learning games and thousands of assessment quizzes. There are are games for ages 6-17 and up. I especially like connect the dot games I can use in the fall with first graders. There are games for connecting dots by 5's and connecting the alphabet backward games.

Mrs. Fisher's Kinder Themes

I particularly enjoy this site because it is a kindergarten site and it has theme ideas based on each month of the school year.

Georgia Learning Connections

I found about 10 lesson plans that I could use this year. This is a wonderful resource. You put in your grade level and the subject area you are interested in. You get a list of complete lesson plans you can copy and use. I'll use this site alot!

Georgia Treasures

I LOVED THIS SITE!!! I couldn't believe it when I scrolled through the page and found all the "treasures" that Georgia has to offer. I knew this was a wonderful, modern city. I am ashamed of myself, having lived here for 13 years, that I have not taken advantage of all this city has to offer. There is everything from libraries, museums and parks, to general information, government agencies and historical sites. I was amazed. I think teachers could really utilize this site. Check it out if you have the time. I know I will return to it for more information about Georgia.

Pink Monkey.com

This is great site for using supplementary material with Literature. It gives chapter by chapter synopsis, in addition to many other useful information.

Puzzlemaker

This is a great site for teachers of kids of all ages. You can use the site to create word seaches, crossword puzzles, mazes, and many other fun things. 

Teachers.Net lesson Exchange

On the Teachers.Net site there is a section that has lesson plans. They range from preschool to senior high school. You can choose to use a lesson or adapt it to meet your classroom needs. You can also post your own lessons to the site. I specifically looked at the elementary level--2nd grade nutrition lesson plans. (smith@teachers.net) She had some neat ideas as to how to make teaching food groups fun. I think I can use this with the kids in the fall.

Teachers First

This site is loaded with great lesson plans. I like the fact that it has an "interdisciplinary" category in the lesson plans section.

Time 4 Teachers

Time 4 Teachers has many lesson plans and other materials. Most of them are either in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. This allows the teacher to edit and adapt each resource as needed. There are free and pay resources on this site.

Social Science

This is a Galileo site which is full of links to psychological issues. I especially liked the CyberPsych Link. It shares journals and newsletters, grants and job info., library catalogs, usenets groups, organizations, medicine links and software for psychology.

Student Resources K-12

This is a Galileo site which focuses on students and their issues. I especially like the link to Teen Hoopla where teens can look at book reviews, info. on teen issues, and help with homework.

artspirit

This a great site that links you to other quality sites. Link to lesson plans initially and that opens to other links such as Core Knowledge,Ask Eric

Resources for Secondary School Counselors

This is a good site for high school counselors as well as for students and parents. It has many helpful links and I have used it often.

Section 5
Searching for Resources

Active Listening Skills 

A very interesting site from About.com I found this by clicking on Secondary Education. Active Listening skills increase adolescent's self-esteem according to one article. There were other articles for parents as well.

search engine

This a search engine that allows you to find almost anything. It's divided up by topics and under each topic are specific areas to search. There is something for every interest and every age.

Ask ERIC

This is a federally funded, vast 16-subject clearing house of education resources. Sometimes Eric can be a little overwhelming.

Lesson Plan Search

There are exactly 2,516 lesson plans to choose from at this site. No, I haven't done all 2,516,but you won't have any trouble finding just what you need. You'll find every subject and all levels. I really like the MATH ones on story problems,games and measurement. I now have some plans to begin in August.

Math Resources by Subject

This is a HUGE site listing all kinds of math materials--lesson plans, projects, etc. It is organized by subject and grade level for easy access.

School to Career Links

This is a good site for the student who is not planning to attend a four year college after high school. 

A World of Kindergartens

A site made especially for Kindergarten teachers. Certain topics are highlighed, but an alpa listing brings up topics that you choose. The site includes songs, poems, books and activites. I liked the poems that were given to help teach how to write numbers.

Star Child: A Learning Center for young Astronomers

This is a great site to compliment a unit on space. Within this site children will learn about the solar system, the universe, an other "neat" space information. There is also a glossary to define space terms. This site is presented in 2 levels. Level 1 being geared fo younger children and level 2 for older children.

 

Occupations research

This is a great site for students looking into career choices. It gives so many different occupations and their salaries, typical workdays, preparation for the jobs... This is a good site to start looking into careers and to help determine what major to major in in college to get into that career.

Google Toolbar

This page lets you put the powerful Google search tools right on your toolbar in Internet Explorer. You can go right to a Google search, without opening the Google home page. Very cool!

Smart choices made simple

Anyone who is into healthy eating needs to check out this site. The heart and stroke Foundation has set up a health check system to be implemented soon on the groceries in the stores. I sounds like a good idea and would be a fast and effetive way to grocery shop without having to really read the labels on the packages. As long as you feel good about the research gone into the program, you could be confident that the products displaying the health check symbol could be trusted to be represented honestly. I don't know about any of you, but whatever saves me time in the grocery store lines and contributes to my families health and nutrition is alright with me. 

abcteach

This is a quality educational site that offers free printable theme units, words puzzles, writing forms, book report forms, ideas, lessons and much more. Great for new teachers, student teachers, homeschooling and teachers who like creative ways to teach.

Ask Jeeves for Kids

This one is just like the adult one but is for children to ask questions. It also is user friendly. Gives questions that other children are also asking. This another great source for kids.

Reading Rainbow Books

This site contains a list of Reading Rainbow books along with a description of each episode, activity suggestions, and for some stories, a detailed discussion guide. It is located on askjeeves.com.

Ask Jeeves

Ask any question and Jeeves will guide you to links to answer. I love this one and use it most of the time. VERY user friendly.

Dog Pile -- All Results, No mess

This is a great search engine, in my opinion. I used to use it a lot when I first started using the Internet. It gives you sources from a variety of other search engines, so it's great to use when you want to find a wide selection on web sites on a topic.

Charcter Education - Free Resources for teacher

This webite was put together to assist educators with the tremendous job of teaching character education. It lists some general principles regarding character and provides links to free resources.

Body Break / Keep fit and have fun

This was so great. It was a wealth of resource materials to support all the avenues you need to obtain your fitness and nutrition goals. 

LearningPage.com

This site offers downloadable lesson plans and other materials at a VERY reasonable price.

Metacrawler

This search engine calls itself Metacrawler:Search the Search Engines. It is like an umbrella search engine that searches many of the singular search engines. The hit list shows you what other search engines also carry the same hit. Very useful. 

ProTeacher.com

This is a website set up like a search engine. You can put in a certain topic and it will find lesson plans, ideas and activities for that topic. There also is an alpa listing under the literature section for book titles. I plan on using some of the ideas for "The Mitten".

Dr. Seuss info. and activities

This sight has games and puzzles that your students can play(concentration, puzzle pieces etc). A great resource for the week of Dr. Seuss's birthday. It also has teaching resources.

Studyweb

This is a great site! It has lists of links to colleges and homework help and lots more. I could see passing on this website to students at my school.

Super Kids

This site is a parent and teacher's guide to educational resources. It contains software, educational tools with worksheets that you design, games, feature articles, book recommendations for all ages, and much more. A wealth of information.

Lesson plans

This site has lesson plans on almost any subject/category. It list the level (elem., middle, or senior). You can view a category, search for a specific subject or add your own lesson plan to share with others.

Yahooligans

This search engine is meant for children. Of course, adults can use too. I like the "safe surfing" quiz that's offered. There is also a parent's guide and teacher's guide to using. 

Section 6
Evaluating Web Resources

Evaluating Internet Sources

Criteria for Evaluating Internet Resources; The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Information Quality: A Checklist for Determining the Value of Information Retrieved from the Internet

Lots of Links from Google Groups search

Here are twenty or so links from a Google Groups search for "Evaluating Web Sites" Some are from well known universities, some are from who knows where. I used my newly found "evaluation" skills to rumage through them.

An Educator's Guide to Credibility and Web Evaluation

I found this site to be a most valuable resource for the educator. One link I went to was "Why Evaluate Web Information?" This linked to another site which is a committee that evaluates sites for children, educators, and parents. At the bottom of the list of comm. members is the link to \b{700+ Great Sites For Children}. It has easy to read selection criteria and can be most helpful to all who locate it. One of the many things I learned is that it is /u{imperative} to teach children how to evaluate web sources as soon as they begin "navigating" themselves. "Awareness" of Internet evaluation should begin even earlier.

Teaching Web Evaluation

This site was useful as it was very informative and simply formatted. It presented topics related to evaluating the internet: Why Evaulate Web Information, Methods of Evaluation, and Teaching Web Evaluation 

A WebQuest About Evaluating Web Sites

This is a sites for teachers and students grades 9-12. It is full of links and resources for high school teachers and students.

Evaluating Information found on the internet- Milton's Web

This site gives very helpful information which can help researchers on the web evaluate the information they are reading. To evaluate material online, one needs to make sure there is accuracy or verifiability of details, especially if the work is one of an unfamiliar author or organization. Look for links and/or bibliography which includes sources which can be checked. Also, it is helpful if it is a research document to see the actual research methods included in the document.

Evaluating Internet Information from Milton's Web

This article discusses the criteria one should use to evaluate material/ information on the internet. It gives some very good pointers and lists questions you should ask.One thing it said that I found interesting was: Does the information reside in an official Web Site or in a Personal Internet Account? You should be very causious of the later.It also warned about the variety of points of view and bias you will find on the internet due to the ease of self publication.Let the reader BEWARE.Learn to be skeptical and trust your instincts.This site also links to other good information.

Critical Evaluation Surveys from Kathy Schrock/Discovery Channel

This site is particularly helpful to \b{both} teachers and students. There are three levels of evaluations that students can print out and use when evaluating a web site.(elementary, middle, and secondary). I think this would be most helpful in the beginning when a student is first learning to evaluate a site. There is also an evaluation for anyone taking a virtual tour of anyplace on the Internet. Also a list of links that offer evaluation information. I liked the link of \blue{Website Investigator}. This is a great evaluation tool for the young students,(K-1). A student can evaluate a site by printing out a worksheet with faces. The child circles the smiley,no face, sad face. Very simple tool. Another link I thought was well done was \blue{Evaluating Websites}. It gave five criteria for evaluating sites. I liked the set up of the page with criteria on the left side and then how to interpret the criteria on the right side. Lots of good stuff from Kathy Schrock/Discovery Channel!!

Selection Criteria

This article provides criteria that can be used to measure a website's "greatness". It is written in easy to read language and is set up in an outline format with bullet points. It begins with a great analogy comparing the "web" to a flea market. It points out that the web is full of "treasures" that are found among a lot of "junk".

Searching For the Truth

This is a great article that shares information on how to evaluate information sources on the Internet. It gives you a checklist of points to consider when evaluating any information source.

Evaluating Internet Sources

This is a great site for evaluating sources on the Internet. It gives criteria for what a "reliable" source is, what to look for in a "quality" site, and a checklist to use when evaluating an Internet site.

Critical Evaluation of Resources

This article provides information needed to evaluate a site you are using, especially if you are doing research. Indicators are presented to use to determine if a website is "credible". The article also provides a simple checklist of questions to use in verying a site. It points out that the source of a website can be a "filter" to weed out inappropiate sites.

How to Evaluate Web Pages: Questions to Ask, Strategies for Getting the Answers

This site offers a checklist and tricks for evaluating Web pages. Evaluative criteria discusses what can the URL tell you, who wrote the page, the tmeliness and authenticity of the information, and overall integrity and reliability of the source. There are also other links to evaluating Web sources.

Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools

This site discusses your search needs as the primary important factor when evaluating Web sites. It also discusses evaluative criteria such a content, authority, organization, searchability, graphic design and innovative use.

Overview of Evaluation Criteria from Cornell Library

This article discusses the importance of evaluating a source by looking at the bibliographic citation. A bibliographic citation includes a written description of a book, journal article, essay, or other published material. Bibloigraphic citations include the author, title, and publication information. These components can help us determine the usefullness of the source for a paper before we invest our time reading the source. Included in this article is a link "Evaluating Quality on the Net" by Hope N. Tillman. In her article, Ms. Tillman includes "Key indicators of quality (my checklist)." This is a short outline listing important information to look for to determine quality of a source. I found the outline to be an easy to use guide. 

ICYouSee: T is for Thinking

This article is a link from Meridian:A Middle School Technologies Journal. The Meridian discusses the value of goal based projects and ways of evaluating them. A four question check-list with yes or no answers is provided for asssessing internet information. The link ICYouSee lists five suggestions to be considered when examining Web pages. There is a lot of useful information here with many more links.

Thanks to Babylon Studio for this link share program!

Last Edited: 12 Jun 01 
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