Education
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/
MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom is a nonprofit consortium of education organizations and the MCI Foundation "dedicated to providing the highest quality Internet content and professional development to teachers and students throughout the United States." The website began as a collection of standards-based, discipline-specific websites for K-12 teachers and now offers lesson plans, student interactive content, downloadable worksheets, links to panel-reviewed websites and additional resources. The website also provides information on the "scalable professional development program" and the "network of states partners dedicated to rolling out MarcoPolo to all teachers and aligning the content to state education standards." Visitors to the website can search the educational resources created by or reviewed by the MarcoPolo Partners, or browse the most recent and featured postings. The MarcoPolo Calendar provides information on historic events and associates them with related MarcoPolo lessons, and a monthly newsletter, MarcoGrams, highlights "common themes from space exploration to family culture" and includes "motivating warm-ups for classroom discussion" and links to other resources. Another section links to MarcoPolo websites across the nation that provide teachers with MarcoPolo content aligned to their state standards. Some resources require free registration, such as information on how to use the MarcoPolo program, free web-based training, and technology tips. The program is so comprehensive, there is even research on the impact of the MarcoPolo program so far. [VF]
http://www.scienceproject.com/
The Science Project website welcomes you to "the world's largest web site for Science Project ideas, information and support." Students can search for ideas by level: primary (e.g. Make a Volcano), elementary (e.g. Fluorescent Lights), intermediate (e.g. pendulums), and senior (e.g. Study of efficient home insulation). Senior project ideas cover the following topic areas: Biology, Engineering, Physical Science, Earth Science/Meteorology, Environmental Science, Computer Science, and Chemistry. The ideas are accessible for free without registration, but "only members can get support and access the members section for more project details." (Unfortunately, this does favor those able to pay -- Basic membership is $25/year and Advanced membership is $150/year, but a trial membership for 90 days is $10.) Opportunities for teachers, scientists and schools are also described within Membership Info. [VF]
Chucks Robotics Notebook
http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/robotics/index.html
Hobby Engineering: Robotics Department
http://www.hobbyengineering.com/DeptRB.html#kits
Chuck's Robotics Notebook "serves as a journal and knowledge repository for the aspiring roboticist" and includes sections on circuits, projects, and controllers. A section on Complete Robots describes some of the robots he has built and includes some photos. A "bibliography of sorts" provides his favorite books and articles "so that you can build a 'Mechatronic' library of your own." The second website, Hobby Engineering, is more of a clearinghouse for robotics supplies, but also provided is some information on robotics. Chuck describes robotics as "a fun, challenging activity that also develops important skills in subjects as diverse as reading, researching, critical thinking, problem solving, mechanics, electronics and software." The Robot Builders Menu and Guide describes the components that go into a robot, including tools and kits you can purchase through them online. [VF]
The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics sponsors Mathematics Awareness Month (MAM) every April with the goal of increasing public understanding of and appreciation for mathematics. MathForum offers this website with activity announcements and other information on MAM. Resources that are forthcoming include: a Theme Poster, Essays, and Related Resources. This year's theme is The Mathematics of Networks. Activities for Mathematics Awareness Month are usually organized by college and university departments, institutional public information offices, student groups, and related associations and interest groups and include workshops, competitions, exhibits, festivals, lectures, and symposia. High schools have also become more involved in Mathematics Awareness Month activities in recent years. An online form allows other groups to submit their events in celebration of the Mathematics of Networks for posting online. [VF]
http://www.fi.uu.nl/en/welcome.html [Word, pdf]
The Freudenthal Institute is part of Utrecht University in the Netherlands and conducts research on math education. The goals are "to understand and improve the teaching of arithmetic and mathematics at all levels, but particularly in kindergarten, primary, secondary and vocational education." The Freudenthal Institute has developed a theoretical approach known as Realistic Mathematics Education, which is based on the idea that "education should guide the students towards using opportunities to reinvent mathematics by doing it themselves." Through a collaboration with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), at the University Wisconsin-Madison, the Freudenthal Institute - USA(FiUS) focuses on: Supporting teacher development of classroom assessment, designing comparative achievement studies, developing curricula and materials for students, teachers and parents, building leadership capacity in school districts through professional communities, and collaboration in education (e.g. supervising PhD-students). Teachers are often involved in co-developing classroom materials and assessments. The Freudenthal Institute also offers the Reken Web, which is available in English as well as Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish and provides numerous math games which can be browsed or selected by age group (ages 5 - 12). A significant amount of the institute's publications are available online. Additional publications and resources are available for purchase, some in Dutch and English. [VF]
Internet Plagiarism
http://www.plagiarism.org/
Turnitin.com
http://www.turnitin.com
Plagiarism.org is an "online resource for educators concerned with the growing problem of Internet plagiarism." The organization provides information on online plagiarism and explains how Turnitin.com can be used by educators "to fight plagiarism and help bring academic integrity back into our schools." The technologies behind Turnitin.com, facts about Internet plagiarism, and the growth of "cheatsites" online are also explained. Members of Turnitin.com pay for access to "a proprietary system that instantly identifies papers containing unoriginal material and acts as a powerful deterrent to stop student plagiarism before it starts." Turnitin.com has also developed a system that allows for online peer review of student work, a tool that lets instructors mark and grade papers in electronic format, a tool that lets instructors manage grades and assignments online, and an archiving system that can be used for "an authentic assessment of the learning experience." Visitors to Turnitin.com can get quotes for these products and obtain general information about internet plagiarism. [VF]
http://db.educationworld.com/perl/browse?cat_id=1854
Education World (reported on in the February 22, 2002 NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences) is a website that intended to be "a home for educators on the Internet, a place where teachers could gather and share ideas." This section of Education World provides information on grants and awards available for teachers. There are currently 52 web resources listed on scholarship and other grants, as well as tips on grant writing. Although some entries from the search result may not belong in this list (ie: offering lesson plans on Irish), there is a good deal of grant resources listed here. [VF]
techLEARNING.com is produced by Technology & Learning Magazine. The magazine is available online and includes contributions from K-12 teachers, administrators and other experts in technology education. Feature articles in the March 2004 issue include Data: Mining with a Mission and Network Monitoring: A 360-Degree Plan. Websites, technology trends, and innovative classrooms or schools are also highlighted in each issue. The Educators' Outlook section includes resources from The Well Connected Educator -- a previous web-based project which collected articles, web tours, Teachers' Choice entries, and forum comments contributed by readers. New contributions from readers continue to be collected through techLEARNING.com. Another magazine, Digital Video in the Classroom, is also posted online. From this website, administrators and teachers can find out how to host a Tech Forum -- a day conference on "a practical look at some of the challenges facing today's schools and how to solve them" -- for a fee, of course. Sections for teachers, administrators and technology coordinators highlight articles from the magazines relevant for these different audiences. [VF]
