Education
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/kiddesign/index.shtml
The Human Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland wants children to have "a voice in making new technology for kids." To meet this goal, the group have organized a technology design team which brings together children (ages seven to eleven) and researchers from computer science, education, art, robotics, and other disciplines to meet twice a week and work on projects together. The teams write papers and create new technologies, most of which are available free to download from this website. Information on the group's design process and approach to teaching and learning is also provided.
http://homepages.seresc.net/~sray/alvirne.html
The Calculus class at Alvirne High School in Hudson, N.H., encourages students to join in preparing for the Asvanced Placement Calculus exam. To provide students practice in Calculus, a new problem is posted each week and students are invited to send in their solutions. The following week, a detailed solution is then included in the archive of calculus problems from Alvirne High School. Guests are also invited to submit a problem of the week, and those problems are then included in a separate archive. The website also provides an extensive list of online resources for teachers and information on the AP Calculus exam. [VF]
http://www.articlesforeducators.com/directory.asp?dir=6
Articles For Educators is a free resource offered by Virtu Software. On this website, teachers will find lesson plans, field trip ideas, tips and tricks for the classroom written by educators. Visitors can browse the directory of articles by subject or search for a specific topic. This section highlights Mathematics lesson plans written by math teachers and is organized into the following main sections: Competition, Fun with Numbers, and Miscellaneous. Membership, which is free, provides educators access to post articles, comment on other articles, or discuss subjects in the community forum. The website does include a few advertisements, but they do not overwhelm the website and its creator, a software developer who is also active in Christian ministry, also includes several Christian education links. [VF]
http://metric.ma.imperial.ac.uk/new/html/index.html
Developed by individuals from the Mathematics Department and the Chemistry Department at the Imperial College in London, METRIC Maths aims to help students improve their math skills and knowledge. Visitors can download for free the Java-based program, which is geared towards advanced secondary level mathematics and as preparation for transitioning to University level mathematics. The program provides students an opportunity to "investigate mathematical ideas using METRIC's explorations," practice mathematical skills using their self-test exercises, or browse through course notes. A toolkit is also provided, which contains calculators, graph plotters and numerical tools. Note that the Teacher's Guide section of the website was not available at the time of this report, suggesting the project is a work in progress. [VF]
The Museum of Science's Educator Resource Center (ERC), based in Boston, MA, offers this website providing educators with "recommended and institutional Museum materials, all mapped to national and state standards, in order to increase the quality of science, technology, and engineering education." The collection includes a wealth of curriculum materials and science project resources focused specifically on engineering and technology education. Each lesson is evaluated in terms of usability, teacher support, and standards compliance. These evaluations and annotated comments from the evaluator provide insights into how useful the resource might prove in various learning environments. Visitors can search the collection using a variety of search criteria. Teachers in the Boston area can also use the online calendar of events to plan a field trip to the Museum of Science. [VF]
http://www.hmco.com/resource/index.html
Offered by the educational publisher Houghton Mifflin, the Beyond the Book website is meant to be "an online leadership forum for superintendents and educators nationwide, dedicated to helping every child learn and every child succeed." The website is divided into sections where visitors can read about case studies written by "inspiring superintendents and teachers from across the country," insights on best practices, strategies and management methods, commentary and opinions on current events, issues, or trends in education, and highlights from national news coverage. Note that some of the news articles may require free registration to access. All of the articles address a variety of topics in education, including mathematics education and the use of technology in education. Educators are invited to contribute a case study or educator insight article, or to provide feedback and responses to any of the website content or articles in the project newsletter, which is emailed to subscribers weekly free of charge. [VF]
http://www.educational-software-directory.net/
Educational Software Directory.net is an online directory that provides information on various software programs used in education. The website is hosted by KnowPlay, an online software store, which charges software makers to have their information posted here. The collection of programs and related websites can be searched using keywords or browsed by topic areas, which are: Children's, Games, Language Arts, Math, Multimedia, Music, Reference, Science, Social Studies, Special Needs, Teacher's, and Training. Other sections of the website provide links to organizations that offer online reviews of educational software, publishers of educational software, educational organizations involved in educational software, and online magazines, news sources, and related resources. [VF]
http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/education/K12.html
Unidata is a community, consisting mostly of educators and researchers, which provides "data, tools, and community leadership for enhanced Earth-system education and research." In this section of the website, Unidata members suggest some of their favorite K-12 websites that educators can use to teach about weather. Along with each website link is a short description of the resource. Some websites are described as offering multimedia instructional resources and weather data, while others offer instructional modules or lesson ideas. SkyMath, for example, was developed in 1996 by Unidata and offers a free module that uses "everyday atmospheric science issues to teach math according to the national standards." [VF]
