Speeding forward: this year's K-12 winners offer more complex and comprehensive curriculum applications than ever before. (Curriculum Web Site Awards 2002).As schools' Internet use takes advantage of the explosive growth in complex digital content, schools need Internet access See how to access the Internet. that can support rich interactive multimedia and real-time applications. Therefore high-speed Web connectivity is rapidly becoming the new school standard. For example, the Technology in Education 2001 report from Shelton, Conn.-based Market Data Retrieval shows that 63 percent of schools now access the Internet through T1 lines, a growth of 7 percent from last year. The use of all other types of connections decreased for the same period, and dial-up connections dropped to 18 percent. The survey also found that 83 percent of schools offer some form of dedicated Internet access, including 56Kb connections, T1 or T3 lines, cable modems cable modem Modem used to convert analog data signals to digital form and vise versa, for transmission or receipt over cable television lines, especially for connecting to the Internet. or digital satellite. High-speed Internet See broadband. access among schools also varies by state, ranging from a high of 100 percent in Delaware, to a low of 38 percent in Vermont. But while high-speed access is becoming increasingly common in schools, of crucial importance is how the technology is used to support teaching and learning. An MDR MDR, n See multidrug resistance. MDR, n the abbreviation for minimum daily requirement, specifically the Minimum Daily Requirements for Specific Nutrients compiled by the United States Food and Drug Administration. study published last March--Professional Development & Standards-Based Education--reports that most teachers use the Internet for reference and to search for classroom resources, but only 22 percent of teachers use it to deliver instruction. MDR also found 12 percent of schools subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; fee-based online curriculum content--ranging from $5 per student per year for unlimited access to curriculum libraries to more than $400 for each student per course per semester se·mes·ter n. One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year. [German, from Latin (cursus) s . This represents a 1 percent decrease from the previous year. Although subscription-based options continue to multiply, there has also been a huge growth in the amount of free educational content from trusted sources such as National Geographic. A related report from Denver-based Quality Education Data--School Market Trends: Internet Usage in Teaching 2001-2002--found that only 6 percent of Internet-using teachers use the Internet as a primary source for core curriculum materials. It also found little agreement about what Web sites teachers use most often, and Discovery Online was the only site reported by more than 10 percent of the respondents. The increase of Internet power in schools also enables educators to expand the ways they use online resources and allows developers to produce Web-centered products with features far beyond the reach of dial-up connections. And, since Web-linked laptop, wireless and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). solutions are being offered to schools by companies such as Mindsurf Networks, the demand for educational applications is escalating still further. As a result, there is a flood of new online education resources that need to be brought to the attention of the K-12 education community; that's what the annual Curriculum Web Site Awards are all about. AN ACCELERATING INDUSTRY The Curriculum Web Site Awards were launched in 1998 to identify the best K-12 online curriculum materials in every content area, and in this fourth year, the competition again includes free and subscription-based options. In the course of reviewing more than 700 education-related sites, the following changes in the industry are apparent: * The best education sites continue to get better, and online curriculum leaders such as Riverdeep, Lightspan, Discovery School and Classroom Connect have added powerful new options and expanded into new areas. This year DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION is establishing a Hall of Fame to recognize superior achievement from previous winners. * Most education companies now offer Web content to support their offerings. "Every product we produced in the last year was linked to the Internet," says Dan Fuller, executive director of sales and marketing for the Follett Software Company, www.follettsoftware. com. Similarly, SMART Technologies added free online lesson plans to help teachers integrate SMART Board technology into the curriculum, www.smarttech. com/lessonplans. * Many key companies extended their online reach through acquisitions to offer more comprehensive K-12 curriculum solutions. For example, Pearson Education Pearson Education is an international publisher of textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools. Pearson Education is part of Pearson PLC. It is headquartered in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. offers resources from dozens of companies that were formerly separate, including products from NCS (Network Call Signaling) CableLabs version of MGCP. See MGCP/MEGACO. NCS - Network Computing System: Apollo's RPC system used by DEC and Hewlett-Packard.The protocol has been adopted by OSF. Learn. In the past year Riverdeep purchased The Learning Company, Classroom Connect was acquired by McGraw-Hill, and Scholastic purchased Tom Snyder Tom Snyder (May 12, 1936 - July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the late 1970s and '80s, and The Late Late Show Productions. * Companies are transporting products successful in other formats to the Internet to gain new advantages. For example, Nan Halperin, Bigchalk's vice president of sales & marketing, describes her company's new Web versions of CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). products as having "more robust and customizable functionality." * The influence of the curriculum standards movement is clearly evident. "The Internet allows us to affordably deliver a direct link to standards at every level," says Kathy Hurley, Netschools vice president of marketing and strategic relationships. The company's new Orion service aligns textbook content and lesson plans with Web resources keyed to national, state and local standards. * Growing numbers of companies are adding staff development features to their sites. "Our Web strategy changed dramatically from one where we saw our site as a way of delivering lessons, to one where the primary goal is teacher support," says Bill Rosenthal, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Digi-Block Inc., www.digiblock.com. * Companies are also building Web-based user communities around their products. As Valerie Laird laird n. Scots The owner of a landed estate. [Scots, from Middle English lard, variant of lord, owner, master; see lord. , CEO and president of Crick Crick , Francis Henry Compton 1916-2004. British biologist who with James D. Watson proposed a spiral model, the double helix, for the molecular structure of DNA. He shared a 1962 Nobel Prize for advances in the study of genetics. Software, www.cricksoft.com, puts it, "The Internet is a primary vehicle for communication--a place where teachers reach other teachers, share knowledge and resources, and students connect with other students for a variety of collaborative purposes." * There was continued growth in online curriculum partnerships. "Companies must find ways to work together to provide integrated Web-based solutions to make the life of the educator easier," says Judith Hamilton, president and CEO of Classroom Connect. To illustrate this point, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. @School established content partnerships with multiple companies including BrainPOP and Riverdeep. * Most fee-based education sites now also provide free content to attract users beyond product information, including sample activities, trial subscriptions and "value-added" services such as professional calendars and background articles. For example, ABC-CLIO offers free 30-day trials for their social studies online curriculum suites. * Several companies committed strongly to high-bandwidth content delivery, including iKnowthat.com, and more will follow suit. The AT&T Learning Network Broadband Academy is a centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. guide to online educational options that leverage the power of high-speed access, www.att.com/ learningnetwork/broadband. * Fewer education sites offer commercial-free environments. Logos, banner ads A graphic image used on Web sites to advertise a product or service. Banner ads come in numerous sizes, but are often rectangles 460 pixels wide by 60 pixels high. Also 460 x 55 and 392 x 72 sizes are commonly used. and links to company pages--even annoying pop-up ads--were more visible as sponsorships became more common. PREMIUM AWARDS ABC-CLIO.com abc-clio.com This site offers suites of high-quality, subscription-based history Web sites that function as secondary school reference and curriculum resources. These include American history, americanhistory.abc-clio.com, and world history, worldhistory.abc-clio.com, which present the history behind current news, featured stories, "This Day in History" events, a timeline of topic explorations, and a reference tool that can find resources by keyword, historical period and type such as maps and videos. They also include an online dictionary, thesaurus and a calendar for students to keep track of assignments. AOL@School school.aol.com AOL@School is an outstanding free education portal for K-12 schools that offers a redesigned, easy-to-use interface to deliver age-appropriate curriculum content selected by experts, searchable lesson plans, class projects, online references and homework help. Additional features include free e-mail See Internet e-mail service. services, education updates from each state, kid-safe search tools, and special resource sections for teachers and administrators with online guides and discussion groups. The site also offers links to recommended suppliers of educational products and services, and a free weekly newsletter. Beyond Books.com www.beyondbooks.com Beyond Books offers exemplary standards-based, online curriculum subscription options for grades 6-12. This award-winning program has expanded its catalog to multiple courses in social studies including history and government; science including life, physical and earth science; literature & language arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. such as American literature American literature, literature in English produced in what is now the United States of America. Colonial Literature American writing began with the work of English adventurers and colonists in the New World chiefly for the benefit of readers in and Shakespeare; and Spanish. The well-designed courses include a variety of student investigations, pictures and maps that can be downloaded for reports, scheduled online discussions with experts, teacher resource guides, and links to recommended Web sites organized by topic. The Exploratorium www.exploratorium.edu This site is an online arm of the world-famous Exploratorium museum in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . It is also targeted to helping people nurture their curiosity through innovative environments, programs and tools. The Exploratorium offers some of the most creative interactive activities on the Web in science, math and human perception, including opportunities to follow expeditions online, visit the Hubble telescope See Hubble Space Telescope. , look through live cameras, participate in Webcasts, build projects and explore the science behind topics such as baseball and cycling. The site also includes a subject index and selects "Ten Cool Sites" each month. HowStuffWorks www.howstuffworks.com HowStuffWorks is an amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. site where people can get clear, straightforward information complete with colorful animated illustrations on how things work, from car engines and television monitors, to aspirin and breathalyzers. The expanding site already offers more than 2,500 articles with 2,000 graphics, and receives 6,000 questions a month asking for additional explanations. The content is organized by category--such as computers & Internet, body & health--but also offers a powerful search engine and daily features including "Gadget of the Day," "Question of the Day" and a Top 40 list of articles. iKnowthat.com www.iknowthat.com iKnowthat is a subscription-based service that offers some of the most powerful, creative and richest multimedia education games on the Web in elementary curriculum content areas that include geography, history, language arts, science, math and visual arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → . The site uses colorful graphics, animations, sound effects sound effects Noun, pl sounds artificially produced to make a play, esp. a radio play, more realistic sound effects npl → efectos mpl sonoros , humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was and storylines effectively to captivate and engage learners, and keeps track of the best scores for students wherever they are located. Activities include a word builder, science lab, puzzle maps and math practice section, but the complexity of the presentations requires high-speed connections. KidsRunning.com www.kidsrunning.com This exceptionally creative site was started by an elementary school elementary school: see school. teacher to promote the sport of running and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for kids. It is now sponsored by Runner's World Runner's World is a globally circulated monthly magazine for recreational runners, published by Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States. In addition to the printed magazine, the magazine's web sites have provided a valuable resource for runners, magazine. The site has expanded into every content area and offers colorful multimedia presentations related to running and competing in races, with announcements, photos, stories and news about events throughout the nation. It also includes columns, training tips, curriculum suggestions, interactive activities, links to related resources, and it invites students to contribute essays, poems and art about their experiences. National Geographic.com www.nationalgeographic.com/education This is one of the most valuable and comprehensive education sites on the Web, with more than 100 online learning adventures that range from Trekking Nepal to Remembering Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. , and special features such as a spectacular 3-D virtual trip through our solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. . National Geographic offers superior geographic resources including a star chart, a dynamic Map Machine for the earth, printable print·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being printed or of producing a print: printable negatives. 2. Fit for publication: printable language. maps and a guide to national education standards. The site also includes teacher-tested lesson plans, homework help, information on grants, a guide for parents, and outstanding links to related resources. Netschools Orion netschools.com/products/orion.htm Netschools Orion is a members-only site that aligns textbooks, lesson plans and activities with national, state and local standards, and supports the curriculum with news, learning games, activities and related articles. Orion includes a powerful and extensive curriculum search tool that uses up to 18 different properties--including keywords, level, resource type and standards--to select from a database of 47,000 pre-screened multimedia Web sites. It also offers related teaching materials, including lesson plan templates, and tools such as "Organizer" for planning and grading. Scholastic.com scholastic.com Scholastic, a leading publisher and distributor of children's books including the Harry Potter series, maintains an outstanding site to reinforce the love of reading among young people. The site includes interactive book-related activities, news, surveys, online discussions and author profiles for students; a parents' section with advice to help children educationally; teacher resources including lesson plans, research tools, discussion guides and professional materials. Scholastic.com is packed with quality content, but an online guide makes it easy to find specific resources. StudyWorks Online www.studyworksonline.com StudyWorks Online is a free learning site to help students discover math and science concepts traditionally taught from grades 7-12, through a variety of online investigations and creative learning activities. These include online strategy and eye-hand coordination games In game theory, coordination games are a class of games with multiple pure strategy Nash equilibria in which players choose the same or corresponding strategies. For a classic example of a coordination game, consider the 2-player, 2-strategy game, with the payoff matrix shown on that are played against the computer, logic problems, weekly puzzles, and a large selection of explorations and demonstrations grouped by content area, such as proving the Pythagorean Theorem Pythagorean theorem Rule relating the lengths of the sides of a right triangle. It says that the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle). visually. The site also includes news stories about math and science, homework hints, online tests, and links to related Web sites. SUBJECT-SPECIFIC AWARDS GENERAL/INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM: NetTrekker www.nettrekker.com NetTrekker is a subscription-based academic research tool for the secondary school curriculum that features more than 160,000 teacher-reviewed and rated multimedia Web sites organized by content area and aligned with state standards. The content can be searched by various ways including keywords, source (such as libraries or museums), and types of multimedia including videos. Searches can also be saved. EDSITEment edsitement.neh.fed.us This site from the National Endowment for the Humanities National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) U.S. independent agency. Founded in 1965, it supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. is a guide to the best humanities resources on the Web, grouped in the categories of art and culture, foreign language, history and social studies, literature and language arts. Resources were reviewed for content, design and likely classroom impact, and the site includes related materials including lesson plans, monthly activities, and special features such as "Digital Dante." THE ARTS: ARTSEDGE artsedge.kennedy-enter.org ArtsEdge was established under a cooperative agreement between the John E Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Huge cultural complex (opened 1971) in Washington, D.C., with a total of six stages, designed by Edward Durell Stone. The complex, surfaced in marble, makes use of the ornamental facade screens for which the architect was known. and the National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Independent agency of the U.S. government that supports the creation, dissemination, and performance of the arts. It was created by the U.S. to support art at the center of the curriculum through the use of technology. The site offers a wealth of K-12 Web-centered curriculum units, lessons, activities and resources grouped by grade level for integrating the arts into every content area. Music Education Resource Links www.cs.uop.edu/~cpiper/musiced.html This comprehensive site, which is hosted by the University of the Pacific School of Education, offers links for each of the nine national content standards presented by the National Standards for Art Education. These include an extensive selection of online K-12 multimedia resources that support listening and evaluating music, singing, playing instruments, composing and understanding music in relation to history and culture. LANGUAGE ARTS & LITERATURE: Bookadventure.com www.bookadventure.com Bookadventure is a free online reading motivation program for grades K-8, where children create their own book lists from more than 5,400 recommended titles and take online quizzes Online quizzes are quizzes that are published on the internet and are generally for entertainment purposes. Introduction Online quizzes are a popular form of entertainment for web surfers. on the books they've read offline to earn points and prizes. The site also provides links to related resources for students, parents and teachers, and is supported by publishers and organizations including the International Reading Association. Children's Book Council www.cbcbooks.org CBC (1) (Cell Broadcast Center) See cell broadcast. (2) (Cipher Block Chaining) In cryptography, a mode of operation that combines the ciphertext of one block with the plaintext of the next block. , a non-profit trade organization dedicated to encouraging literacy and the enjoyment of children's books, offers online biographies of authors and links to their work from member publishers, including a list of "75 authors/illustrators that everyone should know." The site also provides related resources including recommended reading activities, and information on Children's Book Week and Young Peoples Poetry Week. MATHEMATICS: Illuminations illuminations.nctm.org This site, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) was founded in 1920. It has grown to be the world's largest organization concerned with mathematics education, having close to 100,000 members across the USA and Canada, and internationally. , is designed to provide Internet resources to improve the teaching and learning of math for all students. These include interactive online multimedia math investigations, Internet-based lesson plans developed by expert teachers, searchable NCTM standards, and links to recommended Web sites for topics such as algebra algebra, branch of mathematics concerned with operations on sets of numbers or other elements that are often represented by symbols. Algebra is a generalization of arithmetic and gains much of its power from dealing symbolically with elements and operations (such as , geometry and measurement. Hotmath www.hotmath.com Hotmath provides step-by-step solutions to homework problems in leading math textbooks in algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus calculus, branch of mathematics that studies continuously changing quantities. The calculus is characterized by the use of infinite processes, involving passage to a limit—the notion of tending toward, or approaching, an ultimate value. , and also provides links to recommended math sites. Visitors can try Hotmath guided solutions and view problems numbered 1 to 9 in any textbook for free. There is no charge for teachers and students during school hours but full access for a homework tool requires fee-based registration. SCIENCE: BrainPOP www.brainpop.com This dynamic multimedia site offers colorful animated and narrated educational online movies in science, health and technology, on topics such as atoms, static electricity, asthma, digestion, photography and robots. The site makes concepts accessible, meaningful and entertaining for children and adults, and provides related content including quizzes, puzzles, comics, activities, and opportunities to ask questions. TeachSpace www.space.com/teachspace TeachSpace is a comprehensive source for space science content targeted to upper-elementary and middle school students and teachers. This includes a library of inquiry lessons, themed monthly modules, online photos and movies, and links to related multimedia sites including SpaceKids, with news, virtual tours Virtual Tours The phrases panoramic tour and virtual tour are often used to describe a variety of video and photographic based media. The word panorama indicates an unbroken view, so essentially, a panorama in that respect could be either a series of photographs or panning video , games, activities, question-asking services and homework help. SOCIAL STUDIES: American Memory American Memory is an Internet-based archive for public domain image resources, as well as audio, video, and archived Web content. It is published by the Library of Congress. The archive came into existence on October 13, 1994 after $13,000,000 was raised in donations. memory.loc.gov American Memory, maintained by the Library of Congress, is a gateway to primary source materials Noun 1. source materials - publications from which information is obtained source - a document (or organization) from which information is obtained; "the reporter had two sources for the story" relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the history and culture of the United States
EconEdLink www.econedlink.org Offered by the National Council on Economic Education The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) is a nationwide non-profit organization that leads in promoting economic and financial literacy kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers. External links
The key statistics of the economy that reveal the direction the economy is heading in; for example, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. ; and links to related economics education sites. HEALTH, NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION: KidsHealth www.kidshealth.org Sponsored by the Nemours Foundation The Nemours Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1936 from the 1935 Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust [1]. During his lifetime, Alfred I. du Pont was a successful industrialist, prolific inventor, published musician and quiet benefactor to a multitude , KidsHealth is designed to provide accurate, up-to-date and jargon-free health information for kids, teenagers and parents. The site offers thousands of original articles, animations, interactive activities, games and resources developed by health experts on topics that include growth and development, first aid, allergies, nutrition and medical care. PE Central pe.central.vt.edu This premier Web site for health and physical education teachers, parents and students is a gold mine of links to online lessons, interactive instructional materials, best practices, assessment ideas and professional resources. The site also maintains a Top Web Sites section for content areas including gymnastics gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called a gymnasium , dance, outdoor recreation, playgrounds, sports and fitness, and information on grants and fundraising. ONLINE CURRICULUM LEADERS Many additional sites received strong evaluations for their K-12 curriculum content, including the following: * Achievement Technologies, www.achievementtech.com * Apex Learning Apex Learning, Inc. is a privately-held provider of e-Learning solutions for K-12 education, offering online courses in mathematics, science, English studies, social studies, Romance languages, and Advanced Placement. , www.apexlearning.com * AT&T Learning Network, www.att.com/learningnetwork * Bonus.com, bonus.com * Brainium Technologies Inc., www.brainium.com * BritannicaSchool, britannicaschool.com * Classwell, www.classwell.com * CNNfyi.com, cnnfyi.com * CompassLearning, www.compasslearning.com * Crayola, www.crayola.com * Crick Software Inc., www.cricksoftware.com * Education.com, www.education.com * ExploreLearning, www.explorelearning.com * Funschool, www.funschool.com * Getsmarter.org, www.getsmarter.org * Harcourt School Publishers, www.harcourtschool.com * Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers , www.eduplace.com * K12, www.k12.com * Mindsurf Networks, www.mindsurf.com * The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Learning Network, www.nytimes.com/learning * OnlineClass, www.onlineclass.com * Pearson Education, www.pearsoned.com * PLATO Learning, www.plato.com * Tom Snyder Productions, www.tomsnyder.com HALL OF FAME The following premium award winners from previous years are honored for their continuing superior online curriculum applications and use of Web technologies: * Bigchalk.com, www.bigchalk.com A full spectrum of quality Internet services with online projects, research collections, tutoring programs, HomeworkCentral resources and standards-based Web links in every content area. * BOXERmath.COM, www.boxermath.com One of the best and most comprehensive fee-based math learning environments on the Internet, with outstanding tutorials, content correlated to state standards, diagnostic tests, self-paced lessons, and interactive activities. * Classroom Connect, www.classroom.com Outstanding products and services including interactive multimedia learning materials matched to curriculum standards, popular "Quest" real-world expeditions such as GreeceQuest, and online courses for teachers. * DiscoverySchool.com, school.discovery.com Exemplary multimedia resources including online adventures, live Web cams See Webcam. , tools such as quiz and puzzle makers, searchable lesson plans, materials to support Discovery Network programming, and Kathy Schrock's guide to educational sites. * The Learning Network, www.learningnetwork.com Comprehensive educational materials from some of the strongest content providers on the Web, including Teachervision, Funbrain, Infoplease and the Family Education Network, with references including an online atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and almanacs Almanacs See also astronomy; calendar almanagist a person who compiles almanacs. ephemeris an astronomical almanac giving, as an aid to the astronomer and navigator, the locations of celestial bodies for each day of the year. . * Lightspan.com, www.lightspan.com Outstanding K-8 curriculum materials for students, teachers and parents, with grade-specific activities, classroom tools such as printable worksheets, flashcards and awards, and a directory of online projects maintained by the Global Schoolhouse. * Riverdeep Interactive Learning, www.riverdeep.com Among the strongest proprietary interactive K-12 curriculum materials on the Web, including the original Logal science simulations, Destination Math, and EDVantage Language Arts, with lesson plans and assessment tools correlated to major textbooks and state standards. AWARD CATEGORIES AND THE JUDGING PROCESS The annual Call for Entries is published in the fall issues of DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION and placed on its Web site, www.districtadministration.com. The four criteria used in selecting awards are: appropriateness of the content, instructional design Instructional design is the practice of arranging media (communication technology) and content to help learners and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively. The process consists broadly of determining the current state of learner understanding, defining the end goal of , quality of the interaction with the learner, and the creative use of online technologies. This year, two Content-Specific Awards were given in each of the categories of General/Interdisciplinary Curriculum; The Arts; Language Arts & Literature; Mathematics; Science; Social Studies; and Health, Nutrition and Physical Education. Premium Awards were also given to 11 exemplary sites that addressed multiple curriculum areas. DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION editors reviewed more than 700 K-12 education sites and evaluated each finalist multiple times. In addition, a Hall of Fame was established to honor seven premium award winners from previous years, for superior online curriculum applications and use of Web technologies. Odvard Egil Dyrli, dyrli@uconn.edu, is senior editor and emeritus professor of education at the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. . |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion