Music Education

Soothe your weary soul with these available melodies.

• Educational CyberPlayGround- http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/
  
• Music Education Online By Children's Music Workshop- http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/
  
• Songs for Teaching- http://www.songsforteaching.com/
• Support the Music- http://www.supportmusic.com/
• Worldwide Internet Music Resources- http://library.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/mused.html

Replaying World History: Civ III

For his Ph.D thesis at MIT, Kurt Squire created a set of lesson plans for using the simulation history game, Civilization III, to teach world history concepts. To see the complete lesson plans check out his website:

Kurt Squire's Lesson Plans

Civ World contains historically accurate senarios and Squire's latest research.

Apolyton Civilization Site is a forum created for players by players. To collaborate with other players, get advice, and participate in the forum, visit Apolyton University. You can take AU "courses" such as "AU102: Give Peace a Chance" to win the game through nonviolence.

Kids games

Students love this game and when it is blocked, they seek out new ways to gain access to it. I am not sure why it is blocked, it teaches them math in a fun way. If you haven't been to it yet, go to http://linerider.com and soon you will be hooked.

posted by Ann S.

A YA Web 2.0 and Social Networking Possibility

Library Youth and Teen Services 2.0 http://libraryyouth.ning.com/ creates a forum for YA librarians and their patrons to discuss current Web 2.0 and Web 3D technologies. You may peruse discussions from My Space, Teen Ink, gaming, children's literature, etc. An interactive map on the main page links participants from across the country. You may join in the conversation as a new member.

Assessment Tool for Information Literacy

I don't know how many know about this tool or if it has already been posted but if you can get teachers to give you their students for 2 or 3 days, you can teach then assess on basic information literacy tools.

http://trails-9.org/index.php?page=home

You need to sign up in an account, then drop students in by name or generic number, then give them the online assessment, then read the results. You can use this as a pre or post test on info literacy. posted by Ann S on 7/16/08

Deviant Art weblink for student artists

This site is often blocked at schools but if your school allows it, then your students will love it.
It allows students to post their artwork and writings for comment and sharing.
www.deviantart.com posted by Ann S on 7/14/08

Need help convincing your school of the value of Second Life?

One quality innovative and collaborative project is worth hundreds of research reports. Here is a project from Global Kids Online Leadership Program called "Witnessing History." Here student describe the process of creating a second life exhibit focusing on Kristalnacht.

Short Video Segments

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

This website has a collection of close to 2000 short video segments and even movies which will enhance your teaching and add to your library collection of videos available. This is a small fee for a school license but it is truly worth it. There is a free trial issue for three months if you would like to preview it before you buy it.

Current Events

American Library Association Receives $1 Million Grant from Verizon Foundation to Study How Gaming Can Be Used to Improve Problem-Solving and Literacy Skills

Unique ‘Gaming for Learning’ Project to Develop Metrics and Models for Libraries

ALA will launch an innovative project to measure the impact of gaming on literacy skills and build a model for library gaming that can be deployed nationally. Funding for the project will be provided by a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation. ALA will work directly with 12 leading gaming experts to document the use of gaming as a literacy tool and monitor the results of gaming initiatives. The information will be used to build The Librarians’ Guide to Gaming, a comprehensive, online, literacy and gaming toolbox which will then be field-tested by additional libraries

Text Source: Amercian Libraries Direct 7/2/2008
Image Source: Nebraska Library Commission Blog

I Love Avatars

Let's face it. Some of us (ME) just are not photogenic and I've got forty years of photos to prove it. Part of the guilty pleasure of avatars is the ability to create new images. In many cases, it's fun, free, and less trouble than plastic surgery.

Check out these great avatar makers

South Park avatar created by Janina Koeppel http://www.sp-studio.de/

Create your own Simpsons avatar http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html?cid=us

Make Pipecleaner Man Dance!

Well it's not academic in the strictest sense but Pipercleaner Man is a fun way to practice your hand to eye coodination, and learn keyboarding skills.





Or you can just forego any pretense of "learning" and just make him do the "Footloose" dance

http://www.davidbessler.com/pulldown/pipecleaner_dance3.swf