Work in progress - check back for more resources soon!
ARTS & CRAFTS
ADOBE YOUTH VOICES: Material providing a context for youth media making, special content that illustrates the "how-to" of youth-centered instruction, instruction on the process of media making and strategies for exhibition and distribution. Make sure to check their "Educational Resources" tab http://www.youthvoices.adobe.com/
ART PROJECTS FOR KIDS: K-5 art teacher with over 600 classroom-tested art projects posted to her blog http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
ART WITH MRS. SMITH: Wonderful ideas from a woman who has been teaching art since 2004 to kids in grades k-12 http://artwithmrssmith.blogspot.com/
ARTSOLOGY: Free online games related to the arts and music, "Investigations," where visitors can dig deeper into interesting topics in the arts, and blog. http://www.artsology.com/
BLICK: Art supply company has lesson plans designed to meet the National Standards for Visual Art Education, geared for a wide variety of age and skill levels. All original and free: http://www.dickblick.com/lessonplans/
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF INDIANAPOLIS: Fun art-themed online games: http://www.childrensmuseum.org/games
GOOGLE ART PROJECT: Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels http://www.googleartproject.com//
INNER CHILD FUN: Fun, frugal arts and crafts ideas http://innerchildfun.com/category/indoors and http://innerchildfun.com/category/crafts and http://innerchildfun.com/category/outdoors
KABOOSE: Holiday and seasonal craft ideas, printables, recipes, games and more. Lots of photos and videos, too http://crafts.kaboose.com/
KINDERART: An award-winning art education website for parents, teachers and children of all ages. KinderArt® features free art lesson plans that teachers and parents can use in their home or school classroom. http://www.kinderart.com/
MAKING MUSIC FUN: Ad-supported Web site with free music appreciation resources including music lessons, interactive games, printable sheet music and music theory flashcards. http://www.makingmusicfun.net/
A NATURAL STATE: Bridges the arts, social studies and sciences to create a cross-curricular exploration of the natural and cultural landscape of South Carolinam but of interest beyond SC boundaries. http://www.knowitall.org/naturalstate/index.cfm
NO TIME FOR FLASHCARDS: Arts and crafts ideas, playtime activities, primarily for preschool and elemetary aged http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/
NOEL MacNEAL: Templates for fun puppets http://www.noelmacneal.com/books/downloads/index.shtml
SKIP TO MY LOU: Arts & crafts, recipes, printables, gift ideas and more http://www.skiptomylou.org/
GENERAL
ABC TEACH: PreK - 8 materials and creative activities for students and educators. Over 5,000 free documents available, including printable worksheets, interactive activities, theme units, etc. http://www.abcteach.com/
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: Main page (http://www.ala.org/) has online learning links, literature/library news, research and stats. Their list of great Web sites for kids is worth checking out: http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm
ACTIVITY VILLAGE: UK-based, thousands of colouring pages, kids crafts, educational resources, puzzles, printables of all sorts, worksheets, online games, sudoku for kids and lots more fun, free activities for kids http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm
AWESOME STORIES: A site with primary-source information. Est. in 1999, its goal is to help educators and individuals find original sources, located at national archives, libraries, universities, museums, historical societies and government-created web sites http://www.awesomestories.com/
BBC SCHOOLS: An MPA Favorite! Amazing in its breadth and depth. Art, citizenship, geography, history, languages, literacy, math (numeracy), music, science and more. Check out Class Clips (>9,000!) from BBC programmes on Learning Zone Class Clips http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
BRAINPOP: Though a subscription is required for access to all resources available, there is lots of free content, including a timely, rotationg movie of the week. http://www.brainpop.com/
BRIGHTSTORM: High-school age curriculum, including Math, Science, SAT, ACT and AP subjects. Some resources are free (Brightstorm Math and Brightstorm Science videos are free), some are paid. http://www.brightstorm.com/
CURRIKI: A K-12 open curricula community, they claim over 40,000 k-12 learning resources, 250,000+ teacher + learner members and 6.1 million users. Learning resources searchable by key word, topic, grade level and type (lesson plan, games, exercise). http://www.curriki.org/
EDUCATION.COM: Articles, activities, printables, video content, community component, info on schools http://www.education.com/
ENCHANTED LEARNING: Crafts, activities and lessons in a variety of subjects - subscription ($) required for access to some features http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
EXPLORATORIUM: This San Francisco based museum of science, art and human perception offers a phenomenal Web site for learners. http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/
FUNBRAIN: Arcade with math reading and just plain games games. Books and comics online, MadLibs online, sudoku, and entertainment. Special sections for teachers and parents, too. http://www.funbrain.com/
GATEWAY TO EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) Project is an online searchable database of educational resources. GEM developed and uses metadata standards to catalog and organize free educational resources, making it easy to find and access them. Features a variety of educational resource types from activities and lesson plans to online projects to assessment items. http://www.thegateway.org/
HIGHLAND DRIVE SCHOOL: A school's long list of education-related links across a variety of subject matter: http://www.bbhcsd.org/start/index.php?school=HD
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: Free, openly licensed resources from K-12 through college courses. Searchable by keyword, subject area, grade level, topics http://www.oercommons.org/ GOOD STUFF!
OPEN WIDE, LOOK INSIDE: A blog about teaching elementary math, science and socials studies, with heavy emphasis on the integration of children’s literature across the curriculum. http://blog.richmond.edu/openwidelookinside/
SCHOLASTIC: Virtual field trips, lesson plan ideas, story starters printables. Some features free, some paid. Make sure to explore teachers, parents and kids portions of the Web site. (The kids' section has great, free online learning games) http://www.scholastic.com/home/
SCHOLASTIC COMPUTER LAB FAVORITES: 50+ activities in the computer lab, math, science, social studies, and Spanish, many featuring characters from children's books. http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/clf/tguidesitemap.htm?lnkid=TNav:SA:Computer%20Lab%20Favorites&ESP=SA/ib//acq/comp_lab_fav_tnav_SA///nav/txtl////
TEACHING IDEAS UK: Thousands of free teaching ideas on broad variety of subjects; searchable database http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/
THINKFINITY: Under "In the Classroom" there are lesson plans, interactives, skills, today in history and standards alignment; under "At Home & Afterschool" there are games & tools, parents & kids, and literacy resources; and community aspects http://www.thinkfinity.org/
THINKQUEST: Repository for over 8,000 Web sites created by students around the world. http://thinkquest.org/pls/html/think.library
ZERO TUITION COLLEGE: An Internet based avenue for education without college.
http://www.ztcollege.com/
HOMESCHOOLING
DIGITAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT: Online courses for students in Washington state, online school program info http://digitallearning.k12.wa.us/
HOMESCHOOLING A2Z: Advice, support, blogs, curriculum, links for students http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.htm
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES
A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES: By Howard Zinn, the book seeks to present American history through the eyes of the common people rather than political and economic elites http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
BEN'S GUIDE TO U.S. GOVERNMENT: From the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Ben's Guide provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers teaching about how U.S. government works, the use of the primary source materials, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
BIOGRAPHY: From the Biography network, searchable database videos and articles on famous people. http://www.biography.com/ Their Bio Classroom pages provide free educational materials designed to encourage the use of biography in the classroom and to help students explore the lives of those who have made an impact on our world. There is a special “Bio of the Month” lesson plan and teacher's guide based on programs aired during the commercial-free BIO Classroom hour which occurs weekly http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom
C-SPAN CLASSROOM: Free primary source materials for social studies educators. Videos, lesson plan, forum, freebies, links to other great resources (American writers, presidents, etc.) http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/
HISTORY IS A WEAPON: Self-described "Left reader focusing largely on American resistance history"
http://historyisaweapon.com/
iCIVICS: Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to reverse Americans’ declining civic knowledge and participation. A collection of enriching educational video games, vibrant teaching materials, comprehensive, standards-aligned civics curriculum, all free http://www.icivics.org/
JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: Innovative lesson plans and online exhibits feature archival materials tailored to your classroom's needs, divided by elementary, middle and high school . http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education/Teachers/Curricular-Resources-Image-List.aspx
LANGUAGE ARTS
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL: Scores of activities for readers of every age group and every skill level. Cultural heritage, drama, writing and more. http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/activities.htm
STARFALL: Est. 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Audience = preschool, K-2, special ed, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Fun, interactive exercises and games http://www.starfall.com/
VOYAGES IN ENGLISH: By Loyola Press, these games for students in grades 3-8. Also, homework tools and writing prompts. http://www.loyolapress.com/voyages-in-english-2011-student-games.htm
MATH/SCIENCE
BRIGHTSTORM: Targets high-school age curriculum- math, science & test prep. Math, Science, SAT, ACT and AP subjects. Many help videos are free, but some are paid http://www.brightstorm.com/
CURIOSITY.COM: Short, attractively-produced videos about intriguing topics. https://curiosity.com/
HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE: Virtual field trips and labs, career info, interactive multimedia http://www.hhmi.org/educational-materials
CREATIVE CHEMISTRY: Worksheets, teaching notes, question sheets, guides, chemistry puzzles, interactive revision quizzes and molecular models. Site by a longtime chemistry instructor in the UK. Wonderful! http://www.creative-chemistry.org.uk/index.htm
DISCOVERY EDUCATION - K-12: Free content for educators includes lesson plans, videos, contests, Webinars, http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-k-5-teacher-resources/index.cfm?campaign=flyout_teachers_k5 Also, check out their PARENTS tab for free homework help, activities, contests http://www.discoveryeducation.com/parents/index.cfm?campaign=flyout_parents and their STUDENTS section has interactive games, videos, contests, virtual labs http://www.discoveryeducation.com/students/index.cfm?campaign=flyout_students
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION for KIDS: Wisconsin based, but plenty of fun and educational for others. Games, critter info, teacher pages, videos, nature notes, etc. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/index.htm
EVOLUTION READINESS: Designed to encourage thinking about adaptation over time by the Evolution Readiness project, which is producing an empirically validated curriculum for introducing evolution in the elementary grades. Their Activities pages are free and open source http://www.concord.org/activities
FOREST LIFE: Cool, high res and interactive forest environment. http://w3.upm-kymmene.com/upm/forestlife/index.html#lang=0
MATH SCIENCE NUCLEUS: Non-profit educational and research organization composed of scientists, educators and community members. An online science resource, its major goal is to develop problem-solving capacity through science for the world's children. Free online reference science curriculum (I.Science MaTe - http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/index.html )for elementary learners. Lesson plans, plus animated storybooks (http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/guide/storybooks.html ) and slideshows. Main site: http://www.msnucleus.org/
MATHS ZONE: UK based, this site has great "Interactive Maths Games and Activities." http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES: NIEHS is part of the National Institutes of Health, and studies the effects of the environment on human health. Their Kids' Pages are are an informational and educational resource for all ages. Songs, games, quizzes, explorations, and more. http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/index.htm
SPACE-Y STUFF!!!
ALICE'S ASTRO INFO: Answers to common astronomical questions, info about interesting goings-on in the world of astronomy, tool to find local astronomy clubs and events & more
http://www.alicesastroinfo.com/
AT HOME ASTRONOMY: Hands on science experiments and ideas for the whole family from the folks at The Center for Science Education @ Space Science Laboratory at UC Berkeley. http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/index.html
COSMIC QUEST: By the Children's Museum Indianapolis, "Field Guide to the Universe" is a reading/research resource about the solar system, spacecraft, and astronomers; the interactive "Living in Space" game lets you design a space station http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/index.html
TECH
SCRATCH: A programming language that makes it easy for uses to create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share creations on the web. http://scratch.mit.edu/
MISC
ANIMAL CAMS: Take a virtual visit to The National Zoo, home to 2,000 individual animals of nearly 400 different species. The zoo has several animal cams (elephants, clouded leopards, Asian small-clawed otters, fishing cats, orangutans, pandas and more!). http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/default.cfm
Architecture 101 for Kids and Teens: http://archforkids.blogspot.com/
FLASH CARD MACHINE: Create, study and share flashcards. Searchable by subject and level http://www.flashcardmachine.com/flashcards/
FREE TYPING TUTOR: http://powertyping.com/
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS: Wide variety of topics, aimed at elementary aged students - http://www.graves.k12.ky.us/powerpoints/elementary/
FREE ONLINE COURSES
CANVAS NETWORK: "Canvas Network offers open, online courses taught by educators everywhere. It provides a place and platform where teachers, students, and institutions worldwide can connect and chart their own course for personal growth, professional development, and academic inquiry. Canvas Network is developed and supported by Instructure, a technology company that partners with educators, institutions, and technologists to break down barriers to learning." - https://www.canvas.net/
COURSERA: An education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. https://www.coursera.org/ Highly recommended by MPA!
EdX: https://www.edx.org/
HIPPO CAMPUS: A project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE). The goal of HippoCampus is to provide high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects to high school and college students free of charge. HippoCampus was designed as part of Open Education Resources (OER), a worldwide effort to improve access to quality education for everyone. HippoCampus content has been developed by some of the finest colleges and universities in the world and contributed to the National Repository of Online Courses (NROC), another MITE project. NROC makes editorial and engineering investment in the content to prepare it for distribution by HippoCampus. Both HippoCampus and NROC are supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. http://www.hippocampus.org
KHAN ACADEMY: Students can make use of extensive video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web. Their library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer. All free, for everyone. http://www.khanacademy.org/
MIT OpenCourseWare: OCW is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity. a free publication of MIT course materials that reflects almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. There is no registration or enrollment process because OCW is not a credit-bearing or degree-granting initiative. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ONLINE: Go Huskies - for free. http://www.pce.uw.edu/online/free-courses/
Article: 12 Dozen Places to Educate Yourself - http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/15/12-dozen-places-to-self-educate-yourself-online/#
GEOGRAPHY
CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC: Web presence of a Canadian magazine, but its rich content is of interest to people all over. http://www.blogger.com/goog_1655648424
Its kids' section has video, animal facts, maps, games and more. http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/default.asp
