Computers in the Classroom

This list is compiled specifically for my pre-service teachers at William and Mary. It is designed to give them several starting points for finding information and resources on the web to use in their elementary classrooms.

Teacher Tools and Education Portals

• Portaportal: Save your favorites online and access them from anywhere. Share them with others, too! Here's the link to my site.
• Discovery School for Teachers: Includes online tools like Puzzlemaker and QuizStar as well as a clip art library. Well-known web maven Kathy Schrock reviews websites for educators, too.
• Quia: Fee-based but worth it! Create a website and interactive games to support your curriculum. You can use the games others have created for free!
• Rubrics: RubiStar allows you to create rubrics based on templates or from scratch. The 4teachers.org website also offers other free online tools for both teachers and students.
• Scholastic: I loved ordering books from Scholastic when I was a kid. Now, they have a GREAT website with lots of news, information and resources. The site includes online chats and discussions with authors as well as links to other special projects. Don't miss the interactive weather maker.

Curriculum Resources

• Math
  • Illuminations: From Marcopolo and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a collection of free online tools.
  • Virtual Manipulatives: From Utah State University, an online collection of free virtual manipulatives to help support student learning in math.
• Science
  • Eisenhower National Clearinghouse: Someone called this the "ultimate" website for math and science educators. Go here and plan to spend some time.
• Social Studies
  • National Archives: The nation's filing cabinet with documents, audio and video files, and an extensive collection of images from throughout America's history. Don't miss this.
  • Library of Congress: The resources here are just amazing! Be sure to check out the Wise Guide, which keeps up with cultural and political events, and the section for kids.
  • History Channel: Includes video clips and audio files of some of history's greatest speeche
• Language Arts
  • Little Explorers Picture Dictionary: Designed for early elementary students, this dictionary includes hyperlinked entries with lots of pictures.
  • Children's Literature Web Guide: Organized and often updated by a librarian in Canada, this is the place to start for anything having to do with kiddie lit.
• General/Databases
  • Virginia's Community of Learning: A database of teacher-reviewed websites as well as several moderated neighborhoods that offer timely information to educators.
  • Blue Web'n: This site provides teacher-reviewed websites and uses a detailed matrix to help teachers locate good sites quickly. Sign up for their email list to get regular updates of new sites added.
  • Smithsonian Education: Provides a searchable database of lesson plans and resources for educators in a variety of topics. It's like having the whole museum on your computer!
  • PBS: Start at the homepage to find links to resources for kids that include activities and information related to their favorite educational programs as well as for parents and teachers.

Telecollaboration/Online Projects

• Virtual Architecture: Dr. Judi Harris helps educators integrate technology into their curriculum and focuses specifically on distance learning including teleresearch and telecollaboration. Includes an extensive annotated list of different types of online activities and projects.
• Global Schoolhouse: This website is a clearinghouse for lots of different online projects. Look here for classic projects like Letters to Santa and GeoGame. They sponsor the CyberFair contest each year in which students create websites about different aspects of their communities.
• iEarn: This organization sponsors online projects that usually include a public service component so students are "doing good" while they are learning.