Five Great Online Resources Available to Educators
Learning has become a multimedia affair. Today’s world demands the use of computers, the Internet and video, so an educator who ignores these mediums does so at the expense of their students. The good news is that incorporating these resources into education allows your students to experience exciting and engaging ways of learning. New technology and resources not only benefit students—educators can find teaching tools and virtual support communities available for them all the time, anytime, on the internet.
At the PBS Learning Media website, the Public Broadcasting Service marries its public media mission to public education, providing resources for classroom use. Primary and secondary school educators will find lesson plans including video, audio and documents, as well as downloadable resources such as themed activity pack widgets. At the STEM Education Resource Center, for instance, the subjects covered include math, science, technology and engineering. PBS also offers professional development materials and courses for teachers.
Founded in 2006, Khan Academy exists to provide free education to anyone anywhere in a range of subject areas. Students can get practice and instruction through interactive activities and videos in a wide range of topics, learning at their own pace. They can also receive assessments and progress reports. The academy is “gamifying” learning, with badges students can earn for progress. Entire classrooms of students can access content on the site, which allows teachers and schools using classroom management systems to help students and track the progress of the class as a whole.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab — OWL for short — exists to help visitors develop writing skills. To that end, the searchable site offers instructional resources, including reference material, exercises and style guides, workshops, PowerPoint presentations, videocasts, movies and podcasts. Help creating curricula for grades 7 through 12, college and basic adult education is available for teachers on the OWL site. Students can find online writing help that takes them from outlining to proofreading a finished writing product.
Science NetLinks supplies teachers, students and parents with educational science resources for kindergarten through high school. The site includes lessons, tools and collections. Collections are compilations of resources about a single topic. — The Science of Energy, for instance. Science NetLinks’ tools are either hands-on activities, interactive resources, websites or teaching aids. Besides science material from astronomy to biology. Science NetLinks also provides math and technology information.
Wonderopolis spurs learning by igniting a sense of wonder and a thirst for discovery. The approach means that learning is considered a constant in students’ lives, with the opportunity for education ever-present everywhere. The educational content of Wonderopolis aligns to recognized curriculum standards for kindergarten through twelfth grades. Educators can access “Wonders,” which is themed content or build discussions and lesson plans around the daily “wonder of the day.” Each wonder includes educational content.
Though these five websites provide rich veins of material, multitudes of other Internet resources exist. To find others, educators can search organizations traditionally devoted to informing the public, starting with professional associations, governmental and educational websites. The marvel of the Internet includes the power to deliver a multidisciplinary education using multimedia to any classroom, from almost any organization in the world.