There are a lot of educational resources available online, and it is very difficult for parents, students, and teachers to sort out what is available, what is appropriate, and what is applicable. In my graduate class this week, we were asked to reflect on various resources that can be found online – from our local school district’s website to our state’s website to various other educational websites. Since I am not currently teaching, I decided to approach the project from 6 different angles, and see what I could find. I searched the various websites as the following persons:
- The parent of a first grade student who is struggling with reading
- The parent of a gifted high school math and science student who loves physics
- An elementary music teacher
- A middle school social science teacher
- A bored middle school math student
- A curious Ninth grade language arts student
I think it is probably hardest to find things as a parent. I found oodles of “how to become more involved in your child’s education” articles, and lots of policies, standards, and information. But, as a parent, I wanted to find links for activities that my kids could do online – with or without me. I wanted to find links to summer camps for physics students and 100 experiments you can do in your very own bathtub. I wanted to find the 10 best websites for encouraging your struggling reader to remember her consonant blends. I wanted to find online interactive books. Maybe I didn’t know how to search as a parent, and of course, I would hope that my students’ teachers would be helping me find appropriate sites as well.
Next, the resources available for kids and teens are abounding. I was glad to have some links as a launch-pad since kids and searching the web freely can be somewhat scary. The Brevard Public Schools site basically only had practice for FCAT. Other sites, like the eduhound site and the Kid’s Search Tools site proved to be useful with thousands of links to interactive and interesting websites. Most kid’s sites I looked at were ad-free, as well, which I think is a HUGE plus.
Now, as a teacher, I was happy to see all the resources available – activities, multimedia, worksheets, forums, blogs, etc, etc, etc – just about anything I’d need, I could find on the web. The trick is to find things quickly. However, the FL Department of Education (FDOE) website was less than stellar, in my opinion. The “Just for Teachers” section, which claims, “Designed with Teachers in Mind!” didn’t have what I had in mind. Sure, I saw links for news and legislation, but not enough “Try THIS in your classroom!” ideas. There was one section that had some instructional resources, but I was surprised at the slim list. On the US Department of Education site, I found that it was easy to navigate and I really liked their Success Stories section .
Overall, it was nice to have a list of links to start with. With the millions of educational pages available, searching quickly is of highest priority. I will say that if I was on a site that was difficult to navigate, had a bad search engine, or was visually unappealing, I didn’t stay there long. I don’t have time to wonder where to click or to search and re-search.
Below, you will find my experiences searching for internet resources. Remember, I searched as parents, students, and as teachers.
Resources – Parent of First Grade Struggling Reader
Education World – This didn’t seem like a very good resource for me to find help for my child. There were tons of lessons ideas, but I couldn’t find links for parents or homework helpers.
Eduhound.com - After clicking on Language Arts and then Reading, I found a link to BookHive, , which is part of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s website. I could go to this site with my daughter and find some good books, as well as find some neat activities for us to do together.
State and Federal Sites – I had a hard time finding anything to help my child here. I clicked on Families, and there were a lot of links, including early learning / preK, High School, and Middle school, but I could not find anything particular to Elementary School, or, especially Elementary reading.
Brevard Public Schools – There were tons of links here, mostly about school rules, educational policies, children’s insurance programs, free and reduced lunch, FCAT information, etc. I had to dig for the kinds of resources I needed. However, what they did list was very appropriate for a parent of any public school child.
Florida PIRC - lots of resources, downloadable workshops, PowerPoints, and fact sheets, websites and tip sheets – mostly about parenting and becoming more involved in my child’s education. This site didn’t really have resources to aid my child with her reading.
Families Building Better Readers - it is a K-3rd grade parent workshop pdf file. Once there, I found the website, Just Read Florida. There were lots of informational links and directions there. In one document, Read to Learn, had some good tips – especially the “Six Components of Reading” on page 4. It was definitely geared for 3rd grade students, but it had some good tips for any age.
In the parent workshop manual, on page 4, is an overview: Blueprints for Success. Each section of the Blueprints is then expanded upon later in the pdf. This pdf has DIRECT and SIMPLE instructions and suggestions for how to assist my child in reading, like “Try taking turns”, “Supply your child missed or unfamiliar words”, and “Have your child read the same passage again the next day” (6-8). There are games, activities, goals, and instructions. This is a really good resource and I will use this document with my child.
Resources – Parent of High School Gifted Math and Science Student
Eduhound.com – I found a cool-looking site for my son called Fizzics Fizzle by clicking on Science and then Physics. My son would be able to get some great information here, while keeping his interest with games and activities.
Kid’s Search Tools – When I went to this page , it loaded several search kid-safe search engines. When I clicked on Awesome Library, and entered “physics”, I got a list of 280 links of topics related to physics – all kid-friendly. I would be able to help my child a lot with information from this website.
Florida Dept of Education – Again, lots of links with information – this time geared towards exceptional education. Again, not much that I could present to my child.
Resources – Middle School Social Studies Teacher
Education World – I clicked on Main Channels, then Subjects & Specialties, then History and found this link: Top Teacher Ties History to Current Events. So many times my students ask me, “Why do we have to know this?” or “How is this important to me today?” and this site would help me answer those questions. Deidra Grode’s interview is quite interesting. Another link took me to an interview with Whitwell Middle School where they collected 6 million paperclips in order to comprehend the number of Jews killed by the Nazis. In the interview, Peter and Dagmar Schroeder, German journalists spoke about how this project can be used in the classroom: “These students, these young adults, have a pretty good idea about right and wrong. They can draw conclusions. When we tell students about the "precursors" of the Holocaust, about seemingly "innocent" anti-Semitic remarks and jokes, they can transplant this to their daily lives. They understand that you only have to substitute, let's say, "Jew" in a derogatory remark with "Black", Asian," "fat," "slow", stupid" or "dim-witted" to be already on the foundation of the "Pyramid of Hate". And that the next step could be exclusion, physical violence, and -- in the end -- possibly mass murder. This is not rocket science; it is simple reality.” Lots to think about there.
Sitesforteachers.com – When I typed “Middle School Social Science” I got 0 results from their search engine. The same happened when I put in “Social Science”. Not good. I got 27 results after I put in “Social Studies”. I don’t like that I had to search several times. Of the 27 results, most of them were generic worksheets. I don’t have time for a site like this.
Brevard Public Schools – When I clicked on TEACHERS and then Social Studies under the Teaching Social Science with Technology link, and selected National Park subject, I was led to the Discovery Education website where they have an extensive National Park area, complete with resources, lesson plans, assignments, clips, guides, and games. I would be able to use a lot of the activities on this site with my students.
Also, the History Detectives website would be a fun interactive media site (where you can even submit ideas for them!) that students could access on their own or I could guide them through it.
Resources – Elementary Music Teacher
Education World – After clicking on Main Channels, Subjects & Specialties, then Fine Arts, I had a large number of choices at my fingertips. I really liked “Sites to See: Music” It is a listing (with reviews) of various music education sites. I would have a lot of fun with my students with these sites. Of note (no pun intended): The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra’s kids site.
Eduhound.com – I clicked on Music as the subject and was led to this site: Play Music . There are lots of fun activities for my students to do there – either in a center, individually, or guided by me. Another site, by the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, is a delightfully interactive website that I will use often in my class. Kids can even be composers here!
Brevard Public Schools – The elementary Music subject area of the teacher portion of the website is comprehensive and has a lot of information about programs, policies and how to integrate other subjects into the music classroom’s curriculum. This area of the website would be very useful for me in my classroom.
Florida Dept of Education – The Just for Teachers section seemed to be informative, but I need substantial ideas of what works and where to find resources for my classroom. I am glad for the information, but I need to find activities!
Resources – Bored middle school math student
Great Web Sites for Kids – This website has a lot of stuff to look at! My teacher told me to click on the Mathematics and Computers section. Each link is color-coded for grade levels. My teacher said to click on the blue pencils, and I found some cool links.
A+ Click I just chose my grade and questions popped up. Whether I got them right or wrong, the answers were worked out for me.
Johnnie's Math Page - I had a lot of fun here! There are games and games here! My parents and teachers even have their own space here. I loved the Hitting the Target game where I could learn angles through sports. Way cool! I got a trophy in tennis!
Math is fun. Really? Well, on this site, YES! When I have a question about inequalities or fractions, I’m going to come here because things were explained in an easy way.
Brevard Public Schools – I clicked on the Students area of the bps website, and the first thing that hits me is FCAT. YUCK. There are a lot of links on this page for stuff that doesn’t matter to me, so I guess I’ll click around the FCAT link because my teacher told me to. I will say that the Math Station in the FCAT explorer section is pretty cool. Hmmm…. What’s for lunch tomorrow?
Resources – 9th grade enthusiastic Language Arts student
Eduhound.com - We’re studying the Diary of Anne Frank at school, and I found a lot of interesting links on this Anne Frank site. This site had a lot of cool information about the 80th anniversary of her birth in 2009.
Kid’s Search Tools – I clicked on WordsSmyth on this site, just because I wanted to know what it was. It is a really cool dictionary and thesaurus site with words of different levels and a neat quiz maker.
Great Web Sites for Kids - This site has a lot of cool links. I can go there for help with all of my classes. I really like the Bartleby.com website that I found when I clicked on Expanding the Classics because I can look up my favorite authors or search poetry and find out more information about what we’re studying in school. This site definitely isn’t for little kids. I feel like a grown-up on this site. I’ve been reading a lot of love quotes lately… :o)
I also found this fun site by one of my favorite poets, Jack Prelutsky: I cannot say that I am learning a lot here, but it is fun anyway.
Brevard Public Schools – My teacher tells us to go to FCAT explorer and I go there every day after school to practice. Sometimes the games there are for littler kids, but I like them anyway. I think that the Reading Factory and Reading Boardwalk sections are pretty fun.
Brevard Public Schools – My teacher tells us to go to FCAT explorer and I go there every day after school to practice. Sometimes the games there are for littler kids, but I like them anyway. I think that the Reading Factory and Reading Boardwalk sections are pretty fun.
Christi,
ReplyDeleteYour post clearly demonstrated that it is quite difficult to sort through the plethora of today’s online educational resources in order to locate those that are the most appropriate or applicable. As a teacher, parent, and now grad student, I can definitely relate to how this can be very overwhelming for most people.
The way you approached this project from the six different perspectives was ambitious, but you did a very thorough job and I now have a clear idea of what you found (or didn’t find) on the Internet for teachers, parents, and students. My three children are grown adults, so I don’t normally look for online resources for school-age children. I appreciate your insight and was interested by the fact that you said, “I think it is probably hardest to find things as a parent.” The teacher in me would make me feel the same way you did, because as a parent I would be looking for the more student-centered resources as well. I picked up on your feeling of disappointment when you wrote that “the Brevard Public Schools site basically only had practice for FCAT.” My school district’s web site sounds a lot like yours, but I must say it does include a phenomenal page of up-to-date resources for students, parents, and teachers. This page is maintained by a team of our curriculum specialists and their goal is to make it as beneficial and relevant as possible. I agree with you when you say the FL Department of Education web site is “less than stellar.” Thanks for sharing the Success Stories section of the U.S. Department of Education’s web site. I can understand why those particular schools are considered “Blue Ribbon Schools.”
I enjoyed reading your descriptions of the various web sites and the critiques you made based on the perspectives of the two teachers, two parents, and two students. Your remarks have given me a good idea of which ones would be most appropriate, and which ones would not, relative to your six different perspectives.
I found your post not only informative but also very creative. Thank you also for adding all of those links so that I could easily refer to the sites as they were referenced. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.
:-) Ruth