15 BEST WEBSITES FOR TEACHERS EDU 6606 Pascale Noland

1. Google in Education  This website provides access to educator resources, such as lesson plans, educational videos, apps for educators and students.  Pros  Provides links to technical training and webinars for educators.  Provides a variety of integrated tools.  Includes tool for evaluations and data collection.  Cons  Some products require a fee.  Can be difficult to navigate due to the amount of data. 

2. CIA World Factbook  U.S. Government sponsored website providing information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 countries.  Pros  National level geographic and geopolitical facts about various countries  Includes various maps, information on flags, etc.  Public domain, no copyright  Free access  Cons  Generic, politically correct information  Last major update in 2007  Contains only very few photos 

3. ACTFL American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages  Organization to promote language learning and teaching. Provides information and resources for teachers of second languages.  Pro  Offers certifications for language instructors  Offers high quality training resources  Provides guidelines on language proficiency  Actively promotes advocacy of language learning in U.S.  Expansive network of language educators  Cons  Costly memberships  Mandatory bi-annual recertification  Very commercialized, could be improved by providing more free access to resources. 

4. Merlot.org  Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching  Provides multidiscipline resources for educators. Facilitates sharing of learning resources and peer reviews. The vast amount of information makes this site a top education resource.  Pros  Includes a variety of free resource for educators and learners;  Creative Commons material;  Peer review available;  Cons  Requires membership;  Difficult to navigate;  Can only be searched by subjects, not by teaching methodology or level; 

5. Wikimedia Commons  Open source for pictures to use in a variety of classroom activities and curriculum development. 

6. Facebook  Social network to connect people across the world and post pictures and other documents for sharing.  Pros  Free access  Easy to use  Enables posting of info and pictures  Cons  Uncensored content  Lots of publicity  Falls short of excellent in education because of considerable privacy issues. 

7. Apple Education Apps  Website with access to free education applications for students to use on pads, PCs or mobile devises. Best education app with best updates make this site number one for mobile learning devices.  Pros  Includes a large selections of tools that are compatible with different devices.  Includes a variety of price ranges, some are free.  Frequently updated material.  Large selection.  Cons  Some compatibility issues  Mostly geared toward children education  Require the use of mobile devices for use in class 

8. Teacher Tube  Teacher online community for sharing instructional videos. Educationally focused site for teachers, educators, and traditionally and home schooled students. 

9. The Webquest Page  Informative tools for educators to create collaborative and research based projects for students.  Contains a databank for webquests ideas and resources that can be searched by topic.  Cons/ improvement:  Not frequently updated. 

10. Teacher Pages: Problem-based learning  Online access to science modules developed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and environmental earth science course modules that are accessible over the Internet. 

11. National Geographics Education  Interactive Museum for virtual fieldtrips and links to sites to develop inquiry based activities, such as ‘Lewis and Clark: Create your own expedition,’and ‘mapmaker.’  /xpedition-hall/?ar_a=1

12. Français Interactive  University of Texas open resource for French students and teachers. Contains a complete textbook, activities and videos. Best free online French language program because it uses a modern learning approach, the communicative approach.  Pros  Includes a large amount of activies, videos and soundfiles;  Creative commons;  Contains fully developed lessons;  Cons  Student developed content not always accurate;  Not all material is authentic;  Curriculum is somewhat generic; 

13. Creative Commons.org   Non profit organization that enables sharing of creative material, such as pictures, soundfiles, videos, etc. This site is great for lesson planing.  Pros  Great for lesson planning, flashcards, and any communicative activity.  Can be added to search bar to facilitate finding CC material  Custom searches available to facilitate finding of material  Cons  Time consuming searches  Raw material, needs to be modified  Reuse may be restricted

14. STUDYBLUE  Free flashcard maker for students. The site provides clout storage for file storage and sharing. Facilitates the creation of digitally enhanced learning tools.  Site falls short of excellence due to its limited services. 

15. Utube  Variety of videos to watch, use in class and share. Great tool for project based learning. Acts as a distribution platform for products ranging from original content creators to advertisers.  Cons  Content not filtered;  copy right issues; 

References:  AppleinEducaction. Retrieved June 20, 2013 from Apple:  CIA Factbook> Retrieved June 20, from CIA Factbook:  Webquest.Org. (1998). Retrieved 2013, from The Webquest Page:  Teacher Pages: Problem-based Learning. (2005). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Exploring the Environment, Science Modules for Students:  Teacher Tube, Teach The Worlds. (2007). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Teacher Tube:  ACFTL American Counsil on the Teaching of Foreign Language. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2013, from ACTFL:  Commons.Org, C. (n.d.). Creative Commons.org. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from Creative Commons Homepage:  Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2013, from facebook.com:  GoogleinEducation (n.d) Retrieved June 19, 2013:  Government, U. (n.d.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from The World Factbook:  Merlot.Org. (n.d.). Retrieved May 13, 2013, from Merlot Multi Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching:  National Geographics. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2013, from National Geographics MarcoPole Xpeditions:  Studyblue. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2013, from About Studyblue:  Utube. (n.d.). Retrieved june 19, 2013, from Utube: