Professional Development Resources

Learning Theory:

Pedagogy

• Funderstanding Examines 12 different theories of how people learn.
• Project Zero "Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels." From the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Multiple Intelligences:

• Walter McKenzie's Surfaquarium This is an excellent resource for learning about MI including how MI relates to technology. Surf through this informative website and be sure to check out the MI Links page for further reading.
• Howard Gardner An interview with Howard Gardner and biography and links to Gardner's works.

Emotional Intelligence:

• Emotional Intelligence From Edutopia from The George Lucas Educational Foundation.
• CASEL The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. Synthesizes the latest empirical findings and theoretical developments and provides scientific leadership to foster progress in SEL research and practice.
• Emotional Intelligences Services Includes links and articles by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, David McClelland and others.

• Intel Education: Units and Project Plans Learn to harness the power of project-based learning.  This informative site discusses the benefits of PBL, offers templates to help you design your own PBL unit, has an index of PBL units for grades K-12 and offers curriculum planning strategies.
• Project-Based Learning Instructional Module from GLEF  "Part One, Guided Process, is designed to give participants a brief introduction to project-based learning. It answers the questions "Why is Project-Based Learning Important?"; "What is Project-Based Learning?"; and "How Does Project-Based Learning Work?" The Guided Process includes the Teaching About PBL section and a PowerPoint® presentation, including presenter notes." Excellent resource from the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF).
• Project Based Learning San Mateo County Office of Education

Instructional Design:

Teacher Planning Resources:  

• Big Rocks! A resource to help you sift through the pebbles and sand to find the BIG ROCKS of collaborative learning.

• Helping Students Cope with Terrorism

• Teacher Education and the Next Step Information for student teachers and first year teachers

• Creative Teaching Website Teaching tips for all disciplines

• Instructional Design Models From the University of Colorado School of Education, a wealth of resources covering instructional theory and practice.

• Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Very informative site about Bloom's Taxonomy with links and reading resources.
• Bloom's Taxonomy of Critical Development Another good site.
• Task Oriented Question Wheel. ^©2001 St. Edward's University Center for Teaching Excellence. <www.stedwards.edu/cte/bwheel.htm>
• Verb Lists:
  • Taxonomy Verb ListVerb - Use in constructing HOTS activities and objectives (I Love Teaching.Com)
  • Lists for Specific Subjects - Verbs to use in constructing HOTS activities and objectives in every subject - (I Love Teaching.Com)

Curriculum Standards:

• Developing Educational Standards An Overview, Putnam Valley Central Schools, Putnam Valley, NY.  EXTENSIVE resources for all states.
• MCREL-Standards Section Updated listing of articles and studies about educational standards
• State Standards State standards coupled to lesson plans and educational resources.
• Standards Locator National and state standards locator from the Riverdeep Company.

Integrating Technology Into Education:

• Link-to-Learn Professional Development So much to check out on this amazing site that offers learning opportunites about all aspects of teaching with technology.
• OzLine - Working the Web for Education From educational technology guru Tom March, this site explores theory and practice on integrating the web into education.
• The Knowledge Loom - GMOTT (Good Models for Teaching With Technology) Several samples are provided to illustrate this concept, along with a template that guides the creation of your own units or lessons, taking the GMOTT principles into consideration.
• Digital Storytelling in the Classroom Interesting article from Multimedia Schools with iMovie tips as well.
• Surveys Use the demo surveys to assess the use of technology
  Bellingham, Washington, School Board Internet Policies: Excellent examples of Internet policy documents
• CBC4Kids Canadian Broadcasting Company's kid safe web site of educational activities
• Classroom Connect Internet activities for your classroom
• Comunity Learning Network Helps K-12 teachers integrate technology in their classes
• Computer Science Online A business education/computer science web site for middle schools
• Computers and Classrooms ETS survey of status of technology in US schools
• Copyright in a Digital World Guidelines from the perspective of an instructional technology specialist & an attorney
• Copyright - Ten Myths About It Brad Templeton's landmark article
• Copyright Web Sites Gateway
• COSN Home Page The Consortium On School Networking
• DeepFreeze "Computer lock-down" software that enables you to configure the computer and then let students change ANYTHING they want. When the computer reboots, it reverts to its original configuration.
• Grants and Funding Bibliography of grant-writer's "help" books (Michigan State University)
• ED's Oasis Education Treasures, Effective Strategies, and Educator's Spotlight
• From Now On, Jamie McKenzie's guides, journal, and instructional materials
• Hyperstudio Quick Reference a tutorial from NCSU
• Instructional Resources for teachers from the Spartanburg County Schools
• Internet 101 Guide to the Internet issues and policies for teachers and parents
• InternetPLUS Links to online resources and a calendar of links to interesting sites
• InterNIC Information about domain names and registration of web sites
• ITTL - Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning - Online Surveys to evaluate faculty readiness and/or use of technology (Based on Eliot Soloway's original Snapshot Survey)
• KidsClick Worlds of Web Surfing
• Mac-Windows Tutorials for teachers who work with both platforms
• Multimedia Applications on a Shoe-String Budget connect multimedia activities to content and use tool application software to meet their educational objectives and standards
• NetScout Services Surf Smarter at the InterNIC Net Scout project
• Online Expeditions Learning adventures in exotic locations from LightSpan
• PC WEBOPEDIA: Online encyclopedia and search engine dedicated to computer technology
• School Web Clubs Resources to help organize and manage a school club for web design
• School Web Site Resources School web site content, management, and resources for web authors
• Teachers Connect! Resources for Teachers: Projects, Lesson Plans, WebGuides
• TOPICS Magazine an online magazine for teens in middle and high school classrooms
• Web66 Resources that facilitate technology integration
• WebQuest - Interactive web activities for all grade levels
• WebTeacher Resources in teaching any aspect of the Internet
• wNetSchool Practical web service for teachers

• Bernie Dodge's The WebQuest Page The WebQuest guru, Bernie Dodge, explains webquests, offers examples, templates, and training materials.  The place to go to learn how to incorporate the net into the classroom.
  • Reading and Training Materials Be sure to visit this page in Dodge's site where you will find excellent training materials and workshops for developing webquests.
• Best WebQuests.com From Tom March, a matrix of webquests "celebrating the best in webquests."
  • Learning With the World Also from Tom March's ozline.com site, this page offers links, activities and guidance to incorporating the "richness of the Internet" into your teaching.  A must see site.
• Webquest 101 A tutorial for creating webquests.
• WebQuests in Our Future Kathy Schrock's PowerPoint about webquests.
• Information Problem-Solving Models This site, put together by the Baltimore County Public School Library Information Services, is a wonderful resource to explore. There are webquests available across the curriculum for grades K-12, each one based on an essential question.  If you are trying to find a web-based, inquiry-based unit for your classroom, you must check out this site!
• Taming the Internet With WebQuests Middle School School Library Media Specialist Will Haines from the Greece, NY school district has put together an excellent site about WebQuests with worthwhile links, resources and training materials.
• Filamentality No web publishing software needed! "Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into learning activities" which are posted and hosted for free by the SBC Knowledge Network. A good place to start for the newbie.
• TrackStar Organize and annotate Web sites (URLs) into lessons

Collaborative Projects Resources:

• NoodleTools - Curriculum Collaboration Toolkit Start here by learning about the hows and whys of collaboration.
• IECC The Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections is a free teaching.com service to help teachers link with partners in other cultures and countries for email classroom pen-pal and other project exchanges. Since its creation in 1992, IECC has distributed over 28,000 requests for e-mail partnerships.
• ePals "Over 4.6 million students and teachers are building skills and enhancing learning with ePALS. Established in 1996, ePALS has 99,004 classroom profiles bringing people in 191 countries together as cross-cultural learning partners and friends."
• Global Schoolhouse Collaborative projects, communication tools, professional development
• I*EARN International Education and Resource Network - Projects and learning resources
• Kidlink Global Networking for Youth 10-15
• Let's Go Around the World "Great Learning Adventures" to various regions of the globe
• Telecollaborate: Join Internet collaborations or publicize your project.
• SchoolWorld Internet Education  Global Internet Classroom with projects, programs and resources
• SMARTer Kids Foundation hosts ImagiNations, an international collaborative learning program for elementary/primary school students. The program promotes cross-cultural experiences through the travels of a toy ambassador who collects information and memorabilia to share with students at each stop of his journey.
• U.N. Voices of Youth Page Give your opinion about Children's Rights, War, Homelessness, etc.

• Technology Integration Page This is a SUPER resource for helping teachers integrate technology in education! There are several links to software tutorials and templates, and much more.  Check this one out!
• Link to Learn Technology Tutorials Another SUPER learning site! Everything that you could possibly need to start integrating technology into your teaching.
• Microsoft Educational Tutorials Learn how to uses and integrate Microsoft software in the classroom with step-by-step tutorial guides. For students, teachers, and staff
• Land-Grant Training Alliance Online Lessons Tutorials on word processing, presentation, database and spreadsheet, and email programs.
• The Microsoft Word Knodule Basic tutorial for the beginner.
• The Microsoft Excel Knodule Basic tutorial for the beginner.
• The Microsoft Access Knodule Basic tutorial for the beginner.
• Microsoft PowerPoint Tutorial Nice tutorial with activities.
• PowerPoint in the Classroom Fun, graphic tutorial on using PowerPoint, developed with Microsoft Corp.
• PowerPoint 2003 and PowerPoint XP Help Excellent tutorial site from the University of Wisconsin.
• Inspiration Quick Start Tutorial A great starting point for how to use Inspiration from Inspiration's site.
• Kidspiration Quick Start Tutorial Also from the Inspiration site; how to get started with Kidspiration.
• Photoshop Tutorial Learn how to use Photoshop and start integrating digital imaging!
• Complete List of Photoshop Tips Laura McCanna's site will likely end up in your favorites folder if you are a Photoshop user!
• Kids' Vid An instructional website aimed at helping students and teachers use video production in the classroom to support project-based learning.
• iMovie Tutorial From Apple's Educational site, start using iMovie to make educational videos with your students.

Handheld Computing in K-12 Education:

About Blogs:

• BlogMeister David Warlick's site devoted to blogs and education.  Includes articles about blogging. You can set up a blog on BlogMeister for your students. Exciting stuff! Be sure to check out Warlick's links page to learn more about blogging and how you can integrate it into your teaching.

Grants Hotline:

• Bell South Grants:
  • Opportunity Grants
  • The Power to Teach
• Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Program http://www.nsta.org/programs/craftsman/
• Curriculum Associates makes matching grants to educators in Pre-K-12 who demonstrate an innovative approach to teaching with Curriculum Associates' research-based instructional and assessment materials.
• Department of Education Grants - 
  • Department of Education Forecast of Funding
    http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html
  • All DOE Grants 
    http://www.ed.gov/topics/topics.jsp?&top=Grants+%26+Contracts
  • Technology Funding Sources 
    http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/edgrants.html
• E-School News Grant Deadlines Page
  http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=3402
• Grant-writing Tips from School Grants
  http://www.schoolgrants.org/tips.htm
• The Foundation -  On-line, interactive database of grant resources
  • http://fdncenter.org/  
  • http://fdncenter.org/funders/
• FREE - Free Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - Free agencies and resources
  http://ed.gov/free/
• Hewlett-Packard Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative The K-12 HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative is designed to support innovative and effective uses of technology in the classroom setting.
• Inspired Teaching Scholarship Now in its 7th year, Inspiration offers annual $750 scholarships to teachers (and rookies) who champion visual learning in the classroom.  Scholarship money is to be used to attend a conference, class, course, or workshop.
• National Endowment for the Humanities
  http://www.neh.fed.us/grants/
• NEA Foundation makes $2,000 and $5,000 grants to practicing US public school teachers in grades K-12, public school education support professionals, and faculty and staff at US public higher education institutions. Offers Innovation and Learning and Leadership Grants.
• National Geographic Education Foundation Teacher grants given yearly. "The mission of the National Geographic Society’s Education Foundation is to prepare children to embrace a diverse world, succeed in a global economy, and steward the planet’s resources."
• National Science Foundation
  http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants.htm
• Palm Grants - Get a Palm device for your school
  http://www.palmgrants.sri.com/
• School Grants - Grants for K-12 Schools
  http://www.schoolgrants.org
• SMARTer Kids Foundation helps equip classrooms with technology products and generates practical research on the impact and effectiveness of technology in the classroom
• Technology & Learning Grants Database (Searchable)
  http://www.techlearning.com/grants.html
• Technology Grant News Offers an index of grant opportunities and a newsletter you can subscribe to.
• ING Unsung Heroes Do you or someone you know have a creative, unique educational program that is helping students reach new heights? Or is there a program you'd like to implement, if only you had the proper funding?

Professional Organizations:

• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development News and articles
• Department of Education Latest information & events from Washington
• Florida Department of Education Education news from the Sunshine State
• ISTE International Society for Technology in Education
• Milken Family Foundation Technology Initiatives, awards, and information in support of educators
• MCREL Mid-continent Regional Educational Lab - Educational Research and Resources
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Curriculum and resources for North Carolina teachers, students, and the community
• National Association of Secondary School Principals Links of interest to administrators and classroom teachers
• National Middle School Association Professessional organization for middle school teachers
• National Network of Regional Educational Labs
• MCREL: Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory - Educational Research and Resources
• NC Department of Public Instruction InfoWeb
• State Departments of Education Alphabetical listing of all states

Educational Virtual Newsstand:

Online Learning:

• Reflective Teacher Education Links, Discussion Boards, State Standards and Departments of Education, Online Learning Listings.
• SurfAquarium Digital COP Join one of Walter McKenzie's educational technology online courses.

Making Presentations:

• Presenters Online Do you need to make a presentation? Epson's website has many great tips.
• Resources for Teacher Leadership A very good site that provides resources for making presentations to individuals or groups such as parents, school board, and peers and colleagues. Also provides resources for writing abstracts for conference proposals, and how to engage your audience when making presentations at conferences.

Technology Conferences to Note:

• The Conference Calendar (2005) from T.H.E. Journal Online