"The miracle is this; the more we share, the more we have."
~Leonard Nimoy
~Leonard Nimoy
**Below is a list of websites that have been useful both in my career and throughout my MAET (Master of Arts in Educational Technology) program. Hopefully you find them helpful too.**
MAET Websites
(In alphabetical order.)
1. Audacity - Audacity is an audio editor for recording, slicing, and mixing audio files. It is one of the easiest audio editing programs I have ever used and I very highly recommend it.
2. Evernote - Evernote is an organizational tool that I started using for note-taking, but it has become a very useful tool for keeping all of my school librarians up to date on new practices within our school district.
3. Haiku - Haiku is an online Learning Management System that allows you to create an entirely online learning experience for students. It utilizes a drop and drag system that is very user-friendly.
4. Gravatar - Gravatar is an online avatar system that my CEP 807 class used as an easy connector to our portfolio website and our email addresses. It is a very useful classroom tool for connecting students.
5. Jing - Jing is a short and sweet screen-shot and screen-capture program that allows you to easily record small video files of online projects. This program is super easy and incredibly useful for creating short tutorials.
6. MSU Angel - Angel is MSU's version of a Classroom Management System. 90% of my MAET classes have been conducted using the Angel CMS platform.
7. MSU D2L - D2L, or Desire 2 Learn, is MSU's newest CMS. I have used D2L for my last two MAET classes, and though different from Angel I have found the Desire 2 Learn platform just as user friendly as MSU's Angel. There are a few added bonuses to D2L, such as easier grade-book viewing and a better update notification system.
8. MSU Email - MSU's email system has been my best friend and my worst enemy for the duration of my MAET program. Though very straightforward and easy to use this email system is a bit antiquated and is sometimes a bit touchy when tasked with attaching files or copying and pasting.
9. Piazza - Piazza is an online discussion forum that takes collaboration to a whole new level. The site allows you to set up classrooms so the forums are self-contained.
10. Screencast - Screencast is an online repository for videos, images, and documents.
11. TinEye - TinEye is a reverse image search engine used for finding provenance of online images.
12. Twitter - Twitter has been a very useful resource for great teaching ideas and education forums.
13. Weebly - Weebly is the program I used to create this and many other websites throughout my MAET program. It utilizes a drop and drag system that is very user friendly. Weebly also offers an upgraded free membership for teachers.
14. Wix - Wix is an awesome website creation resource that includes a ton of great design choices.
15. Wikispaces - Wikispaces is a website that offers the perfect platform for creating online collaborative projects.
2. Evernote - Evernote is an organizational tool that I started using for note-taking, but it has become a very useful tool for keeping all of my school librarians up to date on new practices within our school district.
3. Haiku - Haiku is an online Learning Management System that allows you to create an entirely online learning experience for students. It utilizes a drop and drag system that is very user-friendly.
4. Gravatar - Gravatar is an online avatar system that my CEP 807 class used as an easy connector to our portfolio website and our email addresses. It is a very useful classroom tool for connecting students.
5. Jing - Jing is a short and sweet screen-shot and screen-capture program that allows you to easily record small video files of online projects. This program is super easy and incredibly useful for creating short tutorials.
6. MSU Angel - Angel is MSU's version of a Classroom Management System. 90% of my MAET classes have been conducted using the Angel CMS platform.
7. MSU D2L - D2L, or Desire 2 Learn, is MSU's newest CMS. I have used D2L for my last two MAET classes, and though different from Angel I have found the Desire 2 Learn platform just as user friendly as MSU's Angel. There are a few added bonuses to D2L, such as easier grade-book viewing and a better update notification system.
8. MSU Email - MSU's email system has been my best friend and my worst enemy for the duration of my MAET program. Though very straightforward and easy to use this email system is a bit antiquated and is sometimes a bit touchy when tasked with attaching files or copying and pasting.
9. Piazza - Piazza is an online discussion forum that takes collaboration to a whole new level. The site allows you to set up classrooms so the forums are self-contained.
10. Screencast - Screencast is an online repository for videos, images, and documents.
11. TinEye - TinEye is a reverse image search engine used for finding provenance of online images.
12. Twitter - Twitter has been a very useful resource for great teaching ideas and education forums.
13. Weebly - Weebly is the program I used to create this and many other websites throughout my MAET program. It utilizes a drop and drag system that is very user friendly. Weebly also offers an upgraded free membership for teachers.
14. Wix - Wix is an awesome website creation resource that includes a ton of great design choices.
15. Wikispaces - Wikispaces is a website that offers the perfect platform for creating online collaborative projects.
Library Websites
(In alphabetical order.)
1. Amazon - I often use Amazon for purchasing hard to find or out of print books for my libraries.
2. Baker and Taylor - Baker and Taylor is a book distributor that offers a 33% discount on all its books for educational institutions.
3. Good Reads - Good Reads is a great place to get book reviews on almost any book. I often use this site when deciding which titles to purchase for my libraries.
4. Library of Congress - The Library of Congress is a great place to download MARC records for the new books I am adding to my library collections.
5. Michigan Electronic Library - The Michigan Electronic Library, or mel.org as it is known to many, is an excellent online research site that is vetted by the Michigan Department of Education. I also use melCat when I need to find a book for a teacher or a student that is not available in any of my district libraries or the local county library.
6. Scholastic - Scholastic is a great place to read book reviews when I am getting ready to purchase books for my elementary library. It is also a great resource for teaching materials.
7. School Library Journal - The School Library Journal is another great resource for student and librarian book reviews.
8. Titlewave - Titlewave is another discount book distributor that I use each year when it is time to purchase new books for my library collection. The best part about Titlewave is that book reviews are written into the book order section so you can add a book to your shopping cart and read the book review at the same time.
2. Baker and Taylor - Baker and Taylor is a book distributor that offers a 33% discount on all its books for educational institutions.
3. Good Reads - Good Reads is a great place to get book reviews on almost any book. I often use this site when deciding which titles to purchase for my libraries.
4. Library of Congress - The Library of Congress is a great place to download MARC records for the new books I am adding to my library collections.
5. Michigan Electronic Library - The Michigan Electronic Library, or mel.org as it is known to many, is an excellent online research site that is vetted by the Michigan Department of Education. I also use melCat when I need to find a book for a teacher or a student that is not available in any of my district libraries or the local county library.
6. Scholastic - Scholastic is a great place to read book reviews when I am getting ready to purchase books for my elementary library. It is also a great resource for teaching materials.
7. School Library Journal - The School Library Journal is another great resource for student and librarian book reviews.
8. Titlewave - Titlewave is another discount book distributor that I use each year when it is time to purchase new books for my library collection. The best part about Titlewave is that book reviews are written into the book order section so you can add a book to your shopping cart and read the book review at the same time.
Media Specialist Websites
(In alphabetical order.)
1. BBC Learning - BBC Learning has a ton of great resources for teachers. I especially love the BBC Typing activities for elementary students.
2. Discovery Education- Discovery Education is an amazing paid resource that my school district purchases each year to provide educational videos, music, images, and online resources to our teachers.
3. Goorulearning - Gooru is an excellent resource for teaching materials. This site allows you to create "playlists" for your resources that you can click through chronologically during your lessons.
4. Graphite.org - Graphite is a website created by Common Sense Media to help teachers find the best apps, games, websites, and digital curricula available on the internet.
5. ISTE - The International Society for Technology in Education is the leading institution in the country for teachers interested in technology integration.
6. Kennedy Center ArtsEdge - ArtsEdge is a great online resource for any teacher of the arts, be it theater, language arts, music, or visual arts.
7. Khan Academy - Khan Academy open source tutorials have been used in my district for the last two years and have had a profound impact on our students from day one.
8. MACUL - The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning is an excellent organization which holds an annual convention that is a great experience for any educator interested in technology. Their newsletter contains pertinent information surrounding technology integration in education that is second to none.
9. National Geographic Education - National Geographic resources are always a favorite of my Social Studies teachers.
10. NCTM Illuminations Math - The National Council for Teachers of Math has created this amazing online resource that the teachers in my district love and use all the time.
11. PBS Kids - PBS kids is always a popular resource with my lower elementary teachers.
12. Prezi - Prezi is a very out of the box presentation format that really appeals to creative thinkers.
13. ReadWriteThink.org - Read Write Think is an amazing website that offers teachers K-12 online resources for all subjects.
14. Smithsonian's History Explorer - I absolutely love all of the Smithsonian online resources, but this History Explorer is one of my High School Social Studies teachers' favorites.
15. TED - The TED talks are my absolute favorite online resource for teachers. There is always something worthwhile and relevant on the TED site and I really wish more teachers in my district took advantage of this amazing resource.
2. Discovery Education- Discovery Education is an amazing paid resource that my school district purchases each year to provide educational videos, music, images, and online resources to our teachers.
3. Goorulearning - Gooru is an excellent resource for teaching materials. This site allows you to create "playlists" for your resources that you can click through chronologically during your lessons.
4. Graphite.org - Graphite is a website created by Common Sense Media to help teachers find the best apps, games, websites, and digital curricula available on the internet.
5. ISTE - The International Society for Technology in Education is the leading institution in the country for teachers interested in technology integration.
6. Kennedy Center ArtsEdge - ArtsEdge is a great online resource for any teacher of the arts, be it theater, language arts, music, or visual arts.
7. Khan Academy - Khan Academy open source tutorials have been used in my district for the last two years and have had a profound impact on our students from day one.
8. MACUL - The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning is an excellent organization which holds an annual convention that is a great experience for any educator interested in technology. Their newsletter contains pertinent information surrounding technology integration in education that is second to none.
9. National Geographic Education - National Geographic resources are always a favorite of my Social Studies teachers.
10. NCTM Illuminations Math - The National Council for Teachers of Math has created this amazing online resource that the teachers in my district love and use all the time.
11. PBS Kids - PBS kids is always a popular resource with my lower elementary teachers.
12. Prezi - Prezi is a very out of the box presentation format that really appeals to creative thinkers.
13. ReadWriteThink.org - Read Write Think is an amazing website that offers teachers K-12 online resources for all subjects.
14. Smithsonian's History Explorer - I absolutely love all of the Smithsonian online resources, but this History Explorer is one of my High School Social Studies teachers' favorites.
15. TED - The TED talks are my absolute favorite online resource for teachers. There is always something worthwhile and relevant on the TED site and I really wish more teachers in my district took advantage of this amazing resource.