EduTeacher

EduTeacher is a great website for finding hundreds of online resources for educators in a very efficient manner. On the left side of the "links" page, you can narrow your search by the subject area you are looking for, as well as professional development and teacher tools. What makes the search even more helpful is the option to narrow results by the grade levels you are interested in. In the search, all relevant resources are listed by their website title and is followed by a short description of the tool itself. The first resource I found which I could definitely use in the classroom is Book Wink. This website has been recognized by the Association of Library Service to Children, and was designed to inspire elementary school children to read. First, students can search book recommendations with a short synopsis of each according to their grade level. In addition, the website provides a new video each month about a different topic which students can find similar titles to. They also have a podcast which sends updates to subscribers about the latest book recommendations and posted videos. The next site I am really excited to use is eFieldTrips. This resource allows teachers to register their class for a virtual field trip to one of many destinations, ask questions to an expert following the virtual trip, and also participate in a live chat following their experience. Third, elgg is a website which allows teachers to create social networking sites which their students can participate in. The major benefit of this site as opposed to other options is that it is closed to uninvited users, making it a safe environment for students to network about their educational experiences. Finally, while I'm not convinced this site is all that practical for classroom use, blurb is a very cool site which allows you to upload photos or whatever you choose and create your own book.