[Nesabes] FW: A couple more great resources

[Ball, Patrice]

Thought you might be interested in these great resources too!
 
 
The New York Times is not only a great way to get news, it's also a great learning tool. You can do everything from reading product reviews of digital cameras from CNET <http://tech2.nytimes.com/gst/technology/techsearch.html?st=p&cat=Camcorders&x=10&y=11>  to researching stocks and mutual funds <http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp> . You can also find jobs, find real estate, and look for new and used cars!

However, there is one feature of the New York Times Website that is very cool. It's is probably the most useful out of all the features on the site. 

Go to the New York Times website <http://www.nytimes.com/>  and click on any article to read it. Now read it until you hit word that you don't know or understand. If you want to get more information on that word, simply double-click on it! Yes that's it! You can get the definition of any word by just double-clicking on it. 

Once you double-click on a word, a pop-up window will appear that automatically passes that variable to a search query against Answers.com/Reference. You get the dictionary definition always, and depending on the term, you will get other information that is related.

For example, I double clicked on the word synapses and I got a pop up with a dictionary definition along with links to jump to the Columbia Encyclopedia entry for the word, a Science dictionary and Medical dictionary definition also! Now that's cool!

***NOTE:

Make sure you click on an article, not just the newspaper itself or it won't work. Also, some popup blockers will block this action. You can hold down the CTRL key to bypass this reaction or allow popups from this site from whichever popup blocker you're using!!!

Next up!
Check out a new section of the Google for Educators site - dedicated to using some of the most popular Geo Products.  Here you will find information about using Google Earth, Maps, Sky, and SketchUp in your K-12 classroom.  Along with some of the great classroom activities they've collected over the years, they've also included starter kits which feature "cool and easy things you can do" with each product in your classroom.  Check it out here:  
http://www.google.com/educators/geo.html
And.... 

Google Docs' sharing features enable you and your students to decide exactly who can access and edit documents. You'll find that Google Docs helps promote group work and peer editing skills, and that it helps to fulfill the stated goal of The National Council of Teachers of English, which espouses writing as a process and encourages multiple revisions and peer editing.

Teachers are using Google Docs both to publish announcements about upcoming assignments and to monitor student progress via an interactive process which allows you to give guidance when it might be of maximum benefit - while your student is still working on an assignment. Through the revisions history, you can see clearly who contributed to what assignment and when; if a student says he or she worked on a given project over the last two weeks, it will be documented (no more "dog ate my homework" excuses)

Students will find that Google Docs can help them stay organized and keep on top of their assignments. They never have to remember to save their work; it happens automatically. It's easy to collaborate online with fellow students, even when they aren't in the same place, and they can get feedback easily from teachers, parents, relatives and tutors, and enter updates anytime from anywhere. And kids can go back to the revisions history to see how their assignment has evolved, and who has helped.

Always wanted to try Google Docs in your classroom but didn't know where to begin?  Here's a handy-dandy step-by-step guide to help you get started

 
 
Patty Ball, Technology Coordinator
NorthEast SABES c/o NECC
45 Franklin St
Lawrence MA 01840
978-738-7303  pball at necc.mass.edu
 
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"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks." 
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