Artsonia: The Kids Art Museum

Here’s a site you and your school should know about -- At Artsonia, teachers, preschool through Grade 12, can sign up to post their students’ art online. Joining and posting on the site is free. In addition to including artwork from over 12.5 million students, the site features thousands of lesson plan starters. There’s even an iPhone App available for Artsonia, so students, teachers, and family members can browse the Artsonia museum galleries on computers or iPhones. Parents and friends of artists can go online, vote for their favorite artwork, and make comments about it.  Comments must be approved by teachers and/or parents before they are posted. The site includes a gift shop where children’s artwork can be transferred onto products such as magnets, bookmarks, tee shirts, tiles, coffee mugs, etc. and purchased.  Schools receive 15% of any products sold.

Edutopia’s Home to School Connections Guide

Download your free copy of edutopia’s Home-to-School Connections Guide. It’s packed with tips, technology tips, and strategies for helping with the family-to-school interaction. The guide targets parents, teachers, and administrators as it works to strengthen connections with families. All you have to do to receive it is to give edutopia your name and email. If you want, you can send notes to friends about this resource so that they can download it as well

Music, Movies, Software—Digital Citizenship

It's a must that we integrate digital citizenship into school curricula today, but finding appropriate materials that fit into our classrooms is difficult. Microsoft has just launched its Digital Citizenship and Creative Content curriculum, which is free of charge. Targeted to students in Grades 8-10, the curriculum addresses real-world issues related to use of creative content in music, software, and movies. Included are lesson plans, reproducible materials, and classroom-based assessments. Students explore the meaning of intellectual property through the backdrop "Battle of the Bands". They dive into research as they learn about their own rights, rights of their peers, and rights of others who develop creative products. Using the site MYBYTES, students are able to publish original creative material and learn more about what professional writers and musicians have to say about this topic.

Tech Tips for Basic Computer Use

I am a big fan of David Pogue’s columns, videos and blog that are part of the New York Times technology section. One of the appeals is that he is just like most of the people who read this blog, write this blog and comment on this blog – we are all struggling to parent with technology. One blog entry you don’t want to miss, which is full of useful tips and advice is Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User,  many of which can help you get a leg up on technology, keep you a little safer online and maybe even raise your tech IQ so that you might even be able to dazzle your kids with your acumen. Hey – you never know!

Ford Limits the Volume and More

Got a young driver coming along? Well starting on their 2010 models Ford Motor Company will roll out a feature, called "MyKey," that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a computer chip in the key. Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key to limit the audio system's volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt. The features will debut on the 2010 Focus compact car. As a parent of a teen driver, it sounds like a good idea, but I can’t help but wonder how kids will figure out how to hack their way around this.

Encarta Election Guide & Presidential Info

Encarta offers an online 2008 Election Guide, which features information on the current and past elections. Articles about mudslinging, differences between Republicans and Democrats, the Electoral College, the 2008 candidates, voter registration, campaign finance, women in politics, etc. are available. At the site, students can learn about what are called the best speeches, such as Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, Franklin Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address, and John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. There's also a section filled with political quizzes like the Presidential Myths Quiz, Presidential U Quiz, U.S. Citizenship Quiz, First Ladies Quiz, and Presidential Trivia Quiz. You and your kids will enjoy this site and the fun quizzes. Did you know that George Washington didn't shake hands with visitors? —But he did bow to them. Which of our Presidents died after eating cherries and milk?

Free Loan Media Program for Blind & Deaf Students

DCMP (Described and Captioned Media Program) offers over 5,000 free-loan described and captioned media titles through video streaming, CDs and DVDs. To sign up for the service, go to the site and register. You must confirm that you need these media to work with a child with vision or hearing loss.  The media are sent to your home or you can download it. These titles are also mainly aimed at schools so be sure to tell your child’s teacher as well. Some of the new titles include: Explorers of Hurricanes, Oceans and Space, Abraham Lincoln, Tales and Games for Kids, Opposing Slavery, and This is Emily Yeung: A Day in My Life. The collection has evolved through recommendations; if you know of a resource that should be available on the site, you should send in the information. DCMP also provides a Caption It Yourself resource.

Tech Tips for Basic Computer Use

I am a big fan of David Pogue’s columns, videos and blog that are part of the New York Times technology section. One of the appeals is that he is just like most of the people who read this blog, write this blog and comment on this blog – we are all struggling to parent with technology. One blog entry you don’t want to miss, which is full of useful tips and advice is Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User,  many of which can help you get a leg up on technology, keep you a little safer online and maybe even raise your tech IQ so that you might even be able to dazzle your kids with your acumen. Hey – you never know!

Ford Limits the Volume and More

Got a young driver coming along? Well starting on their 2010 models Ford Motor Company will roll out a feature, called "MyKey," that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a computer chip in the key. Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key to limit the audio system's volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt. The features will debut on the 2010 Focus compact car. As a parent of a teen driver, it sounds like a good idea, but I can’t help but wonder how kids will figure out how to hack their way around this.

Encarta Election Guide & Presidential Info

Encarta offers an online 2008 Election Guide, which features information on the current and past elections. Articles about mudslinging, differences between Republicans and Democrats, the Electoral College, the 2008 candidates, voter registration, campaign finance, women in politics, etc. are available. At the site, students can learn about what are called the best speeches, such as Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, Franklin Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address, and John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. There's also a section filled with political quizzes like the Presidential Myths Quiz, Presidential U Quiz, U.S. Citizenship Quiz, First Ladies Quiz, and Presidential Trivia Quiz. You and your kids will enjoy this site and the fun quizzes. Did you know that George Washington didn't shake hands with visitors? —But he did bow to them. Which of our Presidents died after eating cherries and milk?