Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Blogs and Blogging

Is it a journal, a log, a diary, a personal website? Just what is a blog, anyway? And what is a blogger? Visit the links below to learn more about this interesting way of learning, sharing, and communicating with others.

BLOGGING BASICS
Weblog: from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog (entry for "weblog")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki (entry for "wiki")
What's a wiki? A communal, public blog, or open forum, that allows anyone to add and modify content. This entry, from Wikipedia, a popular example of the wiki, offers readers a history of blogging, an explanation of the many types of blogs (personal, news, political, legal, advice, etc.), a glossary of blogging terms, and a lengthy list of links to related sites.

Blog Glossary
http://www.samizdata.net/blog/glossary.html
The blog culture has spawned an entirely new vocabulary. Bleg, blawg, blogathy, blogerati - find out what these and many more blog-related terms mean at this entertaining and informative site.

A Brief History of Weblogs, by Mallory Jensen
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/5/blog-jensen.asp

Blogging101: History, Parts, Read/Write, Find, Create, Readings, by Anton Zuiker
http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/index.html

Emerging Trends: Educational Blogging, by Robert Whelan, ITS Faculty Technology Center, New York University
http://www.nyu.edu/its/ftc/ls/blog.html
This interesting article features a discussion of the benefits of blogs in regular education and with ESL students, who can use blogs to develop their reading, research and writing skills, and collaborate with others.

FREE BLOGGING SITES
Blogger.com
http://www.blogger.com/start

Blog-City
http://www.blog-city.com/bc/

Bubbler.com
http://www.bubbler.com/index.shtml

myblogsite
http://www.myblogsite.com/?sid=GOOGLEblog

Squarespace
http://www.squarespace.com/?partnerTag=google&planTag=blgnetwork

INTERESTING BLOGS, ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS

NEWS, POLITICS AND LAW
Best of the Blogs
http://www.bestoftheblogs.com/

Democracy for America
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/

instapundit.com
http://www.instapundit.com/

PrawfsBlawg: a Group of Young Legal Turkeys Offering Their Thoughts on Law and the Things That Really Matter in Life
http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/

Right Wing News
http://www.rightwingnews.com/

Slate
http://www.slate.com/

BOOKS, AUTHOR BIOS AND INTERVIEWS, AND MORE
Beatrice.com
http://beatrice.com/

Bookreporter.com
http://www.bookreporter.com/

Moorishgirl.com
http://www.moorishgirl.com/

Girlfriend Cyber Circuit
http://gcc.blog-city.com/

Resources for Readers

SELECTED AUTHORS OF INTEREST TO CMS STUDENTS:

Douglas Adams
http://www.douglasadams.com/

Judy Blume
http://www.judyblume.com/

Dan Brown
http://www.danbrown.com/

Gennifer Choldenko
http://www.choldenko.com/

Matt Christopher
http://www.mattchristopher.com/

Angela Johnson
http://authors.aalbc.com/angela.htm

Walter Dean Myers
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-myers-walterdean.asp

Mary Pope Osborne
http://www.marypopeosborne.com/

Gary Paulsen
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/

Dave Pelzer
http://www.davepelzer.com/

Louise Rennison
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-rennison-louise.asp

Ann Rice
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/annerice/author.html
http://www.annerice.com/index.htm

J. K. Rowling
http://www.jkrowling.com/

Lemony Snicket
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/index.cfm

Danielle Steel
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/steel/

J. R. R. Tolkien
About Tolkien
http://www.tolkien.co.uk/frame.asp
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/index.html
Tolkien Timeline
http://gollum.usask.ca/tolkien/

SELECTED WEB SITES AND OTHER FULL-TEXT RESOURCES

ALEX Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.htm
The ALEX Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm
Best Books for Young Adults includes "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

Biography Resource Center (You'll need the library barcode supplied by the IMC to access this terrific database.)
http://mblc.state.ma.us/cgi-bin/remote.pl?db=infotrac

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
http://www.carolhurst.com
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for teachers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/abouttheawarda/cskabout.htm
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."

Graphic Novels for Librarians: A Guide
http://tasisnet.tasis.com/
This site, created by librarian Susan Salpini, features lots of helpful information about graphic novels, including an explanation of Manga (done primarily in black and white, these graphic novels are usually first published in weekly or monthly magazines, with a particular audience in mind), as well as tips on cataloging, a glossary, and an extensive bibilography.

Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/margaretaedwards/margaretedwards.htm
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

The Newbery Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

NOBLE Web Catalog
http://www.noblenet.org
Search the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) online catalog to locate books, videos, and other materials at the Salem Public Library, as well as at 26 other public and college libraries.

NoveList
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and author web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews, and other information, to the database each year.

The Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/
The Michael L. Printz Award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Teen Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
http://www.scottodell.com/sosoaward.html
Established in 1982 by this fine author to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is given annually to "a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults."

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Selected Teacher Resources

LESSON PLANS, WEBQUESTS, WORKSHEETS, ETC.

Best Webquests.com
http://www.bestwebquests.com
Created by Tom March, this searchable database of webquests allows users to search by title, description, author information, age level, and "attributes that make this WebQuest special". Each WebQuest considered by Best WebQuests.com for addition to its database is examined with the following criteria in mind: engaging opening/writing; the question/task; background for everyone; roles/expertise; use of the web; transformative thinking; real world feedback; and conclusion.

Education World
http://www.educationworld.com
This comprehensive educator's resource features a wealth of information, organized into the following "categories": Lesson Planning; Professional Development; Administrator's Desk; Technology Integration; School Issues; and "More Resources".

Educator's Reference Desk: Lesson Plans
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/index.shtml
Use this site to access an extensive list of Resource Guides and Lesson Plans, or to search the ERIC Database from 1966 to the present, using the simple or advanced search features, and limiting your search to journal articles or full-text ERIC digests.

Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
This outstanding and comprehensive collection of easy-to-use, imaginative and entertaining educational web sites and games is among the best of the web's resources available today.

Homework Spot
http://homeworkspot.com
This free homework information portal features many of the best K-12 homework-related sites, collected in one "spot" by a team of educators, librarians and journalists.

iWebQuest
http://iwebquest.com
This site features a helpful introduction to webquests, and offers selected examples of what iWebQuest's educators consider to be some of the best webquests available today, as well as selected hotlists, treasure hunts, and web pages.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/
Arguably the most helpful and practical single web resource available to educators today, Schrock's comprehensive site includes Resources, Information, Slide Shows, Lesson Ideas, and upcoming Workshops offered by Schrock. Among this site's many strengths is the Teacher Helpers section, featuring information and templates about Assessment and Rubrics, Critical Evaluation, Webquests, and more.

Lesson Plan Central: an Educator's Guide to Lessons, Worksheets, Web Links, and More...
http://lessonplancentral.com/
Find lesson plans, webquests, worksheets, clipart and more at this site, either by keyword searching or by browsing lists of links to great resources organized by subject.

Marcopolo
http://www.marcopolo-education.org
Marcopolo provides high quality "standards-based Internet content and professional development to K-12 teachers and students throughout the United States." Teacher resources include lesson plans and other activities for students, as well as reviewed web sites. Users can search for educational resources using simple keyword or advanced Boolean search features, and limiting by subject area and/or grade level.

The Math Website
http://www.themathwebsite.com/

Middle School.Net: for Teachers by Teachers
http://www.middleschool.net
Visit this site to find links to curriculum resources in all content areas, technology resources, lesson plans and tutorials, reference materials, and professional development resources, as well as information for administrators and school leaders, and support staff.

Mr. Donn's Ancient History Page
http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/
This terrific resource features an extensive collection of ancient history lesson plans and activities, as well as a nice collection of maps and information about holidays and festivals in each of the major civilizations. This resource will be extremely helpful to grade six teachers, with its focus on Ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Puzzlemaker.com
http://www.puzzlemaker.com
Educators will enjoy this easy-to-use puzzle generation tool, which allows users to create computer-generated mazes, and word search, criss-cross, math square, number block, cryptogram, fallen phrase, and letter tile puzzles. Puzzlemaker.com also features a great archive of categorization, lateral thinking, logic, number and math play, reasoning, spatial awareness, and word and letter play brain boosters, as well as a clip art gallery.

Quia.com
http://www.quia.com
Quia (Quintessential Instructional Archive) features a directory of thousands of online activities and quizzes organized into 50 subjects, including world language, math, science, literature, history, and more, for all age levels, a template for 16 different types of online activities, and tools for creating online quizzes with up to eight question types.

TeAch-nology
http://www.teachnology.com
This site provides educators with free access to thousands of lesson plans, printable worksheets, reviewed web sites, rubrics, educational games, and much more.

Tramline's Virtual Field Trips
http://www.tramline.com
This site features both a terrific collection of virtual field trips appropriate for grades K-12, and forms and templates allowing teachers to create web tours of their own.

The WebQuest Page
http://webquest.sdsu.edu
The WebQuest model was developed in 1995 at San Diego State University by Bernie Dodge and Tom March (see Best Webquests.com, above). Dodge's WebQuest Page is an invaluable resource featuring both rated ("Top" and "Middling") and unrated ("New" - teachers are invited to evaluate these) webquests in all content areas for grades K-12, a searchable database of articles and unpublished papers about webquests, the WebQuest News blog, FAQs, and much, much more.

K-12 Resources for Music Educators
http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/staffpages/shirk/k12.music.html
Visit this page for comprehensive lists of useful sites for band, vocal/choral, orchestra, and classroom music teachers, as well as MIDI and music technology resource links, and music-related newsgroups.

Web Sites and Resources for Teachers
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/resources_sharp/
This resource offers educators links to lesson plans, instructional materials, and online activities and projects about language arts, social studies, math, science, art, music, languages, and physical education, as well as virtual tours/trips to museums and countries around the world.