EDUC 630 Web Resources

I use the internet for many different activities. I use it to stay connected with family and friends through https://www.facebook.com and through e-mail. Through Facebook, I also play games that allow me to interact in a different way with family and friends. There is an educational site patterned somewhat after Facebook that allows a teacher to instruct online. It is called http://www.edmodo.com/. If I were teaching in a regular (traditional) classroom, I would use it to extend my classroom. Since I am not teaching right now, I am learning how to use it by sending assignments to my grandchildren. My grandchildren are being taught at home, so their mother allows me to share in their schooling. Some of the assignments I have posted for them have come from http://nlvm.usu.edu, a source of learning games played with virtual manipulatives, mostly to help with math concepts. This site requires a sign-in and a “java” download, but it allows free access, and I was able to link it to my Edmodo page.

I live in the country, so it is often easier to shop online. I shop quite frequently at http://www.amazon.com/, especially since I received a Kindle for Christmas several years ago. One of my favorite sites for teacher materials (especially for this math teacher who believes in using math manipulatives and games) is now called http://www.hand2mind.com. Another site with an emphasis on the classical model of education is the catalog for Veritas Academy in Lancaster County, PA, http://resource2.veritaspress.com/Online_Catalog_2012. Since I taught in a classical Christian school for eleven years, I became familiar with their offerings in almost every subject. I had used them as a resource for my own home school, many years ago, and always enjoyed the reviews of each book or learning material.

Since I enjoy researching my family history, I subscribe to a site called http://www.ancestry.com/ which allows me to search many databases, including the U.S. Census, to see if I can find mention of my ancestors. I also use the free site http://usgenweb.org/ to complement and add to what I find on Ancestry’s site. Some states have more extensive cemetery listings on http://usgenweb.org/ than on Ancestry.

Of course, no listing of web resources would be complete without mentioning the search engines available. My favorite and most used is http://www.google.com, but there are many others.