Instructify

Not to toot my own horn, but at a very young age, I was identified as AG (Academically Gifted). I spent my first few years in school in a separate class with other AG students, doing artsy things, solving puzzles and doing lots of creative writing. I think, for the most part, this was very helpful in my academic development. I often noticed, though, that I felt very out of place as I progressed in school. I felt somehow disjointed from many of my peers, and so I often only put in the bare minimum amount of effort to get me by. Nonetheless, I’ll be forever grateful for those teachers who were willing and able to provide me with instruction that gave me the stuff I needed to succeed and later go on to college and finally apply myself in the capacity I knew I was capable of. Sure, I’m smart – but we all know that; its the next generation that we need to keep an eye on.

TeachersAndFamilies.com brings us this guide – The Exceptional Child – to help identify and nurture gifted students at an early age. There are charts and resources to help parents and educators explore what makes a child exceptional and how to nurture them in both the home and the classroom. Be sure to check out the guide of ways to make gifted students feel less ostracized by their peers. Additionally, there are links to other resources on the web to help facilitate the education of gifted and exceptional children. If you suspect you might have a baby genius in your home or classroom, take a look here and see how to prepare yourself and the budding Einstein. -JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

The Exceptional Child

The New Deal Network is the one stop shop for all your New Deal needs, folks. Teaching a lesson in your U.S. History class about FDR and his grand plan to turn the Great Depression topsy-turvy? The New Deal Network has the photographs you need to spice up your lectures. Wait – don’t stop there, friend – because NDN’s got historical documents up to its electronic ceiling.

All-night planning sessions got you down, teach? Let NDN’s lesson plans do the work for you. There’s Discovery Guides, Timelines, and don’t forget about the Additional Resources. Whatever information concerning the Great Depression and the New Deal you might be looking for, this place has it all. Its more fun than the Chicago World’s Fair and a Motion Picture rolled into one – enjoy all the informative information and New Deal resources the Inter-Net has to offer! – JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

New Deal Network

The Online Education Database has hundreds of free online courses for your perusal– 200 to be exact. The database has compiled a list and description of these courses to help hopefuls such as yourself to be able to learn the things you didn’t know already. Who has the time to visit the learning annex every Wednesday night just to listen to some old stiff coat ramble on about modern poetry? If your work and home life don’t allow you to go out and do such stuff, then sit in front of the computer and use the power of the internet to guide you toward knowledge.

The database is broken up into several categories that might sound vaguely familiar such as Math, Science, Language Arts, and Health. The real gems lie in the categories such as Theology, Business and Finance, and Social Sciences. The courses themselves are from real universities and colleges such as The University of Notre Dame, Utah State University, and Tufts University to name a few. If you’ve got some spare time at home, and you can’t swing going back to school, this might be a great option. Send your students to this site, too, if they don’t have too much homework already, that is. – JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Online Education Database

6 Things to Remember When Cramming for Finals – Some of the advice here might seem pretty obvious, but study skills are usually not the type of thing anyone is close to perfecting any time soon– so any advice is good advice. Take a peek at this list of 6 things that might help you or your students focus enough to ace those finals. From CollegeScholarships.org

50 Top 10 Lists of 2007 - Normally, I wouldn’t put this kind of hooey on an upstanding site like our own, but this list is actually as fun as it is informative. Plus, with Time Magazine behind the wheel, these lists are actually interesting and well put together. The topics range from categories such as News, Entertainment to Business, Tech & Sports. This might inspire your students to come up with their own Top 10 lists, or it might just serve as a reminder of all of 2007′s best (and worst) moments.

13 Web Based Word Processors – Personally, I am about at the end of my rope with Microsoft Word. It feels familiar and yet archaic at the same time. With so much open-source software and web based applications, it seems a shame to waste what’s available for free. So, how do you decide how and when (and to what) you’d like to make the change? This guide from Lifehack might be a great place to start. My current crush is on iNetWord.

-JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

(Photo credit: Stewf)

As far fetched as some of the ancient Greeks’ ideas seemed, they sure did get a lot done when it came to technology and storytelling. Though it’s safe to say that the polytheist society of the Greeks has long since gone, there are still symbols and repetition of ideas in modern society. Mythweb.com is a fun, educational site dedicated to retelling the Greek myths of yesteryear in a fashion that is befitting of a modern time. The site itself is well put together, with fun illustrated versions of the Gods and heroes’ tales. All the classics are here, including The Odyssey, Hercules’ Labors, and even Perseus– everyone’s favorite Gorgon-slaying hero.

Mythology was one of the first things I can remember learning in grade school, and I still retain a lot of information to this day. This site offers a great way of reading the legends and speaks to people of all generations. There are printable versions (.pdf) of many of the tales, so these might make for great handouts to accompany any mythology lesson. There’s even a new comprehensive section that relates how we use Greek mythology in today’s world. — JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Mythweb

Forget about struggling over getting that Ph.D. or Master’s degree– now you can get all the science knowledge you need from Science U online. The site is actually designed to help younger students understand the many aspects of science through a series of activities and sections in a cartoony online university, but my guess is that it’s just as accredited as Phoenix or  the ilk. Science U is chock full of activities, illustrated and animated explanations, experiments and a Science graphics store if you’re willing to shell out some change for a star chart or something.

Check out the “studio” if you want to add pictures from the site for larger viewing sizes, or sign up for a free “locker” which will keep the files and photos you’ve visited for the next time you log in. In the “library,” you can search the articles within the site, or you can browse the Special Exhibits, where you’ll find things like this neat Fractal Landscape Generator. Science U might not get you that job at Cedar Sinai, but it will at least aide you and your students in finding all the science info you can shake a stick at. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Science U

Lifehack comes to the rescue once again by providing this useful and succinct article that suggests that studying less and learning something right the first time around is more beneficial than repeating and reviewing information over and over again. In ‘How to Study Less by Learning Things Once’ writer Scott Young helps readers to imagine the brain as a structure full of holes, and that by reviewing study material over and over, we are really just putting a band-aid over a sieve.

A student himself, Young seems as good a candidate as any to write about effective study habits. He breaks the process into steps, offering guidance along the way and giving tips on how to maintain the techniques that work best for you. Some are merely mnemonic devices that we should all know by now, but there are other bits of wisdom such as ‘your brain is not a computer,’ that will help learners rethink their study habits. Students can surely benefit from the steps here, and they might even stop blaming you when they claim to be ‘tired from studying ALL night’. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

How To Study Less by Learning Things Once

The Free Information Society is a nice little site chock full of, you guessed it, free information. There are tons of miniature biographies, loads of sound clips, and pictures galore for just about any subject you can think of. Categories include technology, history, and of course, “art & fun.” The information here is regularly updated, and most of the articles provide just enough info to whet your whistle if you are interested in a particular topic.

There’s a lot here, from movie reviews to animal sounds in .mp3 format – you’ll be able to find the information you are looking for, for free, so don’t forget that. There is enough poignant and historical information here to keep things professional and clean, but there is certainly no shortage of bizarre and cheeky content (monkey jockey pictures, anyone?) to keep you from getting too serious. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Free Information Society

Unfortunately, we won’t ever hear Mark Twain reading one of his classic tales from a dais in a hip bookstore somewhere, but this site might have the next best thing. Free Classical Audiobooks has an impressive list of professionally read books for your listening perusal. There are three pages to choose from, and the site is filled with some real gems. I was pleasantly surprised to see books like Heart of Darkness and War of the Worlds, and you won’t find any humdrum lit you’ve never heard of here, either. All the stories are recognizable and accessible; there’s even some short story collections if that’s your style.

It should be noted that these stories are “human read,” and could be used as language learning tools as well. The stories are available in mp3 chunks, or you can download them for your iPod, if you are so inclined. Some learners comprehend an auditory version of tales like these more easily than words on a page. These files might also be the perfect addition to any presentation or multimedia project you might assign. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Free Classical Audiobooks

Related Stuff:
Vox Populi–Download Free Audiobooks from LibriVox
Read Something for Nothing: Project Gutenberg

The Hundred Greatest Theorems– There’s a top 100 of just about everything nowadays. Now, it’s time you geometers and algebrainiacs had your turn. According to the site, the ranking is based on “the place the theorem holds in the literature, the quality of the proof, and the unexpectedness of the result.”

The Hundred Greatest Theorems

The Seven Blunders of the World – Mahatma Gandhi was known as one of the wisest spiritual leaders of all time, and he didn’t get to be revered without saying and doing some pretty great things. Here is a list of his Seven Blunders of the World presented by Dr. Hugo. My favorite: “Politics without principle.” Heh.

Dr. Hugo

64 Interview Answers You Need to Know – CrackInterview.info offers this extensive list to assure you’ll be prepared for the next time you have to be on the answering end of an interview. Some of the questions here are no-brainers, others you might have never even considered, like “Why aren’t you earning more money in this stage of your career?”

Crack Interview

10 Do’s and Don’ts for Your Statement of Purpose - Getting into grad school is hard enough as it is– luckily, Accepted.com presents this list of things to include and exclude from your statement of purpose when applying to the schools of your choice. When you’ve got a lot to say, you should know what not to say, too.

Accepted.com

100 Kick-butt Lifehacking Blogs – Whitepapers.org has done a wonderful thing for those of us obsessed with productivity. Here is a list, presented by topic, of the 100 best life-improving, time-saving, and get-it-done-right blogs on the web today. Some of our favorites like Dumb Little Man and 43 Folders are up there, and some new ones we’re looking forward to exploring. Maybe next time you’ll see Instructify up there, too.

White Papers

–JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

25+ Places to Find Creative Commons Content – Mashable has compiled a list of the 25 best spots to find Creative Commons content for audio, video, text and photos. Some of the locations are places you might already know, like Flickr or OpenClipArt, but others might surprise you with their vast amounts of content.

Mashable

8 Ways for Teens to Go Green – Going green is all the rage right now, and it’s a rage that we should certainly get behind. This list presented by AOL’s Red gives teens an opportunity to help the environment without doing too much physical labor or spending. It’s mostly common sense—like recycling and turning off light switches—but sometimes teens need a reminder of common sense, right?

AOL’s Red

50 Tools Which Can Help You in Writing – Lifehack presents this compilation of ways to help improve your writing. The list is the work of Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, and contains everything you need to help you become a better writer. Most of the tips can be helpful for any writer, but some seem pointed toward fiction or essay—nonetheless, you’ll learn something.

Lifehack

39 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist – Sounds simple, right? Maybe not as simple as it seems, but this list by Dumb Little Man describes the things you are either already doing, or should be doing to make your life more livable. My favorite so far: # 9 – Turn off the TV and #10 – Pull away from the Internet. Maybe this Dumb Little Man isn’t so dumb after all.

Dumb Little Man

Hope these tips and lists make your Monday easier and more fun. –JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

MusicTheory.net teaches students how music works. They can do drills on notes on the musical staff, the piano keyboard, the guitar fret board, or valves for brass instruments. If a kid won’t shut up about having perfect pitch, set him to work on the ear training for scales, chords and intervals. The site will also generate blank sheet music for any aspiring composers or arrangers out there. If you want, you can grab a downloadable version of the site for offline learning, or if you want to load it onto several classroom computers without Web access.

As a self-admitted guitar hack, I only know about half of what those words mean. Though if I’m inclined to learn, MusicTheory.net seems like the place to do it, rather than shell out money for lessons. –BILL FERRIS

MusicTheory.net

Related Stuff:
Forgot Your Years of Piano Lessons? Cure Your Amnesia with Synthesia
We Got the Beat: Metronome Online

Get your students to ace their vocab tests with Quizlet. Quizlet is a free, customizable review site that combines flash cards, quizzes, and even a game or two.

The first thing you do in Quizlet is create a “set, a list of vocabulary words, facts, or whatever it is you need to learn. If you don’t want to type all that stuff in, you can use existing user-generated sets.

Once your set is all, um, set, Quizlet offers three choices: Familiarize (basic flash cards), Learn (a fill-in-the-blanks review that gives you extra reps on stuff you get wrong), and Test, which combines written responses, matching, multiple choice, and true/false questions. There’s also a fun “Scatter” game where words are strewn about the screen. Drag a question onto its corresponding answer to clear the screen as you race against the clock.

Quizlet is an ideal tool for a language class, but can also be used for any subject where students have to memorize facts such as state capitals or chemical compounds. If you’re really feeling generous, you could import a set for your students so they can’t say they didn’t know what would be on the test. –BILL FERRIS

Quizlet

“Like I’m ever gonna need to do this in the real world!” Boy, you’d love to show that kid in third period physics a thing or two.Time to reach for the Authentic Assessment Toolbox, a free online guide to “creating authentic tasks, rubrics and standards for measuring and improving student learning.” You can download sample lessons and rubrics for most subjects at all K-12 levels. Toolbox creator Jon Mueller covers the What, Why, and most importantly How of creating assignments that harness more than students’ knowledge that “C” is the most likely answer on multiple choice tests.

So the next time a student whines about how useless an assignment is, you can say, “You’ll see how people use Newton’s laws of motion in tonight’s homework. Due tomorrow, smart guy.” –BILL FERRIS

Authentic Assessment Toolbox

Ever wanted to learn the language of love? How about getting ready for that “business” trip to Thailand? LiveMocha might be the perfect way to learn a new language. It has plenty of different languages to choose from, and allows you to set your own pace and goals. Whether you are learning for fun, business, or just want to exercise your brain by becoming bilingual, this site offers courses and resources for just about any language out there. Well, not Swahili, but all the major ones.

There are video components, audio snippets, and text based dialogue pieces, all arranged with simple drop down menus and easily searchable lessons assorted by language. Try out one of the online courses if you are invested in really learning something new, as most of them require upwards of 30 hours. The best part is that it’s free (for now), but the worst part is that it’s still in Beta, and full of bugs (I could not register easily). Still, this site is worth a browse, so go check it out, you romantic, you. -JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

LiveMocha