Management & Support Education Resources
Worthwhile Goals and Objectives:
- Virginia Standards of Learning - This website provides teachers, parents, and administrators with information regarding the curriculum state standards developed by the Virginia Department of Education. Information is provided for grades K-12 and the site also covers 11 content areas which include; English, Mathematics, Science, History and Social Science, Family Life, Economics, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Computer Technology, Health, Physical Education, and Driver Education.
- Common Core Standards - 48 states have come together to develop the "Common Core" which is a set of "college-career" and "career-ready" standards for K-12 in two specific content areas, which are Language Arts and Mathematics. This website provides teachers, parents, and administrators to information regarding the specific standards, as well as, news and supporting resources regarding the Common Core.
- 21st Century Skills - was developed with input from teachers, education experts, and business leaders to define and illustrate the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in work, life and citizenship, as well as the support systems necessary for 21st century learning outcomes. It has been used by thousands of educators and hundreds of schools in the U.S. and abroad to put 21st century skills at the center of learning. This website provides the standards and support resources.
Lesson Plan Archives:
- Scholastic - This website provides lesson plans, unit plans, and classroom resources for teachers. This website is completely FREE and teachers can search 100,000+ lessons by subject, topic, or keyword. Also the homepage highlights popular lessons based upon holidays or popular themes such as Thanksgiving.
- Lesson Planet - This website provides quality lesson plans, videos, presentations, activities, app's, and worksheets for teachers to reduce search time. There is a staff of credentialed teachers whom review each of these materials based upon a high set of standards. Resources are categorized based upon grade, subject, Common Core, or state standard which is super helpful and convenient!
- Share My Lesson - This website was developed by American Federation of Teachers and has a significant resource bank for the Common Core Standards and covers all aspects of the standards. It is completely FREE and an online community that promotes collaboration among teachers and provides encouragement and inspiration.
Online Teaching Resources:
- BrainPOP Jr - With a paid subscription this website provides education movies for K-3, quizzes, games, and activities. The site covers all content areas and is aligned to the common core and academic standards. There are also some free resources provided as well.
- Discovery Education - Provides free resources for grades K-12 and covers all content areas. Discovery education seeks to extend education "past the bell" and provides teachers the resources to do such. Provides interactive games, puzzles, lesson plans, videos, programs and contests. Provides professional development opportunities and emphasizes the importance of technology in education.
- SmartBoard - This is an extremely beneficial resource for teachers because SmartBoard's are available in almost in every classroom now a days. It focuses on interactive learning and provides resources across all disciplines. Teachers are able to browse activities based upon specific state standards, grade level and subject.
Online Tools:
- Google Documents - This provides a free web-based application in which documents may be created, edited and stored online. Files can be accessed anywhere with internet access and makes working on and accessing documents/lesson plans convenient. Promotes collaboration when meetings may be difficult.
- Animoto - Available features allow teachers to creating presentations which incorporate video clips, images, music and text. It is free which is ideal for teachers and is relatively simple and takes only a short time to create presentations.
- Pixlr - Is a cloud-based set of image tools, photo editors and sharing tool. Teachers can use this software to edit images and implement them within instruction. It is relatively simple to use and FREE!
Support For Managing Large Projects:
- TaskJuggler - Is a FREE project management software for serious project managers. It covers the complete spectrum of project management tasks from the first idea to the completion of the project. It assists you during project scoping, resource assignment, cost and revenue planning, risk and communication management.
- EVERNOTE - This provides and effective and easy way for students to keep information and ideas organized which can aid in studying and writing research papers. There are no limits to what can be organized and "captured" such as text, email, checkboxes, PDF's, audio, web clips. Easily archivable and searchable for later.
- Remember The Milk - This is a FREE way to organize and manage ALL tasks, so you never "forget the milk" or anything else again! Aids in time management and can be used online or offline and from either a computer or smartphone which makes it extremely convenient.
Computer Based Assessment & Evaluation Tools and Resources:
- ClassDojo - Is a FREE digital classroom management tool designed to help teachers improve student behavior and communicate more effectively with parents. Students are each given their own profile where they are awarded or lose points based upon the behaviors they exhibit. It provides a quick and easy way to track a child's progress each day or weekly.
- RubiStar - Is a tool that helps teachers who want to use rubrics but do not have the time to develop them from scratch, although it does offer that option. Offers many templates that have been created by other individuals and allows use to edit them based upon the teachers/assignment needs. Completely free and can be accessed from any location.
- Quizlet - Is a free website that allows teachers/students to create flashcards based upon any information they choose. This website offers various modes of studying such as flashcard, study, and game mode. The created materials can be made public so other individuals can benefit from other's creations.