Of course, everything takes longer than expected. Jonah had school, I had my writing life, and Julie had her designing life. But longer doesn't mean never. And maybe it is a besherit that just as America and much of the world is mired in this December wave of Covid-19 that's got so many of us on lockdown again, and Hanukkah is starting on Thursday night, that When We Can't Go Out: Jewish Joy at Home is ready.
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Guest Post: Author Jeff Gottesfeld
Of course, everything takes longer than expected. Jonah had school, I had my writing life, and Julie had her designing life. But longer doesn't mean never. And maybe it is a besherit that just as America and much of the world is mired in this December wave of Covid-19 that's got so many of us on lockdown again, and Hanukkah is starting on Thursday night, that When We Can't Go Out: Jewish Joy at Home is ready.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 18 Articles, Lesson Plans and Videos
Academy of Achievement: Ruth Bader Ginsburg- biography, profile, gallery, interview
Examining the Impact and Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg- from School Library Journal; 6 books are reviewed for grades 3 and up.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Biography- from Biography.com
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Facts for Kids- from Kiddle
TIME 100- 1996: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
LESSON PLANS
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Legacy on the Supreme Court- PBS News Hour Extra's lesson for grades 6-12; video with questions provided.
My Hero- celebrating Ruth Bader Ginsburg, includes discussion questions
RBG (film) Classroom Guide- discussion questions, post-viewing activities, supplemental resources, movie reviews.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg- Share My Lesson has many documents to download with reference to the lesson plan.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Biography Worksheet- biography is followed by questions (grade 5)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Coloring Pages
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court's Feminist Icon- lesson of the day from The New York Times Learning Network; although the grade level is not listed, it looks like grades 8-12.
Women Who Shaped the Supreme Court- lesson for grades 6-12 from NewseumED
VIDEOS
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
7 Tips to Create Strong Passwords
It's always been important to have strong passwords. Too many people choose their birthday, anniversary, name of a pet or easy number pattern. (Yes, there have been those using 1, 2, 3, 4 ! ) Hackers live to crack your accounts, people! A few popular apps include Facebook, Hotmail, (Microsoft is big on their attack radar) Twitter, and Instagram. The list is endless, so before you are the next to be hacked, here are some suggestions which will provide a strong password.
1. Do not use the same password for all your accounts.
The reason is obvious, so just don't. Period.
2. Use a mix of upper and lower case letters with numbers and symbols.
You can choose a word you will remember, but really mix things up. For example, the number 1 can be the letter I or i. The $ sign can represent an S or s. Remember, letters in a password are case-sensitive. You get the idea.
3. Do not use spaces.
Spaces are not permitted most of the time.
3. Misspell a word on purpose.
Gr8PuRr$uN = Great person
4. Never use keyboard sequences, such as QWERTY or CVBNM.
Too easy to crack, right?
5. Never enter your password into a public computer.
Hackers will love you if you do that...
6. Don't leave password hints on site accounts.
It's nobody's business but yours!
7. Use two-step authentication.
For example, when logging into your online bank account, have them text you a code to sign in.
G00b lUk, y00$3R
Good Luck, User
Right-click to download the infographic I created from the list above. It is larger than it appears on this post.
Monday, September 7, 2020
10 Must-Haves for Your Media Center's Virtual Website
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay |
Now that we are 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for school media specialists to have information-rich webpages which their students can access 24/7. The following list provides the most important elements you need to place on your media center's site. Media specialists can also go HERE to find everything related to the many hats you wear in your teaching position.
1. Your media center's webpage needs to have a direct link on the home page for your school.
It should not take several clicks to get to the page, i.e. District Home > Your School > Extra Resources >Your School's Media Center Home Page. Unfortunately, that's exactly the where my school put our link. 😞
2. Make the home page easy to navigate.
Remember that you will have students of all ages and levels, whether you teach in an elementary, middle or high school. Ease of use will not frustrate your kids. Knollwood School Media Center (Elementary) has a clean main page, although I wish the resources page was alphabetically organized within categories, such as subscriptions, reading and research. I would not post user names and passwords for the world to see.
Use either a contact form, email address, or school phone number, if you are in school.
Friday, September 4, 2020
UPDATED: 100 Online Museums to Visit Without Leaving the Classroom
Taken at the Museum of Tolerance |
UPDATED: 9/4/20
Art and Our Culture
Art Institute of Chicago
The Barnes Foundation- an art collection and educational institution promoting the appreciation of art and horticulture
Philadelphia Museum of Art- explore online collection database
The Rodin Museum- With nearly 150 bronzes, marbles, and plasters, the distinguished collection housed in the Rodin Museum represents every phase of Auguste Rodin’s career.
The Van Gogh Museum- located in the Netherlands
History
American Memory Historical Collections
The Anne Frank Museum
The British Museum
Colonial Williamsburg Museums
Conner Prairie Interactive History Park- Indiana
The Hermitage- located in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Imperial War Museum
Memorial Hall Museum Online: American Centuries, View from New England- for researcher, educators and students; explore American History with hands-on activities, exhibits, lessons, historic documents and artifacts.
Museum of Tolerance
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
National Museum of the American Indian
National Women's History Museum- digital resources, biographies, electronic field trips and more
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Salem Witch Museum
The Secret Annex- Anne Frank's hiding place
Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza- tribute to John F. Kennedy
Smithsonian Institution
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Miscellaneous
American Red Cross Museum
Boston Children's Museum- The Boston Children’s Museum welcomes online visitors into its exhibits (no lines!) and you can supplement the images with your own at-home activities and games.
The Freud Museum (London)
Mathematics Museum (Japan)
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Roald Dahl- the author's museum is for teachers, kids, and grown ups
Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The Archaeology Channel
Canadian Museum of Nature
Museum of Paleontology- Univ. of California, Berkeley
Natural History Museum- Los Angeles County- activities and programs; teacher resources
Natural History Museum of Florence University- botanical
Nature Online- Natural History Museum; London
Ology at the American Museum of Natural History- for young children
University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History-virtual tour
World Wide Museum of Natural History- An online museum featuring photo galleries and quality educational products for homes, schools and museums.
Science and Technology
The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University- the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas; features Science from Home page, Academy Kids and more.
Computer History Museum
The Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia- a medical museum which contains a collection of anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment
The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television and Radio)
The Science Museum of London- students can explore over 250,000 objects and archives from the collection of the Science Museum Group.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Teaching Empathy: 20 Resources During This Very Trying Time
These are unprecedented times. There is unprecedented anxiety, fear and anger. People have been dealing with isolation, death, and loss of jobs. We all need to be more patient and empathetic with one another. Easy to say, right? As adults, we have been trudging through the past 6 months with great difficulty, so imagine how our kids and students have felt. My first guess would be that they are quite confused and wondering whether or not they will be returning to school in person or virtually. The following resources are meant to assist us all with being more empathetic. If you have any additions, please add in the comments section after the article.
ARTICLES, LESSONS, WORKSHEETS
3 Ways to Teach Kindness and Empathy- from McGraw Hill
4 Proven Ways for Teaching Empathy- from Edutopia
Ages and Stages: Empathy- from Scholastic; covers PreK- Grade 2
Can Empathy Be Taught?-by F. Diane Barth, LCSW; Psychology Today Magazine
Can Virtual Reality Teach Empathy?- from Innovation Education in VT
Developing Empathy Through Retold Fairy Tales- from PBS Learning Media; grades 5-8
Empathy Lesson Plans for Middle School
Empathy Worksheets- FREE download; grades 1-3
For Families: 5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy- from the Harvard School of Education's Making Caring Common Project
How to Be More Empathetic- NY Times article written by Claire Cain Miller; for older students to adults
How to Teach Empathy in the Classroom- from TeachThought
Nine Competencies for Teaching Empathy- by Michele Borba, educational psychologist and parenting expert
Someone Else's Shoes- activity for middle school kids
Teaching Tolerance- includes lessons, learning plans, articles, publications and much, much more
What is Empathy? And Why is it So Important?- from educator and author David Geurin
VIDEOS
Monday, August 31, 2020
11 Non-Partisan Fact-Checking Websites
Those of you who have followed this site have seen the large post I did three years ago for teachers and students about Fake News. Today's post is for everyone, since our political climate is currently so filled with misinformation. We all need to have factual information for the coming November election. Please share with your friends on social media. Too many people believe everything they read or see on TV. I've also attached an infographic from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, which you can print and post near your workspace.
UPDATED 9/3/20
AP Fact Check- Associated Press' website, an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting, founded in 1846.
Fact Check- A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center
Fact Tank: News in the Numbers- "Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research."
MediaBias/Fact Check- comprehensive media bias resource; currently 3200+ media sources listed in the database and growing every day.
Media Matters for America- "A web-based, non profit research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting misinformation in the U.S. media."
Open Secrets- run by the Center for Responsible Politics; non-profit, non-partisan. Also lists where candidates get their money. Dark money is explained in detail.
PolitiFact- non-profit run by the Poynter Institute
PunditFact- "a project of the Poynter Institute, dedicated to checking the accuracy of claims by pundits, columnists, bloggers, political analysts, the hosts and guests of talk shows, and other members of the media."
SciCheck- Fact Check's site "focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015."
Sunlight Foundation- "a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses civic technologies, open data, policy analysis and journalism to make our government and politics more accountable and transparent to all."
TinEye- this is a reverse image search which tells you whether or not an image was altered.
Here is the English version. (Right-click on the image to download.)
The infographic is also available in 45 other languages!! CLICK HERE to see the list.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Thousands of Online (Mostly FREE) Resources to Deal With Social Distancing
We are all in this together. Many companies are stepping up and offering free concerts, movies, lectures and classes, and it's wonderful that we have all these options! (Don't forget to read, folks!) Here's my curated list of things to view while you practice your social distancing. Feel free to add any suggestions in the comments section, as I will be updating this post regularly.
1,000+ Open Textbooks and Learning Resources for All Subjects
4eBooks- computer programming books; very large collection
Academic eBooks- covers humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, formal sciences and professions & applied sciences.
askSam eBooks and Databases- askSam viewer needed for downloaded books
Barnes and Noble Free Nook Books- search 0.00 and get a listing of free eBooks
Bartleby-small site contains classic literature, poetry and reference works.
Bibliotastic-free downloads for indie authors; rating system for titles
BluePortal- computer-related titles, such as Facebook for Dummies, Javascript Bible and the Digital Photography Workflow Handbook.
Bookyards- currently 800,000 ebooks
eBook Lobby- categories include art and photography, children's books, literature and fiction and sports.
eBooks Directory- close to 1700 titles; includes textbooks, lecture notes; updated daily
Flatworld Knowledge- free textbooks
FreeBookSpot- 96 categories and over 4,4000 titles
Free-eBooks- register for free; download on iPhone or computer; includes magazines
Free Computer and IT Books
FreeComputerBooks- 12 major categories and 150 sub-categories; includes tutorials. lecture notes and computer and math eBooks.
FreeBook-s- download for iPad, smartphone or eBook reader; this is a search engine which looks through many collections to find eBooks.
FreeTechBooks- covers computer science, engineering, programming, textbooks and lecture notes.
Globusz Publishing- ePublishing house which has free downloads
KnowFree- ebooks, video training, educational materials; IT books and magazines
Kobo- includes NY Times Bestsellers, Oprah's Book Club
Librophile- search by genre
Memoware- some categories include literature, (biography, horror, children, western...) reference, (education, computers, history..)
Mobipocket- Kindle
New Jersey State Library- new ebooks
The Online Books Page-"over 1 million free books on the web".
OnlineComputerBooks- just what the title says....free computer books
Online Free eBooks- mainly pdf downloads; nine categories
The Open Library- Kindle, Nook; one million titles
Page By Page Books
Planet eBook- free classic literature
Project Gutenberg- 15,00 titles, all in the public domain. Easy download text files written in ASCII; readable on all computers.
Penn State University's Electronic Classic Series Site- Kindle, Nook; pdf files Pixel of Ink- free and bargain Kindle books
World Public Library- "the world’s largest eBook provider"; mp3, pdf files; they have classic literature, graphic novels, audio books, children's literature and so much more"
BROADWAY SHOWS
BroadwayHD- free 7-day trial; $8.99/month after ($99.99/year)
MarqueeTV- known as "The Neflix of the Arts"; get 30 days free; $8.99/month after (First year $69.99)
PBS' Great Performances- full shows for Kinky Boots, The King and I, 42nd St., The Sound of Music, Much Ado About Nothing.
CONCERTS
Austin City Limits
Billboard's Live Streams & Virtual Concerts to watch- updated daily
Chamber Music Society- livestreams, concerts, lectures and master classes
ClassicFM- list of classical music organizations who have made their concert archive free for streaming; worldwide listing
Glamour- all artists offering free concerts online
The Guardian- 'Quarantine soirees' include operas and classical concerts
NPR-stream live concerts; classical included in this list
NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concerts-YouTube channel
Syracuse.com- Artists sharing live music
Vulture-all musicians streaming live concerts
HEALTH, FITNESS, WELL BEING
7 Online Fitness Classes to Stream- some have free trials
12 Meditation Apps for Better Sleep & Less Stress
13 Online Workouts-Amazon Prime $
21 Best Meditation Podcasts to Listen to in 2020
Daily Burn- free 30 day trial
Fitness Classes on YouTube
Meditation Classes on YouTube
Philly Fitness Studios Offering Online Classes via Facebook
Planet Fitness- free at-home workout classes
Studios Live-Streaming Fitness Classes- CBS News article
The Ultimate List of Free Meditation Resources
YMCA360- free on demand classes include Bootcamp, Barre, Yoga, Active Older Adults, Weightlifting, Tai Chi, YBox.
Yoga Classes on YouTube
FREE ONLINE CLASSES / VIRTUAL LEARNING
20 Biology Courses- Alison
77 Online Museums- from this very blog!
Coursera- audit classes for free
edX- 2500+ online courses from Harvard, M.I.T., Boston University, Berkeley UCal, Stanford; 140!
Photoshop Cafe- free tutorials
Photoshop Essentials
SkillShare- listing of free courses offered; categories included create and build.
VIRTUAL VIDEO COMMUNICATION TOOLS
Apple's Facetime- I'm sure that if you own an iPhone, you are familiar with
Facetime; one call at a time.
Google Hangouts- add to Chrome browser
Skype- owned by Microsoft, you need to download software for Mac or PC
Webex- current upgraded basic plan
Zoom- Basic plan allows up to 100 participants and a 40 minute meeting; educators and schools do not have the 40 minute limit.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Free Resources for the K-12 Virtual Classroom
Distance Learning Resources
Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings- comprehensive listing which is continually updated.
Free Online Learning Resources for Teaching Your Students Virtually- from We Are Teachers
G Suite- Google says that "Starting this week, we will begin rolling out free access to our advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally including:
- Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call
- Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
- The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive"
Webex- download for your school to transition to the virtual classroom
Zoom- host class meetings; the basic plan's 40 minute limit has been removed for schools