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Who couldn’t use a little extra cash? TWO lucky readers will be awarded $500 EACH in the $1,000 Holiday Cash Giveaway. Don’t miss your opportunity to WIN…
Don’t forget to read the Terms & Conditions.
What educator couldn’t use an extra $500 to purchase Back to School Items?
In celebration of the summer planning (and growing school supply wish lists) I’ve joined together with this amazing group of companies/bloggers to offer you a chance to win $500!
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good-luck!
 By using multi-media geography resources you can make geography lessons come alive as you virtually transport your students/children to places they’ve never been before.Â
 Take your students on a virtual field trip through the fifty U.S. states with Awesome America, featuring: Amazing photographs and links to additional state resources (state symbols, facts, trivia, state parks etc). A great way to take a virtual field trip through the fifty states.
Earthcam.com links to live video cameras throughout the world. Your kids can explore exotic sites around the world (as well as within the US) from your computer. My kids enjoyed viewing Times Square and the Osprey web cam. This site does require supervision as some of the cameras are located in areas you may not wish them to see.
My favorite resource is World Heritage Tour that allows you to explore three-dimensional views of 277 famous destinations around the world. Just use your mouse to “step inside the picture” and enjoy 365 degree views of the destinations you select. Our family especially enjoyed viewing the pictures from Israel.
National Geographic is a wonderful resource for parents and educators. Their website is both educational and inspiring, not-to-mention full of activities, videos, photographs, lesson plan ideas, and more. Don’t miss the new National Geographic Education website for parents, teachers and students (in beta).
 The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network.
Progressive Phonics is a FREE all-in-one reading program. Registration is required. Users download the books (which can be printed or just read online) and worksheets for each lesson. There is also a discussion forum.
Starfall is a popular online favorite geared towards preschool- 2nd grade level students. The site uses a systematic phonics approach to learning and is also a popular educational alternative to online video games. The majority of the site is FREE however an expanded members only area is also available which also offers math lessons/games.
Owl and Mouse Lettersounds is free educational software you can download to help your child make the connection between letters and the sound they make.
Free Reading is a open source reading intervention program for students preschool-6th grade. The FREE program covers 40 weeks of instruction (30 min day/5 days a week)On the site you can download resources including index picture cards and use a wordlist generator
If you would like to know what grade level your child is reading at you can download the FREE Reading Competency Test from the National Right to Read Foundation.
Evernote
Evernote is my favorite choice for saving great resources. With Evernote, all of your notes, web clips, files and images are made available on every device and computer you use. Plus, you can SHARE them with friends! There is so much that Evernote can do that there is even an Evernote for Dummies book or you can read How to Organize Evernote for maximum efficiency by Michael Hyatt.
Instapaper is an incredibly simple tool for saving web pages to read later. Like Get Pocket (but easier to use) you can also access to read later from your computer, Kindle, iPhone, and iPad. Items can also be categorized in folders. From the website you may also choose to download in paper format and print if you prefer.
Pinterest
Use Pinterest to keep track of your favorite finds by creating a board (“Online Resources”) or multiple boards (divided by categories). Pinterest is easy to set up and allows you to share your resource finds with others. The downside is that you will have to click a few times to get back to your resource, and if it was an article that was removed you won’t be able to access it again.
Paper / Index Files
If you are new to using Online Tools and the idea of another Online tool to manage your ‘online tools’ seems overwhelming at the moment, you can also keep track of your favorite resources the old fashioned way—with pen and paper. Just use a simple spiral binder or a card catalog with resources divided by subject or category.
The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And of course, click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network.
You’ll be blessed with tips on how to handle bad days, cultivating curiosity, teaching with Legos, and much much more!
Whether you are feeling stumped for ideas or overwhelmed by the online possibilities I have solutions, tips and resources get you inspired or back on track. This series is for parents, home educators, tutors and traditional classroom teachers who want to explore some of the best and effective online teaching tools.
You shouldn’t feel the need to hide ALL of your Tweets from live events or Twitter parties. But you can use this Twitter command to help tone down your stream—-particularly if you are very active during a Twitter Party.
Unless you are new to Twitter, you’ve probably seen your fair share of hashtags, even if you weren’t entirely sure what they were for. If this is you, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. Many Twitter users use hashtags in non-traditional ( ineffective) ways.
Simply put, the # symbol, commonly referred to a hashtag, is used to mark a keyword or topic within a tweet. Twitter users can then follow these hashtag discussions (also twitter parties or chats) if they choose. It also marks the tweet when someone is doing a search on Twitter for a particular keyword.
2 Common misuses of Hashtags on Twitter
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| Create your own Fictional Status update using Twister |
While funny, this can be confusing for some and it also down plays the key purpose of using a #hashtag.
Another popular misuse of a Twitter #Hashtag is to simply make one up. While clever, if you are the only one using a particular hashtag this is also ineffective, because no one else will see it.
Why you should use Twitter Hashtags
Using a Twitter #Hashtag within your tweets broadcasts your tweets to a wider audience, outside of your existing followers. This essentially lets other Twitter Users, with shared interests, know that you’re out there and makes it easier for them to join in.
Most importantly though, it allows you to participate in discussions on a larger scale, outside of your existing network and this allows you to network more effectively.
By knowing how to use popular hashtags in your own tweets and searches you will be able to: share content, learn about new resources and keep up-to-date on real issues/challenges affecting the education community.
Here are 23 Best Education Hashtags to use on Twitter, why not start using them today?
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