Sara Ross's List: My Favorite 5 Educational Sites

Audience:  anyone
Cost:  Free
Purpose:  Wordle allows users to create "word clouds" by typing in their choice of words.
Why I love it:  There are so many ways this site can be used! Students could use it as a creative and fun way to brainstorm before writing; they could create a word cloud using their feelings in response to a literary work; it could be used as a class activity to describe characters in a story; Wordle could be used as a "key term review" after completing a unit in any subject.  And its FREE!

Audience:  Anyone who is studying and wants to use flashcards
Cost:  Free
Purpose: Quizlet.com is website that allows you to create flashcards online, or select other people’s flashcards to use and study.  To use quizlet, you only have to answer a few brief questions to create an account, or login with your facebook account information.  Quizlet also has a group study option that allows classmates to study and create flashcards together, edit one another’s flashcards, and discuss answers together through online chat.  Through group studying, individuals are notified when group members post new flashcard sets.  Quizlet has five different modes you can choose from:  familiarize, test, learn, scatter, and space race.  These allow you to learn the selected material through practice tests and games.  Quizlet also offers a “Teacher Feature” that allows teachers to create online materials or print out flashcards that could be photocopied.  The “Teacher Feature” enables teachers to host a study group, as well as see what other teachers are teaching for a specific grade level or subject.
Why I love it:  Quizlet cuts down on study time preparation, as you/your students can choose from flashcard sets that have already been created.  Quizlet covers a variety of subjects, and includes flashcards for standardized tests such as the SAT and GRE.  I wish I had known about it when I took the Praxis and National Counselor Exam!
Students can create their own flashcards to cover the material you are covering in class, or you could post them through use of the “Teacher Feature”.  They could also use already-created flashcards of literary terms, characters, and literature periods to enhance their knowledge.

Audience: Teachers, students, parents
Cost: There are several great FREE tools on this website.  There are also some that have to be purchased.  The ones I'll list are free.
Purpose: Supplemental activities and tools for your curriculum.
Why I love it: There's a "Programs and Free Tools" section that has free resources divided by "In the Classrom" and "At Home".  Lots of great stuff like lesson plans, a puzzlemaker, and much more!  As a school counselor, I often have to send home notes about school happenings and academic events.  The site has a great Clip Art section that has creative, visually appealing images to liven up any newsletter or school note!

Audience:  Anyone interested in their heritage or genealogy
Cost: There's a free version thats adequate for some use (it allows up to 250 members on your family tree).  If you plan to do a long family history, or upload lots of pictures, there's also a version you can purchase.
Purpose: Myheritage allows you to build a family tree, post photos, and record information about your family members.  You can create a family page, search for family members, and invite family members to join.  You can also create a family calendar, and access a video-conferencing tool.
Why I love it: Myheritage is a great and easy way to get students interested in their personal histories.  There are a number of great tools.  If Courthouse Records and Facebook had a baby - it would be Myheritage.com.

Audience: School staff and administration
Cost: Free
Purpose:  Information galore!  The site has tons of information - available through blogs and videos.  It provides information on important educational topics (like online learning!), as well as free resources (such as the Back-to-School Guide!).
Why I love it: I just recently discovered Edutopia.  I love the section on "Schools that work".  It provides examples of successful schools, and what the teachers and administration are doing right!