Sue Hellman's List: Small Changes; BIG RETURNS

Journals my thoughts about teaching after 35 years & questions I grapple with as I transition into the 21st century; shows web-based tools and resources I think have a lot of potential or use myself

Welcome to my web page. Here you'll find links to some tools and resources my teaching partner and I have used to begin to move from 'text, paper and word processor' towards a more blended learning environment.

Free software for collecting multimedia resources and links -- I am using this to build a new Earth science 11 program.

Freepath lends itself so well to enabling my students (who work individually) to engage in the joy of self-directed discovery within the parameters of a structured learning package because they will be able to maneuver around my collection of multimedia materials, worksheets, readings, and links non-sequentially -- following their interests and going where their curiosity takes them, but will still have to come back to the framework and fulfill the expectations of the unit.

The companion site to the Freepath software --here you can store and share your multimedia files. You can set up groups colleagues or students who can access your files (aka: playlists) online, and then download and use them.

Thanks to Angela Maiers' Blog for passing this on. Richard Byrne seems to be the Jane hart of educational tools. The list is far- reaching and he adds suggestions for use in lessons. His work, unlike mine, dates back to 2001. I can see I'll be taking the better part of today to explore this rich blog. My only complaint is that his General Resources List is neither categorized nor alphabetized.

This video is one of a wonderful collection of videos showing the 2008 Students on Ice Expedition. It's a great opportunity for any young person interested in the environment and the icy regions of the world. One of my students was on this trip!!!

I get around this by using Freepath for my presentations but it seems like a helpful series of steps. Digital Inspirations is a great website.

Wow! I live in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, and Georgia Strait shows greater impact than the California Coast. Southern Nova Scotia is a global hot spot. It would make an interesting project to get students working on what factors are contributing to such a high rate of impact off our coasts and what form that is taking. That should be presented to our provincial government as they consider lifitnf the moratorium on offshore drilling.

"We originally just wanted a really well organized site for lesson plans...but what was born was something much much better...yes, it is a website where teachers can share, rate, and discuss their lesson plans, but it is also a place where they can meet, talk, and network. You don't just find a lesson plan you like, you can meet the person who wrote it!" -Nate

This series really ticked my funny bone on a night when I really needed it -- sort of "My Way" teacher style.

Wow! a wiki about tools! I can only hope that the teacher librarians in our district one day become these kinds of resource people.

This is a worldwide project originating in 'my own backyard' so to speak. We're doing the teachers' pro-d on Friday and the students will have several sessions in early Feb.

An online pop-up book and cautionary tale for Christmas from Antfarminteractive

online tools for math teachers and students

This is such a nifty toolbar. If you have a ommunity they can all use it to quickly log on to your main blog, wicki, or social network and you can control the features. If not, go to the gallery and install on eyou like. I have 2 going -- the one for my community and another for NPR.

An interesting piece about a template for change

Our" up-to-the-minute digest of what is being reported elsewhere. Brought to you by Nature News."

Vicki Davis is asking for some help for her kids. "They have been using Google Lively as part of the Digiteen Project teaching digital citizenship (http://www.digiteen.net), however Google has announced it will shut lively down on December 31st." See her 'coolcatteacher' blog --> http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ for more details.