netTrekker Blog

Veterans Among Us

Before I talk about sites in nT for Veterans Day, I’d like to point out that we are honored to have among us on the nT staff some Vets of Desert Storm and Desert Shield.  Jeff Carter served in the Air Force in 1991.  Thomas Bain served in the Army and is the third generation to do so!    Thanks for your service to our Country!

Also, Mike Logan’s son Luk is now serving in Afghanistan.  We have his address if you would like to send encouraging cards and letters!  Lots of pride on Mike’s part, but I’m sure lots of worry as well!

If anyone else served or has relatives/spouses that have or are currently in the Service, please reply to this blog.  We would love to know. 

Allow me a personal note in that regard:  My Dad was in WWII as a pilot and was shot down over Germany.  I am proof that he made it back, but I remember hearing that story – how he landed the damaged plane.  He was injured and received the Purple Heart, which I now have.  Incredible to think of, isn’t it?

Veterans Day sites in nT.

In Middle

1. Simply type in “veterans” in the keyword box.
2. I like the first site:  Library of Congress:  Experiencing War:  Stories from the Veterans History Project.  The LOC does a great job in grouping these stories by themes.  Click on Courage for some incredible tales.  Interviews and photos are available.  “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.”  Eddie Rickenbacker
3. Again, the third one down is from the LOC.  I love this site for schools because it outlines how to interview a vet and submit their story into the LOC collection.  This is a great resource for students to use.
4. The 7^th one down is VA Kids from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Click on the Bugler for great information on the origin of Veterans Day, activities for Veterans Day, The History of the Purple Heart Award, and much more.  This site is for the younger student.  VA Kids 6-12 grade is directly below it and offers heart-warming stories that students volunteering at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital wrote about vets they met there.
5. Another site, not in this search however, that came to my attention is the American Red Cross site:  http://www.redcross.org/.  You can find it if you put American Red Cross into the search box.   Their home page is the 5^th one down on the page.  You will see under Red Cross News their Holiday Mail for Heroes.  Students (or anyone) can send personal messages to Service Men and Women:  http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.94aae335470e233f6cf911df43181aa0/?vgnextoid=68f35ed38bfa4210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

Thanks!

Interactive Mathematics

Interactive Mathematics invites users to “Learn mathematics while you play with it!”

Using dozens of interactive demonstrations, this Site of the Day covers all areas of math from algebra and trigonometry, to statistics and calculus. Mini lessons include definitions, formulas, examples, and exercises connecting concepts to the real world.  Even if math is not your favorite subject, you’ll enjoy these activities!

Click here to login to netTrekker and access the Site of the Day.

Login to netTrekker before midnight (eastern) today to access the netTrekker Site of the Day and add it to your “My Portfolio” for easy future reference.  After midnight, the new Site of the Day will go up and you’ll have to look for today’s site using netTrekker’s search tool. Need help with My Portfolio? Easy, handy instructions can be found here.

Not yet a netTrekker subscriber? Visit www.nettrekker.com and click on the Free Trial link at the top right of the page for 14 days of complimentary access to netTrekker.

VirtualSalt: A Glossary of Literary Terms

This Site of the Day provides a long list of literary terms complete with full definitions and examples. The definitions are easy to understand, and the examples of texts represent the classic literary canon. There is also a convenient link to Dr. Harris’ “Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.”

Click here to login to netTrekker and access the Site of the Day.

Login to netTrekker before midnight (eastern) today to access the netTrekker Site of the Day and add it to your “My Portfolio” for easy future reference.  After midnight, the new Site of the Day will go up and you’ll have to look for today’s site using netTrekker’s search tool. Need help with My Portfolio? Easy, handy instructions can be found here.

Not yet a netTrekker subscriber? Visit www.nettrekker.com and click on the Free Trial link at the top right of the page for 14 days of complimentary access to netTrekker.

Xtranormal Builds Confidence in Presentation Skills for Students

During the My Portfolio Modules of netTrekker’s online course, participants share many great external websites that they add to My Portfolio folders to help differentiate instruction.

Bob Cochenour, a Technology Coordinator, from Branch, Arkansas gets Biggest User points for sharing his enthusiasm for the Xtranormal text to speech animation product.  Bob says, “This product is very cool!  As a previous English/social studies teacher who always made the kids stand up and report, I saw this tool as a neat transition piece for those shy or less willing students.”

Visit http://www.xtranormal.com/ to see how to use drag and drop animation with automated lip-synch and International voices to help students produce simple video productions.

The Add Website feature in the My Portfolio menu allows users to add websites that are not netTrekker resources to your folder. If you find a useful website which is not listed in netTrekker, you can add it to your folder simply by copying its URL and entering a title into the Add Website dialog box.  Click to view the Add a Website video tutorial.

If you would like to recommend a website to be added to netTrekker, please consider submitting it through the Resource Round-Up form, located under Events on netTrekker Village.