netTrekker Blog

Online Learning for netTrekker Search

Are you looking for a convenient flexible option for learning how to get the most out of your netTrekker Search subscription …

Then be sure to check out Online Learning - your one stop shop for all online opportunities to learn about netTrekker Search.

Check out the FREE online videos, FREE webinars, FREE Moodle Class, and more extensive non-facilitated and graduate level Moodle Class.

Tip Tuesdays - Join us each Tuesday at 4:30 PM EST for a FREE 30 minute webinar as we share ideas on how to use netTrekker in your classroom

Connection Wednesdays – Join us each Wednesday at 4:30 PM EST for a FREE webinar co-hosted by netTrekker and one of our valued partners as we demonstrate the connection between our products including BrainPOP, NSTA, Weekly Reader Express, and Teachers Domain.

netTrekker TV (Tutorial Videos) – View netTrekker TV, our library of FREE Tutorial Videos for targeted training on netTrekker features. If you ever need that just-in-time learning, or if you are a visual learner, our set of FREE online video tutorials will help acquaint you with netTrekker features and tools.

FREE non-facilitated Online Courses (1.5 hours)
NT001 – Learn to Search and Differentiate digital resources using netTrekker features and tools
NT001S – NT001 with Scantron Integration

Advanced non-facilitated Online Courses (2 hours) – under construction
NT002 – Learn to Organize and Integrate digital resources using netTrekker features and tools
NT002S - NT002 with Scantron Integration

Graduate Level facilitated Online Course (30 hours with optional 3 graduate credits)
NT101 – Explore netTrekker features and tools, to share best practices for implementation into teaching and learning, and to create standards-based projects, all in the context of differentiated instruction. Discussion boards, an interactive webinar, and a variety of 21st Century Learning resources are included in this collaborative learning community.

Tags: Moodle, online learning, tutorials, videos

netTrekker Spotlight User: Marie Pearson Discusses netTrekker Search’s Collaborative Opportunities

netTrekker is excited to introduce this week’s Spotlight User. Marie Pearson is the Technology Research Teachers at Campbell County Schools in Virginia. Marie shares how netTrekker Search’s My Portfolio has opened up additional collaborative opportunities for her teachers.

We have had netTrekker Search in our division for about two years and have primarily used it as a safe, educationally-based search engine.  But, wow, after seeing the potential of collaboration that exists through the use of the My Portfolio options, I can see that we will market netTrekker Search differently this next school year.  I was impressed to see all the resources that could be saved in a Portfolio account and, with the addition of standards, one could have their units of study all set up for instruction.  I found the My Portfolio features very user friendly and look forward to using them as we prepare for the school  year.

As a technology resource teacher, I plan to use the My Portfolio features to train teachers on the expanded uses/benefits of netTrekker Search .  I’d also like to assist them in setting up units of study and assist in the classrooms when they are introducing netTrekker Search to their students.  Our division’s focus is on differentiated instruction and netTrekker Search provides many resources for this instructional method; therefore, I plan to emphasize to the teachers how netTrekker Search can help them accomplish this goal.

Tags: Spotlight User

ELL Channel Brings World Culture Experience to All Learners

Described in this article are two lesson plan ideas created by NT101 Summer Session participants, Ryan Cummings (Jennings, IN) and Rachel Erickson (Aurora, CO). Both educators used resources from netTrekker’s ELL Channel and the literary tales, The Bear Prince and Jack and the Beanstalk to design an interdisciplinary cultural exploration.

These lessons, through the use of resources from the ELL channel take students to China, France, Mexico, Spain and the United States to learn about mathematics, literature, people and the cultural traditions that surround these countries.

Rachel’s lesson is geared toward primary and elementary students. The lesson is centered around the Mexican folktale, The Bear Prince. Students explore the Sierra Madre Occidental region of Mexico through Google Earth and the eyes of Rosa, a Mexican girl who is forced to marry a mysterious bear. Using interactive websites, videos and images from netTrekker’s ELL channel students will sketch cultural items and work with a partner using Microsoft Paint to create a visual representation depicting the cultural items/traits they researched in My Portfolio folders Rachel compiled.

For secondary students, Ryan brings fun, practical application, and thorough understanding to the complex skills of calculating currency exchange and crop yields.

Students in Ryan’s class will research using netTrekker resources to decide what type of currency Jack takes from the giant depending upon a teacher-assigned geographic location of Jack’s origin. Students will research and decide during which season, in different countries Jack could have planted and grown the beans to yield the best monetary crop. Students will work in groups to design a graph of their choice and present a two-minute debate about where Jack should live to be most successful in his business.

Thanks to Ryan and Rachel for sharing these wonderful lesson ideas for all netTrekker learners. Enjoy reading reflections below from these NT101 Alumni and visit the ELL Channel to explore the amazing tools and resources in the ELL Skill Development and Multicultural Pavilion areas.

“I absolutely love using netTrekker. The different uses I can get out of netTrekker for my everyday lessons are remarkable. The ELL Channel is a feature that is going to help me enhance my students’ knowledge of world culture as I am teaching them mathematics. My students will have a more enriched learning environment because of the ELL Channel in netTrekker.

My Jack and the Beanstalk lesson is going to allow me, using features inside of the ELL Channel, to enrich my students’ understanding that the world we are apart of is much bigger than the town we live. It will allow them to research different areas of the world while sitting in their local classroom. They will be able to experience different cultures that they may not normally get to study. The more I can let my students see what similarities and differences there are in different parts of the world, the more I am going be able to prepare them for their future lives.

The ELL feature also allows them to get help with the understanding and meanings of different words and different languages. With the different options they can use in netTrekker, students will be able to learn at their own reading level and move at their own pace. The other thing I like about this feature is the read aloud button. If an article is a little too difficult for a student to read, then they can use this feature to help them get the understanding they need. What a great feature for all of our students. Each student now has the opportunity to push the limits of their own learning.

Net trekker is a tool that I am so glad our school has for me to use and the ELL Channel is just one part of it that will help me to diversify my students’ learning.”

Ryan Cummings
Secondary Teacher and Coach
Jennings, IN

“The increase in ethnic and language diversity of students in our schools requires educators to teach students to value diversity and understand cultural differences in order to be successful participants in a global society. People don’t often recognize the impact culture has on behavior until they interact with someone whose culture differs from their own. netTrekker’s Multicultural Pavilion within the English Learners’ channel gives both teachers and students a window into various cultures. The resources found provide a means to increase cross-cultural awareness, which will lead to a greater understanding of the world. I am grateful that netTrekker has included the Multicultural Pavilion as part of the English Learners channel so educators and students may benefit from the variety of resources that help us reflect on our own values, beliefs, and perceptions while gaining perspective on cultures that differ from our own.”

Rachel Erickson
Instructional Technology Coach
Aurora, CO

Tags: ELL, lesson plans, literature, math, NT101, staff development

netTrekker Spotlight User: Linda Steward Shares Her Favorite netTrekker Tools and Features

netTrekker is excited to introduce this week’s Spotlight User. Linda Steward is a Standard Support Specialist at Knollwood Elementary in Rapid City, South Dakota. Linda shares how netTrekker’s personalized learning tools have been an asset to her and her students.

I use netTrekker everyday!  I like it because I can always find something that fits what I am looking for – whether for the students or as a teaching aide. Once I set up My Portfolio and add sites, finding and using them is a piece of cake.  I have found many sites that I use over and over by searching netTrekker!

The search result icons are fantastic – I always know just what the site offers. I’ve also used the Read Aloud feature more often and shared it with my students. This feature enables all kids to use the site, no matter their reading ability!

Tags: Spotlight User

Paperless Trails

An image of the Auroras Dancing in the Night from the NASA JSC Digital Image Collection in the Reference Section of netTrekker.

Earth Day is right around the corner, so we decided to dedicate this week to Earth Day topics. Today is a topic that has been hot on Twitter, Paperless Classrooms.

This topic was hot a few years ago, with one classroom going paperless in 2001 and creating one of the first sites about being paperless. With the introduction of handhelds, netbooks, the 1:1 computer initiative and now the iPad, paperless classrooms are still on everyone’s mind. Think about it. A student can create the written document/presentation in Zoho or Google and share it with you as a way to turn it in. Teachers have access to tools like Quia, DiscoveryStreaming’s Quiz Builder, or even handheld clickers you can administer a quiz/test that way. (There’s even a program for the iTouch to become a handheld clicker!)

Then, as I started this blog, I saw a Facebook posting from netTrekker’s CEO Randy Wilhelm about how netTrekker is helping Canada transition to digital resources. Here’s one of my favorite quotes, “With the growing movement toward interactive whiteboards, laptops and mobile computing in schools, augmenting traditional print resources with digital education solutions is now a viable opportunity in K-12 education. Educators need high-quality digital content that is appropriate for classroom use and leverages the benefits of Web technologies such as up-to-date information and rich multimedia.”

Don’t live in Canada? Would like to use netTrekker to digitize your classroom so you can go paperless? Let’s talk about some of the possibilities.

Start by using netTrekker’s My Portfolio to create a project folder. Using the refinement tabs, find resources that are primary documents, video, interactive media, or from some of our great content partners like BrainPOP or Globio. Don’t forget to add a link to your Promethean or SMART Board resource for the students to use as a review. Need to add a link to another subscription your district offers? Go for it with the “Add a Link” button in My Portfolio.

Speaking of “Add a Link”, there are some paper resources that you might enhance your project in the media center. Share that printed resource using a tool like Scholastic Book Wizard. Again, once you create the list, share that link in the My Portfolio.

Next, in your new project folder, add a quiz to check for knowledge gained. Again, use tools like your DiscoveryStreaming Quiz Builder or QuizStar by adding a link to your computer quiz. Or, check out the quizzes found in BrainPOP. The work’s done for you, and the quizzes go along with their great movies featuring everyone’s favorite robot, Moby.

Now, I don’t like relying on a quiz alone for the grade. I want the students to do something with that knowledge to show their true understanding of the standards and the ability to transfer their new knowledge to a new situation. Create a VoiceThread for students to use to debate a topic or share information. How about a Glogster where they present their information in a multimedia format? Or a Kerpoof story, movie, or picture? The students can share their Glogster link with you in the MyPortfolio Folder as a way to electronically share it with the other students and turn it in.

In the end, your entire project is in My Portfolio. Nothing needs to be printed. You have the directions, the electronic resources found in netTrekker and the links to the extra useful subscriptions your district provides to you, and a link to where they will electronically build their project and take their quiz. Now you can share this folder in the school or district area for your students to access. And, you’ll have it for next year too! The added benefit of using the My Portfolio is that you still have access to the Read Aloud and Dictionary Hot Key tools that really help engage and enable students in their learning process.

If you would like to take the pledge to go Paperless this Earth Day, check out this online site.

Amy’s got more information on Earth Day tomorrow. Then on Wednesday we’ll talk about how to raise money for your school while reducing waste. Thursday and Friday have other surprises to be shared. So tune in!

Tags: BrainPOP, Canada, dictionary hot key, Digitized resources, Glogster, My Portfolio, paperless, read aloud, VoiceThread

netTrekker Supports Continuity of Learning

So, absences are on the rise….the school is thinking about closing for a period of time due to illness.  You and your colleagues are still charged with meeting your educational objectives even though you won’t have students in your classroom.  What can you do?

More and more schools and districts are establishing plans for handling the flu outbreak and the associated loss of instructional time.  The U.S. Department of Education is recommending the use of technology to help with distributing assignments and keeping teachers, parents, and students in close communication.  netTrekker can help by providing a tool set that fits into your learning plan for these situations:

• fantastic digital resources tied to state instructional standards

• Portfolio system that connects students to teachers (and parents to teachers)

• Safe, focused environment with engaging content suited to all learning styles

As an added measure and to help you utilize these tools to prepare for extended absences, we are offering a H1N1 Absence Survival Kit with useful resources and tips.  Suggestions and helpful information include a variety of options to provide students at home with class materials, digital and technology-based resources that appeal to all levels of learners to help them achieve their educational objectives and the ability for students and teachers to access these resources 24/7.  Included in the Kit:

• Resources from the United States DOE

• Virtual instruction lesson plan templates

• Informational webinars to help educators utilize netTrekker’s My Portfolio

• Resources to help schools communicate with parents

Check it out today at http://www.nettrekker.com/pages/h1n1-absence-survival-kit and be prepared! Directions to access the available resources for both subscribing and non-subscribing schools can be found on the page.

Freebies for Attending a Free Webinar!

Sound too good to be true?  Not so.  We are so convinced that you must see The Power of My Portfolio in netTrekker that we’re pulling out all of the stops to get you to attend.

Learn how to create a project-based lesson plan and how to manage your web-based resources all within netTrekker’s My Portfolio.  Sound too good to be true?  Not so, I say.  We’ll show you how.  Go to netTrekker Village to see the dates and how to register.

And just what do I get, you ask?  Once you’ve attended, we send 50 netTrekker Quick Reference Guides, 5 netTrekker posters, a sample project and 10% off of any Professional Development you purchase before June 30th.  Better hurry!  The webinars are filling up quickly!

Getting the Message Out

Your project folder is complete, and now it’s time to share it with your students. You can share your folder either in a class folder (that you create) or the existing school or district folder.

The District folder and the “Create a Class” feature were introduced in December of 2007. The District folder makes it possible to share your project folders with any other teacher or student within your district. The class feature allows you to create a class that your students can join by entering the secret word (that you assign). You can learn more about creating a class with this video tutorial.

In order to get your folder into one of those areas, you have three choices. You can move, copy or bookmark. Everyone has their preference of which one, but I personally prefer the bookmark method. Here are my reasons:

· If you move your folder to the district or school, the admin has the right to delete it. It wouldn’t be done on purpose, I’m sure, but accidents happen. There’s no way to retrieve a deleted folder.

· If you copy a folder to the district or school, and then update your original folder later, you’ll need to make sure you update the copied folder as well. I know I would forget to do this.

· If you bookmark a folder, you are actually creating a shortcut to your project folder. If you update the folder, then everyone will be able to see the update. If the bookmark gets deleted, you still have your main folder. Your work would not be lost.

Here are the steps to bookmarking a folder:

1. Open the folder you want to share.

2. Click on Edit

3. Click on Advanced Options (in the Edit Window)

4. Select who you want to view and who you want to have the rights to change the folder. (I usually select everyone in the district to view, but I don’t change the rights to the change the folder unless it’s a collaboration project.)

5. Save the changes (that window will go away)

6. Click on Bookmark (middle of the folder window)

7. A new window will appear asking if you’re sure this is what you want to do. Click Save.

8. The bookmark will appear in your main portfolio. Go back there and put a checkmark next to the BOOKMARK.

9. Click on MOVE and select the destination.

One quick important note, you will need do the advanced options for each subfolder of the main folder you are bookmarking. You will not need to bookmark the subfolders.

For the videos on netTrekker d.i.’s My Portfolio, check out our HELP section.

Tags: bookmarking, My Portfolio, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., sharing

Organization is Key

My Portfolio provides a place to collect links from netTrekker d.i., links from your other subscriptions and sources. You may add templates, a timeline, famous person search criteria with results, and images.

Folders can become quite busy with websites, images, and saved features.

However, once you put everything together in one folder, you get a mess. And right now, my folder is a big mess!

Think of your file cabinet. More than likely everything is in a folder and organized, not just thrown together. That’s our next step, to create folders for organization.

First, open the folder you want to organize. On the left hand side there is a button that says “NEW FOLDER”. Click on that and you can create a new folder. You will have an opportunity to name the folder and give it a description as well. I created several folders for this project, including Famous Scientists, Images, and then two Website folders, one for Science Fair Project Ideas and one for the Scientific Method.

The next step is to move the items from the main folder to their respective sub-folder. On the left side of the websites are check boxes. Check off the ones need to moved to a specific folder, then click on move (right hand corner). When you click on move, your entire portfolio will open with the structure viewable. I selected scientific method websites to be moved into the

The steps for creating and moving items into folders.

“Websites: Scientific Method” folder. I didn’t see the folder at first, but next to the Science Fair folder there is a plus sign. By clicking on the plus sign, I can expand the Science Fair Folder to see the sub-folders. I then click on Websites: Scientific Method and then move.

By doing this, you can easily organize a project with all your resources right there at your fingertips. Some quick tips:

• Folders will line up alphabetically and they will also line up numerically.
• If you need to order your materials, consider numbering the folders
• This process can also be used in the school or district sharing area.

Hop to it! If we don’t organize now, we’ll be a mess later! (Take it from someone who knows!)

Tags: Folder, My Portfolio, Project Based Learning, Save Search

Template Test Drive

How’s the folder coming along? Shaping up pretty nicely? Which websites did you add to your portfolio?

Today’s tip is how to use the Templates in the My Portfolio. Next to the ADD WEBSITE button is another button that says ADD TEMPLATE. netTrekker d.i. has two templates available. These templates allow you to add details to your portfolio which comes in handy when dealing with research or project based learning.

The first one is a Digital Literacy Template. This template has five questions a student should ask themselves before they decide to use a website for research. What a great practice for 21^st Century Literacy! Now with each template, you must add a title. The description is optional, but is a great place to add directions. With the Digital Literacy Template the five questions are already in place, but there is space for you to add more details. For example, the first piece of information a student should question is the author or creator’s level of authority. What does this mean? The space below gives you a place to put prompts or more details for the students, such as “what level of educational degree do they hold? Are they an enthusiast, hobbyist, or do they work in the field?” Or you could tell the students to look for a biography of the creator and tips on what to investigate.

The second template is a USER DEFINED TEMPLATE. This is a blank page for you to add your own content. You must add the title, but the rest of the information is up to you. I like to use this page to write the project directions, to create a Web Hunt or WebQuest, or to list the printed material you want students to use in the project. The possibilities are endless! Here is a PDF of the template I used for the science fair project. Another possibility for the blank template is for students to collect and save their research notes. They don’t have to keep track of the paper and pen or remember where they put their file. All of the details they need for that project are contained in one space.

The template is not a worksheet, but rather a digital reference or guide for the students. It can be printed off if needed.

Share with us how you use the templates by leaving a comment below. If have one that is extraordinary, send it to Danielle at dabernethy@nettrekker.com. She’ll share them on the blog for others to use.

Tags: 21st Century, Digital Literacy, My Portfolio, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., template

Linking outside of netTrekker d.i.

Did you get your folder started? I hope so, because today we’re going to look at how to add websites not found in netTrekker d.i.

netTrekker d.i.has over 300,000 digital resources that are relevant and aligned to your state standards, but there are bound to be websites not in netTrekker d.i. that you would like to add to your Portfolio. You may wish to add the link to an online quiz, your personal website, an online document or a link to another subscription provided to your students. Any of these links may be easily added to your netTrekker d.i. portfolio.

Steps to add a website not found in netTrekker d.i.

First, click on My Portfolio and open up the folder you want to add the link to. You will see several buttons running across the top of that folder, including a button that says “ADD WEBSITE”. Click on that button and a new window will pop up. This is where you will add the URL (I recommend copying and pasting the URL so there’s no mistake), the Name of the website you are adding and then a description of the website.

Please note that Read Aloud, Dictionary and Readability will not work with links originating outside of netTrekker d.i.

Some of the items that I like to add to folders include Quizzes from Quia, a book list from Scholastic’s Book Wizard, a link to my blog or wiki, or BrainPop videos. What websites will you be adding to your portfolio?

On a side note, if you have a great link that should be added to netTrekker d.i.’s database, you can send it to us via the CONTACT US TOOL. The CONTACT US TOOL is located on the right hand side in the yellow MY TOOLS box.

Tags: blog, My Portfolio, netTrekker d.i., quiz, Save Search, video, website, wiki

My Portfolio: Start Sharing Now!

We have a tool in netTrekker d.i. called My Portfolio which is useful in creating Project Based Units. For the next week, we are going to explore the My Portfolio features and all of the uses. We are going to showcase how to save searches, add links outside of netTrekker d.i., how to add a template, how to organize your project folder and then how to share your folder with your school or district.
Let’s start at the beginning.

netTrekker d.i. offers you the opportunity save specific websites to a folder.

When you are logged into netTrekker d.i., you have the ability to save websites that you discover during your search. Start by doing a keyword search. I chose to use the keyword “scientific method” and will be creating a folder to prepare for the spring science fairs. In the middle school tab, this keyword brings me 136 results that I can easily customize using the refinement menu.
Next to each result you will see a checkbox. If after reviewing the website you decide it is one that you want to save, just put a check mark next to it. Go ahead and view the results on the next pages and check the ones you want to save on those pages as well. Once you have your results checked off, scroll to the top of the page. Under the refinement menu you will see a button that says “Save Search”.
(If you are IP Authenticated, you will need to log in at the top right hand corner in order to see the save search feature.)
When you click on Save Search, a new window will come up. This is where you start your organization of

your saved search and name your folder for the results. Your keyword and the date of your search will

The save search window allows you to give the folder a title and a description.

automatically fill in the title field. You are welcome to change the title if you choose. Next, you’ll see a place to add a description. This is not mandatory, and you can leave it blank if you want. You can see the changes I made to the Title Field and the description I added in the photo
Since this folder will be about science fair projects, I did another search on science fair experiments. After selecting the search results I thought would be most helpful to my students, I clicked on “Save Search” again. Instead of creating a new folder of results though, I checked “Add to Existing Folder” and then selected my Science Fair Project folder to add these results to.
You can also save Famous Person Search Results, Dynamic Timelines, and images to your folders as well.
It’s your turn now. I want you to decide on a topic and create a folder of a project of your choice. Tomorrow will add more detail to your folder.

Tags: 21st Century, My Portfolio, netTrekker, netTrekker d.i., Project Based Learning, Units