netTrekker Blog

Make the Connections with the Timeline

One of my favorite netTrekker features to play with is the Timeline Tool. I love to build a timeline and add layers to make it just what I want. In training, I often showcase this tool by selecting United States History and the WWII Timeline from the events section. This pulls up both the timeline for the United States and their activity in WWII, as well as famous Americans who lived during this time. Nothing shows up for the arts or innovations and discoveries – but so much happened in the arts or sciences during this time! To prove that point I simply add layers, beginning with American Literature. How were stories written during that time influenced by the war? Next I add music and see a famous musician, Duke Ellington. The next layer is Physics, where we discover beta-trons, fission, and atomic bombs. Was the push for the discovery of the atomic bomb influenced by the war? Did it have an impact on WWII?

You can take this beyond just WWII of course. Do your own layering! For instance, would the people of America been so enamored by Franklin D. Roosevelt had he not taken office during the time of the Great Depression and saved the banks? Did the events during his term influence America into a four term president instead of the traditional two term? How about George W. Bush? What would his presidency have been like without September 11th? Did his focus change, and did it influence Americans into another term of Bush Presidency? What about Obama? What is influencing his presidency and will Americans decide if he’s a two term or one term President? It’s not just the laws that are passed – it’s often an event and the response to that event that influences those decisions. Those events will also often inspire art, literature, scientific discovery or invention. Nothing happens in a bubble without touching something else.

It was pointed out that many standards require connections to historical events and people. Make those connections with netTrekker’s  Timeline tool!

Tags: Integration Ideas, netTrekker, Training

Explore a New World of Personalized Learning at ISTE 2010

Are you heading to Denver for the ISTE conference June 27^th – 30^th?  If so, we know that your time there will be jam-packed with workshops and time spent in the exhibit hall exploring all the latest and greatest in educational technology.  We hope you’ll take some time to visit the netTrekker booth #884 to explore new ways that netTrekker can help you personalize learning for your students.

A few of our ISTE highlights include:

• An exploration game that will help you learn more about netTrekker and give you a chance to win an Apple iPad!

• Sneak previews of the new enhancements coming in netTrekker Search for Back-to-School 2010!  Learn how the new enhancements support an even more personalized, productive, and engaging learning experience.

• A full schedule of  workshops presented by netTrekker subscribers that let you explore netTrekker’s advanced features, hear best practices, get integration tips and strategies, and more.

• Demos of the new NSTA Learning Center online science professional development content available in netTrekker.

• Visit our ISTE page for more details and check out our full workshop schedule.

If you’re unable to attend ISTE this year, stay tuned in netTrekker Village for some post-conference highlights.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Denver at the netTrekker booth #884!

What are you looking forward to most at this year’s ISTE conference?

Tags: integration, Integration Ideas, ISTE2010, netTrekker, netTrekker Village, professional development

It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Great Earth Day Celebration for Your Classroom

Earth Day’s 40^th anniversary is only two days away.  Have you made your plans to spend some time outdoors with Mother Nature on Thursday, April 22?   It’s not too late to write a quick note to send home in backpacks today.  Ask parents to pack a lunch that requires no electricity and contains minimal packaging waste.  A paper bag containing a peanut butter sandwiches, a piece of fruit, and milk or bottled water make for the perfect eco-conscious meal.  Save the beverage containers to recycle and weigh the limited packaging and/or food waste.  Keep a record of this and compare it to a “regular” lunch next week.  Students will be amazed at the difference.  Visit  Educator’s Reference Desk:  Cleaning Up for Earth Day.  This site contains an activity for students of all ages to do on Earth Day. It shows students the things that humans waste as well as how to sort objects to be recycled.

Plan to begin your day with an Earth poem or song.  Lin and Don Donn: U.S. History Lessons: Holidays: Earth Day contains lessons for Earth Day as well as coloring books, songs, and the like.

Go outside and observe nature.  Have students complete a sense chart and record the sights, sounds, smells, and tactile qualities of natural objects.

Plant a class tree to commemorate this 40^th anniversary.  EcoKids provides simple tips for proper planting.  To properly dedicate your new tree and honor Mother Nature, take the Earth Pledge.

Have students sit under your newly planted tree and work together in groups to create a Haiku, a traditional form of Japanese poetry about nature.  The Kennedy Center resource, Kennedy Center: A Fact Haiku, will provide you a guide and assessments.

Enjoy a picnic lunch.  Use any of the recyclable lunch containers to build a creative statue.  Name this statue and keep it in your classroom as a reminder to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.

Wrap up the day reading Just A Dream by Caldecott-winning Chris Van Allsburg.  This story will serve as the perfect resource to reinforce your Earth Day activities and to motivate students to continue to make responsible choices as they play a part in preserving Earth’s resources.  Chris Van Allsburg’s website is wonderful!  It includes a Kids’ Corner, Teacher Resources and many other great literature resources to use anytime of year.

Do you already have some great plans for Earth Day? Post a comment to this blog.  Also, visit netTrekker Village and start a discussion of Earth Day reflections. Post photos, quotes, or any other artifacts and let us know how you celebrate this important day.

Tags: Earth Day, ecology, Integration Ideas, lesson plans, literature, netTrekker, read, staff development, Training

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

As Danielle announced yesterday, The National Book Foundation (NBF) officially designated January as National Book Month.  In celebration of this event enjoy our blog series each day this week as we celebrate literacy!  Get some great ideas for pairing netTrekker’s resources with some of our staff’s favorite books to create amazing learning adventures.

If yesterday was your first day back at school and you missed the series debut with Harry Potter, please revisit Danielle’s article to find some amazing facts and learn how to host an annual Literature Bowl.

As a former elementary science teacher, I made sure that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judith Barrett lived in my classroom book baskets in multiple copies.  This beautifully crafted tall tale is not only a magnificent story, but also the perfect book to use to highlight vividly descriptive writing and illustrations to introduce a cross-curricular unit on weather.

No matter where you live, January is a great month for investigating weather.  As we look back on the year in review and start fresh with new statistics, keeping a weather log allows students to predict, collect, and analyze data in a fun and meaningful way.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs leads students to investigate how weather can affect people, plants, and animals.  The story is filled with weather vocabulary and even helps readers to consider safety tips for severe storms.

Since the book is geared toward the elementary reading levels, I recommend doing a keyword search under the elementary tab and then refining for readability levels 1(grades 1-3) and 2(grades 4-6).

Highlighted below are a few of the many, many netTrekker resources you may use to create a My Portfolio weather unit.

BrainPOP: Weather
Is it raining, is it snowing…is a hurricane a-blowing? Whatever the weather’s doing, you can find out why it’s doing it in this BrainPOP movie! In it, Tim and Moby explain what weather is and how different types of weather form. You’ll find out what the engine for all weather is (it has something to do with water). And if you’ve ever wondered why weathermen are always talking about cold fronts and warm fronts, wonder no longer! Grab your coat, we’re going out into the elements!

Scholastic: Weather Watch
Scholastic presents Weather Watch, where you can learn to predict the weather. Learn how to observe clouds, collect data with weather tools, investigate climate conditions, and analyze the weather. The site includes a comprehensive teacher’s guide with lesson plans, worksheets, and assessment options.

FOSSWeb: Air and Weather
This interactive activity from the University of California gets students to look at a thermometer and determine the temperature to dress the bear correctly! There are photos of things use air and ideas for other activities for teaching about air and weather.

Enjoy this great book and many marvelous weather investigations!

Tags: Integration Ideas, literacy, science, staff development, weather

A Christmas Carol : A sneak peek into the Victorian Era

What a perfect project for Christmas time – and spectacular way to introduce the Victorian Era, while learning a wonderful lesson about the true spirit of the holidays.

The newest version is a 3D Animation by Disney Studios.  Students will love the rich characters and mystical nature of this classic holiday story, A Christmas Carol. The main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, is a miserly old man who hates Christmas and whose heart has turned cold since the death of his business partner and the break-up of his engagement many years ago. As Scrooge meets up with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, they help him to understand his misgivings and start celebrating the holidays in the true spirit of giving and compassion.

The tale has been viewed as a reflection of nineteenth century industrial capitalism and provides a “sneak peak” into the Victorian Era.  The novella captures life in London between 1830 and 1840 – the midst of the Victorian Era.

The Victorian Era is defined by the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 – 1901.  netTrekker provides many resources to compare and contrast what life was like at the start and end of the Victorian Era.  This time of tremendous change is most evident by where people lived and worked in London, England.

1837		1901
People lived in villages and worked on the land.		People lived in towns and worked in shops, offices and factories.

Check out some netTrekker resources that will bring the Victorian Era alive in your classroom.  These and other similar sites can be found by refining your search on Victorian Era with Interactive Media.

Travel back in time to the Victorian era in this interactive journey to help Ruby & Michael search for Sam, their missing dog. While you are searching, you can learn about Victorian life by examining the objects in the house, listening to the characters, and answering the questions.

Be a Victorian Millionaire Now! Benjamin Gott was a model of entrepreneurial skill. By taking risks and experimenting with new ways of doing things, he managed to hit the cash jackpot and become a powerful businessman.  Can you solve business problems and make money by taking risks?

Virtual Victorians. Interactive examination of life during the Victorian era. Home, work, leisure, education, and technology are just a few facets of life addressed through photos, brief summaries, interactive games, newspapers, and documents.   Questions about daily life can also be submitted on-line to a role playing persona.

To learn more about integration ideas other resources to support your learning objectives, contact your Account Manager. We’d love to provide the perfect Professional Development solution for you.

Tags: Integration Ideas, professional development, refinement menu, Training, Victorian

Promethe-WHAT?

Pro-ME-thee-in, that’s what!

Some of you are quick to brush this wonderful resource aside because your school or district doesn’t own Interactive Whiteboards, but WAIT!    

You can still view & use Promethean Flipcharts even if you don’t have Interactive Whiteboards!

Simply click on   to download software which will allow you to view these teacher created resources.

Then click on and either open the flipchart immediately or save it to your desktop.

“I don’t have time to find the Promethean Resources.” 

 

By utilizing netTrekker’s COLLECTIONS refinement menu, you’re able to quickly and easily browse through thousands of Promethean resources. 

 

“What kind of resources does this Promethean offer?”

These educator created flipcharts allow teachers to browse lesson plans, in multiple subjects, and incorporate into their curriculum.  Whether it’s to be used in the planning of a concept or for the students to master a concept, Promethean flipcharts will enhance any lesson.

In fact, here’s how you find one!

Under the Middle School Tab, I entered the keyword, government. 

I narrowed my results by selecting Promethean located in the Collections refinement menu. 

Scrolling down, I found the flipchart Promethean: A New Government. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                          

 

 

Tags: Integration Ideas, The Collections, Training