Many educational resources and technologies are either static or broadcast media -- meaning that information is simply delivered to students, without offering any opportunity for them to interact with it.  There are times when it is appropriate to simply deliver information to students. However, much of the time, teachers wish to encourage students to interact with resources and other students.

Web based interactive learning environments engage students by making the learning process a participatory experience.  Through interaction, students are allowed to shape their own learning experience, to be their own guide, make their own mistakes and learn from them.

 Below is a list of web sites, along with a brief description, divided by subject area.  This is only a small sampling of the innumerable web based resources that can be located by searching the Internet.

Mathematics:

The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.

Secondary Math Activities

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/

National Center for Education Statistics – Create a Graph

Graphing Utility

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/

National Center for Education Statistics – What are your Chances?

Probability Experiment

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/Probability/

MathsNet Interactive

Variety of Math Activities

http://www.mathsnet.net/interactive.html

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/vlibrary.html

Science:

FrogGuts!

Interactive Biology Dissection

http://www.froguts.com/flash_content/index.html

Cells Alive ~ How big is a…?

Cell Biology

http://cellsalive.com/howbig.htm

The Exploratorium

Sunspots

http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/

Funderstanding 

Rollercoaster Designer – Speed, Mass, Gravity, and Friction. 

http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/

NASA

Solar System Simulator

http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

Language Arts:

Book Adventure

FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8

http://www.bookadventure.com/

Fun Brain

Loads of Interactive Games

http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/getskill_s.cgi?A1=selects&A2=la&A4=2&A7=0

History/Geography:

GeoSense

World Geography Game

http://www.geosense.net/

Leonardo’s Workshop

Interactive review of the life and works of Leonardo DaVinci

http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/leonardo/index.html

Miscellaneous:

Life in the White House

Historical and current information, virtual tours.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Fact Monster

Online Research Tools

http://www.factmonster.com/index.html

Welcome to the Web

Basic Web Introduction

http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/welcome/

Additional Resources from HCISD Website

http://www1.harlingen.isd.tenet.edu/standards/Interactive_Technology_Environments.html

Building Your Own Resource List

These are but a small sample of the resources available online at the time of this inservice.  The Internet is a constantly changing resource.  Here are some helpful tips in finding and maintaining your own personal list of resources:

·                    Do not bookmark a site and forget about it, then expect it to be there when you need it.  Sites come and go.  Check them periodically.

·                    When searching for new resources, stick to large reputable search engines like Google, WebCrawler, and Lycos.

·                    Limit your search words to key words.  Leave out “and”, “the”, ect…

·                    Include key words like “educational”, “interactive”, and “web based”.  These key words will improve your changes of finding the types of sites you are looking for.

My Resources

Topic	Web Address