teAchnology.com

I recently found teAchnology.com. It has rubric generators, worksheets, lesson plans, etc. Some of it is free and some of it requires a paid subscription. I need some feedback. Could some of you check it out and let me know if it would be worth purchasing a site license for all our teachers to use?

Either email me or send me an email to let me know what you think.

HelpDesk

I've had trouble keeping track of everything that needs done in the district. I also have no way to report on what has been done or how long it has taken to do. To rectify both situations, I am implementing help desk software.

To access the help desk, go to http://crlxp01/helpdesk. This will unfortunately only work from within the school buildings and administration offices. Once there: enter your email address, a brief summary of the problem or request, and a detailed description of exactly what is wrong or what you would like.

Please do not email your requests, leave voice mail messages with your requests, or stop me in the hall (unless you immediately follow up by submitting to the help desk). I forget verbal requests, lose notes and do not check voice mail frequently. By entering your requests in the help desk software you can be sure that they are checked frequently and that we can now account for how long it is taking to resolve requests.

Of course, you should continue to CALL MY CELL PHONE if there is an emergency.

PBS Starts Web Site for Teachers

"PBS Teachers is PBS' national web destination for high-quality preK-12 educational resources. Here you'll find classroom materials suitable for a wide range of subjects and grade levels. We provide thousands of lesson plans, teaching activities, on-demand video assets, and interactive games and simulations. These resources are correlated to state and national educational standards and are tied to PBS' award-winning on-air and online programming like NOVA, Nature, Cyberchase, Between the Lions and more."

They also have professional development opportunities and an online store.

Fun With Maps

Here's some interesting map-related links I've found recently:

• "If you dig straight down, where will you end up?" -- The age-old question, finally answered! (And no, it isn't China.) This is an interesting use for Google Maps. Pick a point in the world, and it will show you where the exact opposite side of the world is.
• Worldmapper is creating maps that change the size of territories based on statistical data. For example, the USA is huge on the defense spending map, and smaller on the population map.
• WIKISKY is an interactive sky map. Click on a celestial object and get pictures and lots of info.
• Social Explorer has hundreds of maps showing historical demographic data for the United States.
  

That's all I have for now. I'll post more as I find them.