FREE online educational games, learning activities

Sheppard Software says, "We make learning fun."

FREE online educational games, learning games, and activities for kids of all ages. Articles, quizzes, and more, all quickly accessed online. There's even some good Canadian content there; for example, Canadian geography tutorials and games.

ALSO from Sheppard Software: Free software for teachers & Schools. "We design educational software and online games with these goals: 

1. To add sound and visual effects to make learning fun and more memorable. 
2. To design games with many difficulty levels so that players will continue to be challenged no matter how far they progress.
3. To provide games that will exercise players' brains."

...........

Kate's little side note: So, this guy calls me on the phone, raves about my site, PinkFlamingo's Resources Lists, then asks me to provide a link to Sheppard Software on the site. In the 10+ years I've had the site, I've had many link-exchange contacts, but never before by phone. But it was really the compliments that worked on me; whether or not they were just a marketing ploy, they worked. Good thing to keep in mind as an approach to take when trying to get anybody on board about anything -- the compliments go a long way, don't they?

Classpress.net: Headlines for School Subjects

A list of RSS feeds that provide daily postings for subject teachers: today's view shows Art, Design & Technology, English, Geography, History, Maths, Music, Science.

Resource Links You Might Have Missed

This list of Language Arts links is the sixth installment of in the "Links You Might Have Missed" series at the Free Technology for Teachers website. This set of links features Language Arts resources. The previous installments of this series featured links to resources in the areas of

Math

Science

Geography

Digital Presentations

Google Earth.

Free Technology for Teachers

A blog that you might want to subscribe to in your feed reader. "A review of free technology resources and how teachers can use them. Ideas for technology integration in education." Winner of the EduBlog awards in 2008. I was linked to the site for a specific article and ended up staying quite a while because there were so many interesting (and helpful) topics, esp. those in the "top rated posts" column.

Ideas to Inspire (Teacher Resources)

Out of the UK, this is "...a collection of Google Docs presentations, which offer a large number of ideas for engaging lesson activities in a range of curriculum areas.The presentations are a collaboration between lots of fantastic teachers around the world." Resources under headings like Interactive Maths, Incredible Science, Inspired Writing, and many more.

Teachers TV

| Thousands of education programmes on TV and online |

"With over 2000 videos available online, the Teachers TV website is an invaluable resource for any busy education professional. Watch videos when you want and download great resources including lesson plans, worksheets and more. ...Our programmes cover every subject in the curriculum, all key stages and every professional role – from teaching assistant to headteacher. You can watch us on digital cable and satellite and programmes are also available anytime, on-demand and for free on this website. We have 15-minute CPD offerings packed with useful information, exciting pupil programmes for use in class, and a daily education news summary. ...award-winning documentaries on everything from global citizenship to education practice in other countries. Regular specialist hours cater to new teachers, governors and other specialist audiences, and core curriculum hours cover primary and secondary maths, English, science and ICT."

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers

A selection made by SmartTeaching.org.

"With the increasing use of technology in classrooms, it’s no wonder that teachers have a growing interest in using YouTube and other online media sharing sites to bring information into their classrooms. Here are 100 YouTube videos that can provide supplementary information for the class, give inspiration, help you keep control of class and even provide a few laughs here and there."

STUDENTS: A Study Community for Homework Help in Physics, Math, Science, and Engineering

CRAMSTER is an online study community "centered on providing understanding to [your] questions, whether they're related to homework, exam preparation, or general learning." Cramster "...brings together students, educators and subject enthusiasts... With around-the-clock expert help and a community of over 100,000 knowledgeable members, you can find the help you need, whenever you need it." "...find real help from students, educators, and subject enthusiasts. Ask a homework question. Try a practice problem. View step-by-step solutions to your textbook problems. Submit study resources. Find study tips on our blog." "Cramster is the first social learning network of its kind focused on quantitative subjects including physics, math and engineering. We foster a similar environment to a study group whether you are the one asking for or providing help."

Encyclopedia of Life

"This is the very beginning of our exciting journey to document all species of life on Earth. Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about all life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world." Already over a million species pages available.

Online games

Web games to learn with. K-12 geography, chemistry, vocabulary, animals, history, math, and some quiz games.

Free Online MIT Course Materials for High School

MIT OpenCourseWare ~ Highlights for High School: Free Online MIT Course Materials for High School. By now most educators know that MIT has opened its courses to public access. Now they've added content for high school teachers/students. Check out their resources for the maths/sciences (calculus, biology, physics), their hands-on learning labs (chemistry, physics). Explore their section on writing: essays, technical writing, rhetoric, short stories, web design.

Educational Uses for Google Earth

Quoting directly from my Google Earth email newsletter. NOTE: THE FIRST 2 LINKS BELOW WILL OPEN YOUR GOOGLE EARTH; they're not weblinks!

"Teachers and students should be aware that Google Earth is a great tool for education. And, it's not just about geography. Google Earth has been used by educators in many subjects including: science, literature, history, cartography, GIS, and more. Check out some examples like: Places quoted by Shakespeare or the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

For Google-created resources, teachers should visit our Google Earth for Educators site, or check out some Sky lesson ideas. For some ideas from our users, see the JuicyGeography blog by Noel Jenkins in the UK, or a summary by Frank Taylor at the Google Earth Blog."

Computer Science Directory

"This directory is developed as a project to list computer science links and articles with high quality. Here you'll only find the best of the best.This directory is developed as a project to list computer science links and articles with high quality. Here you'll only find the best of the best."

Powerpoint Learning Objects

World of Teaching: Free Powerpoint presentation Learning Objects in biology, chemistry, math, English, history, physics, geography, Spanish.

The OWL at Purdue

A fantastic resource site: "Free writing help and teaching resources, open 24/7" Here are some of their categories:

The Writing Process; Professional, Technical, and Scientific Writing; Job Search Writing; General Academic Writing; Research & Citation; ESL; Literary Analysis & Criticism; Writing in the Social Sciences; Writing in Engineering; Creative Writing; Teaching Writing.

-- and each one has many sub-menu items. I can't describe it; you'll just have to check it out for yourself!

Practical Uses of Math And Science (PUMAS)

Ralph Kahn, author, describes the site as

"...a collection of one-page examples of how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes can be used in interesting settings, including everyday life. The examples are written primarily by scientists and engineers, and are available to teachers, students, and other interested parties via the PUMAS Web Site. Our goal is to capture, for the benefit of pre-college education, the flavor of the vast experience that working scientists have with interesting and practical uses of math and science."

Biology Teacher Resources

BioEd Online: Presentations, slide sets, teaching resources, biology news, professional developments, discussions, hot topics, and more.