Educational Resources for Beginning Teachers

The following is a selection of web-based resources to help you as you begin your teaching career.

Documents for Ontario Teachers

• The Ontario Software Acquisition Programme This web site has a database of site licensed software plus listings of software under negotiation. It also lists connections to the elementary curriculum for language, mathematics, kindergarten, and mathematics and science.
• Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum and Policy Documents
• Teacher Companions Taken from the Ontario Curriculum Planner, this resource includes: Teaching/Learning Strategies; Assessment Companion; Special Education Companion; ESL/ELD Companion; Rubric for Assessing Writing Process; Rubric for Assessing Mathematical Process; Glossary
• Education Network of Ontario Includes links to Ontario Curriculum Association Web sites and other curriculum resources
• Ontario College of Teachers 
• ECOO Educational Computing Organization of Ontario Publishes the Output Magazine with lesson plans and curriculum resources for teachers and holds a computer conference for Ontario teachers each year in May.

Information Technology Journals

• From Now On The Educational Technology Journal .
• ECOO Output On Line Articles on integrating information Technology into the classroom.
• Technology and Learning A resource for educational technology leaders with articles on several topics.
• Milken Exchange on Education Technology Research reports on using information technology in education
• New Horizons: Technology and Learning An international network of people, programs, and products dedicated to successful, innovative learning. Includes an online journal and other written material.

For New Teachers

• The New Teacher Page — This is a resource site for Education students, student teachers, first-year teachers. Topics include; Becoming a Teacher, Being a Professional, Finding a Job, Your classroom. Also includes a chat line and links to other sites for new teachers.
• Teacher Talk — An online magazine, published by the Center for Adolescent Studies at the School of Education, Indiana University, with many ideas and practical tips for teachers.

Action Research

• Action Research at Queen's University has links to other action research sites

Classroom Management

• Classroom Management — This Web-Based Interactive Teacher Development page was developed at the University of Manitoba, to assist student teachers and beginning teachers to enhance their abilities and confidence in dealing with problems related to classroom management.
• Teachers Helping Teachers — Includes basic teaching tips for inexperienced teachers; new ideas in teaching methodologies for all teachers; a forum for experienced teachers to share their expertise an tips with colleagues.
• Classroom Management Links — This site from the Sudbury Catholic Distrct School Board is designed to assist teachers in classroom management and behavioural issues.
• Classroom Management: Discipline and Organization — This Canadian site has several suggestions for the elementary teacher.

Curriculum Resources

Canadian Sites

• Curriculum Planner Units — Elementary units for all grades and subjects, developed by teachers and school boards to support the Ontario curriculum. Units are provided in print-ready PDF format. Units in Planner-editable format are available for use by educators with access to the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner software.
• Curriculum Planner Resources includes Teacher Companions, Expectations Check sheets and link to the Secondary Profiles
• Ontario Curriculum Centre — Has secondary school course profiles, learning expectations and resources
• Teacher Resources for the OCDSB — This Ottawa Carleton District School board web site lists subject resources by grade and by strand for the Ontario elementary and secondary curriculum. It also has technology lesson plans for each subject, and resources for using the Internet.
• Link to Learning — This York Region DSB site has links to web sites supporting the Ontario K-8 curriculum, curriculum Expectations, Curriculum planner units, and Dickens, a tool to organise curriculum expectations by grade level.
• The Staff Room for Ontario Teachers — This web page, designed for Ontario teachers, has sites of interest to Ontario teachers and sites with Canadian content. Initially intended for elementary school teachers, some links to secondary school material have been included. Includes sections on planning, teaching, and reporting. Good examples of rubrics.
• Resources for Ontario Kindergarten Teachers — This Hastings Prince Edward District School board site developed for use by Kindergarten teachers, includes early childhood lesson plans, elementary lesson plans, strategies and resources.
• Schoolnet — Industry Canada's SchoolNet site includes over 7000 Learning Resources, @SchoolNet Today a daily information news service on the world of e-learning, and many other interactive features.
• Canada's Digital Collections — This Schoolnet site showcases over 375 Web sites celebrating Canada's history, geography, science, technology and culture. It includes a set of on-line educational resources, such as curriculum units, classroom activities, quizzes and games.
• Statistics Canada — The Teaching Resources section includes lesson plans by grade level and subject, teacher kits that include classroom activities, Canadian statistics with tables of National and Provincial data, and the educational research tool Estat.
• Parks Canada — This website features Ontario curriculum-based lesson plans and classroom activities relating to Canada's national parks and national historic sites. All resources are available in both official languages.
• Community Learning Network — This BC Community Learning Network web site has theme pages, curricular resources and instructional materials in all subject areas.
• Resources for Educators — This PEI site includes learning resources to help teachers in theme, unit and lesson planning. Resources are organised by grade level
• Theme-Related Resources — A series of web pages created by teachers at the Gander Academy, Newfoundland, based on themes covered in the primary and elementary grades. Some of the theme pages have lesson plans, themes with online lessons have students activity sheets.
• Cooperative Learning Lesson Plans from New Brunswick  
• SESD Teacher Resources — This Saskatoon East School District site has many resources for teachers including; subject links, Theme links, Internet Projects, WebQuests,assessment rubrics, and online tutorials for using software tools.
• Can Teach: Resources for Educators — A Canadian-developed web site with resources for the elementary teacher, including lesson plans, songs and poems, discussion lists, and links.

Other Sites

• NGFL What are you Looking For? This UK National Grid for Learning site has links to learning resources, games and quizzes, lesson plans and worksheets by grade and subject. The Virtual Teacher Centre has a Teacher Resource Exchange section, a moderated database of resources and activities designed to help teachers develop and share ideas for good practice.
• EdNA Online — This Education Network Australia site has a link to School Education that includes links for students, teachers, parents and principals.
• The Idea Bank — This Victoria (Australia) Department of Education, Employment and Training initiative has links to curriculum resources and professional development in the use of eLearning within the curriculum. Browse by subject or keyword. The Teacher section (green button at top of page) has links to resources for gifted education, gender education, curriculum resources by subject, and more
• TKI Communities — New Zealand's Ministry of Eduction's Online Learning Centre has resource links for all subject areas, Assessment, Curriculum Integration, ICT, Gifted and Talented, Special Education and more.
• AOL At School — America Online's school site has six learning portals designed for grades K–2, 3–5, middle school, high school, teachers and administrators.The teacher portal has professional development and administrative help and resources, as well as the ability to search for subject and age-specific lesson plans.
• The Educator's Reference Desk — Resource Guides, Lesson Plans and Search Eric Database. You can browse lesson plans by subject, or search the database by topic and grade level.
• Education World — This search engine is useful for educators looking for curriculum ideas, lesson plans and other resources for the classroom. Can also browse by subject.
• Blue Web'n Learning sites Library. Blue Web'n is an online library of 1700+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). You can search by content areas, subject area or grade level
• Columbia Education Center Lesson Plans — Lesson plans were created by teachers for use in their own classrooms. Browse by subject and grade level. Also has Internet based lesson plans for elementary and secondary mathematics and science classes.
• Teachers@work — This New Zealand site lists over 5000 of the best Internet sites for educators. Each site has a content and presentation rating. Searchable database by topic.
• The Lesson Plans Page — Search by subject, grade level, and topic.
• Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators — Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth.

Cross Curricular Tools

• PuzzleMaker — Puzzlemaker is a puzzle generation tool for teachers, students and parents. Create and print customized word search, crossword and math puzzles using your word lists. Build your own maze or print our specialty hand-drawn mazes created around holidays and classroom topics
• Worksheet Generator — Make a worksheet online from words or phrases or find a worksheet in the archive and print it.
• Activity Cards — Daily activity cards. A resource for upper elementary teachers, providing daily reviews and exercises in fundamental math and grammar skills for each week of the school year.
• Personal Education Press — Create free educational worksheets such as flashcards, game boards, and quizzes to print directly from your browser. Simply choose a word list and an output style.
• Hot Potatoes — Free software from the University of Victoria Computing and Media Centre that enables you to create multiple-choice, short answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World wide Web.
• ITools — Your One-Stop Reference Desk. Includes dictionaries, thesaurus, translators, quotations, maps, fact book, currency converter, and telephone directories.
• CAST's Bobby — Web Accessibility Bobby is a web-based tool that analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities.

Tutorials on using Computers and Applications Software

• Introduction to Computers — This site is for people with little or no experience with computers.
• File Management Tutorial — This Hastings Prince Edward District School Board site is for windows 98 and 95
• Computer Basics Tutorial for Windows 95/98 — This is another Hastings Prince Edward District School Board site for teachers.
• Windows Explorer: Managing your Files — This tutorial gives "how to" information and practice exercises on finding, saving, copying, moving, and deleting files, and on creating folder directions.
• Mac Basics — for use with Macintosh computers.

Applications

• Computers for Lunch — A hands-on, activity-based, self-instructional resource for teachers. Learn how to explore the web, use email, produce a newsletter, make tables and charts and create a web page during your lunch hour.
• Teacher tools — includes Word Processing, Database, Spreadsheet, Presentation and Web Development. Includes articles on teaching with these tools, online tutorials, outcomes and examples of their use within the context of the classroom and the curriculum.
• Appleworks Tips for Educators — Includes general tips and tips for using word processor, drawing and spreadsheet.
• AppleWorks 6. The following three tutorials are from the School District 33-Chilliwack, B.C. site
  • Word Processing — Introduction to basic word processing using AppleWorks 6
  • Advanced Word Processing
  • Draw
• Arcview GIS
  • Tutorials for Teachers
  • ESRI Canada School and Library Program
• Claris Home Page
  • Using Claris Home Page — A tutorial from the university of Alberta
• Netscape Composer
• Corel WordPerfect
  • Learning Corel WordPerfect 8 — 6 lessons. The lessons include practice exercises to work through as well as examples for creating documents in your work.
  • Learning Corel WordPerfect 7
• Corel Presentations
  • Presentations — Corel Presentations tutorial from the Toronto District SB.
  • Corel Presentation 8 Tutorial
  • Learning Corel Presentations 8
  • Learning Corel Presentations 7
• Curriculum Planner
  • The Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner Step-By-Step User Manual  
• FileMaker Pro Database
  • Publishing Database on the Web — Includes instructions for designing a database in FileMaker Pro
• HyperStudio
  • The Official HyperStudio Web Site — The Library has a Newsletter and links for professional development and manuals that can be printed.
  • HyperStudio
  • HyperStudio Tutorial — Includes sections on planning and designing stacks, working with stacks, incorporating graphics and text and connecting cards.
  • HyperStudio Tutorials — a series of tutorials for using HyperStudio from the University of Alberta.
• KidPix
  • KidPix Exploration — Kid Pix is a multimedia authoring and presentation tool for all ages. It includes paint, draw, sound, text, clip art, video, and a presentation application called Slide Show. Three modules include: using the tools, storyboarding and slide production, and making a slide show.
• Microsoft Publisher — The Learning Materials Repository at the OSAPAC Site has a detailed and complete instruction manual for using Microsoft Publisher at the elementary and secondary level.

Inclusive Practices

• Ministry of Education and Training: Safe Schools — Ideas book for students
• Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at Risk: School Web — An information resource for teachers and children. Includes a section on school violence.
• Teaching Tolerance — Includes classroom resources and activities.
• Ontario Human Rights Commission Web Site 
• First Nations Web site — This Schoolnet site has a wealth of information and curriculum and educational resources.
• Multi Cultural Calendar — A holiday database that can be searched by month, holiday, country, or author. Started in 1994 the information is supplied by children around the world.
• Multicultural Education — Diversity and Equity Resources
• Unicef Voices of Youth — Voices of Youth was developed as part of UNICEF's 50th Anniversary celebration. There are 3 forums: The Meeting Place to discuss current global issues; The Learning Place with interactive global learning projects; The Teachers' Place to discuss the use of electronic networks for global educational projects.
• Bully B'Ware — Includes stories, tips and strategies.
• BullyingOrg — where you are not alone; a collaborative attempt to help people help each other. Read stories, poems and view pictures from around the world.
• Youth Violence Theme Page — This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of Youth Violence. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme.

Exceptionality Issues

• Special Needs Opportunity Window — This Ontario site provides online resources and professional development opportunities for educators and parents of students with special needs. Includes teaching strategies.
• SERI — Special Education Resources on the Internet. A collection of Internet accessible information resources of interest to those involved in the fields related to Special Education.
• School Psychology Resources — Research learning disabilities, ADHD, functional behavioral assessment, autism, adolescence, parenting, psychological assessment, special education, mental retardation, mental health, and more.
• Misunderstood Minds — This PBS site has videos and activities that simulate what a student with learning disabilities might experience during a classroom assignment.
• Learning Disabilities and Technology — Includes links to the Learning Disabilities Associations of Ontario and Canada, software for use with students, and other useful sites.
• Learning Disabilities Resources — This American site has a section for teachers, including teaching strategies and techniques.
• Adaptive Technology — Includes links to useful software
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — This is a National Institute of Mental Health document .
• Association for Bright Children of Ontario — Includes information on gifted students and additional links.
• Center for the Study of Autism — Includes information about autism and related disorders, interventions, and additional links.

Adolescent Development

• ADOL — Adolescence Directory On-Line ADOL , from the Center for Adolescent Studies, School of Education, Indiana University, is a collection of WWW documents focusing on the social and emotional growth and development needs of adolescents

Using the Internet

• Using Pine Electronic Mail at Queen's University.
• Web Teacher Tutorial — A self-paced Internet Tutorial with both basic and in-depth information about the World Wide Web. Includes information on using peripherals such as scanners, digital cameras and using the Internet in the classroom.
• Dealing with Internet Abuses and Hazards — Hoaxes, Viruses, Personal Risks, and Spam. Includes links to sites on child safety on the Internet, filtering programs and articles on Internet safety.
• Integrate the Internet into the Classroom — Listservs, keypals, ask an expert, and internet projects.
• The WebQuest Page — Many examples of WebQuests for all grade levels as well as training materials, and templates for creating WebQuests.

Searching the WWW

• NoodleQuest — NoodleQuest is designed by a school librarian to help children, beginners and expert users with Internet searches.
• Search Engines and Subject Directories — Learn more about search engines and subject directories.
• Internet Search Tools Quick Guide

Web Site Evaluation

• Critical Evaluation Surveys — This site gives links to a range of sites providing ideas and criteria for assessing information found on the Web. Includes Critical Evaluation surveys for elementary and secondary students.
• The Ten Cs for Evaluating Internet Resources — The "Ten C's" provide criteria to consider in evaluating Internet resources.
• Evaluation Rubrics for Websites — Links to rubrics that primary, intermediate and secondary students can use to evaluate web sites.

Producing Web Sites

• Customizing Web Pages — Includes Steps for Making Activity Pages, and Online Lessons in Web Publishing
• Creating Web Pages (Introductory Level) — Theme Page, This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of Creating Web Pages. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme
• Creating Web Pages (Advanced Level) — Theme Page, As above it includes two types of resources. Includes Banner Generator; Forms Tutorial to create Web Fill-in-Forms; Frames — an introduction and more
• Website Construction Tools — This Schoolnet Grassroots site has several links to sites on using graphics, animations, sound and also copyright issues.
• Creating a Homepage on QLINK — Queen's University. A Standard HTML Tutorial.
• Writing HTML — A tutorial for creating web pages.
• Web Development Tools — Why and how to create web pages. Includes exemples.
• Web Design for Instruction — Includes design theory, site and page design, using multimedia tools and teacher resources.

Multimedia Links

• Multimedia: An InDepth Guide for Teachers — Developed by a group of teachers with Regina Public Schools as a guide for teachers to use. It deals with all aspects of multimedia, including both technical knowledge and curriculum implementation of the various media including audio, graphics, video animation, virtual reality, software and web media.
• Sound and Music — Links to midi and sound files. Includes several sound file formats.
• Capturing Audio — for Macintosh.
• Graphics — Links to graphics files, including tips and tutorials; animated gifs; backgrounds and buttons; and science graphic sites..
• Animation Tutorials — Includes tutorials on some of the common animation software.
• Clip Art Gallery for Educators
• Clip Art Theme Page — Links to clip art collections (all free on the date of review) which students and teachers may use in their electronic productions.

Copyright

• Copyright Matters
• Digital Copyright Issues
• Electronic References
• What's all the Hype? — The importance of citing references.

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