BY BILL FERRIS
For this month’s random roundup, we’ve selected the Library of Congress, our nation’s storehouse of pretty much everything worth knowing. As you’d expect, a lot of great resources for teachers have been derived from the Library. See your tax dollars at work by reading the articles linked after the jump.
Looking for ideas or resources for your class? MIT Open CourseWare is there to help. Yes, the same MIT that everyone hopes their engineering-focused little one gets into has created a free and open resource for anyone in the world to use. It’s not just math and science courses either; MIT has published complete course resources for all the subjects they teach, from history to music and theater arts. (more…)
Before Hannah Montana, before the Wiggles, before the Backyardigans and other execrable music for the younger set came the great children’s records of the 1940s and 1950s. Now that I’ve reached the age where I believe everything older is automatically better, I’m considering turning my own kids onto some of these classics from a bygone age.
Kiddie Records Weekly plays vintage music for tots from the golden age of children’s music. You can download these records, or listen to them in streaming audio. When they were originally released, several of these records came with a read-along storybook. Kiddie Records Weekly provides digital versions of these books, allowing you to follow along just as your parents (or grandparents) might have. The album covers are a treat as well, featuring colorful illustrations, classic childhood characters, and the long-lost art of cursive writing. So if you’d like a change of pace from another Dora the Explorer sing along, let your elementary students try out something from Kiddie Records Weekly. -BILL FERRIS
20 Kids * 20 Kites * 20 Minutes
From the Big Wind Kite Factory in Hawaii, this link provides a complete rundown of instructions and supplies to get 20 of your students building kites and getting them in the air in 20 minutes. Sounds like a cool springtime project for an elementary art class.
Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education
Want to learn programming? Maybe you’d like to learn to play an instrument or speak a language. Lifehacker has 10 great tools you or your students can use to learn cool new skills.
10 Must-Try Social Media Sites for College Students
While Instructify’s audience is predominantly K-12, a lot of your students will head off to college someday — possibly in a few short months. These 10 sites can help them thrive in their new learning environment by helping them find internships, stay organized, or maybe just find a ride to class.
20+ Must-Read Education Technology Blogs for Teachers, Students, and e-Learners
If Instructify whets your appetite for even more ways to bring nifty tools into your classroom, check out this list, which is pretty much what it sounds like. The fact that they’ve omitted Instructify is clearly just an oversight. -BILL FERRIS
Photo credit: .mands. on Flickr.
You’ve probably already heard about the link between math and music. How musical patterns, can help explain mathematical patterns. Phil Tulga is a musician who has taken this connection to make a happy combo of fractions and rhythm with flash to help students make tunes and learn about math. Students are shown fractions in pie form, and the beats they stand for are explained. Then, at the bottom, they can listen to songs that range from Revolutionary War drum calls, to the theme from The Simpsons. They can also make up their own using everything from Taiko drums to water, with a nice snare drum in the middle. This makes a great activity for music, math, or even social studies. -ALICE MERCER
Add The Biochemists’ Songbook to your .mp3 collection
Karaoke to learn English? I thought it was Japanese?
Photo credit: iurikothe on Flickr.
I was once told by a band director friend of mine that 108 is the magical musical tempo at which all middle school band music is played. But how do you know how fast 108 is if you’re not a band director? Luckily for you, the internet does it again with Best Metronome.
This site offers, well, an online metronome, in three different versions. The highly accessible metronome is quite simple, allowing you to type in a tempo (such as the magical tempo of 108), and hear the beat. Additionally, it lets you know what tempos go with musical tempo markings – for instance, 108 would be andante. Slightly more advanced is the simple best metronome. On screen, this one looks like an old-timey metronome with the stick that moves back and forth (you even have to wind it!). Finally, you have the advanced metronome. Some of the settings on this one were too complicated even for me, an old band nerd. However, you can set the speed of this one all the way up to 900 beats per minute! Why you would want to do this, I’m not sure, but you can. Additionally, you can have it play you standard preset rhythm, such as the waltz or tango.
If you are a band director, have musical students, or are musical yourself, you will find this website useful. Even if you’re not musical, you can find out what the standard beat for the polonaise is, and who doesn’t want to know that? -REBECCAH HAINES
We Got the Beat: Metronome Online
Learn Music Theory Solo or in an Ensemble at MusicTheory.net
At the end of African American History Month, I always find myself thinking about how to make the study of African American history a year-long effort rather than a token month of celebration. PBS Kids offers an attractive jazz website for kids that could be used to integrate African American history into a writing, art, or music unit any time of the year. The site complements the terrific selection of beautiful and rhythmic children’s books about jazz greats that are already out there and creates an opportunity to talk about race in the context of musical history.
The PBS Kids Jazz website introduces the basic concepts of jazz. Video clips allow kids to hear working musicians discuss their craft and to listen to variety of jazz styles — bebop, cool jazz, and swing — so kids can observe the differences in rhythm and pacing. Finally, students can try their own hand through Band Leader, an interactive program that allows kids to put different combinations of instruments together to play a jazzy version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Warning: a few poor instrument choices and the clip sounds AWFUL, but kids will love it anyway.
In terms of the history of race, the website allows children to explore the chronology and geography of jazz through interactive time lines. They can also read biographies of seven jazz greats and their roles within the jazz movement and the history of race in America. Throughout the site, women are quite under-represented. You might make up for this shortcoming by pulling from the more robust selection of biographies, as well as audio clips, on the linked companion PBS website for Ken Burns’ Jazz.
Finally, do not miss the lesson plans page, which provides five impressive K-8 plans. It’s exciting and not so common to find high-quality lesson plans that aggressively hit national standards, but also allow kids to engage their creativity and self-expression to learn about music and African American history. Just because February is over, the study of African American history doesn’t have to be. -ABBY MARTIN
In Motion: The African American Migration Experience
Drop Me Off in Harlem: Learn how people and culture intersected in the Harlem Renaissance
At Instructify, we’re bombarded with requests for songs explaining scientific concepts. And by “bombarded,” I mean, “it’s never actually happened.” Which is a shame, because you can find several such songs out there. Much like how The Element Song covers the periodic table, The Biochemists’ Songbook tackles several scientific ideas like respiration, protein biosynthesis and photosynthesis, setting them to well-known tunes that will make them easier for your students to remember.
The songs were originally penned by Dr. Harold Baum, a professor at Chelsea College of the University of London, who created them as a gag for his department’s annual Christmas party. The songs were eventually recorded and released on tape in the 1980s, but have since gone out-of-print. Fortunately, some bored kind soul created .mp3s of the songs, and even got Dr. Baum’s permission to distribute them online (the book of lyrics is still in copyright, however, so you’ll either have to buy it or Google the lyrics yourself).
Yes, these tunes are a little on the cheesy side, but it’s amazing what sort of knowledge can get stuck in students’ heads if they’re set to music. You’ll never hear “Auld Lang Syne” again without thinking of photosynthesis. -BILL FERRIS
Seriously! Karaoke is good for more than just drunken businessmen (and others) letting off steam. It can be a great way for language learners to practice and improve English language skills. The lyrics rhyme and are repeated, it comes with a written prompt, and the music helps to bring it all together. As Larry Ferlazzo says, singing is a lot less threatening to language learners than having a conversation (since it’s acceptable to hum through the parts you forget or don’t get).
So where to go? My two favorite sites are Sims on Stage. Both are easy to use and have a minimal registration process. You will need a microphone if you are recording your or your students’ singing, but you can just practice. You can find easy classics under the Kids category. My school does a monthly “sing-a-long” assembly. I had the kids practice singing “Jingle Bells” for this month’s show. -ALICE MERCER
All of these ideas are stolen come from Larry Ferlazzo and his great blog
Escuchen la One Semester of Spanish Love Song
Photo credit: tomasu.co.uk on Flickr
For a long time, there were really only three ways to become a capable musician: be born with natural talent, practice hours upon hours, or just simply sell your soul. I trust you’re familiar with the following joke:
Person A: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Person B: Practice, practice, practice.
Person A: Very funny. No, I’m genuinely asking. See, I sold my soul for brilliant musical talent and now I have to perform at the most important show of my life. If I miss this gig the devil wins my soul and this turns into one of those lame “careful what you wish for” stories.
Person B: That’s what she said?
Now, however, we live in a brilliant age when all computers are connected at all times, ever-seething and growing self-aware. TrainEar.com opens up a new option for improving musical knowledge, allowing us to use the web to learn to play any simple melody by ear. The Free Online Ear Training program available here uses examples from familiar songs to help teach musical intervals, regardless of your prior music experience. The program looks intimidating, and you’ll definitely be lost if don’t watch the tutorial video first. But once you figure out how to use it and start practicing things really start falling into place.
Funding for many school music programs is on the chopping block—if it hasn’t already been chopped. And you only have your students for a set amount of time each day, let alone time for one-on-one interaction. Online Ear Training from TrainEar is a great tool to bypass these roadblocks. Plus, you know your students use the internet webs 23 hours a day anyway. -NICK YINGLING
Know the Score with LilyPond Free Music Notation Software
Learn Music Theory Solo or in an Ensemble at MusicTheory.net
Forgot Your Years of Piano Lessons? Cure Your Amnesia with Synthesia
The Library of Congress is an impressively gigantic organization. It occupies three large buildings on Capitol Hill. It contains more than 138 million items in its collection. It holds materials in 470 languages. And the Librarian of Congress has the very librarian-ish name James H. Billington. Impressive!
Given these facts, is it any surprise that the Library of Congress’ website is also impressively gigantic? It’s easy to be overwhelmed just by looking at their home page, which seems heavy with the knowledge accumulated over this nation’s 232-year history.
But wait! Don’t close your browser. The website is a treasure trove of valuable teaching resources for those willing to find them. The navigation bar includes a link to resources for teachers, including lesson plans and activities; an encyclopedia of sheet music, film, and audio; and a collection of American song and poetry, presented in primary source documents and recordings.
Resources for teachers also include the Library’s American Memory collection , which contains over 13 million historical images, audio recordings, letters, maps, and more – all digitized with students and teachers in mind. This collection in itself can be fairly daunting, so check out LEARN NC’s educator’s guide to the collection.
Take some time to explore the collections – you won’t regret it. And tell the good Mr. Billington we sent you. -EMILY JACK
Find Where the Government Keeps its Secrets
The New Children’s Laureate Stinks Like Cheese, and I Mean That as a Compliment
15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Don’t Know About
A couple weeks ago I decided to take up juggling. Right away I was amazed at the high quality tutorials I found online. If you have a random hobby you’d like to try, or you’re looking for a project during these summer months, check out this list of sites.
100 Unbelievably Useful Reference Sites You’ve Never Heard Of
Here’s a great big list of sites you can use to find everything from literature to library references to health care. You can also find fun stuff like the Dialectizer, which can translate your text to sound like Elmer Fudd. Who doesn’t need that?
10 Brain Training Tips To Teach and Learn
Keep your brain fit for optimum learning potential. The folks at SharpBrains have these ten tips to turn you and your students into efficient thinking and learning machines.
Video Toolbox: 150+ Online Video Tools and Resources
Need to edit a class video project? Want some advice on how to create a video podcast? Or do you need to convert video to a different file format? Mashable has all that and more in this great post. -BILL FERRIS
Photo credit: zen on flickr
Whether you’re creating a podcast or adding a voice over for a slide show, the list of free audio recorders begins and ends with Audacity. Audacity is an open source program that lets you record and edit audio quickly and easily. Just hook up a microphone to your computer, hit the record button, and start talking. When you’re done, you can edit out all the “uhs,” long pauses and bad jokes. Audacity displays a visual of the sound waves themselves, enabling you to make edits so precise you can shave the letter off a word. Save as a .WAV or .MP3 file and send your message to the masses (or, at least, your students).
In addition to podcasting, you could record classroom lectures for sick students. Your class might write and record a radio drama. The dance team could edit together a mix of songs for their next performance. If you teach an online class, your students might appreciate hearing their instructor’s voice in a setting that’s not a parent-teacher conference. The possible uses are endless, and like any good gadget, Audacity is fun enough that you’ll probably try to think of some.
We review a lot of software on Instructify, so believe me when I say you’ll have a hard time finding a free program as useful, versatile, and simple as Audacity. It’s been around forever, yet we haven’t officially reviewed it until now - I guess we must’ve taken it for granted. If your only exposure to audio recording and editing is Windows Sound Recorder, give Audacity a try. The upgrade might inspire you to start a podcast of your own. -BILL FERRIS
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I took three years of Spanish in high school plus two semesters in college, and I don’t remember much more than “jugar boliche.” But having a small vocabulary doesn’t mean you can’t communicate big ideas. Some guy named Mike from Runawaybox.com expresses his feelings for his sexy señorita with nothing but a guitar and rudimentary verb conjugations in his hit song, One Semester of Spanish Love Song. (Tip: if your school blocks YouTube, you can still watch the video with KeepVid.)
This song illustrates both the difficulties inherent in learning a new language, as well as what you can accomplish with a little creativity. If you teach an intro foreign language course, let your students watch this to get their minds working for the next time they have to do a skit or class presentation. Maybe it’ll inspire them to retain more than how to say “bowling” in español. -BILL FERRIS
One Semester of Spanish Love Song via Education Week
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Access Firewalled Videos with KeepVid
Welcome to your romantic and eerily educentric Valentine’s Day date. But will it end in love, tears, or possibly food poisoning from an undercooked Valentine’s dinner? These kind educators were gracious enough to share their Valentine’s Day experiences:
Dinner and a Movie: Benjamin Baxter at On the Tenure Track invites you to a live recreation of Saving Private Ryan in his own classroom.
Dining by Candlelight: Larry Ferlazzo at In Practice and Eric at Teachers Call say teachers should include more modern means of illuminating young minds.
Set the Mood with Music: Alvaro at SharpBrains says musical training stimulates the brain. Meanwhile, Creating Lifelong Learners tells you how to make the most of your iPod in class.
Send a Valentine’s Card: Ms. Cornelius says principals who care, trust and lead by example are sooo her type.
Like Romeo and Juliet, Minus the Suicide: The Bard Blog knows there’s no better way to woo someone than with poetry. Learn how to read Shakespearean verse like a true Romeo.
Even More Poetry: Eduwonkette has the same idea. Send your Valentine a funny poem.
On a Budget: American Consumer News has tips on how to get great books for cheap. Speaking of books, Money Blue Book talks about a few things you didn’t know your library could do.
On a Budget, Part II: Uncle Joe’s Leadership Blog tells parents and students how to get a free college education. And Thursday Bram at Wise Bread tells students where to shop when they have to start buying their own textbooks.
Propagating the Species: GrrlScientist at Living the Scientific Life has the skinny on a guide to teaching evolutionary theory.
Lovers’ Quarrel: Mr. Walker, The English Teacher, prompts a heated discussion on tracking.
Kiss and Make Up: Resolve conflicts with colleagues by employing these strategies, courtesy of Pat at Successful Teaching.
Share a Few Laughs: Scenes from The Battleground pokes fun at the idea of blaming the victim in education.
Spend Some Time with Your Kids: TutorFi’s Colleen Palat asks, “Does My Child Need a Tutor?“If so, not to worry. The kid can still excel in school.
Find a Special Someone where you Least Expect It: Joanne Jacobs dishes on Principal Shimon Waronker, a Hasidic Jew, ignoring potential culture shock to turn around a prominently black and Hispanic school.
Watch the Sunrise: Circle Time “Lead From The Start” discusses teaching with both sides of the brain to usher in a new tomorrow in student learning.
Remembering the Way We Were: The Tempered Radical’s Bill Ferriter asked beginning teachers to remind older colleagues they’re still learning how to do this job.
Stand by Your Man (or Woman): Nancy Flanagan, a Teacher in a Strange Land, sticks up for teachers in the face of claims that the professions isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Get Some Alone Time: Dana at Principled Discovery doesn’t like the idea of the federal government butting in and bossing around local schools.
Remembering it’s the Thought that Counts: Like many parents reared on New Math, NYC Educator struggles to help his daughter at math. But he’s a dear for trying.
Fending off Suitors: Ms_Teacher isn’t interested in ETS’ insultingly low wages.
Dumped: To MasterPapers.com and CustomEssays.co.uk - We both knew this was coming. Selling essays to students is just wrong, wrong, wrong. And your advice on essay writing is pure fluff. I don’t think we should see each other anymore.
Photo Credit: Candy hearts at cryptogram.com.
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