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Science NetLinks
Science NetLinks is part of Thinkfinity, a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 premier educational organizations. The Thinkfinity partners include the AAAS, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Economic Education, the National Geographic Society, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the Literacy Network.
The Thinkfinity partnership provides free, Internet-based content across academic disciplines. Science NetLinks' role is to provide a wealth of standards-aligned resources for K-12 science educators, including lesson plans, interactives and reviewed Internet resources. Science NetLinks is a dynamic site with new content being added on a regular basis, so check back often.
Celebrity Calamity
From the D2D Fund, Celebrity Calamity is a financial literacy game in which players become the financial manager for up and coming celebrities—Alice Albudget, Buster Buyin, and Missy Moolah—who spend beyond their means. Players must effectively use a bank account, debit card, and credit card to be successful. While focused on fun, the game's explicit learning objectives include:
- Paying more than the minimum credit card payment;
- Minimizing credit card finance charges;
- Avoiding all fees including bank overdraft, credit card late payment, and credit card over-limit; and
- Making good annual percentage rate (APR) choices.
Celebrity Calamity also includes a number of implicit learning objectives, such as raising awareness of spending behavior and the value of saving money.
DustEchoes
This fantastic site on Australian aboriginal culture is a collection of 12 dreamtime stories collected from the Wugullar (Beswick) Community in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia. They were originally recorded in audio, and then turned into animated movies by some of Australia's most talented animators.
A gorgeous adaptation of traditional stories, this should offer an immersive experience for any student of indigenous cultures. Includes the animations, study guides, a glossary, quizzes and mash-ups so students can make and watch their own one-minute version of the story. Requires Flash.
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Open Ed Blogs
- Online learning classes could benefit from state effort
- Hybrid foreign language courses introduced for summer - Amanda Munger, UW Oshkosh Today
- Distance online learning vs. in-class, on-campus instruction - David Medaris, Isthmus
- DIY U Book Available on Preorder
- EDUCAUSE Article on Openness in Higher Ed