Following is a list of World Wide Web sites that teachers and their students may find helpful.
Computers And Music.
Designed for students and teachers, the Music Technology Learning Center site offers information about technological advances in music. Created by Arnie Schachere, a composer and former executive at a music-software company, the site features updates on music software and hardware as well as profiles of schools using advanced technologies to teach music. Teachers can share their ideas on the site’s “Communications Center.” www.mtlc.net.
Creative Writing.
Writer’s Online, part of a British literacy and reading campaign, gives students the chance to interact with authors of children’s books. Each month, different writers discuss their work using samples posted on the site. The authors also develop writing exercises for the children and evaluate their work. www.yearofreading.org.uk/writers.
Dental Health.
The Wizard of the Magical Os, an online dental care magazine, is designed to teach proper oral hygiene to ages 5-10. Its games, puzzles, and interactive adventure stories promote dental health education. Children can also take a virtual tour of a dentist’s office. www.magicalos.com.
Fire Safety.
The National Fire Protection Association announces its Sparky the Fire Dog site, which aims to teach basic fire safety to ages 6-9. Children can read the history of Sparky, learn about Dalmatians, visit a fire truck gallery, and produce an online firework display. www.sparky.org.
Health Education.
Joan Fleitas, a registered nurse with a degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, has created Band-Aides and Blackboards, a site designed to sensitize children and adults to what it is like to grow up with a serious illness or handicap. Children with medical problems share their essays, art, and photographs. funrsc.fairfield.edu/~jfleitas/contents.html.
Job Service.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development announces HireEd.net, a job bank for educators. Schools, districts, education organizations, and other employers post available positions and search the résumé database; job seekers post résumés and search job openings. Educators and employers can set up automatic searches that will forward information to them via e-mail. The search service is free for ASCD members; nonmembers pay a fee beginning March 10. www.HireEd.net.
Materials.
Teachers can download free outline maps, lesson plans, and classroom activities in Rand McNally Educational Publishing’s new site k12online. The site also features links to geography-related sites. www.k12online.com.
Nature.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute sponsors Wild-Eyed Alaska, a site featuring videos of Alaskan wildlife such as kittiwakes, puffins, and bald eagles. The videos are from cameras placed on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay by the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska. The site also includes photographs and information about the featured wildlife. www. hhmi.org/alaska.
Resource.
Verdi Huffman, a technology specialist for the Bartow County school district in Georgia, has created Web World for Educators, a site of resources for integrating technology into the classroom. It features curriculum resources, technical assistance, online tutorials, and information about grants and funding. www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Platform/9254.
Seminar.
Addison Wesley Longman and Penguin Putnam Inc. announce Penguin Online Auditorium, an online forum where students and teachers can talk with authors such as Arthur Miller, Julia Alvarez, Mary Karr, and Dorothy Allison. The forums are open to instructors who adopt a Longman English text and use it with one or more of the participating authors’ works. The site posts additional qualifying information. longman.awl.com/auditorium.
