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Hey teachers, welcome back! Here's some free stuff!
Web site resources can help make lessons more engaging
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With state cuts to education, teachers are looking for low-cost ways to enhance their lesson plans.

Luckily, there are plenty of Web sites out there offering free ideas of how to integrate the Web and engage 21st century students.

That's right, free, said Lakeview Academy Technology Director Connie White.

Although the price is nice, easy-to-use online applications can become invaluable canvases for teachers' lessons as well as instructional vehicles that keep a generation of "digital natives" from yawning in class, White said.

"We have to find a way to reach our kids. ... By getting them involved, you will have kids that, with hands-on, project-based learning, who will really shine that never did before. It's real," she said.

"By employing multimedia and a variety of resources and tools, we help our children to get excited about learning. That's the main point of all this," White said. "The technology is just a tool. It's not the end all. We want it to be seamless."

Feel like you have two left feet when it comes to technology? Here's your chance to learn about some new tools at your own pace.

"You can't just tune it out," White said of teachers nervous about dipping their toes into the technology realm.

She said teachers must constantly learn about new technology to help their students become successful in the 21st century marketplace.

Take a look below at some resources White cites as useful tools for teachers.

Teach Web 2.0

A great list of Web 2.0 tools that can be used for education. Each tool has an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and many have examples and suggestions for classroom use.

Wiki

A Web site that allows users to edit and collaborate.

Animoto

A professional looking slide show program. Also, try Photostory, which will bring photos to life with an easy to use slide show program.

Ediscio

An online flashcard box that provides a "Swiss-army-knife-like variety of features" great for collaboration. Or, try Quizlet. Forget index cards; this online flashcard tool makes learning more fun.

EduBlogs

Teachers and students can write, journal and reflect.

Voicethread 

Users can combine images, text and video to create a multimedia slide show.

Glogster

An online poster editor that uses sounds, video, backgrounds and much more to create engaging, multimedia posters.

Wordle

Creates word clouds from text that is entered.

BrainPop

An educational site for children with interactive activities to enhance understanding of Science, Health, Technology, Math, Social Studies and English.

Online Stopwatch

Great time management tool.

CreateA Graph

Allows teachers/students to visually communicate information.

10 x 10 

A great current events site.

Our Timelines

Create fact-filled timelines to give perspective to dates and discover how they fit into history.