February 3rd, 2010
You don't have to leave your home to travel around the world–or at least to learn about it–with the help of these compelling documentaries. Just sit back and watch as people and stories from all reaches of the globe are brought right to your living room through these movies. Some are free and some you'll have to get at your college library, but they'll all leave you in awe of the people, places and creatures who call this world their home.
North America
Check out these films to learn more about the lives and culture of those living in the US, Canada and Mexico.
- Super Size Me: This Morgan Spurlock documentary exposes the real dangers lurking behind fast food as he attempts to eat nothing but McDonalds for one month.
- When the Levees Broke: Watch this HBO documentary to learn more about the true impact of Hurricane Katrina.
- Harlan County, U.S.A.: This 1976 Oscar-winning film will let you see the effects of a dramatic and sometimes violent miner's strike.
- America the Beautiful: In this film, the American obsession with looking younger, sexier and better is examined in detail.
- Maxed Out: This documentary takes a hard look at the use and overuse of credit cards in American culture.
- No Te Rajes!!: Translated into English as "Don't Give Up on Me!," this short documentary shows a period of civil disobedience in Mexico City during 2006.
- Unrepentant: Take a different look at Canada with this film that exposes the plan to eliminate native people and one clergyman's attempts to expose the crimes.
- National Parks: America's Best Idea: This Ken Burns series from PBS will let you learn about the history and beauty of American parks.
- Flamenco at 5:15: You might not think about Canada as the heart of flamenco, but this Oscar-winning film documents the impact of two Spanish dance teachers on the National Ballet School of Canada.
- King Corn: Here you'll find a film that exposes the increasing impact corn production has had on American eating and the economy.
- Street Fight: Nominated and winner of numerous awards, this film documents the no-holds-barred battle for the mayor of Newark, NJ.
- Dear Zachary: Keep your tissues handy when you watch this heartbreaking film, made for the son of a man murdered by an obsessed ex-lover.
Europe
These films will help you learn more about Europe past and present.
- The Gleaners and I: This film follows the age-old practice of gleaning in modern France.
- Hitler's Children: Check out this documentary series to learn about the real-life individuals who joined Hitler's Jungvolk movement.
- A Nod and a Wink: This older documentary takes a look at a law in Britain called the Conspiracy Act and the unjust powers it gives to the government.
- Auschwitz: The Nazi Final Solution: Watch this documentary series to get a complete and accurate look at the death camp of Auschwitz and others around Europe.
- 25 Million Pounds: Here you'll get to see into the mind and life of Nick Leeson, a man who scammed numerous people out of millions.
- Binwars: With garbage collection reduced to every other week, this film examines the battle between the people and the government over garbage.
- Bulgaria's Abandoned Children: This film takes an often sad look at the children abandoned in a nation with more institutionalized children with disabilities than anywhere in Europe.
- End of Nations: Learn more about the much contested Lisbon treaty in this documentary.
- An Islamic History of Europe: Through this documentary you'll get a chance to see the many ways Islamic culture shaped Europe.
- Mind the Gap: In this movie you'll take a more in-depth look at the London bombings following 9/11.
- Steal This Film: This free film will help you gain a better understanding of copyright issues and piracy.
Africa
Even if you don't know much about Africa you can learn loads through these compelling documentaries.
- The White Diamond: Werner Herzog documents a beautiful teardrop-shaped flying ship as it explores the forests of Guyana in this film.
- God Grew Tired of Us: This film will tug at your heart with the stories of the lost boys of Sudan.
- Invisible Children: Through this film the horrors of the ongoing Ugandan war will become clear, and the role of children in this war will become hauntingly clear.
- Darfur Now: Watch this film to learn more about the tragedy of the Darfur region and ways that you may be able to help.
- War Dance: Winner of numerous awards, this film follows three children in an Ugandan refugee camp and their participation in a large music competition.
- A Walk to Beautiful: This compelling film follows five Ethiopian women suffering from obstetric fistula.
- Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation: Through this film you'll learn about South African leader Nelson Mandela's journey from young man to prisoner to world leader.
- Ghosts of Rwanda: This movie will shed light on the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
- The Diamond Empire: Frontline examines the myths surrounding diamonds in this film.
- The Origins of AIDS: Find out more about where the AIDS virus came from and if it really transferred from monkeys to humans.
- Cry Freetown: This film exposes the many horrors of Sierra Leone's brutal civil war.
Asia
Explore Asia from India to Japan through these movies.
- Born Into Brothels: This film takes a harrowing look at the children of prostitutes struggling to escape from poverty in India's slums.
- Buddha Wild: In this film you'll hear Thai and Sri Lankan monks living far from home talk about their faith and culture.
- Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion: Made over a period of ten years, this film takes a look at the political and social standing of Tibet today.
- The Cu Chi Tunnels: Learn more about these tunnels and the people who lived in them during the Vietnam War here.
- Wild China: This six-part series will give you a stunning look at the wildlife and land of China.
- Up the Yangtze: Rent this film to see the way one family was impacted by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.
- Blindsight: Follow a group of blind children as they climb through the Himalayas to discover the limits of their own strength and courage.
- Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire: Japan was once a country closed off from much of the outside world, and through this documentary you'll learn about that hidden past.
- The Day My God Died: This heartbreaking film will tell the stories of six young girls whose lives have been impacted by the child sex trade.
- Amongst White Clouds: Edward A. Burger journeys into the hidden lives of China's forgotten Zen Buddhist hermit tradition through this film.
- Japanorama: This documentary series explores many facets of the pop culture of Japan.
- Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia: Many still aren't aware of the secret bombings of this Asian nation carried out by Nixon and Kissinger, but this film will bring it to light.
Middle East
These documentaries will help you learn more about the people and culture of the Middle East.
- No End in Sight: Made in 2007, this film provides a compelling look at the fall of Iraq due to US decisions and sanctions.
- Waltz With Bashir: This animated documentary shows the often painful and repressed memories one soldier has of the 1982 Lebanese War.
- Iraq in Fragments: Everyday people share their thoughts about living in an Iraq shaken by war, religious tensions and violence in this documentary.
- Gaza Strip: In this film you'll see life in the Gaza Strip, with a focus on one young man with limited education and limited opportunities.
- Inside Mecca: Learn more about the center of religious worship for millions of Muslims around the world in this film.
- Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites: This PBS documentary will help you learn more about the history of Judaism.
- The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs: This series takes an in-depth look at this extended conflict in the Middle East.
- The Accused: While incredibly controversial, this documentary presents in visually gripping detail the massacre of Palestinians in 1982.
- The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm: Watch never-before-seen interviews in this investigation into the realities of the Gulf War.
- Iran Is Not the Problem: This film takes a different stance on Iran, presenting the conflict between the country and the US from another perspective.
- Muhammad Legacy of a Prophet: This film is a great opportunity to learn more about the man behind one of the world's most practiced religions.
South America
Check out these movies to gain some insights into South American culture and politics.
- The Revolution Will Not be Televised: This film addresses the April 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt which briefly removed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez from power.
- Plan Columbia: Learn more about the conspiracies surrounding US involvement in Columbian drug trade and politics.
- Cracking the Maya Code: Watch this film to learn how the Mayan language was deciphered and centuries old writings brought to light.
- The Panama Deception: This film presents the untold story of the 1989 US invasion of Panama, winning an Academy Award in the process.
- Keep the River on Your Right: Through this film you'll get access to the experiences of painter Tobias Schneebaum, who spent a great deal of time with the peoples of Peru and New Guinea.
- Lost King of the Maya: Trace the rise and fall of the Mayan city of Copan in this intriguing documentary feature.
- The Take: In the wake of an Argentinean economic collapse, this film follows a group of auto workers who want nothing more than to restart the factories.
- Hummingbird: Nominated for numerous awards, this film tells the story of two groups in Brazil who work to get young kids off the street and out of trouble.
- Nicaragua: A Nation's Right to Survive: This 1983 film investigates some of the corruption found in South America, especially that of the US-backed dictatorship in this small country.
- No Volverán – The Venezuelan Revolution Now: If you don't know much about the Venezuelan Revolution, this film offers a chance to learn.
- Salvador Allende: This film shows the life and times of deposed and killed Chilean President Salvador Allende, taken out of power because of his socialist beliefs by a US-backed coup.
- Buena Vista Social Club: Take a look back at the people who made this Cuban dance and music club home to an invaluable amount of Cuban culture during the 40s and 50s in this award-winning film.
South Pacific
Go down under with these documentaries on Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
- Welcome to Australia: This film will show you the brutal historical treatment of the aboriginal peoples of Australia and the inequalities that continue.
- Fortress Australia: Learn about a plan to fortify Australia using atomic weapons in this interesting film.
- Cane Toads: An Unnatural History: The introduction of these toads has ruined the Australian ecosystem and left the country with an overabundance of them, as this film shows.
- Sydney: Story of a City: Check out this film to explore the city of Sydney through an artistic lens.
- Billabong Odyssey: Watch as this group of surfers attempts to surf on some of the biggest and baddest waves in the world.
- South Pacific: Strange Islands: This film will let you see the amazing wildlife that calls New Zealand home.
- Solo: This movie tells that tale of Andrew McAuley's attempt to become the first person to kayak 1,600 kilometers from Australia to New Zealand.
- Coral Reef Adventure: See some of the most beautiful and endangered coral reefs in the world, especially those in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, in this film.
- When We Were Pirates: In this film you'll get to see a group of men as they attempt to build a ship and sail to Australia.
- The Coconut Revolution: Here you can watch as a group of rebels in Papua New Guinea fights for their independence from colonial powers.
- Killer Whale and Crocodile: This film unites a traditional artist from Canada with one from Papua New Guinea.
February 2nd, 2010
Over the past few decades, China has emerged as a world power both in the political and economic spheres. College students like yourself need to be prepared to enter the job market with the skills and knowledge needed to understand and work with this growing nation. These lectures will help you to gain an understanding of China’s past, the events of the past few years, and what can be expected from it in the coming years.
History
From the Cultural Revolution to the Imperial Palace, these lectures examine the rich history of China.
- Mao’s Use of Propaganda: Learn about the use of propaganda during the Cultural Revolution to control the population in this lecture.
- Marco Polo: Silk Road to China: In this lecture, historian Larry Bergreen traces Marco Polo’s expedition into China.
- Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present: This lecture blends history, archeology, language and culture to tell the story of China.
- How the War of Resistance to Japan Made and Unmade China: Rana Mitter, professor of Chinese Studies at Oxford University, lays out the events of the Sino-Japanese War in this lecture.
- A History of Sport in China: Listen to this lecture to hear about how athletics, including organized sports, developed in China.
- Sino-Japanese Exchanges in the Eighteenth Century: This lecture will explain some of the intricacies of trade between the Japanese and Chinese in the 1700s.
- Great Wall of China History: Check out this video to explore the history of this world-renowned monument.
- CCTV Chinese History: This series will help you get an incredible foundation of knowledge in Chinese history.
- The Political Machine of Wang Shouxin: Wang Shouxin was a woman who gained administrative control of the Bin County Coal State Enterprise during the Cultural Revolution and you can hear her story here.
Economics
Learn more about China’s role in the world economy now and in the future through these lectures.
- China’s Business Outlook: Here you’ll see a panel of experts talk about China’s role in the global economy and the impact the economic crisis will have on it.
- Jonathan Chu: Tea and the Origins of the China Trade: Learn about the origins of profitable China Trade in this lecture from historian Jonathan Chu.
- The US and China: Economic Allies or Adversaries?: In this lecture, author Zachary Karabell discusses the material in his book called Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World’s Prosperity Depends On It.
- Adam Smith and Beijing: Years before it ever came to be, Adam Smith predicted the economic rise of China, and you can learn more about this, and his other theories, in this lecture.
- Slave Labor in China: Find out more about how slave labor may still be a reality in some parts of China from this lecture.
- Made in China: A Changing China: This lecture addresses the growing capitalism and manufacturing power of China.
- China’s Economy in the Global Context: Take a look at China from a global perspective in this economic lecture.
- Economic Impact of Population Growth: Learn what impact things like fertility drops have on the economy in this engaging series of lectures from Yale.
- Development and Entrepreneurship in China and India: This collection of lectures from Stanford will help you learn and compare these two rising Asian economic powers.
- Enter the Dragon: Understanding the History and Future of Chinese Development: Dr. Christopher Lingle explains of the amazing growth of China and the myriad of problems it has yet to overcome.
- Understanding China’s Economy: Don’t quite have a grasp on China’s economic place in the world? This lecture may be able to clear things up.
- The Road to China: Fresh Insights to the World’s Fastest Growing Economy: Learn more about the Chinese economy through this lecture from the University of Pennsylvania.
- China and the West: Divergence and Convergence: This lecture will examine the impact of China’s strong economy on the rest of the world.
Culture
Gain a more thorough understanding of some of the cultural aspects of China through these lectures on literature, art, food and more.
- Postcards from China: James Fallows has been living in China for years and shares his experiences and thoughts on life there in this lecture.
- Conservation of China’s Cultural and Historical Heritage: A panel of experts discusses the best way to preserve China’s cultural landmarks in this lecture.
- Cultural Aspects of Doing Business in China: If you plan on working in the business world, this lecture is a must for learning the basics of cultural interaction.
- Snow Falling in Spring: Writer Moying Li tells the compelling story of her struggle to maintain her identity and learn during the Cultural Revolution in China.
- Confucius and Confucianism: Learn more about this important philosophy that impacts Chinese society to this day.
- The Spirit Force in Traditional Chinese Medicine: In this lecture, Dr. Li Hua explains some of the basic principles of Chinese medicine.
- Culture of Food in Rural China: See what role food plays in some of the most rural areas of China in this lecture.
- Chinese Cultural Identity and the Beijing Games: Even if you didn’t watch the 2008 Olympic games, you can learn about their impact through this lecture.
- Tea and Chinese Cultural Aesthetics: This lecture will teach you about the important role tea plays in Chinese society.
Politics
Chinese politics are complicated, but you can help start unraveling their complexities through these informative lectures.
- Human Rights in China After the Olympics: China faced a lot of international criticism about human rights during the Olympic Games, but this lecture addresses whether or not anything actually changed for the better.
- Tibet: Lens on Human Rights in China: Learn more about Tibet and the shortcomings and strengths of international human rights laws in this lecture from Lobsang Sanjay.
- Assessing the Prospects for Political Reform in China: Is political reform even a possibility in China? This lecture addresses the issues head on.
- China and Iran: Ancient Partners in a Post-imperial World: This lecture will let you gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between these two powerful but controversial nations.
- Internet Censorship and the Great Firewall of China: Did you know that much of the web is censored in China? This lecture discusses that censorship and the relationship with new technology.
- The Idea of Communism: Tariq Ali explores the difference between the ideal notion of communism and the type of government that passes as such in modern day China.
- China: Future of a Global Environment: Learn why China has an incredibly important role to play in worldwide economic policy and conservation from this lecture.
- The Chinese Peasant in Current Politics and Policy: This lecture will help you understand what role the common man has to play in Chinese government and national interest.
- Politics of Piracy in China and Russia: With everything from DVDs to cars being pirated in these nations, copyright infringement has become a major and somewhat uncontrollable issue, as this lecture discusses.
- China: Is Political Reform Possible?: This lecture from Princeton asks whether or not the politics of China will see a change anytime soon.
Changing China
Get a perspective on where China is headed in the future and how it has already changed from the past in these lectures.
- Lessons from Japanese and Chinese Education: Get some ideas on why these countries excel in the math and sciences and what we can do to learn from them in this lecture.
- The Last Days of Old Beijing: Learn how Beijing has changed since its early days and where it’s headed in the future from this lecture.
- China’s Newly Rich: Take a listen to this lecture on the rising upper and middle classes in China.
- The "Me" Generation of China: Here you can gain an understanding of some of the social and cultural phenomena affecting the youth of China today.
- China and India: Future of Past Traditions: This lecture takes a look at a number of Chinese and Indian artists and examines their work in the context of the modern world and traditional practices.
- Population in Modern China: Learn about some of the major population issues in China and how they are having a big impact on the country today.
- Gaming in China: China is a huge market for gaming, and this lecture discusses how EA is developing games for local markets.
- Global Space Agenda: China: This lecture will explain some of China’s present and future plans for space exploration.
- The Great Transformation: Take a look at this lecture to see how China has transformed itself from the Maoist days to the consumer superpower it is today.
January 31st, 2010
Between work at school, work you take home, and juggling family responsibilities, it may seem impossible to stay current on what is happening in the education field. Luckily, you can check out a few of these videos any time you have a few minutes in between all that you do so that you can learn about everything, from how learning can be nurtured to the role of community in education to the future of education–and a few other topics as well. Sit back and take a look at these videos that every educator should watch.
On Learning and Creativity
Take a look at these videos that all touch on the act of learning, how to enhance it, and how to nurture creativity.
- Sugata Mitra shows how kids teach themselves. Learn about Mitra’s project called "Hole in the Wall" that shows how children will learn on their own without any guidance or formal teaching. Mitra also speaks about the implications of his findings on learning and education.
- Woody Norris invents amazing things. Norris shares two of his inventions that can change the way we think about sound, then goes on to discuss his perspective on invention and education, which includes hands-on learning.
- Stuart Brown says play is more than fun. Using examples from the natural world, Brown shows how play is an integral part of life and how it can change behaviors. He also describes how play contributes to happy and healthy people.
- Tim Brown on creativity and play. Brown discusses the relationship between creative thinking and play and how this relationship can be nurtured, emphasizing his point with examples anyone can try.
- Jonathan Drori on what we think we know. Educators who would like to discover better ways to help students learn will want to watch this lecture by an expert on culture and educational media. Drori examines how ideas take root and how difficult it is to lose ideas once they are there–even if they are incorrect.
- Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. Robinson is a creativity expert and shares his knowledge about nurturing creativity in the educational setting. This humorous lecture examines how the current educational system works to eliminate the natural curiosity children are born with.
- Ben Dunlap talks about a passionate life. Dunlap’s lecture focuses on passionate living and passionate learning as he discovered through those he has known in life.
- Michelle Obama’s plea for education. The first lady speaks to a girl’s school in the UK about the importance of strength, dignity, and compassion and applying these qualities to education. She also discusses empowerment that is gained through education.
- Bill Gates’ talk on mosquitoes, malaria and education. Bill Gates starts out this lecture discussing his project to eliminate malaria, then moves on to his ideas on how to make a teacher great.
Administration, Reform, and the Future of Education
Principals supporting teachers, changes in the classroom that can enhance learning, and mentoring new principals are just a few of the topics here.
- Principal Mentoring: The Push for New School Leaders. Facing a crisis with the potential loss of 40% of current principals over a projected 10-year period, a growing movement across the country began mentoring educators to become effective principals.
- Teacher Support: Sherman Oaks Community Charter School. The principal at this school supports teachers with access to continuing education, more planning time, and other important activities without all the stress typically involved when trying to juggle responsibilities.
- Bill Joy muses on what’s next. Looking to the future, this co-founder of Sun Microsystems examines possibilities society can take to ensure positive growth in the areas of health, education, and technology.
- RSA Lectures – Howard Gardner – Future Minds. Gardner lectures on nurturing mental capacities for a global world. Then his lecture is followed up by a group of teachers talking about implementing his ideas in their classrooms.
- RSA Lectures – Stephen Heppell – Learning 2016. Find out what Heppell think about the future of learning and what it may look like in 2016 in this 2006 lecture given to teachers in the UK.
- Fixing problems in K-12 education. Watch this video to see one way that New Schools is working to eliminate the financial inequality in schools between low- and high-income communities.
- Patrick Awuah on educating leaders. After leaving Microsoft, Awuah returned to his home in Ghana and helped establish a liberal arts college. He shares his experience in Africa and provides his thoughts on the importance of a liberal arts education to create true leaders.
- Neuroscience, Schools and the Future. Four scientists discuss how the typical school day can be changed for the better to enhance learning in students.
Community and Education
Community is a vital part of successful education. These videos focus on several aspects of community’s contribution to education.
- Parents as part of the K-12 learning community. Learn about how GreatSchools.net is working to educate and empower parents to become a more informed part of their child’s educational experience.
- Dave Eggers’ wish: Once Upon a School. Eggers talks about his tutoring center, 826 Valencia, and how it has helped so many children and inspired adults to become involved in education.
- Ann Cooper talks school lunches. Ann Cooper is passionate about serving local, sustainable, and organic food to students and shares her role doing just that as the head of nutrition at Berkeley schools. She discusses why the community should care about how we are feeding the children, how to change children’s relationship with food in a positive way, and other topics such as big business’ role, childhood obesity, and sustainability.
- Teacher Education in a Multicultural Society – Dr. Etta Hollins. Dr. Hollins discusses preparing teachers for working more effectively in a multicultural society in a lecture from the Rossier School of Education’s TEMS Program.
- Neil Turok makes his TED Prize wish. This physicist shares his wish to provide opportunities for the future of Africa through nurturing the creativity found in the young people there. Turok uses his math and science background to understand why and how Africa has been left behind, and how that can be rectified.
- Joseph Lekuton tells a parable for Kenya. This member of parliament in Kenya discusses the importance of education to children in Africa. He shares his vision for making his dream become a reality.
Specific Subjects
These videos focus on more specific issues that deal with teaching math as a social activity, work others have done in the field of science education, teaching storytelling, and much more.
- Teach Area and Perimeter Using Google Earth. A fourth grade teachers takes viewers through an engaging math lesson using Google Earth as a tool.
- Cooperative Arithmetic: How to Teach Math as a Social Activity. This master teacher shares how you can teach math as a social and emotional lesson.
- The Abacus-How to Use This Ancient Wonder. If you would like to offer your students a math and culture lesson together, watch this video to learn how to use both the Japanese and Chinese abacus for teaching math techniques in the today’s classroom.
- Teaching Storytelling in the Classroom. Educators discuss the storytelling experience as children tell stories themselves in this video that shows the value of teaching storytelling.
- for teachers: Videos (Teaching Evolution Case Studies). PBS provides four videos filmed in actual classrooms that demonstrate how these educators teach evolution.
- Paul Sereno digs up dinosaurs. This paleontologist tells about a teaching project designed to recruit students that might typically have poor performance in science and technology and how it helps them move on to college.
- Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together. Jemison discusses the importance of teaching arts and sciences together in an effort to provide an education that balances intuition and logic. Jemison believes that educating students in this manner creates strong thinkers.
- David Hoffman shares his Sputnik mania. Take a look at this filmmaker’s documentary, Sputnik Mania, where Hoffman describes how the space and arms race lead to an inspirational movement in math and science education.
Special Education
From peer-to-peer learning to assistive technology, watch these videos to learn about topics relevant to special education.
- Edutopia AT Video. Watch this video to discover what type of assistive technology is available for students with special needs and see how this technology can transform the learning experience for these students.
- School Matters–Coping with Bereavement. When catastrophe strikes, teachers must frequently help students deal with the grieving process. Learn how schools can make a difference in helping students deal with bereavement.
- Peer-to-Peer Learning: Kids Helping Kids with Autism. Take a look at how typically-developing children interact with children with autism in this program that helps teach social skills to children on the spectrum.
- Whole Schooling Video Project. This site offers video clips on a wide range of special education topics, including inclusion, assistive technology, and teaching community.
- Temple Grandin – Focus on Autism and Asperger’s. Temple Grandin, famous for giving her first-hand insight on the way the autistic brain works, talks about autism spectrum disorders in the classroom in this video.
Arts and Physical Education
The arts and physical education are an integral part of a child’s education, but often overlooked when it comes to funding. See what these videos have to say about the role these subjects play in education.
- Funding for arts and sports. Kim Smith discusses the need for funding all children in arts, sports, and other important extracurricular activities in schools.
- Art Works: Integrating Creativity in the Curriculum. This art academy has discovered how to nurture students’ passion for the arts while also teaching the basics.
- A Conversation with Martin Scorsese: The Importance of Visual Literacy. Martin Scorsese discusses the importance of teaching and learning visual literacy so that students do not blindly follow what is presented to them.
- Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace. New media is a hot topic, and Pixar University’s Randy Nelson discusses what he believes schools must do to prepare students for careers in this field.
- Smart Moves: The New PE. This video provides great activities that are designed to strengthen both the body and the mind.
- Student Body: Classroom Exercises Make Learning Lively. Often getting students moving can boost their ability to focus. Find out about four techniques that you can use in the classroom to get your students focused and energized.
- Yoga Across the Curriculum. This teacher introduced yoga into the classroom with amazing results beyond physical fitness.
- Jose Abreu on kids transformed by music. Abreu founded a Venezuelan youth orchestra, El Sistema, and shares his goal of spreading music throughout Venezuela and the world as a tool for social change and empowerment.
- Gustavo Dudamel leads El Sistema’s top youth orchestra. Now watch the students that are in the top youth orchestra in El Sistema perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement and Arturo Marquez’s Danzon No. 2.
- Bill Strickland makes change with a slide show. Strickland grew up in a tough neighborhood, but found his successful future through ceramics. He has since watched the power of fine arts inspire at-risk children and advocates the arts as an important part of education.
Technology
Learn about technological advances that will likely play a role in the future of education when you watch these videos.
- Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child. The founder of the MIT Media Lab discusses his program called "One Laptop Per Child, " which aspires to build $100 pedal-powered laptops and distribute them to children in developing countries around the world in an effort to promote education.
- David Merrill demos Siftables. Siftables are tiny computers that interact in amazing ways and offer interesting new approaches to teaching art, math, science, language arts, and more.
- Richard Baraniuk on open-source learning. Baraniuk is the founder of Connexions, an open-source education system, and discusses the benefits of open source for educators.
- Alan Kay shares a powerful idea about ideas. Kay talks about techniques for educating children by relying on computers to illustrate experiences and complex ideas.
January 24th, 2010
If you’re a consummate procrastinator–despite your best efforts to be otherwise–then you’ve undoubtedly waited until the last minute to start that research paper or read that book more than once. Here you’ll find a collection of resources that can help you cram for tests, understand the main ideas of a work of literature, do your math homework and a whole lot more so your procrastination won’t send your college career down the tubes.
Study Guides
These study guides can help you understand literary metaphors, summarize readings and give you the tools necessary to muddle through the densest of texts.
- SparkNotes: Whether you’re reading Shakespeare or something a little more modern, you’ll find helpful study guides and notes on this site.
- PinkMonkey: Here you’ll find over 460 study guides you can use for free to better understand just about any work of classic literature.
- BookRags: This site is home to study guides and summaries aplenty, as well as information for research topics.
- Bibliomania: Search through study guides on this site by title or author.
- Study Guides and Strategies: Try out this site for some ideas on how to study better as well as some more specifically designed study guides for reading and math.
- CollegeCram: This site is a great place to find social learning resources from study guides to shared notes.
- Bartleby.com: Lose your book? On this site you’ll find a collection of many works of literature as well as helpful study resources as well.
- Free Book Notes: This site is essentially a free online version of CliffsNotes.
- Shmoop: There are loads of literature guides available on this site as well as other teaching materials you can use for learning.
- LitSum: If you didn’t bother to do your reading, you can find basic summaries of well-known books on this site.
- GradeSaver: On this site you’ll find a great number of study guides as well as example essays and other learning tools.
Study Tools
Use these study tools to quiz yourself, solve math problems and cram at the last minute.
- QuickMath: Use this site to get answers to math problems quickly and easily over the Internet.
- Cramster.com: Join study groups, get answers to your questions and find help with textbooks on this study site.
- TutorLinker: If you are struggling to work on your own, use this site to find a tutor to help.
- FlashcardExchange: Create, study, print and share flashcards of all kinds on this site.
- PocketMod: Make your class notes small so you can take them with you and study them anywhere you go.
- StudyStack: On this site you can use flashcards made by others or create your own to use.
- Quizlet: This tool can help you study more effectively for just about any subject out there.
- Flashcard Machine: Use this tool to build helpful flashcards so you can study better.
- StudyRails: Try out a free trials of this tool designed to help keep you organized, help you study and eliminate those pesky distractions available when you do work online.
- Mathway: Use this tool to get easy answers to your math homework or to double check your work.
Sharing Notes
On these sites you’ll be able to share your notes and get notes from others from classes you might have missed.
- Notely: On Notely you can store and share your notes as well as keep track of your assignments and schedule.
- MyNoteit: Use this tool to take, store and share your notes in an online format.
- NoteCentric: Get notes from others and share your own on this site.
- Stu.dicio.us: This site acts as a social note-taking forum so you don’t have to work alone.
- NoteMesh: Fill in any gaps there may be in your notes with help from this site and your classmates.
- ShareNotes: With this site you can look through class notes for free and also make a profit selling your own notes.
- GradeGuru: Share and search for notes from your courses on this site.
- StudyBlue: This tool makes it simple to keep track of your notes and connect with others who have taken or are taking your courses.
- ShareCourseware.org: Find free lecture notes on this site.
- FruitNotes: This site acts as an online notebook, making it simple to share work with friends, make voice recordings and even add photos.
- Helipad: Sick of searching through your notes for important facts? This tool makes it easy to store and search through all your notes.
Reference
If you need to look up any kind of basic information from word translations to a more intelligent sounding word, these tools will help.
- Dictionary.com: Look up just about any word you could need the definition for on this site.
- Wikipedia: While it won’t hold up as a citation on a research paper, it can give you a great starting point for your real research.
- RhymeZone: Writing a poem or a song? This site will help you come up with great rhymes when you’re at a loss.
- ArtLex: Look up art terms you don’t understand in this free online dictionary.
- Webopedia: Don’t understand all those techie terms? This dictionary is here to help.
- Dictionary of Algorithms: On this site you’ll find a collection of algorithms and other data structures.
- Biographical Dictionary: Check out this resource for information on the lives of tens of thousands of people.
- Roget’s Thesaurus: Make your writing sound fancier by finding synonyms in this free thesaurus.
- BabelFish: Translate basic phrases and webpages from another language into your own with this tool.
- WordReference: Look up words in English, Spanish, French, Italian and more on this site.
- Visual Dictionary: If you’re more of a visually oriented person, this dictionary can help you understand a myriad of concepts.
Research
Augment and speed up your research with these helpful tools.
- Ottobib: Simply enter in the reference information into this tool and you’ll get an instantly rendered citation in MLA, APA, and Chicago style.
- Zotero: This Firefox extension can help you organize and track your research from beginning to end.
- WizFolio: Manage your references and cite them when you’re done with this tool.
- EasyBib: Use this tool to ensure that you’re citing your sources correctly when you turn in your paper.
- Bibme: Add your reference material to this site and it will generate a bibliography for you.
- CiteULike: This tool allows you to search for and manage a wealth of scholarly resources.
- Delicious: Bookmark sites that look promising for research on this site.
- Backpack: While designed with business in mind, this tool can be an excellent way to manage your research projects as well.
- WorldCat: Find just about any book you could need using this site that searches the world’s libraries, letting you know where you can find it nearest to you.
- Google Scholar: Use this search engine to scan through loads of helpful scholarly articles.
- High Beam Research: Search through thousands of reputable sources for research materials using this site.
- Diana Hacker: This site will help you to double check your citations to make sure they’re done correctly.
- GoogleBooks: You can often find some extremely useful books you can look through for free on this site.
Writing
Improve your writing and get a little help in the process from these tools.
- Viper Plagiarism Checker: Ensure that your work is free from any plagiarism by using this tool. With its help, you can make sure you’ve cited any resources.
- Etherpad: Those who have to rush to turn in a group project can use this tool to work together at once online.
- GoogleDocs: Take your writing with you whether you are at home or at the library with this online word processor.
- Eduify: This site knows that writing isn’t always easy and offers tutorials, writing samples, help with citations and even stores your writing online.
- Elements of Style: Check through this classic book to make sure you’re sticking to correct grammar and style.
- Ultimate Style: Here is a more updated version of the Elements of Style you can look to for help.
- Technical Writing: Those who work with more technical subjects should consult this guide.
- WordCounter: This tool will tell you what words you’ve used most frequently in your text so you can make sure you’re not repeating the same things over and over.
- Verbix: Use this tool to conjugate any English verb correctly.
- Advanced Text Analyzer: Create a profile on this site and you’ll be able to use the text tools to analyze your work, determining a wealth of information that can help you improve your writing.
- yWriter: Try out this word processor that’s designed just for writing stories and novels.
- Scholar’s Aid Lite: The free version of this tool will give you a place to write your paper, organize your notes, cite sources and more.
Presentation
Use these tools to put together a last minute presentation.
- Sliderocket: This online tool uses drag and drop functionality to make it simple to create great presentations.
- Slideshare: Whether you’re working together or by yourself this tool will make creating presentations a cinch.
- ZohoShow: Use this open source tool to build presentations, if you don’t have another program to do so.
- Prezi: Create great presentations on the web using this impressive tool.
- Jing: Use the free version of this tool to easy snap pictures of your screen and create great presentations.
- 280Slides: Try out this presentation tool to make sure you’re prepared for your class.
Productivity
Remind yourself of your important tasks with these tools.
- Ta-Da Lists: Create an easy-to-use to-do list using this free tool, a big help in keeping your work on track.
- Toodledoo: Organize your tasks and improve your productivity using this tool.
- 30 Boxes: This online calendar can help make sure you don’t forget upcoming due dates.
- Stickies: As you’re doing your research, use these stickies to make notes to yourself for later.
- Remember the Milk: Whether you want to track your social schedule or make sure you get all of your homework done, this tool can help.
- HassleMe: This tool will incessantly remind you of tasks you need to get done so you have no excuses about forgetting.
- Bla-Bla List: You can use this list-making tool to create your own to-dos or create a set for your group.
- Diigo: This tool will help you organize all of your important research and keep everything easy to find.
- WebNotes: Manage and make notations on your research using this time-saving tool.
- A.nnotate: Try out this tool to make searching for and storing information on the Internet easy and more productive.
Brainstorming and Organizing
Pull your ideas together and get your information organized using these tools.
- Thinkature: This site allows users to create mindmaps of their ideas and easily share them with others.
- FreeMind: Check out this free mind mapping software to better organize your ideas.
- Bubble.us: Keep all of your material and ideas for projects in order with this tool.
- WiseMapping: This open source tool makes it simple to lay out outlines and organize information for a paper.
- Mapul: This tool takes a different approach to mind mapping, creating outlines that are much more organic in nature.
- View Your Mind: Insert pictures, links and other information into your mindmap using this tool.
- Gliffy: If a flow chart is more akin to what you need, then try out this free tool.
- Mindomo: With this tool you’ll be able to organize, get productive, define goals and track what you need to get done.
- Manage My Ideas: Try out this demo to get a leg up in organizing any project you’re working on.
- DeepaMehta: Keep all of the information and ideas you’ve complied for your paper organized using this software.
- The Brain: Pick your own brain using this mind mapping software that’s incredibly fully-featured.
Miscellaneous
From writing help to printable graph paper, these tools offer a range of assistance in finishing homework and projects.
- ProBoards: Use these forums to post your homework and project questions.
- Spreeder: Learn how to speed read using this site.
- Printable Paper: Need specialized graph or printed paper but don’t have any lying around? It’s no problem with this site.
- PDF Creator: This tool will help you to turn any kind of document into a PDF.
- Box.net: Need to store some data online? This tool will make it easy to store and access the important things you need.
January 20th, 2010
You don’t have to be majoring in art to appreciate the beauty or impact of great artwork. These blogs will give you insights to the art world that can help you refine your craft, inspire you to create new work, or just give you a little something pretty to look at. Check out these 100 selections to start your aesthetic education.
Art History and Museums
Visit these blogs to explore the history of art and learn more about places where you can see it in person.
- About.com: Art History: Learn about famous artists, periods and more on this introductory art history site.
- The Art History Blog: Improve your knowledge of the origins and important figures in art history on this blog.
- Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog: Through this blog you can find out what is going on at this museum and in the art scene of Indiana.
- UCLA Arts Library Art and Art History Blog: Here you’ll be able to read about new additions to this art library, get tips for research and learn more about art history.
- The Modern: The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth maintains this blog, with posts and information on new exhibits and collections at the museum.
- SFMOMA: Here you’ll find updates and information about the collections at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
- Hankblog: On this blog you’ll get info on exhibitions, programs, events, and arts issues from the staff at the Henry Art Gallery.
- Art History Newsletter: Read the latest news about art, old and new, on this regularly updated site.
- CR Blog: This site will help you learn about all kinds of issues in visual communication.
Art News
These blogs will help you stay in the loop when it comes to happenings in the art world.
- Art For A Change: Check out this blog for posts and information about art that addresses important political issues.
- Art News Blog: On this blog you’ll find news about exhibitions, ideas for your own work and even places you can enter to win art contests.
- The Art Blog: This blog will make it easy to keep up with all the fun and interesting artsy stuff going on around the world.
- JMG Artblog: Through this blog you’ll be able to find out more about current installations, read reviews and more.
- Emvergeoning: This blog is a great place to keep up with the Texas art scene, learn about the art world at large, and a whole lot more.
- AO Art Observed: Use this blog to keep up with art events happening around the world.
- Hrag Vartanian: Learn more about the New York art scene, as well as what artists to watch from this renowned blog.
- Agora Art Gallery Blog: This art gallery blog will provide you with the latest and greatest art news as well as information about new exhibitions.
- Newsgrist: Get your art news fix from this hip art blog.
- Hookedblog: This blog offers news about the artists and events shaping the London art scene.
- Jameswagner.com: On this blog you’ll find great images and information about contemporary art exhibits and artists.
- Art Park: Read about new events, great exhibitions and individual artists on this site.
Collecting and Selling
Learn more about buying and selling artwork through these blogs.
- ATC & ACEO Enthusiasts: This site is home to great photos and updates that are useful to those who create and collect art cards.
- Art Market Blog: Read through this blog to get great information on the current art market–a must for collectors and artists alike.
- Art Biz Blog: Those who are artists will appreciate this blog all about selling your work and making a living as an artist.
- HeatherMorton Art Buyer: Learn from Toronto art buyer Heather Morton about new artists to watch and how the art market works on this blog.
- ArtId Art Blog: This blog is designed with the artist in mind with loads of tips to help you market and sell your work.
- The Intrepid Art Collector: On this site you’ll find links to art for sale, information about shows, and lots of great places to look for quality art to collect.
- Modern Art Obsession: Read posts from this art collector, who loves modern art, to find out about exhibitions and artists you might not know about.
- Artopia: From art conservation to links to the hottest art out there, this blog from Art Forum is a must-read.
- Art Addict: This blog offers commentary and tips on collecting contemporary art.
- All Art All the Time: Check out this blog to learn more about art that’s for sale and how to buy it.
Art Education
From universities to grade school, these blogs are all about teaching and sharing art.
- Seqalab: Learn what’s going on at the Savannah College of Art and Design on this art-filled blog.
- Tyler School of Art Grads: This blog will keep you in the loop about what the MFA grads from this school are up to.
- TAMK School of Art and Media: On this blog you can learn how art education may differ across the pond, with updates from the School of Art and Media at Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Tampere, Finland.
- eGFI – Student Blog – Art: The American Society for Engineering Education maintains this blog, with posts on the latest places where art and technology intersect.
- The art teacher’s guide to the internet: Get some great ideas and links from this blog to help you teach art.
- Art Projects For Kids: Whether you’re teaching art or just want to keep your own kids busy, you’ll find lots of great ideas on this site.
- Synthesis: Here you’ll find the blog of the Hartford Art School, letting you keep up with student activities and new exhibits.
Nature and Art
These blogs connect art to the natural world.
- Cow Art and More: This blog provides art that explores the world of agriculture, especially that involving cows.
- A Journal of Environmental Art: This blog focuses on artwork that expresses a connection between the artist and the natural world.
- Eco Art Blog: This blog is about art that embraces the natural, including topics like ecological aesthetics, land poetry, and more.
- Macro Art In Nature: On this site you’ll get access to loads of beautiful photographs of nature from photographer Michael Brown.
- A Creative Journey: Get daily landscape and nature paintings from artist Karen Winters here.
- Life Plein Air: Take your art outdoors with a little help, guidance, and inspiration from artist Ed Terpening.
- Olympia Dumpster Divers: This blog proves that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, with art made from salvaged and recycled materials.
For Artists
Check out these blogs for tips on making it in the art business and ways to become a better and more successful artist.
- The Art of Helping Others: Check out this blog to learn about artists who are helping their communities and ways you can get involved as well.
- Hunt and Gather: This blog provides a forum for artists and their viewers, collectors, and fans to connect.
- Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Check out this blog for all kinds of great information, from news about exhibitions to advice on managing your art career.
- Art Print Issues: Here you’ll find a great business blog just for visual artists.
- Romow Art Blog: From advice on becoming a professional photographer to tips on art blogging, this site will help you become a better professional in the arts.
- Art Web Blog: Learn how to better promote and sell your artwork online with some help from this blog.
- Art Biz Blog: This blog will teach you valuable lessons about how to work and make a living as an artist.
- Artpreneur: On this site you can learn how to be more successful in your endeavors to be an artist.
By Artists
These blogs will let you see the work of artists working in a wide range of styles and media.
- Tate Magazine: On this blog you’ll be able to read about new artists, techniques and current installations.
- Art21 Blog: This blog by a group of artists will ensure you stay abreast of the art scene and artists you should know.
- Joelle Jones Art Blog: This blog will let you see the work of comic book artist Joelle Jones.
- Diane Clancy’s Art Blog: Here, Diane Clancy showcases her often spiritual art.
- Matthew Langley Artblog: Read through this blog to find out what this modern painter is up to.
- The Art Blog of Jeremiah Palecek: On this blog you’ll find the work of this artist, covering a range of styles and topics.
- MDE Art Blog: On this blog you’ll see the work of artist Michael D. Edens.
- Abstract Art: This blog is home to the abstract and modern art of NY artists Lynne Taetzsch.
- A Fine Art Blog: Visit this blog regularly to see new work by artist Takeyce Walter.
- Lauren Cross’ Art Blog: This blog will show you the work of a young artist as well as provide commentary on other artists’ work.
- The Art of Matthew Warlick: On this site you’ll not only find images by artist Matthew Warlick, but links to interesting art information as well.
- ArtStrokes: Tracy Wall’s Art Blog: Check out this blog for work by artists Tracy Wall as well as posts about art business, creativity and more.
- Artists Who Blog: This blog will let you see the work of Stephanie Levy, a collage artist, as well as provide links to other artists who share their work on blogs.
- Bob Fingerman’s Art Blog Thinger: On this blog you’ll see work by Bob Fingerman, an illustrator and comic book artist.
- Belinda Del Pesco Fine Art Blog: See watercolors and prints by this artist through this blog.
- Mika Art Blog: See tiny, cute artwork almost daily on this artist’s blog.
- Lisa Pressman Art Blog: Here you’ll find work by abstract artist Lisa Pressman, info about her influences, and photos of recent exhibitions.
Medium Specific
From pottery to paint, these blogs focus on art that uses a specific medium.
- Clay Art Web Guide: Pay a visit to this blog to keep up with artists who work in clay as well as exhibitions, techniques, websites and more.
- Wearable Art Blog: If you’re more of a jewelry or fashion enthusiast, then this blog about handmade, wearable art is for you.
- Contemporary Textile Art: Through this blog you’ll be able to see the work of Lisa Call, a modern textile artist.
- The Sonic Blog: This blog offers some great tips and images on photography in both German and English.
- Vandalog: Check out this blog for all the information you can handle about street art around the world.
- Paint Blog: This blog will show you all kinds of paintings and creative ways paint can be used to create art.
- Noadi’s Art Blog: Learn more about the art of sculpting and the work of this artist on this blog.
- My Blue Sky: See the work of former Disney animator and current comic book artist Amy here.
Images
See all kinds of beautiful and inspirational art images on these blogs.
- New Art: This blog covers installation art, performance art, theater, painting, sculpture, digital art and just about everything else in between, posting new images of artwork regularly.
- Episcopal Cafe: Art Blog: Visit this blog to see all kinds of religious artwork.
- Your Daily Art: Go back to this art blog regularly to see art historical images as well as a little background information on them.
- Daily Painters Art Blog: Come back to this blog each day to see a new image by artist Mark Webster.
Region Specific
Check out these blogs to find out what’s going on with the art world in specific parts of the globe or nation.
- Seattle Art: This blog provides a chance to learn more about the art-related events going on in the Seattle area.
- The OC Art Blog: Here you’ll be able to update yourself on the Orange County art scene.
- Art of The State News – London: Check out this blog to find out what the art scene is buzzing about in and around London.
- The Chicago Art Blog: Learn more about artists working and exhibiting in the Midwest and Chicago through this blog.
- Calgary Art Blog: From art to buy to new exhibitions to check out, this blog will help you stay on top of art in Calgary.
- Art Fag City: Visit this blog for New York art reviews, commentary and even a little gossip.
- Eye Level: This blog comes from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and features great photos and commentary about events going on at the museum and in the surrounding areas.
- Vaaa Art Blog: This blog will make it simple to learn more about the visual arts in the Alberta area.
- Artlurker: Based around the Miami area, this blog will update you on art events, artists and information about the area.
- The Santa Barbara Art Blog: If you’re in the Santa Barbara area or plan to visit, this blog will help you find the best places to view and buy art.
- UK Street Art: This blog will help you keep up with what’s going on in UK galleries, on the streets and anywhere art is being created.
- The art life: Use this blog to stay informed about the art world in Australia.
- BmoreArt: Visit this blog for information and reviews about the arts in Baltimore, Maryland.
Miscellaneous
These blogs cover everything from crafting to art therapy.
- Geninne’s Art Blog: On this blog you’ll find all kinds of amazing information and photos on arts and crafts.
- Koelle Art Blog: Here you’ll find photos, artwork, and even some vintage objects collected and displayed through beautiful photographs.
- Honest Art Talk: This blog offers some of the artist’s work, stories and experiences in everyday life.
- Rhizome: This blog and accompanying foundation are all about supporting the arts–especially those that engage or use technology in their process.
- Elizabeth Beck: Art Therapy: Learn more about the benefits and methods of art therapy here.
January 12th, 2010
Whether you are just finishing up your education degree or are already firmly entrenched in your first year of teaching, you will find these blog posts a helpful part of surviving your first year in the classroom. Most of these posts are written by teachers themselves and touch on just about every topic you can imagine, including working with students, improving your teaching skills, resources to use in the classroom, going green in school, education reform, and the future of education. Take advantage of this wealth of information to guide you through not only the first year of teaching, but many more years to come.
Posts about Working with Students
From choosing your battles in the classroom to assigning the right kind of homework, these posts offer tons of tips for working with students.
- 52 Teachers, 52 Lessons: Week 14. Picking your battles in the classroom can be an important part of ensuring you’re a successful teacher.
- The Library of Congress Pushes Primary Sources. Learn about this initiative at the Library of Congress that helps teachers support primary sources for students.
- How Much is a Field Trip Worth?. Learn about the value of taking students out of the classroom for learning opportunities.
- When Parents do the Homework. The best way to get a student to do their own homework is by giving appropriate assignments.
- What do General Education Teachers Need To Know about Special Education. Even if you aren’t a special ed teacher, there is plenty you should know about special ed students.
- Why A Financial Education Should Not Be Postponed. This article shares why children should learn about finances from an early age.
- How DO We Learn Math?. Explore the ways in which students learn math and how to incorporate these styles into your teaching.
- Tutoring is like a GPS. See what this post says about how teachers and tutors can work best to help students truly learn.
- Knowledge is the Key. Explore the connection between knowledge and learning with this post.
- Ways of the Teacher-Feminist: Text, schema, and stereotypes, oh my!. Teaching diversity in the classroom is the focus of this post.
- Home Ec Returns. Find out what this blogger believes is important about teaching practical skills to high school students.
Posts on Teaching
Many of these posts are specifically for new teachers and offer great advice and suggestions.
- On being a passionate beginner. Welcoming failure and the newness of situations will help you become a strong teacher.
- Are you trained or educated?. Consider whether you are trained or educated as a teacher when you read this post.
- What Makes a Good Teacher. Learn about six important elements of effective teachers.
- 5 Altruistic Values of Teaching. These five values hit on the reason many educators choose to teach.
- Top 5 Character Traits of Great Teachers. See the results from a reader survey that includes several traits of great teachers.
- "Steal". See why teacher collaboration can lead to better teaching.
- Training. This post looks at how teachers-in-training and the students they will be teaching are educated differently.
- Short Story: On Mercy Killing in the First Grade (or, how I stopped worrying and learned to appreciate punch lines). This educator shares an important life lesson from the first grade.
- Do Leaders Wear Jeans? Does What You Wear Show Who You Are?. Learn how you can fit in to your new school through fashion.
- Reminders to teachers: Don’t get sick. Get suggestions for what to do when you need a substitute in your classroom.
Classroom Management
Find out what these teachers do to promote effective classroom management.
- My classroom management plan on Scribd. Take a look at this elementary teacher’s suggestions for classroom management.
- Catch them Doing the Right Thing. Learn why positive reinforcement works well for encouraging both learning and better classroom behavior.
- Do It Now or Else. Learn why spending extra time with students who have behavior problems can be necessary.
- Where Does Hard Work Come From?. Mr. McGuire asks his readers about student motivation in this post.
- Losing It (In the Classroom). There will be times when you will get angry in class. This post discusses managing that anger.
- Lost My Cool. Take a look at how this teacher and her class handled her losing her temper.
- Que? – A Funny Experience I Had as a First-Year. Feel better about your first year of teaching when you read this teacher’s account.
- America’s Next Top Student. Hear what this teacher has to say about appropriate dress for students.
- A Time for Timeout?. If you are teaching younger students, learn about effective use of time-outs.
- Self Esteem: Part 1. This post proposes that relying on teachers to raise self-esteem through feel-good tactics is not effective.
Using Technology in the Classroom
The education world is beginning to understand the importance of using technology in schools. Read these posts to see what works and how to incorporate technology in your lessons.
- Managing Comments and Posts On Student Blogs Using Google Reader. Learn an easy way to keep up with student posts with Google Reader.
- Taking It Global with TIGed. Learn how to use this program to connect students with others globally.
- Using Wikis in Science Classes. Learn how you can use wikis in your classroom, whether it is a science class or not.
- Chatting Up Internet Safety. This teacher shares how she taught a 7th grade class about Internet safety and technology.
- Keeping students cybersafe!. Get the benefits of blogging while keeping students safe with the ideas here.
- Responsible blogging. A teacher and his 10th grade students compiled this list of rules for safe blogging.
- Reflections on Student Blogging. Find suggestions for blogging with your middle and high school students.
- The Future of Education? Video games. (Duh.). Discover an article from The Economist that discusses using video games in education.
- Copyright for Educators. This post provides a presentation on copyright issues just for teachers.
- Around the World with 80 Schools. Discover an effective way to use Skype in the classroom to connect your students with others around the world.
- Re-Visioning the Writing Classroom. Learn how a computer lab can improve writing skills for 5th graders.
- Project This! Technology Purchasing Priorities. Learn how to build your technology resources efficiently.
- The future of e-learning is social learning. Jane Hart discusses the future of e-learning.
- TECH and TE(A)CH. This post discusses how technology has become an important element in education and suggests ways in which it can best be used.
- 50 Awesome Semantic Apps for Educators. Take advantage of these apps for use with your students.
- Your Digital Dossier. Find out why digital portfolios should matter to you.
Resources
These blog posts are chock full of helpful resources you can use in your classroom.
- 50 Online Reference Sites for Teachers. Refer to this list for quality online resources.
- 122 For You: Cool Cat Teacher’s Favorite Apps, Software, and Sites. This teacher has compiled a list of helpful apps, software, and sites that she has used.
- Serial Success: 6 Strategies for School. If you are teaching older students, take a look at these six suggestions for making the most of students’ time in class.
- Expressive Social Studies. Get ideas for bringing less than exciting history and social studies lessons to life.
- Essential Gardening Books for Kids. Get a list of great gardening books to use in school that includes age level and why the book is recommended.
- Teaching Students to Ask the Right Kinds of Questions. Discover how to encourage students to ask well-thought out questions.
- Finding Their Voices. This new resource helps teachers promote media-rich learning opportunities in their classrooms.
- Student Tools – Let them fly!. This list of web 2.0 tools will come in handy to use with your students.
- Podcast for Science Teachers. Science teachers won’t want to miss out on this resource.
- Educational Videos. This post introduces the PBS library of American History in Videos and tips for ways to use the videos in class.
- 100 Free Online Lectures that Will Make You a Better Teacher. Find 100 online lectures that can inspire you as a beginning teacher.
- The Best Places To Find Theatrical Movies On Science, Math, & History. Incorporate movies in your science, math, and history classes with this information.
- 100 Tips, Apps, and Resources for Teachers on Twitter. If you plan to use Twitter in your classroom, then check out these resources.
- Top 100 Tools for the Twittering Teacher. Here is another awesome resource for using Twitter with your students.
- 100+ Open Courseware Resources for Teachers. Use these free classes with your students or to expand your own knowledge.
- Friday Five – Finding Ada (Role Models of Women in Tech). Learn about several sites that highlight women as role models in the field of technology.
- Get Smart: Receive Daily Learning Inspiration. Get daily updates filled with information about learning resources, books, and more.
- Writing Tip #3: Pictures aren’t Just for Babies. This suggestion will help encourage students to write more descriptively.
- Teaching Antigone. This teacher shares an effective way to teach Greek drama to high school sophomores.
- Digital Image Resources on the Deep Web. Discover tons of links to resources offering quality digital images with the information here.
- More Classroom Ideas for Old Fashioned Index Cards. Learn how to use index cards in creative ways with your class.
Going Green in Schools
Find out how others are making efforts to go green at school and see how you can too.
- Greening Our Schools – Transformative Education for Sustainability. GreenHearted.org is changing the approach to teaching sustainability in education.
- Why Do We Accept Schools as Prisons?. Learn about the intrinsic relationship between education and nature.
- Just published: Good Practices for Education for Sustainable Development. Discover ways your school can support sustainability.
- Blueprint for Green Schools. Read this award-winning student essay that provides suggestions for how to incorporate sustainability into an education curriculum.
- Is it getting cold in here?. Get an online gaming activity that teaches about climate change here.
- Education for Sustainable Development for Child Education and Schools. Find out about this form of education that brings sustainable development into education.
- Milestones in Sustainability Education – Where Will We Go Next?. This post speculates on how formal sustainability education will shape learning in the future.
- Article: Sustainability Challenge for Academic Libraries. Libraries are going green too. Find out what future libraries may be like.
- Road Trip! Creativity and Sustainability Part 3. Read about these lessons in sustainability.
Education Reform
Learn about many of the changes others who have come before you are already trying to put in place when it comes to improving the current educational system.
- I’m Thankful …. for the Discord?. Discover why disagreement and discussion are important elements in finding solutions for education reform.
- Metaphor Quest. This blogger discusses different approaches to testing students by exploring several metaphors.
- Transcript: An Hour With Arne Duncan. Learn what Arne Duncan has to say about the state of education and education reform here.
- Leigh McGuigan: Turning Around Low-Performing Schools. Examine ways to turn around low-performing schools to better serve both students and teachers.
- School Reform Retreat?. Examine whether or not the Race to the Top initiative is really all that it was meant to be.
- Race to the Top and the Status of Education Innovation. Take a look at a report that rates public schools on innovation across several categories.
- ISO an article that fills in the bubbles–I mean blanks. Transparency in the current administration’s approach to education policy is what Linda Perlstein seeks.
- Thompson: Is Our Education Policy Folks Learning?. This post reflects on the early days of NCLB and compares them to today.
- Getting Real About Teacher Evaluation. Learn what this blogger feels would make for more successful teacher evaluation techniques.
- Common Core Standards update. Get an update on the Common Core Standards Initiative and what may be coming for public education.
- Social and Economic Goals of Schooling. Consider the goal of education for students by looking beyond simply landing a high-paying job.
The Future of Education
Since you will be among the teachers of the future, find out what some educators speculate about the future of education.
- Hope for 21st Century Education. The video in this post provides a strong message on changing the future of education.
- Chaos or First Step to Innovation?. Find out how to be open to possibilities in order to promote innovation in education.
- How do you respond to someone who holds you back?. Learn about embracing innovation despite opposition you may face.
- Future Trends: Education in America. Instructional coaches in the classroom may be a part of the schools of the future.
- How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century. Read about a Time article that discusses updating the current educational system.
- Building Classrooms without Walls. Find out why you will want a Personal Learning Network with the information here.
- 9 Common Principles for 21st Century Schools. This list of ideas detail what can make effective learning environments.
- Future Trends that Impact Kids: From Social Networking to Teacher Attrition. Read this post to see what this blogger feels will be impacting students in the future.
- Education Needs to Be Turned on Its Head. This post describe how children can be taught successfully without losing their natural curiosity for learning.
- Future Of Learning Is Informal And Mobile. Discover how learning is moving toward social and mobile technologies that connect learners in more informal ways.
- Does Social Learning have a future?. Neil Lasher tells how he became a believer in the future of social learning.
- What is the Future of Teaching?. Learn how teaching may evolve as the future of education trends toward online.
January 11th, 2010
Many find it interesting to glimpse inside the lives of famous thinkers in an effort to understand where such thought and intelligence is rooted. In that vein, here is a peek into the routines and rituals that writers, philosophers, and statesmen have depended on to keep their work on track and their thoughts flowing. Whether you need inspiration to make it through the next college semester or are working on a future best-selling novel, explore these daily rituals you may want to incorporate into your life.
- CS Lewis. Writer and thinker CS Lewis had a very clear schedule of his day, with activities such as work, walking, meals, tea, and socializing down to the very hour they should be done. He even describes when beer should be enjoyed (not at 11:00 for fear of running over the allotted 10 minutes for the break).
- John Cheever. American writer John Cheever wore his only suit of clothing each morning as he rode the elevator down to a basement room where he worked. Upon arriving there, he would undress to his underwear, hang up his suit, and get to work. He would dress to go back upstairs for lunch and again at the end of his day when he would ride the elevator back home.
- Fred Rogers. Don’t doubt that Fred Rogers was indeed a great thinker, despite the fact that he is best known as the familiar Mr. Rogers from the long-lasting PBS children’s show. His television show was a safe place for many young children, by his design, and he fought hard, in his quiet manner, for the show to stay on the air. The famous routine that started and ended his show was not the only routine in his life. Each day he would wake at 5:30 and begin his day with reading, writing, study, and prayer. He would take a swim most days of his life, take a late-afternoon nap, and go to bed at 9:30 each night. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic of his rituals was that he kept his weight at 143 pounds his entire adult life. He saw his weight one day and realized it aligned with the number of letters in "I love you" and vowed to maintain that weight, which he did.
- Stephen King. This famed writer keeps to a strict routine each day, starting the morning with a cup of tea or water and his vitamin. King sits down to work between 8:00 and 8:30 in the same seat with his papers arranged on his desk in the same way. He claims that starting off with such consistency provides a signal to his mind in preparation for his work.
- Gertrude Stein. This famous writer discovered inspiration in her car. Apparently she would sit in her parked car and write poetry on scraps of paper.
- Immanuel Kant. Kant would begin his day with one or two cups of weak tea and a pipe of tobacco. While smoking, he would meditate. He would then prepare for his lectures, conduct lectures from 7:00 to 11:00, write, then have lunch. Lunch would be followed by a walk and time with his friend. The evening would consist of a bit more light work and reading.
- Barack Obama. Taking care of physical fitness and family are two important elements of President Obama’s daily ritual. He starts his day with a workout at 6:45, reads several newspapers, has breakfast with his family, and then starts his work day just before 9:00 in the morning. He may work as late as 10:00 some evenings, but always stops to have dinner with his family each day.
- Alexander Dumas. Whether or not he had heard the adage about keeping the doctor away, the writer of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, Dumas started each day eating an apple under the Arc de Triomphe.
- Benjamin Franklin. Franklin kept to a tight schedule, starting his day waking at 4:00 am. Until 8:00, he would wake, wash, eat breakfast, and think about what he would accomplish for the day. From 8:00 to 12:00, he worked. Lunch was from 12:00-1:00, where he ate, read, or looked over his accounts. He then worked until 5:00. The evening was filled with dinner, cleaning up, music or conversation, a look back over his day, and then bed at 10:00.
- Haruki Murakami. This popular Japanese novelist sticks to a specific daily schedule that begins at 4:00 when he awakes. He writes for five or six hours, then either runs 10k or swims 1500 meters (or sometimes, both). After his workout, he reads and listens to music until he goes to bed at 9:00. Murakami claims that writing a novel requires both the physical and mental strength that his routine provides.
- Franz Kafka. Kafka started his day at his job at the Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute from 8:30 to 2:30. Afterward he would lunch until 3:30, then sleep until 7:30. Upon waking, he would do exercises and have dinner with his family. He began writing at 11:00 in the evening, usually working until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning–sometimes later.
- Toni Morrison. Writer Toni Morrison describes not only her daily routine, but the importance of rituals to writers. Morrison describes her own ritual involving making a cup of coffee and watching the light come into the day. Her habit of rising early was first formed as the mother to three children, but after her children left home, she discovered a routine of her own–that still includes early mornings. Morrison urges all writers to look at what time of day they are most productive and what type of surrounding is most conducive to their work to help form rituals that will promote creativity.
- Ingmar Bergman. This famous director, writer, and producer of film and drama demanded quiet and set schedules. While working on a play in 1996, he was reported to stand outside the rehearsal hall half an hour before rehearsal to ensure the actors were not socializing. He had a set time for beginning work, taking lunch, and ending work. He disliked noise, meeting new people, and crowds of people. While he aspired to a quite life of writing without deadlines on the island of Faro, he could not actually stay with his retirement, and returned to the scheduled life of work. He was still working just a few years prior to his death in 2007.
- Charles Darwin. In his middle and later years, Darwin stuck to a very rigid schedule that started at 7:00 in the morning with a short walk, then breakfast. He would then work throughout the morning. Lunch, at 12:45, was his biggest meal of the day. His afternoon was also scheduled and consisted of two walks, reading, and backgammon. Darwin could not tolerate much socializing, and kept it to a maximum of 30 minutes at a time.
- Kingsley Amis. This British comic novelist and poet was also famous for his love of alcohol. He kept to a strict routine of writing in the morning until about 1:00, when he would take care of his dressing and shaving, then begin the afternoon with a drink and a smoke. He would work until lunch at 2:00 or 2:15, sometimes going back after lunch to work and sometimes not. He considered any work accomplished in the afternoon a bonus. When the bar opened at 6:00, he would fortify himself with more alcohol and work again until 8:30.
- Winston Churchill. While Churchill’s routine may not be for everyone, it seemed to revolve around lots of food and drink. He would rise at 7:30 and stay in bed until 11:00 where he would eat breakfast, read several newspapers, and dictate to his secretaries. When he finally got out of bed, he would bathe, take a walk outside, then settle in to work with a weak whisky and soda. Lunch began at 1:00 and lasted until 3:30, after which he would work or play cards or backgammon with his wife. At 5:00 he napped for an hour and a half, then bathed again and got ready for dinner. Dinner was considered the highlight of his day, with much socializing, drinking, and smoking that sometimes went past midnight. After his guests left, he would then work for another hour or so before heading to bed.
- Aldous Huxley. This famous thinker and writer would start early each day sharing a breakfast with his wife. He would work uninterrupted until lunchtime. After lunch, he and his wife would go for a drive or a walk, then he would return to work again from 5:00 to 7:00, then have dinner. After dinner, his wife would read to him until almost midnight. Due to an eye illness early in life that left Huxley with very poor eyesight, he relied heavily on his wife to do many activities for him besides reading. She often typed his manuscripts and was even reported to have cut his steak for him at dinner.
- James Thurber. Another writer with difficulties seeing, Thurber would often compose his work in his head at almost anyplace he found himself. His wife would recognize the look in his eyes and interrupt him mid-paragraph while they were socializing at a party, and his daughter saw him retreat into his private world over dinner. His method later in life was to spend all morning composing his text in his head, then between 2:00 and 5:00 he would dictate about 2,000 words to his secretary.
- Gunter Grass. This German writer starts his day at 9:00 or 10:00 with a long breakfast that includes reading and music. Afterwards, he begins working, taking only a break for coffee in the afternoon, and finishes at 7:00 in the evening. He claims that he needs daylight to work effectively. When he writes at night, the work comes easily, but upon reading it in the morning, appears to be of lesser quality.
- John Grisham. When Grisham first began writing, he still had his day job as a lawyer. In order to do both, he stuck to a ritual of waking at 5:00 and shower, then head off to his office, just five minutes from home. He had to be sitting at his desk with a cup of coffee and a yellow legal pad by 5:30. He gave himself a goal of writing one page per day. Sometimes this page went as quickly as ten minutes while other days required one or two hours. After finishing his daily page of writing, Grisham would then turn his attention to his day job.
- Gerhard Richter. Famous German artist, Gerhard Richter, sticks to the same basic routine he has for years. He wakes at 6:15 and makes breakfast for his family, then takes his daughter to school. By 8:00 he is in his studio, where he stays until lunch at 1:00. After lunch, he returns to this studio until the evening. He claims that his days are not usually filled with painting, but with the planning of his pieces. He puts off the actual painting until he has created a kind of crisis for himself, then pours himself into it.
- Simone de Beauvoir. French writer and lifelong companion to Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir reported that she got bored if she didn’t work and tried to work every day except the few months she would take off to travel. While writing, she woke with tea, then began her work around 10:00. She would work until 1:00, then have lunch and socialize with friends. At 5:00, she would resume working, usually at Sartre’s apartment, until she would stop for the day at 9:00.
- Jean-Paul Sartre. In a letter Sartre wrote to de Beauvoir some thirty years before her recounting of her daily working routine, Sartre describes his days, which is noticeably similar to the pattern later described by de Beauvoir. Sartre writes about waking early and having coffee in a cafe, then reading, teaching classes and private lessons, then lunch. After lunch, he would do more reading and letter writing.
- Jacques Barzun. This French-born American historian and cultural critic celebrated his 100th birthday just two years ago and still enjoys a life of routine and work. He starts his day at 6:00 with coffee and the local newspaper, followed by 45 minutes of exercise, then a morning of work in his study. He spends his afternoon reading. Cocktails are at 6:30, followed by a light dinner. Barzun’s evening is spent reading the New York Times, no TV, and bed by 9:30.
- Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway described his writing ritual as starting just as the sun began rising, then working straight through until whatever he had to say was said. He likens completing his morning of writing to making love to someone you love–being both empty and fulfilled at the same time. Upon completing that morning’s work, he would wait until the next morning to begin again, going over his ideas in his head and holding on to the anticipation of starting again the next day.
January 11th, 2010
Online education has changed our perception of the college experience, and with that, we have been able to witness a new type of student who would never have previously had the chance to earn a degree. As a result, we have additionally had to hire a new brand of professors and teachers for online colleges: teachers who are comfortable in a computer setting and do not have to stand in front of a classroom to teach. While this may seem like an ideal job for many (many online teachers work from home and do not have to make a drive to school), it comes with its own complications from a new industry.
Online education has transitioned so well into society because we have become so well adapted to internet life; from Facebook to Twitter, our lives are seemingly connected via the interwebs. It was no shock to many of us when online education took off. It was only a question to many educators as to whether online teaching jobs could really secure knowledge into their students’ minds hundreds of thousands of miles away. While this is a new era in which people are readily accessible by the simple writing of an email, online education requires that students take initiative in learning the subject matter, rather than teaming up with study groups in class. This is a major part of many college settings and the obvious lack of communication with other students leads to a hole in the college experience according to many educators, not to mention the lack of face-to-face communication with the teacher/professor.
Face-to-face communication is a vital part of our existence: we have grown accustomed to reading each other’s emotions and facial structures through communication, and taking this out of the classroom setting seems somewhat dangerous to the future of online classes. However, online college teaching jobs have trained professors to cope with the lack of a traditional classroom setting and instead offers alternative web camera technologies and other internet forums for increased communications. While this is still an evolving process, it is clear that many students and professors alike enjoy this type of learning forum despite the limitations it may hold. Many times the good outweigh the bad in this type of situation and professors do not have to worry about their assignments sinking in as much.
Additionally, many students of online colleges are older than traditional college students, meaning that they are sometimes more mature with their coursework and their ability to get work completed in a timely manner. Despite appearances, online college teaching jobs have changed the entirety of the education system and are continuing to open doors for many students who have never been able to attend a traditional institution.
January 8th, 2010
“Accredited online colleges” has become a buzzword for many people when talking about online education because of the importance accreditation has meant to the industry. Accreditation is never really talked about in regards to traditional universities because it is typically understood that a stationary campus-style university has accreditation. However, online universities lack a campus and only exist via the internet (aside from their headquarters) and can technically spring up overnight. Therefore, accreditation is an important factor for many potential students of online colleges.
Accreditation is a relatively easy but time-consuming process for online colleges. To gain accreditation, the school must present itself as a typical university, albeit an online university. In order to meet the levels of accreditation, the school must have ordinary faculty who could be employed at any traditional university and are well-equipped to teach the course they are in charge of. Additionally, the school must have standard degree programs unless it has marketed itself as a vocational school or a school that only specializes in one area. The school does not need to have continuing education degrees, but must maintain the ordinary liberal arts and math/science degrees that typical universities offer.
Many online schools also display that they are accredited institutions but use accreditation standards that are not recognized by many national accreditation corporations. These schools are typically easy to spot, but have managed to rope in many students to their programs and cannot offer them an accredited degree by the time they graduate. While this sounds like it should be illegal, there is little that you can do once you find yourself in this situation and it will only mean wasted time and money in the long run. There are ways to protect against this potential loss by simply becoming knowledgeable about the accreditation process, including researching every school’s accreditation institution and ensuring that no other student has gone through a “diploma mill” scenario through the school’s degree programs.
Because online universities are a new part of the education process, they are more susceptible to scams than traditional universities and therefore require increased research by potential students. Accredited online colleges are pretty easy to spot, and are the universities that have been around the longest or are traditional universities that have begun to offer online degree programs for distance learning students. However, as a potential online student, you should never take this accreditation for granted and you MUST research further into every degree program in order to guarantee that you will walk away with a degree that will propel your career goals. Employers know which schools lack accreditation and if your degree is from this type of school, you will typically not be chosen for a highly competitive spot at a firm. However, simply understanding the accreditation process can go a long way in protecting yourself against any potential scam universities.
January 6th, 2010
Business school students who are getting ready to find a job may feel both excited and a little apprehensive. This is normal, as the transition for which you’ve been working has suddenly arrived and you may wonder where to find that job. Luckily, there is a wealth of opportunities for job searching online for business students. The list below provides everything from job sites just for business students to more general job sites, social networking sites for business students and those in the business community, internships for those wanting to bridge the gap between school and career, and resources for finding a job in the business community.
Business Job Search Sites
These job search sites provide search engines and job search resources specifically for those seeking careers in business.
- MBACareers.com. Post your resume, search for jobs, and more here.
- FiredUpNetwork. Whether you are starting an entrepreneurial venture or are looking for a more traditional career in business, this network will help you find what you seek.
- BizSchoolJobs. Post your resume, get job alerts, and search openings at this site that is focused on the needs of business school grads.
- Careers-in-Business.com. Not only can you search for jobs here by category, but you can also read other resources that provide strategies for finding work.
- FinanceJobs.com. If you are seeking a job in finance, then check out this job search site that is just for careers in this field.
- Bankjobs.com. Search for jobs in the banking and finance industry here.
- MBA Jungle. Job searches and job search resources just for MBA students are featured on this site.
- Financial Job Network.This site provides international and local job searches for financial professionals.
- Jobs in the Money. Finance and accounting jobs are the focus of this site where you can also get help with resumes and more.
- Management Consulting Online. If you are looking to break into management consulting, then you will want to visit this site that includes available positions as well as resources on consulting.
- The Wall Street Journal Careers. Job search, learn about the latest trends in employment and career preparation, and more with this helpful resource from WSJ.
- YourOnRamp. This site is geared towards women reentering the career world or making a career shift and includes plenty of resources in addition to a job board.
- ForeignMBA.com. Compiling resources from several sites, this site tries to streamline your job search.
Job Search Site for New Grads
These job search sites are especially for those who are about to graduate or have recently graduated.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education. Find job tools of all kinds here along with job search opportunities.
- Monster College. This division of Monster.com is specialized for new grads looking for jobs.
- JobWeb. Just for new grads, this site offers tons of job searching opportunities and resources.
- CollegeRecruiter.com. Both students and new grads can look for both internships and jobs here.
- Alumwire. Take advantage of all the free services available to help college students and recent grads find a job.
- MyWorkster. This site links college networks with employers and provides access to job listings through Indeed’s job search engine.
General Job Search Sites
These job search sites include some of the more popular ones as well as some smaller ones. Be sure to check several out when looking for a job.
- CareerMag.com. Search for jobs and get resources to help fine-tune your strategies here.
- Employment 911. This site specializes in fine-tuning your resume as well as job shopping.
- JobBank USA. Boasting a comprehensive collection of job-search tools, this site will get you ready for the search as well as help you connect to companies seeking employees.
- RON. This site is a resource for headhunters, but includes job search opportunities for those seeking employment.
- execSearches.com. Executives looking for mid- and upper-level positions should visit this site.
- Idealist Career Center. Idealist is an organization with a social conscience, and their career center is an excellent place to find a job with a non-profit organization.
- PNNOnline. Search for non-profit career positions here.
- Care2 JobFinder. The careers available here are with responsible companies.
- Jobs for Change. This site features jobs with a social conscience or at non-profits.
- Monster. One of the bigger job search sites, Monster provides tons of job opportunities for you.
- Indeed. Search by location and job title, key word, or company name to find a job here.
- CareerBuilder.com. This site provides tons of job search resources as well as a powerful job search engine.
- Quintessential Careers. Select the industry in which you want to search to find your job. A free account is required.
- JobFox. Let JobFox do all the legwork here when you create a profile and wait to see your potential matches.
- Simply Hired. This simple job search site will have you browsing through listings in no time.
- JobPile. JobPile is a job board aggregator, bringing job searches from some of the top sites to one place.
- Employment Spot. Job searches and search resources are all available here.
- Yahoo! HotJobs. Yahoo! offers plenty of job search options as well as resources on their career site.
- Jobster. Create video resumes, links to your website, and more to use dynamic online tools for your job search.
- JobBoardReviews. Read news relevant to job searching and also look at results from some of the major job search sites here.
- Craigslist. If your job search has you seeking a position with a smaller to mid-sized company, Craigslist is a great place to look and can be done city-by-city.
Online Networking Sites for the Business Community
Networking sites provide both an opportunity for finding employment as well as the chance to create important business contacts you can use during your career. These networking sites offer these opportunities especially for the business community.
- Ziggs. Ziggs offers a place for you to create a personal brand and make yourself available to headhunters, employers, or others in your field.
- LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one of the most popular online business networking sites. Make sure you have an account here.
- Ryze. Make business contacts, use the classifieds to find employment, and network with others when you join this network.
- NetParty. With a combination of both business and social networking opportunities, this site just, just for young professionals, provides an excellent place to network for business both during and after hours.
- NetworkingForProfessionals. With a combination of both online and face-to-face events, this site is great for those wanting a little more actual than virtual contact.
- XING. Manage your business contacts with this social network.
- Ecademy. Ecademy allows members to connect with others and is also a great place for entrepreneurs to showcase their business.
- Naymz. Naymz offers another great opportunity for establishing your personal brand while building a professional network.
- Fast Pitch. Network with professionals as you break into the business world with Fast Pitch.
- BizWiz. Meet other business professionals, learn about entrepreneurs’ ventures, and publicize your own.
- Jigsaw. The more your network grows here, the more ability you have to make increasingly significant connections through this unique system of point-earning.
- APSense. Voting in this network ensures only the best-intentioned members can grow and network here.
- Talkbiznow. This site offers a great place to promote your entrepreneurial venture, collaborate, and network with other professionals.
General Online Networking Sites
While these sites aren’t specific for business networking, they do offer a great chance to expand your community and look for employment.
- Dice. If you are looking for a business career in the technology industry, then you will want to check out the job openings on Dice, which offers both online social networking and job searching.
- Facebook. Facebook has moved beyond the college-student social network it once was and has matured into a full-fledged networking opportunity for all.
- Plaxo. Plaxo is a social network aggregator that allows you to stay connected across a variety of social networking sites.
- Ning. Any group can form a social network on Ning. Many businesses, student groups, and more can be located on Ning.
- tribe.net. Similar to Ning, this site hosts "tribes" of people who who share common interests or goals.
- MySpace. MySpace offers networking and social opportunities for businesses and individuals.
Job Hunting on Twitter
Twitter has become a popular tool for finding employment. Not only can you participate in a popular networking opportunity, but you can learn about openings and broadcast your own search. These sites will provide you with plenty of resources to find your job on Twitter.
- Twitter. If you don’t already have a Twitter account or if your current account isn’t work-appropriate, set up a professional-looking account to get started.
- @jobhunting. Follow this Twitter feed to get everything from job hunting tips for new grads to recession-proof job information.
- 50 People on Twitter Job Seekers Should Follow. Here are 50 more feeds to follow when looking for a job. See the follow-up post for additional feeds.
- twitterjobcast. Go to this site to search for job postings on Twitter by keyword or geographic location.
- TweetMyJobs. This site provides an opportunity for job seekers and employers to find each other through Twitter.
Internships
Whether you are still in school and looking for an internship that may lead to future employment or want to work an internship prior to starting a paid position, these sites will help you find what you need.
- Rising Star Internships. Find internships here whether you are still in school or are graduating and looking for an internship position.
- internshipprograms.com. Search for internship opportunities by employer, location, and date here.
- Business School Internships. This site from About.com describes the benefits as well as how to go about finding a business internship position.
- Internships – MBA Internships. Another resource for how to go about finding internships, this one is specifically for MBA students.
- US Department of State Student Programs. Discover plenty of opportunities for internships and more with the US Department of State.
- IBM Extreme Blue. IBM offers an internship program to students pursuing software development and MBA degrees.
- Internships4America. This site can help you find an internship in the business field.
- Internships-USA. See if your school has a subscription to this service that finds internships for students.
- Help! I’ve got no internship. If you are interested in investment banking, but failed to land an internship, this article offers options that can help you break into the field.
Making the Most of Your Job Search
These sites offer resources to help you make the most of your job search, including help evaluating companies, narrowing your search, creating the best resume and cover letter, and more.
- The Riley Guide Business and Administration. This site offers links to resources that will help you learn about job searching within very specific fields.
- Glassdoor.com. Find out about the quality of companies, compare salaries, and find tons of resources to help you land your career job.
- Best College Resumes. Get sample resumes, a resume checklist, and techniques for proofing your resume all customized for students.
- College Resume Template. New grads will enjoy this template that is customizable based on education and experience levels.
- Quickstart Resume Templates. With over 300 templates to choose from, you will have no problem finding one to suit your needs here.
- Resume Videos. These free videos will help you learn how to create an awesome resume.
- Free Resume Critique. Once you have completed your resume, submit it here to get feedback and learn what you might need to change.
- Sample Cover Letters. Take a look at these sample cover letters to learn how to write anything from a generic template to a more specialized letter.
- Cover Letters. See examples of the best and worst cover letters, get a sample, and see what else you can learn about writing cover letters at this site.
- Cover Letter Samples. Take a look at these samples to get started writing eye-catching cover letters.
- Best College References. Using references from your college days can be vital to establishing your career. This site provides tips to make sure you leave school with the best references you can get.
- Recession Job Search Tips for New Graduates. New grads looking for a job during a recession will appreciate the strategies and tips here.
- Job Fair Success. If you plan to attend job fairs to find employment, this site tells you the best way to do achieve success with these opportunities.
- Career Fair/Job Expo Tutorial. This tutorial provides even more information on the specialized world of job fairs.
- Interview Prep for New Grads. Once you have secured an interview, you will want to go through this list to make sure you put your best foot forward.
- When Job Hunting: Dress for Success. This site offers tons of resources for learning how to dress, finding ways to dress well on a budget, and more.
- Company-Site Interviewing Success. If you will be going on a company-site interview, visit this site to learn about such topics as tests and assessments you may be given, what to order at dinner, signals of your successful interview, and more.
Evaluating and Taking a Job
These sites have plenty to offer to ensure you are taking the job that is just right for you and to help you make the transition to the new job smoothly.
- After the Interview. Learn tips and advice on what to do after the interview.
- Follow-up Letter Samples. Follow-up letters are a great way to show your interest and stay in touch with potential employers after an interview.
- Job Offer Checklist. This checklist will help you organize details or questions you may have about a potential job being offered to you.
- Employee Benefits. Benefits are often overlooked, but they are a significant part of the employment package. Find their worth here.
- Multiple Job Offer Job Assessor. In the event that you get more than one job offer, use this tool to compare jobs and find the one that will be best for you.
- Salary Information. Use the tools located here to determine what salary you deserve or to evaluate how good that job offer really is.
- Salary Calculator. See how much your skills are worth based on your geographic location.
- Cost of Living Wizard. Learn how a proposed salary measures up or discover how much you will need to make based on a particular city here.
- When a Job Offer is Put on Hold. It is not unheard of to receive a job offer and have it put on hold. Find out what to do with this information if that happens to you.
- Move Planner. If you have accepted a job in another city, then visit this site to ensure your move goes smoothly.