Assignment #3 - Teacher Resources

For my toolbox I used the ever-so-trendy Diigo.com. It was relatively easy to use and had some pretty handy-dandy tools (highlighter for online text, sticky notes you could put on the web page, etc). I think if I had more time I would have dove deeper into the odds-and-ends of the site… but oh well! I think I’ll probably end up using this site for a different class project so I’ll take more time to get to know the site then… unless I decide to use a different site – WHO KNOWS!

Here’s my toolbox.

I decided to put up sites that would be resources and sites that I would send my students to. Basic criteria: none. I just went through different elements of Language Arts and looked for sites that I thought would be useful AND enjoyable for the students: vocabulary games, essay outlines, MLA citation sites, punctuation helpers, etc.

The links/resources are organized by "tags." My list contains 32 different tags - the top tags are: Reference, English, Literature, Reading, Book List, Tools, Writing, Grammar, Essay, and Punctuation. That's basically my organization.

Use of toolbox: I don’t really have anything specific in mind. Right now I think I’ll just use it to help me gather information and sources for my future classes. I want to store helpful and fun resources for teaching on this site. That’s my current goal or use for it. Sorry that’s not more interesting.

Sharing is caring. How could I share it with other teachers? Well, technically, I would share it through the same means that I share it with my students - through the direct link to the toolbox. Creatively though, I’m not super sure. I could definitely post it to my blog and if I have a future class blog or website then I could put it there too. I think there’s a way to print off a condensed list of the sites and that could be helpful to other teachers – just print it off and hand it out. Yeah, that’s all I got.

Three Sites + Annotations:

1. Purdue OWL - This is a great site that has been recommended to me by a few of my professors here at NU. It contains a vast amount of information covering a plethora of topics. There is a special link (the one provided here) that is specifically for Students and Teachers in grades 7-12, which just so happens to be what I want to teach. The site is laid out with links to more information but it's all really easy to find. Everything is true and perfect. Oh how I love thee, Purdue OWL site. :)
2. Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus - Unfortunately this site costs money! BOO! BUT, it's so amazing! It's somewhat like the option on the Google search to make a word "web" so-to-speak. But in this case, it's a word web consisting of words, synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. It's a tangled web of woven vocabulary goodness. CHECK IT OUT!!!
3. Essay Template - This is an excellent essay template! It's big enough to fit in notes and information, but not so detailed that you feel crammed into a box. Although I would say that essays normal could and probably should have more in them than the outline gives you, but hey, it's only a template... :)