This collection of website resources for educators covers a variety of topics and ways to incorporate technology-rich materials into the classroom. These sites are not endorsed or advocated by SECC or BESTNet and are provided as a way to explore new resources. New sites and resources are added each month. View more resources on the Teachers and Resources pages.
Professional Development
Annenberg Media advances excellent teaching in all disciplines throughout American K-12 schools. They pursue this mission by funding and broadly distributing multimedia resources for teachers to help them improve their own teaching practice and understanding of their subject. Annenberg Media uses telecommunications technologies well as hard copy media to disseminate multimedia resources, ensuring that they reach as many teachers as possible.
CILC (Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration) provides videoconferencing services and program content and works closely with an organization to determine how videoconferencing can enable participants to reach their goals.
PBS TeacherLine is a national program to help teachers acquire the skills they need to prepare students for a successful future. More than 130 online graduate-level courses for educators are available in Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Instructional Technology, Instructional Strategies and Science.
Teacher-to-Teacher online workshops empower teachers by showing real-world examples of how scientifically based research is successfully translated into classroom practice and by providing effective ways of using data to inform instruction. The U.S. Department of Education has brought together some of the nation's most effective teachers and practitioners to host these workshops on how to make a difference in student achievement.
TICAL (Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership) provides professional development for district and site administrators that focuses on digital school leadership and integrating technology into all facets of school administration.
Help Finding Resources
CLRN (California Learning Resource Network) helps educators find standards-aligned software, video and Internet learning resources.
Education World offers free lesson plans and research materials, a search engine for educational websites, original content and articles written by education experts.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) makes hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find — with new resources added each month.
Internet Public Library is a global information community that provides inservice learning and volunteer opportunities for library and information science students and professionals, offers a collaborative research forum and supports and enhances library services.
National Education Technology Plan helps states and districts prepare today's students for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. From the U.S. Department of Education, this site includes information on the plan, how to participate, action steps and success stories.
WestEd is a nonprofit research, development and service agency that works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity and improve learning for children, youth and adults.
Multi-Curricular
Cable in the Classroom (CIC) is the cable telecommunications industry's nonprofit education foundation that focuses on improving teaching and learning in schools, at home and in the community through the use of new technologies and engaging content.
Edutopia.org is an indepth and interactive resource from The George Lucas Educational Foundation that focuses on ideal, interactive learning environments and enables others to adapt these successes locally. Edutopia.org contains a deep archive of continually updated best practices from classroom tips to recommendations for district-wide change. Within the site Edutopia video offers documentaries that can help educators and parents, as well as business and community leaders, to see and understand pioneering best practices.
Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) continues the California State Parks mission and supplements teaching academic content standards in California's public schools. PORTS uses California's K-12 High Speed Network (HSN) to deliver study units and create the perfect field trip for classrooms statewide. Study areas include tidepools, elephant seals, the California Gold Rush, paleontology and government.
PBS TeacherSource provides more than 3,000 free lesson plans and activities for pre K-12 correlated to national and local standards. Lesson plans are tied to quality PBS programming.
Curriculum Areas
Immersion Learning, founded in 2002, Dr. Robert Ballard, is a nonprofit science education organization that brings ocean adventures and discoveries to kids in classrooms, after-school settings and informal learning arenas. Immersion exposes students to a wide variety of science-related careers through live webcasts from real-world scientific expeditions, hands-on science activities correlated to the National Science Education Standards, interactive multimedia resources and much more.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum commemorates the 50th anniversary of Sputnik and the beginning of the Space Age with several special presentations online and in the museum.
Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons and activities to help young children learn how to read and read better. Online reading resources assist parents, teachers and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.
ArtsEdge, the National Arts and Education Network, is a Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts program that supports the placement of the arts at the center of the curriculum and advocates creative use of technology to enhance the K-12 educational experience. The site offers free, standards-based teaching materials for use in and out of the classroom as well as professional development resources, student materials and guidelines for arts-based instruction and assessment.
Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundation’s signature digital learning platform designed to improve educational and literacy achievement.
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling provides resources for teachers and students to explore the literal anatomy of the digital story as well as its evolution and emergence.
Poets.org includes discussion forums for teachers to share ideas, essays about poetry, extensive Web links; curriculum units and lesson plans, poet biographies and more than 2,000 poems. The site is both an interactive professional development program and a virtual community enabling all teachers to access free poetry resources.
Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. Learn about the Poet Laureate, view webcasts and link to related sources.
Very Special Arts promotes artistic excellence and provides through the arts educational opportunities for children of all abilities. The program also educates the general public and promotes awareness of the capabilities and accomplishments of people with disabilities.
Digital History offers 72 inquiry-based interactive modules to provide extensive primary sources on such topics as Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to relocate Japanese Americans during World War II; Lyndon B. Johnson's decision to escalate American involvement in the Vietnam War in 1964 and 1965; and children's perspectives on slavery, westward migration and World War II. The site also allows students and teachers to create multimedia American history exhibitions using historical images from an extensive database.
View more resources on the Students and Resources pages.
Great Web Sites for Kids provides tips and recommended sites for kids from the American Library Association and are categorized by topic and searchable.
The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) is a research project funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Microsoft Research to create a digital library of outstanding children's books from all over the world. The materials in the collection, all presented in the original languages in which they were published, reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests and lifestyles of peoples around the world. At the end of the initial research period,the collection will include approximately 10,000 materials in at least 100 languages.For ages 3-13 and librarians, teachers, parents and caregivers who work with children of these ages.
NASA for Students inspires students ages k-20 with educational image galleries, career information, podcasts, competitions, homework help, book resources, educational video clips and much more.
These parent and family online resources provide information, activities and tools to better understanding how to help your child succeed in school and make informed decisions about his or her education and well being. New sites and resources are added each month.
Media Literacy
Cable in the Classroom (CIC) is the U.S. cable industry’s education foundation created to foster the use of cable content and technology to expand and enhance learning for children and youth nationwide. Working in partnership with and on behalf of the cable industry, CIC advocates for the visionary, sensible and effective use of media in homes, schools and communities. Parents can browse educational TV programs and Web resources by subject area, download a monthly program calendar, access podcasts and learn about events, media smart methods and more.
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families. The organization began because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional and physical development of our nation's children. As a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization, they provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.
Parents’ Choice Foundation provide parents with information to participate wisely in their children's learning outside the classroom and to search out and recommend products that help kids grow – imaginatively, physically, morally and mentally. Guides for parents include rules to keep kits safe on the Internet, what makes a good DVD, tips for teaching kids to enjoy reading, homework helpers and more.
Parenting Information
U.S. Department of Education's website highlights No Child Left Behind and explains supplemental services to parents, provides a variety of resources to help your child succeed in school, information on federal student aid for college, homework help checklist, keeping kids drug free and more.
The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) provides services that complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in the County of Sacramento and plays a leadership role in the delivery of quality education. The site's parent section contains resources for families and the community.
The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA )isthe largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation and reminds our country of its obligations to children. The association provides parents and families with a powerful voice to speak on behalf of every child while providing the best tools for parents to help their children be successful students.
The California State PTA contains complete resources for parents to understand, help and become involved in the state organization as well as information and links on other children's issues.
Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) promote effective parental involvement practices across the country. The program is a nationwide effort designed to build successful family involvement in education as parents move beyond traditional activities — such as helping children with homework — toward a shared responsibility for school improvement. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, the program generally focuses on projects serving parents of low-income, minority and limited English proficient children in elementary and secondary schools. Resources include research on parental and family involvement, related organizations and survey forms for parental involvement.
Curriculum Areas
Reading Rockets is an educational initiative of the flagship public television and radio station WETA and with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, it offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and struggling readers improve their comprehension skills. Detailed parent information, podcasts, webcasts, blogs, guides and links are on the site as well as tips in English, Spanish and 10 other languages.
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation's oldest and largest nonprofit children's literacy organization. Educators and parents find advice, articles and booklists and learn about professional development programs, tips and activity ideas to help motivate kids to read. The site is in English or Spanish.
As part of the RIF Multicultural Literacy Campaign — a multi-year effort to promote and support early childhood literacy in African-American, Hispanic and Native American communities — RIF launched Leading to Reading, a free online educational resource to help parents and caregivers develop the language skills of infants, toddlers and preschoolers. RIF's fun and interactive site offers stories, games, music and other engaging literacy activities for young children to experience together with adults. In English and Spanish.
Very Special Arts promotes artistic excellence and provides educational opportunities through the arts for children of all abilities. Educates the general public, reduces fear and promotes awareness of the capabilities and accomplishments of people with disabilities.
Try Science is a gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide. The most important thing that parents can do to help children succeed in science is to help them succeed in school. Research shows that children achieve higher grades when family members are involved in their education in positive ways.
From the California State Department of Health Services, Champions for Change is committed to helping families eat healthier foods and engage in more physical activity. They are also involved in making healthy changes in neighborhoods to help families prevent chronic diseases including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and certain types of cancer. The site also contains recipes, tips to be more active, how to make healthy changes and free support materials. In English or Spanish.
