Free Online Music Mixer Creates MP3s!

Don't laugh, but while reading my cereal box this morning I learned about the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Music Mixer.

This site allows you to play DJ and create your own music mix by using 6 of the over 50 available loops with fun names like "what up", "crazykeyz" and "glugglug."

If you choose to register for the site (email address required), you will be able to save your mixes online and, best of all, you can download an MP3 of your creations!

Although not as sophisticated as GarageBand, CTC Music Mixer is a lot of fun and your students will be able to create their own music to accompany a classroom multimedia presentation.

Free Streaming Video from PBS

While browsing ISTE's website I came across a link to PBS' American Field Guide. There are over 1400 streaming video clips in either Real Player or Windows Media Player format.

You may browse the categories-- animals, ecosystems, human history, livelihoods, earth & space, plants, public policy and recreation-- or conduct a keyword search and even limit your search by state.

In the Teacher Resources section you will find several "Units of Inquiry" intended for middle school or high school students. Topics include: fires, floods, flowers and plants, insects, landfills, mammals and others. Each unit includes lesson plans, content standards, downloadable documents, and links to the featured video clips for each activity in the unit.

The streaming videos pop up in a small window, but right-clicking on a Windows Media Player video will allow you to enlarge it to full screen. (I don't have Real Player, but I assume it will also enlarge the video.)

If your school is fortunate to have a unitedstreaming subscription you may find similar content in their collection, but this free service from PBS is definitely worth a look.

P.S.- I just discovered you can email a link to a specific clip! Teachers with a classroom website would be able to copy the URL and link directly to a video clip for students to access from home.

Internet Safety Site

Primary and Elementary students will enjoy learning about Internet safety from Faux Paw the Techno Cat. From the home page students will select their state, and then be taken to a screen with a short printed greeting from the "first lady" or "first gentleman" of that state.

There is a 5-10 minute Looney Toons style cartoon movie created by Brigham Young University that may be streamed or downloaded from the site. Or if you prefer, the story is also presented as an online book, and in a printable format.

Teachers may also download a worksheet, a discussion guide and vocabulary quiz and other printables to use in conjunction with the cartoon. There are even Faux Paw screensavers and wallpaper, and a fun & games section for kids.

This important information on Internet safety is presented in a way that is non-threatening to elementary age students.

Classroom Clipart and Photos

Rather than sending your students to Google to search for images (and having to cross your fingers and hold your breath that nothing inappropriate pops up), have them use Classroom Clipart where they will be able to choose from thousands of classroom appropriate pictures and clip art images.

Scroll to the bottom of their home page to the pictures of the week section and you can click on a link to dozens of pictures from Hurricane Katrina.

Please observe these terms of use:

These images can be used solely EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES in the K-12 classroom. This means that K-12 students may use these images for school projects and reports. Images in the Classroom Clipart collection may be used by teachers and students in print, multimedia, and video productions. Uses include, school projects, school webpages, school contests, and for school fund raising activities. These images are watermarked. A Classroom Clipart Logo/Copyright must be included and must not be removed from the image. When using an image on a webpage the image must include this link "Image Provided by Classroom Clipart"

New Orleans Satellite Imagery on Google Maps

Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) has just posted recent satellite imagery of New Orleans that allows the user to compare sections of the city pre- and post-Katrina.

There is an update link on the right side of the Google Maps home page, or you may type New Orleans in the search box.

To view the city pre-Katrina click on the satellite button. There is a red Katrina button that will display the same area post-Katrina.

I have posted a picture of the Superdome.

Outstanding Egyptology Site- Theban Mapping Project

I came across this site while reading the Christian Science Monitor's Sci/Tech RSS feed. The Theban Mapping Project is a very comprehensive and highly interactive site for anyone wanting to learn about Egyptology.

There are two main sections to the site: The Atlas of the Valley of the Kings features over 2000 images, interactive models of the tombs, 65 narrated tours, and a 3D rendering of one of the tombs. WOW! I could easily spend hours exploring this section.

The Atlas of the Theban Necropolis allows users a Google Earth-like view of the entire archaeological site using aerial photos that were taken back in 1979. You can zoom in and out, and mouse-over to see the name of each site, but clicking on the site for some reason did not provide the more detailed description that was supposed to occur. Until the additional interactivity is added, I believe most students and teachers will enjoy the first section more.

You'll also find a user guide, glossary, bibliography, timeline, links to additional Egyptology sites, and even information on becoming an Egyptologist!

I hope I have an opportunity to see these ancient sites in person someday. But until then I will have to enjoy a virtual visit at www.thebanmappingproject.com

For a more detailed description of this outstanding website, read the Christian Science Monitor article by Jim Regan here.

Emergency Preparedness

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I can't even begin to imagine what the thousands of survivors have to deal with in the aftermath. I, like many Americans, would not know where to go, or what to do during the recovery process. A big thank you to the Librarians Index to the Internet (www.lii.org) for providing a link to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) "Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness."

This 21 MB PDF file (204 pages!) includes sections on floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms and lightning, winter storms and extreme cold, extreme heat, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and mudslides, tsunamis, fires, hazardous materials, household chemical emergencies, nuclear power plant disasters, and terrorism.

This is, without a doubt, unpleasant reading material, but so very necessary to our very survival in the face of disaster, either natural or man-made.

FEMA also has sites for teachers, parents and kids with lesson plans, activities and many links to helpful websites that may be more age appropriate. Perhaps all teachers could use the Hurricane Katrina disaster as a teachable moment using these resources, and the thousands of pictures and first hand accounts that are already available on the Internet.