A Great URL Contest
by Kathleen Carpenter
Recently educators were invited to "go poking around the site,
find a Teachers.Net nook or cranny you haven't used before and tell us about it." Each respondent was entered in a drawing for a copy of The Busy Educator's Guide to the World Wide Web autographed by author Marjan Glavac. The winner was Nancy L. of British Columbia, who entered via the Canadian-teachers mailring with this Great Teachers.Net URL and comment: http://www.teachers.net/mentors/webauthors/ "I was happy to find the Web Authors Chat Board, where teachers working on web sites can compare notes and ask questions."
The Web Authors page was frequently mentioned by those who wrote about their jaunts into new Teachers.Net territory. Another very popular find was the Curriculum Bank (http://teachers.net/curriculum/ ) where people were delighted to find a wealth of resources. One reader said, "I enjoyed visiting some of the many museums around the world [using the "museums" link on the curriculum page]." Another used the "movies" link from the same page and commented, "Good site to check out those movies that my teenagers want to see.!"
Many mailring members commented that they had never before explored the searchable Lessons Bank http://teachers.net/lessons, and were pleased with what they found. "Oodles and oodles of Math Lesson Plans - I can't wait to check them all out!" Another offered, "http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/977.html is a great resource for using ClarisWorks or Kidpix to teach the writing of Haiku poetry."
The Meeting Archives http://teachers.net/archive impressed a number of first time visitors to that section. "I looked around and found the archives for the teacher chat meetings. I have not had enough nerve to actively participate and am often busy doing other things but recently learned you can read the archived chats which are very informative." Another reader commented, "I had a great time and hours of interesting and informative fun in the Archives. I have never visited this section and was totally absorbed!"
The Great Teachers.Net URL activity was educational for all who participated. "I've been on T-net for about a year and a half, and I've never been anywhere except the main chatboard, or the Music Chatboard http://www.teachers.net/mentors/music/! Thanks for the lesson!" "Hmmmm....it's amazing what you can find, here at T-net, once you've taken the time to 'poke around.' Thanks!!!"
For those who weren't selected in the drawing, The Busy Educator's Guide to the World Wide Web is available from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0968331009/teachersnet/. NOTE: Hundreds of books of interest to educators are available in another cranny of the site: http://teachers.net/books/.
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