Free tools
What's on the web? Here are a few fun
and interesting things - and they're all free!
MUSIC AND SOUND Make music with fun online tool KissTunes. Simply choose an instrument and use the keyboard or mouse to play notes. You can record, edit and save tunes, and then share your masterpieces with others. Audience Sounds is exactly that – a collection of fun and realisitic sounds that an audience could make: clapping, booing, ooohs and aaahs. It's easy to use. Just press the coloured button to hear the sound and download what you need. Its makers describe it as an experimental sound/vision musical instrument. Glitchscape is certainly a bit different. You make boxes and it turns them into music, which you can save and share. SPACE If you'd like to know what it's like to be a Martian, here's your chance. Created by NASA, Be A Martian has games, photos, maps and other resources on the Red Planet to explore. Join up and become a citizen... or just have a look around. Explore the fiery heart of our Solar System with The Sun in Motion. Observe phenomena such as solar flares and speculas, watch IMAX movie clips of various aspects of the sun, and learn about the chemistry behind the giant fireball – all from the safety of your classroom. Use your maths skills to launch into space with Space Shuttle Launch! Select your 'mode of operation' – addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. – then simply click on the correct number to launch the shuttle. REFERENCE The World Digital Library is a collection of virtual treasures from around the world, searchable by topic, location and date. It includes maps, manuscripts, rare books, musical scores, film, prints, photos, and architectural drawings. It's only just started but Twick it could become quite a fun resource. It's an online encyclopaedia with a difference – every entry has to be 140 characters or less (like a tweet on Twitter). Perhaps ask your students could come up with brief answer and definitions, and post them to the site. NATURE For some stunning animal photography go to Animal Affairs. Check out the 'Collections' section for fascinating groups of images – animals eyes, aquariums, ants, bees, pigs, even 'pretty ugly' (which we'll leave you to find out about). Take a virtual journey through the Canadian Museum of Nature with Explore Nature! There's a great range of interactive activities to learn interesting information about nature and the organisms in it – from digging up dinosaurs to building a digestive system to becoming a palaeobotany detective. From the Dolan DNA Learning Center, the Biology Animation Library has a selection of fascinating animations on such topics as cloning, DNA transformation, cycle sequencing, and gel electrophoresis. They can be viewed within your Web browser (Flash is required) or downloaded. Also check out the 3D animations. Exploring the Secret Life of Trees is an animated slideshow that explains about trees and how they grow, and describes how an acorn becomes a tree. Use the 'Back' and 'Next' buttons to navigate. The site includes useful a teacher's guide. PHOTOGRAPHY Look down on Colditz Castle or Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The UK's National Collection of Aerial Photography has some amazing aerial images of Europe (mostly WWII) sourced from The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA). From The Boston Globe, The Big Picture is a collection of, yep you've guessed it, 'big' pictures (as in large). They're quite stunning in their impact and may also be worth a class discussion or two. Images relate to news events, and can be searched by category or by archived dates. AROUND THE WORLD Put together by CNN, Planet In Peril examines the environmental conflicts between the world's growing populations and natural resources. It has a number of reports, videos, slideshows and other interactive material to explore. The Road To Refuge is an informative and impressive presentation by the BBC on the plight of refugees around the world. There are articles, discussions, photos, audio and video, and other resources on the site. Visual Geography lets you explore the world through images, flags, money, language, maps and other information. It has images and quizzes from about 85 countries, and a nifty feature that lets you compare demographic data on any two countries. Get a snapshot of what's happening in global news with Ten By Ten. This is a great little program that every hour automatically displays thumbnail images of the top 100 news stories. Click a picture for a synopsis and link. PLEASE
NOTE: PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK THE APPROPRIATENESS OF ANY
ONLINE RESOURCES BEFORE USING THEM IN CLASS. |
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