Educational+Websites

= Links to Educational Websites      Reading  =

[|Starfall]
Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to motivate children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

[|PBS Kids]
Books, games and fun that reviews skills at home = Math [|Interactive Pattern Generator] =

Review pattern skills by moving pieces into pattern to complete the sequence. Try different levels for a challenge.

[|IXL]
Interactive math practice on many different skills.

[|Shark Numbers]
Play games counting by 10's and 1's.

[|Math Minutes]
Practice math facts with fun and interactive games.

= Astronomy =

[|Celestia]
Celestia lets you view the night skies from any point on earth at any time or virtually fly through space to see the sky from any point in the known universe. Celestia is FREE!Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

[|Stellarium]
While Stellarium doesn’t let you fly through the universe like Celestia (above), it does let you view the night skies from any point on earth’s surface at any date and time. It’s so accurate, it’s used by a number of planetariums, and it’s better than most of the comparable commercial applications. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

[|KStars]
KStars offers much the same functionality as Stellarium—seeing the night sky from any point on earth at any time. It also adds some features for amateur astronomers, like the observing list, altitude vs. time tool, and the what’s up tonight tool. (Note that in order to use KStars on Windows, you’ll have to download [|KDE for Windows].) Operating System: Windows, Linux. = Art =

[|TuxPaint]
TuxPaint lets kids make their own artistic creations with a variety of stamps, drawing tools, and special effects. Because of its light footprint, it can run on old or new PCs, including tablets. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

= Chemistry =

[|Kalzium]
Kalzium offers a free guide to the periodic table, including chemical data, energy information, diagrams, and a glossary. It also includes a helpful equation solver and calculator. (Note that in order to use Kalzium on Windows, you’ll have to download [|KDE for Windows].)Operating System: Windows, Linux. = Educational Games =

[|ChildsPlay]
Aimed at pre-schoolers and kindergarteners, this app includes a variety of memory and letter recognition games, as well as classic pong and pacman. The graphics aren’t as well developed as the commercial products, and it doesn’t have a storyline, but the games are fun for young children. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X. = Foreign Language =

[|ZWDisplay]
Learning to read Mandarin? Input Chinese characters, and this app will show you how to pronounce them (in pinyin) and what they mean in English. Like a flashcard application, it also remembers which words you have already learned. Operating System: Linux. = Flashcards =

[|FlashQard]
Based on the Leitner Method, FlashQard lets you create “different card types for different purposes” and presents the cards in a manner designed to optimize learning. It also includes a handy “e-speak” feature that pronounces vocabulary words for you. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

[|jVLT]
Designed primarily for learning a foreign language, this Java-based program includes the capabilities to track a vocabulary word’s gender, part of speech, and examples of the word in use in a sentence. Other jVLT users have created pre-existing vocab lists that you can download, including English-Czech, German-French, Thai-English, French-English, practical Chinese, and several others. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

=Geography=

[|WorldWind]
WorldWind offers very similar functionality as Google Earth. Now you can also download a Java SDK for WorldWind that lets you create your own apps based on the technology. For educators who aren’t interested in writing their own apps, the site also includes links to Web applications that other people have created with WorldWind, including ones that track earthquakes and global warming. Operating System: OS Independent.

[|Marble]
This world globe app offers special features for classroom teachers, like topographic maps, map keys, temperature and precipitation maps, and more. You can even change the date and time and watch how the sky and twilight zone on the map changes. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.  =Typing=

[|TuxType]
Designed for elementary students who are learning their way around the keyboard, TuxType offers basic typing lessons and two fun typing games. This app doesn’t offer quite as many games, lessons, and features as the commercial software, but it does provide a good introduction to typing for young students. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.