Web tools for students, parents, and teachers

I was in a meeting today where the topic of discussion was the turn that education has taken, and is still taking, in regards to technology. Some great resources were discussed and, while these don't always relate to kindergarten per se, I think they are great tools to have with your list of Web resources. I have listed a few below with a short explanation of what they are. Check them out if you get a chance and pass them on. If you have any great resources you would like to share, post a comment.

Khan Academy: The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit educational organization created and sustained by Salman Khan. With the stated mission "of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere", the Academy supplies a free online collection of more than 2,000 videos on mathematics, science, history, and economics.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

ePals: ePals is the leading provider of safe collaborative technology for schools to connect and learn in a protected, project-based learning network. With classrooms in 200 countries and territories, ePals makes it easy to connect learners locally, nationally or internationally.

http://www.epals.com/

School of One: This is a new way to look at teaching and learning. School of One re-imagines the traditional classroom model. Instead of one teacher and 25-30 students in a classroom, each student participates in multiple instructional modalities, including a combination of teacher-led instruction, one-on-one tutoring, independent learning, and work with virtual tutors.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/School-of-One/113172042987?v=wall

Go to Meeting: This site was discussed because a teacher used Go to Meeting as a tool for tutoring students in reading. There are a plethora of ways to use this site.

http://www.gotomeeting.com

QR Codes: A QR Code, also known as a Box Code, is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smart phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. You have probably seen these in magazines, lately. These were places outside our classrooms this week. A parent can download any QR Code app on their smart phones, scan the code, and be instantly taken to our class web site. A great tool for all schools!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code