iTunes University is a diverse collection of easily accessible and free podcasts, videos, and TV shows uploaded into the iTunes library from colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Any student, teacher, or parent with the free iTunes software downloaded into their computer can access this content. If you have a iPod you can download these podcasts and carry a world of knowledge around in your pocket.

The iTunes University homepage is accessed from the iTunes software. The iTunesU icon will appear in the left hand column of the software and include a number list of downloaded materials. When this icon is clicked the main iTunes University page is brought up containing featured courses and educational institutions that rotate in the top bar. Noteworthy contributions are also featured in the lower half of the screen. An iTunes U Quick Links section breaks down the “university” into four links: Universities & Colleges, Beyond Campus, K-12, and iTunes U Power Search.

The K-12 section of the site contains contributions from several state educational systems as well as selections targeted specifically towards educators. Eager teachers and schools that already have started an online library of video content can also apply to have their content features in iTunes U where it can be accessed by students and schools all over the world.

The opportunities for a real virtual classroom are game-changing when coupled with the power of the iTunes distribution. Any content contributed will be archived for use in subsequent school years making this service a valid consideration when planning to incorporate more technology into school. A one time investment of time can provide years of learning supplementation, especially in courses such as math where information remains relatively static. Tools like iTunes University allow teachers to create content that can be shared with students all over the world. This allows students the opportunity to tap the collective knowledge of a vast number of teachers, which was not possible for students just a few years ago. Students who live in areas with limited teaching resources now have the opportunity access to great teaching for free.

Past the secondary school level on iTunes U is the rich library of content from colleges and universities. These videos and podcasts can be utilized by high school teachers in a number of ways. Videos that cover an element of a current classroom project can be incorporated into lesson plans and viewed during class or assigned as extra credit. Students who need to do research for a paper or school fair can also access the library and view videos from prestigious universities like Yale for a multimedia source on an assigned topic.

This post has been republished from the Intand blog.

BioInteractive, is a free online interactive website created by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), one of the leading non-profit medical research organizations in the US. The free award-winning website provides students and teachers with access to fully interactive laboratory modules that allow students to virtually conduct biomedical experiments. HHMI’s web-based collection of online teaching tools and materials encourage students to learn about biology with with free access to podcasts of HHMI researchers’ lectures, animations of biology topics, and other free learning materials. Through the site’s “Ask a Scientist” portal, students can also submit questions on everything from anatomy to DNA.

Laboratory modules include a bacterial identification lab, a cardiology lab, a neurophysiology lab and a virtual ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) using human antibodies to diagnose disease. Each module starts with a laboratory intro that provides a detailed overview of the experiment topic.

Using the laboratory notebook and following instructions, students are lead step-by-step through the process of conducting an experiment by clicking on online laboratory equipment. Detailed links and explanations throughout the lab, allow students to understand both the how and why of each step. A glossary section allows students to learn and understand important terms.

Teachers and schools can also order free DVD copies of the site’s videos, animation and lecture podcasts on a wide range of biology topics, including the science of fat, stem cell development and regeneration, and genes and gender.

WordAhead is a vocabulary word centered website sure to be of help to any student who wants to do well on state administered standardized tests, the SAT, or ACT as well as increase their personal vocabulary. The WordAhead premise is a simple one. The site provides a video featuring each vocabulary word on the site and its definition. A casual user can utilize the site very passively by signing up for a word-a-day email, but there are also several unique features at WordAhead to allow a more active learner to get ahead.

At Wordahead, scientific studies emphasizing the importance of repetition as a learning device have been taken fully into account. During the videos presented for almost all vocabulary words, the actual word is repeated several times. A video for a word such as “adjourn” will start with the word being presented with its full definition while the information is also read aloud. Then, a still cartoon image is shown to illustrate the meaning of the word while several sentences are read presenting the word in context. In many of these sentences the word will be used at least twice and typically in multiple tenses (i.e. present and past tense).

A multitude of vocabulary words and definitions are presented on the site and many students will likely find that they are already familiar with certain words and do not need to thumb through them on every visit to the site. In this instance, a free Wordahead account can be created which will allow any user to create a customized word list featuring as many or as few definitions as needed.

When a customized word list is toggled from the drop down menu at WordAhead, the videos will automatically begin to play in the browser window. This feature can also be used by a teacher to create a word list centered around a current lesson plan or as a study aid for an upcoming test. Any vocabulary list can be shared with other WordAhead members through the use of a class specific name like “Mrs. White English I, Test 3 Word List.”

These customization features and the targeted word repetition, featuring learning through hearing a vocabulary word in context and seeing an illustration while reading the word’s definition, makes WordAhead a unique educational resource.

This post is brought to you by Tandem Online School Calendar. Try the free annual school calendar here.

Twitter has become a pop culture sensation within the past year, and as such it as acquired users from every demographic of society and every level of business. Not surprisingly, more and more educators and educational institutions are also turning to Twitter as a new tool to further goals and facilitate the rapid relay of information.

Many colleges are already well-versed in using Twitter to further information on their school, but secondary and primary schools are only now beginning to consider the service as a way to reach their pupils and parents. There are many different topics that could be very easily addressed in a micro-blogging format to a school-wide audience.

One prime way Twitter can be utilized is as an information booth. No matter how many memos are issued over the course of the year, there always seems to be confusion over school information.

If your school uses an online school calendar with an RSS feed capability like Tandem for Schools, the school administration can integrate the school’s Twitter account with the calendar’s RSS feed. This would distribute tweets out to all followers of the school’s Twitter account.

Timely “tweets” at pre-arranged intervals before each event could remind students and parents about upcoming events. Reminders could be sent a week before, three days before, and on the day of the actual event. If school has to be closed or canceled due to inclement weather, a twitter blast can works in conjunction with phone calls and an online calendar.

Teachers can also utilize Twitter as a way to further their student’s independent learning. Many children are not likely to randomly begin searching out historical facts and videos while they are online, however, if they (or their parents on their behalf) received a tweet with a link to a specific educational web-site or an informative video that ties into current topics at school, they would be more likely to click through - especially if extra credit or bonus point promises were part of the tweet.

A further benefit, and perhaps the most important one, that educators and schools utilizing twitter offers is the ability to instill in students that while social networking is about maintaining connections with people you know, it is also a tool that can be utilized to acquire necessary information and to further learning and development.

Additional Links on Twitter In Education

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Education

Photo by keiya

The Microsoft keynote at this year’s RSA security conference in San Francisco featured Tandem for Schools to demo its new identification system called Geneva which provides authenticated information on a user (claims) to a third party application from the school’s existing information database (Active Directory). The third party app can then determine the permission level of the individual as it relates to the application based on this information. For instance Tandem for Schools can authenticate that an individual is a teacher from information received through Geneva from the school’s Active Directory and then grant them permission to add events to the school calendar.

Microsoft’s keynote at the 2009 RSA Conference by Scott Charney, VP of Trustworthy Computing, described Microsoft’s integration of the Geneva identification system with Tandem for Schools (you can view the keynote here which discusses Tandem at the 27:00 mark).

Security is important to everyone, and we here at Intand are dedicated to making sure that we are providing an easy, but safe, way for a school district to connect with their community. With the help of Microsoft’s Geneva Server, it becomes much easier for the IT staff at a district to manage the different identities and levels of permissions across their entire staff and community. This is a HUGE win for those at a school district in the IT department.

Intand is the first third party application to be tested with Microsoft’s new identity technology. Microsoft is currently piloting the system at the Lake Washington School District, which includes 50 schools and nearly 24,000 students.

According to Ariel Gordon from Microsoft’s Identity and Security Division, “What Intand has done is modify their application so that it can consume the claims that are coming from the district’s Active Directory through the Geneva server which conveys the users identities and rights and privileges. They have also made it possible for users to use an information card to sign in so they don’t need to type anything to access the app.”

When Geneva server is released by Microsoft, it will allow schools to manage security permissions for multiple third party applications from a single personnel database which can save the IT team significant time and energy.

Read more about Microsoft’s Identity Technology test with Tandem for Schools:

Microsoft tests identity technology in schools CNET

Microsoft tests online ID system in its hometown school district TechFlash

Microsoft: Internet, PCs Need New Security Model InternetNews

photo via ZDNet

This is a really neat website that can help students learn advanced vocabulary while helping others in need. Head over to FreeRice.com where you answer vocabulary multiple choice questions and raise 10 grains of rice for people in need with each question you answer correctly. With the help of savvy visitors and generous sponsors, Free Rice has raised funds to pay for 61 billion grains of rice.

The site feels like a game, because while you are learning new words and expanding your vocabulary, you are receiving a tangible reward. You can see a visible representation of the grains of rice that you have raised. So not only are you learning, but you are having fun, and feeling the rewards of helping others.

This from the US Today article “Duncan: Stimulus aid could give schools help“:

The one-time, multibillion-dollar congressional stimulus offers public schools “an extraordinary opportunity,” not just to plug gaping state and local budget holes, but to improve education in ways that have eluded the USA for decades, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday.

The stimulus includes about 141 billion for schools and colleges overall and is intended to fund school construction, college loans and other programs. Specifically there will be almost 5 billion increase for Title I this year (19.4 billion from 13.9 billion in 08) and 6 billion more for the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

While it is always good to get more funding, critics will question whether the money is going towards programs that will help students the most. What about increasing teacher salaries and incentives to encourage more talent to join the teaching ranks, especially for those with experience in science and mathematics.

How do you think the additional 141 billion should be spent?

Photo by mindfrieze