Internet+Teacher+Networks

=This page contains information about Internet Teacher Networks= ==Life Science and Biology==

NSTA Biology (Allie White)

This website is awesome because it allows you to sign up for an email list where you can talk to teachers who are in the same position as you. The email lists send about 30 emails a day to my email of teachers offering ideas that they thought were great to asking for help on how to fix certain thins they are doing (such as labs). The only negative to this site is that it FLOODED my email at first, but now I have it set up to go somewhere else into a folder so I can look at the emails when I have time to get ideas.

[] (Reviewed By Heather Malin) This website is very helpful for future teachers, I looked only at the biology portion, however, there are other subject contents there. In this there were a variety of different subjects where teachers were able to bounce ideas off of each other. One of the topics I really found interesting was teachers discussing how they get complex and hard to understand topics across to their students.

NSTA (biology teacher) Reviewed by Ryan Kelleher Going the NSTA has been very helpful it has allowed me access to a network of teachers. Constantly people are asking question allowing me opportunities to learn more about techniques on how teach certain class. I also get a lot of email about events, articles and newsletter. I find it helpful now but even more helpful when I start teaching. It will allow me an opportunity to ask question and provide resource for my class.

NSTA Biology Teacher ListServ (Reviewed by Josh Egner)

This listserv is always sending me emails from biology teachers on anything to do with biology education. I joined about a month ago and I have so many emails already. This is kind of annoying but if you place them in a separate folder it can be quite useful. These teachers email questions about labs and other ideas. One I found particularly interesting was a teacher was trying to show her students a cell bursting but she did not know what to use so she sent out an email. Within hours many teachers responded and told her about sheep blood cells if she can find a source. I think this kind of information can be very important to any teacher because they are seeing ideas and can bring these ideas into their classrooms.

[] (teacher websites) This site was also interesting as a first year teacher. It provided an organized list of ideas for teachers. The first thing you did was you chose your subject and content area. From there, there was a list of various PowerPoint’s, activities and lesson plan ideas. Even though it had all of these resources, I still did not see that anything was especially spectacular. The lessons were basic and did not follow any of the formats that I follow for Sem 1 in Education.

The Synase (Reviewed by Tamara McCombs) []

The goal of this network, as stated on the main page, is to perform a similar function as the synaptic gap does in the nervous system--transmitting important information between biology instructors at all levels and from all areas. Within the network users can join various groups depending on their interests and/or what they teach. Some of the groups include "marine biology, the central dogma, fervent evolution discussion, AP Biology, General Biology, Good Practice, Environmental Science, Zoology, Science in the City". Within the groups individuals can post lesson ideas, issues that have come up in their classes, and questions they have or want to discuss. Many of the ideas and suggestions are excellent and I would definitely use them. The only downside is that there is often long periods of time between posts on certain subjects. Overall, though, I think the Synapse is a very useful resource.

NSTA Biology Teachers Network (reviewed by Bob Verdon)

As a Biology teacher in training I find this network a valuable resource since I joined about a month ago. I have started to catalogue the e-mails according to subject matter for my future teaching needs. I have to mirror the comments made by Rachael and Emily that the discussions, suggestions and approaches put out their by Biology teachers are a great way to get my head in the game of science teaching. It is refreshing to see so many different teachers from so many levels (college, MS and HS and some promoting their software...) truly interested in promoting the Biology teaching profession. Also, there are threads that discuss teaching different level, special needs' students, and classroom management issues which is all new to me and are educational for my learning curve on more general classroom management subjects.

Teachers Network (Reviewed by Joe Pereira)

The Teachers Network is a really comprehensive site. It has everything from blogs to lesson plans to teacher grants and professional development packages. Its a really good site easy to navigate, although the home page seems to be too busy for me. There are a lot of articles and other links all over the place but the information that I did read is good information that can really help.

NSTA Biology Teachers Network (reviewed by Rachael Shearouse)

This network provides resources for lessons, labs and fun ideas to do in the classroom. You can pose questions you have about a subject or ask for ideas on how to teach a topic and teachers from all over can post and answer your questions and give ideas. I've looked through some of the hundreds of emails that I have received from this site and I have found some interesting websites and lab activities that I would consider using in class. I think the network a great way to share ideas with other teachers. And the resources presented have been useful.

Biology Teacher Network through NSTA (reviwed by Emily Detter)

I subscribed to join this network about a month ago and since then I have received many emails daily. I have received emails that include ideas on how to present information, activities, labs, and teachers asking other teachers for ideas. I think this is very helpful because the information being presented comes from teachers who have tried these ideas in the classrooms and know that they are useful and that they work. The discussions are very helpful and very effective. This site allows teachers to bounce ideas back and forth in order to find the best ways to teach students. One aspect I found helpful was the idea of teaching around holidays or certain events. In the past week or so, many ideas about how to teach with Halloween in mind were coming up. This site provides ideas that I would have never thought of and the ideas are usually very useful.

Teachers.net (reviewed by Jamie Huber)

This teacher network is a free networking site for teachers of all subjects and all grade levels. The website itself is very user-friendly, and has a ton of resources. Their is a chat center to pose questions for other educators to respond with the ability to connect with teachers across the globe. Their is also a teacher specific chatboard that can narrow down who your chats are geared towards. One can choose a specific category, or a specific grade level to steer your question or chat in the right direction. The site also has a section where one can find or post lesson plans. This section has a lot or science plans, you just have to search out what you are looking for. Similar to the lesson plan area, their is also a place for teachers to post projects for the classroom according to different subjects. I personally liked the Earth Day projects that where on this site. Other areas of interest are a place for job listings, classified adds, and articles of interest for educators. The site also has its own newsletter that can be accessed right from teachers.net. I found the site to be very resourceful and interesting, with many ideas and interesting topics within the chatrooms.

NSTA website and List Server (reviewed by Don Detwiler)

The NSTA website provides support for teachers of all levels by providing lesson ideas, lesson plans, information on professional development, and NSTA member information that covers all branches of science education from elementary to college. The list servers are particularly beneficial as they are content specific and benefit from the organizations national pool of teachers. This provides a tremendous resource with ideas on technical topics like technology integration, and laboratory solutions to practical concerns like motivating seniors and providing dissection free anatomy lesson options. The website itself provides information on virtually every topic a science teacher is going to encounter and with the inclusion of the List Server anything that isn’t on the site can be asked and answered quickly.

Internet Teacher Networks (Reviewed by Shannon Jones)

[] The website is a great way for teachers to communicate with each other from all over the country. The homepage has a place for recent posts by other teachers and also the latest news that contains articles about teaching. The website has a menu bar that allows you to look through what they have to offer. You can read a history, current initiatives, and find contact information. They have a search engine on the site that allows a teacher to look for resources that are reliable. Many of the posts are interesting to read and would suggest going through them even if you don’t use this in your resource packet!

The Synapse- [|http://thesynapse.ning.com] (reviewed by Justin Tice)

The Synapse is a Teacher Network that is directed towards specifically biology teachers. The network serves as a locale for biology teachers everywhere to share information and ideas as well as collaborate on current issues in biology as they relate to classroom teaching. The website offers a photo section, a video section, a forum (with 'ask a veteran' section as well as 'lesson plans' sections'), an events section, a groups section (with groups focused on sharing information and ideas on specific topics of interest in teaching biology.), a blog, and notes. The forum section is a place to start or post on forums that tailor to specific questions or topics within the realm of biology education including sharing lesson plans and lab ideas. The groups section however, is the section of the network that I seemed to find most easy to access and the most beneficial. Within this section, topics in biology education are localized under specific headings that have coinciding pictures for example; marine biology, general biology, environmental science, etc. Members of the Synapse network can join any of the specific groups to receive information or share information pertaining to that specific groups focus. This might include such things as news clips, articles, recent updates, photos, videos, instructional aides, interactive media, questions/concerns, etc. As a member of the synapse network, one is given their own personal page which they may customize to fit their individual likes or utilize to further share information through the network with other members. I thought it was a good network, however I did think it had some minor drawbacks. It seems to be smaller in enrollment than the other networks I have viewed. There often appears to be long periods of inactivity within specific groups indicating that the members do not actively participate in sharing and conversing on the network as much as one might hope or imagine. Despite these few minor drawbacks, I do believe that the network is useful in gathering and sharing information about biology education and I feel that being a member of this network can only benefit you as a biology teacher.

Discovery Education Forums (reviewed by Bob Podlinski)

http://forums.discoveryeducation.com/?CFID=9722567&CFTOKEN=98550969

Most, if not all of us, have used Discovery Education in our classrooms. Many districts have subscriptions to the site. There is a message board and a blog that users can post and talk with other teachers who use the site. Anyone can view the pages, however to post you have to be a member. Once a member, any science topic can be discussed. There are nearly 2000 members, and I can only imagine with how technology is increasing this number will explode within the next year or so. The posts are very informative, and the site is easily navigated. Some of the posts include help with lessons, using the site, viewing webinars and conferences, and application of the Discovery Education site in the classroom. If your school uses Discovery Education, I would highly recommend using the forums to rapidly expand your knowledge of the site.

Teachers Network (reviewed by Kristin D'Arienzo)

The website I reviewed is teachersnetwork.org and is a website made by teachers for teachers. This website provides numerous resources, lesson plans and even teacher grants to all who need it. They also have a professional development link that takes you to a page containing numerous packages that can be purchased online. This includes books, DVD's, CD-ROM's and videos that can be used in a classroom. These videos serve as a more appropriate and reliable source of videos than youtube.com. In addition to all they offer teachers they also provide classes that can be taken by current or prospective teachers. You can earn 3 credits for each class you take and it can all be done in the comfort of your own home. This website is a very useful tool for new teachers who are just beginning their carreers because it provides many resources that will help make that first year of teaching a lot easier.

Chris Torres ( [|www.teachers.net] ) I reviewed teachers.net which I found through a Google search for teacher networks. I have some mixed feelings on the website. It has a lot of resources for teachers, but I didn’t see anyone thing that really stood out. I expected a little more when I looked at the lesson plans. I felt that looking for a lesson I’d actually use was difficult, which may only be because I am somewhat picky about what lessons I use. I did like the discussion boards though; it had some interesting topics. Also I liked that it had a section dedicated to finding jobs. I think the section of this network that left me wanting a little more was the projects category. Other than the section on classroom pets and field trips, nothing fit into a biology class. I would probably use this network in some cases…but on a scale from 1-10 I’d give this network a 6.5

__ National Association of Biology Teachers, NABT, ([|www.nabt.org]) review by Amber Anderson __ The National Association of Biology Teachers was an organization created by science education professionals, life science and biology in particular, from across the country in 1938. The best asset that this website has to offer are teaching resources for the biology classroom. The website proclaims that they "empower educators to provide the best possible biology and life science education for all students", with the resources they provide, I feel that they have, undoubtedly, fulfilled their mission. They created resources that enable teachers to discuss matters of their schools and classrooms with others across the nation. This can be done via blog or through the NABT Bio Club, a great source of networking because teachers may need new or additional tools for their students' engagement in the classroom. They offer conferences and workshops as well for biology teachers. At the conferences, teachers are taught how to better assist students; for, students' needs are vast and continue to change within the classroom. In addition, this website provides the current developments within the field of biology and life science. Finally, as stated by the NABT, "teaching is all about relationships--you and your students, you and your colleagues, you and your content. We have a rich collection of resources and programs, and your relationship with NABT puts those resources in your hands."

The Synapse: [] (reviewed by Brooke Lininger) This is an internet network site dedicated to the teaching of biology, and is very easy to navigate by content or interest area as content based groups are abundant. The website is based on the premise of bridging the communication gap between biology teachers, much like the space between neurons is bridged to transmit information. General pedagogy information is available, as well as information on specific tasks in the classroom (for example, dealing with dissection). There are also resources offered such as photo and video links. I have found this site very easy to navigate, due to the specific groups available (in particular a high school anatomy and physiology group). One additional advantage to this site is that you do not need to be a member of the site to read posts and access information. I believe that this site would best serve as a way of communicating with fellow teachers for new and creative ideas on specific topics, general course planning, and for troubleshooting issues that may come up in the classroom (as noted, how to handle dissection activities), rather than a source of general content. One of the disadvantages of relying on internet networks is that the information available is dependent upon the activity of other members choosing to reply, which may not occur in a timely manner, however this site appears to receive a sufficient amount of “traffic” to suggest that this would likely not be the case.

==Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics==

NSTA (Brittany Baccaro)

NSTA stands for national science teacher association. On this website, there is tons and tons of information. They have current news articles in science as well as journals and lesson plans. On the side you can choose your classroom from elementary science to college science. Clicking your classroom leads you to teacher resources. They have materials like books, position statements, and competitions. There is also a tab that has professional development opportunities. This tab tells about seminars, trips, conferences, etc. I find this to be a very good source because it has basically everything a science teacher would want to look up all in one place. They have great information about so many different things. If you become more familiar with the site it will be easier to navigate and easily find exactly what you are looking for. http://www.nsta.org/highschool/

NSTA high school resources [] (reviewed by Joseph Konopinski)

The Next Generation Science Standards book establish performance expectations for students that integrate three important dimensions from science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts, and incorporate important concepts of engineering. Maintaining a teachable number of core ideas was clearly a priority for the writers. That book is free for NSTA members. This website offers many free lesson plans, classified ads, classroom activities, and over 100 chat boards available. There are also annual meetings around the world which offer teaching workshops and seminars for multiple days.

NSTA (reviewed by Trina Carito)

NSTA is a teacher network for science teachers of every learning age. There are multiple resources which they provide. For example the trip to Baltimore in which teachers and student teachers are welcome to participate in several days of workshops and seminars which can help bring new ideas to your class room, as well as get some good insight about teaching accommodations such as ELL. Information about this conference, as well as others, is posted by NSTA teachers, and once the conference is over those who attended are able to post reviews. When you log onto their website the first topic is "Toyota Tapestry Grant" which is a grant for science teachers. This included a story about a teacher, Remy Dou, who is benefiting from this grant by having his students create plant environments which could survive in space. His style of teaching is very project based, therefore this grant was exactly what he needed to teach in the way he wanted to. NSTA provides an opportunity to apply for this grant, among others, so that your teaching aspirations do not need to be stifled by low district budgets.The website can be found at http://www.nsta.org/?lid=exp.

Teachers.net (Thomas Kotch)

Teachers.net ([]) is a free website with many items of interest to teachers and aspiring teachers. The site has over 150 chatboards, a section with free lesson plans, classified adds, classroom activities, and teacher mailrings. While there are many resources directed toward science teachers, the site provides a forum for all disciplines and grade levels. The general teacher chatboard is fun to read and may provide some insight to the workaday world of teachers but I find that, in general, it addressed fairly commonplace discussions ranging from teacher dress codes to Halloween party logistics. On the other hand, the boards and mailrings geared toward high school teachers and science teachers are much more helpful. There are threads that deal with textbook choices, software and website development, and classroom activities. The Teachers.Net Mailring Network connects thousands of teachers through the email. Here, one can interact with colleagues to find answers to teaching questions, resources, or job hunting. I would definitely recommend registering with Teachers.net. It's easy to navigate and provides a wealth of information. http://teachers.net/mentors/science/

NSTA (reviewed by Whitney Twining)

NSTA is a network for teachers of all different subjects and levels. The subject I participated in was chemistry. I received multiple emails a day on questions and concerns of chemistry teachers around the world. One interesting topic in which was circulating is differential learning. The question asked was: Is it a good idea to allow students to choose a way in which they want to learn? The teacher would give a project or assignment and let the student choose the way they want to learn it. The specific teacher with the question said, "I’ve read about teachers offering different options for completing assignments and homework so students can choose how they will learn and display knowledge in a particular area."I thought this was interesting and know that is it something that would take a lot of planning time to incoorporate, but if it worked and all student needs were met, I think it would be a great idea. A person responded with a website that they thought might help with this type of activity (http://sciencecafe.wikispaces.com/). Another post that I thought interesting was all the information that the teachers tried to use on "MOLE DAY". They truly tried to make it a unique and exciting learning opportunity to students. Many teachers made posts on different ideas and activites for the day. A specific lab in which I liked was a lab that used slime. It is aimed for younger children but I think would be a great fun lab for older students if was made more in depth. The website for it is: [] =

==Earth and Space Science==

SUNY Oneonta listserv (Bryan Freeman)

This listserv allows Earth Science teachers from around the country to communicate, provide and receive advice, and post their notes and lessons that they use on a regular basis. There is no fee to join simply go to, [] and follow the instructions. There is a listserv for Earth Science, Living Environment, General Science grades 5-8, Physical Science, K-4 Science, and Chemistry at the above link. I only am part of the Earth Science one and have already benefited from this by using previous posts from teachers already in the field. There is an archive that allows you to search through all previous postings depending on the year. Everything within Earth Science is covered on this listserv and there are enough postings for it to get a little overwhelming at times. Despite the vast amount of information, this listserv has been and will continue to be extremely useful to me. I would recommend this to anyone who is in Earth Science or even thinking of teaching Earth Science.

NSTA Discussion Board (Steven Beautz)

This is an online discussion board for science teachers to ask questions and get answers. You do not have to be an NSTA member to register, all you have to do is register as a user, which consists of getting a user name and password www.nsta.org/main/forum/. Teachers can learn general information about science or the teaching of science. This oline board gives teachers a chance to ask questions, share information, and get advice. Boards are organized to focus on specific areas of interest, such as evolution, grade-level teaching, or NSTA membership. I think these discussion boards are very useful because you get to converse with other teachers just like yourself. Overall, I think that these discussion boards can be very useful and important and i would encourage teachers to use NSTA discussion boards.

Earth Science Forum c/o NSTA (Jim Bratcher)

I subscribe to several different chat boards through NSTA but I have found the Earth Science board in particular very useful. Like the other chat boards reviewed here, the General Science board is a great place to post questions and get responses from other teachers, mostly from veteran teachers who have been “in the game” for years. On this board, teachers post requests for ideas on teaching a particular subject and almost immediately someone responds; not just with an answer but with useable resources like lesson plans, activity guides, and lab sheets. I know this happens on other boards as well, but on the Earth Science board it happens almost daily. I myself have already built up a library of material on at least 10 different subjects commonly covered in 8th Grade Earth Science. The vast majority of the resources I have gathered are in MS Word format, so it is easy to edit or adjust the file to suit my specific needs.

There are lots of reasons to subscribe to a discussion board: classroom management tips, ideas on what works and what doesn’t, assessment advice, and sometimes just getting a bit of support from someone who’s been through whatever you’re going through. What makes the Earth Science forum essential is the readily available and freely shared resources.

NSTA Earth Science Community Forum (reviewed by Sal-Lee Patti)

NSTA provides an open forum for Earth Science. So far there has been 370 different topics talked about on this board. Teacher can look through this to see if it can answer any questions they have. Even better, if a teacher has a question they can easily post a new topic. Each time I have been on this forum, there has been at least 20 others looking at it too, which shows that this is an active forum. The nice thing about this forum that it is not only a teaching resource, but you can talk to people with science backgrounds about current topics to become more knowledgable. ==General Science==

Teacher Leader Networks [] (Reviewed by Taylor Hartey) The Internet Teacher Networks allows teachers to get online and discuss issues of the classroom. There is a video post where you can watch current events; recently the video was about a member of the Teacher Leader Network opened a Math-Science Leadership Academy. This site has a link where teachers can create and discuss ongoing and dailies blogs. Two examples of recent posts were: [|RTI: It's about Instruction, Not Just Intervention] and, [|A Collection of Cohesive Teaching Techniques]. This site also consists of The Teachers of 2030: Creating a Student-Centered Profession for the 21t Century. This is an online magazine, but also has a blog which deals with the future of teaching. “The Teachers of 2030 invite policymakers and teacher leaders to rethink today's teaching policies by imagining the knowledge, skills and qualities teachers must have in the year 2030.” If you are looking for a place to discuss a topic or for opinions that were previously discussed I’m sure you can find it on this site.