Educator+Resources

WEEK 2
We'll collaboratively review a short list of resources specifically for early childhood educators. Please add at least one additional resources that you think your colleagues would find beneficial. As the list grows we can create new categories to help better organize the sites we identify.

__**Early Childhood Blogs and News**__

[|Topics in Early Childhood Education] is an informative blog that also offers links to articles and other resources related to early childhood education.

[|The Preschool Test] is a blog maintained by a parent that offers ideas and products for the preschool classroom.

[|WoWKits Weblog for Educators] keeps you informed on issues related to early childhood. Resources include multiple intelligences, the importance of play, links to the latest industry news and ideas, information about current research and policies, and engaging activity ideas to do with your child.

[|Early Childhood News] - is an online resource for parents and caregivers of children ages birth to 8. The site offers, articles, activity ideas, and an online radio program.

[|Inside Pre-K Now] blog is a collection of stories about teaching pre-kindergarten.

//[|Sharin' with Sharon],// is a blog about Movement, Play and Physical Activity for Children. Join Sharron on her journey to understand, implement, and embrace the importance of movement, play and physical activity in early childhood education!

[|Early Childhood Community] is a blog about enhancing professional development. It includes a blog discussion about inclusion in the ECE field.(KWP)

__**Podcasts, Webinars and Webcasts**__ (for Professional Development)

[|Top Ten Web 2.0 Tools for Young Learners] In this **podcast**, Gail Lovely discusses uniquely primary and elementary view of Web 2.0 resources for the early childhood classroom. With the goal of keeping young learners motivated and engaged, she discusses ten great tools. Check out the [|accompanying Wiki]. Join and add your own thoughts, ideas, and examples.

[|Parent Involvement: Keys to Success] This **podcast** series is devoted to issues related to parent involvement, especially as it relates to improving student learning. It was developed by experts at the National Center for Family Literacy, one of the ARCC's partner organizations. The primary audience for this series of podcasts consists of educators at state departments of education, however, educators at all levels will find helpful information and strategies that they can use to increase parent involvement in student learning. Each podcast includes a Listener's Guide in PDF and Word format.

[|Early Childhood News Radio] - Listen to **podcasts** by experts in the fields of early childhood education, child development, physical education, neuroscience, play, and more. Rae Pica explores every stage of child development, from birth to age 8.

[|Early Head Start National Resource Center (EHS - NRC) Building Blocks: The Essentials of Early Head Start Webcasts Series] is a three-part series on the Essentials of Early Head Start. Each **webcast** relates Early Head Start practices to the Head Start Program Performance Standards. This series takes a closer look at some of the fundamental principles of caring for infants and toddlers and illustrates how those principles look in practice. The format includes lively group discussions, video clips, interactive exercises for participants, a live Q&A session, and more.

[|The Parent's Journal Radio Show] offers a weekly national radio series, and downloadable **podcasts** for parents, care-givers, educators, and others who care for children. This is not a program that dispenses "quick-fix" solutions, or one-size-fits-all parenting advice, but rather a program that is designed to help parents understand their own individual child, and encourage that child's physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development. The program shares information from renowned authors, leading child psychologists, child development experts, and real parents.

[|Professional Development and Inclusion] is a **webinar** offered by the National Professional Development and Inclusion Center. It is part of a series of webinars sponsored in part by [|NECTAC] who offer other webinars as well.

[|Maryland's Early Childhood Gateway] offers links to a variety of online tools that can be used for professional development.

[|Fourth Friday Webinars] This website was developed by the Office of Child Development and is a listing of its Fourth Friday Webinars, a series of live, one-hour, online professional development seminars designed for consultants who provide technical assistance in a variety of modalities in the field of early childhood and after school education.This site has the past webinars offered including a link to the session, materials that were provided for the session, a link to registering online for upcoming sessions, etc. Please note that in order to view the recorded presentations, you must have the Elluminate Live! Java application downloaded to your personal computer. There is no cost to download the software.A link to download is on the site.

Using discussion and message boards can be a great way for early childhood educators to connect with one another to exchange ideas and resources, or to share experiences. Below are just a few links to some general discussions. To participate, you may need to register to use the forum. Peruse them to see the kinds of topics that are being discussed.
 * Discussion and Message Boards**

[|TeAchnology Preschool and Early Elementary Educators Discussion Board]

The [|Earlychildhood NEWS Sharing Boards] encourages early childhood teachers to exchange ideas, discuss issues impacting early childhood education, and network with other teachers.

[|**Child & Family WebGuide**]This site is available to give the public easy access to the best child development information that is on the web. It is also noted for having trustworthy sites. It offers the most recent research news for the parent and professional to find information that is most relevant.(JS)


 * __Teacher Resources__**

[|Ready to Learn]- PBS Teacher Resources offers lessons, articles, and curricula.

[|Early Childhood Research and Practice](ECRP) is a bilingual Internet journal on the development, care, and education of young children.

[|Classroom 2.0] is a social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. They also offer [|live] (and subsequently recorded) webinars on a variety of topics such as, Twitter for Teachers, Moodles, Ning and much more! Recorded webinars can be found in the [|Archives] section. There's a subgroup,[|Classroom 2.0 in Kindergarten] which has been using the discussion board feature to share and exchange ideas for how to integrate Web 2.0 into the primary grades. There's also an [|Early Learning Preschool Professionals] group, though no one has yet begun a dialogue. Join, and start a conversation!

[|Descriptions of Search Engines] This site at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville provides detailed information about internet search engines.

[|Center for Applied Special Technology] This website provides a resource called Universal Design for Learning a framework for designing curricula that enable all individuals to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning. UDL provides rich supports for learning and reduces barriers to the curriculum while maintaining high achievement standards for all.