Greenwood School District 50 Site of the Week
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	December 29, 2003 MySignLink http://www.aasdweb.com/mysignlink/ MySignLink is an internet-based American sign language tool for Windows. It allows you to see a sign, signed definition, or picture for many English words and phrases. It currently has approximately 17,000 entries. Use it while browsing web pages, reading a book, watching captioned TV, doing homework, studying for a test, ... eating a sandwich, taking a bath, communicating with a deaf family member. To use MySignLink, the site lets you drag a link to the Links toolbar on your browser’s screen. Then, to use MySignLink, highlight a word on any web page and click on the MySignLink button in Links. If you want to type in a word to find a sign, click on the MySignLink button and type the word in the box that appears. You will then see a video of the signed word. The site also provides a searchable dictionary. This site can help educators who need to use American sign language with students. It can also help other students and parents learn to communicate more effectively with hearing disabled students. QuickTime is required. December 22, 2003 Don’t Buy It! http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/ This website teaches students how media can affect the choices they make. The site includes sections called “advertising tricks,” “buying smart,” “your entertainment,” and others related the way advertising and the media try to sell stuff to kids. Special projects include activities like “TV vs. Life,” “Money and Music,” and other scenarios in which students find themselves the subject of promotion. Other activities include “create your own ads,” “design your own cereal box,” and others that help students understand how advertising is done. The site also includes “What do you think?,” a section for critical analysis of advertising’s styles and techniques. Students can find out why the people in television commercials and magazine ads always look so good. And more. Smart choices mean smart students. This site helps make both. December 15, 2003 CNN Student News http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/fyi/ CNN Student News offers news and current events for students of all grade levels. Often, it also explains events in ways that help parents understand the impact of those events on their children. Each day’s top stories are provided with in-depth analysis and links that enhance the understanding of the story. By signing up for the daily alert, students, teachers, and parents can access the daily student news program (using Real Player or QuickTime). The site also has “special reports” on continuing stories. Teacher guides are available for all stories and reports. December 8, 2003 3d&i: What is Design? http://www.3d-i.org/home.jsp What is design? To give 9-12 year olds a head start in answering this time-honored question, the Doc Tank, Pentagram, and Supercosm developed 3d&i to teach students – and teachers and parents, too – about design. 3d&i includes design simulations, stories about design and designers, and an online forum for students to discuss and display their designs. The three D’s are (1) Discover = stories, people, and secrets of how the world around you is designed; (2) Design = try your hand at design then show your work in the 3d&i gallery; and (3) Discuss = exploring and sharing the complexities of design. The site has resources for architectural design, fashion design, and product design. The Personal Explorer Pod is something else – students can design and build solutions for given problems. This site will be interesting and fun for all age groups. Requires Flash. December 1, 2003 Disney’s FamilyFun Online http://www.family.com/Categories/Education This website is as close to a “parenting manual” as you’ll find anywhere. Since 1996, FamilyFun.com has been providing families with creative ideas and real-life solutions. It's user-friendly and full of what parents need to make family life everything it can be. The site includes resources for expectant parents, new parents, and parents of children up to age 12. The site has tools named Ages and Stages, Parent Problem Solving, Pregnancy Calendar, Learning Advisor, and others. There are links to sites with activities and crafts, party planning, recipes for meals and snacks, ideas for travel planning (are-we-there-yet alternatives), and more. Under Learning resources, parents can find solutions for “saving time in the mornings,” “curing homework procrastination,” learning styles, pets, playing and learning, and links to many other resources. Teachers can refer parents to this website for resources during the early childhood and elementary grade levels.
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	These sites are provided as a service to teachers, students, and the community. Greenwood School District 50 does not endorse any of the materials, programs, or persons associated with these sites. The District assumes no responsibility for the content of additional links provided by these sites.