A collection of websites I have found that are hopefully useful to eInstructon users, and to others as well.
Bill mcIntosh
843-442-8888
Email :WKMcIntosh@Comcast.net
IAC 2024 - IA Fast Track to Search Focused AI Solutions
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Useful websites for instructors updated July 2012
1. Useful websites-Updated July 26, 2012
Here is a list of web pages I have found with useful resources for instructors,
especially if you have an Interactive Whiteboard, A CPS kit, or a CPS
Chalkboard or Mobi (wireless tablet). Or even if you donât!
I began compiling this list back in 2007. I have just updated it and added some
new files and links. I tried to go back and check the links to make sure they still
âworkâ, but if you find a broken one, please let me know.
And while most of these files are âK-12 centricâ I think there are files useful to
almost anyone here, who teaches , trains, or presents, and that includes those
that arenât currently using an eInstruction product
These websites have CPS databases you can download. Most of these are
k-12 files, but do serve as examples you can âdeconstructâ if you like.
Several include complete lesson plans
http://its.gcsnc.com/act/technology_lessons.htm
Has lesson for grades 2, 3, 4, and 6, 7 and 8
http://www.tcet.unt.edu/weblibrary2/itc/lesson_plan/?id=19
Sixth grade math lesson
http://technology.usd259.org/resources/clickers/ClickerLessons.htm
http://cps.mrcoward.com/index.php/samples
This site has 7th grade language arts CPS lessons.
CPS databases download in .cps format. Each is a separate database. You can
also use CPS to import a signal lesson from another CPS database to yours.
The databases, although they may have been created with an older version of
CPS, will import into the latest version.
2. There are quite a few lessons and some good tutorials here :
http://sarahlowey.pbworks.com/w/page/14445588/K12%20CPS%20Lessons
First, Second and Third grade CPS Lessons :
http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/depts/itd/Lessons%20Page
CPS Lessons :
http://www.bluevalleyk12.org/education/components/docmgr/default.php?
sectiondetailid=28643&catfilter=4618#showDoc
More CPS Lessons :
http://leopardtechie.weebly.com/cps-lessons.html
CPS Lessons :
http://www.gtccmt.org/crt/index.htm
This site is part of the official eInstruction site. I mention it here because it is
several âlayersâ down and folks have tended to overlook it.
http://www.einstruction.com/products/examview-learning-series-samplers
These are âsamplersâ of the Learning Series. eInstruction offers a âfor saleâ
version of these test banks. These are samples that come in the various versions
that are offered
1-Topic Aligned
2-Core Curriculum Aligned
3-Versions aligned for various State standards.
eInstruction has versions for MOST of the states. They are working on the rest. It
apparently take a lot of time to do these standard-aligned versions, so while most
states are covered there are still a few to go.
These questions are in Examview format. These can be imported into CPS, used
3. with Examview, or edited with Examview and ârepurposedâ
The new Insight 360 products from eInstruction include a copy of the Learning
Series
DK Books are well known for their wonderful graphics. A huge selection of
these is available for free download from this web page. These could be
used to illustrate CPS questions, or to import into Powerpoints.
http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/clipart/home.html
Http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/15.cfm
Another UK site. The Birmingham learning grid has all kinds of activities that can
be used with a tablet like the CPS Chalkboard, or an Interactive Whiteboard.
Because these are in Great Britain, part of the fun for your students might be the
fact that many are narrated in âBritish Englishâ .
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games_menu.htm
Not just games, but activities like SAT prep words. This could be used with CPS
in the âverbal questionâ mode.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
No, not tips on how to be a spy. But there are accurate and up to date maps of
the world,and every country in the world here. You would hope the CIA keeps up
with this kind of stuff..and they do.
http://www.brainybetty.com/
This site a smorgasbord of free graphics, powerpoint images, clip art and
tutorials.
4. www.fiddlersgreen.net
A site selling paper models. Mostly of airplanes but also many buildings. A Great
source for dioramas. There are several freebies there and lots of info on each
model plane and house. Thoreauâs cabin and Emersonâs home are among the
models relevant to English teachers, for example. My college American lit
professor, Dr. Joel Myerson, a worldâs expert on Thoreau and Emerson, shared
this site with his students, and sent me a nice email in return. Each model
includes a write up about the history of the house or airplane. Everything from a
Norman Castle to a model of the World Trade Center can be found here.
One could combine the âhands on â learning for the paper models with the info
and history about each file.
In the case of Henry David Thoreauâs cabin at Walden, it even tells what he paid
for nails. I sent this to my college American Lit professor, ( now Emeritus) who
just happens to be a world class expert on Thoreau and Emerson and he loved
it.
www.funbrain.com
All kinds of on line learning games and activities. K-12. Free
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/major.htm
The Avalon project is a collection of primary documents found at Yale University.
This is a great site for history teachers.
http://teach.fcps.net/trt14/Power%20Point%20Games/power_point_games.htm
A collection of Powerpoint games, Grades 4 and 5
http://www.learningelectric.com/
Free on line video tutorials on Powerpoint, Word, Excel and many other
programs. If you donât know how to use Powerpoint, this is an easy place to learn
without RTM( Reading the manual)
http://www.sciencecourseware.org
On line Science activities . High school Level
5. http://pacificnet.net/~mandel/index.html
Teachers helping teachers. A website with many useful resources.
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/fieldtrips2.htm
A web site with listing of sites for virtual field trips.
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
Great animations of how everyday things are made
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/theshow/
The site of a PBS Program, âIn Search of Shakespeareâ
http://www.engaging-technologies.com/CPS-activities.html
My buddy, Dustin Frank, in Kansas has put together a page with links to all kinds
of activities that teachers can use with the CPS Chalkboard( Yes, you can use
these with an IWB ( Interactive Whiteboard too!
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html?8dpc
The New York Times Classroom Resource Center has lots of useful info ,
including quizzes that could be downloaded, printed and used with the âFast
gradeâ aspect of CPS.
www.Pogueman.com
Speaking of the New York Times, David Pogue and I are old friends. He has a
new show coming out in soon on the Discovery Channel. David is the technology
columnist for the NY Times, and the smartest person I have ever met. You wont
find any lessons or clip art, but if you want to learn about whatâs new with
technology, David is âda manâ He also wrote âClassical Music for Dummiesâ and
âMagic for Dummiesâ(he has a total of 8 âDummiesâ books and all the manuals
for the music software , FINALEâŠLike I said, smart guy. You might find his
âMissing manualâ books useful. ( I donât get a commission! ) . He has a new
series that premiered May 18, 2007 on the Discovery Channel : âIts all Geek to
6. Meâ. He has a show about the Elements now as well.
He has an informative( and hilarious) set of videos on his NY times web page.
Several of Davidâs â Its all Geek to Meâ videos , and videos on LOTS of topics,
Can be found at www.howstuffworks.com.
This is a site hosted by the Discovery Channel. While there are videos here on
almost any topic you can imagine, there seems to be a lot of science-related and
computer-related videos and âhow to â articles.
â
Do you have students with Ipods or MP3 players. How bout some free audio
books for them to use ?
Here is a list of the books and stories to be found on this site.
I checked and there are now videos here as well.
http://www.oculture.com/weblog/2006/10/audio_book_podc.html
* A Christmas Tale, Charles Dickens (iTunes)
* A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (iTunes)
* Aesopâs Fables, Aesop (mp3 download)
* Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (mp3 download)
* Andersenâs Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen (mp3 download)
* Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche (mp3 download)'
* Beyond Lies the Wub, Philip K. Dick (iTunes)
* Call of the Wild, Jack London (mp3 download)
* Candide, Voltaire (mp3 download)
* Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer (mp3 download)
* Chamber Music, James Joyce (mp3 download)
* Collected Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson (iTunes)
* Common Sense, Thomas Paine (mp3 download)
* Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes (mp3 download)
* Dracula, Bram Stoker (Just an fyi, this is not the best reading I've ever
heard.) (iTunes)
* Emma, Jane Austen (mp3 download)
7. * Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (rss feed)
o Also check out the 1938 radio broadcast that is faithful to Mary Shelley's
text. (iTunes)
* Free Culture, Lawrence Lessig
* Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln (mp3 download)
* Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry (mp3 download)
* Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (mp3 download)
* Kubla Khan & The Pains of Sleep (mp3 download)
* Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence (mp3 download)
* Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart, Chretien DeTroyes (rss feed)
* Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman (mp3 download)
* Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving (iTunes)
* Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (mp3 download)
* Notes from the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (mp3 download)
* Poetics, Aristotle (mp3 download)
* Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (mp3 download)
* Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe (iTunes)
* Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare (mp3 download)
* Silas Marner, George Eliot (mp3 download)
* Shakespeare's Sonnets, William Shakespeare (mp3 download)
* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (mp3 download)
* The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle (rss feed)
* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (mp3 download)
* The Art of War, Sun-tzu (mp3 download)
* The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe (iTunes)
* The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County, Mark Twain (rss feed)
* The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (mp3 download)
* The Dungeon, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (mp3 download)
* The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides (mp3 download)
* The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving (mp3 download)
* The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (mp3 download)
* The Invisible Man, HG Wells (iTunes)
* The Lees of Happiness, F. Scott Fitzgerald (rss feed)
* The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka (mp3 download)
* The New Accelerator, HG Wells (rss feed)
* The New Testament (iTunes)
* The Prince, Machiavelli (mp3 download)
* The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe (mp3 download)
* The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane (mp3 download)
* The Republic, Plato (iTunes)
* The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (mp3 download)
* The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson (mp3
download)
* The Tell Tale Heart, Edgar Allen Poe (feed)
* The Turn of the Screw, Henry James (mp3 download)
* The Warden, Anthony Trollope (mp3 download)
8. * Time Machine, HG Wells (iTunes)
* Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson (mp3 download)
* Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (mp3 download)
* Walden, Henry David Thoreau (mp3 download)
* War of the Worlds, HG Wells (iTunes)
There are also text files accompany most of these audio versions. You might, for
example consider projecting them onto an interactive whiteboard and using the
sound files to narrate for your students. You could also use CPS to ask
questions about either the text or the sound files. I recently found a cable that will
allow my ipod to be plugged into the âsound in â port on my projector.
If you project onto a screen you can use a wireless tablet( like the new Mobi with
Workspace software) and let students highlight a key passage, or ask students to
underline parts of speech( Circle verbs, underline nouns). Being able to hear and
see a passage of text could be very powerful.
As I get older, it has also dawned on me I can use a projector and Project books
on a screen. When I acquired an Ipad, I made sure to get the Ipad to RGB
adapter so I could hook the Ipad up directly to a projector or my TV! I have an
Apple TV box too, but that is âhard to travel withâ and the direct connection to a
projector has already come in useful , if only to show a Picture of something, like
a CPS pad or etc.
www.juniorgeneral.org
A website with dozens of military history simulations. The neat thing is you can
print out , on cardboard, the boards games and the soldiers, etc for playing these
simulation games. The simulations go all the way back to the Battle of Marathon
in Ancient Greece and up to the 20th century. You can also find templates for
building a medieval castle . And there are lots of links from the simulations to
websites with the actual history of the battle or event.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Public_domain_image_resources
This site has links to thousands of public domain clip art and other images.
These can be used with an IWB(Interactive Whiteboard) to import into CPS
questions, or with the the CPS Chalkboard, Interwrite Mobi ( or other wireless
tablet) .
Here is a table of contents of the images to be found on this site:
9. * 1 History
o 1.1 Historical images
o 1.2 Specific periods
o 1.3 People
* 2 Art
o 2.1 Visual arts
o 2.2 Music
* 3 Logos and flags
* 4 Postage stamps
* 5 General collections
* 6 Computer-generated public domain images
* 7 Public domain image meta-resources
* 8 Uncategorized links
o 8.1 U.S. Government sites
www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com
An interactive math dictionary. No âmathâ is not mis-spelled. This site is in
Australia, and people who speak British English called it âmathsâ .
http://www.mrdonn.org/
This site has connections to more things that an average teacher could use than
any other site I have found. It is worth checking out for the Clip Art and
Powerpoints alone.
http://www.tech4mathed.com/blog/tag/einstruction/
I have become âFacebook friendsâ with an outstanding Community College
educator in Arizona, Sue Glascoe. Sue has âbloggedâ about how she uses
eInstructionâs products to teach math. To be sure, she blogs about other things
as well, but she has posted some good info about using eInstructionâs products
to teach math.
10. http://www.sitesforteachers.com/
This site contains a list of Hundreds of sites. Most have free content, while other
are ads for âfor saleâ products. In checking few of the hundreds of free sites, I
found many free and useful resources
This website has all kinds of games that can be used with either a CPS
Chalkboard, or an IWB( interactive whiteboard or âsmart boardâ I mentioned
Sheppard software above. These are social studies activities.
This site also has a lot of info about creating whiteboard movies with Camtasia
Studio, as well as much useful info on Examview
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_drag-
drop_Intermed_State15s_500.html
Hundreds of topic-organized Powerpoints, all created and share b y teacher can
be found at:
http://www.worldofteaching.com/
Here is another website I just got from my friend and mentor, Dr. Kemble Oliver
http://www.mapsofwar.com/
These are animated maps from world history. These are not âtactical mapsâ, but
rather some very good animated and narrated maps that show the flow and
scope of history. Conflict is a key aspect of human history and this site would be
ideal to use with a wireless table,IWB, or without.
http://www.assortedstuff.com/top101/?page_id=2
This website, created by a teachers lists what he thinks are the top 101 websites
with useful information for teachers. They are broken down by category
http://www.lexington1.net/technology/?page=instruct/powerpoint.htm
A school district website right here in South Carolina that has a lot of really good
powerpoints.
11. http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/teacher/kara%20leonard/Mini%20T's/March
%20Mini%20T-Games/Games.htm
A Georgia site with templates for LOTS of educational Powerpoint games and
other great resources
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
This NASA website has all kinds of materials on science education that are free
to download, along with links to many good science education web sites.
http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm
Speaking of NASA, this site is an amazing animation of the International Space
station.
http://www.pppst.com/themes.html
Another site with dozens, if not hundreds of Powerpoints. This site is well
organized . There are also Lesson plans to go with many of these Powerpoints!
http://boonehallplantation.com/cms_pages/gallery.php
If you would like to take a âvirtual tourâ of an authentic antebellum plantation, then
check out this page at the Boone Hall website. I have been friends with the
McRae family that owns Boone Hall for many years, and ârode outâ Hurricane
Hugo there in 1989. I have quite a few pictures of Boone Hall in my personal
collection I would be glad to share.
Another site for a âvirtual field tripâ here in SC
www.patriotspoint.org
The World War II Aircraft Carrier U.S.S Yorktown, CV 10 is the heart of this
memorial here in Mt Pleasant SC. I began , when I was a teacher, bring kids
from 80 miles away to visit the ship in the late 70âsThe displays and collections
both on the ship and in the complex as a whole have grown over the years. The
website is excellent and has lots of info. And yes, they use CPS for their
historical and STEM programs at Patriots Point. And yes, you can do a âreal â
field trip there.
d
http://gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374
12. This is an amazing photo of President Obama giving his inaugural address. This
site posts photos that allow you to âzoomâ right in and see very small details. For
example, you can zoom in this photos and see all the dignitaries on the platform.
There are more photos on this site as well.
www.making-history.com.
This website contains info on a very good historical simulation, the Calm and the
Storm, about the events leading up to World War II. You can download the demo
version for free. The full working version is reasonably priced. Also, many users
have written âModsâ ( Modifications) that can be downloaded. Several of these
Mods deal with Alternative History: What if Hitler had won? What if there was a
nuclear war?
Great stuff and this program lends itself to use with an Interactive whiteboard or
wireless tablet
This program would work especially well with the Mobi, since you can have more
than one Mobi( up to 9) inputting on the same computer at the same time. So
you could have each âteamâ or Country with their own Mobi.
I modified a board game called âDiplomacyâ, akin to âRiskâ for use with my 7th
grade social studies classes. It was amazing to see kids, who at the beginning of
the year didn't know what continent they lived own complaining to me that their
âNavyâ was the one who had the right to control the Baltic Sea. âDiplomacyâ is
still around and at one time there was a web site dedicated to those who play the
board game..some by mail. Or email now, I suppose.
http://alltop.com/
This site is the brainchild of my friend, Guy Kawasaki. Guy was part of the
original Macintosh evangelist team. He has gone on to write âamazingly greatâ
books about a variety of topics. The idea of this website is simple but brilliant:
Alltop is an âonline magazine rackâ of popular topics. We update the stories
every hour. Pick a topic by searching, news category, or name, and weâll deliver
it to you 24 x 7. All the topics, all the time
So if you have a special interest like sports or education, you can find a collection
of the latest files here.
www.slideshare.net
This is a site where members( it is free to join) can post and share Powerpoints.
13. It is searchable, so you can find useful Powerpoints there. I have already posted
a couple about CPS.
www.teacherspayteachers.com
This website allows teachers to post files they have created and either give them
away ( there are 14 Examview test banks , and a few ARE free) or sell them. A
membership is free. There are 2,446 free downloads, including many
Powerpoints on page.
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm
Free maps, ideal for use with a interactive whiteboard or wireless tablet.
http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie2.html
Educational Sims :
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new
This is an animated map that shows the growth of the United States over time.
This map is free for anyone to use. It is a âteaserâ for the other products that this
company sells.
http://www.customguide.com/quick_references.htm
This site has free âquick reference guides for Windows, Microsoft Office
Programs, and Adobe Programs. These are free , handy âcheat sheetsâ for the
software most people have on their computer.
If you have a site you want to share, let me know and I will add to the list.
And I also use slideshare.net This site organizes the files I post into either
presentations or documents, which makes them easy to find :
http://www.slideshare.net/WKMcIntosh/presentations
http://www.slideshare.net/WKMcIntosh/documents
By the way, there are materials of all kinds, on any topic you can name, from
14. cookbooks to computer books and lots of education related materials on these
sites. You may find information other than that related to eInstruction products.
These sites are basically on-line libraries, where anyone can post a document to
share.
Finally , I have begun using, and several of my friends and clients have joined
me on Dropbox.com .Dropbox allows me to create âsetsâ of files, so I have put
.CPS databases, Workspace files and Examview files there.
You can see a menu of the files I have posted to dropbox (and how to join) here
:
http://www.slideshare.net/WKMcIntosh/einstruction-on-dropbox-july-2012
Thanks
Bill McIntosh
843-442-8888
Email:WKMcIntosh@Comcast.net