I’ve had a couple of very busy weeks.  It seems like it has been a while since I have had time to share my Friday Favorites.  I hope you enjoy the resources I have managed to discover during small snippets of time.  Feel free to share your favorite finds of the week using the comment link found at the bottom of this post. Have a sweetheart of a weekend!

1. Gajitz Tech Evolution: 18 Gadgets that Used to be High-Tech – a fascinating look back…fun to show students. My how far we have come!
2. BooksShouldBeFree.com – the title says it all…”Your source for free audio books. Download one in mp3, iPod and iTunes format today.”
3. The State of the Internet – I’m always amazed by the statistics…this is a great YouTube video to share with students. Monitor it closely, however…some of the comments were not appropriate for student viewing despite the fact that the video was excellent in terms of content.
4. Evolution of Dancing – still the most watched YouTube video of all time…guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and memories from the past (unless you are too young to remember).

   Evolution of Dancing Part II – and of course…what would the top viewed YouTube video be without a sequel?
5. It’s official: An asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs – a fascinating article that received over 7,000 comments.
6. Wisebread: How Much Caffeine Is In That? – so…what is your caffeine intake?
7. A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything – I continue to be fascinated by flip-books…amazing
8. Emerging Edtech: 100 Ways to Teach with Twitter – some great ideas and resources here.
9. 35 Activities Your Students Can Do To Learn Respect – some great ideas here for classroom teachers
10. Kathy Schrock’s Assessment and Rubric Information – you can always count on Kathy. I have used her rubric information for years. She has added new material recently that includes rubrics for Web 2.0 and more. It’s time to revisit this site, especially if you have not checked it out in a while.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine weekend (after you have had a chance to look over and link to my top 10 finds of the week, of course). Feel free to share your favorite finds of the week using the comment link found at the bottom of this post. Have a sweetheart of a weekend!

1. The Smarter City – a marvelous documentary sponsored by IBM that includes smart ideas regarding transportation, public safety, development, healthcare, education, and energy & utilities. Any or all segments would serve as good conversation starters as you encourage students to think about how every decision has a consequence.
2. Wikimedia Commons – “a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone, in their own language.” This seems like a viable alternative to Google Images (which is blocked in many schools)…what do you think?
3. Extreme Sticky Note Experiments – you simply will not believe what these men did with Post-it notes!
4. Juicy Bottle Jingles - play a few favorites using these virtual juice bottles. Many thanks to Diana Dell for twittering this link.
5. Absorb online courses – a series of interactive online courses for secondary schools, covering physics, chemistry, electronics, mathematics and advanced physics.
6. Concrete Angel – a sobering song/video about child abuse written and sung by Martina McBride. May it serve as a reminder that as educators we can make a difference to students who are struggling with difficult home lives.
7. Absorb online courses – a series of interactive online courses for secondary schools, covering physics, chemistry, electronics, mathematics and advanced physics.
8. Flashdrive.edu: 100 Free and Useful Portable Apps for College Students – a terrific list of useful (and free) apps that are small enough to carry around on a thumbdrive.
9. The Design Inspiration Blog: 30 Beautiful Stunning Wallpapers – wow! Impress your friends, family members, and colleagues when you use one of these beautiful wallpaper designs on your computer.
10. We Are The World 25 For Haiti – Official Video…watch, donate, and download. Gather students in your school to create a video response to this YouTube video. Make a difference.

I hope you have had a great start to the new month. In no particular order, I have listed my favorite top 10 sites, blog posts, and videos of the week below. Feel free to share your favorite finds of the week using the comment link found at the bottom of this post. Have a nice weekend!

1. Whole Brain Teaching – this is a marvelous site to explore and learn about whole brain strategies that can be used to motivate and help students learn. When you register on the site you can download some excellent free materials. Check out the Super Speed Reading strategy and downloads.
2. Best Practices – “instructional approaches and strategies for teaching and learning in today’s classrooms, creating a differentiated learning environment.”
3. Living the Life of a Reader and Writer – an indepth look into Jennifer Myers classroom, including a Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop, Authors’ Chair, and Word Study.
4. What Matter Now – Seth Godin joins a legion of other leaders and speaks on what’s coming and what’s matters in the new decade. You can also download an e-book featuring the presentation when you visit Seth Godin’s Blog.
   What Matters Now

   View more presentations from Kemp Edmonds.
5. EOL Encyclopedia of Life – “The Encyclopedia of Life offers a unique opportunity to empower educators and students in the adventure of learning by providing reliable and comprehensive information about global biodiversity and by involving learners in scientific experimentation and exploration.”
6. Life Tango – an online tool where you can create, share, and pursue goals. Review and work with the site before you share it with students to determine whether the content found on the site is appropriate for the students you work with.
7. Life.com – “Your Life in photos.” A marvelous site to help develop digital/imagery literacy.
8. I’m still in awe over my first wild eagle siting, thus the following Eagle YouTube…
   
9. Optical Illusions – a fascinating site to share with friends, family, and students. I have posted my favorite illusion from the site below:
   
10. Stone: Leonardo da Vinci’s Resume – an excellent blog post describing da Vinci’s resume, a letter Leonardo wrote listing his capabilities as he sought a new position.