Mummification goes digital August 11, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations.Tags: Egypt, Interactive, Mummy, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
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Don’t all units on Ancient Egypt at least mention the pyramids and mummies? This 
site will fit right in. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has a great simulation site that explores the process the ancient Egyptians used to mummify a person. With the opportunity to click on new vocabulary words, the simulation takes visitors through the seven step process of mummification.
The Oriental Institute also has a great Teacher Resource Center with lesson plans and information geared toward the middle and high school levels.
Jeopardy…online and free August 6, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Games & Simulations.Tags: classroom Jeopardy, Games, Jeopardy, Jeopardy template, JeopardyLabs, Trivia
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Spending hours on the couch with a stiff neck can have its rewards too, I guess. In the process of a variety of searches, I found JeopardyLabs, an impressive game template for a trivia game that can be played online, has a way to be saved on a flash drive and played without an internet connection, and allows game authors to use basic HTML to incorporate images into their JeopardyLabs games as well.
The template was easy to manipulate (I haven’t tried the HTML features yet) and the final product works well (see example here). Students and teachers alike could create JeopardyLabs games, they would be perfect for interactive whiteboards, and are easily embeddable into wikis or web pages.
JeopardyLabs is a super alternative to (and easier than) PowerPoint. Thank you Matt Johnson of Washington State University, Vancouver for creating a great tool for the classroom.
Maps Make Fun August 5, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations, Web resources.Tags: geography, Interactive, maps
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Interactive maps are a great way to help students learn and explore information.
Show is an engaging website that allows visitors to explore the US and the World comparing states and countries through statistics and demographics and displays the information visually. The data is so up-to-date that the US maps show a comparison for stimulus and stimulus impact. When you are finished creating your map, you can download the data as an Excel file, save your maps as image files, and/or embed your image in other sites. While data can always be presented in different ways, Show is a great starting point for discussion and demographic study.
Show would be a great starting point for sociology, geography, history, government and math courses.
Three Branches of Government August 2, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Games & Simulations.Tags: Checks and Balances, mint, money
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The US Mint has designed a neat Branches of Power game which allows the player to restore the power of the US Government as outlined by the Constitution. A great review or even introduction for checks and balances, the role of the Constitution, and the powers of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches of government.
