All About the Brain

From the Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, “The Brain from Top to Bottom” is an interactive, self-directed learning environment. The site is a fantastic resource as it is searchable by topic, by student knowledge level, depth of presentation level, by module, or by guided tour. The site is very well organized and contains an impressive amount of relevant information for professional educators and others. The website is full of explanations, illustrations, charts, diagrams, pictorial representations, and photos. All of the site information is “copylefted,” which is defined by the site as follows: “The concept of 'copyleft' is a method of providing free access to the results of original work and of encouraging people to reproduce and even modify this work on an equally free basis.” Super cool!

http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_d.html

Information Processing for the Rest of Us

Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2003). “Information Processing and Memory: Theory and Applications” is a very useful overview of the principles and teacher practices related to the Information Processing Approach to cognition. A more in-depth 17 page paper can be accessed from the page. Unfortunately, while there are some useful links included as an “Internet Resources” option at the bottom of the overview, there are also many dead links that one discovers.

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html

Bach on the Brain

World's leading neurologist, Oliver Sacks discusses the positive effects of music on patients with neurological disorders. You can also view an amazing 4 minute video on the electronically recorded effects of Bach's music on the brain of the neurologist. Scroll down to bottom left and click electronic image of brain for title "A Mind for Music." Then, select your viewer.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7129/preview/

Interactive Media

Learn about the latest and greatest new interactive multimedia technologies and digital storytelling at Lynn V. Marentette's blog. Links to articles and information about technology with an emphasis on touch screen and multimedia communications related to education, including you tube videos and archives are available. The blog is here:

http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com/

Internet Culture and Educational Change

Hosted by Andy Carvin and PBS teachers, "Learning.now is a weblog that explores how new technology and Internet culture affect how educators teach and children learn. It will offer a continuing look at how new technology such as wikis, blogs, vlogs, RSS, podcasts, social networking sites, and the always-on culture of the Internet are impacting teacher and students' lives both inside and out of the classroom." The organization of this weblog site is fantastic! The top tabs are organized by student level and then, by subject. As if that wasn't keen enough, once you've chosen your grade level and subject, you can search even more specifically by areas of classroom resources (further filtering by topic, media type, and source), discussions, or professional development! This is an absolute must view for teachers who wish to keep abreast of the politics and practice of education in the Internet Age. You can visit the site through this link:

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/

Global Information Processing and Instruction

Teachers who want to change lives by understanding their students should take advantage of the plethora of information provided at the digitalchalkie.com blog site. You can explore and learn from international leaders about the changing worldwide educational landscape and emerging technologies in our Information Age. Writers expose broken outdated educational policies and explain new perspectives on education. One of the best things about this site is that the designers were kind enough to create categories to aid reader in searching for information and there is also a a long list of archives provided. Exploring the site is a media-rich experience providing charts, graphs, maps, and links to you tube videos.

http://www.digitalchalkie.com/category/pedagogy/