Stacy's Weekly Mashup: Back to School Special!

It's time to gather up the school supplies and pack those backpacks! This week I'm posting a list of links to free and open source educational resources for students and teachers who are going back to school.

Literature/Text Books:

• BigWords - Price comparison to find the lowest textbook prices
• Bookyards - Free books, education materials, information, and content
• LearnOutLoud - Over 10,000 educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos
• LitSum - Free literature summaries
• World Public Library - Combined collections create world class Internet public access to over 75,000 free eBooks and eDocuments

Math:

• Calculator - Calculate anything anywhere - online, pda, wap and cellphone calculators
• Thinking Blocks - An interactive math tool designed to help students learn how to solve multistep word problems
• MathWorld - An extensive mathematics resource
• Convertalot - Measurement converters and online calculators for all occasions
• Some Printable Paper Rulers - Disposable paper rulers

Class/Homework Management:

• Centre - A free student information system for public and non-public schools
• Chalksite - A central point for teachers, students and parents to access grades and more
• Scholastic's - Class Set-Up Tool
• Engrade - A free online gradebook that allows teachers to manage their classes online
• Gradefix - Organizes and prioritizes all of your homework

Dictionary/Thesaurus:

• AskOxford - Free Oxford dictionary resources online
• Merriam-Webster Online - Dictionary and word games and more
• MetaGlossary - Defines over 2,000,000 terms, phrases and acronyms
• Wiktionary - A multilingual dictionary with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, synonyms, antonyms and translations
• Visuwords - Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts

Lectures/Speeches:

• FORA.tv - An on demand multimedia portal delivering spoken words on global issues
• Lecturefox - Computer science, mathematics, and physics lectures
• Lectures Archive - Lectures catalogued according to discipline, theoretician and topic
• TED Talks - Talks from the Technology Entertainment Design conventions
• University Channel - A collection of public affairs lectures, panels and events from academic institutions all over the world

Note Taking/Sharing:

• Studicious - Simple and reliable note-taking tool
• SyncNotes - Synchronize your notes and access them online or with your mobile
• NoteMesh - College students in the same classes can share notes with each other
• mynoteIT - Organize your school life
• PocketMod - The ultimate note card

OpenCourseWare:

• OPenCourseWare Consortium - Universities working together to advance education and empower people worldwide
• OER Commons - A teaching and learning network of shared materials, from K-12 through college, from algebra to zoology, open to everyone
• The Open Knowledge Founration - Protecting and promoting open knowledge in a digital age
• MIT OpenCourseWare - A free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world
• OpenCourseWare Finder - Search through a collection of open educational materials

Freeware Feature of the Week: EverNote - Create, organize and find information in your collections, including Web clips, graphics, email, notes, sketches and more.

Flickr Image of the Week: by c.j.b.

Top Blog Picks:

• The Stingy Scholar
• Library Zen
• Mentalrobics
• Self Made Scholar

Art Site of the Week: Art Education Links - Curriculum, lesson plans, theory, history and more.

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Thanks for checking out another weekly mashup! I hope this list will provide you with tools that will help you succeed this school year! If you are looking for more sites that are similar, I suggest visiting www.LibrarianChick.com where I have compiled a list of hundreds upon hundreds of free learning resources.

Do you know of a great site that's worth sharing? Do you have any comments or suggestions? I'd love to hear from you! Just send an email to sreed@tucows.com and say hello!