Start with Starters Rather than starting from scratch, explore educational resources developed by others. Spend your time planning the classroom environment rather than searching for resources. Locate two or three online resources to use in a classroom activity.   Thematic Starting Points - Best for Themes 42eXplore A to Z Themes CLN Themes eMINTS Gander Academy KidsConnect Pathfinders - Cleveland General Education Portals - Best for Educational Information and Resources Education World EdGate LightSpan Teacher's Planet The Gateway Teach-nology Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators Connected Teacher's Best of the Web Education Index Library Spot   Evaluating Online Software Reviews    Use what you have and buy what you need. There's lots of educational software on the market. How do you choose the best software for your needs? Explore the Codie awards to see the best software of last year.   Compare and contrast at least two of the following review sources. California Technology and Learning Kid's Domain Software SuperKids ReviewZone World Village Ohio School ZDNet - good for general software tools Proteacher - ask others about software use Ask yourself: Who conducts and posts the reviews? Do you think the sponsor of the site impacts the quality or content of the reviews? What criteria are used to evaluate software? Is this criteria is effective? Locate software evaluations for the same piece of software at two different sites. Compare and contrast the results? Do you think online software evaluations are a good way to select software? Brainstorm other methods that may be as or more effective.   Return to Main Menu Return to Eduscapes Go to Activity 2  Created by Annette Lamb, 7/00. Updated 6/01.