from Educators' eZine
More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the FREE web site. FREE stands for Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. The web sites listed below are excerpted with permission from the FREE web site. This month, we highlight web sites for math and computer science; in other months, we feature other subject areas. You can search our site for the word FREE to find them.
Calculus on the Web
offers an interactive environment for learning, practicing, and experimenting with the ideas and techniques of calculus. It is organized in seven parts: Precalculus; Calculus I, II, and III; Linear Algebra; Number Theory; and Abstract Algebra. (NSF)
Mathematics: Research Overview
looks at topics of major research in mathematics: image creation, statistics, inverse problems, CPU testing, materials and nanotechnology, proteins, random graphs, prime numbers, optimization, design, financial mathematics, weather and climate simulation, rare events, and high-dimensional data sets. (NSF)
Mathematics Across the Community College Curriculum
provides course descriptions and student projects in anthropology, art, biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, English, environmental science, health, marketing, mathematics, nursing, physics, policy studies, political science, social services, and urban planning. (NSF)
Digital Workshops
offers online professional development for teachers in math and science, language arts, and other areas. Watch presentations on vocabulary, phonemic awareness, reading and writing in the content areas, algebra, measurement and geometry, computation, linear equations, differentiated instruction, history, inclusive classrooms, using data to improve instruction, No Child Left Behind basics, and more. Many states offer professional development credit for teachers who participate. (ED)
TeachEngineering
provides more than 500 lessons and activities for teaching engineering content in K-12 science and math classes. Topics include oil and energy consumption, water and electricity, mass and volume, various energy sources, heat transfer, solar heating systems, collisions and momentum, electrons, cellular respiration, biomedical engineering, and more. Lessons connect real-world experiences with concepts and skills already taught in K-12 classrooms. (MA)
Engineering Is Elementary
provides lessons & overviews on acoustical engineering, agricultural engineering (insects), civil engineering (balance & forces), environmental engineering (water), industrial engineering (simple machines), materials engineering (earth materials), mechanical engineering (air & weather). (NSF)
NASA Robotics
invites students & teachers to start robotics teams, "botball" teams, & enter robotics competitions. Take online courses in robotics. Follow along with scientists who are developing technologies to drill for life on Mars. Find lessons for teaching robotics & related topics. (NASA)
Cyberinfrastructure
examines the convergence of three realities — the spread of the Internet, the shrinkage of computers, and the accumulation of databases — that has led researchers to envision a planet- wide grid of computing, information, networking, and sensor resources. Learn about projects to develop the emerging cyberinfrastructure. Find out how researchers are beginning to depend on it. Discover resources for teaching and learning about information technology. (NSF)
