Wisconsin Department of Instruction Resources for Teachers

The following resources are provided by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction as resources for teachers.  Some of the resources are found on the state sponsored site, others are on their own site.

DPI ConnectEd
DPI ConnectEd is a site for Tony Evers, State Superintendent, to keep users informed about education in Wisconsin, providing information about opportunities, success stories, and other news.

Wisconsin Social Studies wiki
The Wisconsin Social Studies Wiki space is a space for social studies teachers across the state to share best practices, post great resources and to ask questions.  This is an older wiki with updates through 2009.

mcdsocst - Kristen McDaniel Social Studies wiki

Kristen McDaniel is the new Department of Public Instruction Social Studies Consultant.  Her wiki provides information to Wisconsin Social Studies teachers.  The Professional Development Opportunities link has timely information for events.  

Books That Heal

As many of my close friends know,  I have four very special boys in my life. That is why this blog, Books That Heal, touched me.

The author of this blog is an elementary guidance counselor.  She has provided book resources that may be valuable to anybody dealing with student issues in the elementary school including bullying, friendship, and self-esteem.  At the site, information is organized using labels which are listed along the left side of the window.  Click on a label to view book titles that fit the label category.

The author provides a picture of the cover of the book, description of the contents, and why it's on her shelf.  Dig deeper and you will find titles for older students as well as adults (parents, teachers and others).

TechYes Curriculum for Grades 6-9

TechYES - Student Technology Literacy Certification Program for Grades 6-9 is a project-based certification program that can be structured many different ways. Our district's combined plan for the next three years will look for a student tech mentor model to improve the support and use of technology in our middle school. This curriculum looks like it might fit our needs. The structure of the program is set up to meet and exceed the ISTE NETS for students at the eighth grade level.

Pricing indicates that a starter kit for 30 students costs $495 which includes 30 Student Guides and Student Certifications, 1 TechYES Implementation Guide, 1 CD-ROM, 2 Posters, basic tech literacy activities, online project tools, technology literacy reports, and login privileges to the TechYES Web Portal. For a single site.

It will be worth $495 to explore this resource and run through one cycle to determine whether it meets our needs for the future.