There are an increasing number of resources available on the web and many of them are free to use. However, some sites can be quite cluttered and many have a lot of advertising to help maintain their existence. Most sites shown here have caught my interest - some UK and some International - and over time I hope to narrow down some of the more useful areas within these sites.

(Note: Please be aware that educational establishments may find that access to some of these resource sites may be blocked by their Local Authority and/or the educational establishment concerned. Individual teachers/tutors may need to present a case to those concerned if they feel that blocks are inappropriate. Also read comments regarding eSafety here).

 

Audio-Visual

Webducate - innovative solutions for e-learning (with some examples)

VJB Consulting - e-learning systems and courses

The Birchfield site is nicely put together with some good information and resource packs for Primary and Secondary Education in the UK. You can also have a 30 day trial of their software

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Toolkit A-Z for Education

A fabulous piece of software for group meetings


Zipcast for 1-click meetings

Audacity (Free Software)

Voicethread (Free Access)

You can only access this site from a recognised educational establishment. It contains sounds and sound effects useful in pod casts and recordings Top

This site contains sounds and sound effects useful in pod casts and recordings Top

The Freeplay music library Top

Paste a YouTube video URL into ViewPure and it will convert the code to display only the video and not the comments

Free Image Sites (by AJ George)

 

Eduserv is a not-for-profit IT services organisation and a registered charity. Their aim is "to realise the benefits of IT for learning and research. Dedicated to developing effective technology solutions that meet the needs of universities, colleges and public sector organisations"

Intute was a free online service providing a database of hand selected Web resources for education and research. Intute closed in July 2011 but many articles can still be accessed.

The latest news and information from the Learning Technologies team at LSN Top

The Instructional Technology Council (ITC) provides exceptional leadership and professional development to its network of eLearning experts by advocating, collaborating, researching, and sharing exemplary, innovative practices and potential in learning technologies Top

The aim of the JISC e-learning programme is to enable UK further and higher education to create a better learning environment for all learners, wherever and however they study, in order to realise the vision explained on their site Top

Blog Creation Tools

Create your own blog Top

Create your own blog Top

Personal Blogs

Professor Stephen Heppell's site
and phone blog. Do yourself a favour
and spend some time exploring
Stephen's sites and heeding his words!

E-learning must synch or sink

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Software-as-a-service for business email, information sharing and security

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WebDrive
(Bulk Upload Files)

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TAG
(Educational software for schools) Top

Sam Learning

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e-learning Age
(Learning Development technology) Top

Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service
E-Learning Strategy 2008-2011 (pdf)

e-Learning Centre
(Selected and reviewed links to e-Learning resources) Top

Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day
(A daily item of e-learning interest selected by Jane Hart of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies). One of the most useful and informative sites on the web - this is a place you'll want to keep returning to. Jane also manages: Learning in the Social Workplace

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Resources and other useful information Top

PBS Teachers is PBS' central web destination for all PBS resources for preK-12 educators. Dedicated to providing you, your students and their families with resources that transform teaching and learning. Top

Google UK Schools site - free resources and lesson plans

Programs that allow anyone to generate their own e-Learning quizzes, games and applications. Top

The Teaching Ideas site has several resources and ideas - some great resources here Top

Primary Resources site Top

If art work isn't your thing, use this site to create certificates for your learners Top

Teachernet resources site and search for lesson plans Top

Free educational resources, news updates, courses and research Top

Links to sites offering free lesson plans, photos, clip art images, etc. and useful comments for site searchers Top

Quite a lot of links to free resources. Specific educational lesson plans here. (You may have to do a bit of searching around but there are some useful resources to discover) Top

Topmarks has a useful search facility which speeds up resource location in various subjects at different levels Top

An interesting collection of resources from several places Top

The Guardian UK - Learn Lesson Plans Top

Various free resources (you will need to register to access) Top

Schoolsnet has a number of searchable resources and lessons - some with interactive multimedia content Top

Online resources for teachers and parents. You can download booklets free Top

Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies
A range of free resources about learning tools and technologies and advice. Top

Photo sharing site Top

BBC Learning Top

Channel 4 Learning Top

Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies
A directory of learning tools from the
TOOLS DIRECTORY
Screen Capture, Screencasting and Software Demo Tools Top

Check out the Maths on this site. Some good video presentations - I like the search feature too! (You will have to register to see full content). It's an American site with some good quality content - you can even submit questions. Top

Just for fun - try building your own Avatar (listed by The Whiteboard Blog) Top

"When we do something over and over again (like practicing a piano piece, hitting a baseball or tying our shoes), our brains get to the point where the process is automatic. That means that the neural connections in our brains have become strengthened and activate as a network to enable us to do something without thinking about it. That is what BrainWare Safari does with 41 skills in the areas of attention, memory, visual and auditory processing, thinking and sensory integration."

How Stuff Works is a rich site containing many videos and quizzes that could be connected to from your elearning lessons Top

National Geographic is a rich site containing many useful resources Top

CARET's Brainteasers & Puzzles
A site produced in association with NGFL, Aim Higher, Cambridge University's CARET (Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies) Top

A clever idea that encourages you to 'stumble upon' sites you might otherwise never discover. To help, you can select basic categories as starting points

arvindguptatoys.com/films.html
Some fantastic, easy-to-make, toys for children - many with a scientific interest. Tip: To display one of the videos without YouTube comments, paste URL into ViewPure

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If only all applications were made this well - I cannot speak highly enough of Survey Monkey. Everything works as it should and if you think, "I wonder if it does this?" it usually does! Free to use with a few restrictions but well worth investing in if you do a lot of surveys Top

Tools and resources for education

55 Open Source Replacements for Photo and Graphics Tools