Excerpted from eschoolnews.com

“TryScience.org” relaunches with more content, improved navigation
http://www.tryscience.org
TryScience.org has redesigned its web site with new content and easier navigation. The newly relaunched site includes more accessible science content for parents and teachers as well as space for special items such as live webcams, educational outreach campaigns, and research surveys. TryScience acts as an online global science museum that offers access to information and interactive experiments from more than 600 of the world’s science and technology museums. Features include science experiments, virtual field trips to science centers throughout the world, live webcams, and a section for teachers with useful information on how TryScience can be used in the classroom.

“Spellingtime.com” helps students practice weekly spelling terms
http://www.spellingtime.com
Spellingtime.com offers teachers and parents of elementary-age children a free spelling tutorial resource. Aiming to simulate classroom test-taking scenarios, help students build self-confidence and erase test anxiety, deliver early computer-based learning experiences, and improve typing skills, the site uses text-to-speech technologies and interactive, phonetically correct avatars to help students practice a weekly spelling list. It also features a “100% Club”—which requires students to complete their spelling lessons every day from Monday to Thursday and get a 100 percent score on their Friday spelling test to be eligible for membership—as well as games and a “Word of the Day” section. Parents, students, or teachers enter each week’s new spelling words on Monday, and the site takes students through a four-step instructional process. Students take a pretest on Monday, play a “hangman” game on Tuesday to test their ability to spell the words, play a word-scramble game on Wednesday, take a pop quiz on Thursday to simulate a testing environment, and review all previously studied words on Friday. The site operates under the assumption that students have an in-class spelling test each Friday.

“iWASwondering.org” aims to encourage girls in science
http://www.iwaswondering.org
Teachers looking to give their female students a boost in science can direct them to iWASwondering.org, a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science. The site also aims to highlight for students the varied and intriguing careers of some of today’s most prominent scientists. iWASwondering.org encourages young people, especially girls, to pursue an interest in science. Lia, the teenage cartoon character who hosts the site, guides visitors through interactive resources and activities designed for middle-school students. The site includes science labs, games, and a parent-teacher guide. On the site, students can read about 10 profiled scientists; visit a timeline that features 25 female scientists and their fields of study or interests; and play interactive games, including one that guides them through outer space and a “Make a Robot” activity.

New RSS feeds alert educators to new content at the Library of Congress web site
http://www.loc.gov/rss
Responding to public requests for alerts about additions to the Library of Congress’ digital collections, LOC has launched a series of news feeds using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology. The library’s RSS service has launched with the following feeds: news; upcoming events, including free concerts, lectures, exhibitions, films, and other special programs; updates on new collections, features, and reference materials available on the LOC web site; and new webcasts and podcasts of lectures and library-sponsored events. The RSS feeds include “What’s New in Science Reference,” featuring new products and services related to the subjects of science and technology from the library’s Science, Technology, and Business Division. These new RSS feeds join four existing feeds from the library’s U.S. Copyright Office on current copyright-related legislation; announcements, rules, proposed rules, and other notices published in the Federal Register; NewsNet (alerts on hearings, deadlines for comments, new and proposed regulations, and new publications); and updates to the Copyright Office web site. LOC says it will launch additional feeds in specific content and subject areas in the coming months.