Thinkfinity™
Lots of no-cost resources are available at Verizon™'s literacy, education and technology site, Thinkfinity™
Sidebar
"Verizon Thinkfinity is an innovative online resource for teachers, students, parents and the literacy community, which includes the program previously known as Verizon MarcoPolo and the new Thinkfinity Literacy Network.
In partnership with leading educational and literacy organizations throughout the nation, Verizon Thinkfinity offers over 49,000 educational resources -- including lesson plans, student materials, interactive content and web sites -- in seven academic disciplines.
A companion, comprehensive professional development program, delivered through a network of State Rollout Partners, prepares educators to effectively utilize these rich resources to improve student learning in the 21st century.
All of these resources are available to users anytime, anywhere, at no cost. Thinkfinity is the cornerstone of Verizon Foundation's educational and literacy initiatives."
Source:
Thinkfinity MetaTag Description
Thinkfinity™ Home Page MetaTag (View Source)
This may seem like a lot of resources to non-teachers, but, non-teachers, politicians and the public fail to comprehend just how much work teachers do. Of course, non-teachers also underestimate just how much material teachers must develop for their classes.
Sidebar
Anemic: 54,000 Resources are a "drop in the bucket."
Divide 54,000 by the number of teaching days in one year (approximately 170 for public school classrooms), then divide by 13 grades (counting Kindergarten). The result is just less than 25.
This means that teachers will have to:
- Scramble for a lot more material than Thinkfinity provides
- Adapt, adjust and create a lot more lessons
- Spend a lot of time sifting through the Thinkfinity™ site to find something that they can use
What does Thinkfinity™ Offer?
Thinkfinity™ offers:
Teacher Resources
Professional Development
Changing Website
Thinkfinity™ seems to be new and changing frequently.
Links appear, then disappear, perhaps in an effort to remain current and fresh.
Unfortunately, teachers need a stable and trustworthy site because planning should be yearly for the most streamlined results.
Teachers expect to return to a resource site six or seven months later, and find the same materials that they book marked.
If you find online resource materials, you can:
- Create "Favorites" or "Bookmarks"
- Build a set of nested folders with desktop shortcuts pointing to the resources
- Use Google™ Notebook to store the links
- List all the links in an application such as a word processing document outline, spreadsheet, or presentation program
What Happens if the Site changes the Links?
Sometimes, you are able to use the "way-back" systems on Google™ or Alexa™. This strategy is worth a try if you are desperate (and didn't plan ahead).
Note: You find the "Way Back Machine" after you search for a specific Website's traffic rank.
A Better Research Solution
A better research solution for must-have references is a Surfulater™ is essential.
Sites change. So, evaluate the resource material. If you must refer to the material later, then a copy on your desktop, with live links will save you hours of anguish and save you tons of stress.
Here is a link to the Surfulater™ program.
Link to the Surfulater™ site
Purchase Surfulater™ now
