Extra Credit: Goodies for the Teacher and Student

Credit: Bill Duke

Sub-IT

Central Xchange; pricing starts at $1.75 per absence www.centralxchange.com [1]; 1-888-364-8998

Calling in sick? With this automated substitute-placement system, teachers can swiftly search for appropriate stand-ins. Once instructors report their absence online or by phone, Sub-IT matches teachers' needs with qualified subs in its database, who are then notified. The first person to accept an offer lands the job. Sub-IT stores information such as credentials, personal preferences, and skills. With no upfront fees or expensive equipment, the service may herald the end of your school's weekly sub scramble.

Credit: Bill Duke

Immune Attack

Federation of American Scientists; free www.fas.org/immuneattack [2]

The deep, inner worlds of the human body -- where good and evil microorganisms face off in realistic-looking tissue structures -- act as playing fields in this real-time PC strategy game. Users float among red blood cells, squeeze through cell walls, and scan and tractor beam various objects, teaching their immune systems to fight off bacterial and viral infections; more difficult diseases are confronted at advanced levels. Biology and immunology have never been taught quite like this.

Credit: www.preschoolprepco.com

Meet the Letters, Numbers, and Shapes

Preschool Prep Company; $14.95 (DVD), $12.95 (VHS) www.preschoolprepco.com [3] 1-866-451-5600

A green square with legs? A blue number 2 with candy-cane-striped socks? Using a simple but powerful combo of repetition and visual cues, letters, numbers, and shapes come to life, providing an engaging way for preschoolers to learn the building blocks of education.

Credit: Bill Duke

STAND High School Resource Kit

Students Taking Action Now: Darfur; free; email highschoolstand@gmail.com [4] www.standnow.org/materials [5]

Echoes of your students' Holocaust history lessons play out today in Sudan's Darfur region, where genocide goes unchecked. Nearly 200,000 civilians have been killed, and millions displaced, as government-backed militias wage a campaign of rape and murder. The youth organization Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) reaches out to high schools to help students stand up to stop the slaughter through this kit, which includes background information, an educational PowerPoint presentation, and ideas for getting involved. Kids can take a STAND so we can stop saying, "Never again" again.

Credit: Bill Duke

Tune in to Reading

Electronic Learning Products; contact sales@elpcorp.com [6] for pricing discounts for educators www.elpcorp.com [7]; 1-888-357-8863

This Web-based program incorporates the best of SingingCoach, ELP's popular learn-to-sing software, to boost word recognition, fluency, and comprehension with various singing lessons appropriate to a student's independent reading level. Combined with a microphone and headset, the on-screen exercises, along with advanced speech recognition, automatically determines each student's independent reading level and tracks progress. Soon, kids will both carry a tune and read with confidence.