Hot Stuff: Media for Educators

Credit: William Duke

FactCheckEd.org [1]

Annenberg Public Policy Center
free

This offshoot of FactCheck.org [2] helps students become savvy media consumers. The nonpartisan site turns a critical eye toward political statements of all stripes, scrutinizes misleading advertising claims, and gives kids pointers on evaluating information found online. It also provides a dictionary. For educators, the site offers lesson plans and guides for teaching critical thinking, the proper use of sources, and how to recognize deceptive arguments.

Credit: William Duke

Listening First Stereo Headphone [3]

$15 ($47 for Sound Alert Monaural)

Designed for young children, the Listening First Stereo Headphone sports tigers, bears, or pandas on the earpieces. It offers volume control, ambient-noise reduction for hearing clarity, and a comfortable fit. Made with ABS plastic to withstand classroom wear and tear, it comes with a one-year school-use warranty. To prevent damage to a student's hearing, Califone also offers the equally durable (and animal-free) Sound Alert Monaural Headphone, which has a red warning light to notify the user and teacher when the noise volume from the headphone exceeds the safe 85 decibels.

Credit: William Duke

Jott [4]

Service free, standard phone-usage/texting charges apply

Don't let those great ideas slip away. The next time inspiration strikes but you can't stop what you're doing to write it down, give Jott a call on your cell phone. Subscribers to the service can dial (866) 568-8123 and leave a thirty-second voice message. Voilà: The voice message is translated into text and emailed and/or text-messaged to you or anyone (even a group) on your list of contacts. The message can also be posted on Web sites such as Amazon [5], Blogger [6], Google Calendar [7], or Twitter [8].

Credit: William Duke

Access, Analyze, Act: A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement [9]

Free

PBS gives teachers access to online tools that will inform their students about the presidential election, as well as why it's important, and how to take action. The multimedia Web site offers lesson plans for digging deeper so that students can increase their media-literacy skills and analysis. Not-so-media-savvy students -- and teachers -- can use the site to get updated on terms and social-media tools.