I want to share a free educational resource with you called Varsity Learning Tools.  Here is our platform: http://www.varsitytutors.com/practice-tests

Currently, we have over 75,000 professionally written problems and thousands of distinct practice tests across 150 subjects. This includes subjects like history, math, foreign languages, and science for all experience levels. We also have practice tests and problems for common standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, ISEE, and SSAT.

To date, students have completed more than 40 million problems on the Varsity Learning Tools platform. Each question is tied to a specific academic concept, which means your students can pinpoint their particular strengths and weaknesses in almost any area.

The Varsity Learning Tools platform also includes free digital classroom assessment software that instructors may find useful: http://www.varsitytutors.com/classroom-assessment

Tracy Pace
tracy.pace@varsitytutors.com

My name's Oliver and I am the founder of Stars & Catz Music Teacher Network, a community of teachers and schools now five years old and numbering thousands of professionals.

We help students and parents by offering a free teacher matching service. We also help teachers and schools by finding them new, long term students. We don't charge a finder's fee to the students or add a commission to the teacher's rates, so it's literally a free service for students. Our money comes through our unique, win/win arrangement with our teachers and schools. We operate in four countries currently and have one website for each country (though they basically all look the same).

** Australia http://www.starsandcatz.com.au/
**Canada http://www.starsandcatz.net/
**UK http://www.starsandcatz.co.uk/
**USA http://www.starsandcatz.com/

If you have any questions, or would like more information please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards,
Oliver Braithwaite Director Stars & Catz
Music Teacher Network www.facebook.com/StarsAndCatz

At OnlineSchools.org, we believe that learning is a lifelong endeavor. We strive to provide students interested in earning an online degree with the most accurate, comprehensive, and accessible information about accredited online schools at every education level to ensure that they select the best programs to meet their goal.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that nearly 1.7 million students are currently homeschooled in the U.S., and these numbers are rising every year. That's why we've recently published a homeschooling guide as a resource for students and families considering homeschooling, building a curriculum and philosophy, and transitioning to college as a homeschooled student. 

Marissa Davis | mdavis@onlineschools.org 
Outreach Coordinator | OnlineSchools.org 
PO Box 961 | Seattle, WA 98101

Here's an e-mail I received from Tyler recently:  As you may know, multiple studies have noted that depression rates in America have steadily increased for the past 50 years. In combination with traditional means of therapy, many individuals are leveraging music as a way to improve their psychological and emotional conditions.

It is for this reason that I wanted to see if you’d be interested in an infographic, created by Kent State University’s Online Music Education Program, that highlights how music can be used as an emotional tool. 

You are more than welcome to share this free visual resource with your audience - the full embed code can be found here: http://musicedmasters.kent.edu/using-music-as-an-emotional-tool/

Hope you are having a great day!


Tyler Putz
Circa Interactive
p: 866-758-3484
circaedu.com

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I've posted on this site.  Anyway, I found a real cool website for those who teach the gifted - it looks like it has a lot of resources:  http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/

I was doing some research as if I were a non-English speaking person, looking for an online class to learn English.  I found some very interesting sites: 

http://www.1-language.com/ - Now this one has a lot of resources and looks to be a good site.

http://www.englishclub.com/ - now this one has resources for both those who want to teach English as well as those who want to learn.

and then of course Udemy has several language courses online: https://www.udemy.com/courses/Languages

I found a cool site today:   http://www.topmastersineducation.com/homeschooled/

And what's even better is that it had a great chart that gives the history of homeschooling, the percentages of how much higher these kids score than their 'state schooled' counterparts, and what a growing trend homeschooling has become.

Check it out - it's awesome!

Also, a great resource blog:  http://largefamilymothering.com

I've gotten so busy the past couple months in my art studio and gallery, that I've neglected this site.  I need to remedy that.  So I am back.  I recently read an article about stolen art in the Nazi era AND yesterday, I saw an ad for a new moving coming out in February about the same issue called: "Stranger than Fiction" with George Clooney.  I found it all quite fascinating.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/30/nazi-looted-art-found-in-german-parliament/

"Art stolen by the Nazis has been found inside Germany’s parliament.
The discovery, made by an art historian, comes as investigations continue following a huge stash of looted art revealed last month, according to Reuters, citing the German newspaper Bild.

Last month, German authorities revealed the discovery of a collection held for decades by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of an art dealer who was ordered by Adolf Hitler to buy so-called “degenerate art” and sell it to raise money for the Nazis.

According to Bild, one of the two works discovered in the parliament's collection had also originally belonged to the Gurlitt family, Reuters reports.

The works – an oil painting by Georg Waltenberger dated 1905 and a chalk lithograph by Lovis Corinth – could be two of hundreds of thousands of artworks from museums and individuals that the Nazis stole throughout Europe.

German authorities have been sharply criticized for keeping under wraps for two years the discovery of Gurlitt’s collection, which numbers at least 1,400 works valued at $1.38 billion, or 1 billion euros. The collection holds works by Picasso and Matisse, among others.

Gurlitt has demanded the return of his collection, which authorities seized in February 2012.

It is not evident whether both works discovered in Germany’s parliament are part of the Gurlitt collection. The probe into the government’s art collection is ongoing.

Germany has denied there is evidence linking the paintings to Gurlitt and denied the claims, according to The Local.

"It is unclear when there will be a result to the investigations," a parliament spokesman told Reuters."

I just got an awesome e-mail from Andrew at Kent State University.  He wanted to share a new way of teaching music with technology: "It has been proven that music in the classroom is a powerful learning tool, aiding in everything from memory to SAT scores. Technology, such as the iPad, is helping to pave the way to a resurgence in music education and provide new, cost effective tools that all classrooms can utilize.  We created this infographic to focus attention on the importance of music."

View Evolving Technology in Musical Education Infographic

I found a cool site with resources for teaching Music History at home.  My favorite is the Hallelujah Handel.  The site says, "In 1750, George Frideric Handel gave musical history's greatest gift - his Messiah - to an orphanage in London. From that city's dark lanes comes Thomas, a boy who sings like an angel but will not speak. Finally the boy is healed with the help of Maestro Handel, Katarina (from Vivaldi's Ring Of Mystery) and the power and glory of the music. Includes more than two dozens excerpts of Handel's music, including the Sarabande in D minor, Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Harp Concerto, oratorios, operas, and of course, Messiah."

http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/home-school-music-history.html