10 Websites for High-School Teachers

CuriousWorks spends a lot of time in high-schools doing workshops that are an eclectic mix of art, theatre and multimedia exercises. These workshops are constantly evolving and changing and many are influenced by websites and artists who inspire us. We thought we’d share some of the websites that are the shoulders we stand on and inspire our work. If there’s any great sites we’ve forgotten you can add them in the comments.

1. Make Zine Blog

Make Zine is a great website that has loads of DIY projects that are perfect for a high-school Design and Technology class. http://blog.makezine.com

2. Craft Zine Blog

Craft Zine is the Home Economics sibling to Make Zine. Instead of screwdrivers and soldering irons it’s projects that use hot-glue, sewing machines and felt. http://blog.craftzine.com

3. Instructables

A brilliant website for science classes, design and tech, just about any subject at school really. Instructables has DIY projects for literally any machine/invention/concoction you can think of. A great resource for high-school students to be engaged with and contribute to. http://www.instructables.com

4. Howtoons

Howtoons is a brilliant idea, a science and technology site made using comics. This website is aimed at upper primary and early secondary kids and does a great job of making science exciting and accessible. Their blog is updated regularly and finds science news that kids will actually be interested in. http://www.howtoons.com

5. Learning to Love You More

This is a website created by the artist Miranda July and it lists a number of art assignments for visitors to complete. You can then upload your assignments to share with everyone else on the site. I can’t think of another website/art project that better defines “community”. I think this would be great for Year 10 art class. http://learningtoloveyoumore.com

6. TED

Remember those boring science documentaries you had to watch at school? The TED conference takes a Large Hadron Collider and smashers boring science into obcsure sub-atomic particles. There are videos that cover a whole number of different subject categories across science and the humanities. Kids in high-school should be watching at least one of these videos each week. http://www.ted.com

7. Deviant Art

Despite the suspect name that will probably put a lot of teachers off, Deviant Art is a fantastic online community for high-school students to upload and share their own personal artworks with. As oppossed to Myspace and Bebo, Deviant Art is all about being creative and productive and sharing your work with your peers. Highly recommended. http://www.deviantart.com

8. NSW State Library Online Collection

The State Library has an online archive of some very old and fascinating documents. You can explore the journals and notes of Sir Joseph Banks, Matthew Flinders and Miles Franklin. Probably one for the older kids but really interesting when you start digging. http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/collections/online.html

9. Fun Brain

Fun Brain is not your typical online video game website. All the games have some kind of educational bent and there is also a comics section as well. This site more suited to younger students, but I’ve spent many a time there myself. http://www.funbrain.com

10. Google Maps

Google Maps has a great new feature called “My Maps” which allows users to add and upload their own content to a map and share it with friends or the public. This is a great tool for field trips and school excursions. You could create an interactive worksheet by having a map that students use to upload their answers. http://maps.google.com