educational issues

Teach with Movies

https://www.teachwithmovies.org/

This site provides a comprehensive resource of popular films that can be used in the classroom. The goal is to see inclusion of movies in the curriculum as a way of motivating students, of including parents in the process, and of relating learning to popular culture. Intentionally planning movies centered around a theme or concept will be made easier with this site's movie reviews, learning guides, and indexes. A very helpful tool for theology teachers and campus ministers is the Character Development Index. This lists movies under a variety of topics that are applicable to theology curriculum. Topics include self-esteem, redemption, honesty, justice, compassion, grieving, forgiving, trust, and peacemaking.

National Catholic Education Association

https://www.ncea.org//

The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is a voluntary association of educators and institutions. It is the largest private professional education organization in the world, representing 150,000 Catholic educators who serve 6,000,000 students in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, in religious education programs, in seminaries, and in colleges and universities.

National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry

https://www.nfcym.org/

The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry is an organization committed to preaching the Gospel to youth and providing services and training to those who work with youth. This site lists the projects and publications sponsored by the organization. The button entitled "Youth Today" is particularly helpful in learning about early and late adolescents. Developmental needs and issues are grounded in research and presented in an easy-to-read format. There is also a links category that gives valuable information as well.

Movie Theme Index

http://www.textweek.com/movies/themeindex.htm

This site from Jenee Woodard is an incredible resource for anyone interested in using movies in their ministry! The user can easily find a list of themes that correspond to biblical and theological topics with the scripture index, the movie concordance, and the art concordance. A search function also makes this a user-friendly site. Excellent!

Center for Media Literacy

https://www.medialit.org/

The Center for Media Literacy, a nonprofit agency out of Los Angeles, encourages the use of critical-thinking skills in accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and creating media. This site has incredible resources for teacher and student use. The "learn" link includes articles on the connections between media and violence and values. The links included on the site are some of the best out there.

Teachers Without Borders

http://twbglobal.org/

Teachers Without Borders provides educational aid in our global information age. This Web site furthers the mission of developing and supporting the teaching and learning process "in order to unclog the flow of ideas for communities, across geographic or political borders." The goal is to connect education efforts already in place and increase long-term and local support rather than sporadic, short-lived interventions. Great for teacher background and support, this site includes a great search function, incredible links, and research.

Center for Parent/Youth Understanding

http://www.cpyu.org

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, a national and global network of those interested in research on adolescence and the youth culture, sponsors this excellent Web site. Social issues, trends, and needs of young people are dynamic--demanding constant research and review, and so this site attempts to follow, analyze, and share the essence of their culture with the users and subscribers to the site. Excellent resource articles and book reviews are provided on the home page. A subscription to the site gives one an incredible amount of information and analysis on youth culture.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

https://www.chickensoup.com/

This Web site from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series includes an archive of featured stories that can work well in the classroom. The site also provides information on how to submit stories for inclusion in future projects.

Quia

https://www.quia.com/

Create a free account and you can make quizzes, activities, and Web pages, as well as explore over 600,000 ideas on this site! Categorized by subject, the site is easy to navigate and explore. Although there is not a specific religion or theology strand, many ideas are easily adapted in the other subject areas, particularly English, history, and current events. An awesome resource.

Catholic Colleges Online

https://www.catholiccollegesonline.org/

The National Catholic College Admission Association offers this Web site as a gateway to Catholic colleges and universities online. Helpful information includes a list of test deadlines, required courses, and suggestions for your high schoolers. One can find advice on what to look for in a college, answers to financial aid questions, as well as links to other helpful sites. You may search for colleges by geography, size, or field of study. The site is well organized with a lot of helpful information that is easy to find, and it includes an impressive collection of links.

Multiple Intelligences Survey

https://surfaquarium.com/MI/index.htm

Howard Gardner's theory of mulitiple intelligences can be instrumental in planning activities for students. The survey on this site has questions, a graph, and a key that explains the preferences, helping you learn more about your individual styles and those of your students. Easily adapted and excellent for adult or student use.

Writing the Journey

https://www.writingthejourney.com/index.htm

Journaling is a great way to bring the mind, heart, and hands together. This Web site features some great resources and an online workshop that could be used by students who are journaling in classes. Teachers can also easily adapt ideas from this site for their journaling assignments.

Inside the Teenage Brain

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

Why do teenagers behave the way they do? This Web site from the PBS show Frontline, explores the latest research that is finding new explanations for adolescent behavior and explores how the new discoveries can change the way we parent, teach, or perhaps even understand, our teenagers. Features include articles, links, and an interactive model of the brain that shows the different parts and their functions.

Search Institute

https://www.search-institute.org/

This site provides practical research, tools and resources to promote healthy, caring and responsible young people.