As we have illustrated in past update articles, many very special people are seeking access to the kind of 21st century teaching and learning resources that we feature on the Gateway. They are looking for special lesson plans, resources for special populations, examples of special approaches to teaching in a 21st century manner and special insight into what this 21st century movement in education is all about.

Happily, with more than 49,000 educational resources available and the ease of discovering the special ones, the searchers are being successful. And, they are coming back and bringing their friends and colleagues with them.

In case you are wondering, the theme of this update is “special”. So, what’s so special about the Gateway?

To start with, the Gateway uses sophisticated technologies that provide ways to search our offerings in just about any way that an educator would need. One can search by keywords and one can browse through the resources by what are called “facets”.

Facets are a way to see resources grouped by similar characteristic. These characteristic are especially geared to the needs of the educator so they provide a very expeditious means to browse.

With a facet like “subject”, I will use the example of science. One click presents the searcher with all resources grouped in the subject science. With one more click a searcher could reduce this return to just resources that would be good, for example, fourth grade science.

And one more click could bring you to just items that would be appropriate for 4th grade science and be videos.

Should it be necessary, one could even reduce this further with one click to a subset of items that would be good for ESL students or other special populations. How long would it take you to find something like that on the Internet using a traditional web search?

The question I just asked is a trick question because as any dedicated educator knows, the answer is “too long”! There is not enough time in the day already.

That is one of the special things about the Gateway. It really was conceived with the idea that to be successful, it had to give “something special” to the users that they could not get elsewhere.

The “special something” is time. Less time to find that special learning resource means more time to be effective in delivering that resource to the students in your charge. Isn’t that what we all could use? Isn’t that what our students need from us to be prepared for the 21st century world?

If the answer to these questions is yes then come on board. You will be joining a group of very special educators with a special level of dedication and resourcefulness!

What’s New?
NEA and your state affiliate recognize that great public schools are the result of motivated students, involved parents, and well-prepared, innovative educators. The Gateway is a great opportunity for educators to expand their professional repertoire, exchange ideas, and individualize instruction.
NEA has partnered with the GEM Exchange, Gateway to Educational Materials, and JES & Co to support Gateway to 21st Century Skills, a website that combines state-of the art search technologies and a complete database of state academic standards for core subjects. The Gateway is your link to the resources you need to make learning meaningful and fun for your students.
New information about 21st century learning resources is being added every week to the Gateway. Don’t miss out on these great new additions. Here are just a few more recent examples of new items that you can find on the Gateway for you and your students:

Wuthering Heights Database

The aim of this lesson is to engage students in the analysis and synthesis of a complex and challenging work - Wuthering Heights. The lesson also aims to teach a method of literary analysis that can be used to understand similar literary works.

It's a Ball, It's a Sphere - No, It's a Dodecahedron

In this activity, students construct a dodecahedron that displays facts about two- and three-dimensional figures.

Extra Terrestrial Excursions

In this activity, students calculate the length of time it would take to fly to each of the planets in our solar system if we could do so by conventional jet, and with our fastest spacecraft.

Character and Plot Development Through Comics

Students are introduced to character, plot development, point of view, and tone through the use of comic strips. Students identify these four attributes in the comic strip and present their findings to the class.

The Net Force and Rube Goldberg

Roll, drop, slide, twist, and turn your middle school students' attention by exploring net force while creatively building Rube Goldberg contraptions.

The Wedding of a Mountain
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The wedding of a mountain takes place every day! That is right; W for weathering, E for erosion, and D for deposition. In this lesson, students learn the distinctions of the three processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Dino's Diner

Students create a modern day dinosaur menu to generate creative ideas regarding what dinosaurs would eat at an imaginary restaurant.

Quickly learn to search the huge collection of free learning resource. (Click this link to view our video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYqho-SN-m4) Our brief, seven minute, instructional video is now available on the home page of the Gateway. It’s never been easier to boost your professional skills, add more fun and individualized instruction to your repertoire of competencies. Join our cadre of 21st century educators today.
Make your search for resources from the Gateway or great benefit from your NEA membership easier and faster. Simply visit: http://www.thegateway.org and download the National Education Association Toolbar from the link in the middle of the page. The toolbar is ready for you! It easy and it’s FREE!

Did You Know?
The Gateway to 21st Century Skills receives thousands of visits a month from dedicated educators all over the world. Monday and Tuesday, in that order, were the busiest days for the Gateway in the month of February. In fact, the Gateway is such a valuable and powerful tool that over 57.4% of the visitors added the Gateway to their browser Favorites or Bookmarks! In the last month, over 46.7% of the traffic came from people who have already bookmarked the Gateway to 21st Century Skills. Spread the word and help your fellow educators to realize the tremendous and special value NEA has provided for its members.

Are Your Members Using the Gateway?
Wyoming, Wyoming Student Education Association, Hawaii, Maryland, Colorado, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, South Dakota and Tennessee and have all created versions of the Gateway that displays the state affiliate logos.

And now, not only will your affiliate members be greeted with a view of your logo but anyone who declares that they hail from your branded state will also see that affiliate’s logo. This will underscore your local commitment to provide the members of the profession with the tools and resources they need to succeed in driving up student achievement.

We want to hear from you. What would you like to see added to the Gateway? What improvements would you like to see? Send your suggestions, thoughts and observations on how we can make the Gateway to 21st Century Skills a more valuable tool for you, your students and your fellow teachers. Contact Bruce Walker at brucew@jesandco.org.
Gateway to 21st Century Skills Statistics for February
February 2008 set another huge new record for traffic to the Gateway with 2,032,622 hits. In the month of February 2008, adjusted measures of traffic showed 62,456 visitors and visited 266,815 pages.

These figures illustrate the tremendous growth of the Gateway traffic over the last year. February 2008 results showed a 41% increase in visitors, an 36% increase in page views and a 12% increase in hits over February 2007!

Who’s Joining the Gateway?

Special people preparing to teach and use technology in special ways! That’s who is joining the Gateway. And, just to show you what we at the Gateway have noticed we did some research for the word “special” in the biographies written by new members applying for Gateway membership.

Here are some excerpts from the biographies of recent Gateway applications for membership. Members show their support for the Gateway by joining and it is Free! Membership allows you to make notes and comment about the resources you find on the Gateway. You can share those observations with your peers or make comments that are only for your use. It’s like your own personal Gateway to almost 50,000 quality learning resources.

T. B.- Minnesota

I am a special education teacher, specializing in the areas of developmental and learning disabilities. I believe all students regardless of their abilities can learn. It is my drive to find their talents and strengths, while focusing on how I can apply these to living life to their full potential.

P. C.- Massachusetts

I am a sexuality educator working primarily with adults who have developmental/intellectual disabilities. I am also asked to consult with school systems to assist their special education teachers to adapt health education materials for use with special needs students. A recent focus is on social skills education to children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. I also work with families of children with dd/id to support their efforts to teach their children about healthy and safe ways to understand and express sexuality.

K. B.- Wisconsin
I teach K-6th grade Gifted and Talented Resource in 4 elementary schools. I started my teaching career in Special Education.

C. T.- Virginia
I am in the process of becoming a special education teacher!

C.M.- West Virginia
Special education teacher cross-categorical and Autism

D. B.- New York
I am a licensed New York City Special Education Teacher.

D.E.- Connecticut
I am a library/media specialist in a K-5 elementary school, and have also worked in middle school. I teach media literacy/21century skills, foster a love of reading and collaborate with teachers. Outside of school I am a voracious reader. Book in hand, I am most content sitting with a cup of tea with my four gregarious greyhounds near me as I read.

J. T.- Ohio
I'm currently a special education major. I'm presently doing my student teaching in the third grade.

E. H.-Virginia
I am a high school teacher. Currently, I am in my 3rd year of teaching special education. This year I am teaching Earth Science, English and Study Skills. Previously I taught high school biology for about 15 years.