Web Encounters of the Gifted Kind

Web Encounters of the Gifted Kind
An Internet Hotlist on gifted

created by Melissa Kashey

Introduction | Gifted Education Information/Organizations | Enrichment and Summer Opportunities | Talent Searches/SAT Information/Testing | Parents to Parents

Introduction
Have you ever... Wished that you could contact other parents who had questions similar to you? Wondered what all the gifted education terms or acronyms such as G.I.E.P. stood for? Desired more information about the social-emotional aspects of giftedness? Had a burning desire to read a research article on gifted education? Considered that a gifted child may also have a learning disability?

Welcome to an on-line guide to some of the best gifted education websites! This website is designed to provide you links to reliable on-line resources to answer questions such as these regarding gifted education and your child.

During your on-line excursion, if you happen across a 'top-notch' site from which you feel others may benefit, please e-mail me so I may add it this resource page.

Happy Browsing!

Missy Kashey
Gifted Education Teacher,
Perkiomen Valley School District
Gifted Education Teacher
mkashey@pvsd.org

The Internet Resources

Gifted Education Information/Organizations

American Mensa Society - The American Mensa, a high IQ society, provides qualifying individuals an opportunity to meet other members at the local, regional, and national levels. Contained on the website is information regarding membership, membership benefits, publications, award winning games, and a Mensa product list.
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) - Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)on gifted education from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). Focus topics include those on which the clearinghouse frequently receives questions. Responses include citations from the ERIC database as well as other relevant information, where appropriate.
National Association for Gifted Children - The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is an organization of parents, teachers, educators, other professionals and community leaders who unite to address the unique needs of children and youth with demonstrated gifts and talents as well as those children who may be able to develop their talent potential with appropriate educational experiences. NAGC actively supports research and remains politically active in supporting legislation that may benefit these children. The website contains membership, conference, and summer camp information as well as a list of endorsed toys and parent resources.
National Research Center on Gifted & Talented (University of Connecticut) - The research center is a nationwide cooperative of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and other persons and groups that have a stake in developing the performance and potentials of young people from preschool through postsecondary levels. Three research universities and over 360 school districts are involved in providing research driven information to the public. The website contains access to research on gifted education, newsletters, and resource links to other gifted education sites.
Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education - Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE) is Pennsylvania's state organization advocating for gifted children and their education. Membership and attendance in the state conference is open to anyone interested in advocating for gifted and talented students. The site contains many resources for Talented and Gifted children, their parents, and educators in Pennsylvania. Resources include: legislative bulletins, contact and membership information, event schedules, and publications.
Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted - Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG)is a nonprofit organization that provides services and strives to make an impact on the field of gifted education. SENG focuses primarily on the adults in the lives of gifted children, helping them to identify giftedness in children and providing guidance, information and resources that will help children come to understand and accept their unique talents. Further, SENG provides a forum for parents and educators to communicate about effective ways to live and work with gifted individuals.
The Exceptional Child - Some great parent resources that provide information about what giftedness is and 'how to spot a gifted student'

Enrichment and Summer Opportunities

4th of July Butterfly Count - North American Butterfly Association, Butterfly Count, 2533 McCart, Fort Worth, TX 76110. This on-going program collects census data on the butterflies of North America and publishes the results. Volunteer participants select a count area and conduct a one-day census of butterflies sighted. Counts are usually held sometime around July 4.
Backyard Wildlife Habitat - The National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat program involves volunteers in creating a certified habitat in their own backyard or in their schoolyard. Citizen-Naturalists participate in formal data collecting and monitoring projects to help songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife.
Brain Bashers - A website full of brain teasing puzzles! Whether you like sudoku, cryptograms, paradoxes, or lanugage puzzles, you will need to check out this site.
Carnegie Mellon Institute for Gifted and Talented Elementary Students - The C-MITES program, founded in 1992, provides many services for academically talented students in Pennsylvania. Currently, C-MITES offers testing for the Elementary Student Talent Search and Summer Programs at 38 sites across the state for students through grade 6. Other opportunities include fun weekend workshops for students and parent information meetings throughout the school year on topics related to gifted education, summer camp opportunities, and newsletters.
Contest Ideas - Is your child interested in inventing, mathematics, engineering or solving a community problem? Check out this list of competitions from the Hoagies' website.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are enlisting citizen-scientists to help collect data for researchers’ studies of bird populations. This collection can be done in a person’s backyard or in a teacher’s schoolyard through programs such as; nest box network; pigeon watch; birds in forested landscapes; and classroom feeder watch. Ornithologists use this information to learn what birds are found where and how bird populations might be changing over time. For example, scientists at the Lab are tracking the spread of House Finch eye disease. This disease causes conjunctivitis in birds and many die because their poor vision prevents them from finding food and avoiding predators. Thanks to the efforts of citizen-scientists, researchers have been able to track the spread of disease through a wild population of animals for the first time.
FIRST LEGO League (Robotics) - The FIRST LEGO League (FLL), considered the 'little league' of the FIRST Robotics Competition, is the result of a partnership between FIRST and the LEGO Company. FLL extends the FIRST concept of inspiring and celebrating science and technology to children aged 9 through 14, using real-world context and hands-on experimentation. With the help of LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Robotics Invention System™ technology, young participants can build a robot and compete in a friendly, FIRST-style robotics event specially designed for their age group. Using LEGO bricks and other elements such as sensors, motors, and gears, teams gain hands-on experience in engineering and computer programming principles as they construct and program their unique robot inventions.
Figure This! - Figure This! is a website designed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to raise awareness and increase appreciation for the complex mathematics middle school students are learning. Problems appear in a real-world context and are designed for use with students and their families.
Future City Competition - The Future City Competition provides a fun and exciting educational engineering program for seventh- and eighth-grade students that combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a 'hands-on' application to present their vision of a city of the future. Between September and January, teams progress through the various phases of the engineering process with the guidance of an adult coach. The various phases include: planning and research of a city plan using the Sim City 2000 Program, development of a scale model including moving parts, researching & writing a proposed solution to an pre-selected engineering problem in their city, and presenting their proposed city plan to a panel of engineers at competition.
Game Maker 7.0 - A wonderful program that enables students to create their own video games. It is easy to learn, but can require sophisticated programming experience if desired. Although it is free to download from the Internet, a small donation (registration) is suggested on the website to enable the programmer to continue to further develop the program and offer free access to the program. The website contains manuals, tutorials, and sample games.
History Detectives - History Detectives is devoted to solving historical mysteries, searching out the true facts (and falsehoods) behind local folklore, family legends and interesting objects. Using traditional investigative techniques, modern technologies, and plenty of legwork, the History Detectives team of experts discovers that artifacts, buildings and stories can give us new (and sometimes shocking) insights into our national history. History Detectives is aired on PBS stations.
How Stuff Works - Ever wonder how something works? From plasma screens to convertibles this site explain how and why something works.
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair - “The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world's largest pre-college celebration of science. Held annually in May, the Intel ISEF brings together over 1,200 students from 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: $50,000 college scholarship and a high-performance computer. Science Service founded the ISEF in 1950 and is very proud to have Intel as the title sponsor of this prestigious, international competition.”
International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) - IMBD, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20036. International Migratory Bird Day celebrates the return of millions of migratory birds to their breeding areas. Individuals, groups, and schools participate in IMBD by organizing birding tours, conducting surveys, and holding festivals and workshops, with the purpose of educating and encouraging others in their community to join in the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
Invention Competition - The Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Program challenges students to use creativity and imagination along with science, technology, and mechanical ability to invent or modify a tool. There are also other competitions sponsored at the state and national level such as the PA Inventor's Society Competition & Invent America which promote inventing!
L Draw: LEGO CAD - LDraw™ is an open standard for LEGO CAD programs that allow the user to create virtual LEGO models and scenes. You can use it to document models you have physically built, create building instructions just like LEGO, render 3D photo realistic images of your virtual models and even make animations. The possibilities are endless. Unlike real LEGO bricks where you are limited by the number of parts and colors, in LDraw nothing is impossible.
Let's Get Real Competition - Let's Get Real™ is a competition and an opportunity for teams of students to gain experience working on real business problems. Corporate co-sponsors supply real problems for which teams submit solutions in business format. Each team chooses from the list of problems the one it finds most interesting. Problems might include areas such as environmental issues, manufacturing, distribution, engineering, software creation, human resources, health and safety, facilities design, public relations, or any other areas deemed important to the corporations involved. Team may, but do not need to be, sponsored by a school.
Mad Sci Network - Inquiring minds want to know. The website includes the following sections: Ask-A-Scientist, MAD Labs, and a library of other resources.
Math Forum - A wonderland of math resources to engage both you and your child. Math forum contains resources for parents, students and teachers. Featuring 'Ask Dr. Math', challenging problems of the week categorized by level of math, an archive of math questions and answers, articles, and activities you can do with your child to promote a love for mathematics, Math Forum provides access to over 200 volunteer mathematicians who provide timely feedback.
Mensa Select Mind Game Hall of Fame - Check out the latest award winning games from Mensa and access the archive list for the past decade. American Mensa Mind Games competition showcases some the newest and best games on the market. Through this event, Mensa members - some of the country's most avid game players - judge new games on the U.S. market according to a full range of criteria. Game manufacturers and inventors submit the games for judging. Past winners include Taboo™, Magic-The Gathering™, Rush Hour™, and Apples to Apples™.
My Hero - My Hero is an interactive website that encourages visitors to question the qualities that they believe comprise a true hero. Visitors may learn more about great figures and provides a place for students and parents to tell the world about people whom they most respect and admire.
Myth Busters - Could Robinhoood really have split an arrow in one careful attempt? Do you really get better gas mileage by riding with your windows up or using the air conditioner? Is it possible to generate enough free electricity to power your house? Don't attempt these at home, but rather visit MYTH BUSTERS to get your answers safely and 'scientifically' answered.
National Audubon Society Winter Holiday Bird Count - National Audubon Society, 700 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. The Audubon Society sponsors an annual hemispheric early-winter bird census during which volunteers count individual bird and bird species. Data provides valuable insights into the long-term health of bird populations and the environment.
National History Day - National History Day is a national competition designed to provide an opportunity for students to conduct reaserch using a history topic of interest. Each year, the competition utilizes a general theme around which students select their topic. Similar to a science fair with history topic, the students can work individually or in groups to create a project (paper, display board, video, or performance) to present at the county History Day Competition in late March at Ursinus College.
North America Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) - NAAMP, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708-4038. Project through which volunteers monitor amphibian populations. Projects include frog call surveys and terrestrial salamander monitoring.
Odyssey of the Mind - Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Kids apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.
Rubik's Official Website - Use a three dimensional rubik's to solve the puzzle. Replay for friends or learn more about the history of Rubik's Cube.
SET & Quiddler - Do you love to play the award winning game SET and Quiddler? Both SET and Quiddler have won the Mensa Select Award as a high quality game. Now you can play a daily game on-line. Check it out.
Save Our Streams - Contact: Izaak Walton League of America, 707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. This is a grassroots river conservation program through which volunteers are trained to monitor and restore local waterways. Projects exist in all 50 states. They have an excellent on-line macroinvertabrate identification program.
Sketchup from Google - Sketchup is a powerful, yet easy to learn FREE downloadable program from google that allows one to create 2-D and 3-D drawings. Great for a beginner or a professional.
Student Award - NAGC's Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award Program is awarded to one student in each state in memory of Nicholas Green. Students selected for the award are between grades 3 and 6 and have distinguished themselves in academic achievement, leadership, or the visual or performing arts.
The Summer High School Apprentice Research Program (SHARP) - Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since its inception in 1980, the Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP) is designed for students who have demonstrated a strong interest in and aptitude for mathematics, science, engineering and technology. Each year, approximately 200 students are selected to participate in SHARP for a minimum of eight weeks during the summer. Some of NASA's top science professionals, while conducting cutting edge research as well as working on state-of-the-art equipment, mentor qualified students.
UNICEF Voices of Youth - Lets young adults voice their concerns and share ideas about important world issues. Topics of discussion include solutions and actions on child rights, children in war, child labor, and children and urbanization. The website provides activities and problems for kids to solve.
Wild Planet Kid Inventor Toy Challenge - Do you love to tinker, create, and design your own new games and toys? If so, you may wish to submit you new toy concept to Wild Planet as part of their Kid Inventor Toy Challenge.

Talent Searches/SAT Information/Testing

College Boards (SAT) - The official College Board site. For more information regarding the upcoming dates of the SAT, its cost, and testing sites. Please note that you may not register 7th and 8th graders for the SAT on-line.
Glossary of Educational Testing Terms - Terms Galore! How do you read the maze that one calls a student testing report? This user-friendly glossary contains testing terms with education examples!
Imagine Magazine's Competition List - Visit the special competition issue of Imagine Magazine for Gifted and Talented Students published by Johns Hopkins University. Competition categories include: arts and humanities, science and engineering, multidisciplinary,and mathematics.
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth - The Johns Hopkins University Talent Search is designed to identify, assess, and recognize students in grades 2-8 with exceptional mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities. This website provides background information regarding the development of the talent search program, benefits, and on-line registration procedures. If you student is invited to participate in the Johns Hopkins Talent Search as a 7th grader, you may wish to visit the following two links connected to this website: College Board / SAT Information - Taking the SATs in Grade 7? If your child is participating the Johns Hopkins Talent Search and wishes to have more information regarding the Scholastic Aptitude Test, you may wish to visit this site. Information includes frequently asked questions, what to expect on test day, scoring and reporting information, and a list of SAT preparation materials. Please note, if you are participating in the talent search, you must register for the SAT through Johns Hopkins.
SAT Score Conversion Chart - In 1996, the Educational Testing Service revised the SAT. How do your SAT scores compare to those of individuals who took the SAT before and after 1996?
Taking the SAT in 7th Grade? - Perkiomen Valley Middle School participates in the Johns Hopkins Talent Search. Learn more about this talent search for 7th and 8th grade students. Contains commonly asked questions from parents.

Parents to Parents

GT WORLD! - GT World is an on-line support community for parents of Gifted and Talented children. Others interested in supporting and nurturing gifted and talented children are also most welcome.
On-line Support for Gifted Parents - Want to share ideas with other parents of gifted students? Wish to discuss issues specific to students with advanced ability or special talent? Check out some of these websites containing interactive communication boards and chat rooms. Have a lively conversation with other parents.
Procrastinators Research Group - Interesting tidbits about procrastination and strategies to reduce the tendency to procrastinate.
The HOAGIES' Gifted Education Page - WOW! A must see...a powerhouse of resources for parents, kids and teachers! Developed by a parent advocate, the Hoagies' website contains information on camps and competitions, social-emotional issues, tips on advocating for your child, as well as book and magazine lists for avid readers and success stories.

Content by Melissa Kashey, mkashey@pvsd.org
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listgiftedme.html
Last revised Wed Apr 25 8:00:07 US/Pacific 2007