Gifted Education Professional Development Package commissioned by the Australian government. This an excellent and in depth course in gifted education aimed at teachers and is completely free to download.
"All modules in the Package contain a pre-test for teachers to determine what they might already know. Both the Core Modules and the Extension and Specialisation modules contain practical components with case studies and tasks for teachers to demonstrate that they have understood the module before moving on to the next one. The modules contain an overview of current research about particular areas of gifted education. This research, in plain language, is illustrated by cartoons, case studies and examples of how it can be applied in the mainstream classroom. The modules cover all levels of schooling: early childhood (the initial years of schooling), Primary (later years of primary schools), and secondary (secondary school). The modules are also ordered according to whether a teacher is in a rural or urban school, teaching in the classroom or involved in school administration, or whether the teacher is working alone or undertaking professional development in a small group or whole school situation.
Quick List of Online Resources for the Support of Exceptionally Able & Twice Exceptional Students
SCIENCE
DragonFly TV - interactive Science Site."Get your students exploring science! Download the DragonflyTV Educator's Guides to get kids started on their own inquiry investigations. The activities are developed with the National Science Teacher's Association. They're aligned with today's science standards, and they're ideal for the classroom or for after-school programs."
Scispy - interactive science website with factsheets, interactive games, quizzes and experiment sheets on a huge range of science topics for primary school children in fifth and sixth calls.
ScienceUnleashed.ie - " is a science initiative aimed at second-level students studying the revised Junior Cycle science curriculum. It comprises 15 videos (each 12 minutes in length) and an interactive website with notes, interactive games, quizzes and weblinks on a wide range of science topics."
Myscience.ie - great blog from Discover Science & Engineering (DSE), Ireland’s national science promotion programme - portal for up to date science news.
Eyes on the Solar System - a 3-D environment full of real NASA mission data. Explore the cosmos from your computer. Hop on an asteroid. Fly with NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. See the entire solar system moving in real time.
The Frog Blog - one of the best science blogs in Ireland. Great resource, including podcasts for Second Level Science students.
CREATIVE WRITING & JOURNALISM
On the Inside - exploring the world of journalism. "The NEWSROOM is divided into four main areas where you and your class can begin researching and writing your own news stories."
The Digital Narrative.com -" ways to introduce digital storytelling into a classroom" - includes a teachers' handout.
Storybird - collaborative, interactive site for storytelling. Children can create their own short visual stories. Still at the beta testing stage, but an excellent resource none the less for primary students.
Storyonline.net - beautifully produced series of video books read by famours US actors. Each book comes with activity sheets and lesson plans. All are subtitled for hard of hearing students.
Visuwords - free online graphic dictionary and thesaurus.
My Story Maker - colourful interative site for young children.
ENGLISH
Young People's Shakespeare - "The scripts use Shakespeare's words while reducing the running time to about an hour. Brief narrations keep the stories clear. An excellent introduction to Shakespeare for children of all ages. Each volume includes ideas for getting children excited about Shakespeare and practical notes for performing his plays. Illustrated suggestions for simple, effective production designs. These scripts have been successfully performed by children K-6 under the direction of adaptor Catharine Hall-Schor."
Cybraryman - Great list of resources from word games to online dictionaries and thesaruses.
Scoilnet Look at History through the RTE Archives - " is a collaborative pilot project between the NCTE and RTÉ in which clips from media preserved by the RTÉ Archives are presented for use in second-level education."
Do History - interesting site that allows students to piece together moments in history from fragments that have survived.
Active History - although it has some sample content this is a paid subscriber site. Excellent source of virtual interviews, online simulations, educational arcade games, worksheets & lesson plans and revision quizzes. Based on the UK curriculum.
Critical Past - View more than 57,000 historic videos and 7 million photos for free in one of the world's largest collections of royalty-free archival stock footage. Downloads are charged.
GEOGRAPHY
Scoilnet Maps - excellent ICT resource for Leaving Cert Georgraphy students where you can view, print and compare OSi maps and aerial photographs. You can also add and share your own resources such as videos or images.
Mingoville.com - colourful, interactive English language course. Particularly helpful for children from new communities with English as a second language.
Rainforest Maths - superb Maths resource which could be used by all children, regardless of ability. This was a free website but due to the high demand schools now have to subscrbe.
NRich - "On this website you will find thousands of our free mathematics enrichment materials (problems, articles and games) for teachers and learners from ages 5 to 19 years. All the resources are designed to develop subject knowledge, problem-solving and mathematical thinking skills. The website is updated with new material on the first day of every month."
Digital Schools Award Initiative - " recognises the excellence in a school's approach to the integration of ICT in learning and teaching."
Teachnet.ie - "seeks to improve student learning by helping primary and post primary teachers to integrate web-based resources into their instructional practice." Access to curriculum resources, curriculum and technical specialists, grants and a support network.
HowStuffWorks - fantastic innovative website with lots of things to information and fun ways to learn.
O-Teach for Online Learning - Leaving Cert Syllabus, suited to home educators and those needing additional support.
Sparklebox - lots of free downloadables for primary schools
Interactive Assessment Worksheets -" Award winning mathematical word problems with different solution strategies. Interactive image maps on various human body systems with definitions. Multiple-choice questions (with instant feedback) on states of matter, food chains and the human body. Reading and comprehension exercises based on 'Matilda' and 'Danny, Champion of the World' by Roald Dahl. A great homeschooling resource that is suitable for children in Primary 4-6. "
Donskoy29 Sitemark - great list of resources from this US teacher's website.
Awesome Library organizes the Web with "36,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top 5 percent in education".
Renzulli Learning System - "Increase Love of Learning - and Achievement The Renzulli Learning Differentiation Engine puts students in touch with engaging, individualized resources specially chosen for their interest areas and learning styles."
Follow the Fleet - is an excellent education initiative set up by the Irish Maritime Development Office to encourage and develop children's interest in the maritime world. It is designed to be used as a teaching aid and is targeted at 7 to 10 year olds learning geography, history, science and environmental studies. It provides children with:
A fully integrated on-line & visual teaching aid with lesson plans for a class A unique Satellite Tracker System for following nominated Merchant Ships on their exciting journeys.
This system uses satellite GPS and land-based communication services to provide position and situation data displayed on a world chart.
A real insight into the day to day life at sea, ship’s crew & equipment, commercial trade by sea, and Ireland’s maritime history
Software Central - Get help and advice around selecting appropriate software for your classroom from NCTE
Childrens Books Ireland - the national children's book organisation of Ireland. "CBI is involved in many activities and aims to engage young people with books, create greater understanding of the importance of books for young people and resource everyone with an interest in books for children." Lots of events, workshops and competitions.
Game Classroom - US site with lots of interactive maths and literacy games. Great for primary students.
Ted.com - "Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world" - great site for inspirational videos.
Google Sketchup - an amazing free tool for creating, editing and sharing 3D models. Sketchup has been used very creatively by a group of Autistic students in Project Spectrum.
Disclaimer: This is not an expert site, it is run on a voluntary basis and as such is based on opinion and experience but we hope that it acts as a signpost for educational resources and other support services for Irish families with exceptionally able children. By using this website you accept that any dependence by you on such information, opinion or advice is at your own risk.
Online Resources for Teachers 
