What’s in the Widgetbox?

I’ve spent most of the last week setting up my class website in order to get it ready for students on Friday (more on that later).  In doing so, I’ve spent a great deal of time playing around with Widgetbox looking for fun gadgets to drop into the sidebars of the site.  And I’m impressed.  While I can’t guarantee that it is truly the “World’s best place to find and make widgets,” I can say that is my favorite.

First, I was able to make a couple of customized widgets in less than ten minutes, complete with tabs for  Twitter accounts,  Delicious bookmarks, and news updates from NPR and CNN.  And while my final products required a Pro account ($29.99/year), I could have accomplished similar results using a couple of different free widgets.

In addition to allowing you to create a customized widget, Widgetbox also offers a number of free pre-made widgets perfect for educators.  Among my favorites are:

General Education

• Google Calendar Embed
• My Progress Bar

English

• Grammar Girl Quiz
• Rhyme Dictionary
• SAT Vocabulary

Mathematics

• Maths-Whizz Scientific Calculator

Science

• NASA TV
• Periodic Table
• Science in the News
• Unit Converter
• USGS Earthquake Monitor
• Weather 3D

Social Studies

• Bill of Rights
• Find Your US Representative
• Geography in the News
• History in the News
• NewsHour Extra
• Political Bedfellows
• Supreme Court Watch
• This Day in History
• Timeline: US Presidents
• World Counters

It is important to note, however, that free widgets often run ads (I never ran across anything inappropriate for students) and that Widgetbox does not play well with WordPress.com.

And, as always, I’ll add widgets to the list as I find them so feel free to leave a comment with your favorites.

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For more educational widgets for your website, try the following resources:

• ClustrMaps
• Google Books
• National Geographic
• PollDaddy
• Show Yourself