The web is an incredible tool for education, but the sheer volume resources available online can be overwhelming. In the third edition of 101 Best Websites for Principals, award winning author Susan Brooks-Young helps administrators cut through the jumble of websites geared to K-12 principals and identifies the most useful education resources on the web.

To give you a taste of the web resources available, here are 10 of my favorite websites from Susan’s most recent book.

The Educator’s Reference Desk

Created by the Information Institute of Syracuse, this site offers resources for school administrators, teachers, counselors, and librarians. Twelve separate sections enable you to access education resources, lesson plans, and an archive of questions about practice, theory, and education research.

National Assessment Governing Board

Congress created the 26-member National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) in 1988. This independent, bipartisan group sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Education Finance Database

This site, maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures, offers an extensive list of articles, bill summaries, and news related to school finance.

Grant Wrangler

With the tagline “Show Teachers the Money!”, this site is the go-to resource for principals looking to raise money for their schools. Featuring a large searchable database of grant opportunities and several online forums where educators may discuss various aspects of grant writing, this site is a veritable goldmine for administrators.

Leader Talk

Hosted on the Education Week website, Leader Talk is a group blog written for school administrators by school administrators. Frequently updates, this site is a great way for principals to keep current on topics of interest in education.

Excellent Evaluations: Practical Tips for Improving Principals’ Observation, Teacher Evaluation Skills

Classroom observation is one of the most important tasks assigned to site administrators – but few principals would list teacher evaluation as a favorite aspect of their job. This article takes a look at strategies for conducting productive classroom observations.

PBworks

PBworks is a wiki host that offers free accounts to educators for basic wikis. A wiki can function as a school or class website, but is also a valuable tool for committee work. When dealing with a large group while writing a school plan or grant application, you can layout the outline for the document in a wiki and give the full group editing capabilities. In this way, education leaders can encourage staff development and share resources across schools.

Edutopia

This site, sponsored by the George Lucas Foundation, provides numerous professional learning opportunities including free video clips and case studies. The Core Strategies area provides extensive information regarding six factors that positively influence education. Each concept area includes an introduction, articles, video clips, and links to online learning communities.

American Association of School Administrators

Founded in 1865, the American Association of School Administrators offers support to elementary and secondary school district administrators. The site provides access to publications, Internet sites, research papers, toolkits, and more. The group also sponsors several programs designed to improve the lives of children that may be of interest to site administrators in education.

Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology

The Center for Applied Research in Education Technology (CARET) is a searchable database of research studies and other information about technology use in education. Developed by ISTE in partnership with Educational Support Systems and the Sacramento County Office of Education, the site offers links to research on student learning, curriculum and instruction, online teaching and learning, professional development, and assessment and evaluation.

What are you favorite websites for principals?