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TeachersFirst's Editors' Choice Tools for Pretests - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
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This collection of resources was selected by TeachersFirst editors as the easiest or most useful tools for creating pretests, a must-have when working with gifted students in the regular...more
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This collection of resources was selected by TeachersFirst editors as the easiest or most useful tools for creating pretests, a must-have when working with gifted students in the regular classroom. This collection is part of a special section of TeachersFirst, Nourishing Gifted Through Technology in Any Classroom.

tag(s): differentiation (83), gifted (64)

In the Classroom

You may not always be able to pretest at the start of a new unit, and sometimes an informal assessment will tell you that a student is ready to move beyond the regular curriculum content right away. You may want to wait a day or two before offering a retest, since many truly gifted students will absorb or even seem to "intuit" the full unit of content very quickly after a short exposure. The great thing about using online pretests is that once you create them, you have them for the next year. Consider teaming up with other teachers in your subject/grade to build a library of pretests that you can share.

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Brief.ly - Brief.ly

Grades
K to 12
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Brief.ly is a simple way to share a "bundle" of links at the same time. Enter up to 30 links and captions you want to share (one per line or ...more
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Brief.ly is a simple way to share a "bundle" of links at the same time. Enter up to 30 links and captions you want to share (one per line or click the wrench for more options). Brief.ly will generate a unique URL. When opened, a Table of Contents page lists the sites included. When you open the bundle, each site appears and tabs appear along the top of the page that allow you to easily jump from one recommended site to the next. This site is very easy to use and helpful for all ages, as long as they can read. With your membership, you can edit the contents of your list later, without resending it or changing the single link.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), organizational skills (90)

In the Classroom

Brief.ly is a lifesaver for every classroom, teacher, or school. Whenever you are sharing multiple sites at centers, during small or whole group presentations, or even sites gathered for a research projects, Brief.ly takes away frustration and saves time! Save different content areas, subjects, or study links in one simple click. Gather all grade level websites on your school webpage, and list all classes. Unclutter your own class webpage or blog with just a few links. Sending links to parents or colleagues could not be any easier! Collaboration within classes, groups, or home is a snap! Improve organization for yourself and your class. As students work on group projects, they can share their link list easily. Use a class account so students do not have to register, and you can watch what they are using for sources.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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NCES Kids' Zone - NCES

Grades
4 to 12
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NCES Kids' Zone offers enrichment and informational data. Explore This Day in History, updated daily. Take a poll and compare your own answers with others. Try your problem solving...more
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NCES Kids' Zone offers enrichment and informational data. Explore This Day in History, updated daily. Take a poll and compare your own answers with others. Try your problem solving skills with the mindbender. Learn (and use) the word of the day. The Dare to Compare button leads to short quizzes where you can compare your knowledge with others. You can also explore data about your local schools and libraries and even find college information. Note that the upper menus do not work in all browsers, so not all areas of the site are readily accessible.

tag(s): charts and graphs (168), probability (96)

In the Classroom

Strike an interest in your school and community by finding out where you rank. Investigate college choices. After short quizzes, have a daily comparison of your students to see how they compare in civics, economics, geography, history, mathematics, and science at multiple grade levels. Inspire students to collect data and make their own graphs about school wide topics. Have students create an online graph using ChartGizmo, reviewed here. Dig into probability problems to discover the odds.
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4 Free Photos - 4freephotos.com

Grades
K to 12
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4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. ...more
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4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. The images on this site are contributed by the photographers for open sharing under Creative Commons. Be aware, there are photos for sale (clearly labeled). Some of the links for "More Free Photos" and other ads take you to outside sites. You may want to advise students to avoid those links. Note that all uses of the photos are supposed to be accompanied by the link to the license (available on each photo's display page).
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): copyright (40), creative commons (29), images (270), photography (131)

In the Classroom

Starting a lesson on copyright? With so much social media and access to almost anything on the web, it is important to teach students about copyright and about owner's rights. Use this site to search for photos for presentations, photos, projects, or research. For your ENL/ESL students or speech/language, use the images for them to create their own visual dictionary. World language teachers can also challenge students to use images to illustrate vocabulary or accompany writing. Use images for writing prompts or even to create descriptive sentences. Have one student describe the image as another sketches the image. Now compare the described image to the real image. To find more Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here, or Pikwizard, reviewed here.

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Animal and Environmental Facts - Young People's Trust for the Environment

Grades
3 to 8
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The Young People's Trust for the Environment (UK) offers a large selection of fact sheets about animals and environmental issues. The information is primarily text-based. Scroll through...more
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The Young People's Trust for the Environment (UK) offers a large selection of fact sheets about animals and environmental issues. The information is primarily text-based. Scroll through the alphabetical list of animals to view available fact sheets. Sheets contain an image along with other pertinent information such as habitat, size, food, and daily life. Click the blue box on the upper left side of the page to download and print all information in PDF format. Note: Only text appears on downloaded sheets; images appear as X's. Choose the Environmental Facts link to explore fact sheets with subjects ranging from Acid Rain through Zoos. This site was created in the United Kingdom, so you may notice some slight spelling differences from American English.

tag(s): acid rain (3), animal homes (56), animals (278), climate (80), energy (131), environment (238), habitats (87), pollution (49)

In the Classroom

Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Bookmark this site for use with any animal or environmental unit. You will need to pair weaker readers with a stronger reader since the information is almost entirely text. Allow students to choose an animal or environmental topic from the resources available and become "experts." Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here. Challenge students use Ourboox, reviewed here. Ourboox creates beautiful page-flipping digital books in minutes, and you can embed video, music, animation, games, maps and more. Have students create maps of animal habitats using Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map where they find the habitats.
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Online Dictation - Amit Agarwal

Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites 1  Comments
 
Use the magic of speech recognition to create emails, dictate notes, or write an essay in many languages without ever touching your keyboard. Online Dictation only works in the Chrome...more
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Use the magic of speech recognition to create emails, dictate notes, or write an essay in many languages without ever touching your keyboard. Online Dictation only works in the Chrome browser. Click "Start Dictation," and grant the site permission to connect to your computer's microphone. Begin talking, and watch your words appear on the screen. Dictation detects many different languages so is useful for many non-English speakers. When you finish speaking, export your text using links to Dropbox, Google Drive, your computer, or send as an email. This is a speech to text tool.

Since this tool has to connect back to its own servers to "translate" your spoken words to text, it may not have the sensitivity you expect. It is a good idea to test it first yourself before assigning students to use it. You might want to demonstrate how clearly you must speak to make it work.

tag(s): communication (136), differentiation (83), note taking (34), speech (66), writing (315)

In the Classroom

Use Online Dictation to dictate homework assignments to post on your class webpage. Demonstrate proper note taking using Online Dictation. Leave this site up in your browser, and add notes throughout your lesson. Save notes to your computer to print and use for future reference. Share this site with students who have difficulty putting thoughts onto paper or students with delayed handwriting skills or processing delays. Let students dictate stories, poems, questions, etc. to print and use. Share Online Dictation with your school's ESL/ELL teacher as a resource for use with their students. Speech and language teachers can try this tool to encourage students to improve articulation. If they speak clearly, their words will "magically" appear in writing!
 

Comments

The concept is great but the execution is disappointing. The text response is slow and often captured only an occasional word or phrase. Most of what was returned in text was gibberish. This program is not suitable for student use. Dwight, , Grades: 3 - 7

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Whereby - appear.in

Grades
K to 12
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Create video conversations including up to four people instantly with Whereby (formerly Appear.in). There is nothing to download, and no registration is required. Add a name for your...more
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Create video conversations including up to four people instantly with Whereby (formerly Appear.in). There is nothing to download, and no registration is required. Add a name for your room and click "create." Allow access to your computer's webcam and microphone, and your room is all set up. Send the link to others to click and join in. Claim a room to get privileges such as customizing your room's background and locking your room when empty. Whereby works with Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, and Opera browsers.

tag(s): chat (42), communication (136), DAT device agnostic tool (143), remote learning (61), video (256)

In the Classroom

Whereby is a perfect tool to use for your blended learning or remote learning classroom. Use it for any subject for small group interactions such as small group projects, literature circles, writing consultations, and more. Connect up to four whole classrooms across the country for book clubs. Connect experts such as authors and scientists to classrooms of children. Create connected learning experiences with other students, especially those in older grades. Connect world language classes to classes in other countries. Students interested in graphic design can connect with an expert or artist far away and share current work in a virtual critique. Connect students with mentors or older students for help with homework. Teachers can hold "office hours" for homework help and student questions. Whole buildings can collaborate and share professional development with others in their own district and beyond! Of course, you will want to pretest whether this service works in your school since some filters block access to such "interaction."

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Achieve the Core - Student Achievement Partners

Grades
K to 12
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Achieve the Core provides high-quality resources to assist with implementing Common Core Standards. Whether you are already a Common Core whiz or just a beginner, this site will help...more
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Achieve the Core provides high-quality resources to assist with implementing Common Core Standards. Whether you are already a Common Core whiz or just a beginner, this site will help you grow and learn. Choose from three main portions of the site: Professional Learning, Planning for Instruction, and Classroom Resources. Search the site by selecting Classroom Resources, which has subject area, lessons, student samples, tasks, assessments, and more. Begin your professional development with instructional modules found under the Professional Development tab and Instructional Materials and Assesments. Modules include a facilitators guide, a video, and hands on activity with discussion ideas. Content includes both ELA and Math. Some lessons can be found (in ELA) that also incorporate science and social studies. Filter by individual grade level or by elementary, middle school, or high school. Under ELA/Literacy, examine text dependent questions and text complexity. You will also find instructional videos, sample lesson and assessment questions, instructional practices, and aligning materials. Math activities include videos, examining the shifts, and evaluating yourself. Another area to explore is the Leadership Tools. To the far right of the Classroom Resources, find Early Reading Accelerators which includes Foundational Skills and Knowledge and Vocabulary. This can be viewed online or downloaded in PDF format. Under Early Reading you will also find special materials for fractions.

tag(s): commoncore (75)

In the Classroom

Bookmark this site for professional development. Find the self evaluation tools to use before your evaluation by administrators. Start a Common Core study group, and explore and share together. Ready made parent materials make parent involvement easy. Learn ways to become involved with the Common Core movement. And of course, don't miss the fabulous "ready to go" lessons!
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Bees: A Honey of an Idea - Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

Grades
3 to 9
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Learn about the fascinating world of bees with this beautiful and comprehensive site. Begin your exploration as you choose from different categories such as What is a Bee?, Pollination,...more
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Learn about the fascinating world of bees with this beautiful and comprehensive site. Begin your exploration as you choose from different categories such as What is a Bee?, Pollination, Life in a Hive, or The Beekeper. The entire site is also available in French. Explore each topic as you view images and descriptions of the life of bees. Find the Glossary link near the top of each page to view a selection of vocabulary words and definitions. Be sure to view the Activities page including recipes, crafts, printable activities, and an image gallery.

tag(s): insects (67)

In the Classroom

Be sure to share this site during any unit on insects or careers. As news stories tell us about the rapid demise of honeybees and the resulting danger to our food supply, step back to see what bees are all about. Allow older students to explore on their own. Younger students will benefit from viewing and reading together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a week in the life of a beekeeper. Use the glossary as a resource for differentiated spelling lists each week. French teachers may want to use this site as a reading experience!
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Everything Preschool - everythingpreschool.com

Grades
K to 1
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Everything Preschool offers a large assortment of preschool and early elementary resources. Discover 30,000 activities sorted into 100 themes. Explore categories to find activities...more
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Everything Preschool offers a large assortment of preschool and early elementary resources. Discover 30,000 activities sorted into 100 themes. Explore categories to find activities and lessons requiring basic supplies. Choose from topics such as themes, lesson plans, alphabet ideas, and crafts. Discover top lesson plans and popular themes located on the right hand side of the page or search the site for any term using the Google search bar.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): alphabet (51), holidays (159), preK (254)

In the Classroom

If you teach preschool or kindergarten you will want to be sure to bookmark this site for use throughout the year. Search for activities to supplement your current lessons. Share activities from Everything Preschool with parents as at-home learning experiences. Place a reminder on your calendar to check the monthly holiday calendar for thematic lessons for each month.
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Jumpshare - Ghaus Iftikhar

Grades
K to 12
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Download the Jumpshare tool for sharing and viewing files easily. Create an account with your name, email, and password to begin. Drag and drop files to share. Use the link ...more
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Download the Jumpshare tool for sharing and viewing files easily. Create an account with your name, email, and password to begin. Drag and drop files to share. Use the link to browse and find files on your computer. Jumpshare supports 200 file types including images, videos, and documents. Once uploaded, use links to share documents via email or social networking options. In addition to the file sharing you can now create screenshot capture and screen recordings (making your screenshot into a video. Free accounts include storage of up to 2 GB and a limit of 100 MB on individual files.

tag(s): collaboration (85)

In the Classroom

Eliminate file sharing challenges during projects with penpals or people from other schools anywhere in the world. Create a class account (or several) for students to upload completed class projects. Share this site with older students to use when collaborating on group projects. Collaborate easily on lesson plans with other teachers by uploading and sharing files from anywhere.

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A-Z Animals - Millie Bond

Grades
2 to 9
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A-Z Animals is an online animal encyclopedia and much more! Browse through the large list of animals in several different ways. Sort by alphabetical listing, Scientific names, group,...more
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A-Z Animals is an online animal encyclopedia and much more! Browse through the large list of animals in several different ways. Sort by alphabetical listing, Scientific names, group, location, endangered animals, pictures, or favorites. Each selection contains beautiful images and extensive information including basic facts, habitat, and behavior. Click the "listen" icon near the top of the page to listen to all text on each page (read by a synthesized voice). Print each page in PDF format using the Print link also located on a tab near the top of the page. In addition to the animal encyclopedia, explore the large selection of reference articles including many topics such as habitat, life cycle, and evolution. Other great features of this site include online quizzes and games. This site is one you will want to explorer and save! The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animal homes (56), animals (278), biodiversity (30), evolution (85), habitats (87)

In the Classroom

Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further exploration during and after your animal or biodiversity unit. Explore information about the Animal of the Day. Create a link on classroom computers for students to explore on their own. Print animal pages for use in classroom reading centers or for Guided Reading instruction. This site is perfect for use with Special Education and ENL/ESL students in upper elementary and above-- if their listening vocabulary is strong enough. Provide headphones and allow them to listen to information from any page. Have cooperative learning groups use information from this site to create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here.
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Riding the Winds with Kalani - University of Illinois Extension

Grades
K to 3
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Take a Ride with Kalani, the weather balloon, to learn all about weather. Learn about the sun, seasons, and clouds. Start by clicking the weather vane to scroll through the ...more
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Take a Ride with Kalani, the weather balloon, to learn all about weather. Learn about the sun, seasons, and clouds. Start by clicking the weather vane to scroll through the site. You can stop at each feature and Choose from many different activities and games to supplement and enhance information in the weather story. Teacher Resources include suggested activities, links to worksheets and coloring pages, and correlation to Illinois State Standards. Choose from several language options to view and hear the site in English, Spanish, Chinese, or Korean.

tag(s): seasons (36), sun (69), temperature (35), weather (163)

In the Classroom

Riding the Winds with Kalani is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard or projector. View the weather presentation together then allow students to complete activities as a Science Center. Use this site as a supplement to your current weather or seasons unit. This site is perfect for use with ESL/ELL students. Allow them to explore this site as it is presented to them in their native language.
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Yarp - Agility Fix, LLC

Grades
K to 12
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Send simple invitations or surveys with Yarp. Choose the type, name it, add more information, and choose responses such as Yes/No or other clever possibilities. Click "Let me see it"...more
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Send simple invitations or surveys with Yarp. Choose the type, name it, add more information, and choose responses such as Yes/No or other clever possibilities. Click "Let me see it" to view the survey. Send the link to your Yarplet to others. No membership is required to create Yarplets or to vote! Click "Save my Yarplets" for instructions to keep track of your polls and invitations when moving from one device to another. This tool will work on any mobile browser.

tag(s): assessment (147), data (146), Formative Assessment (70), polls and surveys (46), Teacher Utilities (146)

In the Classroom

Use this tool anywhere a quick, simple poll is required (on any device!). Share polls on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge. This is great as you start a new unit and ask questions about the material. Discuss in groups why students would choose a particular answer to uncover misconceptions. Use for daily quiz questions as a formative assessment. Use a class account to have student groups alternate to create the new poll for the next day. Place a poll on your teacher web page as a homework inspiration or to ask parent questions to increase involvement. Older students may want to include polls on their student blogs to increase reader engagement. Have students create polls for the start of project presentations. Use polls to generate data for math class (graphing), during elections, or for critical thinking activities dealing with the interpretation of statistics. Use "real" data to engage students on issues and current events that matter to them.

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Optics For Kids - The Optical Society

Grades
3 to 12
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Learn more about the study of light with activities and experiments at Optics for Kids. Choose from the Adult or Kid links. The adult portal includes articles, experiments, and videos...more
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Learn more about the study of light with activities and experiments at Optics for Kids. Choose from the Adult or Kid links. The adult portal includes articles, experiments, and videos exploring the science of light. Activities within the kids portion include an exploration of optical illusions, explanations of terms used when discussing optics, and several activities to explore the physics of light. In the adult section, explore activities from those for young children up to most sophisticated options for those over age 15.

tag(s): light (52), optical illusions (10), optics (12), psychology (67), vision (45)

In the Classroom

Share Optics4Kids during your unit on light. Bookmark this site to find classroom experiments that explore the science of light. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. After completing an experiment, have students upload a photo they have taken and add voice bubbles to explain what they learned using a tool such as Phrase.it, reviewed here. Share this resource with parents as a resource for Science Fair projects and fun science projects to try at home.
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Creating Community and Getting Inspired with Blog Hops and Events - Krista Stevens/WordPress

Grades
4 to 12
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Discover blog ideas galore from the "friendly writers" at Wordpress, especially these ideas for connecting your blog with other bloggers via special events, such as "blog hops." A blog...more
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Discover blog ideas galore from the "friendly writers" at Wordpress, especially these ideas for connecting your blog with other bloggers via special events, such as "blog hops." A blog hop is simply a response to the same prompt during a fixed time frame, with links to the other bloggers' responses so you can "hop" to read the many takes on the topic from the original post or prompt. Share writing around a common theme, image, quote, or topic by checking out the offerings compiled here. Note that this collection is intended for the general blogging public (not schools), so some topics may not be school-appropriate. On the other hand, making contact with "real world" people blogging about how they write, do photography, stay fit, and more. Click on the link to the updated list of blogging events to find inspiration and connection, sorted by general areas of interest. Don't miss the detailed information about how to Start and/or Participate in a Blog Hop.

tag(s): blogs (66), writing prompts (57)

In the Classroom

In its simplest use, this is a place to find and READ blogs on curriculum-related topics. You can also find questions and prompts for your students to write about offline. Never again will you need to hunt for writing prompts or ways to connect your science or social studies students with the outside world. Of course this is a time to discuss proper netiquette and digital citizenship/safety for interacting with "strangers." If you do not yet have a class or student blogs, you might want to begin with Blog Basics for the Classroom. Be SURE you get parent permission. If your students have blogs, use these ideas as a model for your own weekly or biweekly blog hops on curriculum topics. Since your math students need to write about their problem solving strategies for Common Core, why not make it more fun with a blog hop? Trying to fire up interest in local history? Pose a blog hop prompt asking which local landmark could be replaced with a shopping mall. Looking for students to support arguments with evidence? Spark an environmental question for a blog hop. Browse some of the special topic blog events for discussions related to your current curriculum. For example, connect your plant study unit with gardeners' blogging events. If you teach gifted students, this is the ideal way to connect your students (even reluctant writers) with an outside world that will raise their level of writing and thinking. If you can connect with other teachers who have gifted students, perhaps via the #gtchat Twitter chat, you can set up a regular connection among students in several locations.. in science, social studies, math, or writing classes. Your gifted ones may pull in other blogging classmates, as well!

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Dimensions of Creativity: Sample Project Rubrics - TeachersFirst

Grades
K to 12
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Include creativity in project rubrics with the tips and downloadable, editable rubric starters from this page. Make creativity something you can talk about with your students and something...more
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Include creativity in project rubrics with the tips and downloadable, editable rubric starters from this page. Make creativity something you can talk about with your students and something they can actually learn! Promote creativity using terms both teachers and students can understand as part of your rubrics (FFOE): Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration. You no longer have to simply make a category that says "Creativity (5 pts)." These rubric starters give specific ways to assess creativity projects at all levels and can easily be adapted to the projects you do (or want to do) in you classroom. This page is part of a longer article about Dimensions of Creativity.

tag(s): gifted (64), rubrics (33)

In the Classroom

Mark this page in your favorites and refer to it as you develop rubrics for upcoming class or independent projects. Use appropriate options from these samples to customize creativity rubrics for any student who needs a different target. If you teach gifted students, these rubric ideas will help you adapt your existing rubrics to challenge gifted students beyond simply requiring "more of the same." Challenge them to move beyond "excellent" and to know what the expectations are. Consider including them in goal setting as you develop the rubrics together. By including creativity elements in project rubrics you respect student creativity and expect it to grow.

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Diigo - Education - Diigo, Inc. 2010

Grades
1 to 12
9 Favorites 0  Comments
  
This interactive social bookmarking and collaboration tool does so much more than any ordinary bookmarking tool. It is a research curation tool, knowledge-sharing community, website...more
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This interactive social bookmarking and collaboration tool does so much more than any ordinary bookmarking tool. It is a research curation tool, knowledge-sharing community, website annotation tool, and social information network all rolled into one "cloud" package. To get started, check out the About link. You will find information and videos on the uses of Diigo. Set up an account, being sure to click the FREE education edition upgrade. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly. At this time Diigo is experiencing issues with the "Top 10 Tags" from the menu on the left.

This tool can be used as a basic bookmarking tool, simply allowing YOU to save, sort, and access your own bookmarks from ANY computer or mobile device (once you are logged in). You have the choice whether your bookmarks are public or private. You can gradually ease into more advanced and interactive features: highlight parts of sites and save or share those annotations, add sticky notes to parts of websites, pictures, screen-shots, documents, audio, and more. Do group collaborative research. Organize your bookmarks by tags. Unlike sorting bookmarks into file folders, adding tags permits you to put multiple tags or "labels" on one site. The same site you tag for book reports could also be tagged for biographies, for example. Additional Diigo features include groups (a way to share and exchange bookmarks with a certain group of Diigo users), messaging, and search features. You can search all the public bookmarks made by others and discover other people with similar interests, already bookmarked and ready for you to mark as your own. There are many groups you can join, such as those with a specific teaching interest or hobby. See "Tools" for many helpful options, including bookmarklets to make bookmarking instant on multiple devices. Bookmarklets drag directly to the toolbars on your computer and are well worth it. It goes beyond simple bookmarking and adds options like highlight, capture, send, read later, comment, search bar and Diigo message options. You decide your own level of use and desired tools to be shown on the bar. If choosing not to install the toolbar, then there is an applet called Diigolet that will be used in its place. It is not as strong a tool as the toolbar, but will work well if the toolbar installation is not possible. Check our sample group. You can also install a widget on your blog (or class web page) that will show your bookmarks there.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), collaboration (85), curation (35), DAT device agnostic tool (143), forum (2), organizational skills (90), social networking (68)

In the Classroom

Teachers even in very early grades can use Diigo simply to share links with students and parents. To get more ideas on the potential education uses of this site, see this SlideShare powerpoint here. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have.

Assign students a research topic and allow them to use Diigo collaboratively to collect and share resources. Share teacher-selected options (complete with comments or directions) easily using Diigo. The research and conversations created through highlighting and annotating what they read can greatly enhance both their research skills and their online interaction on academic level skills. Or use Diigo to post discussion assignments on specific articles or even parts of articles using the highlighting tool. Find a relevant article for your subject, highlight the part that you want students to read. (If students are younger, keep it short to reduce the intimidating reality of too much information for kids.) Attach a sticky note with a discussion question for the students. Have them comment on the link in a "class discussion" as a homework assignment. If you are fortunate enough to have all students with computer access in your class and at home, such as in one to one laptop program schools, you can organize many assignments using Diigo. Use this site to help all of your students stay organized. Share this resource with your (not so organized) gifted students to help them manage projects and not "lose" the information they "found somewhere." Post assignments, readings, online interactive labs, and more. The site even allows students to submit responses by adding a comment. Of course others will see what they said, so you may not want the comments to be the only thing they do! If you assign gifted students to do projects beyond the regular curriculum, consider having them curate and annotate a collection of resources on a higher level topic. For example, extend your study of World War II by having them collect web-based primary sources showing the propaganda leading up to the war, political cartoons during the war, and advertisements from the time. Have them annotate the collection explaining each artifact and how it reflects the sentiments and biases of certain groups. That same collection could provide other students a class opportunity to interact with "objects" from the time. If you have contact with other teachers of gifted students, they could collaborate across different schools or classrooms.

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Webnode - Webnode AG

Grades
K to 12
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Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select...more
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Webnode is a free and easy website or blog builder. Create an account. Choose from hundreds of template design options, including personal blogs (scroll to the bottom menu and select "Make your own website or blog." Add many site features: photo galleries, polls, forums, social features, and much more. Webnode saves changes as you make them, so information is stored in real time. Possible uses are only limited by your imagination!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): blogs (66), communication (136), social networking (68)

In the Classroom

Create a Webnode class website at any grade level for parents and students to stay updated about what is happening in the classroom if your school does not offer a class web site tool. With teens (and in accordance with school policy), try using Webnode for: "visual essays;" digital biodiversity logs (with digital photos students take), online literary magazines, and personal reflections in images and text. Consider using Webnodes for research project presentations, comparisons of online content, such as political candidates' sites or content sites used in research (compared for bias). The tool requires that a member be 13+, so you will want to create an account for your younger students to use. Using a whole-class account under your supervision, students can create pages documenting experiments or illustrating concepts, such as the water cycle, and "Visual" lab reports. Create digital scrapbooks on a class or individual page using images from the public domain and video and audio clips from a time in history -- such as the Roaring Twenties, Local history interactive stories, and Visual interpretations of major concepts, such as a "visual" U.S. Constitution. Imagine building your own online library of raw materials for your students to create their own "web pages" as a new way of assessing understanding. For younger students, provide the digital images, and they sequence, caption, and write about them on the class site under your supervision. For older students, provide the steps in the design as a template, and they insert the actual content of their own. After the first project where you provide "building blocks," the sky is the limit on what students can do. Even the very young can make suggestions as you "create" a whole-class product together using an interactive whiteboard or projector. You might consider making a new project for each unit you teach so students can "recap" long after the unit ends.

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Listen to Nature - British Library Sound Archive

Grades
K to 8
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Listen to nature, literally, through this enormous library of animal and bird sounds. There are 400 sound recordings to explore on these pages. Search by habitat, animal group, location,...more
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Listen to nature, literally, through this enormous library of animal and bird sounds. There are 400 sound recordings to explore on these pages. Search by habitat, animal group, location, or bird language. Use the location tab to click on an interactive map and find 150,000 animal sounds throughout the world. Learn how and why birds communicate by checking out The Language of Birds tab. This site requires Windows Media Player or a Mac compatible player for .wma (Windows Media) files. Flip Player for Mac works fine.

tag(s): animal homes (56), animals (278), birds (42), habitats (87), sounds (43)

In the Classroom

Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and speakers to share the various sounds of animals and birds when studying habitats and the animals who live there. One of the most interesting sections is The Language of Birds. This could be an entire investigative unit completed by your students. Explore the text heavy introduction where you can extract information together with your students. Let them explore the different sections of the contents. In small groups, upper elementary and middle school students could create an online poster about the habitat or bird language they learn about. Try a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here. They could play the bird communication in the background while they are explaining their poster to the class.

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