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National Geographic and the Common Core - National Geographic
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): charts and graphs (198), guided reading (47), reading comprehension (124)
In the Classroom
Use this National Geographic site to find high quality, high interest, non-fiction reading material for your students. Ask students to visit sites found through your search. Challenge students to share what they learned by creating multimedia presentations using one of many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Use this site as an anticipatory set to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Chatzy - Chatzy.com
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): chat (51)
In the Classroom
Use this site to connect to other classes to open up discussion between your students in one convenient place. Safety is not a concern with this site, since only those with an email invitation/link can participate in a chat. (Your students need not have email. You can simply email the link to yourself and share it with students to enter into their browsers.) Teach good digital citizenship of chat etiquette while using this activity to learn. Connect with other classes to learn about other locations, learn various perspectives, find animals that are similar yet different, learn about the different books others are reading, or survey students on various economic, political, or environmental topics. Be sure to plan content ahead of time, so students have the opportunity to think through the material and formulate a response. Discuss appropriate ways to communicate to others prior to connecting with another classroom. Use Chatzy as a place for students to brainstorm and share ideas about a topic. Use as a simple help forum for students to ask questions of each other and of you. Share a chat room with parents once a month for a question and answer session at a scheduled time.Use backchannel chat on laptops during a video or student presentations. Pose questions for all to answer/discuss in the backchannel, or ask students to pose their own "I wonder if..." questions as they watch and listen. Keep every student engaged and THINKING as an active listener. The first time you use backchannel, you will want to establish some etiquette and accountability rules. The advantage of backchannel chat is that every student has a voice, no matter how shy. Use this in world language classes, ESL/ELL classes, or autistic support classes for backchannel chat. Challenge students to use their new language skills by acting out a scene from a video or describing the feelings of the actors. When studying literature, collaborate with another class to have students role-play a chat between two characters. In a history class, create fictional conversations between soldiers on two sides of the Civil War or different sides of the Scopes Monkey trial.
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Send Anywhere - ESTmob, Inc
Grades
K to 12tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (179)
In the Classroom
Use Send Anywhere to quickly transfer files and images between devices in your BYOD or 1:1 classroom. Student groups working on projects in class can gather and share files easily. This tool would work well when students do not have email addresses or Google Accounts for sharing work with their teachers or each other. What a great way for students to turn in work done on their devices! Just make sure you retrieve it before the time limit expires. During curriculum development and other professional development activities, members of a department (or even school-wide) can share resources and documents easily with each other.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Heck Yeah, Educational Memes! - heckyeaheducationalmemes
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): images (278), posters (40), word study (79)
In the Classroom
Share memes from this site on a class wiki or web page (with proper credit, of course -- see the About Me poster on the home page.) Lighten the mood in your classroom by introducing one of these memes as a discussion starter at the beginning of a lesson or as a way to remember terms and ideas. Have students come up with other common errors in the English language and create a meme about it. Perhaps, as you study "often confused words" such as assent and ascent, small groups can come up with a meme for those. Share memes in math or science as ways to remember terms and concepts. Have the students create their own. Show students the meme on Heck Yeah, Educational Memes about being prepared for class, and have them add a humorous twist to your classroom rules and create a meme. Use a tool like Image Flip: Meme Generator, reviewed here, or Live Meme reviewed here to create memes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WikiArt - Visual Art Encyclopedia - Wikipaintings
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): art history (77), artists (78), images (278), painting (66)
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector and this site to view many different works of art for discussion and comparison. Compare student artwork to that of masters to understand various design principles. Use the images in any class as a prompt for written or artistic expression. View paintings of various periods of history to identify various events that shaped life at that time. Invite students to select their "dream" art gallery and write a script for an audio tour of the gallery with links to the paintings. They can record their podcast tours using a tool such as Spreaker (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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DivShare - Diversion Web Publishing
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use DivShare to store and manage any classroom files and to embed on your classroom website. Create a class DivShare account for students to use with collaborative projects. Share a link to DivShare on your class website for students to create their own accounts, if permitted.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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LiveSchool - Matt Rubinstein
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (46), classroom management (159), game based learning (139), gamification (87)
In the Classroom
Consider using this program to reward a group of the week. Award points for positive behaviors such as participating, creating, working hard, and helping others. Using LiveSchool for group behaviors will give immediate feedback to groups when projected on your whiteboard or your projector. Use this tool to help less focused students stay on task. Share this site with students on the first day of school as you go over class expectations and your behavior plan for your classroom. Use LiveSchool to offer both negative and positive feedback to parents and students.Use LiveSchool to privately keep track of learning or emotional support student behaviors and send a report to their special education teachers and/or parents. This tool could be invaluable to the life skills, autistic support, gifted, or emotional support teacher who needs to track the behavior of each of the students as part of an IEP, GIEP, or behavior plan. Alternative Ed. programs may find this tool very useful, even up through high school.
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81 Dash - AcademyLion, Inc.
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): chat (51)
In the Classroom
Teachers will want to go to the Support link to read tips for classroom use. Use this tool in class (even though students could raise their hands, instead). See participation increase from students who usually do not participate in oral discussions. Use the tool in blended learning or flipped classrooms for additional contact time for asking questions and clarifying. Use this chat room for online "Office Hours," giving the link to students in advance for those who need help. Use 81Dash as a backchannel tool when watching a movie, listening to speakers, or watching student presentations in class. Encourage a student in the class to moderate the chat, taking turns throughout the year to learn digital citizenship. Use this tool with other teachers, especially during Professional Development.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Author Name Pronunciation Guide - TeachingBooks.net
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): audio books (28), authors (120)
In the Classroom
Make author studies come alive by having the authors introduce themselves! Add an author recording link in a QR code attached to book jackets in your classroom or school library, making your library interactive. On your class website, have your student writers make their own introductions to their written pieces using a site such as Spreaker, reviewed here. Enjoy at your literary celebration!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Swipe - Horia Cernusca and Hakon Eide
Grades
K to 12tag(s): slides (65)
In the Classroom
Use Swipe to create quick slideshows for any classroom use. Easily share slides with information and images on your website or blog to remind students about a project or assignment. Create a presentation for Open House and embed on your site for parents who could not attend. Have students create presentations to "introduce" themselves to the class during the first week of school. Create a slide show to introduce any unit and have students guess what they will be learning. Create a Swipe "on the fly" as a review resource to embed on your class website or blog. This site is perfect for the BYOD/1:1 classroom since it is viewable on any device. Make quick "cue cards" using the Markdown tool for students to read their lines off a projector or interactive whiteboard during a video or school news broadcast. Practice reading fluency or sight words using markdown slides, too! Paste school or class announcements into slides and embed them on the class or school website. Have world language or ESL/ELL students write messages in their new language for a classroom "activity tour." Activities could include speaking, following directions such as "touch your nose" or question/answer about an image.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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moovly - Brendon Grunewald
Grades
K to 12If you scroll to the bottom of the landing page and click on Education, you'll now find Moovly Studio for Education. This is a new version of moovly that offers special FREE plans to teachers, students and employees with email addresses from educational email domains. Users from educational email domains known by moovly automatically get a free Education license. If your educational email address is not recognized on sign-up, you can request access. You can now search the VideoBlocks catalog of stock video, sound and graphics via the extended library search. And upload it into your story in just one click! Free accounts can create unlimited videos that are each ten minutes long. The intro videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Freemake Video Converter, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.
tag(s): animation (63), movies (70), multimedia (62), slides (65), video (278)
In the Classroom
Challenge older students to create their own moovs. Students can use moovly to share their ideas or to "prototype" an idea. Students can create videos to show math processes, explanations of complex concepts, review new learning, teach others, explain scientific processes, tell stories, or present research. Flip your classroom using moovly presentations. Use moovly to create teacher-authored animations for students in ANY grade. This is a great way to present new information or ideas for discussion. It is an easy way to prepare information for the class when a substitute is coming. Embed moovly creations on your website or blog for students to review at home. Use a moovly video on the first day of school to explain class rules or give an exciting introduction to the year ahead. Use moovly to create movies or presentations for back to school night or conference nights to display on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Teacher-librarians can ask students to create moovly book reviews to share kiosk style in the library/media center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Basecamp - Jason Fried
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (179), organizational skills (128)
In the Classroom
Use your teacher/class account with students as a tool for organizing and collaborating on group projects. As the account owner, you will be able to see what each group is doing. Set up projects for each small group working on a project. Demonstrate the different tools and functions on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use Basecamp to help students remain on track with project deadlines. Keep track of projects with your students by having mini-conferences and using Basecamp as your guide. Use this tool to collaborate with colleagues for use with professional projects such as unit planning and long term scheduling. You may also want to use it with your grad school group projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Image Flip: Meme Generator - ImgFlip
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): creativity (118), digital storytelling (155), images (278)
In the Classroom
Since the images can be kept private, this would make the perfect "getting to know you" activity for beginning of the school year. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with witty text or a favorite quote (or song lyric?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits. Print the images with text for a back to school bulletin board. Alternatively, make a slide show to play as the parents enter the room. Use a tool like Zoho Show (similar to PowerPoint, but easier and free) - reviewed here). At the end of the year, students could do a "that was then, this is now" project. Have them upload a current picture doing a favorite activity, and different images that represent new interests they have learned this year. Post the images side by side for spring open house night or as a year-end activity. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Compfight, reviewed here. For other uses, have students practice new words in a world language class by labeling and identifying images in that language. Create writing prompts using several annotated images. Have students create annotated images to explain key terms in science class. In ELA class, make homophone or vocabulary images to show the correct word along with an image that explains it.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Fake Concert Ticket Generator - faketicketgenerator.com
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (46), classroom management (159)
In the Classroom
Ask your students to use the Fake Ticket Generator to create excitement for class presentations. Have them create tickets and hand them out to other students to use to be admitted to class for their presentation. Create tickets to hand out to students at the beginning of any unit to create interest and excitement. Make tickets to give to parents as invitation to Meet the Teacher night, Science and Book Fairs, PTO meetings, and more. Create tickets that students can earn, such as a ticket to skip a homework assignment or to have extra time at centers. Give out tickets to special events in the library/media center, such as Dress as Your Favorite Author Day. Have students create tickets to a classroom museum or science fair. Use tickets as a behavior incentive.Comments
I sent ticket invitations to students the week before the Pixar Short Films Plot Study to make sure they came to school (some of my SpEd kids have attendance issues) and were on time. 6thKay, NM, Grades: 6 - 8
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NameCoach - Praveen Shanbhag
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (159), pronunciation (43)
In the Classroom
Create a master list of student names in your school or class using NameCoach. Provide a subset for different activities such as award ceremonies, after-school programs, or for student tutors. Share with your school's ESL/ELL teacher as an authentic way to learn and practice unfamiliar names. Provide this list (and URL) to any substitute coming to your classroom. Use it in world language classes to help students learn pronunciation of new names.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Content Idea Generator - Portent
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): creative writing (165), writing prompts (93)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your class website or blog for student use in creative writing. View together on your interactive whiteboard or projector to demonstrate brainstorming for ideas (with words you have pretested). To manage the "risk," the teacher could open it on your own tablet or laptop and have students tell you a word to enter. You could read the results to them orally.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Simply Circle - Elena Krasnoperova
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (159), homework (42), microblogging (41)
In the Classroom
Set up accounts for all of your classes. Send homework, project, and supply reminders. Send changes to plans due to a snow day or other emergency. Remind students of upcoming events, practices, or things they need to bring to school. Don't forget to include any extracurricular activities. Use this tool to communicate with parents. Allow them to sign up for these updates at back to school night using a laptop or provide them the necessary information on your class web page. Remind parents of big tests, report cards, field trips, deadlines, back to school night, school spirit days, conferences, and more. Learning support teachers can promote organizational skills by having students and their parents sign up to receive reminders about tests and homework. Add messages with tips for parents to help their elementary child study. Need supply donations? Send out a request using SchoolCircle. Set up a faculty reminder group within your school for emergency closures or department meetings and activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wheel Decide - wheeldecide.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (159), gamification (87), probability (141)
In the Classroom
Use Wheel Decide to select a student to do an activity or to answer a question. Allow students to use the name generator to choose which classmate comes next. Create your class name wheel and SAVE it to use throughout the year. Use Wheel Decide as part of a probability unit to chart how often names or items appear with random spins (be sure not to remove them from the list as they appear). Create custom wheels throughout the year to help with decisions such as students' choice activities, options for games at indoor recess, or subjects for reports.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Printliminator - Chris Coyier and Devon Govett
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (159)
In the Classroom
Install the Printliminator on your browser tool bar. Show students how to use Prinliminator on your interactive whiteboard or projector for use when they are researching or preparing a study guide for a test. Use when viewing web pages on your interactive whiteboard to eliminate unnecessary information. Delete unnecessary information from webpages. Send to print and save as PDF for use with student handouts or links from your class web page. Of course, you will want to include your SOURCE on the handouts as a model of good digital citizenship. This is also a great tool to differentiate for any student. Use this tool to share handouts or PDFs with students who are easily distracted to help them stay focused on what matters.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Live Meme - livememe.com
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this popular online tool to bring interest and amusement to classroom lessons! Create an interesting meme to introduce a new topic or unit on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Provide one portion of text for a meme and have students complete their own version. Ask small groups of students to create memes for classroom use with classroom rules, due date reminders, curriculum terms, grammar tips, and more. Have students create memes at the end of any unit or book to quickly summarize content or use as a visual mnemonic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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