TeachersFirst: Instructional Resources for Teachers by Teachers

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 ⬥ 3:30 – 4:30 PM (CST) – Virtual Session
Presented by Ruth Okoye

Session Description:

Want to find free resources to support instruction? Join us for a pre-conference tour of TeachersFirst. Created to save educators time, the TeachersFirst website has thousands of free items available to support instructional needs. This session will cover how to find topically related resources to help with your conference presentation, the teachers you coach, or your classroom.

We’ll walk you through our reviews of free web-based resources, classroom resources that we have created, and our professional learning opportunities. You’ll have time for some hands-on exploration of the site and be able to ask questions along the way.

Download a PDF copy of the slides here.

Resource Materials:

In this Resource Materials section, you will find reference materials, tutorials, and how-to information that will help you review or extend your knowledge from the presentation.

Resources from TeachersFirst

What follows is a sampling of resources mentioned during the webinar. They are organized by the tab they can be accessed from.

HOME PAGE TAB

CLASSROOM RESOURCES TAB

    • TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections — Each Special Topic page is a curated list of resources related to the stated topic that will help you find what you and your students need just in time for an upcoming unit, holiday, research topic, student-directed exploration, or project. Each of our almost 200 collections includes up to 30 resources, providing enough variety to find sites that define the topic. Note: you can always find a quick list of 5 relevant collections on the TeachersFirst Home Page.
    • Reading Treks — TeachersFirst Reading Treks are a way of creating a virtual field trip of resources
      about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. Engaging and immersing readers in a story with maps and their pop-ups with interesting information about the “stop” is a powerful tool! TeachersFirst knows that many teachers have limited time to build such a literature experience on their own. To
      that end, TeachersFirst offers this growing collection of Reading Treks to help teachers seeking to integrate technology in their K12 classrooms.
    • XW1W (Across the World Once a Week) – Developed as an educational opportunity for students worldwide, XW1W utilizes Twitter as a means to connect individuals through learning! It is a quick and effective way to engage your students in global, cross-cultural discussions. XW1W offers the opportunity to broaden students’ knowledge about the world around them and understand the similarities and differences among various locations and cultures. And we do this with a single question each week. We begin in October, but you can join in any time throughout the year.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TAB

    • OK2Ask — Free, Quality, Hands-on Workshops for Teachers and Other Educators
    • Professional Learning Units (PLUs) – Professional Learning Units are designed as “self-service” professional learning. You can read the material at any time and submit the assessment. If you pass, we’ll send you a certificate within the week.
    • Book Study — Professional book studies can be important to an educator’s professional development plans. In our book studies, a group of educators gather together to engage in virtual professional learning conversations to share knowledge around a specific topic. We offer book studies each winter and summer.
    • Building Schoolwide Literacy
    • Twitter Chats – Are you looking for an engaging, conversation-driven professional learning opportunity? Participate in one of our bimonthly #OK2Ask Twitter chats! Follow @SFLOK2Ask and tweet with us the first and third Thursday of each month at 8 PM ET using #OK2Ask and #TeachersFirst. Interested in a topic but cannot attend? We archive our Twitter Chats here.

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES TAB

OK2Ask Archives (free, on-demand webinar recordings)

    • Resource Roundup: Free Tools from the Edge — Looking for new tech tools? Go to the cutting edge with TeachersFirst! Discover tools you and your students can use to create images, timelines, whiteboards, mind maps, and more. Learn how the TeachersFirst Edge collection is organized so you can find a tool that fits your needs. Get inspired and explore classroom applications for time-saving tools in this fast-paced session. (Resource site built to support the session.)
    • Engage & Inspire with Reading Treks — TeachersFirst Reading Treks are built using Google Maps to chronicle the journey a story character takes over the course of a book. Each stop along the way adds to student comprehension as they explore the information, visuals, and videos embedded in the map. Use Reading Treks in your lessons to give your students context for the stories they are reading. (Resource site built to support the session.)
    • TeachersFirst Tech Tools Smackdown (Classroom Management Edition) — Many technology tools are available for classroom use, but which are teachers’ favorites? This session will share and compare some of TeachersFirst contributors’ favorite classroom management resources. Help us decide which tool is this session’s winner of our Smackdown! (Resource site built to support the session.)
    • TeachersFirst Tech Tools Smackdown (Digital Storytelling Edition) — There are many digital storytelling tools available for classroom use, but which are teachers’ favorites? Join TeachersFirst as we showcase and compare some of our contributors’ favorite edtech resources for digital storytelling. Explore new and tried-and-true technology tools for your classroom, and help us decide which tool is the winner of this season’s smackdown! (Resource site built to support the session.)
    • Interested in looking through all available OK2Ask archives? Visit the archive page. Please note that the list defaults to the most recent archives at the top.

TeachersFirst Blog (sample articles)

The TeachersFirst blog should be on every teacher’s reading list. It is a place to get short yet informative articles on integrating web-based resources into your classroom. It is meant to be an edtech “snack,” going a step beyond our collections of reviewed web-based resources. Our blog authors demystify edtech jargon and encourage teachers to continue to develop themselves professionally. An eclectic collection of materials for self-directed teachers, this blog will inspire you to try new methods in your instruction while explaining both how and why you should.

 

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