Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Explore the many resources shared by National Geographic at their home base created for educators. Monthly features highlight and share information related to current events. Select the "Teaching Resources" link to find ideas, activities, lessons, and units all searchable by grade and topic. Also, this section includes educational games and teacher guides. Choose the "Reference" link to find news and media information from the past plus current events. Be sure also to visit the "Mapping" section to find printable maps, mapmaking kits, and interactive maps.

tag(s): animal homes (56), biodiversity (30), climate (80), climate change (87), democracy (19), energy (130), habitats (87), map skills (56), native americans (91), oceans (147), planets (112), preK (255), space (213), stars (66), women (137)

The Microsoft Educator Community has transformed into Microsoft Learn with all new, in-demand educator training and professional development. Find Product guides for Teams for education, Immersive Reader, Reading Progress, Flip, Minecraft: Education Edition, and more. Be sure to browse the Educator programs and access the Highlighted instructor materials. Of course, there is a blog, a help center, a training and events calendar, and just about anything else you may need. You can find all of this by scrolling down the page or using the dropdown menus at the top. Microsoft Learn also has Learn TV accessed from the top menu. Learn TV has a variety of shows, such as Mixed Reality Dev Days, where you can learn to create mixed reality and metaverse experiences; other titles include Hello World, Ask the Expert, Code Stories, The Internet of Things Show, and several others. Microsoft has partnered with Flip, reviewed here, to provide virtual field trips and live events, find them in the Discovery area of Flip. A list of additional training sessions and virtual events provided by Microsoft are located here. Follow directions to link your Educator Community account with the new Microsoft Learn program, so you don't lose your achievements and transcripts, or you can create a new account.

tag(s): collaboration (87), Microsoft (84), PLN (6), preK (255), professional development (394), social networking (67), STEM (263), virtual field trips (79)

The Guide to Pinterest for Educators is an excellent resource for teachers and administrators with tips and information for managing Pinterest as a powerful learning tool. Divided into eight sections this handbook discusses the basics of pinning, organization, collaboration, and more. Each section is short and simple to read, making this an outstanding guide for using Pinterest as part of your professional planning and teaching tools.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), professional development (394), social media (53)

TPS Teachers Network is a social networking site for social studies and history teachers. The Library of Congress funded this as part of their Teaching With Primary Sources Program. Create an account to begin using features on the site (email and password required). Once enrolled, options include participating in a chat, adding friends, and searching using keywords. Use the search from the top right menu after logging in on the main page to find specific information topics such as primary source sets or political cartoons. Create albums on the site, including primary and secondary sources, and videos to easily share with students or fellow teachers. Be sure to check out the Help section by clicking the question mark at on the top menu bar when you first get started for Quick Tips to all sections of the site.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), primary sources (117), professional development (394), social networking (67), Teacher Utilities (146)

Easily track time spent on projects without time sheets! Enter your task and click to begin tracking. View the day-by-day breakdown of time spent on the activities. Generate summary, detailed, or weekly reports. Use this tool to create teams and generate team reports. Invite members by email and mark team data as public or private as needed. Use multiple machines in the day? No problem. Time is tracked across multiple devices including Android and iOs.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): classroom management (128), DAT device agnostic tool (143), organizational skills (90), Teacher Utilities (146), time (92)

Learning Front is a free online community of tools for social, professional learning. Tools for professional development aim to improve teaching and learning in the 21st century online platform. Connect and collaborate with individuals or teams. Programs offers the AD682 Technology for Leaders of Learning with Webinars and Coaching Sessions on many professional development tasks for teachers, new or experienced, or pre-service teachers. Wiki Task features units, lessons, and data displays for professional learning. Find lessons to support your subject area. The Networking link allows you to find other colleagues in your area of expertise. They can join your efforts and work with you. Download many free resources.

tag(s): professional development (394), social networking (67)

English Club provides ESL and ELL resources and lessons for both students and teachers. There are also games, further resources, idioms, and even the "Learning English Video Project." Students can compare their English-learning experience with students from around the world; they can also create their own page to be hosted by the site. Lessons include the standard vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and reference tools. By providing both chat capability and an English question "hotline," the site would work for students learning in groups as well as individually. Games on the site are language based, educational, and designed to reinforce the language lessons. Other interactive features include a weekly news summary and activities and an opportunity to discuss via ESL forums. Free registration ensures students can take advantage of all the site offerings. Students may select their native language for website directions if needed; languages include standard European and Asian ones as well as Arabic.

tag(s): grammar (133), speaking (22)