TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Jun 18, 2023
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Castbox Creator Studio - Castbox
Grades
K to 12
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communication (135), DAT device agnostic tool (144), digital storytelling (143), podcasts (77)
In the Classroom
Castbox is an excellent podcast-sharing option for simple podcasts or when sharing audio recordings that have already been edited, for example, using editing tools on your computer. Create regular or special podcasts to share on your class web page or wiki. Are you looking for even more ideas? Record class assignments or directions. Record story time or a reading excerpt for younger ones to listen to at a computer center AND from home, adding a touch of blended learning to your classroom! Have readers (perhaps older buddies) enhance their learning and build fluency by recording selected passages for your non-readers. Launch a service project for your fifth or sixth graders to record stories for the kindergarten to use in their reading and listening center. Challenge students to create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events. Make a weekly class podcast, with students taking turns writing and sharing the "Class News," encourage and extend learning and have students create radio advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!). Invite students to write and record their own stories or poetry in dramatic readings. World language students or beginning readers could record their fluency by reading passages. Allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud, etc. Compare world language, speech articulation, or reading fluency at two points during the year. Challenge your Shakespeare students to record a soliloquy. Write and record a poem for Father's or Mother's Day (or other special events) and send the URL as a gift to that special person. If you have gifted students who lean toward the dramatic, this tool is simple enough for them to create dramatic mini-casts without needing any additional tools. Learn more about using podcasts in the classroom by watching this archive of the OK2Ask: Engage & Inspire: Podcasting in the Classroom available here.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Straw.Page - Osman Ahmed
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): blogs (66), communication (135), digital storytelling (143), portfolios (21), writing (316)
In the Classroom
Add Straw.Page to your list of website creation tools to offer for students to use for many different projects. For example, ask students to share poems, lab reports, or quick journal entries and add an image or links to additional information. If students are creating pages, check with your district's policy on publishing student work. Create pages to share information with parents about upcoming events and important dates or a list of links for resources to use at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Acast - Acast
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (135), digital storytelling (143), podcasts (77)
In the Classroom
With older students (and strong readers), you may want to pair them up and have them read Aclass Essentials for the basics of podcasting. Using Fiskkit, reviewed here, with this article will enhance student learning. For younger students or weaker readers, use Read Ahead, reviewed here, on your whiteboard or with a projector for a guided reading session. There are many uses for podcasting in a classroom! Create regular podcasts to share on your class web page or wiki. Record class assignments or directions. Record story time or a reading excerpt for younger ones to listen to at a computer center AND from home, adding a touch of blended learning to your classroom! Have readers (perhaps older buddies) enhance their learning and build fluency by recording selected passages for your non-readers. Launch a service project for your fifth or sixth graders to record stories for the kindergarten to use in their reading and listening center. Challenge students to create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events. Make a weekly class podcast, with students taking turns writing and sharing the "Class News," encourage and extend learning and have students create radio advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!). Invite students to write and record their own stories or poetry in dramatic readings. English language learners or students just beginning to read could record their fluency by reading passages. Allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud, etc. Compare world language, speech articulation, or reading fluency at two points during the year. Challenge your Shakespeare students to record a soliloquy. Write and record a poem for Father's or Mother's Day (or other special events) and send the URL as a gift to that special person. If you have gifted students who lean toward the dramatic, this tool is simple enough for them to create dramatic mini-casts without needing any additional tools.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
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
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Kumospace - Yang Mou and Brett Martin
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): chat (41), communication (135), parent conferences (23), video (258)
In the Classroom
Use Kumospace to set up virtual meetings for many different educational uses. Set up virtual parent/teacher conferences with participants in any location, conduct monthly parent meetings to share the latest classroom news, discuss your current curriculum, and answer questions. Create a virtual "get-to-know-you" session at the beginning of the school year or semester that includes team-building activities. Build classroom community by creating virtual rooms for students to share common interests, as a virtual study hall, or for use when working on collaborative projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Doozy - Doozy Live Ltd
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): chat (41), communication (135), remote learning (60), social and emotional learning (83), social networking (66)
In the Classroom
Use Doozy as a virtual get-to-know-you activity when starting remote learning activities or when collaborating with other classrooms. It is also an excellent icebreaker for professional development sessions or back-to-school team meetings. Create a quiz, or choose from the library to start a friendly competition with others. Since Doozy doesn't track scores, it is an excellent way to work with teams to review practice material in a non-competitive environment. Include Doozy as part of any team-building and social skill support activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mural for Education - Tactivos, Inc.
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): collaboration (87), graphic organizers (49), iwb (32), Online Learning (43), remote learning (60)
In the Classroom
Ask older students to create a Mural for Education account when collaborating on projects to share ideas and organize information. Have students use Mural for Education to develop storylines that include links and images to tell the story of events in history or retell novels. Ask students to use Mural to create mood boards to share the different works of artists or demonstrate different architecture types. Mural would be an excellent choice as a collaborative tool for large projects to brainstorm ideas, assign tasks, and document progress. Use Mural with students as part of your science experiments to share the steps of the experiment, document hypothesis, and add images and reflections upon the outcomes of the experiment. Mural for Education is an excellent resource for remote learning situations to engage students through the use of interactive content and chat. Use the breakout room option to allow for differentiation and group discussions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Soundcite - Knight Lab
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): blogs (66), communication (135), sound (74)
In the Classroom
Combine audio with text to bring life to student work. Share some examples with students before asking them to create Soundcite files. If you have some tech-savvy students, share this site with them before sharing with your whole class. Allow the tech-savvy students to create some examples and tutorials for all to use. Have these students transform classroom technology use and their learning by sharing step-by-step directions using a video explainer tool like Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Include with student work on their blogs or digital portfolios, or include with any multimedia presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Headliner - SpareMin
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (135), editing (90), multimedia (43), social media (54), video (258)
In the Classroom
Use Headliners to create and share videos in multiple ways. Set the stage for upcoming lessons by creating a video from an upcoming text, post the video on your class website for students to view before reading. Include the transcription feature when sharing videos of student discussions or classroom activities (with appropriate parental permission, of course). Promote your classroom podcast using the Audio Wizard to share a short preview of an upcoming podcast. As an alternative to a research report, use the Find My Content feature and have students redefine their technology use by creating a multimedia video filled with images and video based on their research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Netboard - netboard.me
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): bookmarks (47), bulletin boards (14), collaboration (87), communication (135), curation (35), images (264)
In the Classroom
Use Netboard to curate and collect resources for any subject. Create a new board to share with students for each unit, for example, when teaching a unit on fantasy in literature share resources to examples of fantasy writing, student examples of writing, images to inspire fantasy writing, and more. Have students create a Netboard to accompany any research project and ask them to include a link to all resources they used as part of their research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Text2VoiceOver - ResponsiveVoice
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communication (135), text to speech (19), video (258)
In the Classroom
Use Text2VoiceOver to add comments and instructions to any YouTube video (or your own video) your students view. Share specific tips, ask questions, or add additional details to content. Have students create a voiceover to share their thoughts on a video, or ask questions to clarify content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Flip - Charlie Miller & Brad Hosack
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (146), blended learning (37), collaboration (87), communication (135), DAT device agnostic tool (144), Microsoft (83), remote learning (60), video (258)
In the Classroom
Flip is a versatile tool for use in any subject. Create prompts for students to respond to about anything and everything. Challenge students to reflect on their learning at the end of a unit, research project, or literature circle. Here are just a few example questions to ask: What are some things you did well on this assignment? What mistakes did you make on your last assignment that you did not make on today's assignment? What would you do differently? What would you like to learn more about? Ask students to use the many camera features to make conversations more meaningful. For example, use the whiteboard tool to demonstrate math problems, add emojis to convey emotions, or upload images to use for explanations.For professional use, create a topic for peers to discuss. Ideas might include discussing concerns with implementing new technology or curriculum. Have fellow teachers share articles of interest from professional journals. Use Flip to implement a book talk on a topic of interest.
Use Flip as a follow-up for a flipped or blended learning assignment. Ask students to explain what they understand and/or still don't understand about a concept. You can review the responses before class the next day. Use it as an exit "slip" before students leave class or as a warm up at the beginning of class (what do they remember about the lesson taught yesterday). World language students can practice speaking in their new language and choose the best video to turn in to their teacher. Student or teacher can explain a series of steps in an assignment or concept, one at a time (great for differentiation). Math students can explain the steps they took to solve a problem and why. Art students can explain a creation, either theirs or a famous artists - talking about techniques. Music students can perform and explain their learning, or reflect on their performance.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
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
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wakelet - Jamil Khalil
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bookmarks (47), collaboration (87), communication (135), curation (35), DAT device agnostic tool (144), multimedia (43), news (229), personalized learning (9), playlists (10), social media (54), social networking (66)
In the Classroom
The possibilities for using Wakelet in the classroom are endless! Create collections with tips for writing in different genres, current events, information about specific countries or cities, math games, and much more. Have students set up their own wakes as part of a research project. Put together a wake scavenger hunt to introduce a new unit or as a review at the end of a unit. Share wakes on your class web page for student use at home to review and practice class content. Having the ability to have a cover image and background for your wakes makes them much more interesting and easily identifiable, especially for young or visual students!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)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Flock - Cookies Riva FZC
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): chat (41), communication (135), microblogging (18), polls and surveys (46), video (258)
In the Classroom
Teachers can use the chat feature to communicate with parents or students. Collaborate with other educators on lesson plans and activities. Create groups of students during group projects for collaboration. Attach the directions to the chat and monitor the conversation by including yourself in the group and promoting good digital citizenship. Use the poll feature to check for understanding or use the chat as an exit ticket.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
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
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
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