TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Feb 11, 2024
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
SchoolAI - SchoolAI, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (117), assessment (148), chat (41), churchill (7), darwin (13), Formative Assessment (69), leonardo davinci (3), lincoln (60), martin luther king (40), newton (21), shakespeare (92), Special Needs (55), Teacher Utilities (151), washington (25)
In the Classroom
Use SchoolAI to create and share engaging activities with all students and for all subjects. For example, differentiate text easily to fit the abilities of all students, generate a list of engaging activities for any topic, or quickly create a worksheet or multiple choice quiz as a formative assessment. As students engage in chats with historical figures or choose your own adventure activities, ask them to use the information learned as a starting point for additional research. Use Symbaloo, reviewed here or another curation tool to collect and share additional resources with students, such as videos, online articles, and book suggestions. As a final extended learning activity, ask students to share their learning using Sway, reviewed here, Genially, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express, reviewed here to create multimedia presentations. This tool would also be great to share with gifted students. As always, use best practices when sharing AI tools with students.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Designer - Microsoft Designer
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (117), images (257), Microsoft (76)
In the Classroom
AI-generated images are an excellent tool for use with many classroom purposes. The image creator supports over 100 languages, so it is accessible for use by almost all students. Teach students how to write descriptive sentences by creating AI-generated images; students quickly learn how to add specific details to create a desired output. Use Bing Image Creator to engage students in creative writing projects by generating images based on anything their imaginations share. Include AI-generated images in your classroom newsletter, website, or worksheets as an easy resource for adding pictures without spending much time searching for the right photograph. Share this site with students to include images in multimedia projects, such as those created using Sway, reviewed here or Google Sites, reviewed here. When using any AI resource, be sure to provide guidance on using AI tools ethically, creatively, and responsiblyAdd your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Soundraw - Soundraw Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (117), blues (22), jazz (17), rhythm (21)
In the Classroom
Use Soundraw to create music in different genres/styles like classical, pop, jazz, and more. Then, compare and discuss how the AI interprets different styles. Generate music in historical styles like Baroque, Romantic era, 1890s ragtime, and others to include with lessons in social studies class or as an extension activity with novels set in different times. Use the songs during creative writing times. Share Soundraw with students to use when creating multimedia projects such as podcasts created with Buzzsprout, reviewed here or as a background for a video presentation created using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Adobe Firefly - Adobe
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (117), creativity (90), editing (90), graphic design (48), images (257)
In the Classroom
Use Firefly to create images for many different classroom uses to engage students and extend learning. Use the text effects feature to create text to teach letters or words. An example would be making the word "apple" and filling it with apples to teach beginning letter sounds to students using imagery. Use the text-to-image feature to create images for students to use with creative writing projects or to visualize a scene in a story. Edit images using the Generative Fill option to remove unwanted items or add new items. Edit an image to demonstrate different art styles when teaching students about artists. Download your edited images for students to use when making ebooks with Book Creator, reviewed here or to use when publishing writing using a simple website creator such as Telegra.ph, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Character.AI - Character Technologies Inc.
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (117), chat (41)
In the Classroom
Always tell students that these chats are made up, not conversations. Use Character.AI in many ways to encourage student discussion and critical thinking activities. For example, choose Thomas Jefferson as a character and ask questions about his thoughts on today's Federalist Society. Scroll through the different responses provided and ask students to select one of the responses to research further. As another option, ask for responses from several characters, such as James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, and then compare them. Use Padlet, reviewed here to share resources and information for students to use when conducting their research. Include links to primary source documents, videos, and articles. Extend learning by asking students to create multimedia presentations using Canva Edu, reviewed here to share their findings. Check out the Books section to see if there is an author or character your students are interested in.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pear Deck Flashcard Factory - Pear Deck
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): flash cards (41), grammar review (31), test prep (67), vocabulary (236), vocabulary development (89)
In the Classroom
Flashcard Factory is an excellent tool for both in-person and remote learning. Use this feature to create vocabulary lists for spelling, science terms, social studies events, etc. Differentiate learning by creating lists for different student abilities or interests. Because students are the creators, they are engaged and more motivated in the learning process. Extend learning by asking students to write short stories or create writing journals using the vocabulary words used in the flashcards. For example, search for vocabulary at Read Write Think, reviewed here, to find the lesson plan for My World of Lists: Building Vocabulary Lists. This lesson culminates with students creating a "My World of Words Journal."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timeline Infographic Templates - Canva
Grades
K to 12tag(s): graphic design (48), images (257), infographics (58), timelines (52)
In the Classroom
Timelines aren't just for dates and events! Use the templates found at Canva to create timelines showing the different stages of the growth of flowers, lay out the step-by-step process of lab experiments, and more. Create a timeline to share with your students that includes deadlines and a time frame for long-term projects or defines the semester's syllabus. Ask students to create timelines as part of a book report that creates a visual look at important events in the story. Include student-created timelines as part of larger multimedia projects created using Sway, reviewed here, or in video presentations made with Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here, with audio and templates.Edge Features:
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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videoask - Typeform
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): blended learning (36), collaboration (91), Online Learning (42), remote learning (55), video (257)
In the Classroom
Engage and support student learning through interactive conversations created with videoask. This is a great tool for student support if you use Blended Learning or your school is on remote learning. Use videoask at the beginning of the school year for students to introduce themselves. Then, use the provided code to add a widget to your class website to build community and comradery among peers. Consider creating a question of the week or month for students to share what they have learned, ask questions, or discuss topics they would like to learn more about. For group projects, ask students to create a videoask to include with their final presentation that includes discussions of items considered for inclusion or a conversation about the group's collaborative process.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vmaker - Animaker
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Online Learning (42), remote learning (55), tutorials (54), video (257)
In the Classroom
Use this handy screen recording tool in a variety of ways in your classroom. Record tutorials for students to demonstrate how to access and use online sites; create recordings for substitutes to explain how to find and use the software on your computer, or make a how-to demo to find information on your class website to share with students and parents. Help students understand how to use the different features of documents, such as creating a tutorial showing students how to format cells in Excel, adding comments to a Google document, or finding and inserting images in slides. Share this tool with students to use when analyzing websites as part of your ongoing digital safety lessons. Ask them to include a video as part of a larger multimedia presentation. After exporting their video, ask students to include it within a presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Whiteboard.chat - whiteboard.chat
Grades
K to 12tag(s): collaboration (91), differentiation (86), iwb (33)
In the Classroom
Use Whiteboard.chat to collaborate with students to share and organize information instantly. This tool even allows educators to auto-correct all boards with a single click! Use the PDF document feature to differentiate instruction with groups of students or individuals. Use the breakout feature to conduct small group meetings or provide personalized instruction to individual students. Allow students to create collaborative drawings as responses to literature. They can map out the plot or themes, add labels, create character studies, and more. Have a group of students create a drawing so that another group can use it as a writing prompt. Use Whiteboard.com as a brainstorming or sketching space as groups (or the class) share ideas for a major project or for solving a real-world problem. Use this site in a computer lab (or on laptops) to draw the setting in a story as it is read aloud. As an assessment idea, have students draw out a simple cartoon with stick figures to explain a more complex process, such as how democracy works. If you are lucky enough to teach in a BYOD setting, have a blended classroom, or are distance teaching, use Whiteboard.chat to demonstrate and illustrate any concept while students use the chat and drawing tools to interact in real-time. If you are studying weather, have students diagram the layers of the atmosphere and what happens during a thunderstorm, for example. Introduce this tool to students who are working on group projects. Alternatively, have students use this to work as partners or as a small team within a breakout area to complete complex math problems or equations.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 (91), graphic organizers (50), iwb (33), Online Learning (42), remote learning (55)
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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Adobe Express Video Maker - Adobe Spark
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blended learning (36), communication (133), digital storytelling (147), multimedia (43), video (257)
In the Classroom
Consider using videos in your classroom in a variety of ways. Upload your slide presentations and add audio to create flipped and blended learning experiences for your students. Engage students and enhance their learning by asking students to create videos as an alternative to book reports or written presentations. Share videos on your class website for students to access when away from the classroom. As your students create videos, use a bookmarking site such as Padlet, reviewed here, to share and organize information for students to use when researching. Include Adobe Express Videos as part of a larger presentation using Book Creator, reviewed here. Embed your video along with images, text, drawings, and other media into your digital book creation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nearpod - Nearpod
Grades
5 to 12When in the "live presentation" mode (in person or remote web conferencing), teachers control the lesson's pace, and students do not move to the next screen until advanced by the teacher. With the "student pace" mode, students progress through independently, whether at home or in class. The third mode is "front of the class;" you project your presentation, and the students do not use their devices. Use the teacher version of the app to push out the presentation to your students. For the first two modes, every student uses their own student app to follow the screens and answer the questions. This provides immediate feedback about every student. The feedback can be emailed to the teacher for later review. This formative assessment tool is invaluable and a unique part of the app. The tool also includes drawing for students to work out problems. Teachers can identify students who are not "on task" and not working within the app when a little red light pops up. Absent students can complete the assignment at home.
The free version of Nearpod for Educators is called Silver; you get 100 MB of storage, 40 students per session/lesson, access to 20+ formative assessments, 7,500 pre-made interactive lessons, 1,000 pre-made interactive videos, 40 students can sign up per lesson, and more. How many lessons and videos will depend on your storage.
tag(s): assessment (148), classroom management (126), DAT device agnostic tool (143), differentiation (86), Formative Assessment (69), gamification (77), Learning Management Systems (20), multimedia (43), Online Learning (42), personalized learning (9), playlists (10), remote learning (55), slides (42), Teacher Utilities (151), teaching strategies (41)
In the Classroom
This is an exciting way to begin iPad (or BYOD), blended learning, or remote learning integration into the classroom. Initially it may be difficult to determine the best pacing of the lesson, the ability to slow down the advancement of the next screen allows more time to digest the information. Be aware that students needing more time may be very frustrated as the screen may advance before they are able to finish. Start small by uploading presentations and using JPEG and other images. Add interactive elements such as polls and videos. Grab students attention by using the first slide to deliver a piece of humorous information. Create guided learning stations and push out several presentations to different devices as students move through the various lessons to be learned. This technique can be helpful for struggling learners. Use this tool to help reinforce the most difficult parts of the lesson. Use the app to create schedules for training, clubs, and more. For English, learn about grammar rules, sentence structure, and other elements necessary for good writing. For ENL/ESL classes and world languages, practice various vocabulary words and learn tenses of verbs. Learn vocabulary and basic scientific concepts in any science class or facts about historical periods in history classes. This app is a valuable tool in any classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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