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Spreaker - Spreaker Online Radio
Grades
1 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Create a live Internet radio show -- free -- with Spreaker! This super easy online tool creates podcasts instantly for you to share with your own URL, on Facebook, Google ...more
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Create a live Internet radio show -- free -- with Spreaker! This super easy online tool creates podcasts instantly for you to share with your own URL, on Facebook, Google +, Soundcloud, X (formerly Twitter), or add to the Spreaker website. Follow others, or invite others to follow your podcasts. With a click of a button you are creating a live podcast. There is a free version and a more deluxe premium version. This review is for the free version.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communication (129), podcasts (106), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Enjoy a live radio show from your classroom! Publish written pieces of writing, science reports, social studies reports, and any other reports you would like to share. Create a New Book or Book Review podcast for the media center. Link to your podcast URL on your class website. Publish directions to projects, explanations for difficult concepts, or even a radio show of you reading your favorite books for your students. Have upper elementary students take turns reading aloud for a podcast aimed at little reading buddies in kindergarten. Allow students to podcast to "pen pals" in faraway places. Record your school choir, orchestra group, poetry club, or drama club doing their best work or dramatic readings of Shakespeare soliloquies. Take your school newspaper to a new level with recorded radio articles. Be sure to include interviews with students, teachers, principals, parents, authors, artists, and almost anyone. In younger grades, use to save an audio portfolio of reading fluency, expression, or to aid with running records or even include writing. Be sure do this regularly throughout the year to analyze growth. Have fun at Halloween with your Halloween station filled with favorite spooky stories! Welcome your students to a new school year by sending them your message. Create messages for classmates who move away. Bring your foreign language classes an extra resource of your pronunciations whenever they need more practice. ESL/ELL, special education classes can often benefit from the extra explanations, practice, and elaborated instructions given at their own pace. The possibilities are endless! The site itself is a "web 2.0," social networking style site, so some schools may have it blocked. Ask about unblocking just YOUR teacher account so you can have students access it while at school and under your supervision.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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Knovio - Online Video Presentations Made Easy - Knowledge Vision
Grades
3 to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Knovio takes the pain out of PowerPoint presentations by bringing them to life with webcam and audio enhancement. Create a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, upload the file, press...more
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Knovio takes the pain out of PowerPoint presentations by bringing them to life with webcam and audio enhancement. Create a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, upload the file, press record, and present to your audience. If you are camera shy, disable the defaulted webcam to just audio! Share with people you select through the site's private spaces or share to the world via your social network. When sharing through private spaces, you will need your audience's email addresses. Additionally, when your recipients view your presentation, you will receive an email confirmation of when the presentation was viewed. The free plan offers a 3 video limit and 30 minutes of storage.
In the Classroom
If you have students who are uncomfortable presenting in front of a group or who must be absent on presentation day, they can package their presentations using Knovio. High school students can share "packaged" projects as part of their student portfolio or college applications.Knovio could take the lecture out of the classroom and free time for hands-on activities. Use this tool to record a presentation that you would normally share with your students in class, add it to your website or wiki, and assign it as homework for students. This allows you the ability to "flip" your classroom. Create student accounts using Google tools so that you can easily share your presentations privately and securely. With the email confirmation, you can be sure that your students have opened the presentation. To ensure that they have viewed the presentation, assign them to take notes from it or write a summary of it as an entry ticket to your classroom on the day after it is to be viewed. Students still have access to the "traditional" way of learning from the teacher; however now you have maximized learning time by allowing for extended thinking activities, laboratory activities, and other higher order thinking activities in your room. This allows you time to facilitate more group projects, student choice assignments, and a deeper level of understanding of the concepts that you are teaching. Knovio could enhance any online teaching, too! This way, your students can see, hear, and learn from you even when they are not in a real-time environment. Knovio would be a great professional tool as well. Administrators could use this to create presentations to share with faculty. Faculty could view on their own time so that when they get to a meeting, the discussion can begin immediately. You can even share information from Back To School night and know which parents actually viewed it.
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edublogs - edublogs.org
Grades
K to 12
4 Favorites
0 Comments
Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids ...more
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Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids some of the "public interaction" that can offer inappropriate content. Upgrade to more advanced features, to include more options. The additional information on blogging makes this site very valuable even if you already have a blogging platform. Find a plethora of advice, tutorials, PDFs, and lesson plans for blogging. This site is a great reference site for all who are beginning to use blogs, or even look for more varied and effective ways to blog with students, or even other classes. Compare this tool to other free blogging tools mentioned in TeachersFirst's Blog Basics for the Classroom . This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite for all of your blogging needs. Find very informative instructions on blogging, and follow the student blogging challenge lesson plans. Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Peruse through the various subjects and discover how other teachers use blogging in their classrooms. Using the given PDFs on blogging start up, parent guidelines, incorporating into subject areas, and adapt to make them suitable for you. Look at a variety of examples to help devise your own unique style to meet your students' needs.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
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
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Thunks - Get Thunking - Ian Gilbert
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking yes/no question that stops you in your tracks to look at the world in a whole new light. Over a thousand Thunks are included ...more
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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking yes/no question that stops you in your tracks to look at the world in a whole new light. Over a thousand Thunks are included on the site with simple yes or no responses. View results easily, read comments, or submit your own comment by including your name, email (will not be displayed), and comment. Thunks can be chosen by categories such as good and bad, human condition, or friendship. At the time of this review, we found no evidence of inappropriate public comments (and we looked hard!) , but you might want to preview before turning young people loose on the site.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): logic (161), problem solving (231), questioning (36)
In the Classroom
Display a Thunk on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a discussion/debate starter. Have students choose a response and defend their answer. Allow students to discuss their answer throughout the week and survey responses again. Have students create their own Thunks to be discussed in class. Create a bulletin board and allow students to post comments and reactions to the question posed. Use a Thunk as a journal writing prompt. Make this page available for students who are "stuck" thinking of something to write about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TED - TED staff
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
TED is the home of the award-winning TEDTalks video site, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the beginning, the TEDTalks mission was to bring together people from...more
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TED is the home of the award-winning TEDTalks video site, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the beginning, the TEDTalks mission was to bring together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. However, its scope has broadened to challenge the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives (in approximately 18 minutes or less). Find TEDTalks under the Watch tab on the top menu. At the time of this review, TED.com has more than 1,100 of the best talks and performances by speakers with powerful ideas from around the world. The talks are free and the collection continues to grow. The goal of the foundation is to foster the spread of great ideas, thus it aims to provide a platform for the world's smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries, and most-inspiring teachers, so that millions of people can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and a desire to help create a better future. Easily search the site by topics, disciplines, newest releases, or most favorite. TEDTalks offers subtitles in various languages which enhances the accessibility for the hearing-impaired, and for those who speak English as a second language.
In the Classroom
If you are looking for a clearinghouse that offers free inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, this ever-evolving site is perfect for engaging your students with digital videos of the global issues facing our world today. Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to project videos. Watch your students' enthusiastic reactions in science, social studies, or English classrooms as they view a TED video and then follow-up with a debate on the future or the impact of technology on society, or use them as a springboard for interesting writing prompts or to spark a discussion connected with a unit of study. Challenge students to do a compare/contrast activity using an online Venn Diagram tool (reviewed here). Most of the videos are less than twenty minutes, which makes it real doable to embed in a one-period class lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Privacy and Internet Safety - Common Sense Media
Grades
3 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This site contains all the information that educators and parents need to keep kids safe online. There are resources, articles, videos, and links to help teach students about digital...more
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This site contains all the information that educators and parents need to keep kids safe online. There are resources, articles, videos, and links to help teach students about digital citizenship.
tag(s): cyberbullying (40), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Share this link on your class web page and/or in a parent newsletter to help parents learn about Internet safety. Use the videos to help students learn how to be safe online. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Use the information to run a parent information night.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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NetFamilyNews - Anne Collier
Grades
K to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Founded in 1999, NetFamilyNews has become one of the leading sources of current technology information for parents. Subscribe to the site to receive a weekly email of the latest articles....more
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Founded in 1999, NetFamilyNews has become one of the leading sources of current technology information for parents. Subscribe to the site to receive a weekly email of the latest articles. Parents that subscribe to a web reader can add an RSS feeder to receive the updates. For information on a specific topic just make sure the www.netfamilynews.org button is checked under the search box before you search otherwise you will be searching the entire web using Google. Monitoring a child's use of technology is a difficult daunting task. NetFamilyNews will help parents make knowledgeable and informed decisions.
tag(s): cyberbullying (40), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Include this site on your class web page for parents as a reference to help them deal with technology issues at home. If you do not have a web-page consider sending a newsletter home. If you are doing an Internet safety lesson with your class, parents can reinforce the lesson at home with information and ideas from NetFamilyNews. Have students make a poster with rules that help them stay safe when using technology such as the Internet and cell phones. Students can take this poster home, share it with parents and add rules for use at home. The poster can be displayed by the computer or in students' bedrooms.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thanks for Teaching Us - T.B.D.
Grades
3 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Whether you have a favorite professor or elementary teacher, here is a way to thank them publicly. It's very simple. There is no registration. Click on "Submit a Story" ...more
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Whether you have a favorite professor or elementary teacher, here is a way to thank them publicly. It's very simple. There is no registration. Click on "Submit a Story" to fill in the teacher name, what you are thanking him/her for, and other details. You can include your Twitter picture. You can even email the letter to the teacher. Read the letters posted by others. This site could be used for thanking a favorite past teacher, or anyone affiliated with a school. There is a multitude of people who work in schools and are kind to children.
tag(s): letter writing (19)
In the Classroom
What a nice way to teach letter writing! Teach your students how to write a friendly letter for an authentic audience. Have them put their final copy on Thanks for Teaching Us. In lower grades, work together to write letters to "community helpers" in your school. What about that favorite coach? The custodian who got the ball off the roof? The lunch lady who gave your student a lunch even though his/her account had no funds? The principal? Counselors? Avoid having students identify themselves on the Internet. Use first names only with parent permission.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spent - McKinney and Urban Ministries of Durham
Grades
8 to 12
5 Favorites
1 Comments
This employment/economics site leads you through the process of looking for a job, trying to make it through the month on a limited income, understanding the repercussions of participating...more
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This employment/economics site leads you through the process of looking for a job, trying to make it through the month on a limited income, understanding the repercussions of participating in a strike, and facing a time when there is no money. It is similar to a "real life" choose your own adventure. Most choices offer three options and share some pros/cons for each. After you select the job you would like to try for, the activity leads you to the requirements and possible pre-tests. If you do not qualify, you must apply for one of the remaining and less desirable jobs. Once you choose your job, you learn about costs of health insurance, taxes, housing, transportation, child care, and more.
tag(s): financial literacy (91), money (114)
In the Classroom
Use this site when you are teaching budgeting or learning about poverty in America. Business classes or courses on "life in the real world" will benefit from trying the entire simulation. Challenge students to work this site individually and keep notes of the choices/consequences they discovered on their path. Have them write blog entries based on their experiences. If individual computers aren't available, share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups create online "how to" books on surviving the challenges learned about on the website using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.Comments
Great game! The students at our alternative school LOVED it!Nonya, NC, Grades: 9 - 12
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Behavior Doctor Forms and Tools - Laura A. Riffel, PHD
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Behavior Doctor Seminars offers resources to be used in schoolwide "Behavior Interventions and Supports." The site offers paid seminars; instead you can start positive behavioral interventions...more
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Behavior Doctor Seminars offers resources to be used in schoolwide "Behavior Interventions and Supports." The site offers paid seminars; instead you can start positive behavioral interventions in the classroom or even schoolwide. Try these positive behavior interventions at home as well. The interventions are powerful and may sound a little too "happy" at times. But you get more with sugar than vinegar! The topics vary greatly and include parenting articles such as "100 Free Ways Parents Can Reward Their Children" and teaching articles such as "Desk Fairy Coupon for Neat Desks." There is something here for all grade levels.
tag(s): behavior (45), classroom management (120), organizational skills (88), parent conferences (21), parents (57), Special Needs (53)
In the Classroom
Read about positive behavior interventions and use this site as a resource for implementing the practices that you are comfortable with. If nothing else, try some of the "100 free ways to reward children." These simple ideas can mean a lot to your students. Check out the list of Character Education books. Educate yourself using some of the special education information available here. Be sure to share useful ideas with parents by sharing this link on you class web page or i newsletters. You may want to suggest specific ideas to individual parents at conferences.
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NobelPrize.org - Nobel Media AB 2011
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace...more
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Nobelprize.org is the official website of the Nobel Prize. Here you find information about Alfred Nobel, the prizewinners, interviews, and photos. Videos of interviews of Nobel peace prizewinners, speeches, ceremonies, interviews, banquets, lectures, announcements, award ceremonies, and documentaries fill the gamut of all of the prizewinners. The Nobel prizes awards are in literature, chemistry, medicine, peace, economics, and physics. Under the Education tab at the top find arieties of educational games/activities and lesson plans help explain many of the Nobel Award winners' work. This site clearly explains and illustrates the purpose of the awards, the award winners, and their ideas. Videos give an insider look at each of the winners.
tag(s): creativity (86), literature (222), medicine (56)
In the Classroom
Inspire your students to strive for excellence! Show students original, creative, thinking. Let students know they can understand the ideas awarded by trying the educational activities offered. Follow each year's announcements and award ceremonies. Use as an inspiration when beginning your own Nobel Prize winning awards competitions. Encourage students to use critical thinking skills to form opinions based on facts. Substitute pen and paper in your class by having students blog about what they are learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Extend learning by inviting pairs or small groups to use a tool like NoteJoy, reviewed here, to take notes and share links, documents, and images to organize for an interactive poster. Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, for the poster. Gifted programs can easily incorporate many of the ideas into the curriculum. Lead your students to Nobel Award winning thinking.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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YouTube Copyright School - YouTube
Grades
4 to 12
2 Favorites
1 Comments
This short animated YouTube clip shares specific copyright issues, focusing on reusing previously developed materials available on the Internet by uploading and presenting them on YouTube....more
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This short animated YouTube clip shares specific copyright issues, focusing on reusing previously developed materials available on the Internet by uploading and presenting them on YouTube. It begins with a written quiz on the right side of the page to assess prior knowledge and also to get viewers thinking about copyright issues. It presents the message that uploading copyrighted material onto YouTube can have serious consequences. It also explores the fact that, in addition to written and broadcast media, performances and other public presentations may also be copyrighted. It explains the concept of Fair Use in easy-to-understand terms and examples. It also points out that you may watch for people who misuse material and report any such items so they will be removed from YouTube. The video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): copyright (44), multimedia (51), plagiarism (33)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of plagiarism on writing projects or copyright in general. Use it in art or music classes when discussing the use of "derivative works" or performance rights on music. Include this site on your class webpage for students and parents to access as a reference. To show what they have learned from this site, enhance or transform (depending on teacher requirements) class room technology use by challenging students to create an online infographic about copyright to share using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Comments
Jessica, , Grades: 0 - 5
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Own Your Space - Linda McCarthy and Microsoft
Grades
8 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Scroll down the page to find Own Your Space, a free sixteen chapter book for teens and tweens. The book educates students how to be safe online. Each chapter deals ...more
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Scroll down the page to find Own Your Space, a free sixteen chapter book for teens and tweens. The book educates students how to be safe online. Each chapter deals with a different topic. At the time of this review, supported operating systems included Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 10.
tag(s): cyberbullying (40), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
This is a great resource to use with your students. Each chapter can be downloaded separately. Have students read a new chapter each week or month. Have students use the book for research. Groups can read a chapter and then prepare a presentation. Use a site such as 280Slides (reviewed here) to have students create slideshows.
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DOGOnews - Meera Dolasia
Grades
2 to 12
15 Favorites
0 Comments
Need kid-friendly online news? This safe site, written for kids, by kids, offers news from a younger point-of-view. You can create a class page where you can load a variety ...more
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Need kid-friendly online news? This safe site, written for kids, by kids, offers news from a younger point-of-view. You can create a class page where you can load a variety of articles, add a book list, a calendar, favorite sites list, add lesson plan instructions, monitor student comments, and more. DOGOnews is kid-friendly, colorful, and flexible. After all, DOGO means young or small in Swahili. You can select articles from a number of categories (Social Studies, Science, World, Current Events, etc.). There is an integrated dictionary for challenging words and maps for geographical context. Some of the articles include short video clips. Students may leave brief comments about each article (no login required). Also, typing the word "video" in the search box will bring up the Video of the Week for the past several weeks. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. In addition, find a Book and Movie section with a brief summary for the book or movie, and comments. You don't have to join to read the articles, but you do need to join to create a class page. There are many benefits to creating a class page, and it's all free! Don't want to create a class page? You can also embed articles on your current web page.
tag(s): journalism (74), news (229), reading comprehension (148), sports (82)
In the Classroom
Non-fiction reading and background knowledge have found a new emphasis with The Common Core State Standards. It is more important now than ever to help connect students with quality, non-fiction reading and viewing material. Find great news resources and videos of the week to create assignments for your class at DOGOnews. You may want to create a class page and load several news articles. Have students choose from the articles, and email it to themselves. Have students print out the article and complete a "close reading" of the article by annotating it. Then have students who chose the same article get together in groups to discuss their reactions about the article, create a summary together, and create four or five open-ended questions about the article. Lastly, create groups of four, with each student having a different article, and have them present their article to the others in the group and ask them their open-ended questions to trigger a discussion. Create a class magazine from the articles. Or better yet, have students create a multimedia presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. This site allows you to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. Strengthen reading comprehension by having an 'article du jour' on your interactive whiteboard or projector as students arrive. Link this site on your homepage.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inspire My Kids - Mike Stutman and Kevin Conklin
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Find inspiring, age-appropriate, real-life stories, videos, and projects to share with children and teens. The site hopes to help these students take positive actions and become the...more
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Find inspiring, age-appropriate, real-life stories, videos, and projects to share with children and teens. The site hopes to help these students take positive actions and become the best people they can be. Stories offer great examples of values like courage, determination, honesty, humility, kindness, responsibility, and tolerance. The stories range from incredible kids inspiring other kids, to amazing animals demonstrating admirable qualities, to the invention of inspirational social causes. Stories are searchable in several ways - by values, topics, age range, and format. Formats include articles, podcasts, reference, and videos. Under Educators investigate the lesson plans categorized by grade levels. You can also sign up for the site's newsletter including updates and new article information.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (45), bullying (48), character education (78), disabilities (31), diversity (39), identity (29), school violence (10), service projects (17), tolerance (8)
In the Classroom
Share stories from the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector when learning about character traits such as sportsmanship, perseverance, and responsibility. Use the site as a resource when problems arise in the classroom such as bullying, intolerance, or special needs awareness. Have students use resources from the website as models for writing their own articles or enhance learning with the challenge to create a podcast. Use a site such as podomatic, reviewed here. Use the stories as models for writing activities and essays. Your students could also draw inspiration from this site to create values comics. Have students create printed comics (or rough drafts) using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here, or exchange paper for a digital online comic with one or two characters. Use ToonyTool, reviewed here. Students can create an online comic strip by using Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Documentary Heaven - Documentary Heaven
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This site has embedded videos from over 1600 documentaries located all over the internet. These videos are not necessarily "short" clips. Some are longer than 15 minutes. Search the...more
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This site has embedded videos from over 1600 documentaries located all over the internet. These videos are not necessarily "short" clips. Some are longer than 15 minutes. Search the videos via several methods: browse the library, most popular, recent videos, or by categories. The categories vary greatly and include the bullying of those with disabilities, 9/11, aftermath of the Japan Tsunami, import and export of oil, and countless other topics. Each video comes with a short explanation and ratings (out of 10 stars). Viewers can also leave their own rating. Many include suggestions for related videos. Be aware: some of topics may not be suitable for the classroom. Please preview before (or IF) you choose to allow students to peruse on their own. You may want to share only specific videos with the class. It has been noted that this website opens rather slowly at the busy times of the day. But it is WELL worth the wait. Note that videos are recommended for inclusion by the video creators, so there could be very strong bias in documentary presentations. What better way to challenge students to stop and ask, "What is the source of this information and can I trust it fully?"
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): archeology (28), biographies (94), bullying (48), disabilities (31), psychology (65), senses (20), sexuality (15), tsunamis (15)
In the Classroom
View videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector to correspond with classroom lessons. Be sure to discuss the source and possible bias of any documentary. "Documentary" does not necessarily mean "trustworthy" or "unbiased"! Link to specific videos on your classroom computer, website, or blog for students to view on their own. Assign different topics and allow students to choose a documentary to use as part of their research. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): PBWorks (wiki), Site123 (blog), Renderforest (newscast video), and Genial.ly (poster/bulletin board).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global SchoolNet - Global School Net
Grades
4 to 12
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Find ways to include your class in online, project based learning. This site offers living curriculum in a world laboratory that promotes lifelong learning. A series of different programs,...more
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Find ways to include your class in online, project based learning. This site offers living curriculum in a world laboratory that promotes lifelong learning. A series of different programs, including International Cyber Fair, Doors to Diplomacy, Mosaics of Life, Geogame, Online Expedition, and Letters to Santa all encourage global technology. Global SchoolNet engages youth in project based, online learning activities to promote creativity and communication, while increasing global understanding. A Projects Registry and Collaborative Learning Center contains great ideas for projects. Global SchoolNet has been a top ten educational website with many awards. This is a great resource for busy teachers!
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): character education (78), cross cultural understanding (172), Project Based Learning (23), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Go global with your class this year! Set your technology goals to include many of the different global project based learning sites in a condensed easy to find manner. Link your class to other classes around the world. Join in online expeditions, competitions for your students, or even an online teacher award. Join in the Newsday Project and have your students publish articles for the world to see. Several International resources provide lesson plans for teachers for problem based technology projects. Information for different competitions bring your class into the cutting edge of global technology problem based learning. Join the list serve to keep updated with the latest happening in global education.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Listen a Minute - Sean Banville
Grades
5 to 12
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Find one minute listening exercises on such common activities as babysitting, chickens, and exercise. The listening selections are alphabetized with several selections for each letter...more
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Find one minute listening exercises on such common activities as babysitting, chickens, and exercise. The listening selections are alphabetized with several selections for each letter of the alphabet. Each listening selection has a multitude of activities you can download (along with the reading text) in Word and pdf formats. Find Cloze paragraphs, fill in the blanks, words to unscramble, and much more. Many activities can also be viewed online. Each selection has two interactive quizzes. Though targeted for the ESL/ELL student, listening is one of the language arts standards, and this is a good way for any classroom teacher to address listening skills.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): dance (31), listening (93), reading comprehension (148), vocabulary (238)
In the Classroom
Use the selections and activities with individual students as an assignment or independent practice on your classroom computer. The reading and activities are easy to work on independently because of the listening feature. Don't forget to provide headsets. Small groups of students can listen at one of several literacy stations in your classroom. Provide this link for the families of ESL/ELL students to read (or listen) to the selections together. Learning support teachers will also appreciate the option to provide audio and text together to improve student comprehension.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kennedy Center Digital Resources - Formerly ArtsEdge - Kennedy Center
Grades
K to 12
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This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by ...more
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This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by subject, keyword, or grade level (K-4, 5-8, or 9-12). Some examples of topics include Native Americans, Civil War, Shakespeare, myths, melodrama, adjectives, monsters, baseball, and countless others! Be sure to check out the category "Our Best Resources Organized by Subject." After that click on the the top menu for Education and get even more resources. There are many interactive lessons: some with video, audio, or slideshows. The lessons provide an estimate of time required and complete, step-by-step instructions. There are printables included with some of the lessons.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): african american (111), baseball (32), civil war (139), comics and cartoons (55), dance (31), folktales (34), greece (47), habitats (91), immigration (68), literature (222), mexico (31), musical instruments (51), myths and legends (37), native americans (109), painting (55), surrealism (2)
In the Classroom
Search this site for a topic that you are teaching in your class. Share the lesson on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Better yet, make the video or slideshow a learning station for students to watch in small groups. This site is so wonderful and HUGE, that after students are one with the resources you have for them, you may want to allow them to explore on independently or in small groups for a specific interest of theirs.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Fire Prevention Week - National Fire Protection Association
Grades
2 to 12
3 Favorites
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This collection, provided by the National Fire Protection Association is amazing. Here you will find fire prevention facts, products to help families stay safe, special materials for...more
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This collection, provided by the National Fire Protection Association is amazing. Here you will find fire prevention facts, products to help families stay safe, special materials for parents (and teachers, too), an online quiz for both students and families, and more! At the time of this review, the message for the year was "Protecting Your Families and Loved Ones From Fire." The approach, at the time of this review, is multimedia; in addition to the quiz, there are audio public service announcements, a blog, an upcoming webinar, and safety videos. For younger children, the familiar Sparky the Dog offers fun activities. Accompanying safety tip sheets benefit everyone, and a focus on high-risk populations assures you that everyone will have a fighting chance against fire.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): fire prevention (16), fire safety (16), homes (5)
In the Classroom
Try pair teaching after introducing the important facts available on this page. Have the first of a pair give the other student the facts and then have the second add to what the first has missed. Have your class make their own posters using this year's campaign logo. Have students replace paper and enhance learning by creating online posters using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Have your class create check sheets they can take home and do their own domestic assessment. Ask if they know any members of the population that might be higher at risk for fires, and see if they can think of ways to make contact and help this group.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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