Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Curate and share texts, documents, links, photos, and more with Netboard. Register and activate your account to begin. Choose "create" to begin a new page and begin adding content. Enter the URL for any website, upload information from your computer, or add text boxes. Personalize the look of your page using layout, font and background skin options. Save your Netboard and share the custom URL with others, privacy options allow others with the link to only view or contribute to your board and for boards to remain private.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), bulletin boards (15), collaboration (93), communication (129), curation (32), images (263)

Create, personalize, and share online forms using Wufoo's form builder tools. Choose from a wide variety of templates for surveys, RSVP's, expenses, and more or create your own form from scratch. The free plan includes up to five forms,10 fields, and 100 entries. Share your form when finished and Wufoo sends you email notifications as responses are posted.

tag(s): data (151), polls and surveys (49)

Adobe Express for Education (was Adobe Spark for Education) offers this version of it's popular presentation tool, reviewed here, specifically for education. Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education to create multimedia projects or presentations using the available templates and graphics tools. The Education version provides enhanced data privacy and the ability for students to log in with a code. This tool can be available through your school's Adobe Admin Counsel if your IT team already uses Adobe products. If not, follow directions on the site to set up and begin using this tool as an individual educator.

tag(s): communication (129), creative writing (124), multimedia (53), posters (43)

Renderforest is a video and animation creation tool. Easily create introductions for YouTube videos, animations, and slideshows using the site's free templates. Free accounts allow you to create an unlimited number of 360p videos up to 3 minutes long, 500mb storage, and a limited number of music tracks. Follow the step by step instructions for adding backgrounds, images, and music or your recordings to create videos. After publishing the video use the provided links to share it on YouTube or social media sites or download to your computer.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animation (64), video (266)

Write a story and create interactive choose your own adventure games with StoryLab. After signing up using email and verification of your account, begin a story with the start page. Add links to items in your story to direct readers to different parts of the adventure. Be sure to watch the tutorial videos and visit the help pages for step by step directions on creating and sharing your games.

tag(s): creative writing (124), writing (324)

Do you need a tool to quickly summarize long chunks of text? SummarizeThis is the answer. Just copy any section of text from online, PDFs, word documents, or where ever and paste it into SummarizeThis. Click the link to summarize, and the result appears immediately.

tag(s): learning disability (21), Special Needs (53), summarizing (23)

Kapwing is an online video and photo editor for creating and sharing short videos for personal and online use. Use Kapwing directly from the website without downloads or passwords. Among the many available features this site offers are tools for adding text, including filters, change images to video, and much more. Begin by choosing a tool from the drop-down box at the top of the homepage. Upload media from your computer using the provided boxes and choose from options to personalize content as you wish. When complete, save to your computer or create an account with Kapwing to store videos and photos.

tag(s): editing (93), images (263), social media (48), video (266)

Pinside is an online bulletin board for sharing notes privately and publicly. Register using email to begin using Pinside. Choose "+New Note" to add a sticky note to your board. Add text to the note and an optional link to an image if desired. When finished, click "Add Note" to share your note to the bulletin board. Drag notes to any position on the board, delete unwanted notes by clicking the x by your name. Use Pinside's settings to add members using email addresses. Share your board with others using the URL of individual boards.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), organizational skills (88)

Reshot provides free, hand-picked images to use as you wish. The site's goal is to provide a platform for emerging photographers to share their work. Scroll through the site to view trending images or use the search feature to locate images by keyword. Choose your photo, then use the "download free" link to download to your computer.

tag(s): images (263), photography (130)

Teachers.io is an organization and planning website and app that works hand in hand with myHomework student planning app, reviewed here. Sign up to create classes, upload documents and assignments, and easily share announcements. Create your teacher profile for students and parents to view. Free accounts also include a blog for sharing information and pictures.

tag(s): communication (129), homework (29), organizational skills (88), Teacher Utilities (197)

myHomework is a digital student planner to track homework, assignments, tests, and more. This site uses a visually appealing calendar display to add classes and homework. Enter class information including start and end times, classroom number, teacher information, and notes. Add individual homework assignments or upload a syllabus to input multiple assignments. If your school uses Teachers.io, reviewed here, this app fully integrates with that platform to offer class information, notes, and more across both platforms.

tag(s): calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (147), homework (29), organizational skills (88), Teacher Utilities (197)

Create, collaborate, and share flowcharts and diagrams with Diagramo, no account required. Click the link to "Try it Now!" to access your dashboard. Drag and drop shapes, add connections, change colors, and add images to shapes. When complete, save to your computer or create an account with Diagramo and save to your account.

tag(s): brainstorming (18), graphic organizers (48), mind map (27)

Snappa is an easy to use graphics editor and infographic creator. Use your own images or choose from Snappa's large library of over 500,000 royalty-free, licensed for commercial use images, 200 fonts, and 70,000 graphics. After choosing your image size use the site's templates to begin a design, or start with a blank canvas to create your own. Use the tools on the dashboard to change backgrounds, add effects, personalize text, and more. When complete, download to your computer or share to your connected social media sites. The free plan provides five downloads per month and limited templates. At the time of this review, the majority of templates are free.

tag(s): graphic design (49), images (263), infographics (56), posters (43), slides (43)

Gimkit is a quiz learning game for students and teachers, created and maintained by students. After signing up, you begin by creating "kits" (live learning games) to create quizzes. Create from scratch, import an existing quiz from Quizlet or a CSV file, or copy quizzes from the Gimkit gallery to modify for your use. Follow the prompts to add questions, four answer choices, and add an image if desired. Add class rosters and assign kits for student completion within a specific time frame. Students complete quizzes at their own pace within the due date. As they complete quizzes, students earn money to reinvest in Gimkit upgrades that align with their strengths. Use your Gimkit dashboard to view student progress and earnings and additional formative data. Free accounts provide all core features and the ability to create unlimited kits. There is also a restriction on how many players (5) can join your live game.

tag(s): assessment (147), collaboration (93), game based learning (205), gamification (83), polls and surveys (49), quizzes (90)

Quickly enhance or edit images using the Free Online Photo Editor, no registration required. Upload your image or use the URL for any online image. Use the site's drop-down boxes to add text and borders, enhance images, and include filters and effects. When finished, choose "File" from the menu bar to view choices for saving to your computer or sharing through online social media sites. Be sure to follow Creative Commons procedures for using and sharing images.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): editing (93), images (263), photography (130)

Draw.io is an online diagramming tool and flowchart creator, no registration required. Use the site's templates to begin your charts, or begin with a blank workspace to create your own. Drag and drop shapes, use tools to add color and text, and upload your images. When finished, save directly to Google Drive, your computer, or OneDrive.

tag(s): brainstorming (18), charts and graphs (171), graphic organizers (48), mind map (27)

Draw.Chat is a free, collaborative online whiteboard tool that doesn't require registration. Use the site's tools to upload images and files from your computer, draw and type onto the workspace, and share discussions via chat. Another handy feature includes a draw-on map. Share any location to begin an online session with a map of the area already in the background. Allow access from your computer to include audio or video discussions. Draw.Chat also offers multiple whiteboard pages for use during sessions allowing for flexibility in sharing different materials. Invite users by sharing the link to your whiteboard, email, or QR code. When finished, save your session as a sketch file. Even without registration, users can access previous work for one month.

tag(s): collaboration (93), drawing (61), iwb (31), painting (54)