Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Read the Words is a site that allows students to submit almost any text material and HEAR it read aloud. The languages offered include English, Spanish, and French. You can select the speed at which the text will be read and use a wide variety of formats including Microsoft Word, PDF, a website URL, anything copied and pasted, or from RSS feeds. Likewise, students can listen to the oral text online, download it to the desktop or MP3 players, post readings online in several forms, and even create podcasts with the selected material. Users can even modify the reading avatar's appearance by selecting from those available, both male and female. Beware: inappropriate words will not be filtered, and anything typed is pronounced. There is a limited free version (only 50 recordings can be saved and more extensive paid versions with more options and recordings.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): listening (93), podcasts (108), text to speech (20)

Goodreads--it's an intersection between Facebook, your local book club, and your neighborhood library. While it is a social networking site (and TF warns all teachers of the complications and dangers of encouraging such sites in a school setting), English and social science teachers, especially, will find benefit in the intellectual commentaries written about certain books. Perusing this site is like viewing the personal library of all your friends. You may want to create your own Goodreads page to prove to your students and colleagues that you take reading seriously. It will encourage your students to do likewise. You may even want to form a network of teachers to post valuable educational books for professional development. Of course, if monitored closely, your high school students will enjoy creating their own Goodreads page to promote their favorite 'good reads.' We definitely suggest that you watch the 'tour' at the top right to learn about the inner workings of this site. Don't miss the Quotes area, available by clicking "more quotes" after the featured one in the sidebar.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): authors (107), independent reading (81), quotations (19), social networking (61)

Use Alternative to... and find a new alternative to one of your favorite online tools. Use the social-network powered database to suggest the new application. Find featured applications ready to view. Use the tabs below to find the applications with the "Most views," "Most likes," "Recent," or even those that do not have an alternative. Join/follow the site to vote on favorite and alternative apps as well as uploading new applications to be considered.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): social networking (61)

Popplet combines a great number of features for creating mindmaps into one package. Share and collaborate with others. Create detailed and easily customized mindmaps. After creating a free account, click the "public popplets" tab at the top to see many differnt kinds of example Popplets for inspiration. Change the color of Popplets (mindmap boxes). Draw or insert images and videos from Flickr, Facebook, You Tube, and even your desktop. When you begin your Popplet, follow the mini-tutorial that appears to quickly learn the features. Create one Popplet for free. Though Popplet looks simple and limited, it is probably one of the easiest to use. Have an iPad? Use the Popplet app!

tag(s): concept mapping (15), mind map (27), myplate (18)

This online tool lets you and your students create a collaborative "space" online in any subject, allowing as many people as you want to edit, make changes, add new content, etc. You may be familiar with wikipedia, but wikis can be so much more! A recent poll of "high tech" educators cited wikis as the one web-based tool they could not live without! If you have not tried a wiki yet, visit the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through for a detailed, step-by-step explanation and starter help, including dozens of ideas for ways to use a wiki in your classroom.

If you are not sure which wiki tool is best for you, see our detailed TeachersFirst review of PBWorks (formerly PBWiki) features, pros, and cons(done as part of the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through). Ignore the persistent and pervasive suggestions that you upgrade to a fee-based membership!

tag(s): social networking (61), wikis (14)

Ever think that you could look more professional if you used a teleprompter just like the President? Try this free version then! Simply copy and paste your text into the field, highlight words if desired, and then click "Start prompt." Click play on the next screen to start the prompter. Speed up or slow down the speed of the prompter using the "+" or "-" buttons. The size of the prompter text can also be increased easily. Users must be able to copy and past text from one application to another. Player controls look much like standard video player controls. Follow the demo to watch how it is used or take a few moments to play with it. Close the site, and the information in the prompter is lost.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): speeches (23)

Got X (formerly Twitter)? Then take a look at these 100+ authors to see if any of your favorites are listed, and start following them. Mashable has weeded out the authors who are just trying to sell you something on X (formerly Twitter). Their list only includes authors who are trying to carry on a conversation with their followers and present information they find valuable, whether it directly benefits them or not. Each author has a description, some of the books they have written, and an example tweet.

tag(s): authors (107), twitter (13)

Use the Flubaroo add-on tool with Google docs for an easy way to create self grading documents and forms. Be sure to check out their 3 minute demo video and overview links to understand how easy it is to use. Flubaroo provides easy to use step by step directions. Use this tool for multiple choice type answers for an easy way to receive feedback. Students easily see their responses to the questions when grades are emailed providing feedback.

tag(s): assessment (147), quiz (67), quizzes (90)

Don't ever be caught with a loss for words again! Phrase up is an interactive website that helps you fill in the blank when your mind goes blank! Type in an incomplete phrase, and options are provided for finishing your thought or sentence. Parts of speech, definitions, sentence examples, as well as translations are included. While the sentence generator does provide creative results, occasionally examples are for a more mature user.

tag(s): figurative language (17), vocabulary (238)

Check Teachers First reviews for specific fun and creative tools from this expansive site. As Big Huge Labs continues to add to their offerings, be sure to check back to the main page of the site to find what is new. For now check out the Trading Card Maker, reviewed here, the CD Cover Maker, reviewed here, The Big Huge Thesaurus, reviewed here, Mosaic Maker, reviewed here, Magazine Cover Maker, reviewed here, Guess the Title, reviewed here, Captioner, reviewed here, Map Maker, reviewed here, Movie Poster, Badge Maker, Billboard, and Calender. In addition they have many photo editing/photo enchancing tools: Bead Art, Jigsaw, FX, Mat, Wallpaper, Cube, Lolcat Generator, Framer, Color Palette, Pocket Album Hockneyizer, Photobooth, and Pop Art Poster. Some of these tools are more suitable for play, but if you are beginning the process of integrating technology, these will be engaging to your students. Take time to look over some of these tools before sharing the site with students. Big Huge labs also has some other free services you may want to use such as a ranked list of the Top 100 Digital Camera Makers and Models that is updated weekly. There is also Scout to help you find your photos on Flickr Explore, Random Photo Browser, On Black, Sunset, Favorite Surfer, Flicker DNA, Photo Fortune, Profile Widget, and Writer, reviewed here.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collages (17), editing (93), images (263), maps (220), multimedia (53), photography (130), posters (43), thesaurus (22)

Physics Today is an online magazine of current physics topics. Although this site is not highly interactive, it is still a nice resource for contemporary physics reading. Be aware: you are able to comment on the articles. So you may consider previewing comments for appropriateness. Students can comment on the articles themselves without registering, however, an email address is required.

tag(s): news (229), newspapers (93)

eGFI Online Magazine is great nonfiction reading in science and math. It is completely portable as it is online. It can be shared to your Delicious or Diigo site or other social networking sites. Use this site to enhance cross curricular teaching and learning of reading and interpreting nonfiction text. Plus, this is current and exciting stuff to read for students who are even vaguely interested in science. There are also video links throughout the magazine connecting the text to different, relevant videos. There are lesson plans and activities for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Some of the recent entries (at the time of this review) included the topics of velocity, Earth Day, robots, sports physics,

tag(s): engineering (129), tornadoes (14), watersheds (8)

Weebly is an easy, free website creator with tons of features for you to choose from. The easy, "drag and drop" elements allow even novice technology users to create their own website. Besides the basic "drag and drop" features for the title, text, text with a picture, etc., the free version allows you to use cool items: photo gallery, slide show, YouTube videos, Google Maps, an assignment form, and lots more. They promise that the free service will remain 100% feature-packed.

tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), portfolios (23), writing (325)

Teach Collaborative Revision with Google Docs helps you teach some of the final important steps of the writing process in a meaningful and practical way. The secure, sharing features of Google Docs enable your students to engage in group work and peer editing in a safe online environment. This will add a critical piece to your classroom writing curriculum and everything you need to know to get started, along with easy-to-follow directions, are available right from this web site. There are several reproducible PDF pages filled with student-friendly tips and techniques for revision, as well as a teacher's guide that provides innovative ideas for lesson plans and how to use these materials with Google Docs. To begin, treat yourself to Teachersfirst "tour" of Google Docs by clicking on this link. You will be amazed at how easy it is to get started!

tag(s): editing (93), proofreading (21), writing (325)

Whichbook is an intuitive way to find books that match students' interests, topic choices, and other elements and serves as a welcome replacement for the traditional way of searching the stacks and card catalogs in the library or browsing in bookstores or on the web. Whichbook starts with the individual reader and what they are looking for. It enables students to input criteria that is not limited to the typical title, author, genre search, but includes characteristics such as funny/sad, easy/demanding, and short/long to find books that they consider to be a "good read." Whichbook finds titles that match your preferences. There are millions of possibilities so if you don't like any of the books offered, change your choices and try again! Public libraries have played a key role in creating the database. It is important to note that all of the books are either fiction or poetry, available in paperback, and published since 1995.

tag(s): independent reading (81)

Todoist is a simple, task manager. With the free account you will have access to 5 personal projects, one week activity history, integration of a built in calendar and email, and more. Set up free accounts in minutes with email. The intro and support videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): calendars (37), DAT device agnostic tool (147), organizational skills (88)

For educators looking for some great links and help with Google Earth (as well as other Google products.) Even though this site was developed for a training in-service, find some great screenshots, tutorials, and links to great Google Earth examples. Be sure to check out the navigation list on the left for tutorials of other Google products and technology hints. For more information on Google Earth, find our review here. Also, find more support at Google Earth in the Classroom.

tag(s): earth (184), landforms (39), landmarks (22), maps (220)