Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This collection of free streaming videos, mostly under six minutes, supports school curriculum using material from NBC News, one of the largest news archives in the world. Topics include language arts, humanities and social sciences, and parenting information. The majority of videos feature STEM content. Specific sample topics include: Mysteries of the Brain, Writers Speak to Kids, Science of NFL Football, and many others. All videos include transcripts. Some have lesson plans and/or activities which are available in a side tab in the video window when launched. Most have closed captioning, and a few have a Spanish language option. The majority of NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News, is fee-based. This review is for the free material.
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tag(s): brain (56), civil rights (209), news (229), olympics (45), pi (29), sports (82), STEM (297), sustainability (50), video (266)

Build your own digital badges to award and share. Badge List offers the ability to design a badge using their built-in badge designer. You can also upload your own. Share with those seeking to earn the badge; they upload evidence of accomplishment using one of the five supported formats. Once achieved, awarded badges are displayed on an individual's profile and can easily be shared online. Since the free portion of Badge List is public, it is important for teachers to keep student identities anonymous. Use a code for the student name that is only known by the teacher. Also, be sure to obtain parent permission before using this tool with students. At the time of this review, stated by Badge List: "Badge List is currently developing simpler privacy settings to help K12 teachers protect student data. Until these features are released, teachers will need to take extra precautions to make sure that student data is safe."

tag(s): assessment (147), behavior (45), classroom management (120), game based learning (205), gamification (83), organizational skills (88)

Create interactive games, books, and presentations with TinyTap. Choose the Activities link to access resources made by teachers. Sort by category, age, and language. TinyTap allows creators to include drag and drop activities, videos, quizzes, and more - all in one activity. Create groups to assign activities to different students. Most games are free; however, some games by professional authors are not free. Play games and activities on any device; however, creation of games requires you to download the free iPad app. At the time of this review, TinyTap worked well on most browsers (except Safari). The free version is public and comments are permitted. Be sure to preview anything before you share with students.

tag(s): assessment (147), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), quiz (67), quizzes (90), Teacher Utilities (198)

The U.S. is a leader in robotics technology development! Join the yearly celebration by participating in some of the events and activities found at this National Robotics Week site. Use the activities on this site to inspire students to pursue careers in robotics and other STEM-related fields. Download robot trading cards featuring 10 of the most famous robots. Cards include their stats, coaches, and fun facts. Read about the Instuctables contest where you can enter to share your robot projects with the world and even win some cool prizes. Clicking on Bleaker the Rechargeable Dog will take you to comics that include robots. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a map showing events by state. Once you get the map, scroll down the page and find the Filter Events By State and a list of all events.

tag(s): engineering (129), robotics (24), STEM (297)

Spice up any countdown with this versatile, yet easy to use, countdown timer from Classtools. Options include running multiple timers, adding music or video, and saving a web link to your timer. Choose the Get Started button to begin and follow prompts to choose included music or select your own from any YouTube video. Click the save icon to receive a personalized URL for sharing.

tag(s): classroom management (120), counting (60), time (91)

This video offers a fascinating 360-degree view of Mars from Bagnold Dunes taken on December 18, 2015. Use the arrows or your cursor to move the image around and view from different angles. The 360-degree playback is currently only supported using Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera browsers. If your district blocks YouTube or your browser does not support 360, a static view of this same panorama image is available here.

tag(s): explorers (64), mars (26), space (222)

Sketchfab is a large online community for publishing and viewing 3D materials. Think of it as YouTube for 3D. Explore the site to find over half a million uploads of animations, models, and images. Use the keyword search to find specific content or browse through the different categories. Embed or share images using links provided with each image. If you create your own 3D content, free membership allows you to upload using several different file types. Use their online editor to adjust and fine-tune your creations.

tag(s): animation (65), architecture (75), planets (113), plants (146)

Journeys in Film provides lesson plans for teaching cultural and global understanding through movies. Use links to download lessons including correlation to standards by subject area, global issue, or culture. This site doesn't provide access to films used in lessons, but it does share options for renting. Other downloads include discussion guides for films with accompanying clips available on the Journeys in Film site.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), holocaust (42), journalism (74), movies (54), sustainability (50), video (266), women (151)

Discover and watch publicly funded radio and television programs from America's past with the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Built as a means to preserve public broadcast programs from the 1940's through the present, over 7000 programs are available for streaming with additions ongoing. In addition to streaming programs, this site also includes curated exhibits on topics of historical significance, such as Climate Change and Voices from the Southern Civil Rights Movement.

tag(s): 1900s (72), earth (184), radio (20), religions (95), sports (82), video (266), women (151), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Collaborate with up to 100 participants from anywhere and at any time with Zoom's free online video conferencing options. Features include screen sharing, scheduled or instant meeting times, and private or group chat. Up to 40 minutes of group meeting time, and unlimited 1:1 meeting time is included with the free meeting plans. Sign up using your email or social network account to begin hosting a meeting. The step by step instructions make it easy to quickly begin video conferencing at your convenience.

tag(s): chat (41), communication (129), DAT device agnostic tool (147), parent conferences (21), video (266)

The Mindset Kit is a large compilation of resources for parents and teachers for teaching and developing growth mindsets. Based on the book, Mindset, by Carol Dweek, these lessons and activities provide tools for developing positive mindsets, in turn, leading to increased academic performance. Choose the section for teachers to find seven lessons for educator teams, or take advantage of ten lessons for parents to learn about growth mindset and how to instill this in students. Other portions contain ideas for specific content areas and mentors.

tag(s): brain (56), learning styles (18), professional development (385), social and emotional learning (102)

Microsoft's OneNote, a downloadable app, keeps all notes, emails, drawings, photographs, and more organized into folders on a page in different sections of a "notebook." Drag copies of files or documents from your computer into OneNote. Share and collaborate with others. Access your OneNote account by signing in to any computer or device.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), Microsoft (80), organizational skills (88), Storage (6)

This YouTube Channel contains videos based on the PBS Series of the same name. You can also view the It's Okay To Be Smart blog reviewed here. New videos are uploaded weekly with titles such as "Why Seasons Make No Sense" and "How Big is the Solar System?" Most videos are under 10 minutes in length making them perfect for quick but meaningful lessons. Be sure to check out playlists with videos sorted by topics including physics, earth, and more. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): animals (295), climate change (99), earth (184), endangered species (27), energy (133), evolution (89), food chains (19), human body (93), space (222), video (266)

Create standards-based lessons and rubrics in minutes with ThemeSpark. Incorporate your ready-made materials or use global resources available on the site. The lesson builder includes the ability to add a hook, information to learn, practice, and application activity. When finished, download the lesson in an easy to use format. Be sure to watch the QuickStart Lesson Builder video and read through the FAQ section on the site for full information about creating lessons and using ThemeSpark. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): assessment (147), professional development (385), rubrics (37), Teacher Utilities (198)

Learn how two ordinary bicycle mechanics changed the world with this in-depth look at the life of Orville & Wilbur Wright. Follow the timeline beginning in 1630 to learn about the first American Wright, Samuel, as he arrived in Massachusetts with the Puritans. Continue learning about the Wright family's settlement in Ohio and their work with bicycles leading on up to their famous flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Be sure to check out the interactive experiments, classroom activities, and lesson plans linked near the bottom of the page.

tag(s): aviation (40), flight (34), wright brothers (16)

Create a personalized sign using the many templates offered on the Sign Generator. Options include personalized cakes, cartoon characters, movie marquees, and much more. Click the thumbnail of the design you want, add your text into the provided lines, and click the link to finish. Your personalized sign appears on a popup image ready to save onto your computer.
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tag(s): graphic design (49), images (263), photography (130), posters (43)

The Big Ideas Series, offered by ClassDojo, provides ten video topics encouraging students to explore different ways to healthy social emotional development and learning. The videos discuss concepts such as Empathy, Perseverance, Positive Thinking, Gratitude, Mindfulness, and more. Each topic has a series of short videos and includes a discussion guide to download for classroom use and a page with take-home questions for parent use.

tag(s): brain (56), emotions (49), empathy (34), learning styles (18), social and emotional learning (102), social skills (22)

Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to help kids of all ages learn about trademarks and patents, and the importance of intellectual property creation and protection. USPTO features "collectible" cards of inventor profiles, activities at different levels - including videos about the paticulars of patents, trademarks, and more. In another video section are videos with age appropriate appeal, and titles like Driverless Cars, Bionic Limbs, Biofuels, Electronic Tattoos, and more. The invention and design focus of most of the activities makes for perfect STEM and "maker space" lessons. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): crafts (64), digital citizenship (85), inventors and inventions (80), sound (72), sports (82), STEM (297), video (266)

eLearning Infographics offers an extensive selection of infographics for educational use. Choose from a variety of topics such as Playing to Learn and The Evolution of Technology in Schools. Each infographic displays a category. Click that link to view others with similar topics. Click on the infographic link to see the full image along with links for sharing on social networks and email, or copy and paste the embed code to embed directly onto your website.
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tag(s): digital storytelling (154), infographics (56), professional development (385)

Fun Science Demos is a YouTube Channel devoted to sharing engaging science lessons for young learners based on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Choose from popular videos such as Balancing Balloons - Air Has Weight or Muscles Moving Your Bones. Be sure to check out the playlists to find videos categorized by topic. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): earth (184), electricity (61), energy (133), engineering (129), heat (15), human body (93), life cycles (21), magnetism (36), matter (46), minerals (13), moon (73), recycling (46), rocks (35), solar system (110), sound (72), space (222), STEM (297), sun (71), video (266), water (102)