Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

SheHeroes is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering girls from ages 8-14 to dream big and pursue any interests regardless of gender. Articles feature well-known and everyday females that serve as inspiration for young girls. Choose the Interests link to browse articles by topics such as engineering and sports. The curriculum link offers four categories (creators, explorers, analysts, observers) and units for each to explore them. Each unit includes essential questions, learning objectives, procedure, learning activities, and discussion questions. The videos under profiles reside on YouTube. If your district blocks Youtube, they may not be viewable.

tag(s): careers (156), mentoring (6), women (151), womens suffrage (52)

Use this delightful tool to flip through 20 Flickr pictures. Every image is on the screen for only 20 seconds. Advanced options allow for changing the time and the number of images. See if you can build a story from the pictures with this entertaining tool.

tag(s): acting (19), images (263), speaking (26), speeches (23)

Create an online bulletin board (much like Padlet, reviewed here, or Lino, reviewed here) for brainstorming and VOTING on any topic. The voting is what makes this tool different. Create an account. There is no waiting for email approval. Add a board, title, select how many votes the participants will have (up to 10), and start adding posts with text, images, and video. Add images and video via URL or upload from your computer. When participants join, they give their name. Participants can add posts. Names of participants using the board appear below the chat box. Participants name's appear when they make a comment in the chat. However, comments on posts don't have the participant name. Once the board is complete, the creator can finalize the board so no new ideas can be posted, but the voting feature is still open. At the time of this review, a free account allows you to have one fully featured board. If you wish to create another board, you will need to delete your existing board.

tag(s): bulletin boards (15), gamification (83), images (263)

Ocenaudio is easy to use software for editing audio. Download the software to any major operating system such as Windows, Mac, or Linux. Use prompts to navigate the software using a large variety of audio files. Trim, copy, and paste audio or choose from an assortment of effects. When finished, save the file in the format of your choice. Be sure to see the features link on the site for complete information on the capabilities of the software.

tag(s): editing (93), sound (72)

Keith Hughes' playlist includes 39 videos geared toward seasoned and new teachers containing practical advice and tips in an entertaining way. Titles include 5 Ways For Teachers to Chillax Students on Test Day, Teaching Advice for Dummies, What is a Flipped Classroom?, The Art of the Lecture, and many more. Most videos run ten minutes or less making them easy to watch and share. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): back to school (55), mentoring (6), professional development (385), test prep (69)

This article from Buzzsprout offers a great deal of information about mobile learning and how to incorporate it into classrooms. Discover the importance of mobile learning along with some of the hurdles faced when incorporating it in any learning situation. Read about the advantages of using podcasts in a flipped classroom or as a solution for self-paced learning. Be sure to check out the infographic included with this article that has statistics about the increased presence of mobile learning.

tag(s): podcasts (108), professional development (385), radio (20)

Enter the world of Ultimate Camp Resources and find a myriad of songs, games, and more to use at home, at camp, or in a classroom. Download and print all skits, songs, games or just the one you're interested in. Some of the songs even have videos!

tag(s): back to school (55), crafts (64), family (51), makerspace (40), seasonal (16), songs (46), sports (82), summer (28)

GetEdFunding curates and collects an up to date database of grant and award opportunities for school systems. Create a free account using your email to search and view available grants. Once you have an account, save items of interest and stay up to date on upcoming deadlines. In addition to the site's very large database, be sure to check out the Resources link for articles, videos, a glossary, and access to the online community forum. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
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tag(s): grants (15)

Buzzsprout offers free, easy to use, podcast hosting. Sign up to receive two hours of hosting per month. Uploads remain available for 90 days. Buzzsprout's dashboard walks you through creating and sharing podcasts and provides information on the time remaining in your current cycle. Copy and paste one line of code to include your podcast directly on any website. Attractive features include scheduling episodes for a specific date and time, adding links, lists, chapter markers, and a "Support the show" link to your podcasts. New on Buzzsprout is How to Start a Podcast: Complete Step-by-Step Guide (in only 10 steps!).
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tag(s): communication (129), digital storytelling (154), podcasts (108)

GIMP is a free software download to use when working with images and photos. Features include paint tools, photo retouching, animation, and much more. GIMP provides an extensive tutorial library broken into categories for beginning through expert users.

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

Record a PC desktop with or without sound using free software from SRecorder. This software works only with Windows Operating Systems. After downloading and installing the software, use the desktop shortcut to begin the recording. Choose to view the entire desktop or select a specific area using the crop box provided. Click the red button to record, then use the icons on the screen to save to your computer or share to social networking sites.

tag(s): video (266)

Kid World Citizen offers a large variety of resources to encourage kids to become global learners and thinkers. Explore categories such as books, food, and art to find international learning activities. Look for topics on specific countries using the map search. Be sure to check out the For Fun area with links to movies, music, games, and toys.
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tag(s): back to school (55), chinese new year (5), christmas (38), cross cultural understanding (173), earth day (60), hanukkah (12), hispanic (36), holidays (187), italy (30), Juneteenth (22), mexico (37), native americans (109), ramadan (10), thanksgiving (24)

TPS Teachers Network is a social networking site for social studies and history teachers. The Library of Congress funded this as part of their Teaching With Primary Sources Program. Create an account to begin using features on the site (email and password required). Once enrolled, options include participating in a chat, adding friends, and searching using keywords. Use the search from the top right menu after logging in on the main page to find specific information topics such as primary source sets or political cartoons. Create albums on the site, including primary and secondary sources, and videos to easily share with students or fellow teachers. Be sure to check out the Help section by clicking the question mark at on the top menu bar when you first get started for Quick Tips to all sections of the site.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), primary sources (117), professional development (385), social networking (61), Teacher Utilities (198)

Block out all distractions and just start writing with ZenPen. Remove the instructions found on the page (just highlight and click delete). Begin writing without any visual elements in the way. No registration is required! Highlight text and select options to add italics, bold text, or URLs. Use links on the left side of the page to change text and background colors to black and white, toggle to full screen, add a word count, or save work.

tag(s): editing (93), process writing (37), proofreading (21), writing (325)

Finally, worksheets will be cool! Create interactive worksheets, or use one that is already developed and make it your own with wizer.me. After signing up with email get started with Add Task. Follow the prompts for creation; these include selecting text style and color, and choosing a background, adding student tasks (Text, Video, Link, Image), and more. Select question style: Open Question, Multiple Choice, Matching, and more. Then there are the more unusual type responses like Filling in a Table, Image Tagging, Embedding, and others, with promises of more to come. Share with students by posting the URL given, using a pin code on their worksheet board, or use your Google Classroom account. At the time of this review, wizer.me support was through email and real-time online chat. Wizer.me works on any device with a browser and Internet connection but works best on Chrome and Safari.

tag(s): gamification (83), multimedia (53), worksheets (69)

Download Boomerang to organize your Gmail! Schedule when to send messages, remind yourself to follow up if you do not get a reply email, and mark emails that you need to read at a later time. The basic plan is free and includes most features.
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tag(s): organizational skills (88)

This excellent resource includes articles on teaching primary sources to elementary students, classroom materials, and information on the latest research on this subject. You'll also find Primary Source Sets, a Primary Source Analysis Tool, and more.

tag(s): primary sources (117)

Track learning in real-time with Quizalize. Student answers are color-coded on the teacher dashboard for ease in identifying who needs more help. Create scrambled word, multiple choice questions, and ChapGPT quizzes, and each question can have a custom timer. View reports for each student's progress and learning gaps. Create a quiz or select one from Quizalize's growing library. Quizzes can be "gamified" by showing the teacher dashboard as a leaderboard to see progress against other contestents. Quizalize works on any device with a browser and Internet connection. Sign up with an email and password. Create a quiz, assign it to classes, get a code, give it to students, and let the fun begin! The free account provides 3 classes and 5 activities.

tag(s): differentiation (84), game based learning (205), gamification (83), polls and surveys (49), quizzes (90)

Create simple and easy stories using ABCya's Story Maker. Without registering, draw a picture using the drawing and erase tools provided. Type the story, and add pages for a longer story. Once finished, save to your computor or print. This tool is so easy Pre-K students can use it. Since all pictures are hand drawn your older artists will love it, too.
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tag(s): digital storytelling (154), drawing (61), writing (325)

Seesaw is a digital portfolio that is totally free for all devices and on the web. Students can showcase their work, videos, text, drawings, and images, and get feedback from teachers and parents. Create a class blog in your Seesaw for students to write blog posts. Teachers create an account with email and then start creating as many classes as needed. There is no limit on the number of students a class can have. Once students have parental permission, give students a "join" code for their class, and they sign up from there, choosing to access their account through a Seesaw generated QR code or their email. Teachers can enable or disable student likes, comments, and editing. Blog posts and comments must have teacher approval before becoming public. Students will be able to reflect on their work with a voice recording or text, and can share artifacts from their portfolio by clicking the red button at the bottom of the screen and then either print or get the item QR code. Once you have an account, click Help & Teacher Resources to find Getting Started Tips, Tutorial Videos, FAQs, and Activity Ideas grouped by grade level. If your district blocks YouTube, the tutorials may not be viewable. Please be aware that Seesaw falls under the FERPA laws for "directory information" and "educational records." Any school getting funds from the Department of Education (public schools) is required to disclose to parents and get written consent to use Seesaw with their child.

tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), DAT device agnostic tool (147), digital storytelling (154), Learning Management Systems (20), portfolios (23), Teacher Utilities (198)