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Canva Infographic Maker - Canva.com
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): data (151), infographics (56), posters (43)
In the Classroom
Experiment with Canva on a projector or interactive whiteboard (let the students do it!) using different design "themes." Make changes without having to configure the whole Infographic. After creating Infographics as a class, review the other types to show basic design principles. Students can create Infographics of a classroom topic, relationships and definitions of major terms, lab information, and more. Find data and information that connects your content to the outside world, such as the statistics and causes for endangered species. Consider assigning the creation of an Infographic as an assignment to understand any curriculum content and connect it with the real world. For example, show the many ways to use electricity or the impact of slavery on an economy. Have students explain an experiment and report the results with graphical information to provide meaning. Learn about food groups (now displayed as myplate) by dissecting a food diary or a typical school lunch meeting daily requirements (and other nutrition topics).If you use literature circles in your classroom, making an Infographic about a novel the group read would be a great conclusion for the lit circle project, and it might entice others in the class to read the novel. Post the infographics on your web page for all your students and their parents to enjoy.
To challenge your gifted students, have them research and create infographics depicting the tough issues or "flipsides" related to your curriculum topic. Some suggestions: Major court cases and issues involving freedom of speech (during your Constitution unit), risks and benefits of nuclear power (in a physics class), or how an author's experience influences what he/she writes. Extend student learning by asking them to create a webpage using Webnode, reviewed here, that includes their infographic. Be sure to point out that many of the same tips shared for creating infographics applies to web page construction.
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Kindle Direct Publishing - Amazon Kindle
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): digital storytelling (153), ebooks (43)
In the Classroom
If your class uses Kindles, the possibilities are endless. Publish interactive short books for all content areas and set the price to free. Students can then download and view books on their devices. Put together groups of student projects to create a complete book for all to use when reviewing material at the end of any unit. Share with gifted students for creating a book as an in-depth investigation into any area of the curriculum.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)
Requires download/installation of software
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CamStudio - Free Screen Streaming Software - CamStudio
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): video (264)
In the Classroom
Use CamStudio to record instructions for using websites. Share how to perform problems, step by step directions for any project, and much more. Leave a video message for a substitute teacher or even the class! Create a video message to share with parents about current projects, clips from field trips, and more. Share on your class website for students to view at home. Allow students to record a video sharing their favorite websites or tips for solving math problems.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hypothesis - Dan Whaley
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): citations (32), collaboration (93), note taking (36)
In the Classroom
Use Hypothesis as part of your flipped classroom. Annotate and share web resources with students and ask them to contribute notes and additional information. Ask ENL/ELL and resource students to write text to explain concepts by rewording, or to ask questions about the parts they do not understand. Add questions to math explanations, highlight landforms, or discuss information on maps. Share with students for use when collaborating on research projects. Install the Hypothesis bookmark on classroom computers for use at any time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Noplag - Noplag LLC
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): copyright (44), evaluating sources (28), plagiarism (33), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Teach students about plagiarism and how to avoid it; it is a critical skill in all the content areas. Noplag is an easy place to introduce the concepts and have students check their writing without registering. Demonstrate how to use the tool to the whole class using a projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students register for additional options. Emphasize to students that they have the ability and the obligation to check their work for honesty.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Freepik - Alejandro Blanes, Pablo Blanes, and Joaquin Cuenca
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): clip art (11), graphic design (49), images (260), vectors (16)
In the Classroom
These graphics and templates are free to download and use (with appropriate credit). This site is great if you need some clever clipart to jazz up student handouts, classroom bulletin boards, or PowerPoint/Keynote presentations. Special Ed, speech/language, or ENL/ESL teachers may find these images helpful when working with non-readers or non-verbal students. There is also web clipart that you can use for your blog, class webpage, or wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Airtable - Emmett Nicholas, Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bookmarks (43), collaboration (93), curation (32), DAT device agnostic tool (147)
In the Classroom
Use Airtable to collaborate on lessons with other teachers, both local and across the world. Share with students to use when collaborating on projects or to create study guides. Use the provided templates to catalog your books or share study guides with students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iCivics, Win the White House - iCivics
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): elections (82), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Start out using this site with your projector or interactive whiteboard with the whole class. Walk through the beginning of the game and demonstrate the built-in help which is useful for students who might need additional guidance. Have individuals play or create small group teams of campaign staff to guide the candidates. Students or groups may play multiple times. After registering, the site will save games and students can send messages. Use the Achievements badges and points for student assessments. Have students research the debate topics and compare the different aspects of the game to real-life examples in the news. An easy to use Extension Pack for Teachers provides more activities and assessments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Television Commercial Analysis Chart - The Learning Network/New York Times
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): advertising (26), elections (82), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Print and use this form to include with your election unit as you analzye the candidates and their pitch for votes. This form is pretty basic, use it as a starting point for a more in-depth look at political commercials. Ask students to list ideas to include on your form. Include information from your analysis of political commercials and have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Does Your Vote Count? The Electoral College Explained - Christina Greer
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): elections (82), electoral college (22)
In the Classroom
Share this video on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) as part of any election unit. Have students research the number of electoral votes available in your state. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare the democratic process in the United States to that of another country. Have students create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here, to identify the number of electoral votes available in each state. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map, and additional information such as how the electoral votes were cast in previous elections. You could use edpuzzle, reviewed here, to share the video with students. Use edpuzzle to add comments, questions, and point out highlights within the videos. YouTube videos are viewable in Edpuzzle, even if your school blocks YouTube! Use Edpuzzle to add comments, questions, and point out highlights within the videos.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Electoral College - The Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): elections (82), electoral college (22)
In the Classroom
View this video together on an interactive whiteboard to illustrate the impact of the Electoral College voting on the election of the US President, both today and in the past. Alternatively, embed it in your class web page for the duration of your elections unit. Have students create their own "in plain English" video about a topic in government using Typito, reviewed here, and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast differences between the popular vote and Electoral College votes. Add questions to this video for students to explore further using a tool such as edpuzzle, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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STEM in 30 - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): aviation (40), earth (184), earth day (60), ecology (102), ecosystems (81), flight (34), mars (26), molecules (44), space (218), STEM (290), world war 1 (77)
In the Classroom
For your blended or flipped classroom, share webinars on your class website for students to view at home. Replace pen and paper writing journals by writeing a blog entry that shares their learning and understanding. Use a tool like Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to create a blog using edublog, reviewed here. Check the site's homepage for upcoming webinars, then participate with your class. Check X (formerly Twitter) to see if your class can follow any of the presenting scientists. If you are lucky enough to live in the Washington, DC area, contact the museum to attend a live taping. After viewing a webinar, have students enhance their learning by creating a multimedia presentation using Visme, reviewed here. Visme allows you to narrate slides. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. STEM in 30 is also a great resource for gifted students to get involved with their own challenges and pursuits.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Primary vs Secondary Sources - The Minnesota Historical Society
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): evaluating sources (28), primary sources (117), Research (86), video (264)
In the Classroom
Share this video with students as they begin any research project. Be sure to add a link to this site on your class website for reference at home. Have students create a simple infographic with examples of both types of resources using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Have students upload a photo they have taken of a source and add an explanation about why it fits into a particular category using a tool such as Add Text, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Carrd - carrd.co
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), multimedia (51)
In the Classroom
Use this site for students to post simple projects such as stories, poems, and art projects. For easy access, collect a master list of links to student pages on your classroom website, wiki, blog, or create an interactive Google doc or form for collecting these. If students are creating pages, be sure to check with your district's policy on publishing student work. Each website created has a private URL. Students can use this tool at home for presentations and email you the URL for their completed work. Compile the presentation URLs on your class blog or wiki, or a Google doc so all students have access. Integrate all subjects into Carrd. The simplicity of this site would make it an easy tool for younger students to create eportfolios with links to and explanations of their various projects located elsewhere on the web.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PicFont - Picfont.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), digital storytelling (153), editing (93), images (260)
In the Classroom
Use this easy tool to replace paper posters and add captions to images, create memes, or posters for your bulletin boards. Use this easy tool with students during back to school time as a way for them to get to know each other. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with amusing text or a favorite quote (or song lyrics?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits. Print the images with text for a back-to-school bulletin board. Use after a field trip for students to write captions on the photos they took. Be sure to share the photos on your class web page, blog, or wiki. Haven't started blogging yet? Check out TeachersFirst's Blog Basics. For other uses, have students practice new words in a world language class by labeling and identifying images in that language. Create writing prompts using several annotated images. Have students create annotated images to explain key terms in science class. In ELA class, make homophone or vocabulary images to show the correct word along with a picture that explains it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Panorama - Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (111), immigrants (34), immigration (68), maps (219), migration (45), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
Bookmark these interactive maps for use throughout the year to examine American issues in deeper detail. Share the locations using Google Earth, reviewed here, to get a first-hand look at the geography of the region. This tool is a great find for gifted students. Have them explore in-depth different changes to America over the past two centuries. Replace paper and pen and have them record what they learn using an online journal like Penzu, reviewed here. With Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Take this idea a step further and modify classroom technology use by having students make a multimedia presentation using information found in their research. Use a tool like Vevox, reviewed here. Vevox offers interactive features such as real-time polls and comments to keep viewers interested and involved in the presentation. Vevox allows adding polls, videos, embeds, web links, and PowerPoint.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Geopedia - geopedia.de
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): continents (33), countries (73), earth (184), landmarks (22), maps (219)
In the Classroom
Assign students various countries, regions, or continents to make comparisons of information found in the Wikipedia articles. Bring a greater understanding to current economic and environmental issues in many countries. World language (or World Cultures) classes can help students understand the cultures of the countries where the language is spoken. Compare specific attributes of two countries using an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Have cooperative learning groups use this resource to create online books about the country of their tour using a resource such as Bookemon, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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'What's News?' Video Lesson - NewseumED
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): journalism (74), news (229), newspapers (92)
In the Classroom
Using the Activity lesson plan/viewing guide, share the before viewing discussion with the class. Consider giving all students a chance to voice their opinions (even the shyest ones) by using a tool like Backchannel Chat, reviewed here. Then, show the video to the whole class, or "flip" the class and have students watch it at home. Either way, the viewing guide questions could be inserted into the video using a tool such as edpuzzle, reviewed here. After the video, use the discussion questions and Backchannel Chat again. Next, have students (or small groups) choose one of the extension activities to complete and share with classmates. Lastly, have students (or small groups) choose one of the extension activities to complete and share with classmates.The reviewers at TeachersFirst have some suggestions for online tools to use for those final (extension) projects: Items 1 and 2 suggest creating a video newscast or newspaper. Consider starting with Copy Edit This!, reviewed here, to give students in the a look at newspaper editing. Possibly follow these up with Pulitzer Center Lesson Plans, reviewed here, that shows students how to identify global issues.
If you don't feel comfortable showing student faces on the Internet via video, you may want to have them create a radio show instead; for that use Anchor, reviewed here, provides free podcasting tools.
Item 3 includes a timeline. Have students create an interactive timeline (it can include text, images and collaboration) using Sutori, reviewed here. Items 4, 6, and 7 suggest making a collage. An easy online tool such as Fotojet, reviewed here, will make beautiful collages for your student projects. Item 5 suggests you use Facebook. If your district blocks Facebook, use Fakebook, reviewed here. For managing projects like #8-10 use a tool like Google Keep, reviewed here, and an animated, multimeda presentation tool like Animatron Studio's Presentation Maker, reviewed here.
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Ribbet - Ribbet Inc
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): editing (93), images (260), photography (123)
In the Classroom
Use Ribbet anytime photos need to be edited on class blogs, wikis, or sites. Encourage older students to use this tool themselves on images for projects or presentations. Use Ribbet to edit pictures to look "old" when doing historical reports or to set a mood. In primary grades, use this tool to edit pictures from a field trip, science experiments, and more. Share the editing process with younger students using an interactive whiteboard or projector, and edit the project together!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Did I Miss Anything Yesterday? - Michael Taylor
Grades
5 to 9This site includes advertising.
tag(s): back to school (55), classroom management (120)
In the Classroom
Be sure to check out the entire Did I Miss Anything Yesterday? blog for additional activities and ideas for teaching middle school students. Take advantage of the exercises in this article to use at the beginning of the school year or new semesters. After finishing an activity, have students or groups share information learned from fellow students using Padlet, reviewed here. The Padlet application creates free online bulletin boards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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