While the month of April brings thoughts of spring showers and May flowers, for this school librarian, April reminds me of National Library Week and its companion, School Library Month. I love the fact that there is a special time of the year dedicated to libraries. You don’t have to convince Americans that their libraries are important. Over … read more »
If you are a frequent user of TeachersFirst, you know our site contains an amazing amount of information and resources. A quick look at the home page shows a calendar, news and updates, search, TeachersFirst Edge resources, and Featured Sites. But that’s just the beginning; the home page also links to Classroom Ready-to-Go and a … read more »
Organization is an area with which many teachers and students seem to struggle. A few years ago, I found my solution: Todoist. Todoist is a simple and clean tool to organize all of your tasks in a list format with no distractions. It is a free tool, available as both an app (on Android and … read more »
Teachers around the world celebrate Pi Day each March 14. Although the concept of Pi is typically taught beginning late elementary school, this doesn’t prevent students of any age from participating in and enjoying Pi Day events Although younger students don’t understand the concept of Pi, they do know some information about circles. Using circles … read more »
This month’s ‘EdTech Temperature Check’ in five questions takes us to a famous little rural borough in the Keystone State of Pennsylvania. Early in February, the eyes of the nation were focused on Gobbler’s Knob and whether Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, would see his shadow…or not. Well, he did and so foretold six more weeks … read more »
People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. Dale Carnegie Many years ago, Volkswagen presented an initiative called The Fun Theory Award. The premise behind the award is that fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. The competition encouraged participants to submit entries demonstrating how … read more »
Mark your calendar to celebrate Digital Learning Day this February 23 with educators from around the globe. This day highlights excellent teaching with technology and promotes the use of digital learning tools to improve the learning experience of our students. Digital Learning Day 2017 (#DLDay) provides an excellent opportunity to try a new digital tool … read more »
Research has long proven that providing students with authentic and timely feedback improves student performance and learning. In fact, the authors of this study concluded that “Feedback is among the most critical influences on student learning.” Many sites and online tools offer help with providing feedback to learners; in fact, the number of choices may … read more »
This month’s ‘EdTech Temperature Check’ in five questions takes us to the Volunteer State, Tennessee. I’d like you to meet Andrea Tolley, a 15-year veteran middle school educator at Greeneville Middle School. Andrea is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE) and an Ambassador for ClassFlow, ClassDojo, and GoNoodle. Additionally, we are proud to have Andrea … read more »
I recently read an article with this question as it pertains to women’s roles in our National Park Service, and I began thinking about how this issue would be an excellent theme for many classrooms. Instead of just focusing on women’s history in March, what would happen if we raised this question throughout the year … read more »