Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

BookRix is a very cool program for readers and writers! You don't even have to register to read a book. It's all free. If you or your students are aspiring authors, you can register and publish your writing here, again for free. Check out the lists of categories before giving students this link. At the time of this review there were a two that could be inappropriate for your students (erotic and esotericism). You could create your own list with the URLs; click on "read the book" to get the URL for that book.

tag(s): creative writing (121), ebooks (39), independent reading (86), writing (319)

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.
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tag(s): social networking (64)

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.
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tag(s): authors (104), independent reading (86), quotations (20), social networking (64)

Explore health questions and answers with this free site. Click Health Tools and Topics on the top menu to view the most asked questions and click for specific information. Click All Topics in the upper right corner, then be sure to scroll left and right to view all topics. Click on a topic. View the answer to the question in the pop-up as well as related information and images. Answers are provided by contributors from the health field. Be aware that any health site includes topics such as reproductive health. Preview and decide whether this site is appropriate in your school community.

tag(s): body systems (41), dental health (15), diseases (67), fitness (40), human body (94), nutrition (136)

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.
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tag(s): speeches (18)