TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 28, 2014
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
LiveSchool - Matt Rubinstein
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Manage and track behavior with LiveSchool's behavior point system. Free accounts allow up to five users to award points, leave and view comments, and withdraw points for "purchases"...more
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Manage and track behavior with LiveSchool's behavior point system. Free accounts allow up to five users to award points, leave and view comments, and withdraw points for "purchases" from any device. Print weekly reports for parents with day by day records of points earned or lost, comments with teachers' names, behaviors observed, and cumulative totals of points earned.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): behavior (45), classroom management (122), game based learning (179), gamification (78)
In the Classroom
Consider using this program to reward a group of the week. Award points for positive behaviors such as participating, creating, working hard, and helping others. Using LiveSchool for group behaviors will give immediate feedback to groups when projected on your whiteboard or your projector. Use this tool to help less focused students stay on task. Share this site with students on the first day of school as you go over class expectations and your behavior plan for your classroom. Use LiveSchool to offer both negative and positive feedback to parents and students.Use LiveSchool to privately keep track of learning or emotional support student behaviors and send a report to their special education teachers and/or parents. This tool could be invaluable to the life skills, autistic support, gifted, or emotional support teacher who needs to track the behavior of each of the students as part of an IEP, GIEP, or behavior plan. Alternative Ed. programs may find this tool very useful, even up through high school.
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Stuff You Missed in History Class - Tracy Wilson and Holly Frey
Grades
7 to 12
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Explore interesting history tidbits and background information about world events including topics from Atlantis to Vikings. Scroll through the list of topics and find links to various...more
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Explore interesting history tidbits and background information about world events including topics from Atlantis to Vikings. Scroll through the list of topics and find links to various podcast episodes with archives going back to 2008. Click to play the episodes or download any episode in mp3 format using the download link. Episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length. You can also search for specific topics using the search tool.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): archeology (25), black history (128), civil rights (197), civil war (135), cross cultural understanding (160), mental health (33), native americans (92), podcasts (95), religions (79), vikings (10), world war 1 (74), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
Use podcasts from Stuff You Missed in History to enrich current lessons or lure students into thinking history can actually be "cool." Provide a link on class computers or your class website for students use. Have students use a mapping tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here, to create a map of one of these events (with audio stories and pictures included)! Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about one of the people in these lesser known historic events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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moovly - Brendon Grunewald
Grades
K to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
moovly is a wonderful animation tool for creating videos and presentations. Create an account with your email and watch the two-minute video about how to use this tool. Click on ...more
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moovly is a wonderful animation tool for creating videos and presentations. Create an account with your email and watch the two-minute video about how to use this tool. Click on "New Moov" to begin. Give your Moov a title and description then choose from templates offered or create your own Moov from scratch. Modify slides, text, font, image holders, and props. Preview your creation at any time with the play button. Stop and make changes as needed. Upload sounds from your computer in MP3 format: voice, music, or noises. These can be used in parallel, or click the microphone to record your voice. You can also make your moovly interactive by using Flash. Save and share via YouTube, Facebook, or email. You can also download to your computer using MP4 (video) or SWF format. Download the 28-page PDF guide for step-by-step directions and answers to specific questions. Emailing customer support will get you answers within 24 hours.
Click Solutions from the top menu bar, and choose For Educatin and then Teachers. This is the version of moovly that offers special FREE plans to teachers, students and employees with email addresses from educational email domains. Members from educational email domains known by moovly automatically get a free Education license. If your educational email address is not recognized on sign-up, you can request access. You can now search the VideoBlocks catalog of stock video, sound and graphics via the extended library search. And upload it into your story in just one click! Free accounts can create unlimited videos that are each ten minutes long. The intro videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
Click Solutions from the top menu bar, and choose For Educatin and then Teachers. This is the version of moovly that offers special FREE plans to teachers, students and employees with email addresses from educational email domains. Members from educational email domains known by moovly automatically get a free Education license. If your educational email address is not recognized on sign-up, you can request access. You can now search the VideoBlocks catalog of stock video, sound and graphics via the extended library search. And upload it into your story in just one click! Free accounts can create unlimited videos that are each ten minutes long. The intro videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): animation (64), communication (138), movies (51), multimedia (45), slides (42), video (260)
In the Classroom
Enhance learning and technology use by challenging older students to create their own moovs. Students can use moovly to share their ideas or to "prototype" an idea. Students can create videos to show math processes, explanations of complex concepts, review new learning, teach others, explain scientific processes, tell stories, or present research. Flip your classroom using moovly presentations. Use moovly to create teacher-authored animations for students in ANY grade. This is a great way to present new information or ideas for discussion. It is an easy way to prepare information for the class when a substitute is coming. Embed moovly creations on your website or blog for students to review at home. Use a moovly video on the first day of school to explain class rules or give an exciting introduction to the year ahead. Use moovly to create movies or presentations for back to school night or conference nights to display on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Teacher-librarians can ask students to create moovly book reviews to share kiosk style in the library/media center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What Your Teen is Doing on Social Media - Liahona Academy
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Liahona Academy offers this PDF infographic as a detailed look at teen social media use and what parents and teachers should know to take an active role in students' online ...more
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Liahona Academy offers this PDF infographic as a detailed look at teen social media use and what parents and teachers should know to take an active role in students' online life. Discover how teens spend their time on social media, what platforms they use, and how to stay informed of their activities. Follow tips for monitoring Internet browsing activity with specifics for commonly used browsers. Learn how teens try to hide activity from adults and what you can do to stay one step ahead! Stay informed about tools available to adults to help monitor the safety of students.
tag(s): cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (86), internet safety (112)
In the Classroom
Share this infographic at Back to School Night, at Open House, or as a link on class/school web page. Discuss this information with your preteen/teen students as part of a digital citizenship curriculum. Be sure to talk about what THEY think parents should do/talk with them about. Share this information with colleagues as part of your professional development training in computer/Internet safety. Use these tips to keep your students safe while browsing in the classroom. This could also make a great discussion at a faculty meeting as your school ventures into a 1:1 program.
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My Autism Team - My Health Teams
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
My Autism Team is a social networking site for parents of autistic children. The site includes four key areas: finding providers, finding and networking with other parents of autistic...more
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My Autism Team is a social networking site for parents of autistic children. The site includes four key areas: finding providers, finding and networking with other parents of autistic children, questions and answers, and activities -- with daily updates of triumphs and trials. Register using your email to access most information on the site; however, it is possible to search and browse the question and answers and find local providers without registration. This is NOT a medical or "professional" site, though they do have partnerships with several respected professional autism-related groups (see Partners section).
tag(s): autism (15), Special Needs (56)
In the Classroom
If you have an autism spectrum chid in class, use information and resources on My Autism Team to understand parental concerns and make parent-teacher conferences and communications more effective. Share this site with parents of autistic children as a resource for networking with other parents. Be sure to share this with partner teachers including Special Education teachers. Browse the Question and Answer portion of the site to become familiar with concerns families of autistic children have when working with school systems and IEPs. Help diffuse the feeling of "them and us" by reading what parents say and talking about how you can work together.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Image Flip: Meme Generator - ImgFlip
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Annotate any image using custom, re-sizable text with Image Flip Meme Generator. Choose one of Meme Generator's template images or upload your own. Keep your image private by downloading...more
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Annotate any image using custom, re-sizable text with Image Flip Meme Generator. Choose one of Meme Generator's template images or upload your own. Keep your image private by downloading it to your computer, or you can save it on Image Flip. Sharing your Meme is easy via any social network, or you can copy the code for the image link or the image HTML.
tag(s): creativity (90), digital storytelling (150), images (261)
In the Classroom
Since the images can be kept private, this would make the perfect "getting to know you" activity for beginning of the school year. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with witty text or a favorite quote (or song lyric?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits. Print the images with text for a back to school bulletin board. Alternatively, make a slide show to play as the parents enter the room. Use a tool like Slides, reviewed here. At the end of the year, students could do a "that was then, this is now" project. Have them upload a current picture doing a favorite activity, and different images that represent new interests they have learned this year. Post the images side by side for spring open house night or as a year-end activity. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here. 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 an image that explains it.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)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Biomimicry and Packaging Innovation Toolkit - Biomimicry 3.8 Institute
Grades
9 to 12
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This free downloadable toolkit uses biomimicry as the foundation to gamify the innovation process by teams and individuals to generate innovative ideas inspired by nature. The toolkit...more
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This free downloadable toolkit uses biomimicry as the foundation to gamify the innovation process by teams and individuals to generate innovative ideas inspired by nature. The toolkit includes a PDF of a brainstorming-in-a-box card deck, concept worksheet, introductory video, and facilitator instructions. Begin with the download button and submit a short form with your name and email address to receive the toolkit materials in zip format. Learn more about the concept of biomimicry by visiting the links to popular articles provided on this site.
tag(s): brainstorming (17), design (80), engineering (123), gifted (65), natural resources (38), problem solving (226), STEM (269)
In the Classroom
Use this resource and the provided materials to learn more about Biomimicry and how this approach has solved technological problems. Share the stories from the brainstorming-in-a-box card deck with your students as informational (and inspirational) reading in the sciences. For example, schools of fish swim through a water vortex that pulls them along with the others. This understanding is being used to design better wind turbines. Look through the Biomimicry Fundamentals ideas to see where you should start with your students. Challenge your students to explore the site for articles they believe are connected to something they have learned this year in your class. Create a wall of pictures and ideas in the classroom of patterns and processes learned in class that can create inspiration design later. Use Screenpal, reviewed here to record your video to add students' video discussions of their ideas to the pictures using QR codes and AR.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Super Power Speech - Caroline Bowen
Grades
1 to 5
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Join forces with Super Power Speech, a blog written by a speech pathologist, Caroline Bowen. Find professional speech pathology information such as Articulation Printables links,...more
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Join forces with Super Power Speech, a blog written by a speech pathologist, Caroline Bowen. Find professional speech pathology information such as Articulation Printables links, Social Skills, Language based speech therapy, many engaging blog entries, and links to helpful speech resources by clicking on Speech on the top menu bar. Explore resources for Assessment and Response to Intervention. Some material featured on the site goes to Teachers Pay Teachers, but some are free.
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tag(s): professional development (402), social skills (22), speech (67), vocabulary development (87)
In the Classroom
Whether you are a speech pathologist, social skills/autistic support teacher, or a classroom teacher, find extra resources here to help children with speech and language needs. Also read the discussions to help build social skills or even to improve literacy. Read through past blog entries. Brush up on the latest to be sure you are current! You may also find some specific ideas to share with these students' parents at conferences so you can work together in supporting their child. Primary grade regular ed teachers will find vocabulary development activities appropriate for any student, not just those who are identified.
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Author Name Pronunciation Guide - TeachingBooks.net
Grades
1 to 12
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Hear over 1000 authors pronouncing and explaining their names. One minute audio recordings give a brief hello and some interesting facts about their name. There is also a Challenge...more
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Hear over 1000 authors pronouncing and explaining their names. One minute audio recordings give a brief hello and some interesting facts about their name. There is also a Challenge Quiz for the pronunciation of several author's names, downloadable in PDF format. Hear what the author actually sounds like and try to imagine that author sitting right next to you! (Many links on the site go to paid materials.)
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tag(s): authors (104)
In the Classroom
Make author studies come alive by having the authors introduce themselves! Add an author recording link in a QR code attached to book jackets in your classroom or school library, making your library interactive. On your class website, have your student writers make their own introductions to their written pieces using a site such as Spreaker, reviewed here. Enjoy at your literary celebration!
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