TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 9, 2018
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
Adobe Express for Education - Adobe
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Adobe Express for Education (was Adobe Spark for Education) offers this version of it's popular presentation tool, reviewed here, specifically for...more
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Adobe Express for Education (was Adobe Spark for Education) offers this version of it's popular presentation tool, reviewed here, specifically for education. Use Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education to create multimedia projects or presentations using the available templates and graphics tools. The Education version provides enhanced data privacy and the ability for students to log in with a code. This tool can be available through your school's Adobe Admin Counsel if your IT team already uses Adobe products. If not, follow directions on the site to set up and begin using this tool as an individual educator.
tag(s): communication (122), creative writing (123), multimedia (62), posters (44)
In the Classroom
Use Adobe Express for Education to create posters, flyers, or instagrams stories for student presentations for any subject. Enhance student learning by asking students to create infographics explaining facts and information about states, countries, planets, and more. Have students create interactive posters, book report covers, invitations, and flyers to promote school events. Express for Education offers many possibilities for graphics, redefining student technoolgy use, and extending student learning by having students create multimedia presentations in all classrooms.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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OK Go Sandbox - University of St Thomas and Dr. AnnMarie Thomas
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Capture the interest of your most reluctant students with these STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) projects presented through music videos and guided inquiry challenges....more
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Capture the interest of your most reluctant students with these STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) projects presented through music videos and guided inquiry challenges. Rock videos provide the basis for learning concepts, followed by a series of questions and answers and student challenges. Examples found on the site include lessons on simple machines, demonstrated through a chain reaction, and on creating sound with everyday objects. Other resources include educator guides and student journal worksheets. If your school blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): gravity (51), mass (22), motion (55), sound (74), STEM (364)
In the Classroom
Delight your students with the videos and activities provided on the site to include with your current science lessons. Place students in groups to complete the challenges offered. Have students replace paper and pen and take collaborative, digital notes using Webnote, reviewed here; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. Ask students to record their work images and video. Redefine learning and challenge students to share their final projects including the digital research notes, images, and videos using a multimedia presentation tool like Sway, reviewed here.
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Renderforest - Renderforest
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
1 Comments
Renderforest is a video and animation creation tool. Easily create introductions for YouTube videos, animations, and slideshows using the site's free templates. Free accounts allow...more
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Renderforest is a video and animation creation tool. Easily create introductions for YouTube videos, animations, and slideshows using the site's free templates. Free accounts allow you to create an unlimited number of 360p videos up to 3 minutes long, 500 MB of storage, and a limited number of music tracks. Follow the step-by-step instructions to add backgrounds, images, music, or your recordings to create videos. After publishing the video, use the provided links to share it on YouTube or social media sites or download it to your computer.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animation (62)
In the Classroom
Use Renderforest for any number of video creation projects in your classroom. Use the intro video tools to add professional looking introductions to your YouTube creations. The animated video tool is a great resource for creating animated video explanations of science projects, world history events, or discussions of characters in novels. Use the slideshow creation tool to share classroom events and pictures from field trips. Have students use Renderforest to create a video, then include their video with other information in a multimedia project using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Comments
wonderful resource.Babalola, IN, Grades: 7 - 12
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Animaker - Srinivasa Raghavan
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Animaker is a web-based animated video creation tool that allows students and teachers to design cartoons, presentations, and short videos using ready-made templates and drag-and-drop...more
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Animaker is a web-based animated video creation tool that allows students and teachers to design cartoons, presentations, and short videos using ready-made templates and drag-and-drop features. With the free plan, users can create projects using built-in characters, backgrounds, text, and voice tools, including basic lip-sync and simple animations. The free version limits the number of exports per month and may include watermarks, but it still provides enough features for classroom projects, storytelling, and presentations. Animaker provides tutorial videos on YouTube to help users learn the tools, so access to YouTube may be needed in some school districts to view the help guides.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animation (62), creativity (85), movies (52)
In the Classroom
Animaker is an online animation and video creation tool that can be used on any device with internet access, making it a good choice for BYOD or blended classrooms because no software download is required. The free plan allows students to create animated videos using templates, characters, text, and voice tools, but it limits the number of exports per month and may include a watermark on finished videos. While paid plans include additional collaboration and workspace features, the free version still works well for individual or small-group projects in the classroom. Students should have some basic understanding of how to use the editor, so creating a class video together on an interactive whiteboard or projector before assigning independent work is helpful. Animaker can be used to extend learning by having students create commercials, science project previews, animated summaries, infographics, or short videos in any subject area, such as advertisements for an organism, a literary character, or a travel commercial for a country being studied. Sharing finished videos on a projector or interactive whiteboard allows students to present their work to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Girls Garage (Project H) - Project H Design - Emily Pilloton
Grades
3 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Project H has evolved into Girls Garage and offers programs to teach design, creativity, and hands-on building to pre-teen and teen girls. Choose the Programs link to learn about Summer...more
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Project H has evolved into Girls Garage and offers programs to teach design, creativity, and hands-on building to pre-teen and teen girls. Choose the Programs link to learn about Summer Programs, After School Programs, Workshops, and see a Job Board. Workshops are offered for elementary and secondary students. Each link provides a quick insight into the projects created by students. The After School link provides lectures, videos, lesson plans, and more for implementing building projects in the classroom. Topics include many diverse activities such as a Home Depot Scavenger Hunt and a long span bridge competition.
tag(s): architecture (82), creativity (85), design (76), gifted (63), STEM (364)
In the Classroom
Share Project H with students as a resource for group projects or enrichment. The ideas on Project H are perfect when considering ideas for math, science, or art Fairs. Create a link on your class website for students to use at home. After completing a project, have students take a photo. Then, show them how to embed media transforming their work by uploading it to Google Drawings, reviewed here. Students can then annotate the photo with text boxes, related links, and video to explain the process of how they created their product.
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International Dot Day - Reynolds Center for Teaching Learning & Creativity
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Become part of a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration on International Dot Day. Formed in response to The Dot written by Peter H. Reynolds, this day is...more
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Become part of a global celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration on International Dot Day. Formed in response to The Dot written by Peter H. Reynolds, this day is set aside to rekindle and inspire the power of creativity in all of us. Register (sign up) for the free International Dot Day Virtual Event on Monday, Sept. 15. Scroll down the page and click Resources to find Connect with Other Classrooms, a free downloadable Classroom Guide, and the Dot Song. Explore the site to find many posters, badges, pictures of Dot Day in action, and more. Don't forget to follow International Dot Day on Instatgram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) to stay in touch with all of the latest updates from around the world. Sign up to become a member of the Dot Day Community and celebrate with others around the world each September! Some of the videos are on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
tag(s): creativity (85), cross cultural understanding (178), literature (213)
In the Classroom
Although the official International Dot Day is in September, use ideas from the site to inspire creativity and collaboration throughout the year. Read The Dot to students and encourage them to brainstorm and collaborate ways they can make their mark in the world. Celebrate by joining the International Dot Day Virtual Event on Monday, Sept. 15 with a live stream featuring the author and his twin brother. Challenge older students to explore their place in the world through the use of a blog. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Penzu, reviewed here, with Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Or, use Webnode, reviewed here. Take this a step further by joining the Connect with Other Classrooms and sharing your Dot Day activities with your global friends. Consider following International Dot Day on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) to stay in touch with all of the latest updates from around the world.
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Creative Educator - Tech4Learning
Grades
1 to 12
13 Favorites
0 Comments
Creative Educator offers articles, lesson plans, and resources for many different ways to put creativity into the curriculum. Explore eight main topics: Creativity, Digital Storytelling,...more
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Creative Educator offers articles, lesson plans, and resources for many different ways to put creativity into the curriculum. Explore eight main topics: Creativity, Digital Storytelling, 21st Century Classrooms, Project-based Learning, STEM, and Teaching and Learning. At the bottom menu find Curriculum related areas such as Literacy, English Language Aquisition, and STEM resources will grab your interest. Find a variety of lessons in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies to integrate technology and pique students' interest.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): addition (137), creativity (85), Teacher Utilities (212)
In the Classroom
Creative Educator, designed for teachers, helps you move past stale worksheets to get inspired! Be sure to look at this site to help you discover ways to integrate technology and creativity into lessons. Work with a partner to make the lessons fit in your situation. Share at staff meetings and offer new ideas. Look for ways to bring a new focus to your gifted students. Give as a resource to students, so they can choose a multimedia product to share the content knowledge they are learning. Once you and your students are familiar with the site use Padlet, reviewed here, to list out student interests. Then use Nearpod, reviewed here to assign lessons to groups with the same or similar interests. Older students, once they have determined their interests, can select their projects/lessons. After several selections, ask older students to choose the topic they were most interested in, find resources to learn more about the topic, then extend their learning by presenting their findings using a multimedia tool such as (click on the tool name to access the review): Canva Infographic Maker, Marq (formerly Lucidpress), Powtoon, and FlexClip.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Doodles - Google
Grades
3 to 12
8 Favorites
2 Comments
Love Google Doodles, those fun and spontaneous changes to the Google logo? View the gallery of Google Doodles on this site. Click About on the top menu to learn the ...more
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Love Google Doodles, those fun and spontaneous changes to the Google logo? View the gallery of Google Doodles on this site. Click About on the top menu to learn the background of Google Doodle. View the Doodle Library with the newest Doodle appearing first on the page. Click each doodle to bring up an information box. Click More Doodle Details to go to the Doodle page or use the Search to learn more about the topic or date. Move from one Doodle to the other by clicking the forward or back arrows at the bottom of each Doodle page.
tag(s): artists (100), creativity (85), drawing (57), gifted (63), Google (22), STEM (364)
In the Classroom
This amazing collection of Doodles can be used to spark thinking in a variety of classes. Use the Doodles to teach a little history. View the resources about the event, person, or country that inspired the Doodle. Encourage thinking with your gifted kids by sharing the whole gallery for exploration or a specific Doodle. Use these Doodles to spark a new project idea or challenge kids to create a simple "doodle" as a new way to report on a historic figure or a content idea. Think your students will be intimidated making a computer Doodle? Consider creating a Doodle using any computer art software or simply creating one on paper. Use these ideas in Science to show the scientific inventions or concepts. In social studies, use Doodles to showcase specific events here and around the World. When looking at perspectives of people around the world, create doodles that can show more than one point of view. Write paragraphs or stories based on Google Doodles. Use Google Doodles in STEM initiatives at your school. Don't forget Art or Gifted programs! Get your students excited about the making of the Doodles and what code writing can do! Use tools such as Scratch, reviewed here, or Tynker, reviewed here, to practice coding.Comments
Nice to have past "Google Doodles" in one website to go back and look at.David, AK, Grades: 9 - 12
Great ideas for short, informative paragraphs to practice this type of writing. Let kids find a google idea for a day, for their particular world/setting/priorities...FUN! Archives are instructive.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Smilebox - Smilebox, Inc.
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
This resource allows you to create slide shows, greeting cards, scrapbooks, invitations, collages, and more. There is a free basic program, and paid upgrades are available if desired....more
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This resource allows you to create slide shows, greeting cards, scrapbooks, invitations, collages, and more. There is a free basic program, and paid upgrades are available if desired. For educational purposes, the upgrades are not needed. Photos, videos, and music can all be added to your creations. A Smilebox template must be used to make your creations. Products made with this program can be shared on web pages, blogs, and social networking sites, or emailed for free. Several themes in each category are free. You no longer have to download this program.
tag(s): blogs (76), images (266), movies (52), photography (134), slides (38)
In the Classroom
Upload images from your computer. You can save web images or use screenshots, as well, to be used in your creations. Watch copyright! Check out Awesome Screenshot, reviewed here, for details for a screen shot taker. From there, it is easy to simply click and follow the on-screen instructions. The program is simple to navigate and very user-friendly for those who are accustomed to web tools.With the variety of formats, Smilebox has a wide variety of applications in any type of classroom! For basic technology integration, extend learning with this tool. Use in history class to have students create collages of different time periods, such as the American Civil War. Create topics such as Lincoln's Election, the Gettysburg Address, the Battle of Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle of Gettysburg, and Lee's Surrender. Have pairs or groups of three select topics at random, then create a collage or "scrapbook" of the event. Try having students choose a role from which to create their assignment, such as a Rebel soldier, a Union Soldier, a volunteer nurse, or a mother or father of children fighting on different sides of the war. Have students collect copyright-free images online for their use, or create their own by reenacting scenes and taking photos for their productions. Unleash student creativity by showing them this tool as a resource in creating presentations and projects for your class and others. What a fabulous tool to use on the first day of school (as a welcome), at the beginning of a new unit, or at a back-to-school night with parents! Elementary classes could create whole-class scrapbooks of curriculum projects, such as their science garden or Colonial Days celebration.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
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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