Online Tools: Suggestions from TeachersFirst
This editor's choice collection offers timesavers and organizational tools for teachers. They include "utility" sites for teaching tasks such as seating charts, rubrics, and certificates. Other tools facilitate parent communication, such as text messaging or online conferencing. Our editors have also hand picked simple, timesaving, creative tools from the TeachersFirst Edge. These tools organize to-do lists (for yourself or for students), convert files, remove ads from web pages, check web site readability, write a one-time blog, generate an online signup sheet, make a simple graphic organizer or chart, create online corkboards or stickies, and much more. Mark your Favorites using your free TeachersFirst membership, so you can find them quickly!
For a full listing of reviewed "creation" tools by category, try the TeachersFirst Edge, today's hottest tools for creating teacher and student projects online.
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Frame VR - Virbela
Grades
K to 12
tag(s): artificial intelligence (149)
In the Classroom
Use Frame VR in many different ways in the classroom. For example, teachers can create virtual field trips for places such as ancient cities, allowing learners to explore and learn in an immersive way. In addition, using the platform to create stories or narratives and develop educational games would increase student engagement. With older students, Use the collaboration tools within Frame VR to create group projects or provide a place for students to display their work.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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OK2Ask: Tech Integration Made Easy with the Smithsonian Learning Lab - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12Connect your students...more
Connect your students to primary sources, capture their imagination, and develop their content knowledge in any subject area with the Smithsonian Learning Lab. Learn how to combine the Smithsonian's wealth of resources with your own to quickly create personalized lessons and activities that increase engagement and develop critical thinking skills in grades 3-12. You can even adapt one of the thousands of existing collections to better suit your instructional setting. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Explore Smithsonian Learning Lab collections; 2. Create a personalized digital collection; and 3. Plan for the use of the Smithsonian Learning Lab in your educational setting. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.
tag(s): primary sources (119), professional development (407)
In the Classroom
The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teacherstack - Teacherstack
Grades
K to 6tag(s): classroom management (123), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Use Teacherstack to manage everyday classroom routines easily. Display on your whiteboard to help students understand group rotation schedules, use the time and transition sound to keep everyone on schedule. Start with longer transition times as you introduce station rotations, then reduce the time as students understand rotation procedures. Create a to-do list to display and share with reminders of upcoming events throughout the day. A to-do list is beneficial for use on days when there are disruptions to normal routines and schedules, such as early release days or special events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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RecordCast Screen Recorder - PearlMountain Ltd
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use this handy screen recording tool in a variety of ways in your classroom. Record tutorials for students to demonstrate how to access and use online sites, create recordings for substitutes to explain how to find and use the software on your computer, or make a how-to demo on where to find information on your class website to share with students and parents. Help students understand how to use the different features of documents, such as creating a tutorial showing students how to format cells in Excel, add comments to a Google document, or find and insert images in slides. Share this site with students to use when analyzing websites as part of your ongoing digital safety lessons. Ask them to include a video as part of a larger multimedia presentation. After exporting their video, ask students to include it within a presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Site123 - Site123
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (65), communication (138), portfolios (24), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use this site for students to post or collect material for simple projects such as stories, poems, art projects, science lab write-ups, or the week's problem in math. Collect a master list of URLs to student pages on your classroom website, wiki, or blog for easy access. If students are creating pages, check with your district's policy on publishing student work. Create pages for quick link-sharing or upcoming events such as field trips, class party information, school events, science fairs, etc. Students can create simple pages to share links to include in presentations so classmates can participate on laptops. If you are beginning a major creative project such as a literary magazine or research project, Site123 is a wonderful place for writers to collect questions and ideas to be developed later.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat: Dive into Deep Learning: Communication - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): communication (138), twitterchatarchive (175)
In the Classroom
Find resources and information about diving deep into learning through communication. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for a dive into deep learning: communication.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Jamboard - Google
Grades
K to 12tag(s): collaboration (94), images (261), iwb (33), Whiteboard (15)
In the Classroom
Use Jamboard on your interactive whiteboard (or with a projector) to share and highlight information for students. When finished, save and share as images for students to access in Google Classroom or on your class website. Enable the collaboration options for students to use when planning projects or as a tool for recording and sharing information. For example, ask groups working together on a science experiment to use this tool to share images and annotations throughout the experiment. Save Jamboard slides as images in digital portfolios. Seesaw, reviewed here, and Pathbrite, reviewed here, provide free online portfolio features for students at all age levels.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat: Fostering Reading and Math Engagement Online - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): independent reading (86), Online Learning (42), reading comprehension (148), reading strategies (103), twitterchatarchive (175)
In the Classroom
Find resources and information about how to use technology to foster reading and math engagement online. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for resources related to engaging students online in reading or math.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat: Using Digital Tools to Demonstrate Learning - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (123), collaboration (94), communication (138), Formative Assessment (75), Online Learning (42), twitterchatarchive (175)
In the Classroom
Find resources and information about using digital tools to demonstrate learning and how to integrate them into your lessons. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for resources related to online learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teacher Utilities Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Find new tools to try in your classroom, for communication with families and more. Each review includes classroom use ideas. Read the details of each tool and find the ones that will make your tasks easier to manage.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat: Online Learning: Turning it into Student Success - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): Online Learning (42), resources (87), twitterchatarchive (175)
In the Classroom
Find resources and information about online learning and how to integrate it into your lessons. Share this chat with your colleagues looking for resources related to online learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Twitter Chat: Tech Tools for Collaboration - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): collaboration (94), twitterchatarchive (175)
In the Classroom
Find tech tools to foster student collaboration! Share this chat with your colleagues looking for sites and information related to collaboration. Explore the various tools that are shared.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Password Generator Tool - Comparitech
Grades
K to 12tag(s): internet safety (112)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students as part of any online safety unit. Discuss the importance of creating strong passwords. One disadvantage of using a site like this is trying to save and remember the unique passwords. Use information on this site to find free, online tools for saving and managing your passwords. As students learn more about online safety, modify classroom technology by asking them to share their tips using a video response tool like Flip, reviewed here. Use Flip to provide video questions to students with scenarios that might occur online due to lack of knowledge or application of safety techniques. Have students respond with solutions to these problems. Transform classroom technology and ask students to share their advice with other students using a video explanation tool like FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites, to create short, animated video explanations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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LOOPY - Nick Case
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Share LOOPY with students then have them explore the features included on the shared models. LOOPY would work well in classes with gifted students as an exploration project of different cause and effect relationship influences. Use the embed code to share student examples and explanations on your class website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Duck Soup - Robert Boyett and Andrew McAfee
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (123), Google (53), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Save time and paper using Duck Soup. Start out slowly, perhaps with one or two papers the first week. Choose a paper that is familiar to both you and your students and explore together how to use e-sheets and settings that work best for your classroom. Once familiar with the site, the possibilities are unlimited. Use Duck Soup for homework, centers, and ongoing projects. Instead of sending paperwork home to be completed by parents, create digital versions for a quick response and compilation of information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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bulb - Bulb, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): multimedia (46), portfolios (24), writing (324)
In the Classroom
Use bulb for student portfolios in any subject. Set up an account with your teacher name, email, password, and some basic information. Once you and your students' accounts are set up, share how to get around bulb on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector to get students started. When you (or your students) create group pages, anyone you invite can publish to the group. However, students will also have their own account and can keep pages private. Science teachers could have students write up their lab reports in a portfolio, and history teachers could set up portfolios for student report writing. Have teens and older students upload work throughout the year to create their own "me-portfolios." Create portfolios (with permission) to share younger students' work with parents and students during conferences. Use this tool to show finished projects or to show changes in a project from start to finish. Make a work prototype site and upload examples of exemplary work to share with students to set expectations for completed products before beginning a project. Create a link to this tool on your class website for students to share projects and information. (Get parent permission before posting students' work!) Have students take ownership of their own portfolios to show progress and products across several years. Have older students build portfolios to share as part of career and college preparation. Art teachers will want to share this as a portfolio option for their students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Open Learning Initiative - Carnegie Mellon University
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): chinese (44), classroom management (123), design (81), engineering (126), french (75), logic (163), OER (43), Online Learning (42), probability (97), psychology (67), statistics (121), STEM (284)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of content in courses to supplement your current lessons. No registration is required to access and view course information. Share this site with gifted students or students with interests in specific academic areas not covered in your current curriculum. Create a course and offer it to your students for greater interaction and learning through community building. Find great ideas from other existing courses. Teachers of gifted can use courses to challenge students in their areas of interest. You can also have gifted students create or collaborate on a student-made "course." Explore the topics for some new, engaging topics to round out your own expertise. Allow students to enroll in a course that would fit into their career goals as an exploratory opportunity in that field. The Open Learning Initiative would also be perfect for setting up directions and steps for any projects you require students to do for your class. The program will integrate with some learning management systems.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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eMargin - Birmingham City University
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): collaboration (94), note taking (36), questioning (34)
In the Classroom
eMargin is a great tool for you (or your students) to annotate research and information on the Internet or from personal documents. Create teacher annotations or question and answer comments on pages. Ask comprehension questions or guiding questions for places you send students on the web. Ask questions that students can complete as homework to show that they accessed the web resource assigned. This tool would also be a powerful way for students to point out bias on a web page or for art students to comment on images and design elements. Create writing prompts by adding questions or comments to a webpage and sharing it with students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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KQED Media Literacy Courses - KQED Teach
Grades
K to 12tag(s): media literacy (107), professional development (407)
In the Classroom
Gain a better understanding of media literacy tools by taking KQED's professional development courses. Participate in classes on your own or with colleagues as part of your ongoing professional development. Begin any of the self-paced courses anytime and complete them at your own pace.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gamification Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): coding (89), game based learning (182), gamification (78), polls and surveys (48)
In the Classroom
Create your own games for review and classroom activities. As a final assessment, challenge students to create their own games to share with their peers. Use this collection to find the best gamification tools on the TeachersFirst site!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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