Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create and collaborate with up to 10 others using this online whiteboard, no registration necessary. Optional registration allows you to save whiteboards for later use. Give your whiteboard a name and choose your board size to begin. Options allow for customizing the look of the whiteboard, adding a chat box, and uploading images. Share with other users using the provided link or with your personalized code. NoteBookCast is compatible with many devices making it easy for everyone to work together.

tag(s): collaboration (93), drawing (61), iwb (31)

Experiment with music using interactive instruments and animations at Chrome Music Lab. Different tools teach the basics of chords, harmony, and rhythm. Choose any image to view the concept taught, then click to explore the interactive. Some interactives require access to your computer's microphone.

tag(s): music theory (46), rhythm (21), sound (72), sounds (43)

TED-Ed Student Talks provide a platform for students aged 8-18 across the world to explore ideas, share information, and participate in global conversations. Begin by applying to start a club to discuss thoughts and ideas of interest to your group through the leadership of an adult facilitator. Each club is open to up to 50 members. Clubs provide 13 meetings beginning with three sessions exploring TED Talks, following that, students learn how to frame and share ideas. At the conclusion, participants upload their final talk to the TED-Ed YouTube Channel. Under Discover find Lessons, Collections, Insights and more. Be sure to explore the topics under Create and Get Involved. The videos are hosted on YouTube.

tag(s): collaboration (93), creativity (86), critical thinking (127), logic (161), problem solving (233)

3x3 Links is a bookmarking site that organizes saved websites into a 3x3 grid. Add items as a link to any website or create a folder that links to a new grid with websites you add. Customize your page to include a personalized URL, add a background image or color, and include or delete captions.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), preK (270)

Do you always place sticky notes on your computer screen? This Chrome extension is for you. This simple design allows you to add a note to your screen with one click. Change font size, color, and themes to personalize your stickies. View your notes across devices when logged in to Chrome. Be sure to watch for updates to include multiple sticky notes and features for sharing.

tag(s): brainstorming (18), note taking (36), organizational skills (88)

Use code to make your own Minecraft game or learn the basics of computer coding by moving characters through a Minecraft world with these Hour of Code activities. From the top of the page choose one of the Minecraft Activities like Voyage Aquatic, Heros Journey, Adventurer, or Designer. These activities teach and reinforce coding skills through the familiar Minecraft game. Scroll down the page to watch one of the inspirational videos as an introduction. Free resources include a lesson plan, videos, computer science curriculum, and a teacher training. The free trial is limited by the number of logins and includes 25 for teachers with an Office 365 Education account and 10 for all other users. Trial logins cannot be refreshed.

tag(s): coding (85), computational thinking (40), computers (109), critical thinking (127), design (79), problem solving (233), STEM (297)

Formilla is a live chat widget add-on for your website. Compatible with all formats, Formilla is customizable for different languages and appearance. Free accounts include access to one website, one chat agent, and up to 30 chats/emails.
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tag(s): chat (41), communication (129), multilingual (77)

Loom is a Chrome browser extension for creating quick and easy video screen recordings up to five minutes long. Download and install the extension following directions on the site. Loom allows you to record the entire desktop, just an application, or use the computer camera for recording. When finished, Loom automatically saves the recording and provides the URL for sharing through Gmail or social accounts. As of March 12, 2020 Loom is offering their PRO program free to verified teachers. This is a permanent change; moving forward Loom will continue to provide Loom Pro to verified teachers and students for free.

tag(s): video (266)

Classroomscreen is a background utility for use with interactive whiteboards or projector screens. Choose from circles at the bottom of the screen to add 13 widgets including a calming background, random name picker, text, timer, and clock. Drag items to place them on the screen as desired. You can use Classroomsceen without signing up, but will get more features, for free, if you create and account. There is also a premium version, but this review is only for the free versions.
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tag(s): classroom management (120), emotions (49), functions (52), iwb (31), multilingual (77), social and emotional learning (102), Teacher Utilities (198), time (91)

Is a paperless classroom your goal? Duck Soup is for you! Instead of making copies of papers to hand out and then grade, upload any PDF or Word document to your Duck Soup account to quickly turn it into an e-sheet gradable activity. Receive feedback in real time as students complete work. Duck Soup also offers the ability for students to "write" on documents as they would with pencil and paper. Options include setting times to submit responses, set number of retries for incorrect responses, and set values of questions. This site fully integrates with Google Drive making it a "must have" for any Google Classroom.

tag(s): classroom management (120), Google (47), Teacher Utilities (198)

Drag, upload, or paste text files to convert your text to speech instantly. Choose from many voice and language options for replay. Other options allow control over the speed of your speech replay. Use the upload icon to save to your computer.
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tag(s): chinese (45), french (75), german (49), multilingual (77), spanish (109), text to speech (20)

Build an emoji with Bitmoji. Bitmoji is an Android and Apple app, also available as a Chrome extension. Use email to create an account then follow prompts to create an emoji with your likeness; save it as a PNG to your computer, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive. The fun starts after creating your emoji! Choose from countless options to share your Bitmoji in emails, messages, as an avatar (even inserting it into your favorite games), or anywhere you communicate online.

tag(s): creativity (86), DAT device agnostic tool (147), emotions (49), faces (5), images (263)

The purpose of this blog and the accompanying podcast and videos is to support "a vibrant, encouraging, stimulating community of teachers, supporting each other toward excellence." General education, resource, and ESL/ELL teachers will find plenty of subjects of interest. Choose from broad topics including instruction, classroom management, or technology for ideas in honing your craft through topics of interest to any teacher. Dig deeper to find leadership ideas and hot topics. Check further down the page to browse and find information on specific subjects and grade levels.

tag(s): classroom management (120), learning styles (18), multilingual (77), parent conferences (21), parents (57), professional development (385)

Twig Science Reporter provides high-quality videos and resources for teaching K-5 students science with real-world news through scientific inquiry and reasoning. Weekly content additions ensure fresh content for viewers. Scroll through the home page to view the most recent content. Each item includes information on the type of material within the link such as articles, video, or news update all correlated to NGSS standards. Also, all content includes learning points for discussion, curriculum keywords, and links to additional information. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English.

tag(s): animals (294), endangered species (27), energy (133), environment (252), glaciers (17), human body (93), insects (68), oceans (149), weather (160)

Learn about climate change through games, articles, and interactives at Climate Kids. Choose from different aspects of climate change including atmpsphere, water (oceans) or plants and animals, or use links at the bottom of the page to choose the type of activity, video, games and more. In addition to student activities, this site features information and ideas for teaching about climate change.

tag(s): air (101), animals (294), carbon (17), climate (84), climate change (99), energy (133), oceans (149), plants (146), weather (160)

This engaging interactive and classroom program demonstrates the impact of recycling just one can. Students make eco-friendly choices within the interactive to explore Cantown and earn Green Points for helping to recycle a can. Resources for educators include standards-aligned lessons and activities to download.

tag(s): conservation (102), earth day (60), recycling (45)

Science4Fun is a place for learning about science through short articles and interesting experiments. Choose a science topic to begin your learning experience. Easy to read information and images provide background on subjects including plants, animals, and more. Scroll down the home page to find experiments for learning about floatation, magnets, and energy. Each experiment includes a complete materials list and instructions.
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tag(s): animals (294), density (17), earth (184), electricity (61), energy (133), forces (37), friction (9), gravity (43), heat (14), magnetism (36), mass (19), motion (47), periodic table (44), planets (113), plants (146), preK (270), temperature (34)

Capture your entire screen, or just a part of it with this easy to use screen recorder that includes audio. Download and install the launcher required for your operating system then follow prompts to set up your recording. Save in several popular video formats or directly upload your recording to YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

tag(s): communication (129), tutorials (52), video (266)

Create beautiful multimedia digital books with Book Creator. Scroll down the landing page to the bottom menu, and click the "Help With Getting Started" title. Note: This points out how you need to change to the "teacher sign in" (the default is for students). This is a wonderful tool with many features. Reading the short Getting Started Overview first and watching the beginning videos would be best. Then, you can go to the Resources tab from the top menu, where each grade level has a video, and you'll find example books created by students. Under Resources, you can also search by subject to find suggested ideas and books designed for a specific subject. Next, click Resources from the top menu to find the "Teach your first lesson toolkit" with lesson plans, remixable student templates for different age ranges, and a teacher guide. You can also choose Remixable Books to get you and your class started. When finished, publish and share your book using the site's web-based reader for access on any device. Once you have mastered the basics, click on Features to see the magic of using the pen and discover all the features of the graphic organizers, comics, and more. By clicking the "more" you will can embed documents on your page(s). These documents can be narrated and interactive! The free plan offers one library with up to 40 books storage. Book Creator presents a variety of levels for technology use depending on teacher requirements for the project or even student ability; it allows for adding narration, videos, text, using your webcam, and adding links to help explain the artwork. When creating your book, click on the big + in the upper right corner to add text, audio, images, your camera, and the pen; you will also see The lowercase "i" (for inspector), which offers colors, comics, paper type, and more. There are other apps, but you must have a premium account. You can use Book Creator on iPads, Macs, Android devices, PCs, and on these browsers: Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Chrome. Teachers need to provide an email to create an account. However, students do not need emails to make their books. Once ready, follow the site's prompts to add video, text, images, audio, and more to your book.
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tag(s): collaboration (93), DAT device agnostic tool (147), digital storytelling (154), ebooks (43), literacy (122), preK (270), reading comprehension (149), writing (325)

Inquiry in Action offers free, inquiry-based science lessons teaching physical science and chemistry concepts. All activities come from a book of the same title, available to download for free on this site. Choose from the most popular activities, lessons reviewing chemistry fundamentals, or browse through all activities. Lessons include complete instructions along with printable activity sheets and assessments. In addition to the lessons, be sure to check out the Chemistry Review portion of the site for a refresher on the principles of chemistry.

tag(s): acids and bases (8), density (17), matter (45), molecules (43), temperature (34), water (102)