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Nourishing Gifted Through Technology in Any Classroom - TeachersFirst/Melissa Henning and Candace Hackett Shively
Grades
K to 12tag(s): differentiation (100), gifted (63)
In the Classroom
Mark these pages in your Favorites as a reference whenever you have gifted students. These students may or may not be officially identified, but sometimes trying these strategies will save you and the student a lot of frustration. When it comes time to offer choices, share the handpicked tool collections in this article with your gifted students so they have a solid place to start. For more ideas about gifted, try the gifted tag in reviews, use a keyword search including the term "gifted," or browse for the subject "Gifted" in the TeachersFirst Subject/Grade pages.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Classroom Authors - Classroom Authors
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): creative writing (124), descriptive writing (42), ebooks (49), process writing (35), writing (308)
In the Classroom
Research proves publishing improves writing skills. Use Classroom Authors for class newsletters, an anthology of student written stories, and creating "choose your own adventure" type stories. Use this tool for research or opinion pieces in world language classes, science, math, or social studies. Some teachers have their students write novels for National Novel Writing Month, and at Classroom Authors they will be able to publish them.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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Great Lakes Echo - MSU Department of Telecommunications, Info Studies, and Media
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (279), fish (16), insects (63), plants (142), pollution (55), water (104), watersheds (9), weather (174)
In the Classroom
Use this resource in a science or environmental science classroom to identify and learn about various problems affecting the Great Lakes. Many of the concerns are representative of watersheds and freshwater bodies in other locations, as well. These articles are also valuable to examine current events in a social studies or civics classroom, identifying the impact of current environmental challenges on society and of society on the environment. Use these articles to provide experience with reading informational texts. Annotate an article using one of many annotation tools such as Annotate reviewed here, as part of "close reading." Compare the environmental issues of the Great Lakes with those of other water areas. Add this link to a bank of resources for students to use in research of issues affecting waterways.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Top Documentary Films - topdocumentaryfilms.com
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): advanced placement (24), animals (279), artists (101), biographies (96), drugs and alcohol (29), environment (249), evolution (85), hiv/aids (16), humor (18), media literacy (130), mental health (60), money (112), politics (123), psychology (60), religions (119), sports (87), vietnam (41)
In the Classroom
Use this site to find videos in a wide range of topics to share on your interactive whiteboard, on a projector, or as a link on your class web page. Use videos to demonstrate different points of view. Then use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. to compare and contrast information. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from any film using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Want to engage students WHILE they watch a video? Why not set up a virtual bulletin board using Mentimeter, reviewed here. Be sure to ask your class if there could have been any bias in the video you watch together. What film techniques influence our thinking?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TinEye Labs - Idee, Inc.
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): colors (64), creative commons (28), design (76), graphic design (51), images (269), media literacy (130), psychology (60)
In the Classroom
Use this tool when you seek specific color(s) to coordinate with a presentation or other class project. Use it to talk about the emotional impact of different colors, such as during a psychology unit on perception, a media literacy lesson on advertising color, or a discussion of color schemes in art class. Be sure to discuss the ethical use of images with proper credit, including Creative Common images. Start by having students carefully NAME files as they download and save them (include the photographer's name and a title). Remind them that they still need to give credit even if it is Creative Commons. This is a great site for looking at contrast, analogous and complementary color schemes, and other artistic expressions. Use TinEye Labs to uncover various elements of graphic design found in images. Art teachers will love the many options for demonstrating different color palettes on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Use the photo examples from Tineye Labs together with a tool such as Color Hunter, reviewed here, or Colour Lovers, reviewed here, to play hands-on with digital color. Share this with your gifted students who are especially interested in art or design.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Foodista - Foodista
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Capture every student's heart (or stomach) with Foodista! Introduce on your interactive whiteboard or projector for learning how to write, read, and follow directions. This site is sure to make some stomachs grumble and some mouths water! In math class, explore or multiply fractions used in recipes. In science, Family and Consumer Science (FACS), or health class, explore the nutrition side of Foodista. Help students gain a better understanding of diabetes or food allergies. Use to create food for special celebrations of literature or in social studies as you study cultures around the world. Allow students to choose food for special class celebrations. In your FACS class, use the blog area as a weekly update for new recipes, home care, and nutrition ideas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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School Report Writer - School Report Writer
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): assessment (143)
In the Classroom
Avoid writers' block and embarrassing misspellings or errors by perusing through ready-made comments. Why reinvent the wheel when so many great comments are already available! If you choose to create your own comments, be sure to share them. Add your own topics, assignments, and lists to save to your free account. Save your best comments from each narrative to share with others or for years to come. Save time and sanity on report cards using this fabulous resource. You might even ask your students to suggest some positive comments they would like to see on their own report cards. If they know you have them ready to use, they may strive to achieve them!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hashify - David Chambers
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): blogs (81), communication (123), creativity (87), social networking (56)
In the Classroom
Use this minimalist tool for a student scribe to keep track of key terms during a class discussion. Share the url with classmates for them to add their thoughts, as well. When brainstorming with a class, use this simple tool for students to add ideas or make lists. It is so simple it does not take up space with lots of fancy toolbars and gadgets. It also does not offer spell checker, so it could be a useful way to have students write without all the "crutches" of grammar and spell checkers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Remind - Remind 101
Grades
K to 12tag(s): chat (41), communication (123), DAT device agnostic tool (132), microblogging (14), Teacher Utilities (219)
In the Classroom
Set up accounts for all your classes, and even your extracurricular activities, to send homework, project, and supply reminders. Remind students of upcoming events, practices, or things they need to bring to class or practice. You could also use this to communicate with parents (allow them to sign up for text message updates at back-to-school night). Share this site in the first week of school to save time throughout the entire year. Remind parents of big tests, report cards, field trips, deadlines, back-to-school night, sneaker days, conferences, and more. Set up a faculty reminder group within your school for emergency closures and more.Comments
Love this site! I'm using it to send reminders to students about overdue library books and/or fines!Terri, VA, Grades: 9 - 12
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TeachersFirst's Editors' Choice Tools for Pretests - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): differentiation (100), gifted (63)
In the Classroom
You may not always be able to pretest at the start of a new unit, and sometimes an informal assessment will tell you that a student is ready to move beyond the regular curriculum content right away. You may want to wait a day or two before offering a retest, since many truly gifted students will absorb or even seem to "intuit" the full unit of content very quickly after a short exposure. The great thing about using online pretests is that once you create them, you have them for the next year. Consider teaming up with other teachers in your subject/grade to build a library of pretests that you can share.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NCES Kids' Zone - NCES
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): charts and graphs (181), probability (129)
In the Classroom
Strike an interest in your school and community by finding out where you rank. Investigate college choices. After short quizzes, have a daily comparison of your students to see how they compare in civics, economics, geography, history, mathematics, and science at multiple grade levels. Inspire students to collect data and make their own graphs about school wide topics. Have students create an online graph using ChartGizmo, reviewed here. Dig into probability problems to discover the odds.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Random Acts of Kindness - Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
Grades
K to 12tag(s): charactered (86), classroom management (140), emotions (71), empathy (68), service projects (17)
In the Classroom
Become a "RAKTIVIST" and start a kindness raid on unsuspecting communities, classes, or schools! Give children power and voice through their actions. Partner this with character education programs to make a difference in all the lives you touch. For example, you may want to use the Ripples of Kindness activity included in the Empathy videos at the Big Ideas Video Series, reviewed here. During social studies, find ways kindness has changed the world. Look for times in which kindness was thwarted, such as during civil wars, dictatorships, or wars. Start a research project on world leaders who have changed the world through nonviolence, education, or generosity. Explain the power of nonprofit organizations and all the lives affected. Look into your own community and school to find needs that are waiting for active, caring participants. Create school or classroom rules to promote the power of kindness. Show your students how to embed media transforming their work and enhance their learning by challenging students to create "kindness" commercials and share their knowledge with their peers in a multimedia presentation using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Alternatively, students could create a video using FlexClip, reviewed here. Share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here. Emotional Support or Autistic Support teachers may find some of the ideas here helpful for talking about how others feel and ways to show kindness in a very deliberate way.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Introduction to Africa - InterKnowledge Corp
Grades
4 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): africa (162)
In the Classroom
The text portions are challenging, so you may want to pair weaker readers with a partner as they research on this site. This is a great find for gifted students. Challenge them to explore unusual topics or do more in-depth investigation related to a "standard" curriculum topic! Save this site as a favorite on classroom computers, and have students look at individually. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Visme, reviewed here. Instruct students examine the different sections of the site, and then create a "travel brochure" using Sway, reviewed here, for a portion of Africa. Since events and governments change rapidly in Africa, challenge your gifted or more able students to find more recent stories about an African country on Google News and compare recent events to the information on this site. Is the Internet always accurate? Ask students to use a mapping tool such as MapHub, reviewed here, to create a map of local landforms (with text, videos, and pictures included)!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Dictation - Amit Agarwal
Grades
K to 12Since this tool has to connect back to its own servers to "translate" your spoken words to text, it may not have the sensitivity you expect. It is a good idea to test it first yourself before assigning students to use it. You might want to demonstrate how clearly you must speak to make it work.
tag(s): communication (123), differentiation (100), note taking (35), speech (66), writing (308)
In the Classroom
Use Online Dictation to dictate homework assignments to post on your class webpage. Demonstrate proper note taking using Online Dictation. Leave this site up in your browser, and add notes throughout your lesson. Save notes to your computer to print and use for future reference. Share this site with students who have difficulty putting thoughts onto paper or students with delayed handwriting skills or processing delays. Let students dictate stories, poems, questions, etc. to print and use. Share Online Dictation with your school's ESL/ELL teacher as a resource for use with their students. Speech and language teachers can try this tool to encourage students to improve articulation. If they speak clearly, their words will "magically" appear in writing!Comments
The concept is great but the execution is disappointing. The text response is slow and often captured only an occasional word or phrase. Most of what was returned in text was gibberish. This program is not suitable for student use.Dwight, , Grades: 3 - 7
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Whereby - appear.in
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blended learning (28), chat (41), communication (123), DAT device agnostic tool (132), remote learning (32)
In the Classroom
Whereby is a perfect tool to use for your blended learning or remote learning classroom. Use it for any subject for small group interactions, such as small group projects, literature circles, writing consultations, and more. Connect up to four whole classrooms across the country for book clubs. Connect experts, such as authors and scientists, with classrooms of children. Create connected learning experiences with other students, especially those in older grades. Connect world language classes to classes in different countries. Students interested in graphic design can connect with an expert or artist from afar and share their current work in a virtual critique. Connect students with mentors or older students for help with homework. Teachers can hold "office hours" to provide homework help and address student questions. Whole buildings can collaborate and share professional development with others in their own district and beyond! Of course, you will want to pretest whether this service works in your school since some filters block access to such "interaction."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Achieve the Core - Student Achievement Partners
Grades
K to 12tag(s): commoncore (62)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site for professional development. Find the self evaluation tools to use before your evaluation by administrators. Start a Common Core study group, and explore and share together. Ready made parent materials make parent involvement easy. Learn ways to become involved with the Common Core movement. And of course, don't miss the fabulous "ready to go" lessons!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Brainly - Michal Borkowski
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (322), DAT device agnostic tool (132), homework (27), social networking (56)
In the Classroom
Share Brainly as an online homework help resource with your students. If you aren't comfortable with students receiving too much homework help, ask students to let you know when this resource has been used and have them provide feedback on what they learned. This is also an excellent opportunity to discuss the reliability of your information source and recheck to ensure the answer is correct. If they see the responses as "hints" more than trustworthy answers, they will learn well. Often, students learn best from each other. Encourage your students to provide answers for other students through Brainly. Offer bonus points for debunking any Incorrect answers they find at Brainly and submitting them to you! List this resource on your class website or wiki. You may need to explain to parents that this resource is permitted, provided that students understand that any answers they receive should be verified.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Places We Live - Jonas Bendikson
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (162), cross cultural understanding (177), india (33)
In the Classroom
Be sure to include The Places We Live with any unit on poverty around the world or in a general world cultures class. Share this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class for further exploration. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Have students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare life in your area to the life of teens shown here. Share the images, with no sound, as writing prompts for students to imagine themselves in the slums. What would their lives be like? What would be the same or different? What could they do to help their family to get out of those living conditions? Is there anything anyone can do to help?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Giza 3D - Dassault Systemes
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): architecture (83), egypt (60), pyramids (24)
In the Classroom
View this site in the classroom using a projector or interactive whiteboard. View the reconstruction of these artifacts from information collected during its discovery. Use the 3D tour to view the Necropolis, join a guided tour of the monuments, and look at the collected objects reconstructed from the site. Bring the history of Egypt to life. This is a powerful tool to show the role of Archaeology in reconstructing history. Compare this site to the work of archaeologists at Jamestown or other historic locations to talk about different techniques of science used to reveal history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Visme - Hindsight Ineractive
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animation (62), artificial intelligence (322), charts and graphs (181), images (269), infographics (71), multimedia (63), presentations (34)
In the Classroom
Use Visme to create educational slideshows and Infographics to introduce and interest students in a topic of study. Use to generate questions before the discussion of topics. Create a multi-image slideshow where students brainstorm how the images are all connected. Have students create projects for the class using this easy-to-use tool. Include this tool on your blog, wiki, or public page for easy student access. Depending on school policies, you may consider allowing your older students to create an account. Read tips for safely managing email registrations here. Create a project site for students to upload images and videos found when studying any subject. Find images with various shapes when discussing geometry or shapes in nature. Find pictures of plants or animals for a science unit, etc. World language students can create digital photo stories to narrate using new vocabulary: present teacher professional development or an end-of-year display for the school media center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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