Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create a personalized dashboard that pulls together feeds and tools into one place -- for any topic. Optional registration allows access to updated information at anytime. This tool has power as s simple resource collector "on the fly" or as a customizable way to monitor many tools from one place. Creation of multiple dashboards requires an email address and password or Facebook sign-in. Use it the simple way by typing in any topic into the search bar; wait a few seconds while information is compiled then explore the results. Results are posted in widgets that can be moved around to personalize the dashboard as needed. A wizard will walk you through it if you wish. Tabs are also included that separate news items, videos, conversations, and more. View pages in reader format or with widgets by choosing from options at the top of the page. You can copy the url of a basic topic dashboard to access over and over. Signing in on a free account allows you to customize and save your dashboards and harness the real power to pull everything into one place.

tag(s): Research (87)

ShowMe is an open learning community where you can learn or teach any subject. Explore topics such as math, science, world languages, social studies, art, and more. Explore the links on the home page; results are divided into subtopics. Click Learn - teachers may be especially interested in the Common Core Lessons available through a link at the bottom of the page. On that page is where you'll find a search bar, too. Creating a ShowMe of your own requires logging in or a download of the app from the iTunes store (and an iPad). The download is free. If you are worried about students seeing questionable material, you may want to provide the link directly to the video you wish students to view. At the time of this review, all material appeared appropriate.

tag(s): blended learning (37), OER (43), test prep (69), tutorials (52), video (266)

ThinkExist is a Quotation Search Engine and Directory with over 300,000 quotations by over 20,000 authors in the English language. Find quotes by author, topic, keywords, or contributors. Narrow your search by subtopics such as nationality or theme such as love or wisdom. Membership to the site isn't required to find and share quotes; however, registration with email allows you to save favorite quotes, receive a quote of the day email, and become a contributor. This site does include significant advertisements that seem to adjust depending on what you search. Preview and monitor young people suing the site. Depending on what search terms they enter, the ads may not be "student appropriate."
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tag(s): famous people (19), quotations (19), search engines (48), writing prompts (61)

Blog your way into the latest social technology using edublogs. Use the free service to set up a blog as a student, teacher, or campus. This education friendly tool avoids some of the "public interaction" that can offer inappropriate content. Upgrade to more advanced features, to include more options. The additional information on blogging makes this site very valuable even if you already have a blogging platform. Find a plethora of advice, tutorials, PDFs, and lesson plans for blogging. This site is a great reference site for all who are beginning to use blogs, or even look for more varied and effective ways to blog with students, or even other classes. Compare this tool to other free blogging tools mentioned in TeachersFirst's Blog Basics for the Classroom . This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.
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tag(s): blogs (65), communication (129), writing (324)

Quiz Factor offers quizzes that are not about your typical "education" topics. There are both popular and specialist subjects. Some topic examples are: Animals and Nature, Cinema and Actors, Fashion and Design, History and Politics, Religion and Traditions, Science, Sports and Games, Technology and Manufacturing, and many more. At Quiz Factor you can climb the Leaderboards and win prizes. There are three types of quizzes: The Ladder, Time Trials, and True/False. You can also make your own quizzes. (At the time of this review, this feature was "coming soon.") This site is from the UK, and some questions in the General Knowledge section test facts you would know if you've been to the UK.

tag(s): animals (294), cultures (180), design (79), fashion (12), quiz (67), quizzes (90), radio (20), religions (95), sports (82), substitutes (25)

A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking yes/no question that stops you in your tracks to look at the world in a whole new light. Over a thousand Thunks are included on the site with simple yes or no responses. View results easily, read comments, or submit your own comment by including your name, email (will not be displayed), and comment. Thunks can be chosen by categories such as good and bad, human condition, or friendship. At the time of this review, we found no evidence of inappropriate public comments (and we looked hard!) , but you might want to preview before turning young people loose on the site.
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tag(s): logic (161), problem solving (233), questioning (36)

TED is the home of the award-winning TEDTalks video site, a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. In the beginning, the TEDTalks mission was to bring together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. However, its scope has broadened to challenge the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives (in approximately 18 minutes or less). Find TEDTalks under the Watch tab on the top menu. At the time of this review, TED.com has more than 1,100 of the best talks and performances by speakers with powerful ideas from around the world. The talks are free and the collection continues to grow. The goal of the foundation is to foster the spread of great ideas, thus it aims to provide a platform for the world's smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries, and most-inspiring teachers, so that millions of people can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and a desire to help create a better future. Easily search the site by topics, disciplines, newest releases, or most favorite. TEDTalks offers subtitles in various languages which enhances the accessibility for the hearing-impaired, and for those who speak English as a second language.

tag(s): cultures (180), politics (118)

Use this visual bookmarking program to help you keep your online favorites/bookmarks organized. Choose to make shortcuts (tiles with the logo of the site you are bookmarking) for places you visit repeatedly. The tiles make it visual and so easy to use! Can't find the logo? Submit a site by clicking on a button at the bottom of the home page. Access and add to your Skloog bookmarks from anywhere using any computer, your mobile phone, or email. Make Skloog one of the tools on your browser's tool bar in order to add to your favorites quickly and easily. Add or change the preset category tabs that show at the top. Search your favorites by tags, URL, or website name. An added feature is the Skloog tab in the upper right corner of the menu on your short cut page. Click to find some of Skloog's favorite sites.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), curation (32), resources (83)

Want to make flashcards using tools you already know? Follow these step-by-step directions for making flashcards from a Google Spreadsheet. Directions also include screenshots, making the process much easier. You need a Google Doc account and some familiarity with using spreadsheets. This site does include comments. At the time of this review, all comments were appropriate for classroom use.
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tag(s): flash cards (44)

Stunning pictures, audio of each word, and short definitions all make this online vocabulary flashcard site visually stimulating and interesting. As a bonus, you can print all cards. Choose from basic, easy, medium, or hard levels of vocabulary to find and listen to words. Definitions can also be turned off for practice with word recall or guessing what the image represents. When ready to print the cards, choose the print button; then select words for the flashcards (or all). There is a paid portion of the site for other flashcards, but the free printable section contains more than enough words to make this site worth a visit.

tag(s): dictionaries (47), flash cards (44), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (93)

Find practice and skill interactives for many grade levels at PowerMyLearning. This site collects learning games, videos, and other activities from around the web and presents them via simple search so you can learn and practice concepts across many curriculum areas. The actual interactives and videos are created by other organizations and displayed within PowerMyLearning's colorful frame and subject/grade level organizational structure. Brief descriptions and keywording accompany activity listings. To view an activity on full screen and in a new tab/window (with its own url), click the "expand window" arrow in the top right corner. The site is designed for cooperative use by teachers, parents, and students and has been used successfully in schoolwide efforts to raise student achievement in targeted cities. To actually view any of the activities, you must join the free site. There are varied management options for students, teachers, and parents.
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tag(s): operations (72)

Picturing Words is an online exhibit featuring 40 illustrated, rare books from history, science, and art. The illustrated books go back to the 1400's with illuminated manuscripts from The Canon of Medicine (980-1037) up to 1996 and The Graphic Alphabet. The categories include: Inspires, Informs, or Influences. Also included is a section on the process of illustration, detailed images, and examples organized by theme. Suddenly, you will notice illustrations!

tag(s): artists (84), medieval (32), primary sources (117), renaissance (38)

Take a look at this online graphic organizer creator/drawing tool that requires NO membership. Although a bit "plain vanilla" in appearance, this is a wonderful tool! Research shows that graphic organizers promote strong thinking skills and comprehension for all ages. Draw.io is a simple, free online tool for creating mind maps -- or diagrams for any purpose -- using shapes and arrows. Just drop and drag the shapes (or nodes) you want to the panel, connect the nodes by dragging the arrow, and double-click in the shape to add text. Use the simple toolbar at the top to insert images, change, bold, color and enlarge text, etc. Printing and exporting is also an option. If you click on the "Help" tab at the top, you will see "Video Tutorial" which uses flash. Draw.io uses JavaScript, not Flash, so it works on iOS devices.

tag(s): brainstorming (18), concept mapping (15), graphic organizers (48), mind map (27), venn diagrams (15), visual thinking (8)

Here you will find a "kid-appropriate" search tool featuring countless general topics: Facts & Reference, Computers/The Internet, The Arts, Strange & Mysterious, Hot Topics, The World, Science & Math, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Nature, and several others. Within each of the main topics are subtopics. For example, in the Classroom section you will find English, Foreign Langauges, Math, History, Reference Tools, Shapes, Woodwork, Colors, Art, Religion, Philosophy, Social Studies, and Homework Help. There is a ton here to explore! The information includes articles and images/photos.

tag(s): alphabet (53), animals (294), animation (64), clip art (11), colors (63), comics and cartoons (55), cooking (32), crafts (64), creative writing (124), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), dance (31), dinosaurs (43), disabilities (32), diseases (66), drawing (61), fitness (39), flags (18), folktales (34), geometric shapes (134), grammar (137), homework (29), insects (68), journalism (74), measurement (122), museums (52), mysteries (23), numbers (120), nutrition (140), oceans (149), operations (72), origami (14), painting (54), photography (130), poetry (193), psychology (65), rainforests (18), religions (95), search engines (48), seasons (37), sign language (10), social networking (61), spelling (97), sports (82), trivia (19), vocabulary (238), weather (160)

Create drawings and simple gif animations. Four canvas sizes are available for drawing and two sizes are included for creating gif animations. Select a drawing tool to draw free hand or select pre-defined shapes to use in your images. Click the save button to download your drawing or animation to your computer.

tag(s): drawing (61), graphic design (49)

Explore this site to find collected and organized oral lessons about every ESL/ELL language skill from sites all over the Internet. Since all are oral-based, the studies incorporate two kinds of lessons: the skill type (grammar, reading, vocabulary, dictation, holidays, etc.) and an oral presentation on YouTube or another oral presenter. Find any type of lesson you need since the links are well organized and subdivided into even more categories: Holidays, Reading, Vocabulary, Life Skills, Grammar, Conversation, and others. Even the writing section includes audio; see Writing Practice with a Robot! A demonstration video shows how to make the most of this site. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
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tag(s): grammar (137), listening (93), pronunciation (34), vocabulary (238)

Spice up creative writing activities with this random word generator. Choose from a list of either verbs, nouns, adjectives, or adverbs to find creative, thought-provoking combinations or alternatives as prompts for writing. Lists include 20 words in each column and can be changed by choosing the Generate More! button. Click on the word to view the definition.

tag(s): creative writing (124), creativity (86), vocabulary development (93)

Trello organizes your projects into boards. It tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process. Updates are shown in real time, so refreshing the site isn't necessary. The two main items used on boards are cards and lists. Cards are tasks; create a card for each task and drag it to the list. Attachments such as videos, due dates, user notes, and more can be attached to cards. Then pull each card into a list and place in any order necessary to complete the tasks. You can be identified with an @symbol and receive instant notifications.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147), graphic organizers (48), organizational skills (88)

After a 60 day free trial, Thinglink is no longer free. Try using a similar program like Genially, reviewed here, Image Annotator, reviewed here, or even Google Drawings, reviewed here. If you need help using any of these replacement tools, you could watch an archived OK2Ask session: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here, OK2Ask Genially, here, or 3 Cool Tools for Images (Image Annotator is 1 hour and 5 minutes into the presentation), here. ThingLink is an interactive image tool offering a unique way to link "things," within images. Teachers and students should register using the EDU area. Although the example on the home page uses Facebook to share a ThingLink, you do not have to use Facebook at all. Start with an image from upload, online URL, or Flickr. Select specific items within your image (called "things") and link them to resources or other websites. By clicking an area within the image, viewers can access the "thing" (website) that you have linked. Add multiple links to separate items from areas within a single image. Choose or upload an image and click on the ThingLink icon on your image to begin editing. Click on specific spots to add information to the link. If you plan to create many ThingLinks from your own images, it may be easier to use a class or personal Flickr account to pull images from instead of using the maximum number of images to upload. Preload your images to that Flickr account before starting your ThingLinks. ThingLink 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 and links to help explain different parts of the image. Free Android and iOS apps are available. Teacher tools include making student groups and more.

tag(s): bookmarks (43), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), gamification (83), images (263)

CK-12 offers a large variety of lessons and resources in STEM topics mostly geared for sixth grade and higher. Choose to access the site as a student or teacher to begin. Search by specific content or to find standards-aligned flexbook textbooks. Download flexbooks in several formats such as PDF or mobi and epub format for use on Kindle and e-readers. Create an account and add flexbooks to your list. Add your own files and resources. Specific topic searches provide links to information from flexbooks as well as available study aids, activities, and assessments.

tag(s): atoms (43), cells (82), charts and graphs (171), decades (7), energy (133), equations (119), fractions (160), genetics (80), inequalities (25), landforms (39), measurement (122), oceans (149), organisms (15), periodic table (44), probability (99), pythagorean theorem (19), rocks (35), scientific method (48), seasons (37), solar energy (34), solar system (110), statistics (121), STEM (297), test prep (69), variables (14)