Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create, curate, and share web content with Wakelet. Save online links, including articles, videos, tweets, and more then organize them into collections called wakes. Share collections with a personalized link or use the embed code to embed anywhere online. Use the keyword search to explore and view wakes created by other Wakelet members. Save information from other wakes to your account for use in your own wakes. To make your wakes more distinctive, add a cover image, background, and choose the layout you prefer. Wakelet works smoothly with many apps such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and Flip, just to name a few. Note: Wakelet now has a Pro version. This review is for the free version which includes everything mentioned above and Unlimited items & collections, Unlimited share to view, 3 collaborative collections, Publish 4 collections, and Explore other collections

tag(s): bookmarks (47), collaboration (86), communication (136), curation (35), DAT device agnostic tool (143), multimedia (43), news (229), personalized learning (9), playlists (10), social media (53), social networking (68)

The Microsoft Educator Community has transformed into Microsoft Learn with all new, in-demand educator training and professional development. Find Product guides for Teams for education, Immersive Reader, Reading Progress, Flip, Minecraft: Education Edition, and more. Be sure to browse the Educator programs and access the Highlighted instructor materials. Of course, there is a blog, a help center, a training and events calendar, and just about anything else you may need. You can find all of this by scrolling down the page or using the dropdown menus at the top. Microsoft Learn also has Learn TV accessed from the top menu. Learn TV has a variety of shows, such as Mixed Reality Dev Days, where you can learn to create mixed reality and metaverse experiences; other titles include Hello World, Ask the Expert, Code Stories, The Internet of Things Show, and several others. Microsoft has partnered with Flip, reviewed here, to provide virtual field trips and live events, find them in the Discovery area of Flip. A list of additional training sessions and virtual events provided by Microsoft are located here. Follow directions to link your Educator Community account with the new Microsoft Learn program, so you don't lose your achievements and transcripts, or you can create a new account.

tag(s): collaboration (86), Microsoft (84), PLN (6), preK (253), professional development (392), social networking (68), STEM (260), virtual field trips (80)

The Guide to Pinterest for Educators is an excellent resource for teachers and administrators with tips and information for managing Pinterest as a powerful learning tool. Divided into eight sections this handbook discusses the basics of pinning, organization, collaboration, and more. Each section is short and simple to read, making this an outstanding guide for using Pinterest as part of your professional planning and teaching tools.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), professional development (392), social media (53)

TPS Teachers Network is a social networking site for social studies and history teachers. The Library of Congress funded this as part of their Teaching With Primary Sources Program. Create an account to begin using features on the site (email and password required). Once enrolled, options include participating in a chat, adding friends, and searching using keywords. Use the search from the top right menu after logging in on the main page to find specific information topics such as primary source sets or political cartoons. Create albums on the site, including primary and secondary sources, and videos to easily share with students or fellow teachers. Be sure to check out the Help section by clicking the question mark at on the top menu bar when you first get started for Quick Tips to all sections of the site.

tag(s): bookmarks (47), primary sources (115), professional development (392), social networking (68), Teacher Utilities (146)

Create a real-time chat room based on an X (formerly Twitter) hashtag. Invite users to TwChat to participate in an online presentation without additional programs. Assign others to assist you with moderation. View a list of the Latest Chats and Upcoming Chats. Click "Create own room" to begin. Sign in with X (formerly Twitter) to participate, and then create your first room. Enter the time and schedule for the chat. X (formerly Tweets) appear in the room from all participants. Your X (formerly tweets) appear in the mentor column. Use this tool to follow new X (formerly Twitter) users or block participants.

tag(s): chat (42), communication (136), microblogging (18), PLN (6), social networking (68), twitter (19)

Learning Front is a free online community of tools for social, professional learning. Tools for professional development aim to improve teaching and learning in the 21st century online platform. Connect and collaborate with individuals or teams. Programs offers the AD682 Technology for Leaders of Learning with Webinars and Coaching Sessions on many professional development tasks for teachers, new or experienced, or pre-service teachers. Wiki Task features units, lessons, and data displays for professional learning. Find lessons to support your subject area. The Networking link allows you to find other colleagues in your area of expertise. They can join your efforts and work with you. Download many free resources.

tag(s): professional development (392), social networking (68)

This interactive social bookmarking and collaboration tool does so much more than any ordinary bookmarking tool. It is a research curation tool, knowledge-sharing community, website annotation tool, and social information network all rolled into one "cloud" package. To get started, check out the About link. You will find information and videos on the uses of Diigo. Set up an account, being sure to click the FREE education edition upgrade. 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. At this time Diigo is experiencing issues with the "Top 10 Tags" from the menu on the left.

This tool can be used as a basic bookmarking tool, simply allowing YOU to save, sort, and access your own bookmarks from ANY computer or mobile device (once you are logged in). You have the choice whether your bookmarks are public or private. You can gradually ease into more advanced and interactive features: highlight parts of sites and save or share those annotations, add sticky notes to parts of websites, pictures, screen-shots, documents, audio, and more. Do group collaborative research. Organize your bookmarks by tags. Unlike sorting bookmarks into file folders, adding tags permits you to put multiple tags or "labels" on one site. The same site you tag for book reports could also be tagged for biographies, for example. Additional Diigo features include groups (a way to share and exchange bookmarks with a certain group of Diigo users), messaging, and search features. You can search all the public bookmarks made by others and discover other people with similar interests, already bookmarked and ready for you to mark as your own. There are many groups you can join, such as those with a specific teaching interest or hobby. See "Tools" for many helpful options, including bookmarklets to make bookmarking instant on multiple devices. Bookmarklets drag directly to the toolbars on your computer and are well worth it. It goes beyond simple bookmarking and adds options like highlight, capture, send, read later, comment, search bar and Diigo message options. You decide your own level of use and desired tools to be shown on the bar. If choosing not to install the toolbar, then there is an applet called Diigolet that will be used in its place. It is not as strong a tool as the toolbar, but will work well if the toolbar installation is not possible. Check our sample group. You can also install a widget on your blog (or class web page) that will show your bookmarks there.
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tag(s): bookmarks (47), collaboration (86), curation (35), DAT device agnostic tool (143), forum (2), organizational skills (90), social networking (68)