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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Hemingway - Ben and Adam Long
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): editing (75), proofreading (20), writing (294)
In the Classroom
Use this highly visual revision program with your students who are ready to refine and improve their writing. This is a wonderful program to use for revision after editing of grammar and mechanics is complete. Discover what is making your writing too wordy (excessive prepositional phrases or adverbs?) Partner an advanced writer with one not so advanced and have them use Hemingway to improve their styles. Put the URL on your website for students and parents to use from home. Remind seniors to use it for their college essays. Use this tool to polish your own professional writing, parent newsletters, blog posts, and papers for grad classes!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Shape Book Patterns - Eduplace - Houghton Mifflin
Grades
K to 3tag(s): creative writing (130), preK (271), printables (36)
In the Classroom
Download a selection of patterns for your classroom writing center. Bookmark this site to find printables for use with any thematic unit. Include students' completed pattern books in your reading center. This site is ideal for any students with special needs in the area of writing or fine motor skills. You could offer lines to those who need them, and no lines to other students. Share this link on your class website for students to use for summer writing fun.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WhenIsGood - Keith Harris
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): calendars (40), parent conferences (22)
In the Classroom
Create a calendar for scheduling parent-teacher conferences to send to parents. Scheduling a special presentation and inviting parents? Use this tool to find out what date and time of day will work best. Use WhenIsGood to set up grade level or department meetings. Share with your school's Parent Teacher Organization as a tool for scheduling meetings, fundraisers, or book fairs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Down For Everyone Or Just Me? - downforeveryoneorjustme.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Add Down For Everyone Or Just For Me to your bookmarks for quick and easy checks when websites won't connect. Share a link on your class website or blog for students to find and easily use this tool at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PicMark - PicMark
Grades
K to 12tag(s): images (264), photography (140), vocabulary development (96)
In the Classroom
Use PicMark to personalize and share pictures from classroom and school events. Have students use PicMark to add text on images for (very) short story summaries or descriptions of plants or animals. Take a picture of math problems and include a short explanation (or hint) on the frame. Use PicMark to create pictures for your "About Me" bulletin boards at the beginning of the school year. Take pictures on your field trip and create PicMarks. If you have a student taking an educational trip, have him or her take photos and label using PicMarks. With non-reading students, take pictures of everyday items and put the word(s) on the picture to help with word recognition and beginning reading skills. Don't forget to use color coding to help. For example, frame all verb pictures in red and all noun pictures in blue. Use this in any world language class to label pictures to learn vocabulary. Add short questions to any image and share on a class web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Delivr - delivr.com
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): qr codes (18)
In the Classroom
Use Delivr to shorten and share any long url. If you have a BYOD or 1:1 classroom with mobile devices, be sure they include free QR reader apps to open the codes you create. Create a QR code that directs to your class site or blog and include it on handouts for Back to School night. Create a QR code scavenger hunt for students, making a webquest or research project more engaging. Add QR codes to documents for students to access a key or information to check their answers to questions. Expand knowledge of a topic by adding a QR code to a site that goes beyond the textbook. Create a data chart accessible via a QR code. Students can easily access the data and manipulate the information. Have students create a book trailer or review and affix a QR code to the outside of the book. (Students may be more apt to read a book that has been reviewed by another student.) Make a display completely interactive with a QR code that describes the assignment, the process, the research, student's reactions and more! Add extra help information to any assignment that asks students to solve problems. Create an online help tutorial accessible via a QR code, and place the code beside a similar problem. Even non-readers can use QR codes that lead to images or videos. Link directly to a Google Map. Place QR code contact information for you and your school on contact cards to give to parents. Attach QR codes to physical objects around the room to provide information about the object. Place the links in a newsletter using QR codes instead of a series of words that need to be typed.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Strong Random Password Generator - Passwordsgenerator.net
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): internet safety (118)
In the Classroom
Have student partners share the advice about passwords. Discuss these and why they are important. Use this tool anytime a password is required for students. Display this link at the beginning of the school year on your class web page for students (and parents) to use, too!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Class Messenger - Learn Anything, Inc.
Grades
K to 12tag(s): chat (40), classroom management (143), DAT device agnostic tool (167), homework (35), polls and surveys (46), Teacher Utilities (100)
In the Classroom
Set up accounts for all of your classes. Send homework, project, and supply reminders. Send changes to plans due to a Snow Day. Remind students of upcoming events, practices, or things they need to bring to class or practice. Don't forget any extracurricular activities. You could also use this to communicate with parents. (Allow them to sign up for these updates at back to school night using a laptop or provide them the necessary information on your class web page.) Remind parents of big tests, report cards, field trips, deadlines, back to school night, sneaker days, conferences, and more. Learning Support teachers can promote organizational skills by having students and their parents sign up to receive reminders about tests and homework. Add your own messages to help parents know how to help their elementary child study. Need supply donations? Send out a request using Class Messenger. Set up a faculty reminder group within your school for emergency closures or department meetings and activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Scrible - Scrible
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): citations (33), Research (49), summarizing (16)
In the Classroom
Your students' online research will be efficient and effective with Scrible. Students can take notes on their bookmarks. They only need to bookmark the part of the website they need for their assignment. Students can collaborate with peers on their research. Post articles and documents online for your students to highlight and annotate. Bookmark this tool on your website or blog for your students to access in or outside of the classroom. Use Scrible to annotate professional development articles or to highlight important information for your students. The best part? It will instantly create your bibliography for you!How many times have we heard students complain during a group project, "But I couldn't get to his or her house to work on it?" Tell them to use Scrible to interact online. The research and conversations created through highlighting and annotating what they read can greatly enhance both their research skills and their online interaction on academic level skills. Or use the site to post and share discussion assignments on specific articles or even parts of articles using the highlighting tool. Find a relevant article to your subject. Highlight the part that you want students to read. (If students are younger, keep it short to reduce the intimidating reality of too much information for kids.) Attach a note with a discussion question for the students. Have them comment on the link in a "class discussion" as an outside assignment. If you are fortunate enough to have all students with computer access in your class and at home, such as in one to one laptop (or BYOD) program schools, you can use this essentially to run your class. Post assignments or post readings. Science teachers can post online interactive labs, and more.
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Text Compactor - Knowledge by Design Inc.
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): creative writing (130), descriptive writing (37), expository writing (33), paragraph writing (13), process writing (39)
In the Classroom
Use this resource when reducing original passages (not plagiarized) to fit a specific number of words or characters. Use this resource when teaching summarization. Paste in a text to summarize and discuss/brainstorm what makes a great summary. Challenge students to look for ways that the tool may have actually missed an important concept through its automated process. Have the class decide whether their own summary or the one offered by this tool is best -- and why. Use this tool as one of many angles on revision during the writing process. Have students paste in their own writing to see what ideas "show" as the most important and to consider revising to emphasize what they really intended to say. If your emails get a bit too wordy, try this tool to shorten them! Shorten your assignment descriptions to make them easier for your ESL/ELL students and lower level readers to understand.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online-Convert - online-convert.com
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Mark this tool in your favorites (or bookmark) for easy access and professional use, no matter what grade you teach. Model ethical use of electronic resources (other people's work) for students. Making a "derivative work" from someone else's pdf handout should include a printed credit within the new document, giving credit for the original source, Ex. "Adapted from a handout by xxx available at www.theoriginalhandout.pdf." Such derivative use should only be done when the original copyright permits it, such as using materials that grant permission for classroom use. Be sure to give proper credit for videos and other files you save locally. Have students practice giving proper credit to their converted files.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CloudConvert - Lunaweb Ltd
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark and save CloudConvert for use throughout the year. Upload PDF files to convert into Word documents, save PowerPoint presentations as a PDF, convert movie or audio files to one single type for use in class projects. Use CloudConvert to change files that won't open to a different format accepted by your computer.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Voice Recorder - 123apps
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): fluency (18), preK (271), speech (79), spelling (113)
In the Classroom
Have students practice spelling words orally, record speeches, practice reading fluency, and much more using Online Voice Recorder. After recording, allow students to listen to the playback and reflect upon the quality of their work. Do before and after recordings of students to share with parents during conferences to demonstrate reading progress. Have students record weekly summaries for what has happened in your class to share on your class website or blog (you will have to upload the files). Record weekly or daily homework assignments and share as a voice recording on your website. Save file space by replacing old files with new ones. Online Voice Recorder would be an excellent resource for recording and sharing more complicated directions for projects and assignments (adding you voice intonation and cues!). Your weaker readers and ESL/ELL students may do better with a combination of written AND auditory directions. Provide the link on your class website for students to use at home for additional practice in spelling, reading, practicing reports, and more. Share this site with parents at Back to School Night. Have students write and record audio book reviews others can play on iPads in the school library. If you have gifted students in your classroom, this tool is simple enough for even the youngest to be able to record audio mini-dramas portraying a historic figure, poetry readings, and more. Be sure to show them how to NAME and download the files to the local computer! Anything they can say out loud can become a creative project recording. Don't forget about recording musical performances or practices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tes Teach - Blendspace - Blendspace
Grades
K to 12tag(s): book reports (30), classroom management (143), creativity (98), professional development (217), social networking (86), Teacher Utilities (100)
In the Classroom
Use this tool to keep all your lessons and digital content in one place! Use it in your traditional classroom or with blended and remote learning. Create Internet scavenger hunts and webquests or challenge collections for students to explore and learn. Insert your directions as text in one of the grid boxes. Add the text on top of other material in the grid box. Create lessons about various type of energy or rocks, systems in the body or types of tissues, categories of foods, environmental issues, books of various themes or genre, seasons, parts of speech, civilizations, etc. Use with faculty and staff to showcase a variety of tools for professional development. View the gallery of items created by other educators on the front page of the site and click the Be Inspired to see more listed by categories. Have student groups create curated collections on a topic or even collect poetry and images on a specific theme.Comments
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Teacher Lists - School Family Media
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (143), preK (271)
In the Classroom
Create a TeacherLists account for your building or teaching team and distribute your supply list or a wish list in an easy to find format for parents to access anytime and anywhere. Share what your class specifically needs to be ready for the start of school or a new marking period. Include the links to your lists on your class web page. Library/media specialists can share a schoolwide list to keep the media center well stocked with supplies. Art teachers can request the craft items and supplies they need. Even grandparents can help out the school when they know what is needed. Share with your school's parent organization for creating their own lists.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cloze Test Creator - l.georges
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): quizzes (82), reading comprehension (123), reading strategies (54)
In the Classroom
Use this site to review parts of speech or sentence functions. Teach ESL/ELL students to succeed in adding troublesome prepositions or articles, especially in their writing, since the missing word is at the top. Use a cloze test to have students review terms and concepts in science, geography, and history. Use this site in world language classes to help understand verb tenses and more!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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StoryToolz - Chuck Heintzelman
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): creative writing (130), readability (5), stories and storytelling (28)
In the Classroom
Enhance and modify student writing by having them use StoryToolz. First, share it with students with a projector in your writing class to generate ideas for stories, possible centers of conflict to map out the new tale, and show them how to use the tool. Use the readability section with any writing to determine appropriateness for use with students. Have students paste their writing in the readability section to determine if their writing is at an appropriate grade level or to note information such as words per sentence or use of various parts of speech. Paste into the cliche buster to point out ho-hum wording and overused expressions. Suddenly, students may begin to write more complex sentences or use more vivid language. Be sure to include a link to this site on your class webpage and classroom computers for use throughout the year. The readability portion of the site is a great resource for ESL/ELL and Special Education teachers to help determine the appropriateness of reading materials.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PDF Mergy - PDF Mergy
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): classroom management (143)
In the Classroom
PDF Mergy is an excellent resource for combining multiple ideas for lessons. Save fraction handouts, continent maps and worksheets, or plant identification activities all together as one file. Remember that copyright still applies to any copyrighted pdfs you combine! Save student reports in PDF and combine to put the entire class' work in one single document. Save project receipts in one easy to find file, the possibilities are endless! Want to make a cool flippable book from your combined pdf of student writings? Try Flipsnack, reviewed here to turn the pdf into a Flash-based, flippable online book.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Compress Now - compressnow.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): images (264)
In the Classroom
Bookmark Compress Now (or save it in your favorites). Use this site throughout the year when working with images. Compress images for use on web pages to make pages loading more quickly. Use when emailing images to make sure they will get through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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moourl - flexcode
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Have a website (long url) that you want to share with your class (or parents)? Use this tool to shorten up the url before posting on your blog, wiki, website, or newsletter. Save this tool in your favorites to access when needed. Create a custom short url for your students to enter ore remember easily, such as to your class web page! Share this site with your older students to use on their own.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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