Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Curipod creates interactive lessons using AI (artificial intelligence) technology. Tasks include features for making word clouds, adding polls, questions, and more. Visit the Discover link to browse through ready-to-use templates or create an account, then copy and edit a lesson using a template or build one in just a few seconds using your prompt and instructions. When creating a new lesson, start with a blank slide or use templates that include a brain break, exit ticket, multiple choice, or complete lesson. The brain break generators include several stress-free tasks, such as Would You Rather questions, and fun writing and drawing prompts. To create new tasks, add a topic and include standards if desired. Another option allows you to import PowerPoint presentations and PDFs when creating new activities. When ready, share lessons with students using the provided QR code or the join code for students to access at curi.live. View statistics in your dashboard, including the number of times played and player results. Free accounts currently include unlimited players, five private Curipods, a shared workspace, and all core features.

tag(s): artificial intelligence (177), assessment (147), blended learning (37), differentiation (84), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54), slides (43), social and emotional learning (102), Teacher Utilities (198), teaching strategies (50)

Engage and enhance students' civic and social-emotional learning (SEL) using simulations by iThrive Sim. The simulations are for high school students in social studies, history, and humanities classes. The digital simulations are designed to support student-driven learning, and the storyline is determined by the actions students take together. The page includes links to three learning scenarios where teachers can preview the game. Registration with a school email address is required to play. The resources on this site are designed for high school students.

tag(s): collaboration (93), flipped learning (9), game based learning (205), Online Learning (36), simulations (19), social and emotional learning (102)

Wix Education provides a series of courses for educators and students that teach web creation design and techniques. No prior knowledge is required. The introductory course provides the basics of using the Wix Editor. The follow-up courses guide members through the process of learning web creation, design, and development. Sign up for an educator account to access and assign each class. You must be a United States resident and teach in the United States or Canada, and students must be thirteen or older. This program aligns with ISTE Standards.

tag(s): business (52), computers (109), design (79), Online Learning (36), STEM (297), tutorials (52)

Use audio and text (and save valuable time) to provide teacher and peer feedback on any assignment with Floop's easy-to-use web tools. Students upload images, PDFs, or Google Docs from any device to your educator account. After creating a class, follow the directions to add an assignment and adjust settings. Options include uploading documents for student use, setting a due date and time, and adjusting permission settings for student feedback. Enroll students in your class by providing a join code or upload a CSV file to enroll students automatically. Provide feedback by clicking on any area of the student document to create a hotspot. Students find and click the hotspot to read and respond to feedback. If you teach students under 13 years old, follow the directions to provide school or district consent to sign up students. Free accounts offer unlimited classes with unlimited active assignments. The audio feedback is not on the free plan.

tag(s): assessment (147), editing (93), Formative Assessment (74), homework (29), Online Learning (36), proofreading (21), rubrics (37), Teacher Utilities (198), writing (325)

Collaborate, share, teach, and interact with students using Whiteboard.chat. Use the teaching mode to create, assign, and teach live lessons. The teaching mode also includes uploading a multipage PDF document and assigning multiple pages as workbooks to individual students. Use the collaborative method to work within a collaborative workspace with other users. After entering the teaching mode, use the toolbar to access drawing tools, upload images and documents, and manage the look and content of your board. Once students enter a whiteboard session using a shared code or link through Canvas or Google Classroom, they can download any shared workbook pages. Student tools include an area to raise their hand to receive help, request a break, indicate work is finished, or request to speed up or slow down the lesson. Observe students using the grid view that provides a thumbnail view of individual student whiteboards. Additional features include a timer, a list of participants, options to create breakout rooms, and settings to lock students from updating boards prematurely. Registration isn't required; however, it allows you to manage and save boards for later use.

tag(s): collaboration (93), differentiation (84), iwb (31)

Mural for Education offers flexible tools for virtual collaboration and communication. Think of it as a virtual whiteboard workspace that includes sticky notes, shapes, and connectors to create diagrams and mind maps, drawing tools, images, and more. Use Mural to create breakout rooms for group work or prepare and share study guides and classroom calendars. Apply for a free account as a student or for a classroom account. Start collaborating by following the prompts provided by Mural to begin designing your workspace using templates or from a blank board. Use the dashboard to add text, icons, images, and more. Facilitators also have options for adding contributors, setting a work timer, and setting parameters for the session chat.

tag(s): collaboration (93), graphic organizers (48), iwb (31), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54)

Adobe Education and Khan Academy have partnered to share guided activities for all grade levels from kindergarten through higher learning. Activities begin with Khan Academy created materials to build knowledge through activities that encourage creation, self-expression, and immersion in the topics provided. Select any topic to view a description and correlation to ISTE learning standards. Topics include math, language and literature, science, and social studies. Sign in to download each lesson to your computer that provides for links to all activities and tutorials for using technology tools included in the activities.

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Boddle is an engaging math learning platform for grades K-6 that adapts to student ability levels. Create your account and classroom to begin. Add your students manually or import information from Google Classroom. When created, share your classroom using the link to Boddle and your class code. Additional options include creating assignments that have specific skills for the entire class or individual students. As students engage in Boggle, view results, and progress on your teacher dashboard. Free accounts include access to games and the learning platform but don't include the instructional videos and professional development offered within the site.

tag(s): differentiation (84), Learning Management Systems (20), Online Learning (36), Teacher Utilities (198)

Alison is a free learning platform offering courses for education and skills training provided by the world's leading experts. Find courses using the dropdown boxes at the top of the site sorted by Explore Diplomas and Certificates and Discover Careers. Under More find Assessments and a Resume Builder among other tools. Browse the home page to find the popular courses and most recent offerings. Complete the free registration to begin. Upon selecting a class, view information on the number of modules, topics, and approximate length. Upon completion, Alison provides a certificate or diploma, depending on the duration of the offerings.
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Create, teach, and manage online learning with eduflow's learning management system. First, create a course from scratch or begin with one of the provided templates. Next, use the links within each activity to personalize the course offering and upload files. Then, adjust the submission settings and rules to define course deadlines, options for editing after submission, and adding prerequisites necessary before allowing access to individual activities. Finally, invite students to join the course using their email. Once added, your teacher dashboard will show student progress within each course. Free accounts offer one instructor the ability to provide unlimited active courses with 10 monthly active learners in each course.

tag(s): differentiation (84), Learning Management Systems (20), Online Learning (36), remote learning (54), Teacher Utilities (198)

EVERFI provides free digital curricula in real-world skills through interactive, game-based lessons. Topics include financial education, STEM and career readiness, social and emotional learning, remote learning, summer learning, and more. Select any topic to view the courses offered with a summary and grade-level suggestions. Each unit is correlated to Common Core Standards and includes features such as videos, games, digital lessons, and teacher guides. Use the teacher dashboard to create classes and enroll students after completing the free registration information. Once registered, use the site's features to assign topics that are available for both online and offline learning.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), financial literacy (93), game based learning (205), literacy (122), mental health (48), social and emotional learning (102), STEM (297), Teacher Utilities (198)

Slido is an instant question/answer and an interactive polling application. Create an account to begin using Slido. The free version allows you to crowdsource questions, share three polls per event, and brainstorm ideas. After creating your session and questions, provide participants with the code to access your event. Other features include a word cloud option created from audience responses and the ability to crowdsource questions and upvote favorites, so they move to the top of the list.

tag(s): Formative Assessment (74), polls and surveys (49), quizzes (90)

Deck.Toys is an interactive lesson creation site that works with your existing content. Use the site's drag and drop features to build lessons using your PowerPoint and Google Slides. Add differentiation features within self-exploration paths. Other options include teacher-sync, turn this feature on, and all students are synced to your current slide. Deck.Toys also includes student progress reporting in real-time and a comprehensive lesson report. Included with the free option are two classrooms, up to three private decks, unlimited public decks, and the ability to assign up to two classroom decks at a time. Be sure to watch the tutorials and take advantage of the site's FAQ section to get started.

tag(s): assessment (147), bookmarks (43), classroom management (120), Teacher Utilities (198)

Teach or learn through high-quality online courses offered by the Open Learning Initiative. Choose from available courses in a variety of subjects with full course information including topics covered, estimated completion time, and software required. Classes are free for independent learning; Set up and teach your own course by registering for an instructor account. Instructor accounts allow members to access tools to assess student learning and provide credit for course completion.

tag(s): chinese (45), classroom management (120), design (79), engineering (129), french (75), logic (161), OER (43), Online Learning (36), probability (99), psychology (65), statistics (121), STEM (297)

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

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Discover, create, and share digital resources from the Smithsonian Museum, the National Zoo, and nine major research centers with this visually appealing site. Use the search feature to find digital resources including photos, recordings, videos, and text. Sign up to create your own collections, including those found on the site and your own resources. Also, click Discover and use the search bar to find topics already on the site your class is studying like dinosaurs, explorers, black history, volcanoes, etc. Add annotations and develop quizzes. Easily share your creations or curated collections using social networking links provided. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): animals (295), architecture (75), art history (103), aviation (40), black history (133), civil war (139), dinosaurs (43), explorers (64), images (263), inventors and inventions (80), Learning Management Systems (20), oceans (149), scientists (67), shakespeare (99), Teacher Utilities (198), volcanoes (55)

Use this free slide-based multimedia app to put lessons and other material on any web browser OR iOs and Android devices. Build your presentations using pre-made templates. The site does offer ready-made presentations (some free). The interactive, pre-made videos and text presentations are from Ted-Ed, Khan Academy, Nearpod, and others. Some include questions to answer as you work through the presentations. What is the best part of Nearpod? There are now three different presentation modes.

When in the "live presentation" mode (in person or remote web conferencing), teachers control the lesson's pace, and students do not move to the next screen until advanced by the teacher. With the "student pace" mode, students progress through independently, whether at home or in class. The third mode is "front of the class;" you project your presentation, and the students do not use their devices. Use the teacher version of the app to push out the presentation to your students. For the first two modes, every student uses their own student app to follow the screens and answer the questions. This provides immediate feedback about every student. The feedback can be emailed to the teacher for later review. This formative assessment tool is invaluable and a unique part of the app. The tool also includes drawing for students to work out problems. Teachers can identify students who are not "on task" and not working within the app when a little red light pops up. Absent students can complete the assignment at home.

The free version of Nearpod for Educators is called Silver; you get 100 MB of storage, 40 students per session/lesson, access to standard formative assessments features, pre-made interactive lessons up to your storage limit, pre-made interactive videos up to your storage limit, create interactive videos, lessons, and activities, upload PDF, PPT, and Google slides, and more. Again, how many lessons and videos will depend on your storage.

tag(s): assessment (147), classroom management (120), DAT device agnostic tool (147), differentiation (84), Formative Assessment (74), gamification (83), Learning Management Systems (20), multimedia (53), Online Learning (36), personalized learning (10), playlists (8), remote learning (54), slides (43), Teacher Utilities (198), teaching strategies (50)

Sheppard Software offers hundreds of online learning games for learners in a large variety of subjects. Topics include brain games, seasons, nutrition, and world geography. Search for specific topics or browse categories. Looking for a specific grade level range? Scroll down below the main icons to view recommended sections for different age ranges from preschool to adult. In addition to games, some categories include videos, timelines, and coloring activities. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. Some activities require flash which isn't supported on all browsers.
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tag(s): addition (129), alphabet (53), alphabetical order (8), animal homes (57), animals (295), capitalization (9), capitals (16), cells (82), colors (64), continents (33), counting (60), countries (73), decimals (85), dinosaurs (43), division (98), elements (34), endangered species (27), equations (119), estimation (33), fractions (160), geometric shapes (135), grammar (137), integers (21), landforms (39), life cycles (21), measurement (122), money (113), multiplication (122), number lines (33), number sense (69), numbers (120), oceans (149), order of operations (29), parts of speech (39), patterns (61), periodic table (46), place value (34), puzzles (149), states (124), subtraction (110), time (91), vocabulary (238), vocabulary development (94)

Duolingo is a free, online language learning class. Sign up with email. Make a selection from Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and many others. Earn points on different levels as you work towards mastery. Practice provides both seeing and hearing the words. Your responses require choosing the English translation and also spelling the words in the "new" language. Put your knowledge to work in the immersion section and translate a document or even upload a document of your own. Check the vocabulary you have learned and your progress toward mastery. Track your weekly progress. The discussion section answers individual questions. Duolingo is free for schools. There are free iOS and Android apps for Duolingo.

tag(s): arabic (13), chinese (45), DAT device agnostic tool (147), french (75), game based learning (205), german (49), hebrew (16), italian (31), japanese (47), multilingual (77), OER (43), Online Learning (36), portuguese (22), russian (26), spanish (109)