Best for Virtual Trips:
Smithsonian Education  The Smithsonian offers thousands of resources for educators, including lesson plans, virtual tours of their latest exhibits, and the opportunity to connect with experts in the field.
Best for Apps:
Apps in Education
| Best for Teacher Rsources:
BrainPop Educators 
Best for Educational Crafts:
Crayola for Educators
|  This website provides easy accsess apps that inspire and engage learning throughout all subject matter. Also Edutainment resources like music, games, references, ebooks, etc.
|  With hundreds of lessons for every grade level, you're guaranteed to find a colorful idea for your class, such as the "Chinese Dragon Drum" for Chinese New Year or the "What Do You Love?" project for Valentine's Day. Sign up to be a Gold Star teacher so that you're first on the list to test new Crayola products.
| Best for Lesson Resources for Tech.
SMART EXCHANGE  A great resource to find lesson plans for your SMART Board and connect with other teachers. Resources for all subject matter and grades including standards-alligned lessons.
| Best for Educational Videos:
TeacherTube  TeacherTube is the best source for instructional videos in a safe environment. We especially love the clips of teachers showing off the catchy rhymes they've made up to teach certain topics-check out the "Mrs. Burk Perimeter Rap" and the "Mr. Duey Fractions Rap."
| Best for Student Feedback:
CLASS DOJO  ClassDojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators. Better learning behaviors, smoother lessons and hassle-free data - and its free!
| Best for Blogs in Classroom:
TeacherBlogIt  The mission is to provide the easiest-to-use education-based blog portals in the world. Simplicity is the key. TeacherBlogIt is the first education blog site designed and developed specifically for the education community. TeacherBlogIt is tailored for use by teachers and students.
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Children's Fun Storytime ESL Teacher Talk Inside the Magic | Let someone else read to the kids for a change! Features dramatically intoned readings of both new and favorite kid's stories! Students would love to listen to the different versions and voice! Great idea for when students come in after lunch :) | Great for teaching EL's and ESL in the classroom! It's packed with classroom activity ideas, interactive games, teaching insights, and interviews. It's co-hosted by two ESL teachers, one teaches in Japan and the other in the U.S. They interview both ESL experts and offer many classroom-ready ideas! | If you love disney and want to stay updated on all the latest news, themeparks, special events, movies, merchandise including news, reviews and interviews, this show does just that! Stay "in the know" on all things Disney! |
| 1. Classroom Management: Easy to create and update; use to inform students of class requirements, posted handouts, notices and assignments as well as a Q&A board for further clarification. | | | 2. Collaboration: Students have an instant audience as teachers and other students are able to evaluate and help eachother further develop skills with input. While the teacher is able to offer instructional tips, students can also practice and benefit from peer review. Also can act as a place to participate in coroperative learning activites (find research, ideas and offer suggestions). | | | 3. Discussions: Students are able to discuss topics both inside and outside the classroom. It can act as a discussion board for group work and allow resereved students to offer their opinion in a less intimidating setting. Students are able to share their thoughts and opinions in a "conference setting". | | | 4. Student Portfolio: Allow students to present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. Students are more motivated to produce quality work because they know it will be published for teachers, peers and parents.
| | | 5. Homework: Students can see further directions for their homework, post questions, see other student questions and responses and see samples and pictures of the examples. Students can accsess past assignments to look over and refresh their understanding. | | | 6. Creativity/Individuality: Students are able to personalize their own blog as a "sharing" tool. They will be able to add their own special touches and share things like their work, pictures, writing, etc. Each students blog will reflect their personalitity and allow them to positively express themselves. | | | 7. Podcasts/Videos: Students will be able to view various learning videos either made by the teacher or another educational resource and comment their input and reflections. It will work as an instantaneous form of instruction and individualized learning. Student presentations can be uploaded and used as learning tools. | | | 8. At Home Resources (learning games, etc.): Students can accsess and upload learning resources both at school and at home. By sharing resources and having them all in one place, learning is more accsessible, simple and effective! | | | 9. Reflection/Journal: For students just learning to write, this is a great tool to add. Students may not feel as intimidated of pencil and paper and feel more able to express their opinion in writing. It is a create way to post prompts for different types of writing as well as allow students time to free write and reflect in a journal setting. | | | 10. Networking: Students are never too young to learn the wonderful tool of networking. Students will be able to easily accsess of students work, questions, reflections, samples, etc. and exchange back and forth. Students will more easily learn from their teacher as well as their peer, gaining new insight and persepctives from various blogs and such.
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Edweek.org
Digital Directions
http://www.edweek.org/dd/?intc=thed This publication is distributed twice monthly and covers all sorts of areas regarding the implementation of digital technology into the classroom. It discusses current issues as well as provides insight into best practices. It includes pictures, videos, articles, etc. on examples of strategies and tools being implemented in schools. One of the most interesting articles that caught my eye was "Technology as Hamburger Helper" http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/
rick_hess_straight_up/2012/11/
technology_as_hamburger_helper.html which discusses all the positives that technology contributes to not only the learning enviornment but student lives. Also along with the article, I found this video that discusses a school in N.C. that has created an overwhelming positive school enviornment due to the integration of digital learning! | Edweek.org
Teacher Update http://www.edweek.org/newsletter/tm-update/2012/11/29/email/tmupdate.html This publication distributed weekly provides insight into all current news that is associated with teachers whether hot topics, cirriculum, tips, research, etc. An intriguing article I found was "How Blogging Can Improve Student Writing". (http://www.edweek.org/tm/
articles/
2012/11/28/
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Blogging provides students with the opportunities to use a tool other than pen and pencil. Whether on a smart phone, tablet or computer, students are able to implement typing as a form of communication for students to also practice their writing skills. In addition, it provides students a chance to have other students or parents continuously read their work. The eagerness to read others and have others read promotoesa sense of community. Blogging allows social media to come alive in the classroom and exudes students passion for the writing process. | Edutopia.org
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flip-stem-classroom-ainissa-ramirez This publication provide evidence-based strategies that allow for the improvement of k-12 education. It provides articles, blogs, videos and guides on important and current topics in the education spectrum. An article that jumped out to me was "Flipping This Class" (http://www.edutopia.org/
blog/flip-stem-classroom-ainissa-ramirez) because we had just talked about it last class. It is about a science teacher who discusses the necessity to cater our teaching to a new audience. It states the importance of keeping videos short, engaging and a simple topic that can later be elaborated on. It provides tips and tricks to making video effective and what NOT to do! It intrigued me even more about this strategy and seems to be an effective and interesting wya to make learning exciting and ongoing. |
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