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101 Questions - Dan Myer
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): creative writing (67), creativity (66), images (115)
In the Classroom
Creative fluency begins here! Set up a whole class account. Use this site in language arts: discover main idea, details, cause and effect, or even an inspirational writing prompt. Find ways to group images together based on characteristics or attributes. Use in gifted or enrichment situations, for inspiration for problem-based learning. Sequence the images to find ways to form a logical plot. Find ways to make Perplexors out of the given image. In math, write short word problems to accompany images or videos. Find ways to illustrate vocabulary definitions with examples and non-examples. As a morning work challenge, find questions, details, or even other questions. As a writing challenge, look for the image that conveys the mood or feeling you are trying to convey. In science, submit examples to illustrate scientific concepts. Use to generate scientific method style questions based on the given image. In social studies, find images to convey feelings represented by the time being studied. Challenge students to make a historical statement or political statement by finding and adding to an appropriate image. ESL/ELL students can use this site to help acquire conversation/questioning skills. In world language class, have students generate questions in their new language, even if they do not post them. In art, find mood, theme, style, or self expression images. Be sure to monitor the blog content. Put similar content on your own classroom blog. Challenge students to create their own 101 question images or videos to share on your class blog, inviting viewers to respond with questions in the comments.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
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Products can be shared by URL
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Photoshop Express Online - 2012 Adobe Systems
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (115), photography (96)
In the Classroom
Find plenty of room for all of your classes photos! Edit the photos to create quality prints. Organize into libraries to share with students and parents. Have a library for every class, assignment, every year, or yearbooks. In lower grades, set up a teacher account for the whole class. Communicate with parents, pen pals, or with collaborations between schools. In art classes, look at the possibilities of quality photography. In upper grade technology classes, create free galleries for each student (over 13), and highlight some of the latest photo editing software and apps. Use in science classes as a way to store data in digital images. In language arts, create stories through photos or make wordless picture books. Store student portfolios in digital format in your gallery. Journal throughout your school year in pictures.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Edublog - Edulogs.org
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): blogs (51)
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite for all of your blogging needs. Find very informative instructions on blogging, and follow the student blogging challenge lesson plans. Peruse through the various subjects and discover how other teachers use blogging in their classrooms. Using the given PDFs on blogging start up, parent guidelines, incorporating into subject areas, and adapt to make them suitable for you. Look at a variety of examples to help devise your own unique style to meet your students' needs.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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NetSmartzKids - National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Grades
K to 8tag(s): computers (20), internet safety (67)
In the Classroom
Use this site to reinforce and teach Internet safety rules. Ask students to complete a quiz on Internet safety before allowing computer access. Provide those who pass with NetSmartz UYN club cards provided on the site to use as a "computer driving license." This is a great site to share on your class wiki, blog, or website for families to peruse together.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Book TV - National Cable Satellite Corporation & C-SPAN
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): biographies (24), independent reading (45), interviews (13), politics (57)
In the Classroom
Use the online resources from this website to accompany your nonfiction literature. This collection is particularly useful when reading about historical figures. Make books and authors come alive for your students by accessing and projecting videos on your interactive whiteboard and sharing "Book Notes," biographies, and more. Lure students into independent reading by allowing them to explore the videos and find a book they might enjoy reading. After viewing a program or reading a book, have students share their opinions in a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TED - TED staff
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
If you are looking for a clearinghouse that offers free inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, this ever-evolving site is perfect for engaging your students with digital videos of the global issues facing our world today. Use your projector or interactive whiteboard to project videos. Watch your students' enthusiastic reactions in science, social studies, or English classrooms as they view a TED video and then follow-up with a debate on the future or the impact of technology on society, or use them as a springboard for interesting writing prompts or to spark a discussion connected with a unit of study. Challenge students to do a compare/contrast activity using an online Venn Diagram tool (reviewed here). Most of the videos are less than twenty minutes, which makes it real doable to embed in a one-period class lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mugeda - mugeda.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): animation (38), comics and cartoons (51)
In the Classroom
Bring along Mugeda in your bag of tricks to capture and intrigue all of your students. Use Mugeda to illustrate class content, support debate, persuade, and entertain. The possibilities are endless! Add the creations to your website to share with your community. Use on school news programs to add student content without cost, and make information available for all levels of student abilities. Create commercials for your content or to convey information. In history classes go back in time to envision popular opinion that made history happen. Use during campaigns to promote your side of the debate. Science fairs will never be the same. Highlight projects to create anticipation. Send messages to students using the embedded tool. This programming tool has applications in all subject areas. Gifted students, ELL/ESL students, and remedial students will be captivated by this high interest way of expressing themselves.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
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ChronoZoom - Microsoft Research
Grades
8 to 12The site's creators freely admit that they don't really know where the project will lead, and what technologies might emerge that will help them create more content for the site. There are some caveats for using the site. First, the site assumes a particular theory of the creation of the universe, and the timeline of its existence. Second, the site can lend itself to aimless "mousing," or the temptation to simply click and move the mouse to see how the site will react, with no attention to the content at all.
tag(s): charts and graphs (129), evolution (89), timelines (35)
In the Classroom
This is a big idea, still in its early stages. Obviously it has usefulness as a way of visually demonstrating the sheer immensity of time, and the relative insignificance of human existence in comparison. You could use this site as an intro to any history or geology class simply to generate BIG questions that students want to know. Consider asking gifted students, or students interested in technology applications to imagine what the site COULD be. How would they create a visual overview of--forever? How can one prioritize what matters? But on an interactive whiteboard--WOW! If you, as current students seem to be, are comfortable with imagining the world as a series of hyperlinks rather than a linear march, this site has limitless potential.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NOVA Body and Brain - NOVA/PBS
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): carbon dioxide (8), carbon footprint (8), earth (175), environment (230), human body (54), nuclear energy (16), nutrition (102), solar energy (18), space (133)
In the Classroom
Discover some terrific lessons about a variety of topics. For example, under Environment find a great lesson for Capturing Carbon: Where Do We Put It? Find background information to understand the material and questions for discussion that can be used with your class. Find additional resources along the side.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Samsung Super Hero - SAMSUNG TECHWIN AMERICA
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): famous people (12), grants (14)
In the Classroom
Explore the many examples on Samsungs Superheroes to begin presentations, autobiographical sketches, or living history museums. Sharpen the language arts skills of research, creating an organized presentation, effectively communicating, and listening while bringing in content from other subject areas. Analyze and uncover the traits of a great presentation. Introduce outlining, storyboarding, or written autobiographies in an interesting and attention catching student made video. Brainstorm with your class to uncover the important components necessary for learning goals and assessment while creating a rubric. In social studies, discover superheroes/leaders from different times or geographic areas. Include in your math classes to feature famous mathematicians. In language arts, the world of authors and speakers come alive with literary contributions. Have groups collaborate to portray the ways the character influenced the world. As a competition, choose the best in your class, grade level, or school. Share the videotaped presentations on your website, on student DVDs, or as examples of great student work at parent conferences, open houses, or PTO meetings.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective - Kaiser Permanente
Grades
2 to 6In the Classroom
Create a link on classroom computers for students to use this site as a center or in a computer lab setting. Display the activities on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to play as a class. Share a link on your classroom website or blog for students to play at home. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indian Response to Environmental Changes - National Museum of the American Indian
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): environment (230), native americans (34), natural resources (25)
In the Classroom
Project this site on an interactive whiteboard and watch the videos on each of the tribes. If you have laptops available, have students navigate on their own. Have the class take the included interactive quizzes to see what they've learned. Group students and have each group read about a different tribe. Then using the online story project planner, have students create a presentation about their tribe that can be uploaded to the site. Be sure to visit the teacher area for lesson plans, links and other resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Learning Network - The New York Times Company
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): news (130), vocabulary (251), writing prompts (50)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your class web page for students to find challenges or activities. Substitute teachers ca always find an appropriate current events or vocabulary/writing activity if there are no lesson plans. English, social studies, and gifted teachers will want to explore the many lesson ideas that draw on current news stories. Find many prompts for student opinion blogs at this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ship-2-Shore Education/ Mapping Plastic Marine Pollution - Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): environment (230), oceans (106), plastics (5), pollution (53)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard and projector to introduce this site and one voyage. Point out all the little sail boat icons. Click to see text and images. Use these lessons as is or adapt for your own use. Consider having students work in groups of four, and have each group explore a different voyage (listed by year). There are a lot of sail boat placemarkers for each voyage. Have the small groups of students investigate the first several days of each voyage together. After that, suggest they split the placemarkers up, take notes about what they learn, and inform each other about what happened on the days they investigated. Once they've investigated their voyage, remix the groups so you have one student from each of the different voyages together. Have them share information and determine what was alike and different for each year. Use a graphic organizer or mind mapping tool such as WiseMapping reviewed here, or Exploratree reviewed here to help students keep track of the information. Once done have students access the additional resources page and click on the comparison mapping button. Have them compare their information to the maps provided. Older students may want to investigate information about careers related to GIS, Conservation, and Marine Biology by using the link at the bottom of the page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Charts Bin - Chartsbin.com
Grades
9 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): business (42), charts and graphs (129), data (92), infographics (16), maps (165)
In the Classroom
Introduce a topic by sharing the Infographic and allowing time for students to identify various items that they notice about the chart. Allow time to think-pair-share in class and list questions for further understanding. Consider creating Infographics of material learned in class and for better understanding and connection with other topics and the world around them. Make curriculum content more real with infographics that students can relate to.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mother Nature Network: Earth Matters - MNN Holdings, LLC
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (166), climate change (33), earth (175), earth day (96), energy (124), environment (230), natural resources (25), nuclear energy (16), politics (57), solar energy (18), space (133), weather (150)
In the Classroom
Click on each topic for more information. For example, Choosing Energy shows latest news related to energy alone. Use the spectacular images as writing prompts or to encourage discussions. Find incredible photographic lists to use as a writing prompt and for further research. Research more information under the Learn more section. Use the information for research, understanding issues involved with the environment, for questioning the natural world, and to encourage action. Reading specialists can find informational reading passages to use for practice with reading comprehension. Clear out clutter on the page with the article using the Readability tool, reviewed here. Then share the article on interactive whiteboard for students to use the pens to annotate main idea, etc. In science class, have students read an article of choice and create a public service announcement type assignment. Consider using Tildee, reviewed here. With Tildee students can use text, screen shots, and video to develop their public service announcement. Be sure to provide a link of this site on your website or a classroom computer for easy access.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Chartle - Dieter Krachtus
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): charts and graphs (129)
In the Classroom
You will want to play with this tool before using it in class. Use anywhere numerical data is collected and is best shown in a chart. Collect data in a science, survey, or math class and display it using different graphs to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using each graph type. Use for quick creation and sharing of created graphs. Create charts together easily on an interactive whiteboard when introducing the different types. Have students operate the board while others offer instructions on what to do next. Use graphs to portray different sets of data about a topic in a new and unique way. Use this tool to create graphs and charts for presentations and reports. Make quick charts students can share with others such as "How I spend my time" and "Places I have visited." During political campaign seasons, create charts to better visualize what the pollsters are saying.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Another Tweet on the Wall - anothertweetonthewall.com
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): microblogging (21)
In the Classroom
Use on an Interactive whiteboard or projector to introduce a class topic or follow current events. This site could be used for students to submit an assignment of their own tweets they did over a period of time. Or use this site during a presentation on how Twitter works, showing the information contained in a succession of tweets. Have students submit a record of tweets that show their learning over time. Follow a Twitter user who often shares resource links for a diary of resources that have been shared. Trace the tweets from the White House, any high profile political figure, or author over a period of time. Follow discussions about current events or new events in science or medicine. See this list of tweeting authors for some possibilities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hashonomy - Hashonomy
Grades
9 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): microblogging (21), social networking (50), twitter (23)
In the Classroom
Use this resource to search Twitter as a source for information and links on a topic. Use to identify trending topics as well as the change in the discussion over time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Math - Craig Damrauer
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creativity (66), logic (162), puzzles (146), vocabulary (251)
In the Classroom
Display a new slide on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) weekly as a conversation-starter in a math class, social studies class, or gifted classroom. Ask students to explain what the equation might mean. Challenge students to create their own new math word equations and share them using a talking avatar using a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced). Use a site such as Blabberize (reviewed here). Much of the vocabulary used with the equations is very advanced. Use this in English class for vocabulary development. Then challenge students to create some of their own "equations" with other new vocabulary words.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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