Whether you are flipping your classroom, sponsoring a club, or just interested in utilizing more technology in the classroom, these are some great sites to try. I've used all of them!
Supplemental Materials
Quizzes, Polls & Sign-ups
General Tools & Professional Development
Choosito Search: This is a search engine that lets you search ONLY for items that fit the reading level of your students. You have to create a free account as a teacher, student or parent, but that's all. If you are willing to pay $40, you can make a class and track their searches.
Chrome: I find Chrome to be the best option for your internet browser. What's nice is that you can log in (from anywhere) and it remembers your bookmarks, passwords, favorite websites, and allows you to use programs called extensions or apps to make the browser more useful. Extra tip: Get the AdBlock extension from the Chrome Web Store. This will automatically be attached to your browser so you won't see nearly as many ads. Yes, that means the YouTube videos you show during class through the browser WON'T have ads! Here is my explanation of apps & extensions and best picks for teachers & students.
Class Dojo: A neat tool for classroom management! You make a free account and enter in your students' names. Then give out the info to the parents so they can log in. Now you can give positive or negative feedback to students during class. When the parents log in, they see what sort of day their child had. I was introduced to this as a parent - my son's teacher uses the program. I really like seeing how he does each day! You can also send messages to parents through this app and post pictures & stories about what you are doing in class. A nice - FREE - option for running a classroom. It definitely works for elementary school, not so sure it would be appropriate for high school, though.
DropBox: Create a free account & have students upload documents to you. They can submit any kind of program file, which is useful!
Edmodo: This is a good place to host your website, as it allows you to have students register for your class, take quizzes/polls, blog with you and more. You can have a calendar, post links & resources just like a normal site. If your school district has an account, it's free. Many of my colleagues use this. I tried it, but since I'd already created my site that had all I wanted, it wasn't worth recreating to me. If I do another overhaul, though, this is where I'll go as it would work for flipping the classroom.
EducationTnT: This site I found recently with great links to professional development. So many useful tools/hints for flipped classroom, GoogleApps, etc. Check the menu down the left of the site for a list of all the trainings available by Jenna A. Linskens, a Google-certified trainer.
Flipped Learning Global Initiative: If you are interested in learning more about flipping your classroom, this is a good resource. You can join (free) and get lots of information & tips from those who are using it.
Gmail: I strongly suggest that you create a Gmail email account to use for your listserves & other resources. Plus, you can use the same account for YouTube, Chrome and more. Use GoogleDrive to create forms and other documents. All the apps there are great, too. I especially like LucidPress for making newsletters. All these you can share with friends & give editing privileges when creating common documents.
GoogleDocs: There are so many useful tools there! Here is a great Tips for Teachers.
Intel Education: Join this free community with resources and workspace to design & assess projects and much more. Create a free account, then play with it. Lots of good resources!
LinkedIn: I suggest that you build a free profile on this site for your resume and to make connections. Our resumes tend to age and we forget what to add to them when we are actually applying for that great new job. Keep a record of your accomplishments! I also like when my past students & their parents link to me. I can see how they are doing years later. Plus, you can join communities on education, career, science or whatever interests you for news.
Prezi: Want to make more interesting presentations? Prezi is a good tool - either for you presenting material or for students to present their own. One of my students actually introduced it to me. Totally online, free tool. Students just send you the link to their project, instead of a file. More flexibility than PowerPoint. On the downside, all that flexibility means that it is harder to learn.
QR Code Generator: Students love using their phones to scan QR codes! My class made a website on the solar system, so we made a scale model in the hallway with QR codes on each planet, linking to the site. You can make a free QR code to put on any activity, poster or flyer so people can quickly find it. I also created QR codes to link to my Quizlet and Remind signups, so they could access them faster.
Remind: This free service allows you to send texts to your students/parents/staff/clubmembers without using your own number. You can schedule in advance, put a widget that shows all your recent texts on your website (for those who don't get texts), plus you can have office hours on your phone where you can chat live. See their teacher resources for more information.
SimpleK12: Looking for professional development options? You have a choice here. You can either join them ($357/yr) for access to HUNDREDS of certified PD webinars/lessons on using tech, OR you can look at their calendar & sign up when they do a free webinar. You won't get a certificate for hours the free way, but you will learn something new. I really learned a lot from Google Tools in the Classroom and iPads in the Classroom. Often, you'll get a free e-book when you register for the webinars, plus they usually offer a significant discount on membership during those webinars.
TinyUrl: Web addresses are often LONG. Shorten them with this free tool so you can post/email/text shortened links to resources. Especially nice when Tweeting, using Remind, or posting websites on the board.
TurnItIn: This costs $$$, sadly, but if your school district covers it, go for it! You create classes, then set up assignments. Students join your class (they have simple instructions), then submit assignments. It checks them for spelling/grammar and plagiarism. They compare it to everything on the web & anything submitted to TurnItIn. Most colleges use it for this purpose. You can make comments via text or audio. Since it shows students what percentage is plagiarized, it gives them an opportunity to police themselves before you even see it. I especially like the PeerReview option (where they can anonymously review someones paper using a rubric you supply). On longer papers, I find this helps them improve their own work as well as others. I've used it for years, now. I would suggest using some class time to teach students how to use TurnItIn the first time, and how to look at your comments [maybe 10 min for each, with computer access for everyone].
Web Research Guide: Doing research on the web is an important skill. This site is a tutorial explaining to students how to do a good search, how search engines work, how to evaluate websites for credibility, and how to cite sources. I highly recommend having your students complete this set of activities before doing any online research. Here are some related links, too:
Weebly: Free site for creating & hosting your own websites. I have my independent science research students create sites to present their work (here's one on lionfish). If you want more control, you create one yourself & give them the email/password so they can edit it. That's how I did the solar system one - each group got their own page. You can do blogs on it, but if you want quizzes or more interaction, you need other sites. Not the best for a class website if you are planning on flipping. There's a great site you can access (or suggest to students) to learn how to use Weebly.
Chrome: I find Chrome to be the best option for your internet browser. What's nice is that you can log in (from anywhere) and it remembers your bookmarks, passwords, favorite websites, and allows you to use programs called extensions or apps to make the browser more useful. Extra tip: Get the AdBlock extension from the Chrome Web Store. This will automatically be attached to your browser so you won't see nearly as many ads. Yes, that means the YouTube videos you show during class through the browser WON'T have ads! Here is my explanation of apps & extensions and best picks for teachers & students.
Class Dojo: A neat tool for classroom management! You make a free account and enter in your students' names. Then give out the info to the parents so they can log in. Now you can give positive or negative feedback to students during class. When the parents log in, they see what sort of day their child had. I was introduced to this as a parent - my son's teacher uses the program. I really like seeing how he does each day! You can also send messages to parents through this app and post pictures & stories about what you are doing in class. A nice - FREE - option for running a classroom. It definitely works for elementary school, not so sure it would be appropriate for high school, though.
DropBox: Create a free account & have students upload documents to you. They can submit any kind of program file, which is useful!
Edmodo: This is a good place to host your website, as it allows you to have students register for your class, take quizzes/polls, blog with you and more. You can have a calendar, post links & resources just like a normal site. If your school district has an account, it's free. Many of my colleagues use this. I tried it, but since I'd already created my site that had all I wanted, it wasn't worth recreating to me. If I do another overhaul, though, this is where I'll go as it would work for flipping the classroom.
EducationTnT: This site I found recently with great links to professional development. So many useful tools/hints for flipped classroom, GoogleApps, etc. Check the menu down the left of the site for a list of all the trainings available by Jenna A. Linskens, a Google-certified trainer.
Flipped Learning Global Initiative: If you are interested in learning more about flipping your classroom, this is a good resource. You can join (free) and get lots of information & tips from those who are using it.
Gmail: I strongly suggest that you create a Gmail email account to use for your listserves & other resources. Plus, you can use the same account for YouTube, Chrome and more. Use GoogleDrive to create forms and other documents. All the apps there are great, too. I especially like LucidPress for making newsletters. All these you can share with friends & give editing privileges when creating common documents.
GoogleDocs: There are so many useful tools there! Here is a great Tips for Teachers.
Intel Education: Join this free community with resources and workspace to design & assess projects and much more. Create a free account, then play with it. Lots of good resources!
LinkedIn: I suggest that you build a free profile on this site for your resume and to make connections. Our resumes tend to age and we forget what to add to them when we are actually applying for that great new job. Keep a record of your accomplishments! I also like when my past students & their parents link to me. I can see how they are doing years later. Plus, you can join communities on education, career, science or whatever interests you for news.
Prezi: Want to make more interesting presentations? Prezi is a good tool - either for you presenting material or for students to present their own. One of my students actually introduced it to me. Totally online, free tool. Students just send you the link to their project, instead of a file. More flexibility than PowerPoint. On the downside, all that flexibility means that it is harder to learn.
QR Code Generator: Students love using their phones to scan QR codes! My class made a website on the solar system, so we made a scale model in the hallway with QR codes on each planet, linking to the site. You can make a free QR code to put on any activity, poster or flyer so people can quickly find it. I also created QR codes to link to my Quizlet and Remind signups, so they could access them faster.
Remind: This free service allows you to send texts to your students/parents/staff/clubmembers without using your own number. You can schedule in advance, put a widget that shows all your recent texts on your website (for those who don't get texts), plus you can have office hours on your phone where you can chat live. See their teacher resources for more information.
SimpleK12: Looking for professional development options? You have a choice here. You can either join them ($357/yr) for access to HUNDREDS of certified PD webinars/lessons on using tech, OR you can look at their calendar & sign up when they do a free webinar. You won't get a certificate for hours the free way, but you will learn something new. I really learned a lot from Google Tools in the Classroom and iPads in the Classroom. Often, you'll get a free e-book when you register for the webinars, plus they usually offer a significant discount on membership during those webinars.
TinyUrl: Web addresses are often LONG. Shorten them with this free tool so you can post/email/text shortened links to resources. Especially nice when Tweeting, using Remind, or posting websites on the board.
TurnItIn: This costs $$$, sadly, but if your school district covers it, go for it! You create classes, then set up assignments. Students join your class (they have simple instructions), then submit assignments. It checks them for spelling/grammar and plagiarism. They compare it to everything on the web & anything submitted to TurnItIn. Most colleges use it for this purpose. You can make comments via text or audio. Since it shows students what percentage is plagiarized, it gives them an opportunity to police themselves before you even see it. I especially like the PeerReview option (where they can anonymously review someones paper using a rubric you supply). On longer papers, I find this helps them improve their own work as well as others. I've used it for years, now. I would suggest using some class time to teach students how to use TurnItIn the first time, and how to look at your comments [maybe 10 min for each, with computer access for everyone].
Web Research Guide: Doing research on the web is an important skill. This site is a tutorial explaining to students how to do a good search, how search engines work, how to evaluate websites for credibility, and how to cite sources. I highly recommend having your students complete this set of activities before doing any online research. Here are some related links, too:
Weebly: Free site for creating & hosting your own websites. I have my independent science research students create sites to present their work (here's one on lionfish). If you want more control, you create one yourself & give them the email/password so they can edit it. That's how I did the solar system one - each group got their own page. You can do blogs on it, but if you want quizzes or more interaction, you need other sites. Not the best for a class website if you are planning on flipping. There's a great site you can access (or suggest to students) to learn how to use Weebly.