Resources

This is an ongoing list of resources that I find interesting and useful to my own journey in education. Check back often!

What is Successful Technology Integration? – An article from Edutopia giving a general overview of technology integration as well as examples and how it relates to educational theory.
Technology Integration and Learning Theory – A published article exploring the connection of Constructivism and technology integration.

Adobe Spark – Free tool that does all the “behind the scenes” work to make attractive websites, graphics, and videos.
Print Friendly & PDF – Browser extension that allows any website to be created into a printable PDF. The extension also allows for the website to be stripped of ads, graphics, or any other distractions to allow for a cleaner, more concise document.

Think CERCA A self-paced, literacy based learning tool that helps students build confidence in reading and writing. Texts are cross-curricular and differentiated for each student.
Drafting Board A product by iCivics, Drafting Board walks students through the argumentative writing essay process. From choosing a side to completing a draft, this is a great tool to getting students writing effective argumentative rhetoric.
Read to Lead An incredibly rich resource filled with texts to motivate students. Students choose a career and read through different scenarios. This resources promotes problem-solving and helps students make connections to real life situations.
Quandary An interactive reading game in which students are faced with scenarios and situations where they need to use problem solving skills. It’s available as a mobile app, and it’s free!

EdTechTeacher EdTechTeacher releases articles with tips and best practices for integrating Google apps into instruction. They also have plenty of other information concerning educational technology.
Google Teacher Tribe A website (and podcast) dedicated to integrating Google apps into curriculum. They have meaningful, authentic tasks and activities to use Google apps effectively and efficiently.
Control Alt Achieve This is another great resource to help integrate Google apps. This website also features a weekly webinar in which its host, Eric Curts, explores creative ways to use the apps for activities and assessments.

YouTube Learning This specific channel is a great resource for timely educational videos. The channel contains original videos in various subjects.
Crash Course Another YouTube channel for educators. This channel takes a deep dive into various topics, but the channel really shines talking about history and literature with brothers, Hank and John Green, hosting.
TED-Ed A series of TED Talks focused on education. These are great videos that serve as prompts for discussion and introductions to content.

Flipgrid – a powerful, video-based social networking took that empowers all students with a voice in discussion. Students can discuss with other students in their classrooms based on teacher-led discussions, but can also engage in worldwide discussions.
Padlet – This tool essentially works as a “digital corkboard,” allowing users to posts quotes, pictures, links, etc to a virtual wall. Users can collaborate on tasks, leave comments on existing posts, and “like” posts.
Edmodo – Edmodo is a great tool for communication. Parents/Guardians, stakeholders, students, and administrators can all communicate in different channels or pages. It’s also a great collaboration tool for student-group projects and assignments.

Educational App Store – A continuously updated resource with reviews and descriptions of educational apps for mobile devices. The store is broken up into categories by grade and discipline.
Lyric Notepad – This app is a must for poetry writing. As the user writes, the app counts the syllables per line. It will even suggest rhymes at the end of each line when prompted.
Socrative Student / Teacher – A formative assessment tool that is easy to use and quick to integrate in a pinch. It can serve as an exit slip, review day activity, polling device, among others.

Book Creator An easy to use interface allows users to create books and export them as ePub, PDF, or to any cloud service. Book Creator also contains its own image search engine to find free, usable images.
Canva Canva is a powerful tool that allows users to create various styles of images. From infographics to social media graphics and everything in between, students can create projects that are different from the routine research essays and presentations.
Seesaw An innovative tool that allows students to create and demonstrate learning. With Seesaw, educators can assess learning through fun, creative assessments. Those demonstrations can then be published as a portfolio.
Explain Everything Another demonstration tool like Seesaw, but Explain Everything is also an animator and media creator. Students can narrate over their work using the integrated timeline. They can also add in videos, audio, and images. Overall, it is a powerful tool that can shape instruction and assessment.

DocsTeach – A resource from the National Archives Museum. Using its search engine, educators and students can find primary documents detailing events in history. Students can engage with interactive activities to make primary documents more relevant and enhance understanding. Educators can also find activities and lessons to enhance their own instruction.
LIFE photo archive – a searchable archive (using Google) for all photos used in LIFE magazines dating back to the 1750s. This is an extensive collection of primary images.

ADCET Inclusive Technology – This is a great resource for information on assistive technologies for students with different disabilities. There are videos, ideas for inclusion, apps and activities, and articles on each category of disability. This website is a great place to start when it comes to creating and adaptive classroom.
Apple/iOS Accessibility – This is a hub for information on the various accessibility features available on mobile devices running iOS.
Android Accessibility – This is a hub for information on accessibility features for devices running the Android operating system.