TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Apr 28, 2019
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
Quillionz - Harbinger AI
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Use the power of AI to create quizzes, questions, and assessments with Quillionz. Copy and paste your content or upload a PDF to begin, then select keywords and terms, Quillionz ...more
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Use the power of AI to create quizzes, questions, and assessments with Quillionz. Copy and paste your content or upload a PDF to begin, then select keywords and terms, Quillionz does the rest. Quillionz creates several different types of questions including multiple choice, short response, and recall. Choose the ones you want to use, or edit what is provided to suit your needs. When finished, save to text and download to your computer. Be sure to take note on the home page of the section labeled "Is Quillionz Right for Me?" This portion details the type of texts and defines the limitations of the types of questions provided through the site.
In the Classroom
Use Quillionz as a time-saver to create quizzes covering any content. Before teaching the material, use this tool to help define key terms and content you want to cover. Share Quillionz with older students as an excellent tool to help with reading comprehension and understanding content. Ask them to use the site to create questions to review before quizzes. Enhance learning by asking students to transform technology use and transfer their learning from quiz questions into the creation of an infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Have students include images, data, and links with additional research information into their infographic.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Soundcite - Knight Lab
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Soundcite is a free tool that embeds audio directly into portions of text for use on your blog or website. Use Soundcite to bring emotion or context to a story ...more
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Soundcite is a free tool that embeds audio directly into portions of text for use on your blog or website. Use Soundcite to bring emotion or context to a story through the use of a real audio file, be sure to check out the examples for ideas. Follow the advice on the site to add short audio clips after uploading to your server. Before starting your Soundcite project, take the time to read and understand different options for uploading audio to blog providers such as Word Press and cautions against the use of Google or DropBox.
In the Classroom
Combine audio with text to bring life to student work. Share some examples with students before asking them to create Soundcite files. If you have some tech-savvy students, share this site with them before sharing with your whole class. Allow the tech-savvy students to create some examples and tutorials for all to use. Have these students transform classroom technology use and their learning by sharing step-by-step directions using a video explainer tool like Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here. Include with student work on their blogs or digital portfolios, or include with any multimedia presentation created using Sway, reviewed here, or Adobe Creative Cloud Express, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Z-A Quiz Generator - ClassTools
Grades
4 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
Test students' knowledge of related items using this unique quiz creator. Create a quiz using a set of common terms or elements (presidents, types of animals, incorrect use of a ...more
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Test students' knowledge of related items using this unique quiz creator. Create a quiz using a set of common terms or elements (presidents, types of animals, incorrect use of a comma, etc.). Build your game by adding additional sets of items to add rounds. To play, divide students into teams and start the game. The alphabet appears beginning with Z and going backward, and letters begin to disappear. If the letter is in your set of terms it pops up into the appropriate place - think of Wheel of Fortune. When a player guesses why items are related, pause the game to hear their response. Continue playing if incorrect or move to the next round if correct.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use the Z-A Quiz Generator as a motivating way to introduce a new unit to students (even as a formative assessment for the class), or to review information before quizzes and tests. Instead of asking students to memorize a set of dates or events, help them by organizing the information into common features. For example, during a Civil War unit group together events taking place in different cities as a way to help provide context for students. Include a link to your quizzes on your class webpage or blog for students to practice at any time using the URL or embed code. Enhance technology use and learning by having students create their own Z-A quizzes to share with peers when studying for tests or use as an introduction with class presentations. When sharing student-created multimedia presentations, modify technology use by using a tool like Sway, reviewed here, to share their final projects including a Z-A quiz for viewers. This quiz generator is also a great resource to use during professional development sessions with your peers. Create a quiz to increase your viewers' interest in your topic as you begin your discussions or as a final activity to review information shared.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Headliner - SpareMin
Grades
K to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Create and share videos for social media platforms with Headliner. Add images, text animation, clip audio, add video, and more to personalize content. Choose from several video editor...more
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Create and share videos for social media platforms with Headliner. Add images, text animation, clip audio, add video, and more to personalize content. Choose from several video editor templates or go straight to the video editor to begin creating. Upload videos to add transcript, use the audiogram wizard to make a video from audio, or create a video from a URL linking to an online article. When finished, publish your video and download to your computer.
In the Classroom
Use Headliners to create and share videos in multiple ways. Set the stage for upcoming lessons by creating a video from an upcoming text, post the video on your class website for students to view before reading. Include the transcription feature when sharing videos of student discussions or classroom activities (with appropriate parental permission, of course). Promote your classroom podcast using the Audio Wizard to share a short preview of an upcoming podcast. As an alternative to a research report, use the Find My Content feature and have students redefine their technology use by creating a multimedia video filled with images and video based on their research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Flourish - Kiln Enterprises Ltd
Grades
6 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Create online charts, maps, and interactive stories from your spreadsheets using Flourish. Modify technology use by uploading any spreadsheet (or copy and paste directly from Excel)...more
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Create online charts, maps, and interactive stories from your spreadsheets using Flourish. Modify technology use by uploading any spreadsheet (or copy and paste directly from Excel) to create tables without downloading additional software. After creating your free account follow prompts to design and construct a visualization or animated story. When finished, publish and share using the provided link, download the image to your computer, or use the code to embed into your website or blog. Free accounts include features to share your information publicly.
In the Classroom
Use Flourish to create and share information in many different ways. Ask students to upload information, then create bar graphs, pie charts, and line charts to view the same statistics through different methods. Use the animated story feature to display statistics over time. For example, when students create projects about climate change, ask them to create an animated story that shares facts from different decades with each decade becoming a new point in the story to demonstrate change. Because this site features many different options for sharing data, have different groups of students become experts on how to build and share different types of charts then share their expertise with their peers. Include student work created using Flourish within bigger projects using Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map where the report takes place. Use Zeemaps to modify technology use by creating animated maps featuring various location stops that can feature text, video, audio, and of course, your charts created with Flourish.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Read Ahead - Full Tilt Ahead, LLC
Grades
3 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Transform any text into a guided reading activity presentation using vocabulary, keywords, and phrases with Read Ahead. Create a presentation highlighting critical components of a text...more
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Transform any text into a guided reading activity presentation using vocabulary, keywords, and phrases with Read Ahead. Create a presentation highlighting critical components of a text passage by choosing keywords or phrases, add your vocabulary list, or use the Smart Skimmer to select items automatically. When complete, your presentation shares featured words and terms with readers before beginning to read the text. Share with students using the created link or through social media links.
In the Classroom
Include Read Ahead with your other resources for teaching vocabulary. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ELL learners. Create presentations for articles found in science or social studies materials to prepare students for difficult vocabulary and phrases. Take advantage of this site to use reading material with your students that might otherwise be above their reading level. Instead of asking students to use vocabulary in sentences to demonstrate understanding, ask them to use the words to create digital stories using an online tool like Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator can be used for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement, modification, or transformation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hiveword - Zecura, LLC
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Hiveword offers a set of integrated writing tools. Use the Novel Organizer to organize characters, setting, and plotlines as part of your ongoing story writing process. Use the Knowledge...more
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Hiveword offers a set of integrated writing tools. Use the Novel Organizer to organize characters, setting, and plotlines as part of your ongoing story writing process. Use the Knowledge Base as a search engine featuring over 40,000 articles all about the craft of writing. Other handy tools on the site include random character name and location generators.
In the Classroom
Your students don't need to write novels to take advantage of the many features of this site. Start out simple and use the character name and location generators as inspiration for creative writing projects. Share an article a week from the Knowledge Base on your class website as part of your writing lessons. After sharing articles, ask students to revise their work within Google Documents or Microsoft Word by adding highlights and comments to share changes. Enhance classroom technology and their learning further by asking them to keep a blog using Penzu, reviewed here, documenting what they are learning about writing. With Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Take advantage of the Novel Organizer to help students develop portions of any writing project. Ask them to take a screenshot of their story organization from Hiveword to include with their final project draft.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fiskkit - John Pettus
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Think of Fiskkit as a social media tool for sharing, discussing, and evaluating online articles similar to marking up a paper with a red pen. Copy and paste the URL ...more
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Think of Fiskkit as a social media tool for sharing, discussing, and evaluating online articles similar to marking up a paper with a red pen. Copy and paste the URL for a news story into Fiskkit to input into the site. Once available, click on any sentence to rate or tag information as true/false, descriptive, or complimentary. Share the article with others to evaluate then view the graph showing tag distribution. After sharing the article with your class use your account to see student names that read the article, organize comments, and open individual sentences for classroom discussion. At the time of this review, Fiskkit works best in Edge and FireFox browsers.
In the Classroom
Use Fiskkit in your classroom to teach students critical thinking and analysis skills. Share current news articles weekly with students to evaluate and discuss. After students provide their input, share the results on your interactive whiteboard, or with a projector, to review and discuss the reactions as a group. As students evaluate articles, replace paper note cards and suggest they use an online note-taking tool similar to Webnote, reviewed here, to justify their answers on Fiskkit. Webnote allows you to add sticky notes on the computer workspace and share with others using the URL created. Challenge students to find articles they would like to discuss, save, and collaborate on using Raindrop,io, reviewed here. Raindrop.io offers you tools to bookmark and save websites, with the additional feature of allowing participants to add comments to saved information. Raindrop.io can be used for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement. Instead of a written report, as students become more comfortable with evaluating online tools, ask them to use a multimedia presentation tool like Sway, reviewed here, to modify technology use and to discuss media bias and offer tips for evaluating online information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Edward - Isaac Lyman
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Stop dreaming about your first novel and start writing it with Edward, or take advantage of Edward's organizational tools even if you aren't working on the next Great American Novel....more
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Stop dreaming about your first novel and start writing it with Edward, or take advantage of Edward's organizational tools even if you aren't working on the next Great American Novel. Create an account using your email address to begin your first document. Choose from starting a novel, script, essay, or blank document. Use Edward's dashboard to plan, outline, analyze, write, and more. Select features within the analysis tool to find the most commonly used words, track usage of specific words, and see a computer-based sentence based on your work. Free accounts allow you to use the full interface, export to PDF or save on your computer.
In the Classroom
Use Edward as an excellent tool for helping students manage and organize any writing project. Instead of hand-written outlines, ask students to use Edward and share a screenshot of their project before beginning to write. Ask students to share with peers and help each other begin to organize writing. As students work toward completion of writing assignments, ask them to use Peergrade, reviewed here, to upload their work and enhance classroom technology use and their learning by collaborating with peers to make final revisions. As students move along within the writing process, include each piece as part of the overall assessment instead of just the final project. Find many ideas for implementing rubrics for assessment along with examples and online tools at TeachersFirst Rubrics to the Rescue, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Adobe Premiere Rush - Adobe
Grades
5 to 12
0 Favorites
0 Comments
Premiere Rush is an all in one app for creating, editing, and sharing videos. Download Premiere Rush and use it across any device. Access your work from anywhere with the ...more
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Premiere Rush is an all in one app for creating, editing, and sharing videos. Download Premiere Rush and use it across any device. Access your work from anywhere with the site's cloud storage feature. Use your Adobe account to log in either on your computer or with the app for your mobile device. Create a project by importing video, images, or audio. Use the editing features to edit, add titles, transitions, and much more. Easily share finished projects using social media links. The free version offers three exports and up to 2GB storage. Be sure to check the system requirements necessary before attempting to install Premiere Rush on your computer.
In the Classroom
Share Premiere Rush with students to use as an editing option when creating videos for any topic. If students are old enough, let them create their own account to take advantage of the free offerings. Upload videos and images from student projects or field trips to create a video to share on your webpage. Instead of a traditional research project, offer students the option to transform their learning by using Premiere Rush (or another video editing tool) to create a multimedia project. Include videos created with Premiere Rush with other information using Sway, reviewed here. Sway will transform your classroom technology use since it is a comprehensive digital product including images, text, web links, and video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Game Builder - WiscOnline
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Game Builder offers ready-to-go games and templates for building digital games in a variety of formats. Choose from classic games like Bingo and Jeopardy or try different forms such...more
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Game Builder offers ready-to-go games and templates for building digital games in a variety of formats. Choose from classic games like Bingo and Jeopardy or try different forms such as Squid Hunter or Chakalaka. Select a game option to begin making games, then follow prompts to add questions and responses. When finished, be sure to choose the option to make your game public making it available to share. Registration is required to create and share games.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the games offered on this site to review or introduce content in your classroom. If sharing with younger students, demonstrate on your interactive whiteboard first to show students how to avoid the advertising on the site. Share games on your class website or blogs. Instead of you creating the games, ask students to work together to create their own games for use when reviewing content. Ask students to replace pen and paper and include a link to their games as part of a blog post using edublog, reviewed here. Take this a step further at the end of your unit and modify classroom technology use and extend student learning by having students build an explainer video of the topic using moovly, reviewed here, or another video creation tool.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Notebook.ai - Indent Labs, LLC
Grades
8 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Notebook.ai is a story planning tool for writers. After registering, choose from different sections of the site to begin creating different portions of your fantasy world. Options include...more
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Notebook.ai is a story planning tool for writers. After registering, choose from different sections of the site to begin creating different portions of your fantasy world. Options include universe, character, world, creatures, governments, and much more. Free accounts allow you to build up to five universes with unlimited characters and items. Upload up to 50 mb of images to use within your stories. The default setting for all story tools in Notebook.ai is private, turn on the public setting to share a link with others to view.
In the Classroom
Although created for fantasy storytelling, Notebook.ai contains many features for teaching story writing. Ask students to create an account and choose an option such as the character builder. This section includes many ideas for building features for your character including describing his history, looks, and social profile. The same idea is built into the other areas to help develop descriptions of locations and surroundings in a story. Consider displaying this site on your interactive whiteboard during story writing lessons to introduce these ideas of character and scene building into student writing activities. Have students begin rough drafts using Google documents, then share with peers for peer editing activities. Ask students to highlight well-written portions of their story, and add questions and suggestions for improvement. Upon completion, enhance classroom technology use and learning by having students share their stories in weekly podcasts shared onto your class website. Podcast Generator, reviewed here, is an easy to use tool for creating and sharing podcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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