Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Learn what a QR code is and how it works. These little images have amazing powers! This blog post includes a link to install a QR reader onto your computer (works with your webcam). This site/tool works with both Mac and Windows/Linux.
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Create visually stunning graphics, presentations, flyers, and more without any graphic design experience using Desygner. Created for non-designers, Desygner uses drag and drop features and ready-made templates that make it easy for everyone to build and share content to use for many different needs. Create an account to begin designing using templates, upload a PDF document, or start from scratch. Select items from the dashboard to add and edit text, images, YouTube videos, and more features. When finished, share your project using the provided link, or download in JPEG, PNG, PDF, or MP4 format.

Diagnostic Questions offers over 2000 quick questions for an immediate and accurate look at student understanding of math concepts. Choose the question link to browse and find questions by topic. Choose "Random Question" for one question on any topic. Each question offers multiple choice answers and checks for the correct response. View each response to find out how many others made that choice. Optional site registration allows you to assemble collections of questions into quizzes to save and share. Use the online editor to create and share your own quizzes and questions in just seconds. The site was created in the UK, so it has some pronunciations and spellings different from American English.

Diamonds are forever, and so are diamante poems created on this free site. Find a great tool to shape up your poets through the structure of a seven lined diamante poem. Learn about the diamond-shaped poems that use specific types of words for each line. Rhyming isn't needed, but needn't be impeded. Describe a central topic or two opposing topics like night and day. View the examples before creating your poem. Each screen provides an organizer for any poet to complete. Click on the parts of speech for definitions while composing poems. Edit your poem, if needed, before printing, downloading it as a PDF, or sharing through email. Save your draft to continue at a later date. This site is a must during poetry month in April.

Here you will find a "kid-appropriate" search tool featuring countless general topics: Facts & Reference, Computers/The Internet, The Arts, Strange & Mysterious, Hot Topics, The World, Science & Math, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Nature, and several others. Within each of the main topics are subtopics. For example, in the Classroom section you will find English, Foreign Langauges, Math, History, Reference Tools, Shapes, Woodwork, Colors, Art, Religion, Philosophy, Social Studies, and Homework Help. There is a ton here to explore! The information includes articles and images/photos.

Virtual dice can be addicting when trying to figure out what number will come up next, and they are quiet! You'll never have these dice roll off the table and under furniture. Choose from one, two, or three virtual die at a time. Simply click Roll and start the guessing.

Dictionary of Numbers is an extension for the Chrome web browser that helps make sense of numbers found on the web and puts them in human terms. For example, highlight the term 8 million on a web page and Dictionary of Numbers offers the comparison to the population of New York City. Use Dictionary of Numbers for your own search too. Just type in any number to receive a term comparing to something relatable. Click Download Now and follow the easy directions to get started. The introduction video is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable. Click the Download Now button to get this Chrome extension.

This online dictionary of units of measurement is a handy resource for understanding the differences between the international system, the metric system, and U.S. system of measures. Discussions concerning conversions from one system to another are provided along with 40 different calculators (each devoted to converting units in a particular category) and a helpful downloadable pocket guide.

No matter what you want to measure, you'll find information on how to quantify it here. While some browsing is required, teachers will find applications for this information in science, math, geography, and other subject areas. The reference possibilities are also extensive. Add this one to your toolkit of web reference specialties.

Dictionary.com provides much more information than a typical dictionary. Browse the page to find the Word of the Day, grammar tips, and word trends. Use the menu tabs at the top of the page to play games, find the meaning of Emojis, Slang, Acronyms, and more. Creating an account isn't necessary; however, it allows you to save words as favorites.
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Diffit is a tool that helps teachers differentiate lessons using any text, article, or web page. To use Diffit, you need to create a free account. Then, select one of three options: Literally Anything, An Article (or URL), or Any Text or Excerpt. Then, choose the approximate reading level you want for the differentiated materials. After entering all the necessary information, click Generate Output. Diffit will produce an adaptive reading passage, a summary, key vocabulary words, multiple-choice and short-answer questions, and open-ended prompts. All of the generated content can be edited or added to. Use the dropdown box to adjust the reading level or language. Share the materials with students by copying them into a document, printing, or exporting them to Google Docs/Forms.

Enjoy playing with photo puzzles using DigiPuzzle. Choose from the selection of world wonders, animals, or jigsaws for kids. Choose a picture option to begin. Scroll down to view puzzle choices such as sudoku, word search, memory, hangman, and others. Get a personalized puzzle for your website, follow the directions on the personal photo page to email the site owner with your photo.

Digital Citizenship offers a large number of resources for teaching digital citizenship for students of all ages, teachers, and parents. Scroll down the page to find categories for Online safety, Healthy online habits, Teaching and learning, and more to begin. Each section includes articles and resources for learning responsible digital citizenship. The site was created in Australia. American English speakers may notice some slight differences in spellings and pronunciations. The videos reside on sites other than Digital Citizenship. Some are on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

Digital Learning Day is an annual February event spotlighting successful instructional practice and effective use of technology around the country. Choose the "About DLDay" option to find out more about the goals of Digital Learning Day, begin with a detailed description listing the characteristics of digital learning. View exemplary models, showcases, lesson portals, and more using links provided. Sign up as a participant for Digital Learning Day then plan your own classroom activity, provide a presentation to parents, or choose from other ideas offered on the site. Explore the Participate portion of the site to find digital tools, online resources, graphics, lesson plans and more. Sign up isn't required; however, it does allow you to receive emails with updates and learning ideas throughout the year. The digital learning content demonstrations are conducted in four areas: math, science, language arts, and civics/social studies; critical areas, such as working with ELL or special education students, will be woven into the lessons.

This interactive social bookmarking and collaboration tool does so much more than any ordinary bookmarking tool. It is a research curation tool, knowledge-sharing community, website annotation tool, and social information network all rolled into one "cloud" package. To get started, check out the About link. You will find information and videos on the uses of Diigo. Set up an account, being sure to click the FREE education edition upgrade. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly. At this time Diigo is experiencing issues with the "Top 10 Tags" from the menu on the left.

This tool can be used as a basic bookmarking tool, simply allowing YOU to save, sort, and access your own bookmarks from ANY computer or mobile device (once you are logged in). You have the choice whether your bookmarks are public or private. You can gradually ease into more advanced and interactive features: highlight parts of sites and save or share those annotations, add sticky notes to parts of websites, pictures, screen-shots, documents, audio, and more. Do group collaborative research. Organize your bookmarks by tags. Unlike sorting bookmarks into file folders, adding tags permits you to put multiple tags or "labels" on one site. The same site you tag for book reports could also be tagged for biographies, for example. Additional Diigo features include groups (a way to share and exchange bookmarks with a certain group of Diigo users), messaging, and search features. You can search all the public bookmarks made by others and discover other people with similar interests, already bookmarked and ready for you to mark as your own. There are many groups you can join, such as those with a specific teaching interest or hobby. See "Tools" for many helpful options, including bookmarklets to make bookmarking instant on multiple devices. Bookmarklets drag directly to the toolbars on your computer and are well worth it. It goes beyond simple bookmarking and adds options like highlight, capture, send, read later, comment, search bar and Diigo message options. You decide your own level of use and desired tools to be shown on the bar. If choosing not to install the toolbar, then there is an applet called Diigolet that will be used in its place. It is not as strong a tool as the toolbar, but will work well if the toolbar installation is not possible. Check our sample group. You can also install a widget on your blog (or class web page) that will show your bookmarks there.
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All Aboard.... the Dinosaur Train! This website takes two topics that kids love (dinosaurs and trains) and turns the experience into a wonderful lesson in language arts, science, social studies, and more. Climb aboard the train and find lesson plans, games (which ARE educational), a field guide (introducing the various dinosaurs), a print option for printable pages of dinosaurs, and a video button to view clips of this educational show. Scroll to the bottom of the page for links for parents and teachers (with lesson plans, class activities, overview of the show, and more).

NOTE: the popularity of this site can make it slow to load, especially at peak times. Open it on the classroom computer before the lesson so it is in the "cache," and avoid heavy traffic times such as 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time when schools are online across the U.S.

Explore Ancient Egypt! Choose from topics on the left such as hieroglyphs, pyramids and temples, or kings and queens. Each topic includes descriptions, maps, videos, and more to take an in-depth look. Be sure to check out the cool hieroglyphic typewriter for typing names and sending or printing secret messages! The videos from this site are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
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Travel to the world's most amazing places whenever you like with Discovery Education's Virtual Field Trips, no chaperones or payment required! Explore the Curriculum tab at the top by subject and scroll down the landing page to view Virtual Tours where you can filter by subject area. The virtual field trips include a video along with multiple additional resources like a Teachers Guide, links, and additional resources to download. Some videos are hosted on YouTube. Search for your topic in the search bar, you never know what you'll find. This review found Pi Day virtual field trips!