Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Create and share data with the different GIF formats offered by Google News Lab. Choose from the three theme options - rectangles, circles, or racetrack to begin. Follow the prompts to add a title and data values. Add data as a percentage or numerical values then customize your GIF by selecting from different color options. When finished, save as an HQ (high quality) or LQ (low quality) GIF. Once created, save the GIF to your computer or share using the provided link.

Deck.Toys is an interactive lesson creation site that works with your existing content. Use the site's drag and drop features to build lessons using your PowerPoint and Google Slides. Add differentiation features within self-exploration paths. Other options include teacher-sync, turn this feature on, and all students are synced to your current slide. Deck.Toys also includes student progress reporting in real-time and a comprehensive lesson report. Included with the free option are two classrooms, up to three private decks, unlimited public decks, and the ability to assign up to two classroom decks at a time. Be sure to watch the tutorials and take advantage of the site's FAQ section to get started.

Deep Space Sparkle is an out of this world site that provides art lesson plans, student examples, tutorials, tips, and techniques. Are you looking to become art smart? Are your students craving creativity? These ideas are classroom tested and teacher approved. Perfect for art or classroom teachers in grades K-6, this site was developed by an elementary art teacher. Lesson plans are organized by subject, grade, and techniques. Use the search box to find specific lessons. Visit the "Art Basics" section to build your background or review art vocabulary found in the lessons. Go "Inside the Art Room" for information on classroom management, organization, supplies, and how-to videos. The posts are detailed and provide insight with authentic classroom experiences. Don't forget to dig through the "Scrap Box" section of the site for more great art information! Blog posts, book reviews, and art shows are just a few of the items located in the "Scrap Box" section. At the time of this review, there were also a few Common Core and the Arts blog posts. Deep Space Sparkle is free, but offers eBooks and eCourses for purchase. This review was for the FREE portion only. Don't forget to subscribe to the Deep Space Sparkle mailing list to receive updates.
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Delaware Content Standards

Delivr combines a URL shortening/tracking service with a QR-Code generator to easily share web-based information such as links to videos or web sites. Copy/paste any url into the bar. Use the drop-down menu for sources such as YouTube or Flickr; then press enter to shorten the url and share. Share options include Facebook, Twitter, or as a QR code to save in several different formats. Free sign-up offers additional options such as an account dashboard that allows you to manage campaigns, produce reports, and download QR codes. The FREE plan requires email registration and allows five "active campaigns" or services for one user.
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Do you need help finding interesting adjectives? Describing Words is your answer. Enter any noun into the search box to create a list of possible adjectives (and phrases!) to include. Click any word in the list to view a definition and select additional related words. Sort your list by usage frequency or by uniqueness. Other links provide more resources for related words to the one used initially.

Design Wizard is an online photo editor app. Create an account using email or login with a Facebook or Google account and verify with a link sent to your email. Choose the link to create a new design to access tools on the dashboard. Choose from thousands of templates and images to create designs for social media, cards, posters, book covers, and much more. When finished, use links to download or share. Note: a great deal of the preloaded content is not free; however, Design Wizard allows users to upload their own images to edit and share.

Create free posters in three easy steps without registration using DesignCap. Begin by selecting a template from the many offerings on the site. Use the tools to edit your poster's features including text, images, and background. Upload your images to use or choose from clipart available in DesignCap. When finished, share to social media using the provided link, download to your computer, or print your project. Registration isn't required; however, it gives you the ability to save projects to your online account.

Designer uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce images from your text. If you don't have a Microsoft account, you will be prompted to create one. Add your text to the chat box using as much descriptive language as possible. After selecting enter, Designer produces four images that match your request. Select any image, edit your prompt, or regenerate based on the original text to view more options. After selecting an image, download it to your device, save it to Bing, or use the option to customize the image with the edit button.

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.

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.

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.

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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