Tools for Sharing

Below you will find a list of sites that will help you and your students share lessons and ideas through the World Wide Web.  We hope you can find something that will help you elevate your class to the next level of 21st Century learning.  We would love to hear from you as well, if you know of any helpful sharing sites please add them in the comments section.  Happy Sharing!!!

 Blendspace - This website essentially acts as a virtual differentiation board. Teachers and/or students can post various resources about a given topic, typically building in difficultly. Embedded within the site, there are multiple search options that you can use and directly link into your Blendspace board (youtube, educreations, Google, Flickr, Gooru). It is free to use and students/teachers can login using their Google accounts. Students can work at their own pace through the activities or they can start at a specified place (if they already mastered the basic skills). It syncs with Dropbox and Google docs, making it easy to embed other documents and websites. Teachers can use Blendspace as a part of instruction, as a supplement for use outside of the classroom, and/or have students create their own Blendspace boards to share with the class!

Dropbox - Dropbox is a cloud-based file-syncing service that is a great way to store, sync, and share documents, photos, videos, and files. Older grade students can use Dropbox to work on group projects and share files with their teachers. This also allows students who work on multiple computers at home and school to keep all of their files in one place.   

Pinterest - Pinterest is a site that allows the user to collect ideas for projects and the classroom by compiling links into themes (boards).  Users may follow other user's boards to be notified when something of shared interest is added to a board. A tool used to collect and inspire ideas of all kinds.  For teachers, there are many ideas for organization, lesson plans, classroom design, homemade games, and links to other web-based tools.

Screencast-O-Matic - This tool allows you to record videos of your screen with voice.

You can create and upload videos that are up to 15 minutes long. Videos can be accessed with a link that can be copied and pasted or the videos can be saved and shared as desired. Teachers can use this site to create short instructional videos for students as part of instruction or remediation. Students can also use this technology to research part of a lesson and present the information or instruction on that part of the lesson to the class. 

Seesaw - Seesaw is student driven digital portfolios that empowers students to showcase what they are learning in school. Students can upload their work into their personal portfolio and once it has been approved by the teacher parents are notified and can view their child's work.

Share My Lesson - Share My Lesson is a global website allowing teachers from around the world to upload and share their favorite lesson plans with other educators. A great way to virtually collaborate with other educators around the world. This is a good way to view ideas for lessons, but also tweak them to best fit the needs of your students.

TeacherTube - Like Youtube,  teacher tube hosts many different kinds of videos, but these videos are specific to teachers. They can be informational (how to teach a certain topic, how to give an assessment) or they can be meant for students to view. Teachers can do online professional development. Students can learn about a topic through audio/visual means. 

Teachers Pay Teachers - This site allows you to search through a number of lesson plans, and resources for lessons. Some of the materials are free, but most cost money, that is paid to the teacher who created the resource. This site allows you to search through a number of lesson plans, and resources for lessons.  

Word Press - Wordpress is a free blogging website that teachers can blog to share ideas and experiences. Students can blog as they learn new information in a unit or throughout the entire year.

YouTube - Youtube is a video sharing and publishing site owned by Google. It is a great tool for finding information or video clips but one that can be used for publishing videos to. Have students create videos using iMovie or MovieMaker and have them post those videos to Youtube to share. Great for video reports, projects, documentories and more.