Day 26: Go-To Sites @teachthought #reflectiveteaching #reflectiveteacher

Day 26: Go-To Sites @teachthought #reflectiveteaching #reflectiveteacher

Day 26

What are your three favorite go-to sites for help/tips/resources in your teaching?

I have to admit that this is one area in which I feel a bit inadequate. I feel like my colleagues who are technology driven are much better at collecting and identifying valuable educational website. I have a tough time buying into anything new that feels trendy and shiny. I like to use what works well, is reliable, and is a seamless part of my curriculum. I look forward to seeing what other teachers share here.

My three websites:

turnitin.com: The only problem with this website is that your institution has to pay for it, but if it does, then you have so many great writing tools at your disposal. I keep touting turnitin as a resource not for finding plagiarism in a “gotcha” way, but for reading and responding to student writing in what is still the best online space that I have found. It also offers a fantastic peer review option that far too few teachers use. If you haven’t seen all that turnitin offers, you should take a look. You can even shut off the plagiarism catcher if it bothers you or your students.

https://todaysmeet.com/: This is a great website for creating a back channel in the classroom. The interface is so simple and easy to use. Kids enjoy it. And it is free. I still don’t know who runs it, but it’s a great place to have students perform online discussions.

750words.com: I don’t use this website enough with my students, but for me, it’s a nice space to just type in my thoughts on a daily basis without publishing them or worrying about what anyone thinks. It’s a Zen zone for keeping my ideas straight for me and only me. I allow my days to slide, but when I get in a groove, it is a nice place to write.

classroom.google: The newest website that is becoming my favorite go-to classroom site is Google Classroom. My school subscribes to Blackboard, but I see that going the way of the Dodo as Google continues to provide free tools for education. Google scares me, but they offer such amazing online collaboration tools that I can’t help but use them.

 

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