Useful Links
Interactive Tools for the Classroom:
Piktochart - Easy-to-use infographic-maker
Canva - Easy-to-use graphic design website
Kahoot - Free game based learning website
Blooket - Free game based learning website
Poll Everywhere - Poll Everywhere lets you engage your audience or class in real time - create graphs, word clouds, rank order etc, with the data.
ziteboard - Online Whiteboard with Realtime Collaboration
EdPuzzle - Easy way to engage students with videos
PearDeck - add the magic of formative assessments and interactive questions to your presentations right from Google Slides.
Do Ink - Interactive green screen app ($)
Storybird - Make visual stories in seconds
Inspiration Software, Inc. - create and update graphic organizers, concept maps, idea maps and other visual diagrams ($)
Prezi - Presentation Software - Online Presentation Tools
Powtoon - Make animated explainers for free
GoNoodle - Discover hundreds of videos that get your kids active at school and at home.
GoConqr - An integrated suite of content creation tools for each step of the learning journey
Story Jumper - Create a storybook online.
Book Creator - create books online
GoAnimate for Schools - Make Drag-and-drop animated videos ($)
MarinaraTimer - Custom Productivity Timer
Quizlet - Improve your grades by studying with flashcards, games and more
Slides Carnival - Free Powerpoint templates and Google Slides themes for your presentations
Slidesmania -More fun slide decks to use with Google Slides
SlidesGo - Another website with free slides templates!
Aha Slides - add polls, live charts, quizzes, word cloud, spinner wheels, engaging Q&A sessions to your presentation.
EverNote - Take notes easily
Classroom Scenes - The best screen for every classroom! All your favorite widgets in one place.
Mentimeter - "The solution for interactive presentations" Lets kids fill in words to describe a topic. Puts it all together in a word web.
Quizziz - Free gamified quizzes for every subject to play in class and at home. Pick an existing quiz or create your own for review, formative assessment, and more.
FlipGrid - empower all students by recording voices
Scribble maps - Allows you to create maps with labels and plot points etc.
Incredi Box- Allows students to create their own music through Beatboxing recordings etc.
sketchpad - draw, create, share! easy to use and create whatever you want
GimKit - game based learning, teachers can sign up for 30 day free trial then ($)
templates on google drawings - a list of pre-made google drawings templates
seesaw - demonstrate and share learning online
Text Giraffe - fun text generator for worksheets
Sora - books online
AVRCE links to several apps
NearPod - ask interactive questions during a lesson
Mote - chrome extension that allows you to voice record your comments/feedback
Genially - Create stunning presentations, infographics, and more
Kami - Google Chrome Extension annotation tool
padlet - Padlet can be used by students and teachers to post notes on a common page
parlay - online communication tool
KapWing - a collaborative platform for creating images, videos, and GIFs
TeacherMade - Convert all of your assignments to interactive online activities
Flippity.net - easily turn a google spreadsheet into flashcards/games etc.
Wordwall.net - create interactive activities for your students
LiveWorkSheets - create / view interactive worksheets online
Baamboozle - create quiz game online to play with students
Photopea - Online photo editor
Goosechase - Inspired by scavenger hunts, Goosechase is an online platform that helps you create interactive experiences.
Parlay - helps teachers facilitate meaningful, measurable, and inclusive class discussions.
Social Studies Resources:
The Canadian Encyclopedia - Full text of the authoritative encyclopedia about Canada and its people, in English and French.
Common Lit - A reading program that reaches all students
Facing History - Teaching Strategies - Some engaging activities and strategies to help in the SS classroom
Nova Scotia Virtual Archives - Virtual Archives, Resource Guides and Databases on topics from Nova Scotia's history
Nova Scotia Museum - A family of 28 museums
Veterans Affairs - Veterans week learning resources
Smithsonian Education - The gateway to Smithsonian Educational Resources
"The Canadian Social Studies Super Site" - a limited annotated list of websites for Canadian social studies educators, and those interested in Canada, carefully examined for their quality and use.
Government of Canada Website - information about Canada and Canadian government services.
Remembrance ... History - Resources for teaching about Canada at War
Art Canada Institute - provide art-infused, cross-curricular resources for K-12 teachers
Bradanpress - connect readers worldwide with Gaelic language & culture
Delmore "Buddy" Daye Learning Institute - Excellence in Africentric Education and Reasearch
Stats Canada - Economic, social and census data with daily analysis of statistical releases from Statistics Canada.
Virtual Museum of Canada - With more than 500 virtual exhibits, the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is the largest source of online content and experiences shared by large and small Canadian museums and heritage organizations. These online exhibits explore history, culture, science and the arts, and feature fascinating stories and treasures from communities across the country. A wealth of learning resources is also available to teachers.
Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History - The "Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History" project provides engaging, high-quality materials to schools and universities for the teaching of historical methods and Canadian History.
The Atlas of Canada - one of the most comprehensive publicly-funded mapping websites for Canada.
ESRI - GIS mapping software
EasyBib - Automatic works cited and bibliography formatting for MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian citation styles.
lesplan - resources available in French and English - some free, some you need to pay a subscription
Youth and Philanthropy Initiative - A fully-resourced, equity-centred civic engagement project for high schools
The Azrieli Foundation - The Azrieli Foundation's Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program educational materials page
Second Language Learning:
Duolingo - the world's most popular way to learn a language.
Bookbox - Animated stories that help improve reading & language learning skills through a scientifically tested concept.
Easy Accents - Easily add accent marks to your Google Docs
List of links to Second Language Learning resources
List of Useful Apps and Websites for Second Language Learning
ESLBase - Everything you need to teach English as a Foreign Language
Learner's Dictionary - Defines words in student friendly language
BonPatron - Helps correct your grammar mistakes in French. ** Does not correct all mistakes, do not rely solely on it! **
Deepl - Online Translator
WordReference - Online Dictionary (has multiple options for languages)
Wixx - Movement breaks for the classroom in French
Health & Wellness
BC's Information Source for Children, Youth and Families - a huge variety of resources for engaging with mental wellness
Need Help Now - A website to help youth remove inappropriate photos from the internet
Long Live Kids - Companies Committed to Kids: PSA's, information on health and wellness
Bell Let's Talk - End the stigma
Depression Hurts - Offers details about depression, how it affects the emotions and the body, and the treatments available.
Classroom Brain Breaks - Pinterest board with lots of great ideas for incorporating Brain Breaks into the classroom at various grade levels.
iamalive.org - An Online Crisis Network
TeenMentalHealth.org - to help improve the mental health of youth by the effective translation and transfer of scientific knowledge.
KidsHealth - Healthy information and advice for kids, teens and parents
Sexual Health NS - Info from sexual health centres across Nova Scotia
goaskalice - ask questions / see questions answered by other teens
**Apps for Mental Wellness
8 Apps That May Help Maintain Your Mental Health
Stop, Breathe, Think - Online meditation that is guided and targeted.
iTouchiLearn Feelings - useful for students that struggle with social cues, and how to interpret and communicate their emotions using technology ($)
MindShift – useful for students who struggle with any form of anxiety. It gives them tips and tricks for how to deal with their anxiety on a situation by situation basis.
Depression Test – a first step for diagnosis of depression, this app follows the Patient Healthcare Questionnaire-9 which is used by many healthcare professionals. It also allows you to track your levels of depression to see if medication and other therapies are working.
Anxiety Self Test – this app aids in the diagnosis of anxiety, much like the Depression Test and it also free. It is able to track the levels of anxiety over an extended period of time which can lead to a clearer diagnosis and course of treatment.
MoodTrack Diary – this app allows you to track your mood over an extended period. It will notify you to fill it out each day. However, for your data to be private (it is still anonymous) you must purchase the upgrade for $1.39 but it does allow you to chat with other people who experience similar moods as you to help build support networks.
Moment App for iPhone - an iOS app that automatically tracks how much you use your iPhone and iPad each day.
**Disclaimer: any time you are promoting these apps to your students, be sure to tell them that they are suggestions and not a diagnosis from a health care professional. Students can use these apps to aid them or as a first step to get help but they should not replace going to a doctor or counsellor.**
Other Useful Educational Links/Resources:
NS Department of Education and Early Childhood Development - Provides department information describing services and programs, publications, news releases, learning resources, and provincial education policy.
HRCE Website - Find information about the services they provide, school and financial statistics, board meetings and committees, and their goals and priorities.
NS Student Services Website - provides direction and leadership to school boards regarding the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and services
Teacher ToolKit - A ton of tools and strategies to use in the classroom!
ReadWriteThink - "Here at ReadWriteThink, our mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials."
Education World - connecting educators to what works. K-12 education resources, lessons and news.
Brown Bag Teacher - Teaching Blog with tons of resources
TedEd - Build a lesson around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk or YouTube video
Discovery Education Canada -Free elementary, middle and high school teacher resources, including puzzle maker, student games and activities and lesson plans.
Edmodo - The safest and easiest way for educators to connect and collaborate with students, parents, and each other.
Class Dojo - The simple way to build an amazing classroom community
Smart Notebook - Smart Technology - Easily create interactive learning experiences
Wonderopolis - Where the wonders of learning never cease
Evaluating Resources - tips to help you explain why a particular source is a good fit for your research project.
Explore Program - information on the 5 week French Immersion program (have fun, explore another part of the country and learn French!)
Pixabay - Over 1 million+ high quality stock images and videos can be used for presentations or projects
Screencastify - Google Chrome add-on to record your computer screen
The Noun Project - Free icons that can be used in presentations / projects
Explain Everything - Teach, present, sketchnote, create videos, and work together,
Dreamscape - interactive ELA game for grades 2-8
Gamify your classroom - post on ideas for games to use in your classroom
MsJung'sTechTips - Teacher with lots of fun ideas and free resources
linktr.ee - Connect audiences to all of your content with just one link