Teacher Links

• Smithsonian Education for Educators: This page offers a variety of resources for teachers, including a plethora of lesson plans. Although it does not exclusively focus on history, it does have a dedicated page to history (simply click on the History & Culture link in the navigational tool). The site also allows you to search by topic, play educational games, participate in online activities, and to simply browse interesting articles. Personally, I was very excited when I found that the Smithsonian offers an electronic version of Hnefatafl, which is sort of a Viking-era version of chess. Have fun exploring what the Smithsonian has to offer!
• Digital History - Using New Technologies to Enhance Teaching and Research: This is an amazing website that offers a wealth of quality information related to US History. This site offers multiple primary and secondary sources in the form of videos, biographies, interviews, images, timelines, music, and more. Additionally, handouts, lesson plans, and pre-constructed quizzes are available for teachers. The topics on this site start with The First Americans (pre-Columbus), and ends with the 21st Century. I cannot overstate just how fantastic this site is. If you are a teacher of US History, I highly recommend you pay it a visit.
• IWitness: A product of the USC Shoah Foundation, IWitness is a site dedicated to visually preserving history through the over 1,500 digital testimonies of survivors and witnesses of genocides. The site includes an easy-to-use search engine, and the testimonies that they provide are incredibly emotionally charged. The best way to learn about history is from those who have lived it. To join the site, you must either be an educator, or a student of an educator who is already a member (teacher's must invite their students in order for students to join). This is an amazing service. I highly recommend it for teachers who will be covering the Holocaust or the Armenian Genocide.
• Education.com: This site is dedicated to educators, and offers support for K-12 education in all areas of content. Lesson plans, worksheets, educational games, workbooks, activities, and education-related articles are all a part of this site. Unfortunately, not all of the resources available on this site are free, but enough are to make this site worth checking out.
• Screencast-O-Metic: This is an online video streaming took that captures what is on a computer screen. Essentially, it is a good way to record a presentation-based lecture. This can be particularly useful for students who could use a review of the lesson, as well as for days where you will be absent (just have the sub hit the play button). To get a better idea of what a screencast is, check out this Screencast that I created using Screencast-O-Matic..
• Teachers Network: This site provides lesson plans and activities for a variety of subjects. Additionally, Teachers Network features many other resources that can prove useful for teachers, such as how-to articles, tips and videos about teaching, a guide for new teachers, and much more. If you are a teacher, than Teachers Network is a must-have resource that is readily at your fingertips.
• Edutopia: This website offers a variety of articles that offer insights and tips for teaching. Additionally, Edutopia offers some instructional videos and a social network where educators can interact with each other in ways that can offer aid and support for one another, such as asking and answering questions. Some topics discussed on Edutopia are Classroom Technology, Classroom Management, Curriculum Planning, Education Equity, Formative Assessments, and more. If you are teacher, this is a valuable site that can help refine your teaching philosophy.
• Nearpod: Similar to presentation software such as Powerpoint and Keynotes, Nearpod allows you to create a presentation online. Why would you choose Nearpod over the competition? Because Nearpod is designed so that students can follow your presentation with tablets, such as iPads. Not only that, but with Nearpod you get to control what your students are viewing. Additionally, you may incorporate polls, quizzes and other formative assessment techniques into Nearpod with very little trouble at all. My only complaint is that Nearpod can be very difficult to edit. You can upgrade to a paid version of Nearpod, but I'm not sure if that will fix the formatting issues (think resizing fonts, images, etc).
• Class Dojo: Interested in an app that can keep track of behavior concerns in real time? Then Class Dojo is the app for you! First, you must sign up on their site (free!), set up class(es), and assign avatars for each of your students. Once your class is set up, you have the ability to award points for positive or negative behaviors. For example, if you see little Suzy picking up some trash on the floor, you may give her a point for citizenship. Joey forgot his homework again? That's -2 points! To learn more about Class Dojo, check out this article from Edutopia on it.
• Educational Graphic Organizer by Creately: Are you a fan of graphic organizer, but stink at creating them (like me)? Well then, the Educational Graphic Organizer by Creately is for you. This is a totally free, web-based software (meaning you don't need to download anything) that allows you to create a wide variety of graphic organizers that can easily be saved or printed. If you are a new teacher, or simply unsure about the effectiveness of graphic organizers, check out this article by Dr. Katherine McKnight that discusses the importance of using graphic organizes in the classroom.

"I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well." -Alexander the Great