Promoted Links and Resources

Research and writing are the cores of academic communication. Below, you'll find resources that help users find credible resources, create bibliographies, and improve their writing skills.

Google Scholar
While many schools often have subscriptions to resource databases that students can use, accessing them can be challenging for students at home or on their own devices. Google scholar allows users to search published academic journals, reports, and studies that are much more likely to be credible and reliable than the websites that one may find with a normal Google search. While some of the articles found here are stuck behind paywalls, many are not. This is a great resource for finding information straight from the experts in the relevant field. Furthermore, results from Google scholar can be great mentor text to show students the formatting and language used in professional, published writing.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Perhaps the most comprehensive writing aid on the internet, OWL contains pages for just about everything writing-related one might need. Resources are easy to follow for writers of all ability levels and cover subjects such as MLA and APA formatting, plagiarism avoidance strategies, format guides for writing in different mediums, grammar rules, and much more. This resource is great as a student reference and teacher reminder. Even the best of us can't remember ALL the rules!

EasyBib Google Docs Add-On
I'll be the first to admit that the main EasyBib.com website is no longer one I'd recommend. Unfortunately, a few years ago, most major citation making websites were purchased by a large conglomerate that lowered their functionality, added usage limits, and flooded the sites with ads. Fortunately, the Google Docs add on for EasyBib is still a fantastic, easy to use resource that lets the user quickly create bibliographies formatted according to the style guidelines of their choosing.

Citationsy
In response to the takeover of many citation websites mentioned above, Citationsy was created to be an independent, bloat-free tool for citation writing. While it does require a profile and login to use, it is, in my opinion, the easiest and smoothest way to make citations outside of the Docs add-on listed above. This might not be the most popular citation making website on the net, but it's definitely my favorite.

Below you'll find useful resources that let you watch, read, or listen to helpful educational material.

No Fear Shakespeare
While there's no substitution for the beauty of Shakespeare's original words, there's no doubt that much of his work can be overwhelming for even advanced readers. No Fear Shakespeare translates the bard's work line-by-line into more easily understandable language. This is a great resource for reviewing, pre-reading, aiding students with lower reading levels, or getting a little help with a particularly confusing passage. It's also a great tool for teachers teaching a play they aren't yet super familiar with.

Mythology Crash Course
Though Crash Course may see more use in history classes, its 35-part series on mythology is invaluable for teachers looking to expand their mythology units beyond the Greeks (though the Greeks are present here, too). With videos on specific deities, story archetypes, and more, these videos are great class supplements to break up lectures and reading. Using diverse cultures in mythology units promotes cultural diversity, and students are often excited to hear about mythological systems they aren't already familiar with.

TED Talks
At this point there probably aren't many people that haven't watched a TED talk, and the site's reputation is well-earned. Filled with interesting lectures of various length and subject matter, these videos can be used for both instructional and inspirational purposes. Quality varies enough that I wouldn't simply let students loose on the site, but curating a list of pre-watched videos about relevant subject matter is a great way to give students some element of choice in their learning.

This American Life
This American Life is a collection of non-fiction personal stories of unique circumstances and heavy emotions. I recommend previewing and selecting specific videos for student study instead of letting students use on the site, as a fair few stories contain explicit language or sexual content. These stories are great exemplar pieces to complement traditional written stories in a variety of classroom units.

Whether it be creating visually appealing presentations or designing attractive graphic organizers for students, the resources below will help you create engaging work without breaking copyright laws.

FreePik.com
This website offers photographs, vector illustrations, poster templates, and more. A free account allows the user to use any of the site's resources for both personal and commercial use with attribution, and a paid account will let you use them without any attribution at all. All of the headers you see on this portfolio were acquired with my own FreePik.com premium account.

Canva.com
If creating resources from scratch isn't your thing, Canva offers a way to easily customize pre-made templates for a wide array of handouts, posters, infographics, and more. While a paid account unlocks more tools and allows the user to use their creations for commercial purposes, their free account options are more than enough for both most student and teacher needs.