Teachers, what cool sites do you use...

[alliecats]

Hello teachers of the DIS. I just wanted to hear about some of the cool sites you are using in your classrooms to do creative stuff or to allow your students to do creative stuff?

For example, I just discovered Glogster and Animoto and those are both free and very easy to use. Then I heard about Weebly, where you can create websites for free and it is also incredibly easy to learn so it's great to share with students.

Do you have any other suggestions along these lines? I would love to hear from you guys about any newish (preferably free and open to anyone) technology you are using and how.

Thanks!!!

 

[Ember]

For lower grades Razkids is an awesome reading site. GoAnimate4schools is a wonderful site for older grades that lets students create animations. (We did this instead of a paper. The kids loved it and by the end, with scripting and storyboards, they wrote way more than they would have!) As a pay for site, Discovery Learning is a powerful video streaming site that is beautifully set up. Those are three I use quite a bit off the top of my head, but I do have others. They're not on this computer, though.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love Spelling City.

 

[rie'smom]

I use edhelper. It is a paid site but $39.95 for the year which i think is a bargain. It's a wonderful resource and has tons of DIY crossword, flash card, worksheets, tests etc.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Not a teacher just a mom but we use puzzlemaker.com and spellingcity.com for homework.

 

[rpbert1]

there is a few sites on our schools web site here : not sure if they will be good for you as we are in the UK
http://www.bangorcentral.com/kidszone.asp

Also the research zone is good as well on our site.

 

[Daisy&Max]

We use www.brainpop.com. I think some of it is free, but our school has a site license so I don't know how much it is for individuals. But it is fun for the kids.

 

[meliss8599]

We use www.brainpop.com. I think some of it is free, but our school has a site license so I don't know how much it is for individuals. But it is fun for the kids.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! And BrainPop Jr. These are fabulous educational cartoons/videos and the kids get so much out of them. Linked to each video are activities, word walls, quizzes, etc. I use BrainPop and/or BrainPop Jr. every few days in my classroom!

 

[Lanshark]

Enchanted Learning is another one. I use edhelper the most

 

[IDoDis]

I follow Beth Newingham! She has got to be one of the best elementary teachers in the country! She must eat, live, and sleep teaching. I don't know how on earth she finds the time to do all of the creative stuff that she does with her students, even after having a baby!

Here's her web page! Beth provides links to pdf files, photos, and other things she creates, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. She also writes a monthly column for scholastic.com.

http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/

ETA: You can easily spend hours and hours looking at her links and pages that she's created or scanned for easy downloads to use in your classroom at no charge! It's mind-boggling and makes my head swim seeing all of her things that she gives away for free!!!