 Please stop by…
If you have not had time to visit TeachersFirst 2.0 (beta), we still welcome you, even if you just stop by for a snack. It won’t be long before TeachersFirst moves entirely into the new format. We thank all of you for VERY helpful and insightful comments during the beta test period. We will post a message on the site letting you know when the “changeover” will occur. Winners of the gift certificates for helpful survey responses will be notified by mid-March.
Web World Getting Away from you?
Do you hear news stories or students talking about tech things you have never heard of? If you are like most teachers, you just don’t have time to follow all the new web gadgets. And many will come and go, right? If you are just curious enough to spend five minutes, stop by the What’s Hot> Hot Tech menu on the new TeachersFirst and glance at the tools some teachers are trying in classrooms. Even if you don’t have time to try one right now, you can put one of these ideas on your “list” for when you do. As a dedicated teacher who uses TeachersFirst to find teaching ideas, you are the kind of person who will eventually get around to trying a TF Edge tool, a wiki, or a blog. We can help.
Your sites- FAST
Did you know that if you join the new TeachersFirst (soon to be out of beta testing), you will see the latest listings for YOUR preferred subjects/grade levels when each time you log in. Never miss a new site again. Find out more about benefits of joining, including creating your own simple home page. Remember that membership is – and will remain—FREE.
No two alike
Every teacher is asked to differentiate instruction within your classes, but sometimes it is hard to think of strategies or find resources that can help. TeachersFirst has collected examples of web resources and lesson ideas that allow you to differentiate—from math and grammar basics to genetics. Browse through these examples to help you plan for your “variety pack.” This ever-expanding page of examples is linked under the Differentiating section of the Professional menu on our new site.
The way we look
Teachers are common characters in film, television, and books. If you have found a teacher-character, fictional or real, that you like, be sure to answer this week’s Question of the Week. Your teacher-colleagues will appreciate the recommendations they can find by viewing the responses.
Featured Sites
This week’s featured sites include:
- a TeachersFirst Edge entry for art teachers and their students to create online portfolios
- three different age-leveled sites to promote reading and literacy activities at home and school—loads of fun!
- an online literary and arts magazine
- a brand-new site for science teachers from NTSA
- an elementary baseball math site just in time for spring training
- a consumer site by and for high schoolers
- and more
You may be feeling like a lion, but we hope your students are being lambs as we await spring. Have a great week as you herd the flock.
Your “teacher to go,”
Candace Hackett Shively
Director of K-12 Initiatives |
