2014 was a great year for educational technology. There was something for everyone! In this episode, I'm going to highlight ten of the Top EdTech sites for 2014. Perhaps you can give one or two a try in 2015.
10. SciShow & Veritasium YouTube Channels
- These YouTube channels offer short, and engaging science videos on various topics. My students LOVED these videos. Full of information and presented in an entertaining format. Just a note however, you MUST view the videos first as some content is not appropriate for schools.
9. KidBlog
- This is a great place for students to write their thoughts, book reports, etc and share their work with their classmates as well as their teacher. No email address is required. Geared more toward the elementary and middle school student.
8. Smithsonian Education
7. Storybird- Education resources and information, lesson plans, field trips, and interactive activities based on Smithsonian museum collections and research.
- Storybird lets anyone make visual stories in seconds. They curate artwork from illustrators and animators from around the world. Aspiring writers of any age turn those images into fresh stories.
6. Hstry
- Create interactive timelines that include images, videos, text, audio and quizzes. Create your own timelines or choose from the library of timelines available.
5. OpenEd
- OpenEd is the largest K-12 education resource library, offering over one million free assessment, homework assignment, videos, games and lesson plans for every Common Core Math, Language Arts, Literacy and Next Generation Science standard.
4. Educanon
3. Learn Zillion- EduCanon is an online learning environment to build and share interactive video lessons. Teachers begin with any YouTube, Vimeo, or TeacherTube video content (screencast, Khan Academy, Minute Physics, TED, NOVA, etc.) and transform what is traditionally passive content into an active experience for students. By time-linking activities that students engage with as the video progresses the content is segmented into digestible components.
- Learn Zillion offers a free and growing set of Math and ELA resources and presentations for grades 2 -12 that have been developed by expert teaches directly from the CCSS. More than 1,300 teachers and administrators submitted nomination and LearnZillion made the short list of products and services that have proven to be effective in the classroom.
2. Khan Academy
- What doesn't Khan Academy do? They offer practice exercises, videos, and a personalized dashboard for students to learn at their own pace. Subjects include math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, physics and more. They have also partnered with NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.
1. PBS Learning Media
- This is my new favorite site! PBS LearningMedia is your destination for direct access to thousand of classroom-ready, curriculum-targeted digital resources. PBS LearningMedia builds on the strength of public media and is designed to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Resources are aligned to CCSS and include videos and interactives, audio, documents, and in-depth lesson plans. You can also "favorite" and "share" resources with your class and colleagues. The Basic service is free for PreK-12 educators.
Do you have your own favorite Edtech sites? Feel free to share in the comments below.
