Every Sunday for several years, I’ve been opening a present – my weekly email from
TeachersFirst. This free email includes a bunch of websites that teachers might want to use – to improve a lesson in class, to provide students with an extension of learning in class, as professional resources.
Each website review identifies the
age-group most appropriate for the resource, the subject matter, how it might be used in class (or to extend class), any safety concerns (what students might see on the website), how tech-adventurous a teacher might need to feel, logistical matters (such as if registration or an email is needed). There is a direct link to the website, and even a way to share the link with others or bookmark it to your Delicious account.
The TeachersFirst website has much more, of course. All those reviewed websites (hundreds of them) are collected and
searchable – by grade level, by topic – and also browsable. And each review suggests other resources within this extensive collection. Further, if you want to get into a big technology topic like student blogging or wikis, in-depth information is available to help you understand the logistics, the safety concerns, the politics, as well as links to good blogging and wiki tools.
Now my weekly email “present” includes more than reviews, although I used to concentrate on the reviews in the beginning. There’s also information about
free online professional development workshops, a weekly poll, a tidbit about something on the TF website… you get the idea. There’s a lot here.
Hop on over to
http://teachersfirst.com. To start getting the weekly email, go to
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001vpPtPyii4VqQn5B85c49-A%3D%3D
You’ll be glad you did.
(Disclosure: I’m a member of the TF Educator’s Advisory Board.)
