Top 15 Educational Sites/Apps of 2021

It's that time of year for to list my favorite sites/apps of the year.  This years list has quite the variety and covers a wide range of educational content, such as: game based learning, programming/coding, educational resources, and more.  As in previous annual end of the year lists, any site/app listed before will not be listed here.

Top 15 Educational Sites/Apps of 2021

1. BookWidgets - BookWidgets is a fantastic that lets teachers become "paperless' and create interactive quizzes/games that can automatically be graded.  This is all done through an educational portal making it easy to assess student learning and differentiate instruction.
2. CodePen - CodePen is an innovative site that is ideal for teaching students how to program/code.  This is a great way to integrate STEM into the classroom as well as monitor student's progress in real-time.
3. Thinkio - A great learning tool for educators to make interactive worksheets/lessons online.
4. SplashLearn - A super-fun, easy-to-use online Math platform for grades K-5.  SplashLearn uses "game based learning" to teach a wide range of subject.  Finally, the educational portal makes it easy for teachers to track and manage student accounts.
5. GamiLab - A excellent to create and play educational games while assessing student's learning.
6. BombBomb - A useful site that makes it easy for teachers to create "free' video emails to students and parents.
7. Blackbird - One of my favorite sites for students to learn how to program/code in an educational environment.
8. Edform - A wonderful site that turns worksheets into interactive graded assignments.  Also, these graded worksheets can generate a detailed report making it easy to assess student learning.
9. WisdomMaps - An innovative site uses "mind maps" to teach history and humanities.
10. edu-pal - A nice Chrome extension that lets users create polls/quizzes in Google Meet, while users respond in real-time.
11. Pedagogue - A fantastic new social network where educators can collaborate and find educational resources.
12. Tract - An interesting new site where students collaborate w/ their peers to learn about different topics.
13. Brainstormer Online - A new "spin" on brainstorming where users create and then vote on their favorite brainstorm to use.
14. Peanuts in the Classroom- A fun site for educational resources for ages 4-13.
15. Ducksters - a nice safe friendly search engine for students. 

Top Go-to Sites for Teaching from Anywhere in 20-21

It’s anything but “that time of year again” as the typical “What will my class be like?” questions teachers often ask themselves are being overshadowed by much more ominous and anxiety-inducing ones such as “Where and how will I be teaching this year?” The situation seems to change by the day, and schools and districts are scrambling to best prepare teachers for multiple scenarios. 

But what if the instructional options provided by your school or district fail to meet your specific needs? My advice: pick one or two “go-to” tools ASAP that are easy for you and your students to use both within the classroom and remotely to start off and quickly become familiar with then continue using consistently throughout the year no matter where teaching and learning end up taking place.

Here are my ‘go-to’ sites to ensure you and your students’ success from anywhere in 2020-21:

1. Boomwriter - You may already know I’m a big Boomwriter fan, and I continue to be even though they’re not free anymore. Regardless, Boomwriter’s tools (Assignments, Student Journals, Stories) let teachers easily create and share any kind of writing activity in any and all subjects. Your students will love writing on BoomWriter, and there are many features (peer-to-peer review, teacher-student chat, vocabulary tracking, etc.) that when coupled with the ability to provide personalized feedback from anywhere are sure to consistently engage your students and improve their writing all year long. Go to Boomwriter.com and start your free trial.
2. Buncee - Buncee is a fantastic learning tool and digital canvas that educators are using in a wide variety of ways (i.e. flipped classroom, project based learning, digital storytelling, etc.)  Educators are loving new features such as: Ideas Labs, Boards, and Immersive Reader.  Best of all, is the educational portal that allows teachers to create and manage students as well as a wide variety of educational resources/templates to help educators integrate Buncee into their curriculum.
3. I Know It - A fantastic site for interact Math practice for grades K-5.  Also, educators can assign lessons, assess students, and differentiate instruction.
4. Otus - A excellent all-in-one mobile learning solution for schools that combines the best features of a Learning Management System and Data Management System.
5. Socrates - A great new site where educators can asses students and differentiate instruction through a unique Game Based Learning system.
6. Storyboard That - Storyboard That is a widely popular website that teachers are using to integrate technology in their classroom.  This is a great learning tool that educators are using for project based learning, graphic organizers, digital storytelling, writing prompts, and much much more.  Also, there are lots of lesson plans, assignments, and templates, for teachers to choose from to help meet their needs.
7. TypeTastic - A excellent K-12 site for educators integrating keyboarding/typing into their curriculum.  Best of all are the wide variety of resources and ability to track students progress.

30 Sites/Apps for Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling is the process of telling a story through the use of digital means.  Also, it happens to be one the easiest ways to integrate technology into the classroom.  Educators can use digital storytelling w/ almost any subject and can even "flip" their classroom by using mobile apps.  Below is my comprehensive list of sites/apps that can be used for digital storytelling...

*This list is in alphabetical order.

30 Sites and Apps for Digital Storytelling

1. 30hands Learning - A fantastic user-friendly iOS app for creating a story by adding a narration to photos. Also, 30hands has excellent video tutorials to help users create a story.
2. Animaker Class - An excellent site w/ educational portal for students to create animated stories.
3. Book Creator - A great mobile (iOS/Chrome) app that educators everywhere are using to create stunning eBooks and digital stories.
4. BoomWriter - A fantastic safe site for students (teachers create accounts - not student email required) to create digital stories/books through a collaborative process.  Once a story is completed, it gets published online and an actual book can then be ordered.
5. Buncee - The world's leading digital canvas for creating digital stories and more.  Best of all, is the educational portal that allows educators to track and monitor student progress, create assignments, "Ideas Lab" and more.
6. Cloud Stop Motion - An innovative site for creating stop motion video projects that can be used for digital storytelling and project based learning.
7. Comic Life - Probably the most popular digital comic iOS app for creating comics.  This is a very fun and easy to use app for telling the story by creating a customized comic.
8. Elementari - Elementari is one of my favorite new sites w/ educational portal that allows students to create: digital stories, portfolios, choose-your-own-adventures, and more.
9. HeadUP - A interesting new site for creating beautiful looking stories in a matter of seconds.
10. Imagine Forest - An innovative site where a student can create a digital story or use a story starter for brainstorming that writing process.
11. Litehouse - A fantastic new site for creating digital stories through a state-of-the-art text editor.
12. Little Bird Tales - One of the most popular sites for digital storytelling that allows students to create their own art and record their voice.  Also, there is a excellent iOS app available for mobile learning.
13. Make Beliefs Comix - A excellent site for creating digital comics in a number of different languages as well of lots of educational resources and lesson ideas.
14. My Story - A wonderful iPad app for creating a digital book/story.  All a user has to do is draw or upload a picture, add some text, and then record audio to tell a story.
15. Nawmal - A popular site for creating stunning looking animated videos w/ educational portal.
16. Noisy Book - A cool new iOS app that not only adds sound effects to books to books, but lets users create their own digital story w/ sounds as well.
17. Pixton for Schools - A nice site w/ educational portal for creating digital comics.
18. Plotagon - An innovative site that reminds me of the now defunct Xtranormal, where are user selects a character then types up a script and Plotagon takes care of the rest.
19. Speech Journal - A nice iPad app for pairing recorded audio w/ a digital picture from one's iPhoto library to create a story.
20. Story Creator - One of my favorite iOS apps for creating a digital story by syncing audio and photos together.  Also, an option allows for highlighting of text during narration to help a student w/ Reading.
21. Storybird - A great site w/ educational portal where students create art inspired stories and then embed into a site/blog.
22. StoryJumper - A fantastic site for creating a digital story by building a story from scratch or choosing one of the story starters.  A student can add objects, text, and even upload their own art too.
23. Storyboard That - A wonderful site w/ educational portal that teachers are using in a wide variety of ways including digital storytelling.
24. Strip Designer - A iOS app similar to Comic Life for creating a digital comic.
25. Tellagami - A nice way to tell a short story by creating an avatar and then recording audio, similar to Voki.
26. UtellStory - A nice place to tell a story through audio, images, and video, as well as collaborating w/ others.
27. VoiceThread - One of the most popular educational sites/apps for creating a interactive digital storytelling by uploading multimedia content and recording an audio narration.  A finished VoiceThread can then be embedded into a site/blog.
28. Wakelet - Wakelet lets educators easily bookmark any item on the web (i.e. article, blog, tweet, etc.) and then curate them in stunning visual ways to curate w/ others.  This can be used in a wide variety of ways such as for: digital storytelling, professional development, and more.
29. WriteComics - A simple to use site for creating a digital comic to tell a story.
30. Zimmer Twins - A fun site w/ educational portal for creating animated movies/stories.

15 Online Summer Learning Opportunities

It's that time of year again for my annual list of online summer learning opportunities or programs.  This is especially prevalent w/ the COVID-19 "double whammy" that is happening w/ school closures around the world, economic downturn, and high possibility of summer learning loss for students.  These programs help fill a gap that sometimes is lacking over the summer months and best of all can be done at the comfort from home.

*This list is in alphabetical order

15 Online Summer Learning Opportunities

1. BoomWriter Haunt - A Summer writing club that uses BW's unique interactive story-writing process to create entertaining collaborative stories.
2. Brain Chase - Is a online five week program for grades 2nd-8th.  This adventure has students working in the subjects of Math, Reading, Writing, and more, while watching animated episodes and solving educational problems.
3. Coding With Kids - A wonderful online summer camp that teaches kids of all ages how to code using Scratch, Minecraft, and more.
4. CodeWizardsHQ - A great place to learn how to code in a 3 week online class.
5. Connected Camps - An innovative online camp for students wanting to learn STEM skills such as coding, media, collaboration, and more through the use of Minecraft.
6. Connections Learning - A nice collection of technology related online courses for Math and reading grades K-8th.
7. Edgenuity - A great program for districts K-12 that offers at school classes or "virtual" through their online instructors.
8. fueleducation - A excellent online program for grades 6-12 w/ a wide variety of courses teaching any number of subjects.
9. GoNoodle (Camp GoNoodle) - A fun and free online program that has students learning through play and other various educational activities.
10. ID Tech - A fun online camp for students wanting to learn STEM skills such as: coding, game development, robotics, and more.
11. K5 Learning - A online Reading and Math program for grades K-5th w/ real time results and detailed reports.
12. K12 - A robust online summer school program w/ lotos of electives for students grades 6th-12th.
13. Outschool - A fantastic online platform for students ages 3-18 looking to learn a wide variety of subjects (i.e. Minecraft, physics, panio, etc.)
14. Time4Learning - A fun online program for grades PreK-8th in the subjects of Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts.
15. Treca - An 8 week course for grades 9-12.  Treca offers a wide range of online courses such as: Math, Science Social Studies, and more.

Top 10 Sites for creating a Digital Portfolio

With the end of the school year coming and schools being closed due to the pandemic a digital portfolio is a great way for students and educators to showcase their work.  These tools will make it students and teachers to show parents what academic projects they've been working on throughout the school year.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

Top 10 Sites for Creating a Digital Portfolio

1. bulb - One of the best and most popular educational sites around to create and showcase stunning digital portfolios.
2. ClassDojo Portfolios - The widely used student/positive reinforcement platform has an excellent feature for students to create student-led digital portfolios.
3. FreshGrade - An excellent all-in-one site for educators to create: lessons, grading, and even portfolios.
4. Google Sites - Lots of districts/schools are using Google Sites to have students create digital portfolios and control who can/can't see them.
5. KudosWall - A wonderful free easy-to-use site that lets students create digital portfolios w/ audio, video, and images.
6. PortfolioGen - A very modern looking site to create professional looking digital portfolio w/ lots of features, such as uploading a document, video, or more.
7. Seesaw- A very popular educational tool that educators are using for assessing, differentiating instruction, and easily creating digital portfolios.
8. Showcase - A innovative site for students to create digital portfolios that contains only items they want others to see w/ lots of control features.
9. Sway - An educational app created by Microsoft that is ideal for creating: presentations, newsletters, and digital portfolios.
10. Weebly for Education - Weebly is a site that has been around for while that is great for created student/classroom websites and blogs.  Also, Weebly can be used to create multimedia styled digital portfolios.

10 Sites for Professional Development

"Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development
and career advancement. Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage ^[1] There are a variety of approaches to professional development, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson study, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance. (wikipedia)"

PD is a huge part of any educator's life. We as teachers are always teaching/leading others and always learning ourselves.  With that being said I decided to compile a list of 10 sites/resources for Professional Development.

*These sites are in alphabetical order.

10 Sites for Professional Development

1. Answer Garden - A nice free solution that educators are using for professional development to poll their audience and gather feedback via a online chat.
2. Edthena - Edthena is a wonderful site/app for professional development that uses an innovative "video coaching" approach.  This is ideal for professional development as it helps highlight best teaching practices, gives educators a safe/comfortable place to learn, and makes it easy for self reflection. 
3. NBC Learn - NBC Learn is the educational division of NBC News and delivers award winning educational content for grades K-12, including: resources, lesson plans, and tips for professional development.
4. Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook - A free resource for educators that has lots of resources for educators such as: articles, news, tips, professional development, and more.
5. Teq - Teq is a new site designed to offer online professional development to K-12 educators.  Teq has over 30 educators who specialize in offering best practices and integrating technology in a wide variety of areas, such as: digital whiteboards, web 2.0, Google Apps, and more.
6. PBS Learning Media - A excellent site for free resources including: videos, interactives, lesson plans, professional development, and more.
7. UMU - A fantastic site and mobile app (iOS/Android) that can be used for any subject and even professional development.
8. Unhangout - An interesting new site from MIT for creating back channel chats w/ the ability to host videos and have breakout sessions, and more.  A great solution for getting feedback from your audience.
9. Wakelet - Wakelet lets educators easily bookmark any item on the web (i.e. article, blog, tweet, etc.) and then curate them in stunning visual ways to curate w/ others.  This can be used in a wide variety of ways such as for: digital storytelling, professional development, and more.
10. Yo Teach - One of my favorite sites around for creating a back channel back w/ lots of features for educators and ideal for Professional Development.

Top 20 Safe Search Engines

No site is really 100% safe even when dealing w/ filtered search engines, but keeping that in mind these are a good place to start in dealing w/ students or searching from home...

*This list is in alphabetical order.

Top 20 Safe Search Engines

1. Choosito - A very popular safe way to search the web as well as library resources.
2. Classhook - A wonderful site for students to find educational videos through TV shows and movies.
3. Cybersleuth Kids - A older search engine that is great for finding educational games, activities, clip art, and more.
4. DinoSearch - A nice safe search engine for kids that uses three different filters to block inappropriate search results.
5. DOGOnews - DOGOnews is an excellent site for finding Reading material/assignments for grades K-8 that can then be integrated into Google Classroom.  This is done through their curated safe (COPA compliant) educational database/search engine that provides assessment and language/speech features.
6. Famhoo - A family friendly search engine that filters all content.
7. Google (safe search) - Google has a nice safe search setting which can be locked into place at the browser level for those that use Firefox.
8. History Engine - An amazing way for students to search through different events throughout history.
9. Kiddle - One of the most popular safe visual search engines for kids.
10. Kidtopia - A nice safe COPPA/CIPA compliant search engine for kids/students.
11. Kid Rex - Is a wonderful search engine designed around Google's safe search. Also, it has a very nice visual appeal for kids.
12. Lesson Planet - A great search engine for teachers looking for lessons and other resources that they can share w/ their students.
13. Lumos Edsearch - A excellent site for for finding educational resources, videos, apps, and more.
14. Nettrekker - A great paid site for searching the web not only for students but for teachers as well.
15. Photos for Class - The easiest way to find safe Creative Common licensed photos for the classroom and home that are cited appropriately.
16. Refseek - A wonderful academic search engine that indexes through documents, encyclopedias,  web pages, and books.
17. Springo Kids - A fun visual search engine for kids where results are given in thumbnails.
18. Sweet Search - A group of experts (that includes librarians & teachers) evaluate all content from this search engine.
19. Symbolab - A innovative scientific search engine that is great for solving Math and Science problems.
20. Top Marks - A great site developed in the UK by teachers who approved everything on this site.

15 Tools for Self Paced Learning

"Self-paced instruction or learning is any kind of instruction that proceeds based on learner response. The content itself can be curriculum, corporate training, technical tutorials, or any other subject that does not require the immediate response of an instructor.  Self-paced instruction is constructed in such a way that the learner proceeds from one topic or segment to the next at their own speed.  This type of instruction is becoming increasingly popular as the education world shifts from the classroom to the internet (Wikipedia)."

Self-paced learning is an excellent way for students or educators to learn material at their own pace.  Also, this is ideal to help users retain information in a low pressure place as well as supplement different learning styles.  Finally, Self-paced learning is becoming more and more prevalent in schools w/ the integration of BYOD (bring your own device) or mobile learning.

*This list is in alphabetical order.

15 Tools for Self-Paced Learning

1. Brain Pop & Brain Pop Jr. - One of the most popular sites around for self-paced learning where students can watch animated movies w/ the robot Moby then answer questions regarding the subject.
2. Education Galaxy - A new site for grades K-6 that uses Game Based Learning to help students in a wide variety of subject.  Also, Education Galaxy is great for assessing student's needs and to help integrate Self Paced Learning.
3. Gimkit - A wonderful game based learning solution where students can create the games and use for self paced learning.
4. GrammarFlip - A excellent site for students to practice their grammar by watching educational videos and then completing interactive exercises.
5. Kialo Edu - A unique learning tool that provides a platform for educators to gauge student understanding and differentiate instruction, through collaborative discussions.  Students can use this for self paced learning and to get their points across in a clear precise way.
6. Knoword - A excellent Vocabulary game w/ teacher portal where educators can create their own "word" packs and track student's progress.
7. Makerdemy - A great site for learning how to program/code in a wide variety of languages (i.e. Raspberry Pi, Google Assistant, etc) at your own pace.
8. Mathigon - An innovative interactive textbook that lets acts as personal tutor for students that provides instant real-time feedback.
9. Milestone Math - An interesting iOS app that uses self paced learning to help students w/ their Math skills.
10. Outwhiz - A nice site or app for Math and English grades K-8th.  Also, Outwhiz tracks student's progress and lets them learn at their own.
11. PBS Learning Media - A wonderful site w/ educational portal for students to learn a wide range of subjects at their own pace w/ resources (i.e. videos, lessons) aligned to state-standards.
12. Splash Math - A K-5 Math curriculum and iPad w/ individual self learning game based programs for students.
13. UMU - A fantastic site and mobile app (iOS/Android) that can be used for any subject any even professional development.
14. VocApp - A great free mobile app that uses flashcards to help users learn at their own pace and differentiate instruction.
15. Vocab Victor - A wonderful free mobile app for students who want to work on their Vocabulary skills at their own pace.  Best of all, Vocab Victor assess and adapts to student's vocabulary level in real-time.

Top Learning Tools when School is Closed

As with almost everything technology-based, remote teaching and learning has been on a steady increase in recent years. That is until the Coronavirus emerged and changed everything! 

With the rapid spread of the virus forcing more and more schools around the United States and the world to close, many teachers are now having to rely solely on technology to deliver instruction (preferably effective) to their remote students.

Here is a list of suggested tools that can be used to keep the learning happening when schools are closed:

*This Lists is in alphabetical order

Top Learning Tools when School is Closed

1. ABCmouse - A very popular online curriculum for ages 2-8 on subjects such as: Math, Reading, Science, and more.
2. Adventure Academy - Similar to ABCmouse, this online curriculum is for ages 8-13 in Math, Reading, and Science.
3. Answer Pad - Is a free visual and student based response system that educators use to blend learning and flip classrooms in real-time on browser based devices.  The mobility of Answer Pad lets students use at home to interact w/ teacher created resources.
4. BoomWriter - This free site has always been a favorite of mine, and teachers and students love it! With BoomWriter, teachers can easily create student accounts before then directing them to super engaging fiction, nonfiction and/or vocabulary-focused personalized writing activities in any subject. Enter instructions (with or w/o vocabulary) upload resources (also optional) and then share with your students. If you need to teach remotely, you'll want to check out BoomWriter! 
5. BrainPop & BrainPop Jr - One of the most popular educational sites around for learning a wide range of subjects through animated videos then taking a short assessment/quiz.
6. Buncee - One of the most versatile learning tools around that provides a digital canvas for all sorts educational needs.  Buncee's "Ideas Lab" is a great place to find educational resources to be used/viewed at home.
7. Classhook - A wonderful site for educators to find educational videos/playlists and assign them to students to view at home.
8. DOGOnews - DOGOnews is an excellent site for creating Reading assignments for grades K-8 that can then be integrated into Google Classroom.  This is done through their curated safe (COPA compliant) educational database that provides assessment and language/speech features.
9. EDpuzzle - One of the world's most popular sites for flipping a classroom/lesson where educational videos can then be viewed at home and students can take assessments to gauge learning.
10. EducationCity - A excellent online platform for grades PreK-6th for finding educational games, resources, and activities.
11. Edulastic is an online K12 digital assessment platform. It allows teachers to make their own assessments and assignments or choose from over 35,000 pre-made assessments. 
12. Explania - A great site for finding educational and instructional animated videos. 
13. Glogster EDU - An "oldie" but good, Glogster's "Glogpedia" is a great place to find animated posters on a wide range of topics.
14. iKnowIt - A wonderful place to find interactive Math practice for grades K-5 that tracks student data.
15. Kahoot - A fun way to learn at home w/ Kahoot's game based learning system.
16. Knoword - A excellent Vocabulary game w/ teacher portal where educators can create their own "word" packs and track student's progress.
17. Nearpod - One of the most popular mobile learning tools around, that recently released a blog post on how to use Nearpod at home w/ school closures happening around the world.
18. NeoK12 - One of the best places to find educational videos, lessons, and games.
19. RoomRecess - A great place to find over a 100 games on a wide range of subjects such as: Math, Reading, Literacy, Typing, and more.
20. Socrates - A great new site where educators can asses students and differentiate instruction through a unique Game Based Learning system.
21. SuperTeacherWorksheets - A wonderful place where teachers and parents can find educational worksheets/activities to print out for use at home.
22. TeachVid - An amazing learning tool for ESL and Foreign Language teachers, where they can flip a lesson and have students do them at home through educational videos/activities.
23. Vocab Victor - A wonderful free mobile app for students want to work on their Vocabulary skills.  Best of all, Vocab Victor assess and adapts to student's vocabulary level in real-time.
24. VoiceThread - A great learning tool that has stood the "test of time" and lets students express their creativity through interactive digital stories/presentations.
25. WatchKnowLearn - A great free site similar to Discovery Streaming for finding educational K-12 videos.
26. YouTube Teachers - YouTube offers a educational portal for teachers for finding educational videos.

15 Sites for Blended Learning

What is Blended Learning?  This is a question that I frequently think about and a term that gets tossed around in education.  It's a smorgasbord of teaching strategies that uses analog and digital technologies to teach and learn.

Wikipedia says, "Blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace.^[1][2] While still attending a “brick-and-mortar” school structure, face-to-face classroom methods are combined with computer-mediated activities.^[3] Proponents of blending learning cite the opportunity for data collection and customization of instruction and assessment as two major benefits of this approach.^[4] Schools with blended learning models may also choose to reallocate resources to boost student achievement outcomes.<sup>[5]"

That being said, I decided to curate a list of resources that can be used for Blended Learning instruction.

*This list is in alphabetical order.</sup>

^{15 Sites for Blended Learning}

1. Answer Pad - Is a free visual and student based response system that educators use to blend learning and assess students in real-time on browser based devices.
2. Blended Play - A excellent site that uses "gamification" to blend learning where educators create the questions used in the games.
3. Buncee - A fantastic and easy to use tool w/ educational portal that educators are using for blended learning, digital storytelling, project based learning, and much much more.
4. Edmodo - A free and safe social learning environment where educators can collaborate w/ students and assess them to deliver best teaching strategies.
5. EDpuzzle - Is one of the most popular resources on the web to flip a classroom or lesson.  This is done by taking a video editing (i.e. cut/crop) it, adding questions, and generate assessments to blend learning.  Also, it is ideal for student centered self paced learning.
6. Eduflow - A new Learning Management System that makes it easy for educators to blend learning and integrate group discussions.
7. FlipSnack Edu - A terrific site for creating online classrooms that can be used for flipping a classroom, blend learning, and more.
8. GoClass - A innovative tool that uses a web interface and mobile app to allow teachers to create digital lessons, blend learning, and generate detailed reports.
9. iCivics - A great site for learning about Civics through a wide variety of learning styles such as: game based learning, project based learning, blended learning, web quests, and more.
10. Kahoot - Is a easy to use game based blended learning system that allows educators to assess students in a visual bar graph manner, while students take control of their learning.
11. Khan Academy - A very popular resource for online learning where the user learns at their own pace through interactive exercises and videos.
12. SimpleShow - A very popular site for creating beautiful looking explainer videos/slideshows, as well as to "flip" or "blend" learning.
13. Otus - Otus is a new and innovative free learning tool designed for the iPad that allows educators to blend learning by creating a digital learning environment.  Educators, can manage and track student performance, take attendance and notes, grade, and more.
14. Parlay - An innovative tool that educators are using to take classroom "discussions" to the next level by blending learning and differentiating instruction.
15. Umu - A wonderful site/app that uses a wide variety of tools for professional development, such as: quizzes, polls, infographics, live broadcasts, and more.

• Blended Learning Tool Kit - http://blended.online.ucf.edu
• Blended Learning Infographics - http://elearninginfographics.com/tag/blended-learning-infographic/

15 Sites for Keyboarding/Typing

Keyboarding or Typing is one the first and most vital skills for students to learn for technology literacy.  This skill is the building block for using a computer and one that starts as early KDG if not sooner.  Also, this is a nice skill/unit to teach in using "centers or blocks", free time, or even summer school.

*This list is in alphabetical order

15 Sites for Keyboarding/Typing

1. ABCya - A fun site/app for kids trying to learn how to type in games such as: Alpha Munchies, Cup Stack Typing, and Jump Key.
2. AlfaTyping - A good site for typing resources as well as tutorials and walkthroughs.
3. FreeTypingGames.net - A nice little site for practicing different skills for typing such as "home row" and "WPM" (words per minute).
4. Learn 2 Type - A simple site to check a student's words per minute.
5. Learning Games for Kids - A great site for educational games including over 20 games for Keyboarding.
6. Nitro Type - An interesting site that uses a worldwide real-time competition to help students strengthen their skills.
7. Power Typing - A nice collection of 5 online Typing games.
8. RoomRecess - An excellent site for games for all subjects including Typing.  Some of their more popular games in Keyboarding include: Letter Bursts, Popcorn Typer, and Launch Key.
9. TypeDojo - A wonderful site that lets students grades 1st-8th practice their keyboarding skills while printing out detailed reports/certificates. 
10. TypeKids - An innovative game which introduces students to keyboarding/typing w/ over 30 interactive lessons.
11. TypeTastic - One of the best sites around for learning how type w/ educational portal, that uses Game Base Learning to teach keyboarding skills.
12. Typing.com - A very popular site to find a wide range of typing resources such as: games, tests, lessons, and more.
13. Typing Agent - An amazing site for grades K-12 for learning how to type.  Best of all are the abundance of features that Typing Agent offers users such as: teacher dashboard to track/monitor student progress, educational games, learning how to code, and more.
14. Typing Web - A excellent free typing tutor that has a teacher portal for student tracking.  Also, certificates can be printed out on completion of lessons.
15. TypingClub - A fun site w/ educational portal that now only has instructional videos but unveils a unique story the more a student types.

For my Keyboarding/Typing Pinterest board click here.

Top 20 Sites/Apps for Creating Timelines

*Definition - "A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates alongside itself and (usually) events labelled on points where they would have happened.  Timelines are often used in education to help students and researchers with understanding the order or chronology of historical events and trends for a subject. When showing time on a specific scale on an axis, a timeline can be used to visualize time lapses between events, durations (such as a lifetimes or wars), and the simultaneity or overlap of spans and events. (Wikipedia)"

*This list is in alphabetical order.

Top 20 Sites/Apps for Creating Timelines

1. Adobe Spark - One of the most popular sites around for creating timelines using an easy-to-use wizard.
2. Aeon - A very in-depth timeline creator designed for project management and creative writers.
3. Buncee - The all-in-one digital canvas where students can create timelines using, animations, audio, video, and more (visit their "ideas lab" for more info).
4. Canva - A wonderful site w/ lots of templates to create beautiful looking timelines.
5. Flippity - A simple to use timeline creator that uses a Google Spreadsheets template to create an interactive timeline.
6. myHistro - A great site/iOS app for creating interactive timelines w/ educational portal.  Also, has the ability to embed Google Maps.
7. OurTimeLines - A neat site w/ templates for creating timelines through text.
8. Preceden - A cool site for creating layered interactive timelines.  These timelines can be set to public or private and even be embedded into a site or blog.
9. RWT Timeline - Based on their website's (ReadWriteThink) timeline creator, RWT is one of my favorite iPad apps (free) for creating stunning timelines.  Also, the app allows for multiple users which is ideal for those schools that share devices.
10. Storyboard That - An amazing site w/ educational portal that educators  are using to create a wide range of graphic organizers such as: t-charts, grids, and detailed timelines. 
11. Sutori - A innovative site that educators are using to create timelines and collaborative projects.    Best of all, Sutori can be used for any curriculum and even to "flip" a classroom/lesson.
12. Tiki-Toki - A wonderful site for creating beautiful looking 3D timelines w/ images and videos.  A paid account lets users embed them on a site and collaborate on them w/ multiple users.
13. Timeline JS - One of the best sites around for creating stunning timelines that include videos, maps, links, audio, and can even integrate w/ Google spreadsheets.
14. Timelines.tv - A wonderful site for viewing timelines in 5 different historical categories. 
15. Timetoast - A wonderful site for creating a timeline that can be embedded into a site or blog.  Best of all, a user can choose to view their timeline in standard mode or in text view only.
16. Timeline 3D - An innovative app for creating stunning 3 Dimensional timelines w/ images and videos.  Also, Timeline 3D can be exported into PPT or Keynote for other options.
17. Timeline Maker - A popular iPad app for creating timelines by stacking up tiles or events.
18. Timeline Maker (Soft Schools) - A simple site similar to RWT, that allows users to create a timeline through text/template.
19. Venngage - A great site to create visual timelines or infographics using templates to help customize a student's/teacher's needs.
20. Visme - A robust timeline creator where users can create beautiful timelines in 5 steps through a drag-n-drop interface.

30 Sites/Apps for Differentiated Instruction

"Differentiated instruction and assessment (also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation) is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability." Wikipedia  Differentiation, the ability for teachers to meet the needs of a variety of learners, is a key component for successful teaching.  While there are lots of ways this can be done and lots of tools that educators can use to accomplish this, there are many sites that can help facilitate the process.

*This list is in alphabetical order

30 Sites/Apps for Differentiated Instruction

1. Actively Learn - Lets a user make any reading material "their" own by adding questions, annotation, and collaboration which helps educators differentiate their instruction
2. Answer Pad - A wonderful student response system and assessment tool that lets teachers turn their classroom paperless.  Also, the "Go Interactive" features allows teachers to collaborate w/ students in real-time and gauge student understanding to differentiate instruction.
3. Arcademics - One of my favorite sites for game based learning (K-8th grade) in a wide range of subjects.  Also, there is an educational portal that allows teachers to track/monitor students, generate detailed reports, and assess student's learning to make it easy to differentiate instruction.
4. Badaboom - A easy way for educators to create learning games to assess and differentiate their instruction
5. BoomWriter - An excellent and unique site that lets students express their creativity by completing follow on chapters of an initial story prompt and then having the class anonymously vote on which ones should be included in the final story. Boomwriter publishes these stories as softcover books and personalizes each one to include each student's final chapter as an alternate ending along with prominently displaying the student's name on the front cover. BoomWriter's other tools let teachers conduct nonfiction and vocabulary-based writing activities, and all of their offerings let teachers provide invaluable personalized feedback and differentiated instruction.
6. Buncee - A fantastic digital canvas for creating presentations or digital stories that can be embedded into a site/blog.  Also, this is a great way to "flip a classroom" and with Buncee Classroom teachers can assign quizzes, track/monitor students, and differentiate instruction.
7. Chronicle Cloud - A cutting edge all-in-one iOS app for teachers for taking notes, assessing students, providing feedback, differentiate instruction, and more.
8. ClassroomQ - An easy-to-use innovative tool that acts as a "digital" hand raising device making it easy to assess student's learning and differentiate instruction in real-time.
9. edcite - A great site for teachers to create digital assignments, quizzes, and more.  Best of all, edcite can automatically grade student responses in real-time and generate detailed reports allowing educators to differentiate instruction.
10. Education Galaxy - A new site for grades K-6 that uses Game Based Learning to help students in a wide variety of subject.  Also, Education Galaxy is great for assessing student's needs for easy differentiated instruction, while helping integrate Self Paced Learning.
11. Edji - A cool new learning tool that lets students interact w/ online texts through highlighting, annotation, comments, and even emojis.  The detailed "heat map" lets educators gauge student understanding and differentiate instruction.
12. EDpuzzle - Probably, the world's most popular site/app for flipping a classroom or lesson by adding questions to a video and then assessing student's answers to differentiate instruction.
13. Eduflow - A new learning management system where educators can create course, track students, generate detailed reports, and differentiate instruction.
14. Edulastic - An innovative online assessment platform that makes it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction.
15. Floop - An excellent learning tool for teachers to give and collect student feedback through conversation threads making it easy to differentiate instruction.
16. FUNecole - A great digital learning solution for grades 1st-6th.  Their online platform lets educators create assignments/lessons, differentiate instruction, and seamlessly integrate Computer Science into their curriculum.
17. Gimkit - A wonderful game based learning solution where students can create the games and educators can assess and differentiate the results.
18. Hippo Video - An excellent web tool for students/educators to create stunning digital videos.  Teachers use these videos to introduce a subject, create a screencast, and even gauge student understanding to differentiate instruction.
19. I Know It - A fantastic site for interactive Math practice for grades K-5.  Also, educators can assign lessons, assess students, and differentiate instruction.
20. IXL - One of the most popular sites around for Math that allows for student tracking w/ detailed reporting.  Also, w/ the ability to track student "trouble" areas a teacher can adjust their teaching (differentiation) to help meet the needs of their students.
21. Kahoot - One of the most popular tools around to "Gamify" a classroom and differentiate instruction.
22. Kami - A very handy learning tool that acts as a digital pen/paper letting users annotate on any document.
23. Kialo Edu - A unique learning tool that provides a platform for educators to gauge student understanding and differentiate instruction.
24. Loop - A cool new student response system where students can respond to questions via a emoji, word, or by choosing an answer.
25. Night Zookeeper - A interesting new site where to help student's w/ their Writing skills through interactive lessons and competitions.  The educational portal allows educators to track their students and differentiate instruction.
26. Otus - A excellent one-to-one learning management solution as well as mobile learning environment where educators easily differentiate instruction w/ Otus's detailed real-time analytics.
27. Parlay - Parlay is a very innovative online tool that educators are using to take classroom discussions to the next level.  Teachers can use Parlay in a number of different ways such as: browsing through a robust library of discussion prompts (w/ resources), creating a online roundtable, or by creating a "live" verbal roundtable.
28. Pear Deck - A wonderful educational tool that lets educators create quizzes, slides, or presentations.  Once the "decks" are created students can respond via their mobile devices.  Teachers can the assess student understanding and differentiate instruction in real-time.
29. Socrates - A great new site where educators can asses students and differentiate instruction through a unique Game Based Learning system.
30. ThinkFluency - ThinkFluency is an innovative iOS app that lets teachers easily assess        student's Reading fluency and differentiate instruction in real-time.  

Click here for a great article on Differentiated Instruction.

15 Sites for Graphic Organizers

"A graphic organizer, also known as knowledge map, concept map, story map, cognitive organizer, advance organizer, or concept diagram, is a communication tool that uses visual symbols to express knowledge, concepts, thoughts, or ideas, and the relationships between them.^[1] The main purpose of a graphic organizer is to provide a visual aid to facilitate learning and instruction.<sup>[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_organizer"  

Graphic Organizers are used daily in education for any curriculum to help teach any subject (i.e. mind maps, brainstorms, etc.)   Being a great learning tool for visual learners, websites have made it easy to make beautiful looking graphic organizers.

*This list is in alphabetically order</sup>

15 Sites for Creating Graphic Organizers

1. bubble.us - One of the most popular sites around for easily being able to create brainstorms or mind maps.
2. iBrainstorm - A free iOS app (iPad/iPhone) that lets users brainstorm ideas through the use of sticky notes.
3. Checkvist - A great site for creating outlines or organizing a brainstorming session.
4. Conceptboard - An ideal site for creating an interactive whiteboard w/ lots of robust features (i.e. file/screen sharing).
5. Mind42 - Nice collaborative mind mapping site w/ lots of templates and easy to use.
6. MindMeister - Beautiful looking mind mapping site w/ the ability to embed into a site or blog.
7. Mindomo - One of my favorite brainstorming sites that also lets a user flip their classroom, collaborate, comment, and much more.
8. Popplet - A excellent app that allows students to think and learn visually by brainstorming and mind mapping.
9. ProcessOn - A cool site for creating online diagrams through real-time collaboration.
10. StormBoard - Online brainstorming and collaboration in real-time making it easy to generate ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
11. Storyboard That - A excellent site w/ educational portal that educators are using in a variety ways, such as creating timelines, storyboards, graphic organizers (t-charts, grids, etc.), and more.
12. Super Teacher Worksheets - An amazing site w/ lots of educational resources, printables, and worksheets for all subjects including graphic organizers.
13. Venngage - Is a wonderful site for creating stunning infographics, mind maps, and more.
14. Webspiration Classroom - From the creators of Inspiration a very popular web based program for creating visual brainstorms that can then be turned into an outline w/ a click of a button. 
15. WiseMapping - a great site for creating visual mind maps and brainstorms.