Sierra Allen

UIS 350
April 10, 2016
Web Site Name (image)

URL

https://nearpod.com/

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/

Description of the Site

Nearpod is a website that makes
instruction interesting and engaging for
students. Teachers have the opportunity to
make personalized presentations for their
students that can be controlled from one
computer, as well as assessments and quizzes.
The website is run by CEO Guido Kovalskys
and the lessons are created by a team of
teachers at different grade levels. Most
teachers also create their own lessons using
the website.
This website can be used in the
classroom in order to engage students in the
subject matter. The teacher is able to
personalize their lessons and add assessments
with instant results to see which areas the
students need to review. This is a website that
can be used for every grade level. It is
especially effective in classrooms with laptops
for students.
The Virginia Department of Education
website is a strong resource for teachers. The
website includes the Virginia Standards of
Learning, educational directories, and current
news in the world of education.
Superintendent Steven R. Staples is the
executive officer of the VDOE, along with the
Board of Education, who is the governing
body and policy-makers.
This website can be used to plan out

Sierra Allen
UIS 350
April 10, 2016

https://www.teachervision.com/

https://edu.symbaloo.com

lessons and find the standards that students

need to learn. In fact, whenever it comes to
planning, this is one of the first websites I
would turn to. Teachers in the state of Virginia
can find current information for each grade
level on this site.
TeacherVision is a website that
requires a subscription. This is a place where
teachers can find lesson plans, digital books,
worksheets, and classroom timesavers. While
the site is not free, it is a reasonable annual
fee for a subscription. This website is a part of
the Family Education Network.
This is a great resource to help
teachers find fresh ideas and new books for
their students. Whenever a teacher is a
subscriber to TeacherVision, they have ideas
for all grades and subject that they can pull
ideas from. They also have classroom
management ideas and teaching advice.
Symbaloo allows one to make a
collection of their favorite websites. They are
able to base them on a certain topic or subject.
On SymbalooEDU, educators can organize
the best websites for their students and share
them through a link. Symbaloo is co-owned
by Koen Dantuma and Coen Baars, based out
of the Netherlands.
SymbalooEDU is relevant to teachers
of any grade level. They can put together
websites that talk about a subject as specific

Sierra Allen
UIS 350
April 10, 2016

http://www.imaginelearning.com

as erosion or create a whole board just for

math. Students can work through the
Symbaloo at their own pace and explore the
websites given, knowing they are safe and
educational resources.
Imagine Learning is a website that
helps students practice literacy skills through
games and interactive songs. The website is
also really great for English Language
Learners, as it gives them the option to start in
their own language, then slowly transitions
them to English as they progress. It was
founded in 2004 by a team of educators and
software designers and is led by current
president Joe Swenson.
Imagine Learning can and should be
used regularly in the classroom, especially
with struggling readers. I would recommend
that this site be used in younger grades as
many of the activities are geared toward letter
recognition, spellings, and different vowel
sounds. Students are recommended to use the
program about 20 minutes per day.

Sierra Allen
UIS 350
April 10, 2016
https://www.achieve3000.com/

http://web.seesaw.me/

Achieve3000 provides daily

differentiated instruction for students based on
their Lexile level. It is focused on non-fiction
reading and writing skills. The program will
test the students progress throughout and
adjust instruction accordingly. There are also
different programs that can be used based on
what the student needs, such as TeenBiz300
and eScience3000.
Because of its success, many schools
actually require students to spend a certain
amount of time on Achieve3000. Teachers
should require this as a center or during time
in the computer lab. One classroom I
observed encouraged students to try their best
by letting them earn a class reward after
completing 100 lessons with a 75% or higher.
Seesaw is a student-driven website
that allows a child to document what they are
learning at school. Students can take photos of
assignments and projects that they are proud
of. They can even make digital creations. This
company was founded by Carl Sjorgreen and
is a start-up that has taken off with classroom
teachers across the country.
This website is really great to build up
a parental connection to student learning.
Parents are able to access their students
digital portfolio and see what they have been
working on in class. Ive seen this used with
students as young as kindergarten. Teachers

Sierra Allen
UIS 350
April 10, 2016

https://www.brainpop.com/

https://www.tenmarks.com

can also access their students work in order to

monitor their activity.
BrainPOP is a well-known and
beloved tool among teachers. It is an engaging
website that creates videos, quizzes, games,
and concept maps for students in a simple
format that they can understand. The videos
are very popular and can explain a concept
that is difficult for students using friendly
characters that they are used to.
The website was created in 1999 by Avraham
Kadar, a pediatrician who used it to teach his
young patients.
BrainPOP has been used in almost
every classroom Ive ever observed. It can be
used in whole group lessons to introduce a
topic. It can also be used for fun activities,
such as math games on angles or skip
counting. Students love BrainPOP and can
spend time on the games during some of their
computer time to practice skills.
TenMarks is a company owned by
Amazon. It was create to help students master
math skills. The company has professional
educators whose job it is to create material
based on each standard. In fact, one page tells
us that they spend at least 75 hours doing the
research, writing, revising, and reviews for
just one standard.
TenMarks can be used just like
Achieve3000. It should be a part of daily

Sierra Allen
UIS 350
April 10, 2016

https://www.tumblebooks.com/

centers for math practice. The lessons tend to

be very challenging for students and I have
seen their benefits in the classrooms. Teacher
can assign work based on what is happening
in the classroom for reinforcement.
TumbleBooks is a great resource that
not enough teachers know about. Students can
access a large collection of e-books that can
read along with them. The books are animated
and can talk to children. Students who are just
learning to read can enjoy the books without
the help of an adult.
Students of all ages can use
TumbleBooks and decide how much guidance
they need in their reading. They can turn off
the audio on the book or listen to it. There are
also books for all reading levels. Students in
higher grades can access TumbleBookCloud
to find books that are geared toward their
grade level.