Last year was a boom year for edtech web tools. There were so many, I couldn’t keep up. I would discover what seemed to be a fantastic tool from one of the tech ed blogs I follow, give it about five minutes to prove itself, and then, depending upon that quick review, either dig deeper or move on. If it was recommended by a colleague in my professional learning network, I gave the site about twice as long but still, that’s harsh. I certainly couldn’t prove my worth if given only five minutes!
Nevertheless, that’s how it is because there are too many options. Here’s what I wanted to find out in the five minutes:
- Is the creator someone I know and trust (add-ons by Alice Keeler always fit that requirement)?
- Is it easy to access? Meaning, does it open and load quickly without the logins I always forget?
- Is it easy to use? Meaning, are links to the most important functions on the start page? For example, in Canva, I can create a flier for my class in under five minutes because the interface is excellent.
- For more complicated tools, how steep is the learning curve? Does the site offer clear assistance in the form of videos, online training, or a helpline?
- Is the content age-appropriate for the grades I teach?
- Is it free or freemium, and if the latter, can I get a lot out of it without paying a lot? I don’t like sites that give me “a few” uses for free and then charge for more. Plus, free is important to my students who may not be able to use it at home unless there’s no cost attached.
- Is there advertising? Yes, I understand “free” probably infers ads so let me amend that to: Is it non-distracting from the purpose of the webtool?
- How current is it? Does it reflect the latest updates in standards, pedagogy, and hardware?
- Does it fulfill its intended purpose?
- Has it received awards/citations from tech ed groups I admire?
After all that, here are websites that will brighten the Spring months: (click here for updates to lists):
- 7 Science Experiments that Teach About Spring
- Books from Scholastic about Spring
- Spring Puzzle
- Spring Garden–click to find flowers
- Spring Games
- Spring Vocabulary (video)
- Spring Word Scramble
- Spring Word Search
- What Happens in Spring (video)
- What Happens in Spring–PS (video)
Life Cycles
- Life cycle of a snake
- Life Cycle Lesson Plans
- Life Cycle resources
- Life Cycles
- Life Cycle Symbaloo
- Plant life cycle
Ideas from TeacherVision:
Printables
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities Booklet
- Butterfly Life Cycle Worksheet
- Baseball Fun
- May Day
- Butterfly Facts and Questions
- Butterfly Life Cycle Quiz
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Poster & Activities
- More Spring Printables
Lesson Plans
- Life Cycle of Butterflies
- Class Garden
- The Sunflower
- Rachel Carson: The Coming of a Silent Spring
- Traveling Seeds
- Butterfly Garden Lesson Activity
- Herbs in the Classroom
- More Spring Lesson Plans
There you have it — my takeaways from last year. What do you use?
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“The content presented in this blog is the result of my creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
