The new academic year has started for many schools here in the UK, with lots of other schools opening again next week. For those who are new to the teaching profession (as well as other more experienced members), I thought that it might be useful to make a list of some of my favourite resource sites. All of these offer free ideas and resources which you can use in your classrooms…

Teaching Ideas

I have to start by mentioning my Teaching Ideas site. It’s been online since 1998 and offers free lesson ideas, activities and resources. Lots of these have been contributed by teachers around the world and the site is organised by subject / topic to help you find things easily. Don’t forget to look at my other Teaching Websites too.

Primary Resources

Primary Resources is another popular resource site which was set up at the same time as Teaching Ideas, by Gareth Pitchford. The site is enormous and is one of the best places to look for content to use in your classrooms.

Communication4All

Bev Evans makes this wonderful site which is full of fantastic resources. You will find lots of great material to print and laminate here!

TES

The TES has a wide variety of resources, all contributed by teachers and other education professionals. They also host videos from the Teachers TV archive, which are a great source of advice and information.

TPet

TPet make resources of the highest quality. They have a wonderful selection of display resources and activities as well as a blog which is a great source of inspiration too!

Twinkl

The Twinkl site is growing at an amazing rate and they have a wide variety of resources. Take a look!

Teaching Search

As there are so many great resource sites, it sometimes takes a while to search through all of them. So, I created a search engine which searches a number of the most popular ones. It’s free to use and gives results from a special selection of top quality sites.

Primary Teacher Resource Centre Forum

There are a number of educational forums online, but my favourite is the PTRC forum. It’s full of lovely people who are always willing to offer advice and share their resources.

Twitter / Facebook

Don’t forget that there are also lots of great teachers using social networking sites to share ideas. Take a look at Teaching Ideas on Twitter and Facebook to get some ideas about who else to follow.

Are there any other great resource sites that I have missed? What are your favourites?

Here are five fantastic new resources that I’ve discovered this week:

1) Schoolswaps - Are you a teacher? Do want to receive some postcards from somewhere exciting for your class? If so, sign up to the first ever Great Big School swap! Thanks to @andytgeezer for sharing this on Twitter.

2) Life. Live it – The Red Cross have a fantastic child-friendly site which gives information and advice about first aid for 5 to 11 year olds. The site includes films, activities, quizzes and ‘how to’ videos. Thanks to Simon Haughton for recommending this.

3) 7 offline ideas in 7 minutes – Here’s an interesting video from Dave Stacey which gives seven ideas for activities that don’t involve the Internet. Watch the video embedded below and read more about this on Dave’s blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) The World’s Biggest Treehouse – Crooked Brains is one of my favourite blogs as it shares lots of weird and wonderful photos. Here is a recent post on the site which shares images of an amazing treehouse. Could you use these pictures in the classroom… to develop descriptive writing… as a starting point for a spooky adventure… to encourage the children to build their own model treehouses… to look at structures and materials?

5) Ten Twitter Tips for Teachers – Do you use Twitter? The whiteboard blog has a fantastic post about how teachers can make the most of this amazing tool. Don’t forget to follow Danny Nicholson (the creator of the Whiteboard blog) and Teaching Ideas (our Twitter Account) on Twitter!

What new resources have you found this week? Leave a comment to share them with others…

I’m now on my half term break, so there won’t be any more Teaching News posts for a few days. In the meantime, please complete my survey!

Twitter continues to be  a wonderful resource for teachers, allowing them to discuss and share ideas. Here are some resources that I’ve discovered on Twitter recently:

• Lino It – A free sticky & canvas service that requires nothing but a Web browser. Shared by @y3teacher.
• Vintage Computer Adverts – Use these adverts to compare technology from the past with what is available in your classrooms today. Shared by @russeltarr.
• Pictogame – Has lots of games which can be customised. Shared by @ICTmagic.
• Kodu Games Lab - Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. Accompanying lesson plans and resources for teachers are also available. Shared by @mbrayford. Watch a Youtube video about Kodu below:

• The ICT Games site now has a selection of help videos to support teachers and children with the fantastic games. Shared by @wigglemyears.
• 10 Online Resources where you can learn to read music. Shared by @Ideas_Factory.
• Social Networking in Schools – A post which shares ideas, advice and information. Shared by @daibarnes.
• Global Distribution of the world’s water - Shared by @timrylands.
• English Attack – Play this game to improve your English. Shared by @annabooklover.
• Horrible Histories – A popular site for children which teaches them about different periods of History. Shared by @ICTmagic.

• Teachers using Dropbox – Information about a school who are using Dropbox to share resources, instead of printing them. Shared by @briankotts
• Green Screen Help Sheet – Use these instructions to try the green screen technique in your classroom. Shared by @ianaddison.
• Smories – Original stories for children, read by children. Shared by @genkijen.
• Vokis for Education – Information about the new education version of the Voki site. Shared by @mjgormans.

What have you discovered on Twitter recently?

I’m always coming across new ideas, links and resources on Twitter. Here are some of the things that I’ve found recently:

• Kevin McLaughlin has set up a new group and site for educators to share ideas for using games and related technology to enhance teaching and learning. You can also get involved via Twitter.
• Ian Usher shared an interactive site which reviews the news from 2010.
• Terry Freedman has written 10 tips to help teachers plan the use of technology in their lessons.
• Danny Nicholson shared Grabbabeast… another fantastic avatar builder.

• The Smart Exchange now provides free Smart Notebook 10 files from accredited publishers (shared by Helene Podmore).
• Here is a great online jigsaw builder using images from the Getty Museum in Los Angeles (suggested by Colleen Young).
• A new site has been set up by Simon Haughton, where teachers are sharing their favourite ICT Tips.
• Class Jump offers free websites for teachers, educators and students too (shared by Brendan Jones).
• Google Body is a detailed 3D model of the human body. You can peel back anatomical layers, zoom in, click to identify anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, bones and more (shared by Kevin McLaughlin).
• Colport Teaching recommended ‘Dangle’… a live action film that you can use with KS1 and KS2 pupils.

• Keisa Williams suggested Incompetech as a place where you can find royalty free music.
• James recommended this booklet which shares ideas for using parachutes in PE lessons.
• James Michie and many other contributors have published the first EdJournal with lots of interesting articles for teachers.
• Learning in Hand has a list of recommended iOS apps for your iPods / iPads (shared by Tony Vincent).
• John Schu shared this page which has various animal sounds.

Have you discovered any great new resources on Twitter recently? Share it in the comments…

If you use Twitter, I’m sure you know that it’s a fantastic way of sharing ideas with people and discovering new ideas and resources to use in your classroom. Here are links to some of the things that I’ve found recently:

• What is Twitter? – An animated video to help you understand what Twitter is and how it works (shared by @colport).
• Ben Biggins – Here’s an interesting report about one teacher’s use of Twitter in his classroom (shared by @primarypete).
• BBC Death in Rome – Use your detective skills to unravel the events behind a mysterious death in Rome (shared by @shannonmmiller).
• 7 ways to cut ICT costs – A number of suggestions for helping schools to save money on their ICT (shared by @johnmclear).
• Apps for children with Special Needs – A selection of iPhone / iPod apps which can be used with SEN pupils (shared by @Bernae).
• Purple Mash guides – Lots of educational guides to the tools on Purple Mash (shared by @ianaddison).
• Tim and Moby’s guide to making a movie – A number of wonderful tips and resources to help pupils make their own movies (shared by @BrainPOP_UK).
• Fuzzwich – An online animation tool which could be used in schools (shared by @dianadell).

• Learnanywhere Powerpoints – A collection of Powerpoint presentations linked to Science, History, Geography, RE and French topics (shared by @simonhaughton).
• Spaaze – A visual way to organise pieces of information online (shared by @stevebunce).
• VCOP Pyramids – A useful VCOP resource to support your children’s writing (shared by @simonhaughton):

• ICT guidance for Ofsted inspectors – Useful information for schools (shared by @simonhaughton).
• Sieger – A fun castle-smashing game which could be used as part of a ‘Castles’ topic (shared by @dughall).
• Want to change the world? Learn another language – An interesting video about great leaders who learned other languages and changed the world (shared by @lisibo):

Stuart Ridout has started a useful collection of tips for teachers with interactive whiteboards in their classroom. The tips are all contributed by teachers using Twitter. Simply search for #iwbtips on Twitter to see the latest tips. Here are a small collection of the contributions so far:

• Make sure iwb is accessible-installed at a proper height or w/adjust mount. Tennis ball helps students with challenges touch screen (from EdTechieGeek).
• PLAY with your whiteboard, do not be afraid to explore and experiment (from psycho65).
• Take 5 mins every day to learn how to use an iwb tool and use it with your class, use 5 in one lesson at the end of the week (from Kevin McLaughlin).
• Ensure groups use the IWB for independent working bits in lessons; brainstorm, designing, google earth, presentations, etc (from Mark Robinson).
• Tchrs must remember that iwbs r about the kids not the teachers. Gr8 for group work/indep tasks.Avoid stand and deliver lessons (from Ann McDonald).

Image – IMG_0724

Stuart is planning to compile all of these tips into an e-book and I’ll post another update when news about this has been revealed. Why not share your own #iwbtips and have then added to the e-book?

Twitter is an amazing way to discover new and interesting information. Here are links to some of the things that I have found recently:

• Design 2010 – An online exhibition celebrating the achievements of students in Design and Technology. Shared by Gareth Davies.
• Aviary Education – Aviary, who produce lots of fantastic online tools, are now offering a free service for education users. Shared by Paulo Simões.
• History Pin – A digital time machine that allows users to pin their own old photos onto modern Street View scenes. Shared by Claire Jones. Here’s a Youtube video which explains more:

• Diary of an Ofsted Inspection - Michael Shepherd recalls his recent experiences with Ofsted! Shared by Simon Haughton.
• Open ClipArt Library – An archive of clip art that can be used for free by anyone. Shared byProfteresa.
• Augmented Reality – If you’ve heard what augmented reality is, but you’re not quite sure what it does, watch this Youtube video, shared by CommonCraft:

What have you found on Twitter recently?

Image – Run!

Here is a selection of some interesting and educational things that I’ve found recently, via my Twitter network:

• Zooburst – This amazing site lets you make your own 3D augmented reality pop up books (via @relativism, @xannov and @ianaddison).

• Application for Headship - Information and advice for those who need to write a letter of application when applying for a headship (via @andyross75).
• World Atlas Maps – A large collection of blank maps which are very useful for your Geography lessons (via @simonhaughton).
• Becta Archive – The official archive of the Becta website. Use this site to access the useful resources when the Becta site disappears (via @daibarnes).
• Hello Bonjour Hola – A site containing resources for teaching and learning French and Spanish (via @dawnhallybone and @valleseco)

• SchoolToons – Resources to support animation work in the classroom at KS2-4 (via @DrJoolz).
• Tips for New Tweeters – @stuartridout gives some useful advice for those who have just started to use Twitter.
• Year 5 Control Technology Plans – A set of plans, from @simonhaughton, which include the use of Scratch.
• Literacy with ICT (PDF) (from www.edu.gov.mb.ca) - A handbook for parents about using ICT to support learning in Literacy. See the document below (discovered via @TechnologyToday)

Don’t miss Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 in this series! Do you use Twitter? What have you discovered recently?

Image – Montreal Twestival 2009 Cupcakes

I’ve been using Twitter for a few years now, using it to connect with other teachers and share ideas / resources with them. Lots of schools are now using Twitter too, as a way of communicating with parents and their communities, as well as posting updates about school events.

Image – Twitter website screenshot

As I recently set up a Twitter account for my own school, I asked for suggestions from other teachers about ways of using it. Here are some of the ideas:

• Celebrating children’s work, with links to examples of work online.
• Asking for feedback… so followers can add comments and share valuable feedback with the pupils. Tweet a sentence from a ‘Big Write’ and get instant feedback for the pupil,
• Posting school news,
• Posting live updates about school events (e.g. sports matches),
• Post updates from an educational visit (e.g. residential),
• Reporting school closure information,
• Send reminders about events in school or homework,
• Use to pose questions for children to debate/answer.

There is also a Twitter list of tweeting schools at http://twitter.com/SchoolDuggery/uk-schools.

Do you use Twitter at school? Feel free to add a comment to share your experiences.

Here is a collection of links to some new ideas and resources that I’ve discovered from my fantastic Twitter network recently:

• Math Live – Lots of engaging animations and interactive tools to support the teaching of different Maths concepts (shared by @kvnmcl)

• Purple Mash – 2Simple have announced their new ‘mash-up of creative tools and curriculum focused applications’. The children at my school love 2Simple’s Online Tools, so I’m really excited about seeing this new tool released.
• Learn Your Tables – Free resources to support the learning of multiplication tables, suggested by @tombarrett.
• What happens when a balloon explodes? –  A super slow motion video to show your class, shared by @cthomas18.
• Zuitube – A collection of online videos for children. Suggested by @AngelaMaiers.
• Paper Models of Polyhedra – Printable nets for every 3D shape you could even need. Suggested by @willie42.
• Shapes – An Interactive tool giving information about 2D and 3D shapes. This also has printable nets to download. Shared by @willie42.

• Terry Freedman has published his ‘Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book‘. This free guide contains a considerable number of projects, contributed by teachers, that you can try in your own classroom.

Don’t miss the previous posts in this series:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Image – Twitter Logo Map 09