Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age

Going back to school after the holidays, or starting at a new school (as a student teacher, experienced teacher or a student), can be daunting.  Here is a list of sites with useful tips and tools for everyone to get themselves organised and ready for the first day, and to survive the first week.  Please feel free to add your own links in the comments and I will add them to the list.

• Scroll through this page for many useful tips and videos, e.g. the ten tips on how to survive your first day back at school, how to write a letter to parents for the first day back to school, top ten tips for student teachers, top ten tips for new teachers, ideas on how to motivate students, easing test anxiety, how to start a class and how to create a year long curriculum : http://www.teach-nology.com/ideas/backtoschool/
• New to gifted parenting & need info 4 new school year? Check out my blog – Gifted Parenting Support http://bit.ly/aVwqgT
• Back to School night:  How do you approach it and what do you do? Top ten tips for teachers meeting parents:   http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-59506-Philadelphia-Education-Examiner~y2010m7d27-10-tips-for-back-to-school-night?cid=sharing_twitter:59506
• New teacher survival kit web page http://discoveryeducation.com/survival/
• For all new teachers:  This site has fantastic ideas and links http://cybraryman.com/newteachers.html, e.g. the Teacher tools and goodies (awards, quizzes, motivating students etc.)
• http://www.cybraryman.com/teachertools.html
• 13 Interesting Ways to Get to Know Your New Class http://bit.ly/btj9s5
• Ten classroom games: Back to school or student engagement http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson169.shtml
• Five minute fillers http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml To engage kids those last few minutes
• 101 Things To Do the First Three Weeks of Class: http://bit.ly/KhbHb
• From Teaching with Heart: Back to school resources http://www.teachingheart.net/ultimate.html Printables, Bulletin boards etc.
• A kid’s heart: printable cards, lesson plans, clipart etc. http://akidsheart.com/
• Wise words for all teachers going back to school http://budtheteacher.com/blog/2008/08/16/an-open-letter-to-teachers/
• Fantastic tips for first time teachers, or when you go to a new school http://712educators.about.com/cs/backtoschool/a/teacherstrats.htm
• Tips from teachers: How to make first day back a success: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t-eAKw5XJrrzGbzjDDptaNw&output=html and http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-series-first-days-must-haves.html
• For all teachers:  Organising yourself for your first day back at school http://evasimkesyan.edublogs.org/2010/06/29/planning-a-lesson-or-organising-yourself/
• Great resource for organizing & preparing a classroom, http://bit.ly/cAs9XY. You don’t have to do it alone, http://bit.ly/aElRw4.
• A fantastic “Fact of the Day” site - great as a lesson starter each day: http://tinyurl.com/yfo85zl
• Tools and templates for teachers to use throughout the year Tools and templates – very handy for certificates, classroom notices, etc. http://bit.ly/kk2mm
• Tips for students and parents:  What you should know about first time in Secondary school http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2009/09/starting-secondary-school-what-you-need-to-know-to-help-your-child.html and http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2008/07/top-ten-tips-fo.html
• Tips for Parents:  Getting your child ready for Back to School http://www.examiner.com/x-59506-Philadelphia-Education-Examiner~y2010m7d28-Helping-your-child-get-ready-for-back-to-school
• Tips for Principals: How to create great Public Relations with community, families and parents: Ideas for principals or teachers http://bit.ly/c6D6hq 
• Tips for Principals: Take Five Archive: Short sharp leadership ideas for Principals http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/takefive.shtml
• Tips for students: Handling new classmates in answer to this question from a parent: As the school year approaches, there will be a new set of students in my son’s class. There are some children who may misbehave periodically and others that have some more serious issues. How do I teach my child when he needs to complain/report to a teacher/administrator regarding another students behavior and when to ignore it and not be overly sensitive?
• http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimoremomblog/2009/08/handling_teasing_bullying_teac.html

First day back Activity ideas and Ice Breakers

• See the Ice Breaker page for many fun activities to get people moving and talking: http://marynabadenhorst.global2.vic.edu.au/icebreakers/
• 13 Interesting Ways to Get to Know Your New Class http://bit.ly/btj9s5
• Online Game-creation tool gives tchers a fun way to raise student motivation http://www.what2learn.com/games/add/
• Five minute fillers http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml To engage kids those last few minutes
• Cool board games ready for download/print http://www.communication4all.co.uk/http/Board%20Games.htm
• Web tools for teachers: Crossword creator, Word Search Maker, Work Sheet Generator http://www.teacherview.com/tools/index.html
• 38 Graphic organizers downloadable as PDF’s http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
• BusyTeacher: Free Printable Worksheets for Busy Teachers http://bit.ly/ce55aN
• Valuable resources  (worksheets, posters, notices, interactives etc.) http://abcteach.com/  and here are more stacks of freebies http://freeology.com/
• More classroom helpers: posters, notices, bookmarks, flashcards numbers etc.  http://www.teacherview.com/ClassExtras/index.html and here http://atozteacherstuff.com/
• More worksheets, timefillers, forms and so forth http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/more/management/contents.htm
• Forms for teachers (late pass, homework notice, printable planning calendars, bookmarks etc.) http://freeology.com/formsforteachers/
• Free Coloring Pages & Handwriting Practice Worksheets: Twisty Noodle has thousands of free http://url4.eu/6pStG
• Online Karaoke  http://ow.ly/2mlWV
• Ten classroom games: Back to school or student engagement http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson169.shtml
• Great fun: Can you find the hundred movie titles?  (See the posters below. )  Print one poster for every four students, laminate, and have some prizes ready for teams that do really well…great team building even for adults! 
• Can you find the 100 Movie titles?  Each poster below has images for 100 movie titles.  To download, please right click on the image, choose Save As, and save the image into your Pictures folder, from where you can find it again and print it.