Working with several child safety organizations, Google has created both an online educational game called a Interland, and a free, downloadable curriculum to teach digital citizenship. The program focuses on online safety, recognizing scams, privacy, being kind and seeking help when needed. It is aligned with ISTE standards.
Grades: 3 - 8
Common Sense Education has selected nearly 20 apps that can be useful in teaching emotional regulation, language and communication skills, time management and social skills. Each app includes a review with grade level, price, general description with pros and cons, and how it can be used.
Grades: PreK - 12
Selected by the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association, Best Apps for Teaching & Learning encourage exploration and discovery. They are organized by Books, STEM, Organization & Management, Social Sciences and Content Creation. This list is updated annually.
Grades: K - 12
Best Websites for Teaching & Learning identifies high quality internet resources for teaching and learning by the American Association of School Librarians of the American Library Association. All websites are free and encourage exploration and discovery. The list is divided by pedagogical categories such as media sharing, digital storytelling, social networking, content resources, etc. This list is updated annually.
Grades: K - 12
Designed for use by parents and teachers Common Sense Media evaluates movies, games, apps, websites, television shows, books and music. Searchable by age, entertainment type, topics, etc. this website provides reviews for over 20,000 products. The education portion includes resources for teaching about digital literacy including short videos. Graphite, part of Common Sense Education, identifies the best apps, games, and websites for the classroom.
Grades: PreK - 12
A digital citizenship program that uses Garfield and his friends to discuss privacy, safe posting and cyberbullying. The Basic package is free to classes. Developed by the Center for Cyber Safety.
Grades: K - 6
Great Websites for Kids identifies outstanding websites for children from birth to age 14. The websites are evaluated by a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Additions are made three times a year and all sites are checked at least twice a year. The list is divided by subject area. All entries identify appropriate audience.
Grades: PreK - 8
Using the theme, Learning with the world, not just about it, iEARN helps teachers and students from over 140 countries work together. Use the Project Collaboration Centre link to identify projects, find project partners, or join a teacher or youth forum. Search Impact for testimonials about projects. Available in over 80 languages.
Grades: K - 12
Inklewriter enables students to create interactive branched stories ("choose your own adventure"). Created by two game designers this tool is free but does require the user to register. Projects may be shared with a limited or global audience.
Grades: 6 - 12
For over 20 years Kathy Schrock has been helping educators learn about technology. This website links you to information about BYOD/BYOT, concept mapping, digital storytelling, iPads in education, and a host of other topics.
Grades: K - 12
A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center the Teaching Tolerance website provides resources and support for reducing prejudice and encouraging respect for differences in schools. Resources include free video kits, an online magazine, a blog of news items, sample lesson plans and teaching activities.
Grades: PreK - 12
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) created this website with separate spaces for kids, tweens, teens and adults (parents, educators and law enforcement). With videos, games and other activities NetSmartz suggests ways to keep kids safe while online. The Educators' section offers free online safety kits.
Grades: K - 12
Your "one stop shop" for New Jersey history and culture, from the collections of NJ libraries, museums, archives and historical societies. It provides primary sources such as photographs, documents, and maps from the American Revolution, Civil War, Cold War and in social protest during the 1960's and 70's.
Grades: 6 - 12
WebQuests, developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University, are a teaching strategy for engaging learners to apply higher level thinking to authentic problems. QuestGarden is an online authoring tool designed to make it easier and quicker to create a high quality WebQuest. A free 30-day trial of the lesson creation tools is available, and a 2-year subscription that offers additional features costs only $20.
Grades: K - 12
Michael Caulfield, of AASCU's American Democracy Project has written this online guide to fact checking news found on social media. He identifies fact checking organizations and suggests strategies to identify the origin of information and misinformation on the internet.
Grades: 6 - 12
