It’s 2016 and there’s no doubt that schools have entered the
digital age. Paper orders are being
reduced, copy allowances are being cut, and students are bringing their laptops
or ipads to class, rather than notebooks and pencils.
As teachers, it’s our responsibility to roll with the tides
and adapt to the changes that we see happening.
Those pen and paper lessons that we’ve been in the habit of assigning
need to be revamped to appeal to our digital learners.
So, what do we do?
Short of reinventing all of our tried and true units, we need to find
apps, sites, and already-created digital lessons to help us out. Here’s where I come in with a few of my
favorites. Have a peek at my top 5 go-to
sources for great digital content:
1. Newsela.com – It’s so important to familiarize
our students with current topics, and this site provides a plethora of timely,
interesting articles. Even better, you,
or your students, can adjust the lexile levels to fit individual student needs,
making differentiation a snap. Additionally,
each article provides a writing prompt that can be completed online, as well as
a quiz. Creating text sets is super-easy
and teachers can create classes, assign specific articles, and track
progress. I think this site is amazing,
can you tell?

2. Turnitin.com – I’ve been lucky that in the 10+
years I’ve been at my current school, we’ve always had a subscription to turnitin.com. Yes, it is an online plagiarism checker, but
it does so much more than that! Students
can digitally submit their papers for the revision assistant which offers
immediate feedback, as well as putting them in a group for peer editing. Online grading is available for teachers, and
you can either use the provided rubrics and comments, or upload your own. Can you imagine just clicking a button to
comment on a student essay? It’s
amazing, and I haven’t collected a hard-copy student paper in years.

3. Kahoot.it – If you don’t have a kahoot account,
you must get one right away! This site gives teachers a fun, interactive way to
engage students in learning. You create games with multiple choice questions,
pictures, videos, and more, and then students can answer on their devices, all
while the responses are being shared on a classroom screen. Believe it or not, my 3rd-grade
son is the one who introduced me to this site, and I’m so glad he did. My students love it, too!

4 4. Crash Course channel on youtube.com – OK, let’s
just put it out there. I’m a high school
English teacher, and as such, I have a great, academic crush on John
Green. Not only does he get teenagers
and turn reluctant readers into page-turning fiends, he’s just so
nerdy-cute! His youtube channel that he
shares with his brother, Hank, is fantastic.
I love the Crash Course Literature series, but there are so many other
areas that different subject areas can use, too. I can assign the link to a video for
homework, and have no problem getting students to tune in.

5. TeachersPayTeachers.com – Where else can
teachers find such a variety of high-quality, teacher-created resources? And now, the digital take-over is underway!
Many teachers are creating top-tier lessons that can be shared and completed
using Google drive, Microsoft One Drive, and more. I have a section in my TpT store devoted to
my digital resources. Here’s one that is
perfect for any class that has students analyze arguments. The can open the resource on their device and
compile their evidence by typing it right online.
I hope you find some of these to be helpful to you and we continue to embark on the digital voyage. Let me know some of your favorite sites in the comments!