Must-Read K-12 Blogs

I'm a huge fan of sharing ideas, especially through the many many different blogs that are floating around the internet. The only problem is that there are so many blogs around that it gets overwhelming trying to sift through to find the good ones. I've just come across this list '50 Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs 2013' by EdTech Magazine which will hopefully make finding some great blogs much easier for you. The blogs listed are all authored by a combination of teachers, librarians, administrators and technology experts. They share real-world classroom experiences, offer inspiration and ideas and distribute valuable best practises.

SpiderScribe

SpiderScribe is an online mind mapping and brainstorming tool. It lets you organize your ideas by connecting notes, files, calendar events, etc. in free-form maps. You can collaborate and share those maps online, with other teachers or your students. There is a video on the website which shows you exactly how Spiderscribe works - I've also posted it below for you to look at.

The good thing about Spiderscribe is that it's free to use, or you can choose to pay for an upgraded account.  You can see an example of a map that someone has created about Cognitivism here for you to get some ideas on how to use this great tool.

Awesome Stories

I've just found out about a great resource for teachers through the State Library run website, Bright Ideas called Awesome Stories. Awesome stories gives teachers access to primary source material and is free to join. It even includes lesson plans! It's mainly history related however there's also topics relating to sports, disasters (natural and man made), religion and more. Topics are explained with images, videos, audio, documents and other primary sources linked to that story. It's a great place to find interesting information or sources to show your students, or for your students to use for primary sources to research/support their assignments. The resources have been sourced from the USA national archives (so topics can be more Americanised), universities, museums, historical societies and government websites.