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The school year is off and running! Along with the preparation of bulletin boards, seating charts, classroom procedures and syllabi, it is also important for teachers to consider the go-to digital tools and resources they will rely upon throughout the school year. The five tools and resources outlined below can be utilized by teachers and students in many different classroom settings, grade levels and subject areas for creation, communication, collaboration and so much more.

Web search can be a remarkable tool for students, and a bit of instruction in how to search for academic sources will help your students become critical thinkers and independent learners. With the materials on this site, you can help your students become skilled searchers- whether they're just starting out with search, or ready for more advanced training.

As more and more educators bring rich learning opportunities to their students, it makes sense for us to engage students in the creation of electronic portfolios of their work. Although there are a number of 'pay-for-service' sites and content management systems that are up to the task, there are also a number of free and low cost alternatives that can be leveraged by teachers and students in order to demonstrate their personal and professional competencies.

Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology. Too often we are seeing students as well as adults misusing and abusing technology but not sure what to do. The issue is more than what the users do not know but what is considered appropriate technology usage.

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers, parents, and students understand concepts of copyright and Fair Use.  This collection includes instructional activities about copyright and collections/tools to use images, music, and texts legally, either through Fair Use or Creative Commons licensing. Use these resources to model and teach ethical use of electronic media or to find copyright-safe raw materials for student projects. Be sure to share these resources with students for them to access any time they have a project to do.

While introduced as a hard drive based music player in 2001, the iPod has evolved into an essential tool for literacy in the 21st century. The availability of educational content is staggering. There are podcasts on everything from math to history to science to learning a foreign language. There is even a podcast on basket weaving. What is even more amazing is how easy it is for students and teachers to create their own digital content for the iPod. Students can then guide their own learning at their own pace, and review content on-demand. This idea of anywhere-anytime learning means the student is no longer tethered to the classroom learning environment.

The Internet provides tons of free tools and resources for teachers to use in their classroom. This handbook is for new teahers and/or teachers who are wanting to integrate technology in their classroom. The tools are both to use with students and use professionally.

Creative Web Tools For and By Kids is a project designed for students, ages 8 to 12, to use emerging technologies for engaging, thinking, learning, collaborating, creating, and innovating. The focus is on the use of free, open-source, or minimal cost tools, so the project can be replicated. An underlying goal is to demonstrate how advanced technological applications for enhancing learning can be implemented with only a computer and Internet access

"Booktrack is transforming reading the way sound transformed silent film.   Booktrack is delivering an innovative and engaging experience for today's generation of digital-savvy students, providing new ways for students to study and enjoy reading and writing. Booktrack Classroom is an exciting new technology that synchronizes audio with text to create an immersive reading experience. Stories and essays published with Booktrack include a customized, movie-style soundtrack that complements the story. Students can create Booktracks for their own writing and create a soundtrack from over 20,000 professional-quality audio files and share it with their classmates to read. Funded by investors including Peter Thiel (co-founder and former CEO of PayPal), Booktrack will change the way people read, write, and publish their stories."

Our team of teachers and designers focused on creating the next-generation model for Web based teaching tools. Your focus is teaching and you need to include manageable student Web experiences in your classroom.  SideVibe has revolutionized the classroom handout model by putting it online and delivering it with a world class, data base powered solution. Now you can take your students to any destination on the Web, interact with them, guide them, collect and assess their work seamlessly. 

Web-based tools continue to proliferate, giving teachers more to add to their arsenal, but it can be hard to determine which resources are worth spending time exploring. At the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this year, Adam Bellow, founder of EduClipper, and Steve Dembo, Online Community Manager for Discovery Education offered a quick run through of some favorite apps. The two educators are early adopters of ed-tech classroom strategies and have a lot of experience with tech integration.

While learning at home offers great opportunities for working on your own time and schedule, it can also offer drawbacks when it comes to working with others or getting immediate help on a problem. Whether you need help, collaboration, or just want a little extra knowledge when completing your assignments, these web tools will help you find what you need. From note taking to researching to staying organized, the following resources will have you making top grades in your classes.

My passion is to remove the obstacles to learning for all students and these free tools offer opportunities for struggling learners that promote academic success. When material is digital or electronic, it is flexible and accessible. It is our responsibility as educators to provide materials that promote success. Please encourage all educators to consider using these free tools.

Freelancers, small business owners, college students and family members have found that the Internet has made it easier to work from home, collaborate on group projects, and share important files and links. This list of web tools is ideal for anyone working on a group project, whether you're looking for task management support, scheduling and calendar organization, or just a place to collect all your materials and brainstorms.

There is no blinking the fact  that the type of students we teach today are completely different from last century's. We , definitely, need to look at some of the skills we, as teachers, need to equip ourselves with to better live up to the challenge. Among all the challenges we would have in education, there is not as daunting a challenge as catching students focus and getting them engaged in the learning process. For this particular reason, and in addition to the skills I initially mentioned in 21st Century Teaching Skills article, I would like to provide you  with another list of  some equally important digital skills that you, as a teacher, need to seriously consider if you want to pave the way for the 21st century teaching. I have added a list of web tools under each skill for teachers to better exploit it.

Play the Election is a free, collaborative, online tool that teaches students about the 2012 Election and the election process through a series of games, resources and competition. Students predict the election winners for each state on an interactive election map, and compare their predictions to their class and the country to see where they rank.

iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. iCivics is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support.

"The Songwriting Tools wiki is an idea base for songwriters, teachers, and creative musicians. This little piece of the web is being developed because many music students have an interest in writing songs, but the time demands on music instructors in schools are simply overwhelming! Novice songwriters will find help here, and overburdened teachers will now have a resource for their creative students!"

Schoology provides an enterprise level learning management system and configurable social network. Instructors and students can easily create, share, and manage academic material through a social networking interface. By incorporating learning management tools into a social environment, Schoology provides a means for teachers, students, parents, and administrators to seamlessly communicate and collaborate on academic issues.

LG2G concentrates on creating essential resources for pre-algebra students and the teachers and families working with them, as well as aggregating other manipulatives, web sites, and teacher tools that can help students think like mathematicians.