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Don't make assumptions.

Baby steps.

Providing resources.

Modeling.

Focus on requirements, not technology.

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Connecting the dots . . .

Technology embedded in the common core standards

Relevance to Danielson Framework

UDL and technology integration models

Emphasizing k-12 background

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First, the Northwest Inland Writing Project (NIWP) Summer Institutes took a new form this year as a collaborative effort between NIWP, the Idaho Common Core Network, and the University of Idaho Doceo Center of Innovation + Learning. Two regional institutes were held for two weeks each.

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Identifying the missing ingredient:

1. PLN (Penn Literacy Network)

2. PIIC (Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching)

3. Reading Apprenticeship

4. PA3 w/ NASA

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CFF (Classrooms for the Future) - Pennsylvania

No problem too small

Immediate response

Model

Provide in-class support

Still something missing

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teachers

students

parents

administration

other librarians

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Open Library - This is the best place I've found. You can search for a book by subject, author, or title. Once you find one that interests you, click Read to read online or click Borrow to borrow. Then, next to the title with the correct format needed (kindle, etc.), click Find a Library.

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Realization of lack of student (and teacherresearch knowledge

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Modeling with provided tools . . .

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Basing courses on observed needs

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Top 50 Teacher Resource Websites

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This page is devoted to the best website design awards for the Top 50 Classroom Websites and the Top 50 Teacher Resource Websites as nominated by you, my fellow teachers.

For complete details on how to nominate a site in either (or both) of these categories, please see this page .

This is NOT a site-of-the-month kind of thing. Once we reach 50 quality sites in each category, no more nominations will be considered.
best website design awards
The ideas and rich mix of teaching ideas and resources that are just beginning to appear here will benefit teachers, educational website developers, and ultimately, all of the kids who populate our classrooms.

It's a win-win situation for EVERYBODY.

If you haven't bookmarked this site, please consider doing so--more and more of the educational websites winning one of the six awards available will soon be appearing here.

Top 50 Classroom Websites best website design awards

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: May 25, 2012
Website: The Borgeson Bunch
Recipient: Dale Borgeson
School: Vintage Hills Elementary
Location: Temecula, California
Intended Audience: His 3rd Graders, Parents, and Teachers Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This site is extremely well done. It blew the lid off my rubric, and then there were additional explosions.

It's attractive, easy to navigate, and has a wealth of information appropriate for the intended audience.

The rich use of mixed media is truly a standout. It doesn't really matter what grade level you teach, this site offers a wealth of useful information.

Award: The Silver Band
Date: August 20, 2012
Website: The Nettling Newsline
Recipient: Leslie Nettling
School: Not Listed
Location: Carlisle, Ohio
Intended Audience: Her 5th Graders, Parents, and Teachers Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:
This site is very well done. It's mighty early in a new school year, so I would suspect that the content will be updated as soon as Leslie gets a chance.

Content includes BrainPop, slideshows, animated gifs, and more. It's an attractive site that's easy to navigate, and there is a wealth of information appropriate for the intended audience.

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: August 20, 2012
Website: Mr. Smith Online
Recipient: David Smith
School: Creek View Elementary
Location: Alpharetta, Georgia
Intended Audience: His 3rd Graders, Parents, and Teachers Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This site has quite a variety of resources for the intended audience, including xtranormal animations, online surveys, and slideshows to name a few.

The drop down navigation links are a nice touch.

Award: The Starry Plaque Award
Date: March 19, 2013
Website: Ms. Weber's Second Grade
Recipient: Gina Weber
School: Crestwood Elementary
Location: Crestwood, Kentucky
Intended Audience: Her 2nd graders and their parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This site, on first glance, looks deceptively simple. But, a couple of minutes of exploring reveals a wealth of information and multimedia that effectively targets the intended audience.

Learning Links, a newsletter, a word wall, pictures, videos, and more are easily accessible on this site. All in all, a very nice and thorough job, Gina!

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date: March 21, 2013
Website: Mr. Johnson's Virtual Classroom
Recipient: Erik Johnson
School: Park City Magnet School
Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Intended Audience: His middle schoolers and their parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This site has a pleasing look and a well-organized structure inviting all stakeholders in for a closer examination. Blogs and archives for both 7th and 8th graders are included along with Powerschool Gradebook, Study Island, and many other informative resources.

A standout here is that as soon as you open the home page, the calendar that greets you there is obviously current--the previous days (including the day prior to my visit) had already been crossed off.

Note--due to file size constraints, the bottom 20% or so of the home page shown here had to be cropped.

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date:January 20, 2014
Website: The Laraway Tech Center
Recipient: Joan O'Connell
School: Laraway CCSD 70-C
Location: Joliet, Illinois
Intended Audience: Kindergarten thru 8th Grade students, parents, and teachers

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This site has a lot to offer for all stakeholders including a one-stop site for kids to find educational websites to practice with, information for parents, resources for Common Core State Standards and The National Technology Standards for Teachers.

The home page (shown here) features a very cool slideshow embedded in an iPad. Other slideshows and video productions display nearly Hollywood-like quality. Even the menus and submenus slide out in clever ways. Thank you for sharing this with us, Joan-excellent work.

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date: August 18, 2014
Website: Mr. Maloney's Classroom Website
Recipient: Sean Maloney
School: Brooklyn Elementary School
Location: Brooklyn, Connecticut
Intended Audience: His 4th graders and their parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This eye-popping site and the classroom it's embedded in makes you wish you were a fourth-grader all over again!

If you visit this site before August 27 (the first day of school in Brooklyn, Connecticut), you may not get the full impact of what's to come. But, look out after that...

There's a behavior calendar for parents, a homework page, photos of classroom activities updated weekly, a collection of online educational skills games, and much more. And, is that Steve Irvine holding a huge live gator?!?

This site is an outstanding example of what can be done to keep kids and the parents informed and on track to success in school and beyond.

Well done, Sean. Well done.

Award: The Silver Band
Date: September 4, 2014
Website: The Hoggatteer Experience
Recipient: Dale Hoggatt
School: Cecil Floyd Elementary School
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Intended Audience: His 4th graders, parents, teachers, and readers

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

This attractive and compelling site offers an extensive wealth of materials for all interested parties.

It turns out that Mr. Hoggatt is quite the accomplished author and novelist as well. There's a generous sampling of his writing here, and it would be well worth your time to drop by for a visit.

This outstanding and evolving effort from a 25 year teaching veteran garnered several awards before it ever came to my attention. When you can grab a look, I'm sure you'll see why.

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: December 17, 2014
Website: Mr. Cairns' Math Online Academy
Recipient: Curt Cairns
School: Chartiers Valley Middle School
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Intended Audience: His 6th Graders, Parents, and Teachers Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Mr. Cairns has done an excellent job with this site for math kids. The most outstanding aspect, in my opinion, is the plethora of activities and resources for kids to learn about math-including Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Khan Academy plays a key role here, but there's loads of other stuff that math teachers everywhere would be delighted to discover.

It's been a pleasure sharing this with you, and if you can grab a few minutes, check it out for yourself!

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: April 28, 2015
Website: Coach Bailey's Social Studies
Recipient: Rick Bailey
School: Pilot Point High School
Location: Pilot Point, Texas
Intended Audience: His high school US History and World Geography students

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Coach Bailey posts detailed weekly lesson plans on his site that serve as a syllabus as well as a study guide for both US History and World Geography classes. Study sets and online quizzes utilizing the Quizlet app are featured prominently here.

With Spark Notes, STAAR Review presentations, and a "Crash Course" in history via an extensive collection of YouTube videos, students in Coach Bailey's class are certainly not in a position to complain about a lack of study materials.

This site is a great reference and model for teachers who teach similar content.

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: May 22, 2015
Website: Master Barrett
Recipient: Sara Jo Barrett
School: Delta High School
Location: Richland, Washington
Intended Audience: Her 11th and 12th grade English students

Screenshot:

My Comments:

Master Barrett, a stellar site for high school English students and their parents, offers a wealth of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint resources that are ready for download. Topics include literary critiques, writing a thesis statement, and reader's prompts for responding in writing (to name a few).
best website design awards
A true standout is The 10 Commandments of AP English found in the AP Exam Boot Camp section of this site. Actually, this whole section will be a vital resource for teachers of advanced placement English.
best website design awards
Given that this site's creator is a first year teacher in a school where the faculty must write their own curriculum, I'm astounded that she was able to pull all of these resources together in the first place. If you get a chance, see if you agree with me.
best website design awards

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: September 12, 2015
Website: Laraway & Oak Valley Music
Recipient: Cherrelle Negrusz
School: Laraway School District 70C
Location: Joliet, Illinois
Intended Audience: Her K-8 music students

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:
best website design awards
Mrs. Negrusz, the general music teacher and Chorus and Drama Director of Laraway and Oak Valley Schools, has put this site together with her young musicians clearly in focus.
best website design awards
Here you will find a top 10 feature that contains weekly updates, a nice collection of online music games, and a sidebar containing Around Town-a schedule of live local student performances that is particularly packed around the holidays.
best website design awards
What really demands attention is the Music News Network, which features podcast audio samples of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders performing. Coming from a guy who can't carry a tune in a bucket or coax a few notes out of a kazoo, I'm astounded by how accomplished her young people have become under her tutelage.

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: September 29, 2015
Website: Ms. Rice's Room
Recipient: Jennifer Rice
School: Ottoson Middle School
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts
Intended Audience: Her 7th grade math students and parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Ms. Rice, a seventh grade math teacher and Harvard graduate, is the creator of this clean, uncluttered, web resource for her students and their parents. And, it's loaded with great content.

Along with daily class agendas, homework assignments, and announcements, there are a plethora of how-to-do math videos on topics that are way beyond me. A small sampling of these topics include order of operations, absolute value, and my personal favorite, expanding and factoring using the distributive property.

Say what?
best website design awards
Another great resource that Ms. Rice has included here is a collection of tutorials from Houghton Mifflin's Harcourt's Math Steps. I'm not as strong in math as Ms. Rice's kids soon will be, but I think she has created a great reference and model for math teachers everywhere.

Award: The Gold Shield
Date: November 7, 2015
Website: Logophiles Unleashed!
Recipient: Tracey Rains
School: Gatlinburg-Pittman High School
Location: Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Intended Audience: Her CP and Honors English students

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Nominated by a former student, Mrs. Rains became a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award of 2015. This website strongly suggests why.
best website design awards
A load of content is available here, particularly reference and interactive materials for the literature that she is currently teaching. These works include To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

Mrs. Rains actively employs social media on Logophiles Unleashed!, and student commentary on the site reveals their engagement and enthusiasm. Through her efforts with Donors Choose, a website that helps schools fund educational projects, Mrs. Rains' greatly-expanded classes received enough funding to purchase copies of The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

If you are a high school English teacher, this site deserves a bookmark in your browser.
best website design awards

Award: The Starry Plaque Award
Date: April 25, 2016
Website: Books & Buffalo Wings
Recipient: Maurice Williams
School: American Indian Public School
Location: Oakland, California
Intended Audience: His 7th Graders and their Parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

A horizontal collage of photos running at the topside of this site provides the navigation to the contents. The visitor simply selects a thumbnail photo of interest to link into and explore the associated materials.

Through the aforementioned structure, visitors may access current homework assignments, student artwork, students of the month, class projects, and several other activities that his class is pursuing. Additionally, resources here include GO Math!, the Oakland Public Library, Khan Academy, PBS Learning Media, and TIME Edge, to name a few.

This site is truly innovative and is well deserving of a visit. Three cheers to Mr. Williams and his class for this outstanding classroom website!
best website design awards

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date: June 22, 2016
Website: Mr. Krokos's Kindergarten Class
Recipient: Mark Krokos
School: Fairview Elementary School
Location: Mountain Top, PA
Intended Audience: His Kindergartners and their Parents

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

The class of 2028? Is anybody really that young?!?

These cute, little kindergartners who attend Mr. Krokos's class certainly are. The bountiful slideshows, song videos, and class project vignettes posted on this site are truly heart-warming. Along with the aforementioned is a generous collection of class newsletters, class schedules, and homework assignments.

Access to Skyward, their district's parent portal for accessing grades and progress is also provided. Yes, these kids are learning and having fun at the same time-multiple cheers for them and the steady hand who guides them.

best website design awards

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date: September 11, 2016
Website: Mr. J's Virtual Classroom
Recipient: Mr. Jura
School: Warren Easton Charter High School
Location: New Orleans, LA
Intended Audience: His High School Students

Clickable Screenshot:

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date: January 9, 2017
Website: Mr. Vogel's Classroom Website
Recipient: Mr. Zack Vogel
School: Lyon's High School
Location: Lyons, KS
Intended Audience: His Business and Technology Sudents

Clickable Screenshot:

Award Number: 19 of 50
best website design awards

Award: The Gold Shield Award
Date Awarded: October 5, 2017
Website: Mrs. Abernethy's Robotic Rhinos
Recipient: Jan Abernethy
School: East Elementary School
Location: Greenville, Pennsylvania
Intended Audience: Her 5th grade students, parents, and teachers

Clickable Screenshot:

best website design awards
Top 50 Teacher Resources Websites

best website design awards

Award: The Bolted Plaque
Date: October 10, 2012
Website: ELA Seminars
Recipient: Janice Malone
School: Richard Stockton College
Location: Galloway, New Jersey
Intended Audience: English Language Arts Teachers Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Janice's website is one that language arts teachers everywhere will want to bookmark and visit frequently. She offers a variety of resources, including but not limited to, podcasts, videos, webcasts, lessons, and products that are useful for teachers, and ultimately their classroom students.

The information presented here is straightforward, organized, and easy to access. And, as the title of her website suggests, Janice is available to conduct her highly-regarded English Language Arts Seminars.

Congratulations for a job well done, Janice!

Award: The Bolted Plaque
Date: September 12, 2014
Website: Dr. Young's Reading Room
Recipient: Dr. Chase Young
School: Texas A&M University
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Intended Audience: Students, Families, and Educators Everywhere

Clickable Screenshot:

My Comments:

Categorizing this site was difficult. After all, on the one hand , it's a wonderful showcase for the works of second graders. For example, here you'll find their autobiographies, their Blabberize projects, and even Fotobabbles-the one of a second grader "speaking" as former President George W. Bush is truly a standout.

On the other hand, this site offers an amazing treasure trove of information and resources for teachers everywhere. Dr. Young has posted many of his own professional articles on topics of interest to teachers, such as, best classroom practices, methods for teaching reading comprehension, strategies for supporting struggling readers, and much more.

In addition, there are 20 or more free downloads, including but not limited to, a literature circle PowerPoint and accompanying rubric, a how-to on developing literacy with student-produced movies, and several items related to Readers Theater--a topic that Dr. Young wrote extensively about in an exclusive article for The Guest Authors Toolbox.

In my opinion, this site is a must-bookmark resource that merits close attention.

This little fellow with the big question mark looming behind him is my way of saying that we only have two award recipients in this category so far (see above).

I'm quite sure, however, that there will be more and more as the calendar pages continue their unmerciful turn.

Will you help us out here?

Do you have a teacher resources website that you have found to be particularly outstanding?

Please share it with us here !

If you would like additional information regarding the Daily Teaching Tools Website Awards, you may access that .

Thanks ahead of time for your participation!
Conclusion
For the very first time here on this site, this conclusion is sort of a conclusion, and it's sort of not.

I'm quite sure you know where I'm going with this--there really can be no definitive conclusion to a page that will continually evolve (with your help, of course).
best website design awards
I make no apologies for that--it is what it is.
best website design awards
Only time will play the final card.
best website design awards
Best wishes always to you and your kids!

Return to Daily Teaching Tools from Best Website Design Awards

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Best Website Design Awards Showcase for Educators

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This page is devoted to the best website design awards for the Top 50 Classroom Websites and the Top 50 Teacher Resource Websites as nominated by you, my fellow teachers. For complete details on how to nominate a site in either (or both) of these categories, please see this page .

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Broadcast Journalism to Video in the Classroom & Video Productions

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Broadcast Journalism to Video in the Classroom & Video Productions

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Little support then . . . lots of support now.

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Now known as Cable Impacts

- providing educational content

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Teaching Key Digital Citizenship Concepts to Children | InCtrl

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InCtrl is an online resource that teaches key digital citizenship lessons to students in grades four to eight. Start your digital journey with us today.