Tag Archives: AASL Best Digital Tools

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AASL Best Digital Tools 2021: Copyright & Creativity

AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

Copyright is a big deal and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If you work in a school library or media center, you might be asked questions or expected to share knowledge about copyright. This FREE resource can help!
Their website has engaging videos, actual feedback from both students and educators, and specific teaching resources for elementary, middle, and high school plus professional development and copyright & distance learning.

Copyright & Creativity is a full suite of free K-12 resources that teach the essentials of copyright and fair use and how they work together to encourage creativity. Resources include in-class lesson plans, plug-n-play lesson slides, learning videos, visual aids, and a professional development course for teachers. Rather than just emphasizing what copyright prohibits, the goal is to offer useful and positive information about what copyright allows and how students can successfully navigate and rely on copyright in their own roles as creators.

Watch this 2 min video to get a sample of the curriculum:

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2021: Wakelet

AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

We’re looking at the resource Wakelet this week! It is a FREE tool that this article from Infused Classroom describes as “a more powerful version of Pinterest.” Some ideas for using Wakelet are as a classroom newsletter, making how-to tech videos, or showcasing student portfolios. You can check out this Wakelet all about using Wakelet in the classroom! Common Sense Education has this review of the resource and Free Tech for Teachers has these ideas for classroom activities using Wakelet.

Educators can use Wakelet to “create visual, engaging learning environments for learners. With Wakelet, educators can quickly display any kind of content found on the web, through beautiful looking collections that can be presented and shared with whoever you like. School Librarians can use Wakelet to increase engagement with their students through book reviews, assignments, digital storytelling, reading lists and much more.”

Grades: K-12

Here’s a four minute video that’s a teacher’s guide to using Wakelet:

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2021: New American History

AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

This week, New American History makes teaching and learning history a more involved and relevant experience! Definitely check out the Educators Learning Resources page with searchable topics and learning strategies, plus you can see which lessons are trending.
Topics include resources like historical and/or interactive maps, links to reliable articles, graphic organizers, and more.

Grades: 4-12

New American History “helps educators and learners preparing to do research (including their National History Day projects!), develop cross-curricular Project-Based Learning opportunities, develop station based learning experiences, teach students skills to evaluate print and digital resources, and recommend high-quality tools and resources for inquiry-based learning.”

This article from the Washington Post explains why the resource New American History is so important, especially when it comes to teaching students about racial injustice. And this article about the resource from the University of Richmond gives some background information and explains why it is especially useful during times of distance learning.

This video (23 minutes) is a bit long but does get into detail about the resources and shares strategies for getting the most out of its tools:

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Apps 2021: WWF Wild Classroom

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AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

This week we’re exploring a very cool resource: from the World Wildlife Fund, the Wild Classroom! On their Teaching Resources page, you can find so many ways to engage your students: from Wildlife Arts and Crafts to a whole Lesson Library! They have a Biodiversity Toolkit, ideas for conservation in the classroom, a Workout Your Wild Side activity, and a Find Your Inner Animal quiz! (In case you were curious, I got Warthog, and yes the quiz was very fun!)

Grades: K-12

The WWF Wild Classroom resource “contains a variety of resources that educators and librarians can use with youth to inspire them to help protect the planet. The platform contains activity plans, digital reference materials (including videos and kid-friendly scientific articles), virtual engagement opportunities with World Wildlife Fund experts, online games, and project ideas of ways to get involved in their community. All of the materials are free to access and integrate a range of educational standards, including Next Generation Science and Common Core ELA/Math.”

EdSurge has this evaluation of the resource, and Kahoot! has teamed up with Wild Classroom to create new games for students to learn about biodiversity! Check those out here.

To get an idea of the type of content Wild Classroom offers, watch this 3 minute video on polar bears (I learned so much!)

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Apps 2021: Britannica LaunchPacks: Science!

AASL released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 2021! This year’s list took into special consideration how well these tools work for remote/distance students. The resources enhance learning and encourage the following qualities:

  • Innovation/Creativity
  • Active Participation
  • Collaboration
  • User-Friendly
  • Encourages Exploration
  • Information/Reference

We share these resources every year and you can explore our archive of past recommendations here.

This week we’re exploring one of the Britannica LaunchPacks: Science! This resource covers a variety of scientific topics and includes assignments, annotation tools, videos, articles, and links all divided by grade level from K-12.

“Britannica LaunchPacks: Science leverages high-quality, diverse digital content sets to build science knowledge and understanding, enabling educators to make strong cross-curricular connections to help students engage in meaningful learning. It allows educators to build content sets (Packs) that cover each of the disciplinary core ideas outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards and provide a seamless experience for students to think critically.”

Educator John Dabell offers his review of the resource here.

Watch this three-minute video to get an idea about all the possibilities this resource has to offer: