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: