Professional Development Teaching Resources

1) Education World
http://www.educationworld.com/
This website contains updated news articles, lesson plans, teacher advice, blog & other
technology outlets, and so much more. An easy and interactive website, Education World
provides teachers endless avenues to further explore current practices in education. Each
subtab is divided into different topics that will definitely relate to a variety of school staff,
and the possibilities allow for further interaction among educators. I will definitely use
most facets of this website, depending on what I am trying to do at the point in my career.
I can use this site whether I want to integrate modern technology into ancient world
history lessons or if I want to read more about teachers who have experienced similar
issues in their practices.
2) Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html
Education Week operates on an issue-basis, meaning that each issue surfaces with new
materials, articles, events, and topics to be discussed among professional educators. Easy
to navigate, this site provides users with an array of materials that prove useful to
pedagogical practices, such as reports & data, blog & discussion boards, opinionated
articles, and an array of multimedia resources. I plan to use Education Week when I am
struggling with a certain problem within the school (i.e., bullying, policies). By allowing
publishers and teachers to work together, Ed Week helps facilitate professional
development in those who are most concerned about continuously improving their craft.
3) Read Write Think
http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/
Read Write Think is a current approach toward learning, for both students and teachers.
As a collaborative process, this website strives to improve upon writing and literacy
skills. Aligned with current Common Core priorities, this website provides teachers,
parents and students the means necessary to develop reading and writing skills. Read
Write Think offers free resources to its users in the hopes of creating a more positive and
enthusiastic outlook on literacy education. As a future teacher, I have noticed the
stronghold that literacy has in life, whether in education or the job market. By aiming to
improve student literacy, I will utilize this website to involve parents in the process of
remodeling lessons and the curriculum to focus on developing the necessary skills to
participate in continued education and civic life.
4) Discovery Education
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/?
campaign=DE&CFID=2886098&CFTOKEN=58686871
Discovery Education is a website designed by a retired technology director who now
operates online to help facilitate technology-integrated learning. The website is operable
for students of any age, as both grade school students and graduate students can benefit
from the tools offered. Moreover, the free resources are geared toward teachers, students,
and parents, serving as relevant information to each party. For example, there are activity
and lesson planning generators for teachers, but the resources appear unlimited. I plan to

use this site to help incorporate more technology in my lesson plans. I could also use this
as a source of better communicating with students and their parents the expectations of
each class, and how we can all work together to assure each student is achieving at a high
rate.
5) Teacher Vision
https://www.teachervision.com/pro-dev/resource/5778.html
Teacher Vision is the epitome of a professional development resource for teachers.
Spanning a multitude of subjects, grades and themes, Teacher Vision offers countless
teaching strategies, classroom management advice, assessment & portfolio examples, and
much more. One of the most intriguing aspects of this site are its visuals and use of
multimedia. Videos, articles, links to resources, graphic organizers, and other activities
and assessments are all provided within this website. I plan to lean on Teacher Vision in
my first few years as a teacher, as it will undoubtedly provide me a foundation to build
my own pedagogical approach toward education.
6) Getting Smart
http://gettingsmart.com/
Filtered with articles, Getting Smart provides teachers multiple avenues to further their
professional development. The home page focuses on current articles that are of
relevance to all teachers, whether the articles address fostering learning habits in students
or discusses the importance of data in teacher development. However, the site than offers
teachers the opportunity to develop skills pertaining to technology, leadership and
learning. Videos and podcasts accompany the heavy use of articles to balance out the
amount of text used by the site, but the relevance and awareness that this site encourages
is refreshing. I would use Getting Smart to build upon my presence as a leader and
effective teacher in the school community. The resources would absolutely help open my
mind to ideas I may have not yet considered in my experiences.
7) PBS Learning Media
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/
This site allows users to browse by grade & subject, thus providing a refined focus on
relevant content and resources that will help improve a specific learning environment.
Also included is the option to browse the website by standards, which may be useful for
people like myself who are in the preliminary stages of their teaching career. The
resources available includebut are not limited tovideos, teacher-built resources,
activities, experiments and articles. I would not only utilize this as a teacher to assure my
students are learning and analyzing information from a vast background, but I would also
use this as a resource for my future children in any subject they may struggle with or not
share as much interest.
8) Teachers Network
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/
This website is exactly what its title purportsa network for teachers to collaborate and
share ideas with each other. The features are as endless as they are helpful: lesson plans,
curriculum units, teacher-designed activities, how-to articles, videos and research. This

site is a nicely-designed tool for teachers to browse across subject and grade while
ultimately focusing on improving their craft. I would use this site for all that it offers.
Most importantly, it hits on every aspect of professional development for teachers,
whether its leadership, reflective commentary, lesson adaptations, etc. I plan to use
Teachers Network to not only receive good ideas from others, but to hopefully help other
teachers in need with some of my best activities and assessments.
9) Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/teacher-development
This site primarily revolves around user discussion, which I believe to be a critical piece
of learning and growth. Filtered through either publication time or the ones that received
the most attention, or posts, these discussions focus on an array of topics that teachers
need be aware of in their classroom. Edutopia also allows users to browse by topic,
watch videos, contribute more to the site, and analyze research & data focused on
professional development. I would use this site to seek other teachers who experience
similar issues or speedbumps in their practice. I would also serve as a helping-hand to
discussion posts who are struggling to find a resolution or advice in their certain
situation.
10) The Open University
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
This university is a free resource for any teacher to pursue their professional
development goals. Bundled with articles and courses, the opportunities are endless for
any of its users, especially given the array of topics it covers. This site is specifically
geared toward those who are unsure of what they are passionate about and what they
truly want to help make a difference in. Opportunities are offered to users to become
more involved in the discussion of education and how it can be improved to serve a
greater number of people. I could see myself potentially using this when I feel stagnant
in my position and may feel that I want to pursue a new discipline within or approach to
pedagogy.