Paula Anne Socco Anicete
Special Education Teacher / Poet / Writer / Musician / Artist / Yoga Instructor
EdWeb
This is a good website for free webinars on various topics. They even send a CE certificate for attending. I love this website because they offer communities educators can join for free, based on specific topics. My favorites are Blended Learning, Game-Based Learning, The Brain and Learning and edGlobal: Sharing Education Ideas Around the World. When you join a community, you get invitations for webinars within that community, get the chance to e-network with others and even watch past webinars for credit (after completing a quiz based on that webinar).
TeachersFirst
This is another great source for webinars. TeachersFirst has a section for Professional Resources ("Help! I lost my Media Specialist!") as well as Classroom Resources (lesson plans for K-12 as well as special topics like the Olympics at Sochi and Cinco de Mayo). I use TeachersFirst as a spring board for lesson planning and reminding me of important dates, such as Autism Awareness Month and Dr. Seuss' birthday.
Education Week
I love going to this website whenever I have time because I always learn something new. You can look at the current issue as well as archived issues, participate in discussions, chats, teacher book clubs, sign up for webinars, and more. It is definitely easy to feel isolated in the classroom; Education Week shows me what is happening in classrooms across the country with a click of the mouse.
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Unique Teacher Resources
This is a website made by a fellow teacher who makes her own materials. Whenever I need help thinking of a paper-based activity that is NOT a worksheet, I just look at Unique Teacher Resources and get inspired to make my own materials for my students. I used her "hamburger book report" template with second grade once and it was a HUGE success!
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Coaching Soccer 101
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Coaching Soccer 101 is an invaluable resource for anyone who coaches soccer. They have a cache of drills to choose from based on the skill you need to work on. The drills are drawn in neat diagrams with simple directions for ease of execution during practice. I used the "Spread Out" drill to teach the girls how to stay open and make intentional passes (they were getting overwhelmed with their lack of ball control) and it worked! Within one practice the girls were using the field better and communication between players improved.
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TEACHER RESOURCES
A mentor of mine once said, "The best teacher is one who never stopped being a student in life." I have taken this bit of wisdom and made it a way of life. I have applied it to everything, especially education. I am always looking for new things to learn, though sometimes it can be hard to find sources of good, quality information.
Here are a few sites I use in my professional development.
Louisiana Believes​
This is the official website of the Louisiana Department of Education. Many resources for teachers and parents, like practice tests, curriculum, lesson plans, and more.