The EdTech Roundup
Connect:
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Editorials & Press
  • Ed Tech Sites
  • Lesson Plans
    • Elementary
    • Secondary
  • Former Weekly Podcast
  • About Me
  • Contact

United Teach: Bringing a World of Knowledge to the Classroom in Real-time

10/3/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
United Teach is a new EdTech startup that aims to bring an enormous variety of digital guest speakers to classrooms around the country.  Through the service, you can find guest speakers on art, math, science, careers, pretty much everything imaginable.  It's an excellent resource and a wonderful way to help students make real world connections with the subject matter!  Let's check it out!

As many classroom teachers have most likely discovered, finding guest speakers from the local community can often be a challenge.  Matching their schedule with your school schedule, finding someone who can even speak on the topic you would like addressed, and, most importantly, finding someone who is willing to volunteer their time.  United Teach aims to digitize this process and make it immeasurably easier to find a guest speaker for your classroom, and they have a giant variety of topics and subject areas that guest speakers can address.  Let's check out a video to get a short introduction to the site.

 
Picture
Pick a Topic, Any Topic

This review will primarily focus on the teacher side of the site, but if you like the sound of volunteering for a service like this, you should definitely sign up!  If you're passionate about education, and you have a subject area you'd like to be a guest speaker about, they are definitely looking for more volunteers!

On the teacher side, it's an incredibly easy system.  And if you sign up before October 31st you'll get a free account for the entire 2014-2015 school year (after that it's only $12 a year). When you sign in, you'll first be presented with your dashboard.  From here you can see any upcoming appointments and any quest speakers that you have favorited.

Picture
The Teacher Dashboard

To find a guest speaker it's as simple as, (you can probably guess...) click the green "find a guest speaker" button!  From there, you'll just need to pick what subject are you're interested in, and a collection of guest speakers will show up.  You can check out their profiles to find out more information or send them a message if you're interested in scheduling them for your class!  It's super easy.

Picture
Select a Topic
 
Picture
View the Profiles of Potential Guest Speakers

So, after you've found a guest speaker you like, all you need to do is send them a message and schedule a time where they can "visit" your class.  You might only need to chat through messaging, or you might want to set up a video chat with the guest speaker, just to outline the presentation.  It's totally up to you!  And that's what I really like about this service, it's here to help you connect with guest speakers from around the world, but how you use those guest speakers is entirely up to you.

One other great feature of the site is the forum.  Here, teachers can discuss ideas, methods, guest speakers, strategies, whatever they want to, and it's all centered around particular subject areas.  I really like this idea because, while forums exist all over the web for specific subject areas, United Teach does a great job of bringing all these areas together in one place.  For now, the forums are pretty empty since the site just launched, but I have no doubt that they'll begin filling up soon!
Picture
Check Out the Forums for Advice on Topics

And essentially, that's the site!  It's a wonderful resource to help teachers connect with guest speakers from around the world.  And again, if you sign up before October 31st, you get a free membership for the entire school year!.  If you are a K-12 teacher looking to liven up your classroom and help your students make real-world connections, I highly recommend giving United Teach a try.
Picture


The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I was not compensated for writing this review.
1 Comment
nilesh link
2/19/2015 05:24:00 pm

good

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Reviews

    Here you can find the Round Up's collection of in-depth reviews on the latest programs, apps, websites, and more.

    Make sure to click the review's title or the Read More link for the complete review!


    Picture

    Featured

    Picture
    Check out our featured review | ClassroomAPP: A Complete, K-12 Digital Platform for Online and In-Person Classrooms

    Teach.com

    Picture

      Subscribe

    Subscribe

    Connect


    Awards

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013

           
​Except where noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Picture

Copyright 2020 | Mike Karlin, Ph.D.