One of the most critical deciding factors for a teaching resource’s value is who created it. Many teaching resources come from people with no prior experience, which can vastly hurt the quality of the resource in question. However, what if there was a way to get resources created by other teachers?
Teacher Created Resources is a teaching resources publishing company that offers many resources created by teachers for teachers. The idea here is that prior teaching experience will put their resources in the best position for creditability and reliability in the classroom.
However, is Teacher Create Resources everything they claim, and how does this compare with more robust sites like Zenva Schools when it comes to teaching the difficult topic of digital technologies?
Continue reading to discover the full selection of features on Teacher Created Resources, the user experience, the price, and more!
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What is Teacher Created Resources?
Teacher Created Resources is a content publishing site specializing in educational content made by teachers for teachers. They wanted to create a competitor in the teaching resources industry with first-hand experience of teaching to make insightful teaching content.
They also wanted to create an affordable set of teaching resources for teachers and parents to make it as accessible as possible.
Who Is The Teacher Created Resources Target Audience?
As you would expect, the primary target audience on Teacher Created Resources is teachers – though they also target parents who home-school their children.
All the resources on the site are designed to make lesson planning easier for teachers. The resources on Teacher Created Resources include printout activities and subject books (times table books, for example). The resources are, of course, also created around students’ learning.
This being said, there are platforms a bit more geared to both students and teachers. For example, Zenva Schools provides technology courses for students to take, while providing teachers with classroom management systems, analytics, and more to make classroom life easy.
Who Founded Teacher Created Resources?
Mary Dupay Smith founded Teacher Created Resources. She is a former teacher, so she knows what it feels like to create lesson plans all week. She wanted to create a publishing company focusing on teaching resources.
She also wanted to include materials for classroom decorations, as she understands that teachers love to personalize their classrooms.
What Are Teacher Created Resources’ Most Important Values?
Teacher Created Resources have one principal value that shines above all others: resources made by teachers for teachers. The founder believes that the best teaching resources come from someone who knows what it feels like to be a teacher.
They also have other values, including:
- Affordability: A fundamental value of Teacher Created Resources is that all the products on the site are affordable for teachers and parents. They do this to make the products more accessible.
- Accessibility: Another value they hold is to make every resource accessible for every student.
- The importance of classroom design: One unique aspect of Teacher Created Resources is that they value classroom decorations as much as their student learning books.
This being said, these values are not dissimilar to other platforms. To name one, Zenva Schools also aims to provide accessible and affordable course material. However, Zenva Schools’ content is not only reviewed by teachers, but crafted by industry experts to ensure students get real-life applicable skills.
What Are The Services On Teacher Created Resources?
Because they are a massive teaching resources publishing company, Teacher Created Resources has many offerings for teachers and parents. To give an impression of what Teacher Created Resources offers, here are their primary services.
Student Learning Books
The primary offering Teacher Created Resources have for educating students is their large selection of resource books. They have books relating to many subjects and topics, including:
- Art
- Christian Products
- ELL/ESL
- Geography
- Grammar
- Health
- Skill development books
- Writing books
- Write-on/wipe-off activity books
- Language Arts
- Literature Units
- Management
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Technology
- Testing books
- At-Home learning books
They sell individual books and bundles if a teacher wants to provide books in the same subject branch to the whole class.
While the list of subjects covered is extensive, it is worth noting that technology has the bare minimum, and more resources are focused on younger age groups. Additionally, the kinds of resources offered are not as innovative as other platforms.
Take, for instance, Zenva Schools. Zenva Schools specializes in technology and offers a specialized collection of courses for that purpose. Zenva Schools also targets grades three through 12, and provides many supplemental materials such as text summaries, interactive lessons, quizzes, and more.
Classroom Decorations
One of the unique features of Teacher Created Resources is the large selection of classroom decorations. These are mainly for the teacher to create an eye-catching classroom but can also create a more enjoyable environment for students.
There are numerous types of decoration resources on Teacher Created Resources, including:
- Accents
- Banners
- Mini bulletin board
- Nameplates
- Bulletin Board Rolls
- Calendar Days
- Charts
- Classroom Organizers
- Awards and Incentives
- Awnings
- Computer paper
- Crowns
- Decorative sets
- Labels
- Magnetic
- Nametags
- Notepads
- Paper Fans
- Lanyards
- Letters
- Library pockets
- Paper Flowers
- Paper Lanterns
- Pennants
- Plastic Storage
- Borders
- Bulletin Boards
- Pocket Charts
- Positive Posters
- Postcards
- Project Paper
- Sensory Paths
- Spot On Floor Markers
- Games
- Headliners
- Stickers
- Teaching Aids
- Themes
A Free Section
Teacher Created Resources have many free lesson plans and activities to entice teachers and parents to use the site. The free resources on the site include:
- Over 400 lesson ideas and lesson plans
- Daily and weekly brain teasers to keep students engaged.
- A weekly teaching tip.
- A weekly writing prompt to help students be creative.
This being said, this free section is very minimal, and the value is very small. Their paid services, or paid services on other platforms like Zenva Schools, offer a much more robust deal for teachers to take advantage of.
Teacher Created Resources Products Are Available At Some Retailers
One element that Teacher Created Resources has that many other educational resource sites don’t is that they sell some of their products in some retailers. However, the number of retailers is quite limited, so it isn’t a substantial element of Teacher Created Resources.
Still, it is worth noting for the sake of completion.
How Do You Use Teacher Created Resources?
Teacher Created Resources is essentially an online marketplace. To acquire a specific resource, you need to use the search bar or search through the categories on the site. Once you find the resource you want, purchase it and wait to receive it. Additionally, you can buy bundles if you want a collection of resources.
This being said, as there are a lot of resources, the site can be a bit clunky to use and find the resources that you would actually like. Likewise, the costs will add up quickly over time.
Other services, like Zenva Schools, can be a bit friendlier to use – especially in time-sensitive situations. All of Zenva Schools’ content is accessed digitally – and some resources can be printed out at any time if a teacher needs them for that purpose. Additionally, there is no nickel and diming. There is one fee per year for all resources, offering a very affordable alternative.
What Are The Cons Of Teacher Created Resources?
Although Teacher Created Resources has multiple services to offer parents and teachers, not all are of excellent quality.
For example, although there are some good formal education resources on Teacher Created Resources, they are pretty limited. There are textbooks, of course, but classroom decorations seem to have had a much larger focus in the marketplace setup. Additionally, the layout of Teacher Created Resources can be confusing if you’re looking for a specific product.
Lastly, although the pricing on individual products on Teacher Created Resources is mostly fair, the cost adds up quickly, making the site expensive.
While Teacher Created Resources works great in situations where your main focus is personalization, it doesn’t offer the same teaching package as other sites.
As one example, Zenva Schools offers content specifically for teaching first – offering courses, interactive activities, and more to aid in the actual teaching process. Zenva Schools also offers tons of extra features like classroom management and analytics as well. As such, there are much better options if you’re looking for a more robust system to use in the classroom.
What Do You Need To Pay To Use Teacher Created Resources?
Teacher Created Resource has you pay for individual resources separately. Additionally, you can pay for bundles of multiple products for a lower overall price. This being said, the prices are pretty all over the place, as it really just depends on which particular resources you want to purchase.
The available free resources are an option as well if you really just don’t have money to spare.
While the site is affordable if you only want a few things, the costs quickly add up – especially if you’re interested in the textbook options.
Services like Zenva Schools can offer a lot more if you’re willing to spend the money. As mentioned previously, Zenva Schools offers teaching content, lesson plans, classroom management tools, and more. The site charges an affordable price per student, per year – so you get a lot for the price you pay.
Is Teacher Created Resources Worth Using To Create Compelling Lessons?
Overall, Teacher Created Resources provides a large selection of products to help teachers create lesson plans. In addition, they have an extensive collection of classroom decoration resources that can help personalize the classroom.
However, beyond these resources, the site doesn’t have much to offer. Zenva Schools offers a much more complete package by comparison for teaching in the classroom. While Zenva Schools doesn’t have the classroom decorations aspect, they do have industry-expert-designed technology courses that have more practical applications.
It is worth saying, though, that Teacher Created Resources make a fantastic supplement to other platforms – including Zenva Schools. Teachers by no means need to limit themselves to one platform, so they can easily use the teaching content from Zenva Schools while making their classrooms extra fancy to reinforce the learning topics.
