The global community of educators is a resourceful, cohesive group. Over the past couple of years, they’ve also had to be increasingly adaptable as many of them found themselves having to navigate the transition to remote and distance learning. Now, as we approach the return to the classroom, teachers of all ages are being faced with a new challenge: hybrid teaching.

The best way to navigate any challenge is with the support of a like minded community— a truth that teachers from all around the world know to be true. But finding community in a hybrid world can pose its fair share of difficulties, especially for those who may be new to the world of online groups in general. Thankfully, there are many resources and online communities available to support hybrid teachers during this transitional time.

What are the best teacher resource websites?

The best websites for teachers serve two essential purposes--they’re both a virtual community and a great online resource. However, if you are looking for an online educator community or resource that is more niche, you’ll need to look for a more specialized group.

To find the best teacher resource websites, look for those that:

• Are led by knowledgeable, passionate educators
• Are trust-based communities designed to support everyone equally, regardless of where they are located
• Promote relevant information and access to useful resources
• Provide opportunities for connection between teachers and educators located anywhere
• Have a solid reputation, so you know that you are visiting a secure site
  
  

Pinterest Boards for Teachers

Even before the global shift to remote, hybrid and hyflex classrooms, teachers have been turning to Pinterest for inspiration on everything from their lesson plans to holiday classroom decorating. Pinterest has a wealth of resources from the mouths and minds of educators who have lived through the transition to hybrid classrooms, making them the preemptive experts on the subject.

For access to these resources all you need to do is hop on the platform and search for them, then follow the accounts you find helpful. 

Teachers on Pinterest

Teachers on Pinterest gives you access to all of the latest educational inspiration and tips on remote, distanced or hybrid learning that you can begin implementing in your classroom.

Source: @teachers on Pinterest

Bored Teachers

Bored Teachers are self described “teachers, but human too!” and share content like these classroom tips that comply with CDC guidelines for hybrid teachers.

Source: @boredteachers on Pinterest

Proud to Be Primary

This popular page run by a teacher named Elyse has over 70K followers. They feature classroom printables, activities and tips for teachers including social distancing ideas for kids.

Source: @proudtobeprimary on Pinterest

Tanya Yero Teaching

Tanya is an elementary school teacher who creates content and resources for elementary and middle school classrooms. She has super specific categories for her saved Pins like 1st Grade Math or Digital Resources for the Classroom.

Source: @tanyayeroteaching on Pinterest

Best Reddit Communities for Hybrid Teachers

Reddit was designed to keep people connected from any distance. For hybrid teachers looking to make genuine connections with fellow educators at a distance, Reddit threads like r/Teachers and r/Professors are the place to be. When you use Reddit as an educational resource you can learn from past threads or start your own to get feedback from other educators and find out what they are doing in their area

For example, my search for “best webcam for hybrid classroom” led me right to this similar question posed by a community member.

Source: u/schmerold on Reddit

For the answer to my question I simply scrolled down and looked for the answer to theirs. And we can’t help but agree with the top answer.

Source: u/schmerold on Reddit

Let’s take a look at how the top Reddit communities for educators succeed in supporting hybrid teachers.

r/Teachers

A community designed for “All things education and teaching!” where members are encouraged to “Share experiences, stories, insights, and inspirations!” r/Teachers has over 236,000 members and hosts questions, concerns and celebrations from educators all over the world every day. As well as being a general networking platform for teachers, it is also a great resource for brainstorming and for teachers to use their lived experience to answer one another’s questions.

Take this post in the Teacher Support &/or Advice tag for example: 

Source: r/teachers

By encouraging platform users to feel comfortable asking for help, r/Teachers has grown to become a hyper-accessible online community for teachers looking for assistance as they navigate their new, hybrid reality.

r/Professors

A Reddit community “by professors, for professors” r/Professors is a one stop shop for higher ed resources. In their own words, “Whether you are tenured, tenure-stream, a lecturer, adjunct faculty, or grad TA, if you are instructional faculty or work with college students in a similar capacity, this forum is for you to talk with colleagues.”

For those professors adjusting to hybrid classrooms, r/Professors has proven to be an invaluable resource. Take this post by u/mrose16 for example. In less than an hour they received ten thoughtful, supportive and r/answers to their insightful question.

Source: r/professors

r/Teaching

This Reddit crew doesn’t mess around. Their community bio “Welcome to teaching” includes popular categories like “Vent,” “Help,” “Teaching Resources,” and “Career Change/Interviewing/Job Advice.” With almost 80K members and a birthday of May 2009, there’s a decade of helpful teacher conversations to search through for all your teacher questions.

Looking for info on hybrid classrooms? Here’s an example of how this community shows up.

Source: r/teaching

r/ELAteachers

An example of a more niche, specific community, ELA teachers is specifically for those who teach English. Sometimes, for hyper-specific questions, only those who have also experienced something like this can help. For example, here are some questions/discussions that have been asked in r/ELAteachers about hybrid teaching:

• Poetry introduction activities for hybrid?
• How to teach Simile poems in hybrid setting?
• Ideas on structuring a hybrid ELA class?
• Teaching Shakespeare remotely? Looking for tips/advice
• Teaching a Play Remotely?
• Pandemic Considerations for Classroom Setup/Decorating
  
  

Check out r/ELAteachers here.

Twitter as a Community for Educators

When we think of online communities, there are few larger than Twitter. Educators everywhere have taken advantage of the wide platform allotted by Twitter and have created many useful hashtag campaigns that have been used to help teachers connect with one another for years.

The top Twitter hashtags used to keep educators connected are:

• #FFBWednesday which is an active hashtag used to share helpful advice and inspirational content. This hashtag is primarily active on Wednesdays (hence the name) but an archive of all #FFBWednesday posts can be found on the platform at any time.
• #TinyVoiceTuesday was created by primary school teacher Toria Bono with the mission to create an online community of educational professionals with shared values. #TinyVoiceTuesday holds live chats every Tuesday and to engage even further with this community, you can use the tag #TinyVoiceTuesdayUnites.
• #Teacher5oclockclub is a safe online place for teachers to share their personal struggles and professional triumphs. Whether you are looking for a dose of inspiration or virtual hug, #Teacher5oclockclub is the place for you.
• #PlanningShoutout is a hashtag reserved specifically for teachers to share lesson plans and educational activity ideas with one another. This hashtag has been particularly active in the last year as it assisted many teachers with their adjustment to remote and hybrid classrooms.
  
  

Facebook Groups for Teachers

Facebook is a go-to for communities and its users are constantly sharing and growing together online. With 83% of teachers reporting they use Facebook, and also sharing that they use social media primarily for getting inspired, finding resources, tracking trends, and connecting with other educators, it makes sense why these communities are so popular.

Most groups are private and have basic ground rules like being kind, respecting privacy and keeping messages in the group, not allowing hate speech or bullying, and not permitting promotional content.

Search for your specific teaching situation like your subject, location, population or needs. Some groups offer resources, technology help, a space to vent, shared interests and more. You know how there’s a pot for every kettle? There’s a Facebook group for every teacher's needs — you’re not alone in whatever you’re going through right now.

Teachers Helping Teachers

This group was started in 2015 and has 26,000+ teachers who are helping other teachers! This Facebook group is a safe, engaging space to share online and saw 75 new posts today(!)

Teaching in a Hybrid World

We swear we didn’t create this group specifically for this article. This group was started in 2020 to support teachers who teach in hybrid classrooms. They talk EdTech, hybrid resources, and “everything in between.”

Distance Learning/Hybrid/F2F For Physical Education Teachers

This is a fun group! Over 10K physical education teachers share and collaborate in distance learning/hybrid strategies for teaching students in motion from near and far.

WeAreTeachers--First Years!

Specifically for teachers in their first three years of teaching, this is part support group part resource group. 

Preschool Teachers

Preschool Teachers is 93K strong and even added 4,000 new teachers last week alone! There are other niche groups along the same vein - try searching for your specific student grade level.

Teachers Using Google Workspace for Education

A specific group for teachers using Google for education, this group has tech tips and resources galore. 

To take all of your hybrid teaching practices to the next level in the upcoming school year, here is How to Teach in a Hybrid Classroom.