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DocsTeach

docsteach.org

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Spec score 8.8 #3 of 26 in History Learning Apps

What it is

DocsTeach is a free interactive teaching website built around primary sources in the National Archives holdings. Its collection includes thousands of letters, photographs, speeches, posters, maps, and videos. Teachers can create activities by selecting a tool and sources, then customizing instructions. Activity formats include document analysis, discussion, compare and contrast, zoom and crop, sequencing, mapping, and interpreting data. Students can submit and save responses for a teacher to view in My Students’ Responses, or send responses by email. Teachers can share activities to Google Classroom, where students can turn in their work through its button. For lessons using other materials, teachers can upload JPG, PNG, GIF, or JPEG documents and images up to 8 MB per file. The redesigned site supports exploring and creating activities on computers and tablets, and students can turn in work through the DocsTeach App for iPad. A free account costs nothing and allows users to create, save, and share activities and primary sources, and access hundreds more educator activities. Creating an account requires a name, email address, and password.

Spec sheet

What it does
DocsTeach is an interactive National Archives resource for teaching history and civics with primary-source documents.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Purpose
DocsTeach is an interactive website for teaching with activities based on documents in the National Archives holdings.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Audience
DocsTeach is presented as a resource for teachers, students, and history explorers.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Privacy
The privacy policy says submitted personal information is not sold to third parties and describes use of cookies and Google Analytics Premium.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Support
DocsTeach lists [email protected] for questions and comments.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Maker
LinkedIn identifies the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as a Washington, DC government agency founded in 1934 with 1,001–5,000 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Accessibility stated
DocsTeach says it is designed for visitors with disabilities and to comply with federal accessibility guidelines.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Account information
Creating an account requires a name, email address, and password.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Activity creation
Users create activities by selecting a tool, choosing primary sources and customizing instructions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Activity reuse
Teachers can borrow, copy and modify activities created by educators and the National Archives.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Activity tools
Available tools include discussion, compare and contrast, zoom/crop, white out/black out, spotlight, sequencing, connections, mapping, big-picture analysis, weighing evidence and interpreting data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
App compatibility
The App Store listing requires iPadOS 13.6 or later; Mac use requires macOS 11 or later with Apple silicon, and visionOS is also listed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
App maintenance
The latest App Store version shown is 3.1.1, released December 22, 2020.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Assignments
Students can submit work through a DocsTeach account, Google Classroom or a learning-management system such as Canvas, Blackboard or Schoology.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Content library
The site provides letters, photographs, speeches, posters, maps, videos and other records spanning American history.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Content licence
Except where noted, site content is under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0; teaching activities have CC0 dedication.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Copyright limitation
The privacy policy warns that some archival items have donor or other rights restrictions and that users must assess rights themselves.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Create activities
Members can create activities by selecting a tool, choosing primary sources, and customizing instructions.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Current collection counts
The homepage displays 63,773 registered members, 294 visitor activities, 427 member activities and 13,639 primary-source documents.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Custom uploads
Activity authors may upload outside JPG, PNG, GIF or JPEG files up to 8 MB, provided they have permission to use them.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Funding partner
LinkedIn identifies the National Archives Foundation as an independent Washington, DC nonprofit founded in 1992 with 11–50 employees that supports National Archives educational initiatives.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Google Classroom
The FAQ says activities can be sent directly to Google Classroom and returned through its Classroom button.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Independent listing
Learnamic describes browsing and published-activity use as free without an account, while saving and assigning require a free account.Read 15 Oct 2026 · learnamic.com
iPad app
The free National Archives DocsTeach app lets students enter classroom codes, complete assigned or era-based activities and inspect high-resolution sources.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Launch news
The National Archives announced DocsTeach on September 20, 2010, describing a partnership with the Foundation for the National Archives and Second Story Interactive.Read 15 Oct 2026 · archives.gov
Licensing
The site says DocsTeach is generally licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 and teaching activities have a CC0 dedication.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Limit: accessibility details
The EdTech Books evaluation reported confusing mouse-free navigation and said document images appeared to lack alt text or screen-reader descriptions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · edtechbooks.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
Limit: app usability
Apple reviewers report sluggish performance, poor tablet optimization, clipped screen areas, orientation problems, an upside-down keyboard and no self-evaluation feature.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: audience fit
Learnamic notes that navigation may overwhelm some users and that younger learners may need substantial parental guidance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · learnamic.com
Limit: compliance documentation
The EdTech Books evaluation said it could not find FERPA or COPPA policies, which it treated as an information-technology concern.Read 15 Oct 2026 · edtechbooks.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
Limit: visual design
EducationWorld described the site design as functional but not especially dynamic or polished.Read 15 Oct 2026 · educationworld.com
Praise: inquiry learning
EducationWorld said the documents support questioning, evidence use, debate and seeing multiple historical perspectives.Read 15 Oct 2026 · educationworld.com
Praise: primary sources
EducationWorld praised the large collection of historical documents and said the material can motivate interest more effectively than textbooks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · educationworld.com
Praise: search and activities
An EdTech Books evaluation gave DocsTeach five stars for ease of use, citing clear search and straightforward activity access.Read 15 Oct 2026 · edtechbooks.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
Primary sources
The site provides thousands of primary sources, including letters, photographs, speeches, posters, maps, and videos.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Privacy collection
Account registration requires a name, email address and password; the policy says submitted information is not sold to third parties.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Rating on Apple App Store
2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Recent reach
The Foundation’s 2023 impact report records 1,324,423 DocsTeach users and 6,519,767 page visits, with reach in all 50 states, Washington, DC, three territories and 12 countries.Read 15 Oct 2026 · archivesfoundation.org
Redesign news
A 2016 National Archives release said the redesigned site was mobile-friendly and had exceeded 12 million page views, 2 million visits and 35,000 registered users since launch.Read 15 Oct 2026 · archives.gov
Security stated
The privacy policy says user communications use SSL with encryption and digital signatures and that security measures protect stored data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Student responses
Students can submit and save responses for a teacher to access in My Students’ Responses, or have responses emailed to the teacher.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Supported devices
The redesigned site supports exploring and creating activities on computers and tablets.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Teacher workflow
Published activities receive student and teacher URLs, can be edited later and may be borrowed by other teachers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org
Uploads
Teachers can upload outside documents or images in JPG, PNG, GIF, or JPEG format up to 8 MB per file.Read 8 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org

Plans and prices

Free account Free Create, save and share activities · save and share primary sources · access hundreds of additional member activities Read 15 Oct 2026 · docsteach.org

Every DocsTeach plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Provides thousands of primary sources.
  • Offers multiple activity formats for classroom work.
  • Students can submit responses through Google Classroom.
  • Teachers can upload files up to 8 MB each.
  • Free account supports creating and sharing activities.

Limits

  • Uploaded files are limited to JPG, PNG, GIF, or JPEG.
  • Each uploaded file can be no larger than 8 MB.
  • Creating an account requires a name, email, and password.

Who it suits

DocsTeach suits teachers and students working with primary sources, as well as people exploring history. It supports activity creation on computers and tablets, with an iPad app option for student submissions.

Verdict

DocsTeach pairs a large primary-source collection with tools for creating and sharing interactive activities. Teachers should check the upload format and size limits when planning lessons around their own materials.

Where Specifiction places it

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