Tools & Resources

Blooket

Blooket is a web based review game that includes fifteen different games. There are prebuilt sets of questions that you could search for in the Discover section or you can make your own set of questions. There is also a template that uses a spreadsheet to type in all of your questions and answers to easily import into the system to create your question set. This is a good review if you want students to memorize information but doesn't provide the ability for them to do anything with the information. It is engaging for students because in addition to answering questions, there is a video game component as well. Some of the games provide the opportunity to play collaboratively with their classmates or the games can be assigned as homework asynchronously.

Code.org

Code.org is a free website that focuses on including computer science in K-12 education by providing access to all learners. Even though the focus is on K-12 education, Code.org can be used by people of all ages to learn about computer science. They have also created a campaign called Hour of Code, which is designed to have everyone in the world participate in Computer Science Education Week during the month of December through tutorials that introduce computer science in a multitude of ways. The tutorials are available all year, come in many languages and can be accessed by anyone at anytime. They cover a wide range of topics, are engaging, informative and fun. This is a great resource for any teacher to use with their students!

Genially

Genially is a free, web based tool for creating interactive designs. The platform includes many templates that can be used to jumpstart any project such as presentations, infographics, quizzes and more. You can add animations and interactivity to any element of a creations. The possibilities are endless with this platform. However, it does take a little time to explore and become comfortable with all of the tools available. Yet, there are many videos embedded that can help you with this navigation. The free version has limitations but there is also a paid version that opens up more tools and features. Overall, it is a great tool for the classroom and provides novelty for the students. For more ideas, check out 15 ways of how to use Genially in the classroom from Ditch That Textbook.

Google Slides

Google Slides is part of the Google Workspace. I would consider it my #1 go to technological tool because it has so much versatility. It can be used as intended to make slide presentations. But it is even better to make interactive lessons for students with embedded links. The link to the presentation can be shared with students in a "publish to the web" version where they are only viewing, clicking and interacting with the slides. But it could also be shared in a way that allows students to use the slides as worksheets where they type in their responses and manipulate the slide to meet the learning objectives. The possibilities are endless as it can also be used as a tool by the students to create and not only consume. One piece to keep in mind is that there are specific tools build within slides to help enhance presentations. It will take time to first teach students how to utilize them but once they start, they can't stop.

Nearpod

Nearpod is an awesome tool that allows teachers to create interactive lessons for their students that can be done synchronously or asynchronously. You can create a new presentations within the site or use the Google Ad On in slides. If you already have a slide deck you have used previously but want to make it interactive you can use that as well. Some features are controlling student advancement of slides in the live sessions. You can also add in small assessments, videos, website links, or opportunities for written responses. There are a variety of ways for students to interact with the lesson. There is a free version of Nearpod but it does have some limitations such as limited space/storage so. However, it is easy for students to access the content using a specific code.

Canva

Canva is an easy to use graphic design tool. It can be used by both adults and kids to make flyers, worksheets, videos, presentations, travel brochures and more. Included are pre-made templates that help jump start the creative process. If you are an elementary teacher looking for a worksheet on a specific topic, there is a great collection of pre-made ones to choose from. This is not the case for middle and high school subjects as there are less options to choose from. There is a free version but not all of the features are available. If you are an educator,  you can join Canva for Education and have access to all of the premium features at no additional cost. Students over thirteen [13] years old can use Canva for Education. Younger students need to have parental permission. 

Flip

Flip is a great, tool which provides students the opportunity to share their opinions, thoughts and creations with their peers using shared videos, typed messages or audio recordings. They can comment on each other's creations or the teacher can make the settings private so they can only be seen by the teacher. This tool can help performing arts teachers save time when it comes to auditioning. Students could use Flip to record their auditions for choir, band, drama and musicals. It is also a great for presentations and allowing learners to interact with their peers. One major drawback is that as of July 1, 2024, Flip is no longer its own platform but now part of Microsoft Teams. Read this help article from Microsoft for information about how to manage this transition. 

Google Meet

Google Meet is part of the Google Workspace. It is intended to be used for online video meetings and presentations. However, it is also fun to use as a back channel chat in the classroom by utilizing the chat feature within during an in-person class session. Simply have the students join the meet, mute their microphones and turn off their cameras. They are only allowed to communicate with each other through the chat. One great way to use this is during a video being shown in class. Students can share their thoughts, insights and opinions with each other as they come up during the movie. It is imperative that the teacher monitors the chat to make sure students aren't using inappropriate language and are staying on task.

Jamboard

Jamboard is a collaboration tool that is part of the Google Workspace. Groups of students can brainstorm ideas on different colored Post-it notes and place them all in the same space to be seen at the same time. There are also some pre-created Jamboards that teachers can access and easily use with their students. You can also upload your own images to the Jamboard for more personalization and to make them more specific to the content. One major downfall is when there are too many people on one board it can become a little chaotic as people are trying to place and move their contributions. There is also a limit of fifty users on each Jamboard which can pose a challenge if you need more people interacting at one time. They can be viewers or editors. Just keep in mind if they are editors, they will have access in their Google Drive and can continue to edit at any time, even the ideas of others.

Newsela

Newsela is a web based platform that features current events and articles from news sources and adapts them to different lexile levels based on student needs. It is a helpful tool to use when trying to gather different viewpoints and perspectives that aren't included in our textbooks as well as providing different sources to gather information. In addition, being able to adapt the lexile level to best meet the needs of all students so they have access to the necessary information in a manner that will help them understand and be successful. While Newsela is a paid program, they do offer a free version called Newsela Lite which provides an introduction to the tools available and includes a current, leveled article each week. There are also limitations to the content available and not all articles have a variety of reading levels.