Top 5 Tech Tools for Teachers
Choosing a new program to add to your classroom technology can feel daunting. Which programs are effective? Are they worth the cost? Will they actually enhance the student learning experience?
I’ve spent years working with teachers and technology. I know what a positive impact well-used programs can have on a class, and on the flip-side, I know the negative experiences (and chaos) that poorly-implemented tech can lead to.
With that in mind, I wanted share some of the most popular programs I’ve seen teachers successfully implement. Generally, what you’ll see with these programs is that they’re both broadly useful and easily implemented in the classroom.
Google slides is often under-used. I like to use it to make formatted worksheets (change the page layout), digital choice boards, scaffolds for student research and group projects, interactive search and finds, and student rubrics and project tracking timelines.
Once you’ve started using Google Slides, you can create even more interactions, scaffolds, supports, and deeper opportunities by integrating Slides and Pear Deck. I love this program for scaffolding homework for students (think teacher help along the way!), in-class review for end-of-unit testing, easy do-now and exit tickets to shape my in-class teaching, as well as independent stations for students during class.
Jamboard at its most simple is an interactive whiteboard that can be collaboratively used both remotely and for in-person classes. This tool can be used for classroom brainstorming, interactive practice sessions, and so many other things from jeopardy-style review to mathematical problem solving.
There’s a reason that this program is so broadly used. It allows teachers to import existing Google Slides, as well as create content within the program, and use other teachers’ shared content within the community. Most importantly, this program gives you the flexibility to allow students to respond in many different mediums (audio, video, typed, written, screencasting).
WeVideo is a collaborative video editing platform. This tool is useful for both teachers who are creating video content, and for creative student video projects. WeVideo easily allows a teacher to manage multiple student accounts for group creation and review, and it allows students to collaboratively work on the same video from multiple devices. Once this program is in the mix we’ve seen students use it independently from 4th grade through high school, and from history class to chemistry.
And one bonus program, because I just couldn’t leave it out…
Kami, at its simplest, is a way to take paper worksheets and make interactive online documents for students. But at its best, this is a great way to create a meaningful, interactive, supportive workspace for students with a built-in simple method of teacher feedback and communication.
These are just a few of our favorites. What are your must-have programs in the classroom? As a note, some of these have free usage, and others you must pay to use or have fees for premium features.
And of course, just because these are great for some teachers doesn’t mean that they meet your specific needs!
Some images from this post, including the Jamboard logo came from Freepik.
