Best tools for online learning in 2021 that are cool to use as student and educator. We have identified the best tools for online learning, which may improve your educational experience and detach you from the brick and mortar institutions. These important tools are used by thousands of learners and educators all over the world.
It might be a surprise to hear that there are many engagement tools for online learning. The truth is, there are tons of tools out there. I don’t want to bore you by listing them all. Instead, I want to highlight new and upcoming tools which stand out from the rest. There are a lot of great features in these tools and more features being added over time.
Write-on Video
Videos are crucial in our digital landscape today. Students learn well through watching well-done videos, and teachers can utilize video in many different ways to enhance learning. Videos can be made for instructional purposes or given as homework assignments. Regardless, Write-on Video is a prime resource for students and educators to easily plan video outlines, make storyboards, and edit videos.
PDF Reader
As our world becomes increasingly more digital, paperless file and document sharing and editing have grown in demand. PDFs and other digital files can decrease the gap between online and in-person learning, and streamline processes, including submitting homework, sharing files with students, and more. PDF Reader offers functions to freely edit original documents with highlighters, comments, drawing, as well as convert files to all different types of documents (.pdf, .docx, .ppt, and more). Additionally, PDF Reader allows you to engage with students and documents easily.
A Web Whiteboard App
AWW App is the perfect solution for teachers that are used to having a board to write on during class. This is a digital whiteboard where teachers can annotate much like on a regular board.
The integration between AWW and Zoom makes it easier than ever to teach a class online. You can also import PDF and PowerPoint files into AWW.
This app is great for teachers that enjoy explaining things by showing how it’s done.
The boards can be pre-created before a lesson or written on during the lecture. The settings permit students to collaborate or “come up to the board.”
Zoom
Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, the number of people using Zoom for corporate meetings, team huddles, and online teaching has risen dramatically.
Teachers will reach out to a large number of students using Zoom. It is primarily a video conferencing app with no LMS features, and although some users have expressed security concerns, it has benefited many teachers and students. It is one of the good apps for teachers.
Teachers must use Google forms or other similar methods to distribute assignments and share other content, so it is fair to assume that it is not a comprehensive forum.
Features of Zoom:
- Video conferencing
- Quick access
- Schedule meetings
- Customize your background and more
Google Slides
Google Slides, while more limiting than Canva, is another easy-to-use, free tool for teachers to use to make lessons, presentations and content for their classroom.
Part of the Google Suite of apps, Google Slides acts as your web-based presentation tool similar to applications like PowerPoint or Keynote.
With a free Google account, you have access to Google Slides and can create unlimited presentations to use in your classroom.
Simply go to Google Drive and make a new Google Slide presentation. You can choose from their pre-made templates or make your own.
Once you have made your presentation template you can add:
- Images
- Text
- Audio
- Video
- Shapes
- Tables
- Charts
- Diagrams
You can customize color, font and all the normal features of a presentation program.
Since it is part of the suite of Google Apps, you can have students create their own presentations collaboratively or individually.
Google slides can also be shared with others with ease of use or you can download them as PDF files.
iSpring Free
iSpring Free is an eLearning authoring tool that allows you to turn boring PowerPoint presentations into mobile-compatible online courses with quizzes. The main advantage of the tool is its simplicity. Its intuitive interface enables any novice course developer to create an unlimited number of courses quickly and easily.
Calendly
Stay in control of who you meet and when with Calendly, a free calendar booking app. Calendly integrates with your calendar so you are never double-booked – a miracle when teaching – and allows you to save time when booking in your parent-teacher appointments or meetings with colleagues.
Kahoot
Kahoot is a game-based learning platform that lets you create fun learning games. You can make quizzes on any topic and in any language, and customize those quizzes with videos, diagrams, and images. Students participate in “kahoots” (games) by logging the game codes on their device or application.
Edmodo
No teacher is an island – join Edmodo’s global education network and connect with your fellow teachers and students now. Collaborate in groups, administer and provide educational materials, measure student performance and communicate with parents to create a more personalised and enriching learning experience for both you and your students.
Edpuzzle
With Edpuzzle, you can create interactive video lessons with embedded audio notes, assessments, and quizzes. Its analytics tool enables you to track how students are watching your videos and if they understand the content.
ClassDojo
A favourite among teachers, ClassDojo is a free school communication platform that teachers, students and parents can use every day to build close-knit communities by sharing what’s being learned in the classroom through home photos, videos and messages. Parents can track their child’s progress, and children can showcase their learning. There are also free class behaviour management tools system and lots of added features for teachers too. Check out this free beginner’s guide for teachers to learn what ClassDojo can do for you.
Starfall
Starfall is an online service that was initially designed to teach children to read. Its phonics-based learning model supports online games and print series, which can be downloaded for use at home and in the classroom. Now, it also features animated songs, movies, and mathematics activities for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grades 1 to 3.
Schoology
An award-winning learning management system, Schoology allows teachers to create a private social network for their students, parents and colleagues. Communicate with families and students, manage your classroom, collaborate with your colleagues, plus much more.
Asana
Asana is your personal teaching secretary all in one powerful app that gives you control over your tasks, projects and to-do lists.
Essentially, Asana is a productivity management solution for teams, individuals or anyone that needs more control over their tasks.
Teachers will enjoy Asana for a number of reasons.
Firstly, from a simple angle of gaining control over the multitude of to-do’s and projects that teachers need to manage, this app will do it all.
Some ways that teachers can use Asana in their teaching life can include:
- Creating lesson plan tasks with manageable subtasks that have deadlines
- Managing students’ information, progress and other important details
- Helping with teams of teachers to manage projects that need to be completed
- Create online lesson plans that allow teachers to see what parts of the lesson were and weren’t completed
This app is great for teachers in brick-and-mortar schools as well as online teachers who need to gain control over their schedule by focusing on what matters each day.
Additionally, if you are a teacherpreneur building your own online teaching business, Asana will be your go-to place to make sure that everything in your business is running smoothly.
With the free account, teachers will be able to create projects and tasks through a variety of different layouts.
Trello
Trello is another online productivity app that works similar to Asana but has some differences.
Trello is a collaboration tool that lets you organize your projects into boards.
It can tell you what’s being worked on and where your tasks are in terms of the completion process.
Of course, it also lets you add to-do lists, tasks and other similar features to Asana.
Quizlet
Quizlet is a free tool that helps teachers create learning activities for students, like flashcards, study material and interactive quiz games.
The amazing thing about Quizlet is that it can really be used at any grade level and any age! Students love the game-based feature of Quizlet and you are helping them get prepared for assessments without even realizing it.
So, let’s take a look at how it works:
- You, as the teacher, create study sets for your students.
- These study sets can be used as review activities or it can be a quiz game to help students review for a test.
- The student can log in and choose the appropriate study set, either created by the teacher or by others.
That’s it! It’s that easy.
In my opinion, Quizlet is great for students because it allows the teacher to:
- Differentiate instruction with the activities that you create
- Teach collaborative skills because students are working together
- Help prepare students for assessments and tests
Quizlet, while is a great free tool for teachers, does have limitations and should be used as one resource in your classroom among the many others that you have access to.
Canva
Canva is amazing! It is a free tool, although there are premium features you can pay for that lets you create just about anything for your classroom.
You can create and design all types of content within Canva using their free account that looks professional and can be used with your students in your virtual classroom, or brick-and-mortar classroom.
Think of Canva as your easy-to-use plug-and-play design assistant.
Do you need a presentation? Do you need a cover slide for something?
Let’s look at how teachers can use Canva as a free tool to create lessons for their students.
Canva lets teachers create:
- Worksheets
- Lesson plans
- Presentations
- Posters
- Virtual backgrounds (for Zoom, etc.)
- Documents
- Teaching resume
- Infographics
…and so much more!
Look no further than Canva for your go-to tool to design just about anything you need.
Conclusion:
Learning doesn’t need to be boring. Online learning tools bring fun and engagement to the learning process. These include online learning games, online learning quizzes, online learning education websites, online course-building tools, virtual learning environments and more.