There are thousands of resources out there that could help you to run an awesome classroom, but it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of my favorite resources to make life easier for busy teachers like you.
Here are a couple of resources that will be of great help to you.
Teachable
Teachable is one of the world’s leaders and the biggest platform worldwide for placing your courses online as a trainer, for users to study in their own time and at their own pace.
Teachable also provides a very clean and stylish online school for you. Furthermore, it is very user-friendly and offers very affordable plans that accommodate all trainers and teachers looking to add their courses online.
On Teachable, you:
- Create your school
- Add your content by uploading videos, text, images or whatever content you want to add and include in your lessons
- You set the pricing of your courses and design your sales page/s (inside teachable)
Here at Symonds Training, we ourselves use Teachable for our ‘Train the Trainer Online Course’ and for our sister site’s Blogging for Beginners online course.
Conclusion: Teachable is the best option if you are looking to add your own online course as a trainer and so that your users can individually study your course online in their own time from anywhere.
Thinkific
Thinkific is similar to Teachable.com in what it does in that they are both platforms on which you, as a freelance trainer or teacher, can add your courses and sell them.
Having tried both Thinkific and Teachable though, I found Teachable far easier to use and to do everything technically and I love the classroom design that students see when they are logged into Teachable.
You might though find Thinkific easier so it can be worth trying out a demo version.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a one-to-one platform for putting your online courses live for people to do in their own time, worth trying out.
Zoom
Zoom is a platform that was originally designed for business meetings online and for companies to have an online space for employees. Zoom though has developed into an excellent tool for use as a virtual classroom and their software is now used by:
- Individual teachers (my yoga teacher in the UK is even using it now to provide online yoga lessons)
- Universities and schools to create large virtual classrooms for hundreds of students
- Businesses to provide staff and employees live online training as eLearning modules or real-time online classes and tuition.
Conclusion: Great for teaching online for both individual freelance trainers, and for both small and large companies. One of the best tools on the market for providing online training.
Skype Video
a) For Freelance Trainers and Individuals Teaching Online
Skype video has traditionally been very popular for video calls to family and friends but Skype is also increasingly being used by businesses these days and it is an excellent option if you are looking to provide both teaching and training online. Skype also, by the way, integrates nicely with Microsoft teams (see below).
As an individual offering corporate training online (i.e. if you are self-employed), you can use the personal version of Skype and this is an incredibly easy and cheap way to offer online classes and lessons 1-to-1. It’s also a great tool for researchers such as those doing Skype interviews for Masters and PhD research.
On Skype, you can easily share your screen with the people or person you are chatting with by clicking the overlapping boxes at the bottom of the interface. You will see these boxes when you are in a video call with someone (see image above).
b) For Company Training Online (and Co-working Space Online)
Skype is also excellent for Groups!
In addition to being an excellent option for team meetings and online co-working space, you can use Skype Groups for teaching and training employees and staff from afar.
Wherever in the world you physically are, you can provide external or in-house training online, for up to 50 people at a time.
Conclusion: Brilliant for offering 1-to-1 teaching and training online especially for teaching languages and for many one-to-one topics. Also a very good option for busineeses of any size.
MS Teams
If you are a fan of Microsoft and already use their software such as Microsoft 365, then you will very likely love their online collaboration software.
I’ve used Microsoft Teams and it is always easy even for those people not used to working and collaborating online. I prefer ‘Zoom’ for teaching online in all honesty but for team meetings and office chats, this is as good as any option (although not the cheapest).
Conclusion: Particularly good for larger companies and very easy to use for online teachers and trainers.
Google Hangouts (for Teachers)
Google Hangouts is another video conferencing service that is also great for those of you looking to provide live classes and lessons online. With hangouts you can:
- Share screens and files
- Chat
- Use a shares hangout space to collaborate
You will need to have a Google account, so if you already use Gmail you will already have a Google account that you can use for Google Hangouts. The short intro video below gives you a flavor of hangouts and how you can use it as an online trainer or teacher.https://www.youtube.com/embed/QwQGPr78vxQ?feature=oembed
Conclusion: Whilst Zoom is my favourite, Google Hangouts is more than sufficient and really quite easy to use for teaching online.
We Transfer
WeTransfer is something I suspect you might have already used given it is one of the best tools on the market for transferring large files securely across the Internet.
There are both free and paid versions with the free version allowing transfers of up to 2 GB and the Pro-package lets you send files up to 20 GB.
So, if you want to send large files to team members or to students (such as to send them the digital handbook), this is a great way to avoid clogging up your email box, if you have lots of large files to send and receive.
Conclusion: If you are transferring large files online for any reason, WeTransfer is arguably the best service online and you can use the free version!
Socrative
Socrative is a handy site given that they enable you to easily and quickly create your own interactive quizzes that you can share on your digital classroom.
You can also use Socrative if you wish to create digital classrooms (up to 20 classrooms) with up to 50 students in each class.
Conclusion: I have not used the classrooms feature but this is certainly a good option for making quizzes for your digital classes.
GoConqr
Goconqr – whether you are a student, teacher or freelance trainer, GoConqr is one of my favorite sites for easily and quickly creating classy looking:
- Mindmaps
- Quizzes
- Flashcards
- Flowcharts
- and for creating study planners and a course builder
Example of the GoConqr quiz maker for lesson planning
Conclusion: On GoConqr, I often use their Flashcard and quiz feature and find them super easy to use.
YouTube
You are most likely familiar with YouTube and have at one time or another watched a video or two on this platform.
We have recently just created our own YouTube Channel (would be incredibly grateful if you subscribed) and this is a great way to reach out to potential students if you are a freelance trainer offering training and your own classes and lessons online.
Conclusion: As a freelance trainer or online teacher, YouTube can be a wonderful resource for building a following and building interest in yourself as a brand, as the teacher trainer. And it’s free. You can also potentially make money from the ads that show if you build enough followers.
Grammarly
If you haven’t already been using Grammarly, where have you been 🙂
Grammarly is a plugin you can attach to your browser or to MS Word to get it to automatically check your grammar. Hey – we all make mistakes when writing!
You can set the language i.e. American English or British English and Grammarly will highlight any badly constructed sentences or spelling errors.
Conclusion: If you do nothing else on this page, at least install Grammarly on your Google Chrome browser if you use Google Chrome. Grammarly is FREE and brilliant!
ConvertKit Mailing List
As someone teaching online, it is essential that you have direct contact with your students and prospective students. Remember MySpace or Friends Reunited? These sites do often go out of business and, with them, you lose all of your followers.
There is a simple solution though! You need a mail list from day 1 of your business being online and this is super-important!
Indeed, the key to being able to keep people informed of your new courses and to build up a rapport to build trust with potential students is to have a digital mail list.
You need, in other words, to be able to market your courses online to find students!
This means that you have people sign up to your mail list and the easiest way to do this is to offer a freebie (an incentive) such as we do on this site with our freelance trainers FREE 7-Day email course.
ConvertKit is arguably the best mailing list software online and it is one of the most popular with online business owners, especially with online teachers and online trainers.
Conclusion: The best mail list software available and it is essential to build your mail list from the very start to ensure you have a direct way to always target your existing and potential students.
Bonus
Flipgrid Lets students use 15-second to 5-minute videos to respond to prompts. Teachers and peers can provide feedback.
QuickVoice Recorder Allows you to record classes, discussions, or audio for projects. Sync your recordings to your computer easily for use in presentations.
Vocaroo Creates audio recordings without the need for software. Embed the recording into slideshows, presentations, or websites.
Animoto Gives students the ability to make a 30-second video of what they learned in a lesson.
AudioNote A combination of a voice recorder and notepad, it captures both audio and notes for student collaboration.
Edpuzzle Helps you use video (your own, or one from Khan Academy, YouTube, and more) to track student understanding.
WeVideo Lets you use video creatively to engage students in learning. Teachers and students alike can make videos.
Brainstorm, mind map, and collaborate
AnswerGarden A tool for online brainstorming and collaboration.
Coggle A mind-mapping tool designed to help you understand student thinking.
Conceptboard Software that facilitates team collaboration in a visual format, similar to mind mapping but using visual and text inputs.
Dotstorming A whiteboard app that allows digital sticky notes to be posted and voted on. This tool is best for generating class discussion and brainstorming on different topics and questions.
Educreations Whiteboard A whiteboard app that lets students share what they know.
iBrainstorm Lets students collaborate on projects using a stylus or their finger.
Miro Allows whole-class collaboration in real time.
Padlet Provides a blank canvas for students to create and design collaborative projects.
ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard Another whiteboard tool to check understanding.
XMind Mind-mapping software for use on desktop computers and laptops.
Present, engage, and inspire
BrainPOP Lets you use prerecorded videos on countless topics to shape your lesson plan, then use quizzes to see what stuck.
Buncee Helps students and teachers visualize, communicate, and engage with classroom concepts.
Five Card Flickr Uses the tag feature from photos in Flickr to foster visual thinking.
PlayPosit Allows you to add formative assessment features to a video from a library or popular sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo, to survey what students know about a topic.
RabbleBrowser Allows a leader to facilitate a collaborative browsing experience.
Random Name/Word Picker Facilitates random name picking. You can also add a list of keywords and use the tool to prompt students to guess words by providing definitions.
Socrative Uses exercises and games to engage students with a topic.
Spark Lets you add graphics and visuals to exit tickets.
Typeform Helps you add graphical elements to polls.
Create quizzes, polls, and surveys
Crowdsignal Lets you create online polls, quizzes, and questions. Students can use smartphones, tablets, and computers to provide their answers, and information can be culled for reports.
Edulastic Allows you to make standards-aligned assessments and get instant feedback.
FreeOnlineSurveys Helps you create surveys, quizzes, forms, and polls.
Gimkit Lets you write real-time quizzes. And it was designed by a high school student!
Kahoot! A game-based classroom response system that lets you create quizzes using internet content.
MicroPoll Helps you create polls, embed them into websites, and analyze responses.
Naiku Lets you write quizzes students can answer using their mobile devices.
Obsurvey Designed to make surveys, polls, and questionnaires.
Poll Everywhere Lets you create a feedback poll or ask questions and see results in real time. Allows students to respond in various ways. With open-ended questions, you can capture data and spin up tag clouds to aggregate responses.
Poll Maker Offers unique features, like allowing multiple answers to one question.
ProProfs Helps you make quizzes, polls, and surveys.
Quia Lets you create games, quizzes, surveys, and more. Access a database of existing quizzes from other educators.
Quizalize Helps you create quizzes and homework.
Quizizz Guides you through designing quizzes and lets you include students in the quiz-writing process.
Quizlet Lets you make flashcards, tests, quizzes, and study games that are mobile friendly.
Survey Hero Designed to build questionnaires and surveys.
SurveyMonkey Helpful for online polls and surveys.
SurveyPlanet Also helpful for online polls and surveys.
Triventy Lets you create quizzes students take in real time using individual devices.
Yacapaca Helps you write and assign quizzes.
Zoho Survey Allows you to make mobile-friendly surveys and see results in real time.
Generate word or tag clouds
EdWordle Generates word clouds from any entered text to help aggregate responses and facilitate discussion. Word clouds are pictures composed of a cloud of smaller words that form a clue to the topic.
Tagxedo Allows you to examine student consensus and facilitate dialogues.
Wordables Helps you elicit evidence of learning or determine background knowledge about a topic.
WordArt Includes a feature that allows the user to make each word an active link to connect to websites, including YouTube.
Get real-time feedback
Formative Lets you assign activities, receive results in real time, and provide immediate feedback.
GoSoapBox Works with the bring-your-own-device model and includes an especially intriguing feature: a confusion meter.
IXL Breaks down options by grade level and content area.
Kaizena Gives students real-time feedback on work they upload. You can use a highlighter or give verbal feedback. You can also attach resources.
Mentimeter Allows you to use mobile phones or tablets to vote on any question a teacher asks, increasing student engagement.
Pear Deck Lets you plan and build interactive presentations that students can participate in via their smart device. It also offers unique question types.
Plickers Allows you to collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.
Quick Key Helps you with accurate marking, instant grading, and immediate feedback.
Foster family communication
Remind Lets you text students and stay in touch with families.
Seesaw Helps you improve family communication and makes formative assessment easy, while students can use the platform to document their learning.
Voxer Lets you send recordings so families can hear how their students are doing, students can chat about their work, and you can provide feedback.
Strengthen teacher-to-student or student-to-student communication
Biblionasium Lets you view books students have read, create reading challenges, and track progress. Students can also review and recommend books to their peers.
Classkick Helps you post assignments for students, and both you and your students’ peers can provide feedback. Students can also monitor their progress and work.
ForAllRubrics Lets you import, create, and score rubrics on your tablet or smartphone. Collect data offline, compute scores automatically, and print or save the rubrics as a PDF or spreadsheet.
Lino A virtual cork board of sticky notes, it lets students ask questions or make comments on their learning.
Online Stopwatch Provides dozens of themed digital classroom timers to use during small- and whole-group discussions.
Peergrade Helps you create assignments and upload rubrics. You can also anonymously assign peer review work. Students can upload and review work using the corresponding rubric.
Spiral Gives you access to formative assessment feedback.
Verso Lets you set up learning using a URL. Space is provided for directions. Students can add their assignment, post comments, and respond to comments. You can group responses and check engagement levels.
VoiceThread Allows you to create and share conversations on documents, diagrams, videos, pictures, and more.
Keep the conversation going with live chats
Backchannel Chat A teacher-moderated version of Twitter.
Chatzy Supports live, online chats in a private setting.
Create and store documents or assignments
Google Forms A Google Drive app that allows you to create documents students can collaborate on in real time using smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Piazza Lets you upload lectures, assignments, and homework; pose and respond to student questions; and poll students about class content. This tool is better suited for older students as it mimics post-secondary class instructional formats.
Conclusion
Teaching is a challenging and rewarding profession, but there is one constant – you need your students to be engaged. Try turning to the free and online resources available on the internet and you’ll find that engagement isn’t just possible, it’s easy and it’s fun for everyone!