There are so many tools available, but which ones are effective? Which ones are worth your time? The answer to these questions will vary depending on the purpose of the activity. Platforms, physical tools, software, and even the Internet all have uses in education.
This article explores different types of tools that are useful in contemporary educational settings.
PDF Expert allows annotating or editing PDF documents. Besides reading, you can also highlight text, put stamps, split and merge PDFs.
2. Kami Google Chrome Browser Extension
3. PDFelement 6
PDFelement allows users to edit PDF documents as they would a Microsoft Word document. Among other features, users can automatically create fillable PDF forms for data collection as well. Users can then use Data Extraction to export information from hundreds of identical PDF forms into a single Excel file, and eliminate entering data by hand.
4. PDF Zorro
PDF Zorro is another online tool that lets you easily manage, edit, and sign your PDF files. You can convert any PDF document no matter the size or number of pages.
With PDF Converter Ultimate, convert your documents to PDF, and PDF documents to Word, Excel, JPG, and more right on your iPhone or iPad.
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A reliable PDF tool that can change the way you teach your class. With a variety of options you can choose, it makes your document management effortless.
7. PDFMerge
Packed with an easy-to-use interface, PDF Merge enables you to combine two or more PDFs into one.https://7f672a2b3621e3e475d1ae93b1a44f3b.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
8. PDF Filter
Edit your PDF files without the need to download, install, or buy anything. Simply drag and drop documents and in just 3 steps you are all done.
This online tool has no limits to the PDF file size or number of pages. Conversions are instant and you can use it every day as it’s completely free.
10. Doc Hub
Sign PDF files online through their website or browser extension (linked above).
11. HTMLtoPDF
HTML to PDF is a free converter that transfers web pages to PDF files. A useful product for teachers wanting to share content they find online.
12. Convertio
A Google Chrome extension that allows you to convert files online from one format to another with more than 2500 different conversions supported.
One of the most affordable PDF application. You can create, edit, secure, and organize your PDF documents as you wish.
14. PDF it All
An amazingly simple user interface that anyone can learn in no time, PDF it All is one of the most powerful PDF tools in this collection. This iOS app allows you to convert PDF files to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and much more.
A simple and effective online tool that allows teachers to view and edit your PDF with a click of a button. Just upload your file and let the tool do all the work for you.
16. PDF Export
A PDF converter app that allows you to view, edit, and convert different PDF documents into one file. With this app, you can also create and scan your own PDF files.
17. iConverter
With its well-designed interface, iConverter is a powerful yet simple file conversion tool that can convert text-based documents into PDF files, making it one of the best PDF tools for teachers working with essays, reports, research, and other text-first files.
18. GoodReader
One of the best PDF reading engines currently available for your iPad or iPhone. With GoodReader you can read, edit and sign virtually anything, anywhere.
19. iAnnotate
iAnnotate’s intuitive interface can help you to read, markup, and share different document types including PDF, DOC, PPT, and more.
20. PDFForge
When it comes to free PDF viewing and editing, the PDF Forge is a great tool for teachers, if for no other reason than its versatility. You can also quickly create PDF files with it, from almost any application.
21. Tiny Scanner
Tiny Scanner allows you to scan images, papers, documents, and more, turning them into PDF files that can be easily managed.
22. AnnotDoc Lite
AnnotDocLite is a free viewer for MS Office documents. It supports annotation on MS Word and MS PowerPoint, as well as the PDF.
23. PDF Buddy
A perfect tool for people who want to edit their documents without having to install anything on their computers. The tool poses a slick and modern interface you can master in no time.
25. PDF Converter
26. Foxit PDF
27. Documents 5
28. Goodnotes 5
ONLINE TOOLS
Thinglink
Thinglink allows educators to create interactive images with music, sounds, texts, and photographs. These can be shared on other websites or on social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. Thinglink offers the possibility for teachers to create learning methodologies that awaken the curiosity of students through interactive content that can expand their knowledge.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed is an educational platform that allows creating educational lessons with the collaboration of teachers, students, animators—generally people who want to expand knowledge and good ideas. This website allows democratizing access to information, both for teachers and students. Here, people can have active participation in the learning process of others.
cK-12
cK-12 is a website that seeks to reduce the cost of academic books for the K12 market in the United States and the world. To achieve its objective, this platform has an open-source interface that allows creating and distributing educational material through the internet, which can be modified and contain videos, audios, and interactive exercises. It can also be printed and comply with the necessary editorial standards in each region. The books that are created in cK-12 can be adapted to the needs of any teacher or student.
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).
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.
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.
CommonLit
CommonLit is a database of literary instructional materials that you can use to develop lessons. You can choose a lesson from the digital library, share it with your students, assign them text-based questions, and analyze their performance.
Quill
Quill is a platform that has a set of tools for teaching writing, vocabulary, and grammar and includes over 400 exercises. You can guide your students to learn by reconstructing sentences, proofreading passages, writing new passages, and more.
Plickers
Plickers is a card activity that lets you poll your class, without the need for student devices. You just need to give each student a card (a “paper clicker”) and use your Android smartphone or tablet to scan them to do instant checks for understanding, exit tickets, and impromptu polls.
Powertalk
Powertalk is a presentation enhancement tool that automatically speaks your PowerPoint slides. When compared to other common ‘text-to-speech programs, Powertalk can speak text as it appears and can also speak hidden text attached to images.
FreeOnlineSurveys
FreeOnlineSurveys is a tool for building online tests, surveys, and forms. You can create quizzes using the drag-and-drop builder and 22 question types and fields, share them with your students and staff members, and analyze responses with its data reporting tool right from your mobile devices.
JeopardyLabs
JeopardyLabs is an online service that enables you to build Jeopardy games without PowerPoint, by using a simple editor. You can also choose from ready-made games created by the platform users on such subjects as foods, cities, countries, books, and hygiene.
Prezi
A takeoff on the old standby slideshow presentation, this app is an online whiteboard that lets you interact with information visually as you speak. It allows you to move to any place in your presentation that you want, instead of moving in a linear fashion from one slide to the next. This organized and visual method of presentation can help make even the driest topics more memorable to your audience.
LiveBinders
Remember those old three-ring binders? They were stuffed with lecture notes, handouts, worksheets, and homework in various stages of completion. The idea was to keep everything needed for one class organized in one place—but sadly, this commendable goal often went awry.
LiveBinders is technology’s answer to all that old-school paper wrestling and desperation. You can easily upload presentations, documents, worksheets, and web resources, appropriately organized under relevant tabs. This makes it easy for students and parents to see what they need to work on and to track their progress. As an added bonus, it greatly simplifies co-teaching, as lesson plans can be easily shared for collaboration.
Conclusion
Information and Communication Technology has changed the way teachers teach. The use of these tools has changed the teaching practices and have helped in teaching students more efficiently. To be a good teacher, you should have some knowledge about using various tools. Many of these tools are available for free or low cost. Using these tools is essential to make your teaching more effective for your students.