Chances are, you have already heard of sites like Blackboard and Moodle. These are commonly used for online teaching. However, there are many other online teaching tools that are free to use. Today, we are going to discuss these different tools, their potential applications, and how they can be useful in your quest to find the best online teaching tool for teachers. It is my firm belief that the best tool for online teaching should be chosen based on what you want to accomplish with it. Are you aiming for something that is easy to use and accessible from anywhere? What about something that requires little maintenance? The following list will explore your options and help you decide which one is right for you.
There are different tools for online teaching. They let teachers share their knowledge and also help them get knowledge of other teachers. When you sign up for courses or organize your own course, you can or should decide to use these tools. This is why you should find the best online teaching tools to boost your online career.
Skype Video
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).
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.
Google Meet
Google Meet for teachers is another popular software application for online tutors, virtual teachers and anyone conducting classes online because of its integration with Google’s suite of other apps like Google Classroom and Google Drive.
Google Meet offers the following free options for its users:
- Share screen to your students
- Adjust your layouts
- Group classes up to 1 hour
- Chat with students in the chatbox
- And other normal features of a virtual video conferencing platform
Anyone with a Google account can create a video meeting or virtual class of up to 100 students (participants) and meet up to 60 minutes for free.
If you are conducting one-on-one tutoring classes, you can spend up to 24 hours together (but why would you?!).
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting, as stated on their website, puts the “class in online classes.”
They are an up-and-coming competitor to some of the larger video platforms because of how they gear their functions to suit teachers and students in an online class.
With their free account, you can expect:
- Personal URLs for students to join the class
- Instant messaging, file sharing & screen sharing
- Powerful mobile capabilities for students
- Clean and simple interface with powerful functions
Unfortunately, their free version is quite limiting but it will allow you 40-minute classes/meetings but with only up to 3 participants.
GoToMeeting free would be perfect for independent tutors who have 1-3 students and classes under 40 minutes.
Visme
Visme is an online design tool that anyone can use to create presentations, infographics, concept maps, schedules, reports and more.
It’s packed with tons of features, like free photos and graphics, customization options and an easy drag-and-drop editor that both non-designers and designers love to use.
Many tools are directed either at the educator or the student. In the case of Visme, our integrated design tools benefit both.
How Visme Can Help Teachers
Teachers are always creating content for their students to learn with. From slide presentations to fillable worksheets and more. With a Visme education license, teachers and students can use the tool together for a creative and interactive educative experience.
Below are some of the solutions Visme offers for educators at any level.
- Interactive content as presentations and infographics
- Visual posters and infographics
- Webinar materials
- Interactive schedules
- Syllabus and lesson plans
- Printable lists and worksheets
- Embed third-party content like quizzes and forms
- Share news about a class on social media or email
- Personalized report cards
- Personalized certificates
To help you get started, here are some handpicked Visme templates for teachers. Click on the button below each template to customize it for your own use.
Class Schedule Template
Create a class schedule in the form of a presentation and share it with your students to help them stay on track with their weekly lessons.
This class schedule template is designed with engaging colors and visuals to make it easier for students to remember the information.
Customize this presentation template and make it your own!
GOOGLE CLASSROOM
If your school does not have an online learning management system (LMS), then I highly recommend Google Classroom to streamline your remote teaching. Google Classroom is intuitive and user-friendly, and it syncs with many of the websites and Chrome apps/extensions I mention below. Your school does not need to be “a Google school” for you to utilize Google Classroom with your students. All you need is a free Google account. Your students will need one too. With Google Classroom, you will be able to do the following (and lots more):
- Check students’ progress on ALL assignments
- See students’ work & writing (via Google docs/slides) in REAL TIME
- Send reminders to students who have not completed assignments
- Provide personalized feedback to students through comments
- Automatically grade Google form tests, quizzes, exit tickets, etc.
- Efficiently grade all other work submitted through Classroom
- Facilitate class discussions through the “Ask a question” feature (more info on that HERE)
I could write an entire post on utilizing Google Classroom, but then I wouldn’t have room for the other tools…so let me know if that is something you’d like to see and I can work on a separate post.
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.
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.
Conclusion:
Online teaching tools could be powerful assets for distance learning. When you are doing online training, it could be actually tricky to find an effective online training software. Online teaching tools are the best way to teach and to learn for everyone, especially for non-native students. Some students need more time than others, so online teaching tools allow them to study individually and without pressure.