The sudden move to remote teaching has created many challenges for both teachers and students, from spotty internet access to figuring out the best tools for online learning. Here, we have a list of helpful tools to improve your online teaching experience. Check out our recommendations and find the right resources to make your online teaching easier. Let’s teach together!
1. Learning Management Systems
An LMS is a comprehensive platform that serves as a virtual classroom, enabling you to organize and deliver course materials, streamline discussions, assign tasks, and track student progress. These systems provide a centralized hub for all your online teaching activities, ensuring a seamless and organized experience for both you and your students.
Apps:
Google Classroom
One of the most widely adopted LMS platforms, Google Classroom, has become an indispensable tool for organizing and managing my online classes. Its intuitive interface allows me to create and distribute assignments, provide feedback, and communicate seamlessly with students. The integration with other Google Apps, such as Drive and Meet, further enhances collaboration and streamlines the sharing of resources.
Moodle
Another powerful LMS option is Moodle, which offers a comprehensive suite of features for delivering online courses. From creating multimedia-rich lessons to conducting assessments and tracking student progress, Moodle provides a robust platform that caters to diverse educational needs. Its open-source nature and customizability make it a popular choice among institutions and individual educators alike.
2. Video Conferencing Software
Video conferencing software is essential for fostering real-time interactions and delivering live lectures or discussions in your virtual classroom. These tools enable you to engage with your students face-to-face, share your screen, and collaborate effectively, mimicking the traditional classroom experience.
Apps:
Zoom
Video conferencing has become an essential tool for facilitating real-time interactions with students. Zoom has emerged as a leading platform, offering high-quality video/ audio, and screen-sharing capabilities. Its virtual whiteboard and breakout rooms have proven invaluable for fostering engaging discussions and collaborative activities.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is another powerful video conferencing solution that seamlessly integrates with the Office 365 suite. Its user-friendly interface and robust collaboration features, such as file sharing, virtual whiteboards, and real-time co-authoring, make it an excellent choice for online teaching. Additionally, Teams offers secure and encrypted communication, ensuring privacy and data protection.
3. Interactive Whiteboards
Interactive whiteboards bring the traditional whiteboard experience into the digital realm, allowing you to write, draw, and annotate in real-time during your online lessons. These tools foster engagement and facilitate visual explanations, making complex concepts more accessible to your students.
App:
Microsoft Whiteboard
Replicating the traditional classroom experience in an online setting can be challenging, but interactive whiteboards like Microsoft Whiteboard have bridged that gap. This digital canvas allows me to write, draw, and annotate in real-time, fostering a more engaging and collaborative learning environment. Students can actively participate by adding their notes and annotations, making the learning process truly interactive.
4. Assessment and Quiz Tools
Assessing student understanding is crucial in the online learning environment. Assessment and quiz tools allow you to create engaging quizzes, tests, and surveys, streamlining the evaluation process and providing valuable insights into your students’ progress.
Apps:
ClassMarker
Assessing student understanding is a crucial aspect of the teaching process, and ClassMarker has become my go-to tool for creating and administering online quizzes and tests. Its user-friendly interface allows me to design assessments with various question types. The auto-grading feature saves me valuable time, while detailed analytics provide insights into student performance.
Quizlet
Quizlet is a versatile app that offers a range of study tools, including flashcards, games, and quizzes. I frequently use it to create interactive study sets for my students, helping them reinforce key concepts and vocabulary. The gamification elements in Quizlet make the learning process more engaging and enjoyable, encouraging active participation and retention.
5. Collaboration and Communication Platforms
Effective collaboration and communication are essential for fostering a sense of community and ensuring a seamless learning experience in the virtual classroom. These platforms facilitate real-time discussions, file sharing, and announcements, keeping your students engaged and informed throughout the course.
Apps:
ClassDojo
Fostering a sense of community and open communication is essential in an online learning environment. ClassDojo has become my go-to platform for staying connected with students and their families. Its user-friendly interface allows me to share updates, assignments, and resources, while also enabling two-way communication through messaging and video conferencing features.
Bloomz
Bloomz is another powerful communication and collaboration tool designed specifically for educational settings. Its comprehensive features include messaging, calendars, behaviour management tools, and parent-teacher conferencing capabilities. By streamlining communication and fostering engagement, Bloomz has significantly enhanced my ability to create a supportive and inclusive online learning community.
6. Content Creation and Curation Tools
Engaging and visually appealing content is crucial for capturing and maintaining your students’ attention in the virtual classroom. Content creation and curation tools empower you to design captivating presentations, infographics, and multimedia resources, enhancing the overall learning experience.
Apps:
Canva
For an educator, creating visually appealing and engaging content is paramount for capturing students’ attention and facilitating effective learning. Canva has become my go-to tool for designing eye-catching presentations, infographics, and other multimedia resources.
Curating and sharing relevant and up-to-date information with students is crucial. Flipboard is a powerful content curation tool that allows me to create personalized magazines by aggregating articles, videos, and other resources from various sources. This ensures that my students have access to the latest and most relevant information, fostering a dynamic and engaging learning experience.
7. Classroom Management Software
Classroom management software is designed to help you maintain order and discipline in your virtual classroom, ensuring a productive learning environment. These tools offer features like screen monitoring, remote control, and student activity tracking, allowing you to manage and support your students effectively.
Apps:
DyKnow Classroom
Maintaining order and ensuring student engagement in an online classroom can be challenging. DyKnow Classroom is a powerful classroom management software that helps me monitor and control student devices during virtual lessons. With features like screen monitoring, remote control, and attention tracking, I can ensure that students stay focused and on task, minimizing distractions and maximizing learning outcomes.
LanSchool
LanSchool is another comprehensive classroom management solution that offers a range of features for monitoring and controlling student devices. Its intuitive interface allows me to view and share student screens, and blank screens for focused attention, and even remotely launch applications or websites on student devices. This level of control and oversight has significantly enhanced my ability to maintain an orderly and productive online learning environment.
In conclusion, the right tools can significantly enhance your virtual classroom experience. By leveraging the power of LMS, video conferencing software, interactive whiteboards, assessment tools, collaboration platforms, content creation tools, and classroom management software, you can create an engaging, interactive, and streamlined learning environment for your students.