The Best
Edtech Tools for Learning
Let me
start by saying I LOVE edtech tools, they really are AWESOME!
I remember
being at Microsoft HQ and Satya Nadella telling us about
HoloLens for
the first time. My mind started thinking
of all the different
possibilities that it could be used and how VR could become
part of my reality, not from some science fiction movie set in 2030,
but here
today, I mean WOW!
Before I
start I need to mention that not all the ed-tech tools are new,
some of them
are ancient, but I still think that they are great. The
other thing is
although there are really amazing paid for apps,
I am going to only look at edtech
tools that you do not have to pay for
or there is a free version.
One other thing before we get to the good stuff...
I know that the dream is to have student-centred, hands-on,
personalized instruction, but we need to remember that
technology is not the solution to success.
It is a tool that if used effectively can
enhance teaching and learning.
OK now let's look at the Ed Tech tools I love.
In no
particular order…
I first stumbled across this in August 2014,
but have been using it ever
since. I love the fact that you can
create your
own quiz and then play it with your class or you can use one of the
quizzes
that another person has created.
(A word of caution, go through the
quiz before you play it with your
class….) Regardless of what device
your
children have, as long as they have Internet access they can play.
To me this has to be one of the top tools,
fun and easy to use!
This is a great site for any English teacher. So often you are looking for
passages to show
or explain and can never find the right ones.
Well here they are.
It is ideally
suited for Grade 5 – 12. There are
hundreds of passages of texts
that you can go through and best of all it is completely
free. I like the online
version that
allows you to highlight words, change the font size and go
through the guided
reading mode more than printing out the pdf.
There
is also a handy quick assessment, but I really like the discussion
topics that they have.
Brilliant!
OfficeMix (https://mix.office.com)
O my word, this is really incredible. It is a free add on for PowerPoint 2013
or
higher that totally changes the way in which you can make PowerPoints.
I love the fact that it becomes interactive,
you can record and screen cast videos
straight
in PowerPoint and you can add quizzes, polls, etc. I used this to create
all my learning content
for ECDL year 10 students which then also allowed
them to watch it whenever
they wanted!
Have a look at my office mix video that I made to show you
how to use it
StoryboardThat (http://www.storyboardthat.com/)
This is a free digital storyboard that is quick and easy to use. I used to hand
out templates for the students to draw, but this is so much quicker and easier,
plus the students love using this. It means that they do not need to be artists
or keep loosing their pieces of paper.
Love this!
This is a great piece of software that is free and will
allow you to learn how to
code quickly and easily using either online or offline.
The 2 versions are a little
bit
different, but not much. I have created 6
lessons that you can
download for free.
These can be found below:
There are so many others that are really brilliant.
You might want to have a look at some of these below as well.
Book creator (https://bookcreator.com/)
Nearpod (https://nearpod.com/)
Minecraft (minecraft.net)
Minecraft education Editon (https://education.minecraft.net/)
Padlet (https://padlet.com)
Dualingo (https://www.duolingo.com)
Padlet (https://padlet.com)
Dualingo (https://www.duolingo.com)
Storybird (https://storybird.com)
Triptico (https://www.tripticoplus.com)
Have fun with these and I hope that you will use these next year!
#CMRubin, #cmrubinworld.com, #teachersmatter
#Varkey Teacher Ambassador #MIEExpert #MSFTEdu #Education
