Best of the Best Lists

Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists

Blended/Flipped Learning Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. Teachers today use blended/flipped learning to shake up the staleness of the traditional learning format. For instance, with blended learning, students may attend a physical class for half of their learning experiences, and the other half would consist of online learning, either asynchronous or synchronous.

With flipped learning, the traditional classroom lecture format is turned on its head. Students may watch a video lecture or read source material at home, while in class learning experiences are devoted to applying the concepts learned at home to hands-on, practical activities. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these blended/flipped learning apps, tools, and resources:

Edmodo: Are you ready to save paper by planning your lessons online? Edmodo features unlimited storage that allows you to assign endless homework and short assessment quizzes. With all of the information in one key location, you can easily see the progress your students are making. As an added bonus, you can also use the Google Apps and the Microsoft Office programs with Edmodo.

The Knowledge Compass. The Knowledge Compass is a wonderful way to help students formulate questions and begin the research process. The website provides several different types of questions to help students ask the right questions to guide their research.

iCohere Unified Learning System – iCohere Unified Learning System is a feature-rich, all-in-one platform for webinars, courses, conferences, and communities. This system provides self-paced and instructor-led courses, plus blended learning, webinars, classes, a member portal, and more.

Lumesse Learning Gateway – Using the cloud-based learning management system provided by Lumesse Learning Gateway, organizations can manage blended learning programs that are fully customized for their organization and their employees. The platform’s interface is easy to configure and activate; the platform is available for use for compliance training, employee training, and workforce development. It is deployed as a Software as a Service/cloud service.

MaxScholar – MaxScholar is a learning platform designed for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD, processing problems, and general difficulty reading. The platform is built as a digitally blended learning environment for developing reading, writing, and comprehension skills. It also teaches math skills with the use of customized software and engaging materials.

WebMentor LMS – This is a web-based learning management system that supports blended learning, certificate management, credits, e-commerce, and many self-service features. It also manages course offerings and lessons, uploads content to courses and lessons, manages assignments, and much more. Using this tool, your employees can build their skillsets quickly to maximize the potential of your workforce.

Khan Academy: Khan Academy offers a personalized practice session with content that neatly fits into your school’s standards. You can assign practice work to your students, video instruction, and even articles to read. As students finish their assignments, you can check on how they fared.

BrainPOP: BrainPOP is a classroom favorite because of its colorful games and animated activities. Teachers love this platform because it offers realistic tools that force students to reflect on what they have learned, as well as global topics.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Coding

Coding Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. When I was a teacher, the idea of teaching K-12 students to code was thought of as a waste of time. Who in their right mind would spend valuable instructional time on something that is not going to be assessed on the next big standardized test? Doing so probably would have gotten you a stern warning from your principal.

Nowadays, we fully understand the benefit of teaching students to code. Not only is it projected to be a coveted skill in the coming decades, but it also teaches students computational and problem-solving skills, which transfer to all academic subjects. Instead of teaching students to code on rudimentary computers with slow processing speeds, today we use computers with laser fast processing speeds. Also, coding apps can teach students how to code in step by step manner, without the aid of teachers. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these coding apps, tools, and resources:

codeSpark Academy: CodeSpark Academy is ideal for the younger set of children who want to begin their coding early. Kids will build up their skills using mini-games, challenges, and even caring for virtual pets. They will love the bright colors and illustration that allows them to start mastering these concepts.

Scratch: MIT has a free open network that allows students to create and share their coding work with others around the globe. They can create stories, games, and animations to help them share their vision with others using Scratch.

Gimkit – Gimkit is a browser-based tool that simulates a game show that requires students to compete against one another in a controlled classroom environment. Excellent performance is rewarded with coins that students can use in-game to buy utilities to improve their score. Students can compete in teams or against one another, connecting via game codes on any Internet-enabled device. KitCollab mode allows students to submit their questions before the game begins.

Learn to Code with El Chavo– For ages five through eight, Learn to Code with El Chavo is an interactive game to educate young ones about the world of coding. While developing critical-thinking skills and spatial reasoning, they develop knowledge about the logic behind computer coding. Computer coding and programming can be a hard concept to teach from a book or through a presentation. When learning through a game, children become their own teacher; they become self-reliant, but they can get assistance when needed. As a parent or teacher, you can learn alongside them as well.

Minecraft: Education Edition– This version of Minecraft will help you learn. Whether computer science, wilderness conservation, chemistry, coding, math, STEM topics, and more, you can learn educational topics the fun way. If you love Minecraft, you will surely love this version.

Tynker: This website is designed to teach children the rudiments of programming. It is a computing platform that aims to teach computational learning and programming skills in a fun way. Tynker is like Scratch from MIT. The platform is entirely browser-based, and it was written in Open Web standards which include, JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3 but not Flash.

Daisy the Dinosaur: Do you want to get your youngest students started early with coding? Daisy, the Dinosaur, is quickly becoming a favorite among elementary students with her drag and drop interface that makes basic animation simple.

Tommy the Turtle: This educational game introduces your kids the basics of coding. The app has an interface that is easily operable by kids of all ages. It uses commands, sequences, and loops to make “Tommy the Turtle” move, dance, and sing on the screen. There are also “Tommy the Turtle” challenges that kids can solve to test themselves.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists

Tutoring Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love

Are you looking for tutoring apps, tools, and resources that you can use? If so, we have you covered. Check out our list below. Let us know if there are any that we missed.

EMsync – This platform helps with tutoring and mentoring of young people to help them succeed in school. This platform is designed to help ignite young people’s potential.

GradeSlam– GradeSlam provides online tutoring services with certified educators delivering interactive academic support to students whenever they think they need it to be successful. The service is unlimited, on request, and available on any device around the clock. The certified educators on this platform point out student’s mistakes during the learning process and guide them on how to avoid those mistakes next time.

Groupboard– Draw and have a live chat with people on the Internet with your iPad, Android device, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Groupboard is easy to use for online tutoring, collaborative design, or simply for fun. To use the app, start it and drag your finger to draw on the screen and scroll and zoom with your two fingers. Features include the ability to change shapes, colors, line width, and upload pictures on which you can draw.

HigherL LMS – This is a web-based LMS with timesaving course tools, assessment tracking, and a large content repository for educators, publishers, and corporations. It is a learning platform where online tutoring is enabled, thus giving students the exposure they need to succeed in their field.

iTalk2Learn– iTalk2Learn is a math tutoring app that uses cutting-edge technology to ensure that students learn more naturally. This app is the result of a three-year collaborative European project to create an open-source intelligent tutoring platform that reinforces math learning for 5- to 11-year-old students. This will enable educators to deliver the correct lesson at the right time.

LearnCube – This is a virtual classroom built for teaching and tutoring online. It helps to eliminate the distance barrier between teachers and students by bringing them together in a virtual classroom. It uses an online interactive whiteboard for teaching; users can draw, annotate, type, and switch to multiple boards while on the platform. The software makes use of high-quality audio and video encoders and compression algorithms for its virtual classes. Since all the content is web-based, there is no need for downloading and learning to use the software. LearnCube also provides the option for users to personalize the classroom.

MATHiaU– MATHiaU is a math learning software is offered by Carnegie Learning. It provides college-level math assistance, including one-on-one tutoring. With this app, students take thorough assessments and are given feedback that includes a personalized learning path. MATHiaU provides affordable, easy-to-use artificial intelligence-based tutoring.

TG Campus – This is an online tutoring and learning platform that includes course creation, live classes, online mock tests, and more. TG Campus offers high-quality online courses that ensure quality education to students. Each course is designed to help students learn, grow, and thrive. Their online tutoring program engages students, parents, schools, and tutors.

Thinkster Math – A K-8 math tutoring program, Thinkster Math strives to improve students’ math performance, engagement, confidence, and critical thinking skills. What makes Thinkster Math unique is its three-prong approach: a unique curriculum, personalized treatment from certified teachers, and artificial intelligence that focuses on tracking the student’s thinking and determining how they arrived at an answer. Thinkster Math is available on desktops, laptops, and tablets.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Online Learning & eLearning

Learning Management Systems (LMS) Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. For example, the advent of learning management systems has completely turned the notion of “attending class” on its ear. Now, homeschool students can “attend school” using a service like K-12, which allows students to receive a K-12 education from the comfort of their own home or on the go. A working mom with a hectic schedule can enroll in an online degree program at her local university or at a university 5,000 miles away, and barely or never step foot on a physical university campus.

High schools use learning management systems to offer credit recovery classes online, to help students make up a course that they failed in person, which can keep them on track for graduation. They also offer unit recovery courses, which allow students to retake only the units or skills that they need to advance. For instance, a student who has demonstrated mastery of 6 out of 10 concepts in an English class doesn’t need to retake the entire course—he can focus on the four concepts that weren’t mastered in person. As you can see, the modern LMS’s has many uses and applications. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these apps, tools, and resources:

Google Classroom: Google Classroom is one of the leading learning management systems because it is free and compatible with all of the other Google programs. Teachers can deliver assignments, communicate with students, and help their class to stay better organized.

Blackboard: Blackboard developed learning management systems for both the K-12 sector and for higher education universities. Their unique approach enables a workflow that students can access from anywhere alongside real-time communication between teachers and students. Their goal is to create a more personalized education with access to these materials.

Submittable: This program collects and manages submissions of digital materials. It covers manuscripts, assignments, applications, portfolios, artwork, and other related documents. The software is used by leading schools and universities globally including Harvard and MIT. It collects all forms of submissions including videos, texts, and links.

LearningWare – LearningWare is a Japanese-based learning management system that uses games as a tool to improve training and learning. The platform provides users with course scheduling, sales, and communication management features. The platform integrates games into training programs to improve trainees’ engagement and retention.

Eduhappy – EduHappy is a school management system, student information system, and a learning management system. The system constructs schools from scratch, including school profiles, grades, courses, and academic calendars. The system also provides schedule management; that is, students are provided with timetables in their portal views, and teachers will also have their schedules.

ProctorTrack – ProctorTrack is designed to provide proctor services that allow students to take exams at their convenience. The tool can easily be set up by linking it to your existing learning management system.

Schoology: Similar to Blackboard, Schoology helps students and their teachers to better communicate about assignments and classroom information. There are plenty of instructional tools, mobile capabilities, and even real-time data for educators to study. Schoology’s platform is designed for both K-12 schools and universities.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

Collaboration Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. Teachers used to have to meet in person to collaborate on lesson plans, assessments, or other projects. Now, with the proliferation of collaboration apps and tools, educators can work with colleagues from all over the globe, without leaving the classroom. Imagine the possibilities. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these collaboration apps, tools, and resources:

Google Apps for Education: Educators can make excellent use of the free apps available in the Google Suite for Education. Students can efficiently collaborate on their documents with a real-time display of who is editing which parts. Together, a group of students can prepare a presentation with a slideshow, create a diagram, and so much more.

Zoho Meeting: This program allows you to host and attend online meetings from your device. The Desktop Meeting Plugin lets you arrange or attend meetings from your desktop, connecting with only one click. Share and switch screens between the presenter and participants to share information efficiently.

Kami – Kami is the paperless teacher assistant, which allows teachers to create, upload, save, and share their materials using Google Drive and Classroom. It enables students to make notes, highlight, and add shapes on the PDF files shared in class. The app is available for free. The paid version comes with extra features such as the ability to communicate with an additional 150 students, an option for adding images, and text-to-speech technology.

Classpartoo – This is a cloud-based classroom management app that helps teachers deal effectively with their everyday tasks such as recording exam grades, attendance, and student behavior. This app also includes teacher communities where teachers collaborate and share material. School administrators, using this program can set up a functional SIS or integrate it with their existing SIS.

Eazyschool – This online software empowers every school to create, collaborate, and communicate. Its interface allows teachers, administrators, parents, and students to interact. Teachers can arrange report sheets, process child progress reports, and interact with other schools. It is a web-based application, which is compatible with various browsers.

Zoho Calendar: Make individual and group plans using the Zoho Calendar app. Set reminders ahead of schedule, up to 90 days. Groups can share their calendars with other members of the same group or outside the group. Email invitations also can be sent to any email platform from the app.

MURAL– Brainstorming is simple, easy, and fun with MURAL. The app allows multiple students or group members to work together to collaborate, share ideas, and determine solutions. It will help make thoughts concrete and visual, so they can be further evaluated. MURAL creates

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech, Math Education

Math Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. If you are a math teacher, you may be thinking that edtech doesn’t apply to you, especially if you believe that math cannot be taught using digital tools. Students don’t have to see each step or review every problem under the tutelage of a teacher. Tons of apps can help students learn and practice math, and while it helps to have a teacher nearby, it is not necessary. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these math apps, tools, and resources:

Marble Math– With Marble Math, children aged nine through twelve will learn mental math and solve math problems. With mazes, marbles, and math, your child can have hours of fun and become a math genius at the same time. There are puzzles and fun around each turn in the maze, so never be afraid to forge ahead. The app also allows you to go back to previous problems and redo them if needed. 

Khan Academy– Khan Academy has more than 40,000 interactive Common Core-aligned practice questions and above 10,000 videos and explanations in economics, history, math, and more. This is the best study app and tutoring app for students of all ages who are struggling in science and other subjects. You can easily bookmark your best content to “Your List,”  which can be used offline when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Thinkster Math: Thinkster Math is using virtual tutoring to help students understand why they went wrong and how to correct those mistakes. Not only does it help grades improve, but it also sharpens the logic process for students who struggle. This can make a significant long-term impact on their ability to perform well in math.

Montessori Numbers-Coupled with the Montessori Letter Sounds app, Montessori Numbers helps teach children the foundations of math. Three- to seven-year-old children can use this app to begin understanding numerology, numerals, numbers 0 through 100, quantifying, counting, and more. Children can play lots of activities and games that have multiple difficulty levels. 

Matific: Matific strives to help students improve their math skills using hands-on mini-games and a modular learning system. The goal is for students to internalize the basic concepts and move on to more challenging activities. It is designed to help open the door to scientific thinking along with making math more interesting.

Jump Numbers – This app helps young children work on their addition and multiplication skills using skip counting. The game is designed for kids aged 5 to 10. The learning process has a background story to add fun to the process. The game gets more challenging as players get to higher levels and complete more tasks.

Sushi Monster: This app uses lively cartoon characters and games to make learning math fun for children in middle school. It helps them gain proficiency in adding sums and multiplying numbers; progress is rewarded with stars and trophies.

Drive About: Number Neighborhood– Children explore this imaginary world that contains fun activities to help them develop their math skills. Activities include number identification and writing, counting, matching, and ordering. Suitable for children aged 5 and below.

Talking Calculator: This app enables children with sight impairments to use a calculator independently. It has big, bright colored buttons to help the children, and it talks to them, telling them what button their hand is hovering over. After they enter their calculations, the app announces the answer.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

Grammar and Writing Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

When I was a teacher, helping students to become competent writers was a chore, though not an impossible task. Grading the written assignments of students was also a difficult task, as many of them butchered the English language and treated grammar as though it was a skill that could be disregarded. To further complicate things, if students needed help editing a paper or project at home, they were on their own.

Now, all of that has changed, well, sort of. Students have access to a host of grammar apps and tools that will not only help them correct their grammatical errors, but also teach them to be better writers in the process. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these grammar and writing apps, tools, and resources:

Grammar Pop– If you’re looking for a fun word game for adults or you want your kids to learn parts of speech as quickly as possible, the Grammar Pop is for you. With this fun game, you match words with parts of speech of pop clouds and advance from nouns and verbs to gerunds and participles.

Mingoville– With 10 missions, you can use Mingoville to learn English language. The app has a dictionary that is available in 32 languages and contains over 10,000 audio clips to help you learn to pronounce all types of words. There are also 130 games and activities that will reinforce spelling, reading, grammar, and pronunciation. If you love to sing, there are also 10 songs that you can sing along; you can also participate with your friends.

Quill– Quill is a writing tutorial app for teachers designed to help students become better writers. Quill is a nonprofit organization, and its goal is to provide tools such as Quill to help make students better writers. Quill uses web applications to create engaging content for students that helps them learn grammar, writing skills, and vocabulary. Using the teacher dashboard, you can monitor students’ progress according to the Common Core Standards; this feature also makes grading more intuitive and meaningful.

Turnitin for Educators: This website has a wide array of functions designed to help teachers check the integrity of their students’ work, and it helps them mark students’ work. It helps to prevent plagiarism by comparing the works submitted by students with a vast text comparison database, OriginalityCheck. The GradeMark function helps teachers give feedback and remarks to their students, and QuickMark enables them to mark students’ work directly.

Word Sort by Grammaropolis: This tool uses Grammaropolis characters to help teach the parts of speech. Children play by taking a word as it floats across the sky and dragging it into a container that holds the appropriate part of speech. It also has pages explaining parts of speech along with their grammatical function and game character personality.

Writing Challenge App: This app aims to guide students who want to do some form of writing but need some creativity nudging. The app delivers a prompt every minute, suggesting new ideas, characters, scenes, and even plots.

Grammarly– This platform helps the student to improve their grammar and build confidence in their writing ability.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

Classroom/Behavior Management Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. If the edtech of today were available back in 2001, I could have used classroom management tools to help me deal with my sometimes unruly 4th period class. I could have used behavior management tools to develop and manage a student reward system. Parents could have logged on to an app to see whether or not their child was behaving themselves. Yes, sir, edtech would have saved me a lot of time, effort, and stress. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these classroom management apps, tools, and resources:

ClassDojo: This classroom management app can be a powerful tool when it comes to motivating students to maintain exemplary behavior. Teachers can give points or take them away when students don’t comply with the set expectations and rules of the classroom. Even better, parents can see this information quickly and easily.

Too Noisy: Do you have a rowdy class that often allows their volume to swirl out of control? Particularly for educators who have students with auditory sensitivities, the noise of the classroom may be overwhelming. Too Noisy demonstrates when the room is getting too loud with unique graphics that show how close you are getting to an intolerable level.itivities in their classrooms who may find a high noise level distressing.

Lan School – Lan School is a classroom management tool that works on Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS. It is a management software built to keep students engaged and learning while staying within the walls of a safe digital environment. It provides tools to monitor students’ screens to make sure that they stay on task. It also has a chat function that allows instructors to communicate with students and help them with their projects. The broadcast feature allows the teacher to broadcast his/her screen to the rest of the class.

The Great Behavior Game: This game is designed for educators who work with students in fifth grade or lower. The game allows teachers to award points and penalties for specific behaviors. The scoreboard can be used to issue rewards to winning students at intervals during the day. The app also allows educators to generate reports and collect data for future reference.

Classtime – Classtime is a classroom management solution designed for students and teachers; it includes analytics, real-time grading, and libraries. It allows teachers to create, share, and download lessons and assessments from over 30,000 available materials. It provides a time-effective solution for teachers in the classroom.

DyKnow –  DyKnow is a classroom management software solution that helps you monitor devices, reduce distractions, and keep students on task. This software enables teachers to see how students are spending time on their devices in class. It can restrict the students’ access; i.e., it can manage what a student can and cannot access during a course through a customizable blocking plan.

Eduphoria! – It is a classroom management tool that enables a learning environment through budget maintenance and education enhancement. Eduphoria! empowers teachers. The integrated apps assist in every aspect of the school day, from lesson planning to monitor student progress, streamlining administrative duties, and providing a collaborative platform for education professionals.

HiClass – This is a variable room management solution through monitoring, broadcasting, and more. HiClass computer classroom management software is very easy to use and offers a rich set of functions that enable teachers to broadcast, control, communicate, monitor, or collaborate with students individually or as a group, to ensure that every student gets the most out of class time.

Stop Go!: The time between classroom activity changes can be very disruptive with disorderly behavior. Using this app, you can bring order to the process. The app functions like a traffic light, signaling to students when the time is right to move or get to their seats. When the light changes, a bell also chimes in case some students might have missed the visual prompt.

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Matthew Lynch published in Best of the Best Lists, Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech

Early Childhood and Elementary Education Apps, Tools and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still In The Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. When it comes to digital learning in the early childhood or K-12 classroom, there is no shortage of apps will help teachers develop or find curriculum, or deliver instruction effectively.

Are you a teacher who is looking for apps or tools for their early childhood or elementary education classroom? Don’t worry I have some great recommendations for you. Below you will find a list of early childhood apps, tools, and resources that I would use if I were still in the classroom.

Montessori Preschool – is a comprehensive early learning app. It covers phonics, letter tracing, counting, shapes, colors… in a fun and engaging environment. With new games added every 2 months, the app also offers tons of activities to develop critical thinking, learn foreign languages and even think like a coder! With its carefully crafted designs, Montessori Preschool is beautiful to look at and answers a number of user requests such as child profile management, screen time management and even device space management. The app is free to download and 10 games are completely free to try. Users who want to try more have a 7 day free trial period before the subscription (monthly or yearly) starts.

Toca Hair Salon – Cut, color, comb, and style the hair of six different characters in your own hair salon! Children are in charge of their hair salon and have all the tools of a real stylist including scissors, electric hair trimmers, towels, shampoo, conditioner, and hair dryer. They can choose from 12 different hair dyes and 8 hair accessories

Funky Fruitilicious– The Funky Fruitilicious app helps children to learn in a delightful environment using visual learning techniques. The experience is most enjoyable when parents serve as a guide for their kids while playing it with them. The app is designed for preschoolers trying to learn the concept of counting and the basics of numbers. Funky Fruitilicious uses a variety of colorful game activities as well as funny audio sounds to improve kid’s learning.

Flashcard Stash– The Flashcard Stash is a new kind of flash card that is built on top of a dictionary, which enables you to look up the flash card words and save them. For instance, you can click on highlighted words for a quick definition or click on functions in the top right of every vocabulary flashcard such as synonyms, audio, and sentences. The AR Flashcards make learning fun and more entertaining for toddlers and preschoolers. With about 26 beautifully rendered animals to help your toddler learn the alphabet, learning is fun with AR Flashcards.

JumpStart Preschool – Your preschooler needs to have fun learning, and JumpStart Preschool gives you just that! It is designed for your little kids to learn pre-reading and critical-thinking skills while on the go. Your kids will learn to recognize and count numbers, practice shapes and colors while on the search for the best wiggly creatures to complete the collection. They will listen to stories by flipping through pages as words are read aloud.

Lexia Core5 Reading– Lexia® Core5® Reading is available to teach reading for preschoolers to fifth graders. It creates reading lessons based on research, to find the best ways to teach individual students or small groups. Using this app, teachers can organize their learning environments in the most productive and conducive way. This app can be used in combination with Lexia® PowerUp Literacy™ and Lexia® RAPID™ Assessment to optimize reading experiences and reading groups in schools.

Make A Scene: Farmyard– Make a Scene: Farmyard stimulates children’s creativity and allows them to design their own scenes. Little kids love cute farm animals, and this app has sheep, cows, ducks, chickens, and more. With hours of entertainment, they will learn and practice vocabulary, motor skills, and coordination simultaneously. They will be able to numerous scenes in this dynamic farmyard; for preschool to adult, this app will not disappoint.

Preschool Puzzle Math– Preschool Puzzle Math is a puzzle-solving game that teaches children math. It allows them to practice counting, simple addition, and subtraction. Preschool Puzzle Math helps your child develop the fundamental math skills that will help them going forward with mathematics. Your child learns to count, add, and find their way around tasking puzzle games with free-flowing gameplay. Suitable for ages three to seven.

Nico & Nor Coconut Star– Explore the Coconut Star World by solving puzzles using push, pull, and texture to get to new stars to win. This app provides a cheerful sojourn into the world of forces and motions using fireworks, water traps, and real-time feedback. The app provides opportunities for children to develop their scientific method skills. The Ramps program has two apps (Coconut Star and Ramps Journal) working hand in hand to help preschool kids and their teachers to record videos and results from experiments.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox– Preschoolers love games and are the best at learning, so Monkey Preschool Lunchbox combines both these elements. Designed for two- to five-year-olds, this app has six games to teach colors, letters, counting, shapes, sizes, matching, and spotting the differences. Fun monkeys assist the child, and cute sounds and designs make it appealing to young eyes and ears. Children will also learn fruits and numbers. Virtual stickers provide positive reinforcement for a job well done.

Toddler Toy Factory: Help your kids improve their reading, spelling, memory, and hand-eye coordination using virtual toys. This matching game allows kids to pair identical toys. The “Make” room lets kids drag single letters into the toy machine to build toys. The toy is ready once the word is spelled out and then read out loud.

TeachMe: Kindergarten: Help your child ace kindergarten using this fun app. It contains all the subjects that children learn at the kindergarten level such as how to spell, write, add, and subtract. The app rewards student progress, and these rewards can be used to make in-app purchases. Parents and teachers can monitor the child’s development.

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Matthew Lynch published in Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and Virtual Reality, Best of the Best Lists

Virtual or Augmented Reality Apps, Tools, and Resources That I Would Use If I Were Still in the Classroom

Back in 2001, when I started as a teacher, the technology boom was in its nascent stage. I remember toting a large bag filled with papers home most nights and going to sleep drowning under a vast sea of student homework that needed grading. My classroom was even worse, cluttered with books, manipulatives, globes, maps, and learning stations that left little room for anything else. However, as I write this in 2018, things have changed dramatically. Today’s teachers have edtech in their corners.

Digital teaching and learning tools have streamlined education processes and provide learning experiences that stretch far beyond the materials that were available for me back in 2001. For instance, if you want to teach your students how to tell stories, you could allow students to reimagine existing stories using virtual reality. You can give students the opportunity to bring their favorite books to class and re-imagine parts of the story or the entire story. For example, they can create an alternative ending to Jack and the Beanstalk and retell their version in virtual reality, by creating a short cartoon. If I were still in the classroom today, I’d use these virtual reality apps, tools, and resources:

King Tut VR – King Tut VR provides a virtual reality experience of the tomb of King Tutankhamun. This app requires a virtual reality headset. King Tut was a great Egyptian pharaoh in the 18th dynasty. He was buried in a legendary tomb, which you can explore virtually while learning about the art, treasures, and hieroglyphics of the time. This app takes you back in time with a fully immersive environment, which makes you feel like you are actually in King Tut’s tomb.

Lifeliqe – This learning platform educates students with the use of 3-D models, augmented reality, and virtual reality. It includes subjects such as biology, culture, physics, paleontology, geometry, and so on. There are 620 preinstalled lesson plans for different subjects. The interface of this platform is quite easy to navigate. Lifeliqe is available as a website and app with its implementations on iPad and Windows showing the most functionality.

myVRscope™ – is an immersive microscopy Virtual Reality (VR) lab ecosystem, where students and faculty access microbiology content and conduct lab activities on-demand using VR. myVRscope™ leverages a virtual 3D photorealistic compound light microscope for learner activities and integrates the user experience with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab instructor- Dr. Beaker. The product was developed by the Immersive Learning Experience (ILX) team in the Innovation Center of Excellence (ICoE) at Adtalem Global Education- with the explicit design intent to create an ‘intelligent, immersive learning experience’ for on-campus and online learners alike that combines Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Star Chart: Teachers who want to bring astronomy lessons to life will need to use Star Chart. Using augmented reality, students can point their device at the night sky and use the app to identify what constellations they see. Alternatively, you can also scroll around the sky using just your fingers.

Sites in VR: Go to all the exciting places you would like to without any restrictions. The app features Islamic relics, ancient cities, and temples. Historically significant sites in Saudi Arabia, Macedonia, Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Kuwait, Belgium, France, Africa, and even Mars await you. The app features over a thousand high-quality images rendered in a panoramic 360° view; it provides the all-encompassing, immersive experience.

Algodoo– Algodoo is a physics-based 2-D sandbox freeware from Algoryx Simulation AB as the successor to the popular physics application Phun. Bring your ideas to life withAlgodoo. Use the drawing tool, materials like ropes, lasers, gears, motors and even water to test your funniest ideas in a simulated world. Share your inventions with friends and challenge them to use their creative abilities. The simulated world is based on the latest technologies in advanced engineering simulations and virtual reality simulators used by Algoryx.

Unimersiv: This is a virtual reality educational tool available to students of all ages. It allows students to watch academic virtual reality videos to promote an immersive learning experience. Topics include history, space, and anatomy.

Cospaces– With this app, you can create virtual reality, and you have total control over its personalization. You can choose from different items and personalities to create your characters. The app makes the experience as realistic as possible and unlocks potential worlds of virtual reality. All you need to access your virtual life is the free CoSpaces app and a headset.

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