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
Did we miss any?
