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    46 Best Teaching Tools for Teachers in 2024

    Education is paramount to a child’s future and living standards in the modern world. Innovative and effective teaching tools can effectively make learning accessible. 

    A teacher’s job was never easy, and now, with the growing popularity of hybrid learning styles and increased use of technology in teaching, new challenges have come up for them. However, there are a lot of educational resources and online teaching tools that can make your job easier and, in turn, benefit the students.

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    The Importance of Teaching Tools in Modern Classrooms

    Online teaching tools exist to help teachers in the classroom. These classroom tools for teachers allow students to fully understand what they are reading and help teachers align their lessons with these tools.

    The right tools can help level the playing field for all kinds of kids, whether they’re naturally gifted in a particular subject or struggling through it. Teachers can make even the most complex material seem easy by appealing to different senses and using tools like these to give kids the visual aids they need to understand the concepts being taught.

    Related Reading: Best Classroom Games to Help Teachers Elevate Their Efforts

    45 Best Teaching Tools and Gadgets for Teachers

    We’ve divided our teaching tools into five categories: Digital resources, Organization tools, Presentation tools, Assessment tools, and Classroom management tools. These are some of the best digital tools for teachers to make their lives easier in multiple ways and make teaching more effective. So, let’s go ahead and take a look at some of the best teaching tools out there!

    Digital Resources

    Digital tools are the tools that parents can use digitally (via the internet) to teach students. Such resources include online libraries, archives, and textbooks. Here are some great digital tools to teach your students effectively:

    1. SplashLearn

    Splashlearn Dashboard

    SplashLearn is an engaging and interactive online platform for Pre-K to Grade 5 students, offering over 8000 curriculum-aligned math and ELA games and worksheets. It is embraced by more than 45 million children globally and is recognized as one of the most user-friendly teaching tools available at no cost for teachers. SplashLearn also includes free customizable lesson plans for teachers and virtual teaching tools to simplify concept grasp for children, making learning fun and effective.

    Features:

    • Simplified Assignment Process: A single click initiates assignments, streamlining the workflow.
    • Seamless Teaching Flow: Integrates effortlessly with rostering tools, ensuring a distraction-free teaching experience.
    • Enhanced Parental Engagement: Shares updates on student progress and important alerts with parents, promoting a partnership in learning.
    • Differentiated Instructions: Provides support for tailored instruction, meeting the unique needs of each student and encouraging a confident learning approach.
    • Customized Learning Strategies: Pinpoints educational gaps and customizes practice to meet the specific needs of every student.
    • Insightful Progress Monitoring: Offers detailed insights into class performance, enabling educators to refine and personalize teaching strategies.
    • Learning Without Limits: Facilitates learning beyond school boundaries by providing students remote access to educational resources.

    2. Wordreference

    It is an online dictionary for various languages. You can use it for translation assignments or language classes.

    3. Discovery Education

    This is an excellent website for teachers. It has many ELA, science, social studies, math, and more resources. You can create interactive activities for your students online or have them watch videos about different topics you are covering in class.

    4. Pearson

    A teacher can create a personal account to access the courseware and other resources on the website. The resources include lesson plans, articles, and even video tutorials for teachers to use in their classrooms.

    5. MathPlayground

    MathPlayground allows students to learn math in a fun way through games, logic puzzles, and other interactive activities. There are levels available for every type of learner, from preschool to high school. There are also lesson plans and quizzes available that educators can use in the classroom or as homework assignments.

    6. The Math Learning Center

    This site provides free access to math games, making this dreaded subject fun for the students. You can even manipulate the existing problems to suit your needs or use the existing ones. 

    7. cK-12

    This tool allows you to access academic material, which you can edit per your needs and share with the students. You can even create your own digital library. They have resources for various subjects and students of all ages. 

    8. ReadWriteThink

    If you love to teach literature, ReadWriteThink is a must-check resource. It offers a variety of lessons and activities that integrate reading strategies and comprehension skills into every class. You can also find printable resources such as graphic organizers, bookmarks, and worksheets.

    9. YouTube

    YouTube is an obvious choice for audiovisual design learning teaching tools. Teachers can use the video platform to show their students documentaries, lectures, and music videos corresponding to their lesson plans.

    Related Reading: Best Educational YouTube Video Channels for Kids

    10. Duolingo

    It is a free language teaching tool that works great on mobile devices and the web. The best part is that it has games to keep students interested and engaged while learning vocabulary and grammar skills for the language of their choice.

    11. TED-Ed

    In the same way that TED Talks are a new form of a speaking forum, TED-Ed is a new learning resource. TED-Ed’s commitment to creating lessons worth sharing is an extension of TED’s mission of spreading great ideas. You will find carefully curated educational videos within TED-Ed’s growing library of TED-Ed animations, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed website.

    12. Ted Talks

    It is a globally recognized repository of inspiring and educational videos. You can play these as an additional learning resource. 

    13. IL Classroom

    If you haven’t checked out IL Classroom, earlier known as LearnZillion, you must! They have so many free resources for teachers. From lesson plans to videos that teach different skills. Assessments are built into each lesson plan, making review easy for teachers and students.

    Related Reading: Best Educational Video Games for Kids to Promote Learning

    Organizational Tools

    Organizational tools help you keep track of your classes, assignments, and other important dates and share particular information with students and parents. They also help with making schedules and to-do lists and taking notes. Here are some of such resources: 

    1. eduClipper

    It allows you to share resources found on the internet and create a repository for the entire group. It makes it easy for students to collaborate on portfolios and research work.

    2. Dropbox

    It is a simple online storage tool that you can use to collect and maintain submissions. 

    3. Google Docs 

    Google Docs is the most straightforward tool to use for textual assignments. Students and teachers can collaborate in real time and download the contents as PDFs. 

    4. Popplet

    Popplet is a fantastic visual thinking teaching tool that allows your students to organize their thoughts, create collaborative projects, and more. This is an excellent tool for teachers encouraging students to use their creativity when learning new subjects.

    5. Word Cloud Creator

    This website allows you to type in words, creating a cloud of words. You can change the colors, grid size, and how the terms are placed on the page. We use this after reading stories to see what words stand out most to us from the story. The students always enjoy seeing what words stand out to their classmates.

    6. ActiveInspire

    ActiveInspire by Promethean is an interactive whiteboard application with thousands of ready-to-use lessons and activities. You can download this software and hundreds of lesson materials for free on their site! You can also create a free account to create your interactive whiteboard content.

    7. OneNote

    OneNote is a handy tool for teachers to use in the classroom. You can create lessons, take notes, and share them with your students. It is also effortless to collaborate with other teachers and share resources. This is an excellent tool for teachers to benefit from online learning or have a virtual classroom online. It is free, so there is no reason not to try it out if you are unsure what classroom environment you will teach.

    8. Google Slides

    This easy-to-use and freely available tool by Google is a must-have for students. They can collaborate on homework and activities in real time and share their work with the teachers. 

    Presentation Tools

    Presentation tools, including presentation software, document cameras, and digital whiteboards, help teachers create engaging presentations to capture students’ attention. These interactive teaching tools can add multimedia elements such as images, videos, and audio clips, display physical documents, books, and 3D objects, and teach students in a fun and interactive way.

    1. PicMonkey

    PicMonkey is one of the most popular free photo editing tools available online. Students can create customized graphics for presentations, social media posts, or emails to other students. The tool has dozens of pre-made templates for pictures, such as Facebook cover photos or Pinterest graphics, but students can also upload their images and make their creations from scratch.

    2. Pixlr

    This online picture editing tool can create animations, designs, and picture cards from scratch or use their professional templates. 

    3. Amara

    This online tool lets you add subtitles to videos. Creating and sharing video content for your lectures can be helpful. 

    It can help create engaging and interactive digital media using images, videos, models, and texts. It is easy to learn and can help you create engaging digital learning experiences

    5. Storybird

    This novel platform helps kids develop reading, writing, and storytelling. They can participate in monthly challenges, writing prompts, and quizzes. Teachers can also use it to create animated stories and books for the children. 

    6. Buncee

    Buncee is an online canvas where students can create anything they want — stories, presentations, and even games! The most fantastic thing about Buncee is that it has endless possibilities. If students know what they want to create and express, Buncee will efficiently cater to their learning needs.

    7. EdPuzzle

    EdPuzzle helps teachers take control of any video on the internet by adding audio notes directly into the video at specific times and inserting questions throughout the video for students to answer as they watch the video.

    8. Pear Deck

    Pear Deck is a digital whiteboard that allows teachers and students to interact differently. It’s as easy as PPT but far more engaging. This tool will enable teachers to share their PowerPoints or Google Slides with students by adding interactive slides. Pear Deck also allows students to answer questions independently and share ideas with the class.

    9. Prezi

    Prezi makes a change from the more traditional PowerPoint presentations. It creates an environment where teachers can create a presentation with a zoomable canvas, which means you can zoom in and out of different sections of your presentation and add motion, effects, and 3D elements (in the paid version). Teachers can also collaborate with students to track their progress, give feedback, and share resources. Further, it allows you to present anywhere through the web, including your mobile devices – perfect for traveling teachers!

    10. Microsoft Sway

    Microsoft Sway is a presentation tool designed to allow users to create and share interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, or newsletters. You can develop Sways with text, images, and videos. You can also insert YouTube videos and Twitter feeds into your Sways. Sway content is responsive to different screen sizes and automatically adapts itself to optimize the content for the device’s size.

    11. Powtoon

    Powtoon is one of the best free animation tools out there. It has a simple drag-and-drop interface that allows users to create custom animations in minutes. The result is a professional-looking video that you can use for various classroom purposes, including creating lesson introductions and reviews with animated characters, objects, and text bubbles. Users can even incorporate audio into their presentations, creating an engaging student experience.

    12. Animoto

    It provides a user-friendly interface for beginners to create quality videos that can be visual aids during the class. You can use its simple drag-and-drop features and free music from their libraries. 

    13. Visme

    This is another simple-to-use design tool that you can use to create presentations, maps, infographics, report cards, and certificates. 

    Related Reading: How to Learn English

    Assessment Tools

    Assessment tools help teachers assess the learning and progress of students, which they can then analyze to form better teaching strategies as per the performance of students in various aspects. These include online games, quizzes, polls, surveys, and rubric makers.

    1. ProProfs Assessment Software

    ProProfs Assessment software is a powerful tool designed to streamline assessment and evaluation. Featuring an intuitive interface, it allows users to generate, distribute, and evaluate assessments effortlessly. The software offers a wide range of question types, from multiple choice to essay, ensuring versatility in testing methods. It also provides robust analytics and reporting features, enabling educators and trainers to gain valuable insights into individual and group performance. Whether for educational institutions or corporate training programs, ProProfs Assessment software is a comprehensive solution that enhances assessment efficiency and improves learning outcomes.

    2. Quill

    It is one of the best free sites for students to learn English grammar. Quill provides various activities, lessons, and even performance analytics. 

    3. Socrative

    Socrative is an innovative student response system that helps teachers engage students and monitor their comprehension throughout the lesson. It works by gathering data from smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Teachers use Socrative to pose questions during lectures and formative assessments (i.e., exit tickets), allowing students to respond via multiple-choice, short answer, or true/false answers. When students submit their responses, teachers receive feedback on their performance, informing them on what concepts need more improvement.

    4. Quizlet

    Quizlet has been around for a long time but only recently became popular. It allows you to share your sets with other users through a web interface or email for them to use them. Users can create their own sets or import existing ones from other sources (such as flashcards). It also supports multiple languages and has an iOS app on the App Store.

    5. Plickers

    Students answer multiple-choice questions by scanning cards with their phones or tablets. The teacher’s phone or tablet then collects all of their answers, which they can use later in class discussions or share via email with parents and other educators interested in seeing how kids are doing on specific subjects like math, science, or reading comprehension levels.

    6. Quizalize

    This online quiz platform allows teachers to create custom-made quizzes for their learners about any topic. You don’t need to be an expert on coding or other technical aspects to use this site, as it has been simplified so that all you need to do is choose the topic and prepare your questions and answers, then let the platform know how you want the game to progress. Using its global leaderboard feature, you can share your results and engage with other teachers worldwide, which tracks how your students perform against others from different schools.

    7. Quizizz

    This tool is similar to Kahoot! with one significant difference: It doesn’t require a projection screen. Students play Quizizz on their own devices, and answers are projected onto each student’s device as they log in via quizizz.com or their mobile app (available in the Apple App Store).

    Related Reading: Best Educational Games for Kids by Subjects & Grades

    Classroom Management Tools

    These classroom teaching tools help teachers keep track of students’ progress systematically and include online grade books, parent communication tools, and information systems, to name a few. Here are some of the tools:

    1. FlipGrid

    FlipGrid is one of the best online teaching tools and a web-based platform for educators to share videos. It’s intuitive and straightforward, with various options for teachers to create groups and share videos. This tool is great for teachers looking for more ways to bring video into the classroom. We love Flip Grid because it helps teachers encourage students to learn from others, not only from the teacher. Students can use FlipGrid in various subjects and classes: Spanish, history, science, and math!

    2. Nearpod

    With Nearpod, there’s no need to be tech-savvy. The platform is intuitive and straightforward so that anyone can use it. You can enhance existing lessons by adding interactivity. Create your assignments from scratch. Assess students through real-time polling, quizzes, open-ended questions, and more. Then, share lesson materials with students and parents to revisit and review the content at home. All in one place!

    3. Baamboozle

    It is a free site where students can play games designed by teachers. There are over 900,000 games like Rhyming Riddles, Tongue Twisters, etc.

    4. Padlet

    Padlet is one of the most popular digital bulletin boards out there. It’s simple and easy to use. Students can post their projects on the board to share with peers and teachers, or you can use Padlet as a platform for students to collaborate on projects together. It can create visual boards using images, text, wallpapers, Venn diagrams, etc, and can be used for reading and listening.

    5. TeachThought

    The blog is an excellent resource for teachers as it provides them with innovative ideas for classroom practices. It has over five categories: technology, pedagogy, curriculum, learning spaces, and professional development.

    Choosing the Right Teaching Tools for Your Students

    What are the best teaching tools for your students? It depends on their age, learning style, and whether you teach in person or remotely.

    The first thing to understand is that education is changing. You can use the discussed interactive online teaching tools to stay ahead of the curve to teach your students.

    Several factors can influence which teaching tools you choose. Here are some of the most important ones:

    Age of the students

    Younger kids will benefit from different tools than older students.

    Learning style

    Some students learn best with hands-on experiences, while others prefer educational videos or interactive learning games.

    Remote or In-person classes

    The best tools might differ from what works in a traditional classroom setting if you’re teaching remotely.

    Related Reading: Benefits of Online Learning for Kids

    Wrapping It Up

    Now that you know what all these best online educational tools can do for you, you can get creative with these to make your next class more fun and efficient. With these digital teaching tools, you can help students access more dynamic and precise online information. This allows them to research and present projects on topics they relate to or can get enough relevant information about them.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    How can teachers introduce a lesson?

    Teachers can use digital whiteboards or introductory videos to introduce a new lesson to make learning more engaging and effective. There are many free online tools for teachers to teach creatively and effectively.

    How can technology help teachers engage students more effectively?

    Technology can help teachers engage students more effectively by providing new and exciting ways for them to learn. Students can learn more effectively and engagingly with so many new tools available.

    How can I get started with using technology in my classroom?

    If you’re new to using technology in the classroom, familiarizing yourself with some of the most popular tools is an excellent place to start. Google Classroom, SplashLearn, and SurveyMonkey are all great options for teachers looking to use technology in their classrooms.

    What are some of the benefits of using technology in the classroom?

    Some benefits of using technology in the classroom include increased engagement, improved assessment, and more efficient communication. Technology can also help you save time and money by providing various readily available resources online.

    How can I overcome the challenges of using technology in the classroom?

    One way to overcome the challenges of using technology in the classroom is to start small and gradually incorporate new tools for teaching as you become more comfortable with them. Additionally, many resources, such as online tutorials, webinars, and professional development courses, are available to help teachers learn more about using technology in the classroom.

    AUTHOR
    Jill Baker
    Jill Baker has been teaching for 10 years and she loves sharing everything she has learned to help other teachers.

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