15   Free Teacher Helping Tools   

When I started working as a teacher (way back in the early 2000s) I was considered a tech savvy in my initial use of PowerPoint, and it was positively revolutionary in getting my kids to edit their videos. It was the day when every classroom was equipped with an old-fashioned projector, and YouTube was the new kid on the scene. However, even then, the bright future of the education technology revolution was upon us; Within a few years, teaching an entire lesson without relying on at least one technical tool was nearly impossible. The free tutoring technology for teachers helped raise the level of my lessons dramatically, boosted performance results, raised levels of engagement, and ultimately saved my sanity as a teacher.

When used with a clear educational cause, technology free for educators has the potential to transform classrooms by empowering learners and democratizing education (which is why we become educators in the first place).

Diversity and diversity are key. I like to have a complementary set of super-teacher tools to take advantage of in the learning hierarchy – with the right application at the right time and in the right learning context. The proliferation of free tech tools available to educators means we now have the luxury of picking and choosing from a wide range of applications to suit different learning scenarios.

In most cases, free application is an important non-negotiable as a teacher. The last thing you want to do is put more barriers to education and solidify social and economic divisions by trying to include paid apps.

1. EdApp

EdApp's new public education mini-platform, Educate All, is free for teachers, students, and anyone else on the planet with a desire to learn. In collaboration with UNITAR, EdApp is redefining what we mean by “group microteaching” by creating a truly global village for educators.

EdApp's authoring tool is an excellent way to effectively educate learners with vital knowledge and skills. EdApp's content library is filled with course topics ranging from tackling global challenges, leadership and entrepreneurship, to hospitality and physical exercise. Robust learner metrics are available for learner assessment, and EdApp's Spaced Repetition Brain Boost feature is close to nothing. Access mobile-based LMS from EdApp for free!

Train your teams with the best free tool for teachers Free registration No credit card needed.

2. Seesaw

Seesaw is a digital portfolio app that captures student work through the use of photos, videos, and audio. This free teacher tool allows students to showcase their work and collaborate with their peers. Using the Seesaw Blog platform, students gain a real sense of authorship and can share ideas and feedback constructively in a secure teacher-managed space.

The app is also a great way to boost parent and school engagement (which we all know is a major factor in positive student outcomes), as they can log in with QR codes. The reflective opportunities that Seesaw provides is my favorite feature. By having students think about the teacher's feedback, it completes the learning loop—and essentially promotes "feed-forward" rather than feedback as an effective learning model.

3. Kahoot!

As a teacher, I've always had a stock of Kahoot! Tests in my back pocket. I'll use it as a form of spaced face-to-face repetition on a regular basis in order to refresh students' understanding, and I'll also come in handy to pull out whenever I need to inject a little competition and energy into the classroom. It's a great way to play learning and training through play. A word of caution though: Students and adults alike love Kahoot! So much so that they will literally beg for more!

4. Socrative

Socrative is a free teacher tool that allows teachers to collect end of class/training feedback. Long before Socrates came, I would ask students to hand out paper "exit tickets" as they left the classroom (usually a brief one-to-sentence answer or two to a specific question or a reflection of what they had learned). Exit tickets are a form of formative assessment that enables teachers to adapt a learning roadmap to student understanding, and zoom in on specific hotspots. Socrative provides a digital version of "exit tickets" along with a host of other features such as team-based Space Race tests.

 

5. Padlet

The Padlet, which is an effective digital pad, has been another game changer in my teaching methods. I have used this free teacher tool in two ways; First, to create an anonymous question board where students pin virtual sticky notes with questions that both the teacher and other students can answer, and second, to save articles and web content you've curated for specific topics. Much more attractive than the usual "wanted reading" list!

6. Google Docs

It doesn't make sense to include Google Docs in any list of the 20 best free technologies for educators. There's nothing fancy about Google Docs, but once you embrace it, I promise you'll never go back to the original word processing apps again! It's easy to collaborate, allows students to build each other's ideas, and allows teachers to provide real-time feedback on student work.

7. MindMeister

MindMeister leads the collection of free mind mapping apps that help students visualize their thinking. It is mobile friendly and allows students to collaboratively share and create maps in real time.

 

8. Canva

Canva is a very cool drag-and-drop graphic design tool that is 100% free for teachers and students. Students can play with a huge library of professionally designed graphs and posters to visualize their learning, and to add a “wonder factor” to their presentations. It's also a handy tool for teacher distributions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. FlipGrid

Flipgrid 

And Snapchat for the semester. It is a free teacher tool that allows students to participate in the discussion via short, sharp creative videos, all in a secure teacher-managed space.

If you dream of embracing augmented reality in your classroom, but are too afraid to take the first step, then Metaverse is the app for you. You don't need to know a snippet of coding to create your own interactive story or game in the Metaverse. Content sharing on the chart!

10. Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is a very simple live polling app that collects responses from participants in any context (be it a classroom, meeting or corporate training event) using SMS, web or Twitter. The results of the survey can then be displayed everywhere directly in presentations. It's a quick way to instantly check students' understanding as well as gather constructive feedback on the effectiveness of the lesson.

 

11. Mentimeter

Mentimeter It is another app that creates live polls in the form of creative visualizations. It's also a word cloud builder, great for brainstorming sessions and prompts before a discussion.

 

 

12. monkey QRCode

Using QR codes is a surprisingly simple way to learn games. Similar to barcodes, when students scan QR codes with their phones, they are directed to files, videos, or web pages. You'll need a free QR generator like QRCode Monkey, and students will need a free reader on their device. There are dozens of creative ways you can embed QR codes in lessons; Going on the QR code search process to look up the QR code has been a huge hit with my students!

3. Audacity

I like to use podcast review tools and flip the classroom. I've also had great success getting students involved in the actual podcast creation and production process. Audacity is a simple and free cross-platform program that does not require a high-tech studio or complex editing skills.

14. Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind is a really great free meditation app that helps teachers bring mindfulness into their daily classroom and supports student well-being.

15.random lists

Random group generators like random lists are a godsend when you want to arrange a class into different types of groups – not only do students work with different members of the class, but it also saves a significant amount of time getting students into groups initially place.

16. decision wheel

Spinning wheels like Wheel Decide are another super simple way to play learning, either by choosing random names to call class members during group discussions, or to create review games in your own “Wheel of Fortune” style.