44 Popular Superintendent & Teacher Approved EdTech Resources

44 Popular Superintendent & Teacher Approved EdTech Resources

October 02, 2017

Finding a suitable edtech tool without any references is like grasping for straws.

Online reviews of edtech tools tend to focus on technical features with little mention of how teachers can apply each product to the classroom. This can make the process of deciding on an edtech solution overwhelming for new and established teachers alike. To address this challenge, local NJ superintendent Nicholas Diaz (@nicholasadiaz) presented edtech tools favored by teachers in his district, and called on educators in the audience to share their favorite edtech tools with the greater community. 

We’ve created flashcards for each edtech tool recommended by the NJ teachers and school leaders who participated. It is our hope that teachers consult them when deciding which edtech tool to try next. 

Browse the EdTech flashcards by category or continue scrolling for full list:

 

Top EdTech For Digital Learning

Newsela - Assign current events reading to students at different reading levels Track whether students completed, and understood their readings with quizzes, annotations and writing prompts

TimeToast - Individual users and groups can work together to create timelines. Students can create interactive timelines on historic events.

Google Scholar - Free search engine for scholarly literature. Peer reviewed articles, journals, books, etc.

LiveBinders - Make it easy for students to find and use resources in a visual context. Ease management of educational sites and resources from the cloud.

VoiceThread - Students practice their communications skills online, in a controlled, transparent environment. Students can critique, defend and discuss uploaded documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos

StoryboardThat - Students transform instructional content into comic storyboards. Creative presentation delivery tool

Quizlet - Students can access pre-created cards on countless study topics and create their own quizzes. Free quizzes and games to help students study.

Mercury Reader - Removes ads and distractions from online articles leaving only text and images. Provides clean and consistent reading view Free Google Chrome extension.

 

Top EdTech For Math & ELA Classrooms

Cashtivity - Fun math problems based on real world scenarios. Project based challenges that sparks learning.

Flipsnack - Online magazine publisher. Students can convert PDFs into online flipbooks.

Penzu - Free online journaling and diary tool. Students can share entries via email.

Paper Rater - AI tool that proofreads papers for students. Proofreads for spelling and grammar mistakes. Offers style suggestions Plagiarism checker.

Writeabout - Teacher-moderated writing communities and publishing platform. Boost students’ writing skills, digital literacy and digital citizenship. Provide writing prompts, deliver feedback and oversee revisions.

Literacy Shed - Home to a wealth of short films and animations. Most of the resources can be used in KS1 and KS2 Use for literacy lessons, form the basis of Literacy units, or support already in place literacy units.

 

Top EdTech For The Arts

JoyTunes - Provides real-time feedback to students learning to play the piano. Students can learn to play thousands of songs from Mozart to Taylor Swift.

Picassohead - Students can create their own masterpieces using famous features drawn by Picasso Spark students’ individual creativity while teaching them about influential artists.

 

Top EdTech For Flipped Classrooms

Screencastmatic - Free screen recorder! Upload video tutorials (to YouTube, etc).

Thinglink - Engage students with interactive images and videos Annotate images. Add text, links, audio, video.

Vistacom - Classroom response system Integrate polls, surveys, and formative assessments into class lectures, lessons or presentations. Real-time reporting of student comprehension.

ED Puzzle - Convert videos from YouTube, Khan Academy, etc. into interactive lessons and quizzes. Crop videos, add voice, create questions.

Nearpod - Create simple slide presentations Find hundreds of styles for class presentations. All students can access presentations from their devices.

Buncee - Creation and presentation tool for students and educators to develop interactive classroom content. Integrate stickers, animation and other multimedia into presentations.

 

Top EdTech For Instructional Delivery

Animoto - Create videos or slideshows that include music, images, etc. Easily make great videos to sweep your students off their feet,

Blabberize - Create pictures that can talk. Free tool for engaging students.

Cardboard - Affordable Virtual Reality hardware costing as little as $5 per viewer. Take students on Virtual Field Trips to foreign countries, universes and more.

Peergrade - Students anonymously review their peers’ assignments. Randomly assigns reviewers. Data charts display student performance.

Padlet - Online “bulletin board”. Allows students to share links, pictures, and other files to collaboration boards. Available in 29 languages,

Voxer - Teams can communicate from wherever, instantly. Turn mobile devices into walkie talkie messengers Voice, text, photo, location sharing. See who’s read or heard messages with timestamps and geotags,

CollaborizeClassroom - Free global repository of collaborative lessons. Create, share and download inquiry-based discussions on any topic. Share lessons from unique url via email, social media or website embedding.

 

Top EdTech For Parent Engagement

Class Dojo - Classroom behavioral management tool. Reward students for positive classroom behavior Allow students to express themselves with digital portfolios. Engage parents in classroom moments.

Canva - Simplified, drag and drop graphic design platform Hosts over a million photographs, graphics, fonts and templates. Great for creating newsletters, flyers, presentations, etc.

Weebly - Drag and drop platform for creating a blog or website without any technical expertise. Create a free website.

symbalooEDU - Free tool to manage and share edtech sites and resources in the cloud. Features include embedded content, group tiles and sequenced tiles.

 

Top EdTech For Formative Assessment

Formative - Create quick digital formative assessments. Get instant results and track student progress over time.

GoNoodle - Get students up and moving Hundreds of videos that activates students’ bodies and brain Use to boost productivity, improve behavior, build community. Videos can be used for activity/brain breaks.

Kami Online - PDF viewer that allows students and teachers to notetake using text, voice, and video annotation tools. Allows for real-time collaboration. Google Classroom and Google Drive integration.

Plickers - Collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for smartphone devices. Allow students to participate in class assessments without feeling self-conscious.

Socrative - Create formative assessment quizzes and other learning activities. Instantly compiles student data.

 

Top EdTech For Gamification

Class Craft - Fantasy-themed, game-based classroom-behavior-management tool. Compatible with Google Classroom. Encourages students to engage in collaborative teamwork.

Kahoot - Create multiple choice quizzes and learning games. Access on multiple devices including mobile app.

Kubbu - Create online quizzes, matching games, and crossword puzzles. Track and analyze student results.

IXL - Gamified learning resources for Math and ELA. Personalized learning tool with diagnostics, analytics, awards and more.

Dulinguo - Free foreign language learning tool. Uses gamification to deliver language exercises.

Quizizz - Create quizzes complete with Avatars, leaderboards, themes, music and memes. Receive real time feedback at class- and student-level. Find quizzes from other teachers or create your own. Assign quizzes as homework, or in class.

Add new comment

About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

Heather Ngoma

Heather Ngoma has over 25 years of experience collaborating with educators across New Jersey to drive education innovation. She currently serves as the Director of the Rutgers-GSE Alternate Route Program in the Department of Learning and Teaching, a program which helps career changers, recent college graduates, and other aspiring education professionals become licensed teachers in New Jersey. Follow her on Twitter @heatherngoma.