Google Classroom is a powerful but very easy to use learning management system (LMS) that works with many other third-party apps and services to make digital educating far more easy, affordable, and accessible for teachers, students, guardians and admins alike.

You may have already used Google's own tools such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, making Classroom easy to get to grips with. 

The necessity for remote learning has forced it to be adopted more quickly than expected –- making the simplicity of Google Classroom very appealing.

Google Classroom is, at time of publishing, the No. 1 education app in the Apple App Store and the No. 5 free app overall.

Since many already use a lot of Google's tools and are familiar with how to use Google-based systems, it's an appealing way to transition to online learning quickly, easily and for free. It's also simple enough to use without worrying about needing IT resources to keep it running.

• 6 Tips for Teaching with Google Meet 
• Remote Learning Communication: How To Best Connect with Students

Google Classroom may be a stripped back LMS when compared to TalentLMS or SAP Litmos, but then it only takes about half an hour to get the hang of if you're used to using the web and Google tools. Yet it still gives educators the freedom to post materials, set assignments, and carry out quizzes quickly and easily. 

Google might not have made a complete LMS here, but it's cleverly made it open enough to integrate with other suites so that it can deliver more. That said, it does lack some integration with information services and doesn't offer a standards-based grading option at this time.  

So is this enough to be worthy of use on a large scale? Here's everything you need to know about Google Classroom.

What is Google Classroom?

Google Classroom is free and open to use, but that's within reason. Google ensures safety and security for students by only allowing you to create a class when your school or university has first signed up for a free Google Workspace for Education account. This is when the institution can decide which services students can use. 

It also offers a chance to look at and personalize the privacy and security settings to best suit the groups being taught. This is when accounts are setup for students, since they're not allowed to use their personal accounts to access the services. Access is limited to the virtual space, keeping it secure.

Google assures users of Classroom that it keeps all data secure, there are no ads, it supports compliance with industry regulations and best practices. 

Google Classroom is primarily focused on personalizing the learning experience of students rather than managing it. To quote: "Students can learn 21st-century problem-solving and the skills they’ll use in their future careers, with accessibility features that help every student do their best work."

Google Classroom might not be a full LMS but it does meet Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) standards so it can be used with another LMS as an add-on. It will also work with other free-to-use offerings such as Schoology and Edmodo as needed.

Google Classroom: Features

• Works on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome, and other browsers
• Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets integration
• Create, manage, and grade assignments
• Not a Blackboard replacement

Google Classroom is super easy to access and works across – deep breath – iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chrome, and pretty much any other device that can get a browser window running within it. For a growing number of K-12 students already using Chromebooks, this system is perfectly suited to their hardware and what they're used to doing with it.

When a teacher logs into the platform, they can see a section for each of their classes, with courses differentiated by colors and banners. Name the class, enter a description, pick the banner image, and it's good to go.

Resources can be shared to students all at the same time and they're notified by email. So a teacher can share and annotate a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide, and keep track of when students had that distributed. You can also pull material in from Google Drive, making integration even easier. 

While a presentation can be carried out using Google Slides, the teacher is also able to create a real-world view by using Google Meet to see and hear the students for video interactions. 

Student interactions can be controlled on three levels: students can post and comment, only comment, or only teachers can post and comment. This allows teachers to make announcements clearly, but it also makes it obvious if educators want students to interact with a posting. This applies to multiple teachers as more than one can be added to a classroom, making it great for assistance. 

This platform doesn't have an automated roster system but you are able to integrate with third-parties such as rosterSync using a CSV file. Sure, it requires a manual sync, but then this is free compared to the automated offerings from a dedicated LMS.

Google announced Classroom will allow for the export of grades into a student information system (SIS), increasing the ease of use and compatibility.

Google also announced the addition of the originality report feature so teachers can run a check against other student submissions from the same school. A great way to detect plagiarism.

Google Classroom: Performance

• Consistent connection stability
• Student interaction
• Presentation with Slide and video chat with Hangouts

Google Classroom offers a home page on which activity is clearly shown in a feed with posts students have made, newly added materials, assignments, and more. 

Three tabs sectionalize the layout with Classwork, People, and Grades. 

Classwork allows teachers to upload materials, create assignments and quizzes using Google Forms, and pose questions. 

People shows all the learners and educators, including those who haven't responded to your invitation to join. 

Grades is a chart that shows assignments and students and is where the teachers enters grades -– which is shared with each student privately. More on that below.

Depending on the settings, students are able to comment on one another's posts, which can support collaboration.

Google Slides could be better integrated as it can sometimes be difficult for a student to navigate between that and a document they're working on. This is a small multi-tasking gripe but is worth giving attention to. When the teacher shows the class how this is done, it can avoid leaving the less technically minded students struggling more than those who can work out multitasking more easily.

Making announcements is a simple and minimal feature akin to social media with no rich-text formatting. However, you can attach links, YouTube clips, and documents though, so it's very useful yet succinct. These announcements can be tagged with topics for even more clarity and organization. 

When making assignments, it's easy to select a title, add instructions, add files, pick a grading category (more on that below), or assign a point value and due date. 

Questions is another feature that provides an opportunity to increase engagement. For example, assign a question to the class or individual students, with short answer or multiple choice answer options. While this pales in comparison to the likes of Blackboard, you can use Google Forms to create self-grading, multiple choice assessments.

When it comes to Announcements, Assignments, and Questions, the really useful feature is an ability to save to draft, set to publish at a certain time, or push out immediately. This flexibility gives teachers the ability to plan and prepare well ahead.

Google Classroom: Grading

• Manual grading chart
• Weighted grading system option

Google Classroom uses grading charts to store an at-a-glance marking sheet for teachers. This is also used to share grades with students directly while maintaining privacy so grades from other students aren't visible. 

Grading is entered into the chart manually. Automation here, where grades from the assignment doc populate this chart, would be a nice option. Instead, teachers can work with the chart and the assignment open at the same time -- more like the real-world with a logbook open as marking happens.

Teachers can create a rubric, with up to 50 criteria per rubric and 10 performance levels per criterion.

For the grading itself, teachers are able to create a weighted grading system. Homework could be set to account for 25 percent while exams are another 25 percent, and class participation makes up the other 50 percent, for example. 

Google does the heavy lifting here, keeping track of the category as the teacher grades individual assignments. Control options here allow how much a student can see of their grades.

Should I use Google Classroom?

If you want to utilize a ready-made learning platform that's extremely simple to navigate, works across numerous devices, and integrates with other tools, then Google Classroom could be for you. It's simply one of the easiest ways to transition online, since many teachers and students will own the hardware to get up and running and the school won't have to worry about IT support. 

For teachers, this is a minimal way to plan and carry out lesson resource sharing, assignments, and grading. Everything is clearly displayed and easily accessible across multiple devices. There's even Google Hangouts support for live video interactions with the class.

What this is not is a competitor for full LMS offerings such as Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Moodle, or Instructure Canvas. It's more like Schoology or Edmodo, which are also free to use.

At its simplest Google Classroom is the face of Google Workspace for Education, pulling it all together in one place for easier and quicker use of the various Google tools. While this is a great way to get teaching online, especially in a pinch, it's not a full classroom replacement. But if you've got no budget or infrastructure, it's hard to beat.

• What is Remote Learning?
• Strategies For Virtual Professional Development

The following is an Advertisement Feature from Scholastic.

The realities of COVID-19 mean that many districts are beginning this school year with remote instruction. Very few schools will be opening with full in-person classes, and some will attempt a hybrid instructional plan rotating small groups of students in and out.

Educators understand they need to deliver direct instruction efficiently and effectively. They are looking for digital programs that can support student learning both in the classroom and remotely. Also, teachers are expecting students to begin this year with greater skill gaps as they have been out of school for almost six months. Perhaps more than ever, they need adaptive, data-enhanced instructional tools to address the gaps, and expand their own capacity to personalize learning for each student.

It is essential that PreK–Grade 2 teachers, specifically, have the tools to support the development of research-based foundational reading skills whether they are teaching in the classroom or remotely. These skills are necessary for children to become automatic, fluent readers with strong comprehension and are the foundation for lifelong learning. 

The Science of Reading

The National Reading Panel (NRP) determined in 2000 that in order for students to become confident readers, they must master five foundational skills: phonemics, awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. All of these skills are necessary and build upon one another. The acquisition of foundational skills begins with a strong oral language base. Oral language is the basis for literacy instruction, and “competency in oral language is predictive of reading accuracy and comprehension.”

Children enter school with different levels of language and literacy skills. A child’s oral language proficiency is an indicator of their ability to begin mastering early reading skills. Each of the five following skills are necessary to learn to read:

Phonemic Awareness:  phonemes are the units of sound represented by the letters of the alphabet.  The NRP asserted that the inclusion of phonemic awareness in phonics instruction “is a key component contributing to its effectiveness in teaching children to read.”

Phonics:  phonics instruction helps readers apply their phonemic knowledge to reading and spelling by sounding out words. As they begin to read automatically, they can focus on comprehension

Fluency:  readers achieve fluency when they can recognize words immediately and comprehend their meaning. Researchers call fluency the bridge between decoding and comprehension.

Vocabulary: acquisition of vocabulary is essential to reading comprehension. There are four types of vocabulary: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students need a rich body of word knowledge as well as specialized vocabulary to learn content area material. Once a student learns to read, vocabulary is essential to reading to learn.

Comprehension:  reading comprehension is achieved when students master phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and fluency.

Prominent reading researcher Dr. Kay MacPhee found that students responded best to direct, auditory-based instruction in each of the 44 sounds of the English language. She also discovered that the order in which the sounds are presented to children directly impacts how quickly they are able to learn to read. “Students who were able to identify phonemes rapidly were able to read more fluently because of rapid processing,” she reported. Dr. MacPhee developed a method for explicitly teaching phonemic awareness that systematically introduces more complex phonological skills until student decoding becomes effortless and students can focus on comprehension.

Research-based Instruction Supported by Highly Adaptive Technology

Dr. MacPhee took her scientifically proven concepts for teaching reading and put her research into the development of an effective technology, tailored for young children, thus creating Scholastic F.I.R.S.T. (Foundations in Reading, Sounds & Text), an Adventure on Ooka Island.

This program combines an instructionally robust teaching methodology, based on the science of reading, with highly adaptive technology to offer PreK-Grade 2 students a personalized pathway toward reading proficiency. A key differentiator of this program is that, based on the research, it begins with sounds before letter recognition. Researchers discovered that when students learn to read, the auditory part of their brain works harder than the visual.

To be most effective, reading instruction must be begin with basic and familiar oral language. F.I.R.S.T. begins with phonemes—the single sounds that are the smallest unit of spoken language—and guides new readers through 24 levels of auditory and visual skills as they build their foundational skills. Because sounds are presented in a sequenced order, decoding becomes a manageable task for most young students. Each of the 44 phonemes is purposefully repeated and practiced among activities and levels, ensuring that students build automaticity with each sound. 

The reader experiences a set of 6,695 rigorously designed micro-actions that provide a highly personalized path to becoming a confident reader. F.I.R.S.T. has purposeful learning cycles composed of three distinct parts:

• Guided phonological activities
• Reading for comprehension
• Free choice

These learning cycles teach research-based concepts while adapting to the needs of individual learners. Students practice new skills through 85 leveled readers designed to bring a non-reader to the beginning of Grade 2. The titles are grouped into Emergent (35 titles), Beginning (40 titles), and Fluent (10 titles). Vocabulary is scaffolded through the books as the complexity of the narrative and sentence structure increases.

Adaptive Platform and Reporting

F.I.R.S.T. data provides seamless support for reading development in a scalable way. When a student selects an incorrect answer, there is immediate scaffolding support through visual or auditory cues, audio instruction, or extended pacing of instruction. The platforms continuous formative assessment pinpoints the exact moment a student needs personalized, scaffolded supports to help a reader succeed. 

The specificity of the 6,695 micro-actions provides precise personalized reports that enable educators to monitor individual student progress. The reports are based on learning analytics of proficiency ranges (learning, practicing, proficient), and allow educators to identify learning gaps and mastery, to differentiate instruction or provide enrichment for specific students or groups. 

The power of teaching reading based on the science of reading cannot be overemphasized. Using a proven research-based instructional methodology and the high student engagement that technology makes possible, F.I.R.S.T. focuses on direct, auditory-based instruction in each of the 44 sounds of the English language in a specific order to help new readers gain mastery of the five foundational reading skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

Researchers have determined that competency in oral language is a strong predictor of reading accuracy and comprehension, and that principle is embedded in this program. Scholastic F.I.R.S.T. fosters literacy development in a dynamic, supportive, and engaging learning environment, with adaptive data-enhanced digital tools that result in students’ reading proficiency and a lifetime of learning.

Get Your Report Here

To learn more about the research foundation of Scholastic F.I.R.S.T., request more information, or receive access to the Scholastic F.I.R.S.T. simulator to experience the program for yourself, please complete this brief form.

About Scholastic

About Scholastic

For 100 years, Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) has been encouraging the personal and intellectual growth of all children, beginning with literacy. Having earned a reputation as a trusted partner to educators and families, Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services, and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and entertaining children's media. The Company creates and distributes bestselling books and e-books, print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, and other products and services that support children's learning and literacy, both in school and at home. With 15 international operations and exports to 165 countries, Scholastic makes quality, affordable books available to all children around the world through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, school and public libraries, retail, and online. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.

The Epson DC-21 document camera is a powerful way to present to a class of students anything that'll fit under its lens. Teachers can use objects, text, images, or even a whiteboard to share on a screen with the class.

While the Epson DC-21 is good for connecting to a projector in the classroom, it'll also work via a computer so that it can be used remotely as a teaching tool -- making it ideal for Google Classroom and Google Meet integration. Pop this over a small whiteboard and it'll be as if you're in the classroom.

• Google Classroom review
• Google Slides review

The Epson DC-21 comes with optical and digital zoom so it can be used for close-up inspections, making it ideal for science teachers. A microscope attachment is included for those teachers who want to conduct an experiment live with the class.

The ability to capture images and live video with audio makes this a very versatile tool, which helps justify the price tag ($579).

Epson DC-21: Design and Build

As you can see from the above image, the Epson DC-21 is a fold-down camera that makes it easy to transport. It even comes with a fabric carrying case to make moving around simple, and offers space for the AC adapter, cables, remote control, and included microscope adapter. 

Once opened, the camera uses an arm with three points of movement as well as a twistable lens, making it super flexible so it can be angled exactly as needed.

Plenty of ports on the base unit allow for compatibility with lots of other devices. Use HDMI to connect directly to a monitor or projector, or use USB to connect to a computer for streaming (more on that below).

An SD card slot allows for the capture of images and videos directly to the removable solid state memory. This supports JPEG and AVI formats only, at the time of review.

The camera uses its own LED illumination, which should allow it to be used in mixed lighting situations with the same result. 

Epson DC-21: Features

The Epson DC-21 is able to capture images and videos of up to an area covering 20.7 x 11.7 inches. That space can be zoomed into using the 12x optical lens with no quality lost, and then a further 10x digital zoom that will eat into the pixels of the image.

Since this camera uses Epson optics, something the company is famous for, you can expect high-quality images. Yes it's 1080p for picture and video, but there's more to quality that resolution – more on that in the performance section below.

As you can see in the above example image, it's possible to use real-world objects in presentations using the 30fps 1080p video. In this case, the image was a little blurred initially, which is where the dedicated Focus button comes into use, helping you get the best quality picture quickly and easily.

The unit also features Freeze and Capture buttons. These are great options if you're sharing a video of a live experiment, for example, in which a reaction is taking place and you want to draw attention to a certain moment. Since video is recording, this can later be played back but the dedicated Freeze button allows you to 'stop time' as needed.

Spotlight Control is another useful feature. This allows you to focus on one area of the image, blacking out everything around that point. Great for highlighting an area you're talking about, as you can see in the below image example.

Epson DC-21: Performance

Camera quality is excellent thanks to a 1/2.7" CMOS 2M sensor. This uses Epson smarts to create a high-contrast image, which makes for crisp letters on text and punchy images. Both are free of noise, grain, and distortion for maximum quality.

The ease of setup and use make the Epson DC-21 a document camera option for even the more novice tech user. Connecting to a videoconferencing service, such as Zoom, is also straightforward thanks to the DC-21 Interactive Tools app. From there you can simply select the document camera as source, from the video icon at the bottom, and it'll switch to the document camera.

This is a great way to share images and videos with students. You can show a live experiment, zooming in easily or moving the camera and re-focusing as you go. Also it's possible to attach that magnification lens, which allows you to hold the camera very close – ideal for looking at the structure of objects, for example.

You can edit digitally, and annotate the displayed image using your mouse. We found the small whiteboard under the camera is a great way to recreate the classroom style of lessons. It allows for live video displays of activities, such as writing cursive or working through math problems.

We would have liked a built-in preview screen, as some document cameras offer. This allows you to see what you're capturing without looking on a connected screen – ideal if you want to line up a shot before sharing it. Not essential, but just a nice feature we'd like to have seen at this price point.

Should I Buy the Epson DC-21?

The Epson DC-21 is an excellent document camera for teachers as it offers high-quality images and video that can be fed into a projector in-class, or remotely over a video-conferencing feed. It can be integrated as a way to bring real-world documents and objects into Google Classroom and other teaching platforms. The microscope adapter is particularly useful for science teachers.

The price is reasonable for all that this offers and it'll even double as a document scanner if you need (educators can purchase the document camera for $499 through Epson's Brighter Futures program). A great investment for teachers that want to bring more into their digital teaching experience. 

• Google Classroom review
• Google Slides review

Google Slides is a free and easy-to-use platform for teachers and students that integrates perfectly with Google Classroom, and can be shared anywhere and with anyone. Since it is all online-based, most devices can display Google Slides, even smartphones – making it ideal as a way for teachers to share resources with students.

Another big appeal for Google Slides, aside from being free and readily accessible, is that the layout follows the usual Google format. It's intuitive and especially familiar to anyone with a Gmail account or those who use Google Docs. Create slideshows from scratch or use a whole host of helpful templates to get you started right away with ease. 

• Google Slides review
• Google Classroom review
• 6 Tips for Teaching with Google Meet 
• Remote Learning Communication: How To Best Connect with Students

Collaboration is another big sell here since Google Slides allows multiple teachers to edit the same slideshow. A great way to build something together or share  resources. 

Downsides exist, such as a lack of desktop app. But for a free tool, with more free templates appearing online daily, this is a really superb alternative to the likes of Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote.

So if Google Slides the ideal slideshow tool for you? Read on the find out everything you need to know.

Google Slides: Features

• Lots of templates
• Simple collaboration
• Rich media options

Google Slides at its most basic is a slideshow creation platform. But its potential is what really excites as that is only limited by your imagination within the framework it offers. So while you can start a presentation or slide deck resource from a template, it's possible to edit and personalize these very easily thanks to the intuitive controls.

Of course, this free tool doesn't offer as many transitions or fancy effects as some of the competition, but lots of new resources appear online all the time. For example, templates created by teachers are shared with other educators. This takes us to collaboration.

Google Slides led the way in easy collaboration and the competition is still playing catch-up. Teachers are easily able to share slide decks with students using the link, or directly within Google Classroom. Teachers can also share their slides decks for others to edit, or to make a copy and create their own version. This is a great way to dramatically speed up work creation while also helping grow creative resources. 

Of course collaboration doesn't mean all your work is open to editing. You can control the level of sharing with options such as "View only", "Comment only," and "Edit." This makes it great for sharing with teachers, limiting what you want to let them edit, and also with students, perhaps, on what you want to let them make comments.

Google Slides is media rich, so you can add photos, audio, and video very easily. This can be taken from files on your machine, be that a computer, tablet, or phone, and also from Google Drive. Beyond that, you have YouTube videos at your disposal for easy insertion as well.

Google Slides: Performance

• Super intuitive to use
• Useful wider Google tool integration
• Live collaboration is fast

Google Slides' intuitive interface is one of the greatest draws as it allows you to make a slideshow quickly but also can dive deeper into personalization and original content creation without needing to invest a lot of time.

Select the big plus icon to create a blank slideshow or select from one of the templates to fill in the pre-made presentation using your own content. Options allow you to add images, audio, and video, and you can also change colors, fonts, and sizing, plus add shapes and boxes. From pie charts to graphs, you can add plenty of data and even import charts that you or a co-teacher may have already created in Google Sheets.

The ease of use extends beyond the tool's creation and sharing abilities though. This is super compatible too, so it can be used to open other file types. Google does the conversion work so you can open the likes of PowerPoint and Keynote presentations right there in your free Slides software. 

Slides also allows you to export different types of files, which is great if you want to make a PDF for super quick and easy sharing.

Collaboration is not only easy to do, with a simple link share, but also works in real time as you can see anyone else in the file editing or reading. So you can see what students are using it, for example, and what they're doing. Or, even more usefully, you can work with teachers, live, constructing a presentation document together without actually being in the same room.

Google Drive and Google Classroom integration are huge factors since, if you use both, Slides becomes the easiest way to offer slide decks to students or co-teachers. It also makes for easy integration of files such as images, audio, and video right there from a shared Google Drive. This is great for educators who want to share resources across devices so new tools can be created.

Should I Use Google Slides?

If you want to create a slideshow or presentation, then Google Slides is a near perfect option. It's free, easy to use, works across devices, lets you import lots of rich media, and is allows simple sharing and collaboration. All that and -- yes we already said it but we're saying it again -- is free. That makes it ideal for use in schools with fewer resources or lack of infrastructure.

If you use Google Classroom or Gmail this is a perfect tool that'll fit into your ecosystem of resources naturally. And since it works on nearly all devices, it makes the resources you create available to nearly all students, no matter where they are.

• What is Remote Learning?
• Strategies For Virtual Professional Development

YouGlish is one of the best ways to learn word pronunciation, for many languages, by hearing it spoken clearly in videos on YouTube. This is a free to use tool that can be accessed by anyone from a web browser. It also works for sign language. 

Thanks to a clear layout, the platform is very easy to use and is a great way to help people who are learning a new language as well as teachers in the classroom.

• Best Zoom Shortcuts for Teachers
• Ideas and Tools for EdTech Innovators

YouGlish works by allowing you to type a word or phrase you want to hear spoken in the native tongue and then trawls YouTube to find that word being spoken in a selection of videos. You will be met with the exact section in which the word or phrase is spoken so you can hear it – along with a transcript and even with phonetics help.

The service offers a lot more, though, such as slow-motion replays and language, dialect, and accent selection. We've given it the full testing treatment so you can decide if this is for you.

YouGlish: Design and Layout

The first thing you'll notice when you land on the YouGlish page is how clean and minimal it is. You're met with a search bar for entering the words or phrases you want to pronounce, along with drop-down options for language, accent, or dialect of choice. A big "Say it!" button gets things working. It's that simple.

There are adverts to the right, but since YouGlish is free and that's common practice on most sites, it's not something that stands out. Also, crucially, the ads are unobtrusive so they don't affect use at all.

Along the bottom of the page are language options for pronunciation as well as website language options for navigation. Alternatively, you can use that drop-down above the search bar to select which language you want to hear. When you do this, the selection of accents, or dialects, will also change.

YouGlish: Features

The most obvious and powerful feature is that pronunciation video search tool. We're going to focus on English for reference purposes from here on through the review. 

Once you have typed in a phrase or word, such as "Power," and chosen the accent of choice, you're presented with a video that will start at the point where the phrase or word is spoken. This is so quick and easy to use it's amazing that it remains a free service.

You also have a transcript below the video, or can have it on screen as subtitles. Scroll down a little further and you have the phonetic guide that helps with pronunciation and offers alternative words, which, when pronounced, aid in better grasping how the pronunciation works.

The window around the video offers more features such as controls of playback speeds for slower or faster play. You can blackout the rest of the page for more focused clarity with an icon selection. Or you can choose to have a thumbnail view bring up all the other videos in the list so you can pick something that you may deem more appropriate and useful.

There are skip video forward and back buttons, including a particularly useful skip back five seconds, which allows you to easily repeat the word or phrase.

Along the top is a "Last query" option that lets you go back to the most recent word or phrase for which you searched. "Daily Lessons" can be emailed to you with short videos. You can also "Sign Up" or "Login" for a more personalized experience or "Submit" if you have a specific word, phrase, or topic you want YouGlish to cover. Finally, there is a "Widget" option for developers to embed YouGlish into websites.

YouGlish works with the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Itialian, Japanese, Korean, Portugese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Sign Language. 

YouGlish: Performance

Considering YouTube has more than 720,000 videos uploaded to it daily, it's very impressive that YouGlish is able to trawl through and find a selection of relevant videos for the word searched for – and near instantaneously, too. 

The ability to refine by accent is impressive and actually works well. While you can include all accent options, by narrowing it down you are able to better serve your needs.

The skip back five seconds button is one of the most useful features. This lets you repeat the word over and over again until you have it grasped. You don't then need to play around with the tracker to find the point on the timeline over and over.

That thumbnail video viewer is very helpful. Since the video content is random, this allows you to pick something that looks right for you. For example, a teacher might want to pick an image with someone who looks professional to avoid potentially explicit content that's not suited to the classroom environment.

The ability to playback in slow motion is great, with multiple speeds, too. You can also playback faster but how that's useful when you're trying to learn a new language is less clear. 

Pronunciation tips, lower down on the page, are genuinely useful, with lots of information to provide a broader understanding of the word. This applies to the phonetics, which help you to remember how the word is best sounded out.

Should I Use YouGlish?

If you want to learn how a word is pronounced, then YouGlish is ideal for you. It's easy to use, free, works for multiple languages and accents, and is backed by written pronunciation help. 

It's hard to fault a free service and, as such, the only gripe we can find is the advertisements could be considered annoying – not that we found this to be the case. But when it's free you can't really complain. 

YouGlish is a great tool for those learning a language as well as teachers helping students learn pronunciation. 

• Best Zoom shortcuts for teachers
• Ideas and tools for EdTech innovators

Discovery Education Experience can enhance online classroom activities with extras that not only enrich the learning experience but can add shades of gray to an otherwise black-and-white picture. Discovery Education allows for teaching of everything from math and science to social studies and health, with the use of videos, audio clips, podcasts, images, and premade lessons – adding more punch to the core curriculum.

The idea behind Discovery Education Experience is that an online curriculum is never enough, particularly for curious and motivated students and teachers. This pool of resources can create an effective learning system that makes teaching and learning from home more like an actual classroom.

• 6 Tips for Teaching with Google Meet 
• Remote Learning Communication: How To Best Connect with Students

Discovery Education Experience: Getting Started

• Works with Google Classroom lists
• Single sign-on
• Works with PC, Mac, iOS, Android and Chromebook

Getting started is easy, with the ability to begin using Google Classroom student lists and exporting all results to the school’s gradebook software. The platform also offers single sign-on options for Canvas, Microsoft, and others.

Because Discovery Education Experience (DE.X) is web-based, it will operate on just about any internet-connected computer. In addition to PCs and Macs, kids (and teachers) stuck at home can work with Android phones and tablets, Chromebooks, or an iPhone or iPad. The response is generally good, with individual pages or resources only taking a second or two to load.

DE.X, however, lacks a video chat window for the teacher to answer individual questions or emphasize details. Educators will need to set up a separate video conference to stay connected with students.

Discovery Education Experience: Content

• Daily news
• Searchable
• Coding curriculum included

In addition to the service’s latest popular content and activities (called Trending), the interface has the ability to search by subject and state standard as well as update a class list or create a quiz. The organizational scheme is hierarchical, but at anytime you can return to the main page by clicking on the DE logo in the upper left.

While the service uses Discovery Network video and TV shows, such as “Mythbusters,” that’s just the start. DE has daily Reuters video news updates as well as PBS’ “Luna” and a slew of material from CheddarK-12.

DE.X's content library is deep with plenty of essays, videos, audio books, student activities, and worksheets in a variety of subjects. It is organized in eight core areas: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Health, Career Skills, Visual and Performing Arts, and World’s Languages. Each field opens a cornucopia of material that can augment instruction. For instance, the Coding resource section has more than 100 lessons and includes a code validation console to check on student projects.

On the downside, DE.X doesn’t include access to any of the company’s textbooks or ebooks. Those are available at an extra cost.

Happily, all of the service’s material is grade-grouped with K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 selections. The division can be a little crude at times, and the same material often appears in more than one age category. The result is that it sometimes is too basic for older children.

The resources are incredibly rich with no fewer than 100 items to help kids grasp the meaning of, use, and solve quadratic equations. This matches a school’s most experienced, devoted, and creative teachers. I used it to create a lesson page with several different approaches to this topic. That said, the site ironically lacks anything specific about science’s inverse square law.

Discovery Education Experience: Using DE Studio

• Create custom pages for class lessons
• Add quiz or discussion at the end
• Interactive chat window

On top of nosing around to find help, kids can be pointed to specific resources. DE.X’s Studio allows a teacher to creatively group together items from different categories to create a personalized lesson.

The real power of DE.X’s software is that a teacher can allow students to create their own studio boards as collaborative class projects. They can have due dates, include discussions, and start with something the teacher has made or from square one.

The excuse "I lost my project" doesn’t work with DE.X. Everything is archived and nothing – not even a project in progress – is lost. The Studio software is still under development so the hope is that extra features are added along the way.

DE.X’s interactive chat window can help facilitate teacher-student communication that would previously have been started with a raised hand. On the downside, the interface lacks the ability to incorporate live video.

Discovery Education Experience: Teaching Strategies

• Professional Learning Service to help
• Live events
• Create assessments

The DE.X service is teacher-centric with a slew of instructional strategies, professional learning, lesson starters, and access to DE’s Educator Network, a group of 4.5-million teachers, many of whom share instructional advice.

In addition to replaying items, DE.X offers periodic live events. For instance, Earth Day events include virtual field trips, segments on recycling, and green schools. The material is archived for replay at any time so every day can be Earth Day.

After the teaching is done, students can be assessed through a custom test. To start, go to DE.X’s Assessment Builder in the middle of the main page.

Of special interest is DE.X’s COVID-19 coverage, which can go a long way in explaining to children why they can’t go to school and also provide the resources needed for a report on the pandemic. 

In addition to premade studio segments on viruses and past outbreaks, the service offers resources on how viruses spread, vocabulary, and electron microscope images showing the coronavirus’ distinctive crown-like appearance. It also even offers a video on washing hands and advice on separating facts from propaganda and outright online lies.

Discovery Education Experience: Costs

• $4,000 per school
• Lower pricing per pupil for districts
• Free during COVID lockdown

For Discovery Education Experience, a school’s site license costs $4,000 per year for building-wide access for all students and teachers' use of resources. Of course, a district license would reduce the cost per student significantly. 

During the pandemic, DE offered the full package for free to closed schools to augment online curriculum.

Should I Get Discovery Education Experience?

Discovery Education Experience may not be comprehensive enough to build an online teaching effort around, but it can enrich and supplement a curriculum plus fill in the gaps that have resulted from school closures.

DE.X has proved to be a valuable resource that will no doubt will continue to be used as schools transition to more online based learning.

• What is Remote Learning?
• Strategies For Virtual Professional Development

If setting up a virtual classroom from scratch at home seems daunting, try using an all-in-one PC, such as the Dell Inspiron 27-7790 desktop computer. Technophobes take note: Set up is as easy as opening the box, putting it on a desk, and plugging it in -- yet its hardware graphics give enough kick to master Zoom video lessons and more.

The system provides more than enough power to do everything from preparing lessons and grading tests to teaching over video. It offers the best of all-in-one systems with a secure pop-up webcam, integrated hardware graphics accelerator, and the ability to serve as a standalone monitor.

• How to win K-12 technology grants
• Remote learning communications: How best to connect with students

While the touchscreen version will cost you more, and there are higher powered machines out there, this sits at a reasonable price point while still looking modern. Features such as HDMI input and dual storage drives are also really appealing.

So is the Dell Inspiron 27-7790 your next best teaching assistant? Read on to find out everything you need to know. 

Dell Inspiron 27-7790: Design, build and setup

• Very simple setup
• Spacious screen
• Touchscreen is extra

It literally took five minutes to go from a sealed box to the working system and the best part is that the system’s only cable is a power cord.

With a 27-inch display, the Inspiron 27-7790 will feel luxurious compared to a cramped notebook or tablet screen. It offers Full HD 1920x1080 resolution, and Dell’s CinemaColor software allows adjustments for movies, night use, and other situations. The Movie setting, which gives everything a warm look, works well for video teaching.

On the downside, the display of the $1,000 system is not touch-sensitive; the touch-screen version is $100 extra. We wouldn't bother paying the extra for the touch screen unless you have a good reason for it. With a screen this big you'll likely sit far enough away that touching the display with any regularity will be a stretch, and you'll also avoid smudges. 

Happily, it comes with a wired mouse and keyboard that matches the look of the system and slides under the screen if desktop space is tight; some models include a wireless keyboard and mouse.

The display can tilt as much as 25 degrees away, which can cut screen glare and reflection from overhead lighting, and is ideal for aiming the webcam for a face-to-face video lesson. By contrast, the Acer Chromebase 24 all-in-one system has a way to independently adjust the camera’s angle, which is a neater solution.

You don’t need to cover the webcam with a sticky note so that it doesn’t accidentally broadcast you eating your lunch to the class because the camera stays retracted until you’re ready to teach. Once you activate it, the camera module physically pops up and is ready for a video lesson, a conference with a parent, or to record.

Below the screen is a speaker bar that can handle movie soundtracks and music but works best with the spoken word, ideal for presentations or YouTube instructional videos. The system has a single microphone on top that sounds hollow, so you might be best served by using a separate microphone or headset.

On top of tapping into 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5, the Inspiron 7790 has a good assortment of ports, from four USB 3.1 and a USB-C connection to a wired network plug, a headphone jack, and an SD card reader. All are in the back, which can make it awkward to quickly plug in a headset for a video lesson. That said, the inbuilt Bluetooth means you can use a wireless headset easily. 

Dell Inspiron 27-7790: Features

• Intel processor
• Nvidia graphics
• SSD and HDD

With a very thin frame, the Inspiron 7790 is no bigger than the typical 27-inch monitor and takes up 7x24 inches of desktop space. Yet, it has a full PC hidden inside that uses a 10th generation quad-core Intel Corei3,  i5, or i7 processor. Rather than using a desktop processor, the Inspiron uses laptop versions. This means it can have a svelte design and not draw too much power. The downside is it's not quite as powerful as a traditional desktop PC.

The i5 system we tested included 8 GB of RAM, which can be outfitted with up to 32 GB. We'd recommend opting for a little more; for example, 16 GB would allow it to multitask more effectively and future-proof it more. 

It offers the one-two storage punch of 256 GB solid-state and a 1 TB hard drive. This gives the best of both worlds: the speed of an SSD for quick boot times and big storage reservoir of a traditional spinning hard drive for storing videos, images and audio.

The device has a secret that turns the Inspiron 7790 into a solid machine for graphics-intensive tasks like basic gaming, and video teaching. In addition to the stock Intel UHD 620 graphics engine, the system offers a high-performance Nvidia GeForce MX110 graphics chip and 2 GB of high-speed video RAM inside. 

The system didn’t lag when editing video lessons and it worked much better than a Surface Pro 4 for leading Zoom and Meet video lessons. It went through 45 minutes without a glitch, any dropouts, freeze-ups or audio sync problems.

The screen has one more remote classroom trick: With two HDMI ports, one can be used for sharing its screen with a projector or large display, while the other allows it to be used as an external monitor via its HDMI-in port.

Dell Inspiron 27-7790: Performance

• Better Zoom video lessons
• Fast processing
• Low power consuming

Version tested: 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U processor (6MB Cache, up to 4.2 GHz) | 8 GB RAM | NVIDIA® GeForce® MX110 with 2 GB GDDR5| 256GB SSD | 1 TB HDD 

All the great specs and features contributed to surprisingly strong system performance. The Inspiron 7790 scored 1,085 and 2,620 on Geekbench 5’s single and multi-core processor tests, and a 4,653 on its Compute series of tests that mimic how computers are used. 

This is spot-on in the single-processor tests with an HP Pavilion 590 desktop with a slightly older six-core CPU. With two fewer cores and a processor designed for laptops, however, the Inspiron 7790 was second-best compared to the Pavilion 590 by a wide margin: 5,068 to 2,620. 

On the other hand, the Inspiron 7790 was able to hang in with the Pavilion 590 in Geekbench’s real-world Compute testing with a 5,232 versus the Inspiron 7790’s 4,653.

When it’s running, the Inspiron 7790 uses 48.6 watts of power and 3.7 watts at idle. This makes it inexpensive to use at school or at home for remote education.

An annual power bill of about $12.50 can be expected if it’s used for eight hours per day every school day at the national average cost of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Should I Buy Dell Inspiron 27-7790?

All told, the Inspiron 7790 shows that an all-in-one system can be a power-consumption miser without sacrificing the ability to lead an interruption-free online video class. Its performance was more than enough for all teaching tasks and the system doesn’t require anything more than being plugged in to become the center of a classroom or home teaching effort.

• How to win K-12 technology grants
• Remote learning communications: How best to connect with students

From Jessica Richards at TopTenReviews: The world of Mickey Mouse and his friends cleverly disguises some serious, structured instruction in this kids typing software. As Mary Poppins might say, this keyboard application for kids exemplifies how "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."

Why this matters: Keyboarding skills are a serious business for today's digital learners, with the vast majority of kids having computers either at home or at school, or both. Teaching kids how to type early gives them a head start on digital learning and gives them confidence when using their devices and computers for schoolwork. To learn about Mickey's Typing Adventure's lessons, gameplay, skill building exercises and more, read the full review at toptenreviews.com

AutoCAD is perhaps the most well-known CAD software out there. It can be found in high schools and colleges, and it’s usually one of the first programs people learn when getting into CAD. This is partially due to the program’s intuitive interface and its free student edition. It also happens to be one of the few CAD programs that works on Mac.

This software is meant to create 2D designs for architecture, electrical systems, mechanical parts and more. AutoCAD might not be a good fit for more complex projects, but it has a wide range of tools and can be a great introduction to CAD programs. And if you want to focus more on a specific discipline, AutoDesk offers additional complimentary programs that focus more on engineering, architecture and construction.

When you first open AutoCAD, a page will pop up to walk you through the interface and teach you how to use the various layers and command functions. You will have access to a beginner handbook, intermediate guide and advanced skills document to help you learn and improve from your skill level. Very few CAD programs offer such helpful and beginner-friendly guides in their software.

AutoCAD also includes a library of materials, to give your work a more completed look. These materials include brick, wood and various colors. Additionally, this software lets you adjust the lighting of your projects and apply photorealistic rendering to better illustrate your designs.

AutoCAD can be viewed and edited on computers, tablets and smartphones, which makes it easier to share your work with your customers, coworkers and bosses.

Like other CAD programs, this one works in layers, allowing you to keep track of your various elements and change them when needed without disturbing the entire design. You can easily add and edit text both in 2D and 3D format.

Using this software, you will be able to create 2D images like maps, exploded-views with annotations, and blueprints. You will also be able to use the 3D modeling tools to create building models, mechanical components and more. You can even convert 2D images to 3D, and vice versa, to help you save time on your projects.

Note that while this software can help you create some basic 3D models, its power really lies in 2D image creation, which makes it ideal for blueprints and architectural designs. It isn’t the best fit for large, complex designs. If you’re wanting more powerful 3D CAD software, you might be interested in SolidWorks.

AutoCAD’s user interface features large icons and a simple layout, so you can find the tools you need quickly. The command line can be toggled on and off to give you more space when not in use, and it responds to a variety of commands so you can work more efficiently. You can also set up macros in this program to speed up frequently used tools and processes.

This software is compatible with a wide range of files including DWG, DXF, DWF, DGN, SKP, STEP and STL, among others. This means you can edit and adjust designs initially created in other programs and that you can 3D print your designs.

AutoDesk’s website splits AutoCAD’s support into eight different areas, so you can get help for your specific field of work. There is also an active online forum where you can ask questions and get help from other users, and there are plenty of troubleshooting and learning tutorials to help you work through difficult projects.

If you don’t find the help you need on the knowledgebase, you can contact the company by email or phone. Technical support is included with your software at no additional fee, so you can always get the help you need. While looking around, we also found plenty of user-created YouTube tutorials so you’ll be able to find additional help outside of the company, if necessary. 

Unfortunately, you must choose a subscription when purchasing AutoCAD, as there are no one-time purchase options. There are three different subscription options to choose from: one year of service for $1,575, three years of service for $4,725 or monthly payments of $195. These are the prices we found at the time of publication. It's definitely not the most economical software on the market, but it is decently priced considering all of its tools and features.

AutoCAD is one of five CAD programs in our comparison that offers free software for students, educators and schools. AutoDesk specifically states that the student edition must be used for educational purposes only. You will need to provide proof to AutoDesk that you are a student, educator or school to get access to this version.

cross posted at toptenreviews.com