PBS NewsHour Extra

Trusted news brand's current events site could pique teens' interest

Pros: Timely lessons, videos, and discussion questions.

Cons: PBS videos are trustworthy and well-reported, but not quite what students are used to.

Bottom Line: This isn't going to necessarily excite students, but the high-quality content is credible and timely and should support interesting discussions.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Cast Your Vote

Lively civics sim introduces the hows and whys of voting decisions

Pros: Feels very modern, and gets students to reflect on their positions on important issues.

Cons: Students can't access previous notes during Town Hall meetings, and scorecard at the end is a bit reductive.

Bottom Line: This game valuably shows students the importance of researching candidates and how to do it, and along the way gets students to define their political points-of-view.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

News-O-Matic EDU

Daily news stories and supplements keep elementary schoolers current

Pros: Updated five days a week for all 52 weeks of the year.

Cons: Pages and features might display incorrectly (based on device), plus feature availability varies by platform.

Bottom Line: This highly-useful current events platform can be a daily fixture of elementary classrooms.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

With 22 preset 7-minute workouts to choose from, the J&J Workout app proves that gym class doesn’t have to last 45 minutes. The app is good for four-year old students through high-school seniors and has categories from Beginners to Advanced athletes. The app covers 72 exercises and shows how to properly do the exercise as it tells you what to do. Feel free to create your own smart exercise routines along with your choice of workout music. The app has gauges to track progress and its free, courtesy of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. It’s available for iPhones, iPads, iPhones as well as Android systems. 

Ken Burns in the Classroom

Critically acclaimed documentaries re-packaged meaningfully for classrooms

Pros: Clips from Ken Burns' masterful documentaries combined with ready-to-use teaching materials.

Cons: Some of the pre-made lesson materials lack rigor.

Bottom Line: Top-notch documentary clips offer opportunities to expand students' perspectives, but some lesson materials might be underwhelming.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Capture, record, edit, and share screen content with versatile tool

Pros: Multiple options for recording and capturing all or parts of your screen open up different avenues for creative use and sharing.

Cons: Not all features are intuitive, and upgrade messages pop up often for videos.

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use options for uploading and sharing content make this a useful addition to any teacher's toolbox.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Spot fake news, sharpen media literacy skills with speedy quizzes

Pros: Simple questions (is this an ad or not? is this news or opinion?) help kids think critically about what they see online.

Cons: There's limited content and only some of it gets updated, so students may be reluctant to replay.

Bottom Line: A solid starting point to support critical thinking habits and media literacy skills.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Wick Editor

Design interactive games and animations with creative online platform

Pros: The open-source online editor will help kids wade into the world of animation, game creation, and coding without an expensive software investment.

Cons: Being presented with a blank canvas may intimidate students; some would benefit from pre-created, editable templates as a starting point.

Bottom Line: A great starting place for aspiring creators to design and share engaging content.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Highly relevant site teaches how to construct arguments, defend claims

Pros: Marvelous, free critical-thinking activities; simple setup for teachers; interesting interactive models; covers relevant, current scientific questions.

Cons: Might be challenging to use the curriculum offline.

Bottom Line: Provides a crucial and timely earth science backdrop to lessons on analysis, data, and modeling that are important for all students to grasp.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

CyberChase Shape Quest!

AR adds unique twist to geometry, spatial reasoning games

Pros: Leveling and strategic clues help the games appeal to students with a wider skill set.

Cons: Maneuvering the device over the game board can be difficult and awkward.

Bottom Line: Once kids get a hang of things, this app's puzzles will get them thinking creatively about shapes and spatial reasoning.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Doceri Interactive Whiteboard

Interactive whiteboard app for designing and recording presentations

Pros: iPad mobility means no more being tied to a computer or whiteboard; the record-as-you-go feature helps students track and narrate their thinking.

Cons: Lacks some editing tools, such as a pointer and text tool, which makes it difficult to isolate items or add much detail; no recent updates.

Bottom Line: Teachers and students can spice up presentations and demonstrate processes and problem-solving skills with this well-designed tool.

Read more.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Instant answers plus explanations outweigh cheating concerns

Pros: Links to explanations and resources can really aid student understanding and provide valuable learning opportunities when teachers aren't accessible.

Cons: There's no guarantee kids are going to use this app to learn; some will just want quick answers.

Bottom Line: Used wisely, this reference tool has the capacity to amplify learning and aid students on their own time and terms.

[The Thinking and Creativity That Goes Into Game Design]

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Quizlet

Flexible study aid supports learning at home, at school, and on the go

Pros: From personal study sessions to game show-style competition, Quizlet adapts to your situation.

Cons: May require extra teacher supervision/moderation; user-generated content isn't always reliable or appropriate.

Bottom Line: A quality study tool for learning and memorizing facts; extensions to support higher-level thinking would be a nice addition.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Flexible, feature-filled LMS facilitates focus on whole child

Pros: By using its Groups feature and integrating with Google Classroom, it's easy for teachers to see student progress and keep families informed.

Cons: The number of features and lack of design polish means teachers will have to tinker a lot ot get up and running.

Bottom Line: Being able to access lots of customizable data, group students beyond classes, and communicate easily with families gives teachers a clear picture of each student that they can share.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

QuaverSEL

Shake up SEL lessons with music and movement

Pros: With a well-designed curriculum, this site uses a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to teaching SEL skills to young students.

Cons: The program doesn’t collect individual student responses; assessment is limited to teacher observation.

Bottom Line: Fun for students, easy for teachers, QuaverSEL uses the power of music to boost social and emotional learning.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Stunning photos and in-depth stories of Earth's peoples and wildlife

Pros: Tapping into an expertise in photography, international coverage, and wildlife reportage, the site provides an amazing array of learning resources.

Cons: Teaching resources are limited; some of the wildlife videos and photos show predators in scenes that could scare very young kids.

Bottom Line: This large collection of multimedia resources teaches younger students about animals, habitats, countries, and cultures.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Storillo

Cooperative tool provides accountability to group writing projects

Pros: Enables unpredictable and imaginative group writing projects.

Cons: Dependent on pre-work and may present challenges for heterogeneous skill levels.

Bottom Line: Storillo is engaging and provides useful structure for students, but teachers may prefer something more broadly applicable like Google Docs.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Grammaropolis

Animated parts-of-speech app enlivens grammar lessons

Pros: There's a good deal of quality and depth in the information on each part of speech and concept.

Cons: Isolated grammar instruction doesn't always transfer into writing.

Bottom Line: It's a cute concept that makes sense out of sometimes hard-to-understand grammar concepts.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Mars Student Imaging Project

Take science research out of this world with NASA's Mars project

Pros: This complete package of curriculum, resources, and professionals to support your class’s science and space learning goals.

Cons: Teachers new to the program should brace themselves for a serious learning curve: Implementation can be weeks-long.

Bottom Line: One of the best authentic inquiry space experiences out there: Use this tool to grow the next generation of researchers in your classroom.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

The Pack - NYSCI

Pros: Calm, beautiful graphics; basic coding techniques are difficult enough to keep students challenged.

Cons: Movement controls are hard to use, and the game is lacking in much help or instruction.

Bottom Line: This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

AlgoBot

Simple coding game a fun intro to algorithms

Pros: Game teaches several basic programming concepts very well; moving Algo Bot around gives instant feedback.

Cons: Difficult to refer to scoring on past levels; supervising robot is mean to Algo Bot.

Bottom Line: This coding game is a fun and helpful introduction to basic algorithm development, but other resources will be needed for more depth.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Genially

Create professional-looking media with an abundant library of templates

Pros: The site supports nearly any type of media creation, and templates are varied and dynamic.

Cons: There’s a lot going on, and it could be more intuitive. It might challenge school internet speeds.

Bottom Line: It’s a treasure-trove of well-designed templates and features that encourage creativity and collaboration, but expect some growing pains.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Appealing puzzle game reinforces essential coding concepts

Pros: Good progression of challenges, easy to use for short chunks of time, and supports understanding of basic coding syntax.

Cons: Not explicit in how gameplay connects to coding concepts, and in-game help is pretty limited.

Bottom Line: This well-designed game introduces basic coding syntax and is best used for practice.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

TalkingPoints

Multilingual texting tool enhances school-to-home communication

Pros: Automatic translation and excellent user support allow teachers to communicate with families easily.

Cons: Some delays in message delivery; grammatical and spelling errors might affect translation.

Bottom Line: Easy-to-use tool for supporting communication and engagement with families in 100+ languages.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Code for Life

Pros: Great teacher resources; goes from the basics all the way to game creation with Python.

Cons: Puzzle format for early learning is repetitive for some students.

Bottom Line: This learn-to-code program has the breadth and depth required to meet the needs of almost any teacher.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Root Coding

First-rate versatile robot for all ages

Pros: Dive right into the fun with accessible intro tutorials, no experience needed.

Cons: Most free content focuses on Level 1 activities for younger students; more advanced instruction requires a paid subscription.

Bottom Line: By encouraging artistic design and creative problem-solving, Root Coding fits right into your STEAM curriculum.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

YR Media

Dynamic site harnesses creative young talent to speak truth to power

Pros: Great, modern content that tackles relevant topics in an authentic voice.

Cons: Some topics tend more toward people in their twenties than teens, and the radio stream can contain explicit language.

Bottom Line: This fresh and socially aware website will draw students in with catchy -- often controversial -- topics, but keep them there with quality content.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Striking resources can add depth, rigor to lessons on slavery's legacy

Pros: Thought-provoking and varied sources certain to extend and challenge students' thinking.

Cons: Teachers have to carefully vet the materials to find what's suitable for their classes, and they'll also need to create their own lessons.

Bottom Line: These high-level materials will add depth and context to lessons about slavery, but they need scaffolding to connect with students.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Checkology® Virtual Classroom

Go-to news-literacy site is an excellent primer on media issues

Pros: Unique site allows for exploration of multiple lessons, while the check tool allows students to evaluate credibility of news.

Cons: Lessons can be a bit too long and repetitive at times.

Bottom Line: With "fake news" a pressing concern, literacy lessons are essential for informed citizens.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Create mobile apps with extensive help from start to finish

Pros: In-app hints, a broad library of lesson plans, and tutorials guide kids through every step of the app creation process.

Cons: It may be cost-prohibitive for some teachers, and since there's no autosave, students may lose their work if they forget to save it.

Bottom Line: Intuitive platform encourages students to engage in design thinking and coding with loads of support.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Scribble Press - Creative Book Maker for Kids

Terrific book creator encourages self-expression for all young writers

Pros: More than 500 drawing and writing tools with digital stickers, characters, backgrounds, and music, plus flexible publishing options.

Cons: No kid-friendly guide on the app about protecting personal information in public publishing.

Bottom Line: A quality way for kids to explore storytelling, illustrating, and publishing.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Classcraft

Track behavior, motivate students with clever fantasy-themed game.

Pros: Instant feedback and accountability encourage students to act responsibly, and teacher-created quests motivate learners.

Cons: Depending on how it’s set up, the experience could be more punitive than supportive and in some cases, may hinder relationships.

Bottom Line: Classcraft is a fantastic game for encouraging positive behavior while students build knowledge and develop communication and collaboration skills.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Duolingo

Stellar language-learning tool levels up skills in bite-sized bursts

Pros: Comprehensive, clear lessons guide students through questions and let them set the pace, personalizing the experience.

Cons: The games are great, but they'll work even better coupled with teacher-led differentiation and thoughtful classroom instruction.

Bottom Line: Duolingo's lessons provide a simple, effective, and engrossing way to learn a language.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

First in Math

Pros: Games lack the "drill-and-kill" feeling; with so many games and levels, players can’t get bored.

Cons: Some games require a bit more instruction, especially for younger kids.

Bottom Line: Nothing frilly: First in Math is 100% solid math practice through and through.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

HOMER Reading: Learn to Read

Interactive app engages beginning readers of diverse learning styles

Pros: High-interest stories and activities have embedded, personalized step-by-step lessons.

Cons: Emphasis mainly on alphabet and phonics with little attention to comprehension.

Bottom Line: Top-notch phonics program effectively balances and guides students through stories, activities, and games.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

uHandy

Microscope attachment for mobile devices inspires field investigation

Pros: Accessories such as sampling stickers and the light stage make handheld microscopy easy.

Cons: Higher quality and more expensive than most cellphone microscopes; consumable stickers need to be replaced each year.

Bottom Line: The use of stickers instead of slides helps students examine their world at the microscopic level with safety and convenience.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Mathletics

Content-rich math program that covers it all, from K to 12

Pros: The right blend of text, video, and interactives to build strong skills.

Cons: Questions are a bit rote and aren't adaptive to student responses.

Bottom Line: A wealth of mathematics instructional material with useful reporting features.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Virtual Nerd

Flip a classroom with these free video math tutorials

Pros: Tutorials are high-quality and easy to follow; they cover a wide range of math topics.

Cons: Learning can be repetitive as all videos follow the same format; there's no active engagement for students.

Bottom Line: High-quality but monotonous math tutorials can be a good classroom supplement.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Curriculet 

Pros: Great customization features help teachers boost students' close reading skills with text checkpoints that test comprehension.

Cons: A recommendation tool for related reading could increase personalization and engagement; adding paid features can get pricey fast.

Bottom Line: An excellent tool for in-text assessment. Maximize the platform's usefulness by uploading your own texts and setting up CCSS-aligned checkpoints.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Annenberg Classroom

Civics website makes teaching the Constitution manageable, meaningful

Pros: The videos are solid and are extended with multiple materials connecting the Constitution to current events.

Cons: There's no built-in differentiation, and while the lessons have a variety of videos, illustrations, and photos, the website itself is lacking.

Bottom Line: Go for the videos, stay for the lessons: Annenberg Classroom saves teachers' prep time when teaching the Constitution, current events, or other civics lessons.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Dictionary.

Vast word reference features tons of content and word games

Pros: It's comprehensive, multilingual, and engaging, and games are fun for all vocab levels.

Cons: The interface is overwhelmingly busy.

Bottom Line: Powerful tool crammed full of games, classic reference information, and flexible controls.

Read more.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Planboard

Handy one-stop digital lesson planner saves time in the long run

Pros: Track classroom schedules, lessons, and standards while easily embedding PDFs, links, and videos.

Cons: Lacks pre-made templates, so initial setup takes time.

Bottom Line: Simplifies lesson planning with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

ClassTag

Flexible user-friendly tool gets parents and teachers in sync

Pros: Excellent how-to info makes it easy for teachers to get oriented and get creative.
Cons: Some features may be redundant with communications tools your school already has in place
Bottom Line: A fabulous way to coordinate the little sign-ups that make a big difference.

Read more

By Common Sense Education

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

Seeing AI

Free app uses AI to communicate the world to visually impaired kids

Pros: With options that include bar code scanning; screen reading; facial, color, and scene recognition, this one free tool does the job of many.

Cons: There are some issues with accuracy, and not all text is readable; for nonlinear texts, there might be issues reading text in order.

Bottom Line: Students who are blind or have visual impairments will likely find this multifunctional tool to be a welcome and useful shift from more limited apps.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Slido

Increase student buy-in with interactive polls and Q&A sessions

Pros: The clean design and variety of polling options make it a great tool for student engagement and classroom discussion.

Cons: Most of the classroom-centric features are available only with a paid plan, and polls must be reset one at a time.

Bottom Line: Engaging classroom response platform offers teachers and students real-time feedback opportunities.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Geoguessr

[Global Sim Lets Kids Direct Earth's Future

"Just one more turn" gameplay jazzes up geography

Pros: Clean interface, easy controls, and addictive gameplay make geography appealing.

Cons: Favors players with some travel experience or background knowledge in geography.

Bottom Line: It's not a typical educational game, but students are inspired to explore the world and encouraged to think critically about what defines culture and geography.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

PebbleGo Next

Safe nonfiction database develops students’ research skills

Pros: The site’s organization is consistent, so kids can easily find information and quickly learn what to expect.

Cons: Without individual student logins, there’s no way for teachers to analyze how specific kids are using the site.

Bottom Line: Student-centric research site gives kids a just-right amount of information to build foundational research skills.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Flipgrid

Pose questions, spark thoughtful video responses with stellar tool

Pros: Customizable video responses push students to plan their responses and speak thoughtfully.

Cons: The social media-style features that make Flipgrid fun can also distract students from the purpose of the assignment.

Bottom Line: A simple way for students and teachers to create online discussion, as long as your classroom culture is mature enough to use it wisely.

Read more here.

By Common Sense Education

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

CueThink

Social approach to problem-solving promotes deep math learning

Pros: Students can share ideas and collaborate while solving problems, which makes for a fully engaging and empowering learning experience.

Cons: The interface takes a bit to get used to; problems must have a due date.

Bottom Line: An innovative, community-based platform that helps students plan, strategize, and collaborate.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Microsoft Teams

Collaborative platform helps manage multiple groups and projects

Pros: Easy group creation, integrative approach, and step-by step support get teachers started with fun and practical features for their classes or PLCs.

Cons: Since it integrates with other Microsoft tools, such as OneNote and PowerPoint, novice users may find it busy and daunting to learn to use them as well.

Bottom Line: It offers a ton of options for integrating learning; the lack of some typical LMS features may make it a better fit for small groups or nontraditional group configurations.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education