TryHackMe is an online cybersecurity training platform that teaches identifying vulnerabilities and investigating cyber attack skills through interactive lessons, challenges, and simulated hacking environments.

Students can work through guided exercises in their browser, applying what they learn without needing to build their own lab environment. For educators teaching computing, IT, or cybersecurity, TryHackMe offers a practical way to introduce technical concepts and give students experience with the tools and techniques used by security professionals.

Its education platform also provides assignment management and progress tracking, making it easier to incorporate hands-on cybersecurity activities into a course.

This is all you need to know about TryHackMe in your class.

What is TryHackMe?

TryHackMe is a browser-based platform for learning cybersecurity through practical exercises. It covers both offensive security, which involves testing systems to identify weaknesses, and defensive security, which focuses on detecting threats and protecting networks.

The platform offers more than 1,000 training labs and learning pathways, covering subjects such as networking, Linux, web application security, penetration testing, and security operations. Content ranges from introductory lessons for beginners to more advanced challenges designed for learners developing professional skills.

TryHackMe gives students opportunities to work directly with security tools and simulated systems. They might investigate a vulnerable website, analyze suspicious activity or practice identifying weaknesses in a network.

This makes the platform ideal for further education, university computing courses, and vocational cybersecurity training. It can also support school computing lessons in which students are ready to explore network security and ethical hacking.

TryHackMe is not limited to education. Individuals can use it to develop their own skills, while businesses can use the platform to train staff. Its dedicated education offering adds tools for assigning activities, monitoring progress, and managing student access.

How does TryHackMe work?

Getting started is straightforward. Students create an account, choose a learning pathway or individual room, and follow the instructions provided. A room is a self-contained learning activity covering a particular subject, with explanations, questions, and practical exercises.

A teacher introducing network security, for example, could select a suitable beginner activity and ask students to complete it alongside a lesson on how networks communicate. Students work through the material at their own pace, answering questions and applying their knowledge as they go.

Many exercises use virtual machines and simulated environments that can be accessed through a browser. TryHackMe also provides its AttackBox, a browser-based machine equipped with cybersecurity tools, so students can practice without installing and configuring everything on their own computers.

The platform provides structured learning pathways, too. These group related activities into a sequence, helping learners build their knowledge progressively rather than jumping between unrelated challenges. Current options include Cyber Security 101, Pre Security, Jr Penetration Tester, and SOC Level 1, which focuses on security operations.

For educators, the dedicated classroom platform adds a management layer. Teachers can assign rooms, modules, and learning pathways to individuals or groups, set deadlines, and monitor completion. Reports provide information about student progress and performance, helping teachers identify learners who may need additional support.

This gives educators a choice between using individual activities to reinforce a lesson and building a more structured program around a particular cybersecurity skill.

What are the best TryHackMe features?

TryHackMe's biggest strength is its practical approach to learning. Its interactive rooms let students apply concepts immediately, whether they're learning about network protocols, investigating vulnerabilities, or practicing defensive security techniques. The platform also uses points, badges, and progress indicators to give learners a sense of achievement as they complete activities.

Structured learning pathways help teachers organize content around specific learning objectives. Beginners can start with foundational material before progressing to more demanding exercises, while students with existing knowledge can explore specialist subjects. This is useful when a class contains learners with different levels of technical experience.

Browser-based labs reduce the technical work involved in setting up practical activities. Students can access supported exercises without teachers having to build and maintain their own collection of vulnerable machines. The isolated training environments also help keep practice separate from a school's live network.

The education dashboard is useful for classroom delivery. Teachers can assign activities, set deadlines, organize learners into groups, and review progress. Automated marking on supported labs reduces the need to check every answer manually, leaving more time for teaching and discussion.

Custom learning content gives institutions greater flexibility. Education licenses include options for creating or adapting learning pathways and labs, including uploading virtual machines. This can help departments tailor activities to their own curriculum, equipment, and students' experience levels.

Finally, real-world security scenarios help connect technical knowledge to practical problems. TryHackMe regularly updates its content to cover emerging threats and vulnerabilities, giving educators material that can support discussions about current cybersecurity issues.

How much does TryHackMe cost?

TryHackMe offers a free individual account, alongside paid Premium and MAX subscriptions. The free tier provides access to selected rooms, limited learning-path content, and up to one hour of AttackBox use per day.

Premium, from $18.11 per month, unlocks full access to beginner learning pathways, certificates of completion, and unlimited AttackBox usage, while MAX, from $30.73 per month, adds advanced pathways and broader access to the platform's content.

For schools, colleges, and universities, TryHackMe offers a separate education license with classroom management and reporting features. Its education pricing starts at $30 per user per month, using tokens that represent one student for one month. This allows institutions to scale usage around their cohorts rather than committing to a fixed number of seats for the entire year.

TryHackMe Tips

• Start with the right learning pathway
  Choose content that matches students' existing knowledge and the lesson's objectives. Avoid assigning advanced penetration-testing challenges before students understand the underlying concepts.
• Use rooms to reinforce classroom teaching
  Introduce a concept in class before asking students to practice it on TryHackMe. A lesson on network protocols, for example, can be followed by a relevant activity that asks students to apply their understanding.
• Set clear objectives for each activity
  Tell students what they should learn or demonstrate before they begin. They might need to identify a vulnerability, explain how an attack works, or describe a defensive measure. Clear objectives provide the activity with a purpose and a basis for follow-up questions and assessment.
• Make use of assignments and progress reports
  Educators using the education platform can assign activities to individuals or groups, set deadlines, and review completion reports. Check progress during the exercise rather than waiting until the deadline, so students who are struggling can receive help before they fall behind.
• Follow up with discussion
  Ask students to explain what they discovered, why a vulnerability matters, and how a system could be protected against the attack they explored. This encourages them to think beyond finding the correct answer and develop a deeper understanding of cybersecurity principles.

Tapestry is a free platform providing immersive cultural heritage experiences: high-quality, guided 3D virtual tours of notable sites worldwide with historical, natural, or archeological importance.

The platform was created and is run by CyArk, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to make the world’s cultural heritage widely accessible to all using the power of 3D technology. Tapestry is browser-based and operates on desktop, tablet, mobile, or kiosk devices.

How Does Tapestry Work?

Tapestry is decidedly simple to use -- the platform runs entirely in a web browser, with nothing to download or install. Visitors can explore on a phone, tablet, or desktop computer at any time, in any place.

Graphic-heavy sites such as Tapestry can sometimes lag on ordinary computers and mobile devices. However, in my testing, I found Tapestry to be highly functional after a brief loading period. That being said, the interactive 3D sections of the virtual tour will use a substantial fraction of your computer's graphic memory and it's best not to have other graphic-heavy programs running at the same time.

Tapestry’s photorealistic virtual tours—also called "experiences"—are beautifully rendered. And its interactive sections, which allow visitors to explore sites across 360 degrees in 3D via mouse or touchscreen, create the sensation of being actually present.

Educators can search for experiences in several ways. Spin the globe to find the location you'd like to explore, mouse over the bright orange dot, and view the description/link to the experience. Or search all 77 virtual tours in the library, filtered by keyword, category, publication date, and language. Finally, users can search directly from the home page by keyword, although I found this this method less useful than the first two methods.

Once begun, the virtual tour displays a menu of “stops” on the left, each one dedicated to a particular sub-location within the site. A narrator describes the scenes displayed and provides background information while the virtual camera zooms, pans and tilts through buildings and landscapes, allowing the viewer to fully explore all aspects of the site.

Closed captions may be activated, in addition to or instead of the narration. Music appropriate to the experience adds to the overall effect of being present. Users can navigate freely among the stops as well as use controls to advance or reverse position.

Is Tapestry Good for Education?

While not explicitly designed for education, Tapestry’s interactive virtual tours can engage students in a way unlike most other learning tools do. The combination of high-quality graphics, soundtrack, narration and interactivity creates the illusion of being present remarkably well. The experience can be mesmerizing.

I asked Elizabeth Lee, CyArk’s Vice President for Programs and Development, about Tapestry’s use in education. “While the platform was launched in 2023, we only created an education section a few months ago,” said Lee. “We wanted to create a resource for the many educators who were already using the platform on their own.”

New resources for educators include newsletters and the Tapestry Certified Educators professional training, whose first cohort has enrolled and begun training.

“After the first cohort completes the professional training, we plan to post more resources about how to use these experiences in the classroom,” said Lee, adding, “We hope to offer additional sessions in the future for other educators, based on the feedback and response we get from these first sessions.”

Most of Tapestry’s experiences are accessible to a 2nd-8th grade audience, with the majority of text comprehension designed for students aged 10-12 years.

All that is not to say that Tapestry isn’t a valuable resource for older students as well. With its highly engaging interface, it can serve as a perfect starting point for more advanced students to explore and discover what interests them on their own.

What are the Best Tapestry features?

Interactive 3D Exploration

The combination of Tapestry’s amazingly accurate and detailed graphics and its interactive 3d exploration creates a virtual experience unlike any other I’ve seen.

When the user selects a numbered feature in an experience, the camera zooms in and a downloadable video opens in the right panel.

Below, I've selected the green turtle detail of the Great Barrier Reef virtual tour, stop four (Relationships on the Reef). I found it quicker to download the video and watch on my computer, rather than running it in browser window. Regardless, the brief close-up video is well worth watching to appreciate the magnificence of these denizens of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.

Playback Controls
Tapestry’s playback controls allows educators to pause, resume, or jump back or forward 15 seconds while a stop is playing, making it easy to focus on key moments, all while the 3D view remains synched with the narration.

Downloadable Resources and Transcripts
Each Tapestry virtual tour includes a complete downloadable PDF transcript; a gallery of related images and brief videos; and an outline of the story, with a summary of each stop. These extras serve not only to guide educators in using experiences in the classroom, but also as valuable study aids for students.

Direct Links for Content and Stops
Teachers can share a specific stop, photo, voice or interactive, allowing students to land directly on the assigned content, rather than at the beginning of the selected tour.

Tapestry for Teachers Newsletter
The newsletter provides tips on how educators can best incorporate Tapestry into classroom instruction and lesson plans, as well as offering seasonal suggestions for virtual tours.

How Accessible is Tapestry?

Tapestry is in partial conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, a set of web accessibility standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that guides webmasters in making content usable for those with disabilities, including low vision, cognitive and learning differences, motor impairments, and hearing loss. It's also tested compatible with Screen Reader VoiceOver and Screen Reader Jaws.

How Much Does Tapestry Cost?

Built by the nonprofit organization CyArk, Tapestry is 100% free for all visitors. No account is required to take its virtual tours, access, or download related educational materials.

Chalkie is an AI teaching platform designed to help teachers create those resources from a topic, grade level, and curriculum framework.

It can produce complete lesson slides, worksheets, and activities, while allowing teachers to edit the result before taking it into the classroom.

For U.S. educators, Chalkie supports standards including Common Core, NGSS, TEKS, and C3. It can also work from existing teaching materials, so teachers can upload a file or provide a website as the starting point instead of beginning with a blank page.

What is Chalkie?

Chalkie is an AI-powered lesson and resource generator built for classroom teachers. Its main job is to turn a teaching idea into a classroom-ready lesson.

Enter a topic, subject, grade level, and curriculum framework and Chalkie can generate a structured slideshow containing learning objectives, key vocabulary, activities, and supporting content. The resulting slides can be edited within Chalkie or exported to Google Slides, PowerPoint, or PDF.

It can also create worksheets and classroom activities, including differentiated versions. So Chalkie is useful beyond the initial lesson presentation, especially when a teacher needs several resources covering the same topic.

For schools, the platform is designed to support a more consistent approach to lesson creation across a teaching team. Teachers can share resources, while school leaders get administrative controls and centralized billing.

How does Chalkie work?

Start by choosing what you want to teach. Chalkie asks for the topic, subject, grade level, and relevant curriculum or standards framework, after which it generates the lesson.

The output isn't just a written lesson plan. Chalkie creates a formatted slideshow with the teaching content, learning objectives, vocabulary, and activities already arranged into slides. The company says a complete lesson can be generated in under 30 seconds.

Once the lesson has been created, teachers can edit individual slides using plain-language instructions. You might ask Chalkie to simplify a section, add another slide, change an activity, or differentiate the content for a particular group of students.

An option to start with material you already have is available. Upload a document, PDF, or image, or paste a website URL, and Chalkie can use that information to create a new lesson or activity. Consequently, teachers don't necessarily have to abandon their existing resources to use the platform.

What are the best Chalkie features?

Ready-to-teach slides
Chalkie produces an actual presentation rather than leaving teachers with a text-based lesson plan. Slides include objectives, vocabulary, activities, and visual material, and can be exported to Google Slides, PowerPoint, or PDF.

Standards alignment
Teachers can select U.S. curriculum frameworks including Common Core, NGSS, and TEKS, with Chalkie incorporating the selected standards into the lesson. It also supports C3 for social studies and curriculum frameworks in other countries.

Unit planning
Chalkie can create more than one lesson at a time. Its AI Unit Planner generates a sequence of lessons around a topic, including recap and quiz lessons, with the Pro plan supporting sequences of up to 12 lessons and Max extending that to 25.

Differentiated worksheets
Teachers can generate worksheets for a lesson and create Scaffold and Stretch versions to provide different levels of challenge. Worksheets can include formats such as multiple-choice, short-answer, and fill-in-the-blank questions.

AI editing
The built-in slide editor means teachers don't have to regenerate an entire lesson when only one part needs changing. Instructions can be given in plain English to simplify, extend, or restructure individual slides.

School sharing
The school version adds linked teacher accounts, resource sharing, administrative controls, and centralized billing. Chalkie also says it doesn't require student data, and that it is FERPA and COPPA compliant.

How much does Chalkie cost?

Chalkie has a Free plan that costs nothing and allows teachers to create five resources every seven days, with 10 AI edits per week. It also includes exports to Google and Microsoft formats.

The Pro plan costs $6.65 per month when paid annually, or $79.80 per year. It increases the allowance to 200 resources per month and 400 AI edits, while adding curriculum and standards alignment, YouTube videos, lessons of up to 25 slides and lesson series of up to 12 lessons.

The Max plan costs $12.99 per month, or $155.88 per year. It increases the allowance to 400 resources and 800 AI edits per month, supports lessons of up to 35 slides and lesson series of up to 25 lessons, and adds custom themes and fonts.

Chalkie doesn't publish a fixed price for its Schools plan. Instead, schools and districts can request a quote based on factors such as school size and number of staff. The school package adds linked teacher accounts, administrative controls, resource sharing, and centralized billing. Discounts are also available for districts and bulk licensing.

Chalkie Tips

• Start with the standard
  If curriculum alignment matters for the lesson, select the appropriate framework before generating it. For U.S. teachers, that could mean Common Core, NGSS, TEKS, or C3, depending on the subject and state.
• Give it useful context
  A broad prompt will produce a broad lesson. Include the grade level, topic, learning objective, and anything particular you want students to understand or do, and you're more likely to get a useful first draft.
• Edit before you teach
  Chalkie can produce a lesson quickly, but that doesn't make it automatically suitable for your class. Check the facts, examples, difficulty, and activities, then change anything that doesn't fit your students or your teaching style.
• Try a unit instead
  If you're starting a new topic, use the Unit Planner rather than generating every lesson individually. Having the sequence in place first can make it easier to see how lessons connect and where recap or assessment belongs.
• Use your existing resources
  You don't have to start from scratch. Upload an existing document or provide a URL and use it as the basis for a new resource. This can be a better starting point when you already have material that reflects your school's curriculum or preferred approach.

NowComment is a free online tool that lets teachers bring students together around the same learning materials, with annotation and discussion built into the experience.

NowComment is designed around the idea that giving students a place to work with shared materials and discuss what they find with their classmates helps. It can be used with a range of content and across different types of classroom activity, from individual work to group discussion.

For teachers, it offers a way to make student thinking more visible while keeping the focus on the material being studied. Here’s what educators need to know about NowComment, and how it can be used in the classroom.

What is NowComment?

NowComment is an online space for discussing and annotating documents. Teachers can upload reading material and invite students to comment on it, with each comment linked to a specific part of the document.

The platform works with text, images, and video so it can be used for more than traditional reading activities. Students can comment on a particular passage, highlight an area of an image, or start a discussion while a video is playing.

Documents can be kept private and shared with selected students or groups, or made public when appropriate. Teachers can also organize students into groups and use collections to keep related material together.

How does NowComment work?

Teachers start by uploading a document to NowComment. Supported formats include Microsoft Word, Excel, PDF, images, plain text, and web content. Video and audio can also be included through embedded media.

Once the material is uploaded, students can be invited to view and comment on it. In the standard two-pane view, the document appears on one side of the screen and the comments on the other, making it easy to see to which part of the material each discussion relates.

Students can start a conversation by selecting text, an area of an image, or a point in a video. Other students can then reply to the comment, creating a threaded discussion around that particular piece of material.

For a teacher, this could be as simple as uploading a reading and asking students to identify an important point, question an argument, or respond to a particular passage. The resulting comments can then form the basis of a class discussion or provide evidence of how students have engaged with the material.

What are the best NowComment features?

The main strength of NowComment is its in-context commenting. Rather than having students write their thoughts in a separate discussion forum, comments stay attached to the section of the material that prompted them. This can make it easier to follow a discussion, particularly when several different points are being discussed at once.

The image tools extend that idea beyond text. Students can identify and comment on particular areas of an image, which could work well for analyzing photographs, artwork, maps, diagrams, or other visual materials.

Useful controls are available for teachers. Assignments can have minimum or maximum comment requirements, deadlines, and email reminders, while time controls can determine when students can view a document or post comments. Teachers can also hide other students' comments until a specified point, which could be useful when you want everyone to make an initial response independently.

Groups make it possible to organize students and share documents with particular classes or teams. Once students are members of a group, new material can be shared with that group without having to invite every student individually each time.

For teachers who want to see how students are using the platform, NowComment also has analytics reports that can sort and tally comments and document visits across multiple documents. Download and export options are available as well, so material isn't locked into the platform.

How much does NowComment cost?

NowComment is free to use.

The platform says there is no charge for creating an account, uploading documents, or inviting others to view and comment.

NowComment Tips

• Start with a short text
  Don't make the first activity a huge reading. Give students something short enough to annotate in one sitting so they can get used to selecting material and joining conversations.
• Set a clear question
  Give students a specific reason to comment rather than simply asking them to discuss the document. A question about evidence, an author's argument, or a particular character can give the activity much more focus.
• Use hidden comments
  If you want students to develop their own response before seeing what everyone else thinks, use NowComment's controls to hide comments from other students initially. This can help prevent the first few responses from steering the whole class.
• Try visual material
  Use the image commenting tools for photographs, artwork, maps, or diagrams. Asking students to identify a particular detail and explain why it matters can make a simple image into a useful discussion starter.
• Review the discussion
  Don't let the comments become the end of the activity. Pick a few interesting or contrasting responses and bring these back to the classroom for discussion, using the annotations as evidence for the conversation.

A group of speech pathology graduate students are standing in front of a “patient." They listen as she tells them about the difficulties she’s encountered since returning to work after getting treatment for cancer.

“Everyone tells me I look great,” the patient says, “but I still don't feel like myself.” She adds that she gets tired easily and has started to cough when she eats, which she finds embarrassing.

One student asks her how often she gets the coughing sensation.

“Usually if I drink too fast or I’m not paying attention,” she says while looking at the student. She also provides more details about her symptoms.

The “patient” is an interactive AI hologram speaking from within a lifelike holographic display, a device about the size of a refrigerator that creates the illusion of a 3D and life-size person. It’s all part of a pilot program at the University of Central Florida designed to utilize holographic AI avatars to help give students the experience of interacting with actual patients.

Bari Hoffman, Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs and Healthcare Innovation, is leading this effort and is a proponent of hologram use in education. In 2024, she spoke with Tech & Learning about how holograms can provide lifelike lessons in STEM and other fields. The tools allow educators to “beam” in experts to speak in class, display intricate machinery, and provide more immersive examples of various kinds.

Hoffman has also recently begun using the technology in coordination with AI, a pairing that she believes will have significant impact for her students.

AI Holograms

The term “AI hologram” conjures all kinds of science fiction imagery, but in practice it can be a way for students to get more real-world, hands-on experience and be better prepared for careers. Students, such as the ones in the YouTube clip above, get a chance to learn more about what it’s like to interact with a real patient.

Traditionally, health students at the UCF have had the opportunity to interact with real patients who volunteer to come to campus, but such an opportunity is limited out of necessity.

“Somebody who has maybe some mobility challenges or other health-related challenges, it isn’t necessarily safe or easy for them to come to campus,” Hoffman says. So AI and hologram technology have allowed the school "to create something that is reproducible across programs, across days, across semesters; it allows us to really scale those experiences,” she says.

This principle extends beyond just working with AI avatars. Hoffman’s institution has also created realistic 3D videos of actual patients discussing their treatments and struggles. These stories can be replayed via hologram technology, and AI can make these even more accessible through its ability to translate patient testimony (with permission of course) into various languages that can reach students from different backgrounds, and be used for other educational purposes.

“We’ve been able to take our existing content and really translate that in any language, and that's allowed us to scale application and integration in a more culturally sensitive way, and even to expand our work in collaboration internationally,” Hoffman says.

The Power of The Hologram

Hologram technology goes beyond what students might glean from an AI avatar alone on a standard computer screen, Hoffman says. One of the reasons is what is called “copresence.” Holograms seem to fill up the room the way a real person might.

“You get that sense of realism, that eye contact," Hoffman says. "When you create your content properly, the content kind of has this Mona Lisa effect, where anywhere you are in the room, those eyes are going to follow you."

For example, Hoffman points to pediatric physical therapy students. “The students are able to do assessments with children two months of age to 10 years of age, and looking at individuals with low muscle tone or spasticity, that volumetric image allows the students to appreciate the center of mass and subtle changes in muscle tone that often are lost on traditional 2D platforms,” she says.

These types of realistic insights for students are part of why Hoffman's become such a strong proponent of the technology. She regularly hears from educators at other institutions and even some K-12 leaders looking to learn more about how hologram technology might fit into their institutions. She always advises teachers to find faculty champions, and make sure to keep learning objectives and the student experience in mind.

Hoffman also urges educators who are using holograms to think about how the technology can be used to create meaningful experiences for students. Then it’s important to measure that experience in some way, either through objective or qualitative data, that shows how holograms were used to achieve something new or different.

“That's got a lot of ROI to faculty, to programs, and to institutions,” she says.

Mental health can often mean another program, another training course, or another thing for teachers to squeeze into an already packed school day.

Mood Classroom delivers simplicity by offering 20 free lessons that can be delivered directly in the classroom, with no teacher training or preparation required.

Designed for children in grades 3–8, the lessons take around 20 minutes and introduce simple strategies for dealing with everything from frustration and overstimulation to anxious thoughts and difficult emotions.

The material comes from MOOD, a mental wellness organization focused on giving children and teenagers practical tools for managing everyday emotional challenges.

What is Mood Classroom?

Mood Classroom is essentially a ready-made mental wellness curriculum that teachers can use whenever their class needs a short emotional reset or wants to explore a particular coping strategy.

It offers 20 lessons in total, covering techniques including breathing, movement, progressive muscle relaxation, sensory grounding, tapping, and thought-shifting. Lessons have accessible names such as, "Name It to Tame It," "Surf the Wave," "Just Move," and "Use Your Senses," to help turn potentially abstract ideas about emotional regulation into things children can actually remember and use.

MOOD says the activities are based on proven psychological techniques, adapted to make these appropriate and accessible for children. Its wider collection of Mood Tools draws on approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Mood Classroom isn't presented as a replacement for professional mental health support. Instead, it gives teachers a set of simple classroom activities that can help children develop emotional awareness and practical coping skills.

How does Mood Classroom work?

Getting started with Mood Classroom is super straightforward. Head to the Mood Classroom website, choose one of the 20 available lessons, and open it on the classroom display.

The lessons are designed to take 20 minutes or less, so these can fit into the school day without the need to carve out a whole lesson. You could use one during morning meeting, as a transition between activities, after break or lunch, or when the class needs a change of pace.

Each lesson focuses on a single technique and guides pupils through it. "Hand Breathing," for example, uses the movement of tracing around a hand to pace breathing, while "Tighten, Hold, Relax" introduces progressive muscle relaxation. Other sessions use movement, sensory awareness, visualization, or ways of approaching difficult thoughts.

The 20 lessons don't need to be followed in a particular order, either. Teachers can choose an activity that fits the class, or work through the collection over time so pupils are exposed to a range of different techniques. That also means a teacher can return to a familiar exercise when a particular approach has worked well for their pupils.

The idea is to provide children with practical strategies they can try for themselves. Once pupils know the techniques, the activities can also be revisited outside the formal lesson, giving them something familiar to turn to when they feel overwhelmed, distracted, or stressed.

What are the best Mood Classroom features?

The appeal of Mood Classroom is largely in its simplicity. Yes, there are 20 lessons to choose from, but they aren't 20 versions of the same mindfulness exercise. The collection moves between breathing, movement, relaxation, sensory grounding, visualization, and cognitive techniques, giving teachers plenty of different ways to approach emotional regulation.

The lessons are also short enough to really work in a busy classroom. The roughly 20-minute format makes it easier to build the activities into existing routines. This is an ideal way to make wellbeing activities a regular part of the week.

Another useful feature is the way the activities turn quite complicated psychological ideas into things children can do. Pupils are shown a breathing technique, asked to notice their senses or guided through a physical relaxation exercise. The emphasis is on practicing a skill rather than simply learning about one.

Plenty of flexibility is available in how the resource can be used. A teacher can introduce the whole class to a new technique, revisit an activity pupils already know or pick something that suits a particular point in the school day. Because the lessons don't require specialist training, they're also accessible to teachers who aren't mental health professionals.

While Mood Classroom is designed to stand on its own as a free classroom resource, it's part of MOOD's wider collection of mental wellness tools. That includes its Mood Tools app, which gives children and families access to additional techniques for managing emotions beyond the classroom.

How much does Mood Classroom cost?

Mood Classroom is completely free.

All 20 classroom lessons are available to access online without a subscription, and MOOD also makes its wider collection of Mood Tools freely available.

For schools, there's no software licence to negotiate, no specialist hardware to buy and no training programme to organise before teachers can try it.

Mood Classroom Tips

• Don't wait for a crisis
  Introducing the tools when things are calm gives children a chance to learn the techniques before they might need any.
• Build a regular routine
  Regularity and familiarity should make it easier for children to recognize and use individual techniques independently.
• Let children find their favorites
  Not every strategy will work equally well for every child. Give pupils opportunities to try different approaches and identify the ones that feel most useful to them.
• Use movement as well as mindfulness
  The collection includes physical activities alongside breathing and thought-based techniques. That's useful for classrooms where sitting quietly and focusing inward isn't necessarily the most effective way to reset.
• Keep the conversation going
  The lesson itself doesn't have to be the end of the activity. Use it as a starting point for talking about emotions, stress and the different ways people respond when they're struggling.

Microsoft Learning Zone is an AI-powered tool designed to help educators turn teaching ideas and existing materials into interactive lessons.

Teachers can describe what they want to teach, add source material, and set parameters such as grade level and activity type, before the app generates an editable lesson, containing instructions and practice activities.

The aim is to speed up lesson creation while still leaving the teacher in control. Once a lesson has been generated, every part can be reviewed, edited, removed, or reorganized before it is shared with students.

So what exactly is Microsoft Learning Zone, how does it work and what do educators need to get started?

What is Microsoft Learning Zone?

Microsoft Learning Zone is a Windows app that uses AI to help educators create personalized and interactive learning activities.

A teacher can start with a simple lesson idea or add their own reference material, including uploaded or cloud-based files. They can then specify details including the age or grade level, activity type, language, and number of slides.

The AI generates a lesson outline first, allowing the teacher to review and adjust the structure before turning it into a complete interactive lesson.

Students can then work through the lesson at their own pace, completing instructional and practice activities. Lessons can be shared using a link or join code, or posted through Microsoft Teams or a compatible LMS.

How does Microsoft Learning Zone work?

The process starts with a teacher entering a lesson prompt and, when useful, adding their own source material.

Learning Zone uses this information to generate a lesson outline, which can be edited before the complete lesson is created. Teachers can then modify individual slides, including changing text and images, adjusting questions and answers, adding new content, or asking the AI to regenerate material.

Separate editing and playback modes are available, so educators can check the lesson from a student's perspective before assigning it.

Completed lessons can be shared using a link or join code, or distributed through Microsoft Teams and compatible learning management systems.

Students can work through the material at their own pace, while teachers can use the available reporting features to see participation and average scores.

What are the best Microsoft Learning Zone features?

The biggest strength is the combination of AI generation and teacher control.

The outline-first approach is useful because it gives educators an opportunity to fix the structure of a lesson before spending time reviewing the finished content. That can make AI-assisted planning feel more like having a fast first draft than accepting a finished lesson on blind trust.

The ability to use existing teaching resources is another helpful feature. Teachers can provide their own material so that generated activities are based on content they actually want students to learn, rather than relying entirely on a generic AI response.

Learning Zone can also create interactive practice and conditional slides, allowing the experience to respond differently depending on how students answer questions.

For teachers, the reporting tools add another practical benefit. Rather than simply sharing an AI-generated activity, educators can see how students have engaged with it and where additional support may be needed.

How much does Microsoft Learning Zone cost?

Microsoft says Learning Zone is included with Microsoft 365 Education licenses at no additional cost.

However, there is an important hardware requirement: Educators creating lessons need a Copilot+ PC as well as a Microsoft 365 Education A1, A3, or A5 license.

Students do not need a Copilot+ PC to access lessons, and can open any through the web or on devices already used by their school.

At the time of writing, lesson generation is supported in English and Spanish.

Microsoft Learning Zone Tips

• Start with your learning goal
  Be specific about what students should understand or be able to do by the end of the lesson, rather than simply asking Learning Zone to create a lesson on a broad subject.
• Add your own resources
  Upload or connect relevant teaching materials when possible so the generated lesson has useful context and stays closer to the content you actually want students to learn.
• Check the outline first
  Use the planning stage to change the order, remove unnecessary sections, and make sure the lesson has a sensible progression before generating all the slides.
• Play it as a student
  Use the preview and playback tools to experience the lesson yourself, checking that questions, explanations, and interactive elements work as intended before sharing it.
• Edit the AI output
  Treat the generated lesson as a first draft rather than a finished resource, checking facts, difficulty and language and making changes based on the needs of your particular class.

Calm is best known as a meditation and sleep app for adults, but the platform also offers resources specifically designed for use in schools.

The idea is simply to give teachers easy ways to introduce short periods of mindfulness, breathing, relaxation, and reflection into the school day. Calm says more than 250,000 teachers are already using its resources.

That could mean starting the morning with a short mindfulness exercise, using calming music during independent work, or giving students a simple breathing activity when the classroom needs to slow down.

This aims to lay out all you need to know about using Calm in your class.

What is Calm?

Calm is a digital mindfulness and wellbeing platform offering guided meditations, breathing exercises, music, Sleep Stories, and other tools designed to help people manage stress and relax.

For education, Calm has a dedicated Schools offering with age-specific resources intended to help teachers bring mindfulness into the classroom. It also includes material aimed at teachers themselves, recognizing that staff wellbeing is part of creating a healthy school environment.

The classroom resources aren't designed to replace teaching or act as a standalone mental health intervention. Instead, these can be dropped into the school day as short activities alongside existing lessons and routines.

This makes Calm very easy to use. A teacher doesn't need to build a course or learn a complicated piece of software. Instead, they can select an appropriate exercise and play it for the class.

Calm's current free school resources include a 30 Days of Mindfulness in the Classroom guide, with age-specific activities for PreK-12 students, as well as a self-care guide aimed at teachers.

How does Calm work?

Calm is primarily accessed through its website and mobile apps, although teachers don't necessarily need an account to make use of the current free classroom materials.

The downloadable classroom guides include links to selected Calm audio content, allowing teachers to play exercises directly from the resources. These can be used during activities such as morning meetings, quiet time, or other points when a class might benefit from a short reset.

One useful aspect is the range of formats. A teacher could use a guided meditation when the class needs to settle, breathing exercises as a quick reset, or relaxing music as background audio while students are reading or working independently.

Calm also makes its resources suitable for use beyond the classroom. Because the free guides don't require a login, teachers can share these with parents and students for use at home.

That is potentially useful for schools looking to make wellbeing activities part of a wider wellness routine or social-emotional learning rather than something that only happens during a particular lesson.

What are the best Calm features?

Age-specific resources
Perhaps the most useful feature for teachers is that the classroom material isn't simply a collection of generic adult meditation sessions. Calm's school offering includes age-specific resources designed for different stages of childhood.

That makes it easier to choose something appropriate rather than expecting a teacher to work out which activity will suit a particular age group.

30 Days of Mindfulness
The 30 Days of Mindfulness in the Classroom guide gives teachers a ready-made structure rather than leaving them to decide what to do every day.

It includes daily mindfulness exercises and links to selected Calm Kids content, making it possible to build short activities into a regular classroom routine.

Breathing exercises
Breathing exercises can be useful because these don't require much preparation. A teacher can introduce one as a short activity before a lesson, after a busy transition, or whenever the class needs to pause.

Calm Music
Calm's music library can also have a less obvious classroom use. The company highlights music as a way to create a more relaxed environment, and teachers can use instrumental tracks during activities such as reading or independent work.

Teacher self-care
Calm doesn't only focus on students. Its Schools resources include a self-care guide for teachers, covering ways to manage stress and avoid burnout.

That is worth noting because wellbeing initiatives can sometimes put another responsibility on teachers. Giving staff something they can use themselves makes the offering feel more rounded.

How much does Calm cost?

Calm provides free classroom resources that don't require a login or subscription.

These include the 30 Days of Mindfulness in the Classroom guide and teacher self-care resources, with links to selected free audio content.

Teachers who want access to the full Calm library, including additional meditations and Sleep Stories, need a personal Calm Premium subscription.

Schools and districts looking for wider access can also investigate Calm's business and organizational offerings.

Calm Tips

• Start the day calmly
  Use a short breathing or mindfulness activity at the beginning of the school day. This can create a consistent transition from arriving at school to beginning lessons without taking up much teaching time.
• Don't overdo it
  Start with a few minutes and see how the class responds. A short, repeatable routine is likely to be easier to maintain than an ambitious wellbeing program.
• Use music during quiet work
  Try Calm's relaxing music while students are reading, drawing, or working independently. Keep the volume low enough that it remains background rather than becoming another distraction.
• Build a reset into transitions
  Rather than waiting until a class is visibly unsettled, use a short breathing exercise between activities. Moving from PE back to academic work, for example, can be a natural point for a brief reset.
• Let students choose
  Once students know the different types of activities available, give them some choice. One student may prefer breathing exercises while another finds quiet music more useful.
• Share it with parents
  The free Calm classroom guides don't require a login, so teachers can share relevant material with parents who want to continue the practice at home.
• Look after the teacher, too
  Don't make Calm something that is only for students. A short mindfulness session before school, during a break, or at the end of the day can give teachers a chance to use the same tools they are encouraging their students to try.

Plagiarism is an age-old problem. Artificial intelligence-generated content is a very new problem. Yet these two practices—one ancient and one modem—are linked by their ability to replace true learning with copy-and-paste.

The word plagiarism, derived from the Latin plagiarius ("kidnapper"), dates back to 17th-century English. Much earlier than that, in the first century, the Roman poet Martial used “plagiarius” to castigate another poet whom he accused of appropriating his words.

In our modern world, however, the ability of students to find and copy others’ work is greater than ever before. While there are a number of in-depth and effective paid solutions that allow educators to verify the originality of student work, there are only a few free solutions that are worth trying.

Sites that characterized trial texts as substantially or highly plagiarized or AI-generated passed my testing. Sites that didn’t recognize texts as such were deemed unreliable and therefore excluded. Interestingly, six sites which had passed near-identical plagiarism testing three years ago failed the most recent testing and have been excluded.

Read on for the best free online plagiarism and AI-generated content checkers. Interested in non-tech methods of detection? Check out T&L contributor Erik Ofgang’s article 10 Ways to Detect AI Writing Without Technology.

Best Free Plagiarism and AI Content-Checking Sites

Grammarly
Grammarly’s free plagiarism and artificial intelligence detector tools allow users to simply paste text or upload files to be scanned for plagiarized or AI-generated text. No account is needed for the first scan. After that, users can quickly create a free account via Google, Apple, or email to continue scanning. In my testing, Grammarly correctly identified plagiarism in all three texts, reporting each time in this way: “We have found significant plagiarism in your text.” While the free version does not provide a line-by-line plagiarism analysis, it is nevertheless a very good choice for a free detector, especially considering the generous 1500-word limit. Grammarly’s AI detector delivered a perfect result, correctly identifying all three AI-generated texts as 100% AI.

Quetext
With a clean, well-designed interface, it’s a pleasure to use Quetext. After the first free search, you’ll need to create a free account. Current testing results were near-perfect, with 98%, 100%, and 100% for plagiarized texts, and 100% for all AI-generated texts. Unlike many other plagiarism sites, Quetext makes it easy to compare the free and pro offerings -- free accounts allow 2,500 words monthly, while the paid Pro account allows 100,000 words, plus deeper search capability. The site usefully displays the number of words remaining in your word count. An excellent, user-friendly choice.

Dupli Checker
Dupli Checker furnishes a hassle-free plagiarism- and AI-content-checking experience. With no account needed, users can check for plagiarism and AI-generated content once daily. Offering a robust 2000-word limit, the site identified the three plagiarized texts as 100%, 100%, and 92% plagiarized, and the AI-generated texts as 100%, 89%, and 82% AI content. Note that retained cookies from Dupli Checker may interfere with results, so it’s best to clear cookies after each session. To access unlimited plagiarism checks and additional features such as downloading Word or PDF plagiarism reports, create a free account. Dupli Checker also provides a set of free, entertaining, and useful text and image tools such as the reverse text generator, favicon generator, and MD5 generator.

Plagiarism Detector
Easily check for plagiarism without creating an account, then download the pdf report file at no charge. The site accommodates multiple languages, while allowing unlimited free checks of text up to 1,000 words. In the latest testing, Plagiarism Detector characterized plagiarized texts as 100%, 100% and 92% plagiarized, while its AI content detector performed well, reporting 100%, 78%, and 82%. Flexible premium accounts are available on a weekly, month or yearly basis.

Hosted by Christine Weiser, Content Director for Tech & Learning, the recent Future of Edtech webinar showcased two award-winning products and explored critical trends in K-12 technology integration.

Featuring "Best of ISTE" award winners ClearTouch and PowerSchool, the product demonstration addressed practical issues such as cost savings, implementation challenges, and the necessity of aligning new technology with human-centered instruction.

Watch the webinar on demand here

Takeaways

Trends From ISTELive 2026

Matthew X. Joseph, an award-winning district leader and longtime Tech & Learning adviser, concluded the session by sharing a few trends he noticed during the recent ISTELive 26 conference in Orlando.

“The tools and our partners like you just heard from are really critical to our work,” Joseph said, “But one thing that hasn't changed with the evolution of technology is the importance of educators and teachers and using these platforms to enhance student learning.”

Among Joseph’s observations:

• AI is moving from “Wow!” to “How?” “ISTE was a great opportunity to use some of these AI tools, but it was the human connection to how we are using them,” he said. “Moving past ‘How great it is and this is new for us’ to ‘How is this being impacted in our work, in our instruction, and for our students?’”
• Personalization gets real. Joseph noted that personalization with AI is not about having 25 students doing 25 different things. “It's having students get the access and content they need through the work, that they've input to some of the devices that you've seen and some of the programs that utilize the AI tools,” he said.
• Less edtech, better edtech. Having more edtech apps and platforms can sometimes be too much of a good thing. “I think where we get into trouble is when we have fifty, sixty options and we collect apps,” Joseph said. “But then more choices mean we're not honing in on the work and the efficiency of the tools and how they can impact student learning.”

ClearTouch 6,000 Nova Series

Tristan O'Connor, Product Solutions Manager at ClearTouch, introduced the ClearTouch 6,000 Nova Series, a panel designed to solve long-standing flat panel problems: the main board failing, the ports breaking, the backlight fading, and the overall longevity of the device.

The Nova Series features a core module, which is a swappable TV board and port system that allows districts to upgrade their internal hardware without replacing the entire panel. O'Connor highlighted the panel's optical bonding technology that connects the glass and backlight with resin, preventing dust and moisture accumulation while improving color differentiation.

“One of the cool things about the Nova series is you can use an OPS as well,” he said. “So if you want a Windows computer or a Chromebox, you can use it simultaneously with the core module.”

Beyond hardware, the Nova series integrates AI tools designed to be practical, not “scary." A standout feature is the offline, on-device transcription and translation software, which supports more than 90 languages. This allows teachers to provide real-time subtitles to students’ devices in the classroom, bridging communication gaps for multilingual learners without requiring a constant internet connection.

PowerSchool's Naviance

Erin Hawkins, Product Solutions Director at PowerSchool, showcased the award-winning Naviance platform, a comprehensive K-12 college and career readiness solution.

Naviance supports students from early elementary school through graduation, using gamified platforms for self-discovery and a special curriculum for career and financial planning. It utilizes more than eight research-backed self-discovery assessments, such as Gallup’s Strengths Explorer, to help students align their interests with future pathways.

“The good news is that the information that a student captures and engages with in the elementary solution moves with the student up to the six through 12 solution,” Hawkins said.

A significant addition is PowerBuddy, an AI-driven chat assistant available 24/7. It helps students navigate complex questions about college admissions, career paths, and FAFSA completion.

Hawkins emphasized that Naviance offers more than 115 configurable reports, allowing districts to track student milestones (such as diploma requirements or service learning hours) and export data. By integrating eDocs for transcript delivery and college applications, Naviance centralizes the post-secondary planning process so that counselors and parents can monitor student progress.

Sometimes teachers need a quick, useful resource that can slot into a lesson without hours of preparation, which is exactly what Rumie is designed to provide.

Rumie Learn is a nonprofit learning platform built around short, interactive "Bytes," with more than 2,500 published learning experiences covering everything from digital literacy and career skills to health, financial planning, and learning strategies. The platform has reached more than 2.5 million learners, with new Bytes added regularly.

This doesn't use lengthy courses, but instead breaks down subjects into small chunks that can generally be completed in around five minutes. That makes it great for teachers looking for starters, discussion prompts, flipped-learning activities, or quick ways to introduce a new topic.

What is Rumie?

Rumie is a free online library of microlearning content designed to make useful knowledge easier to consume and remember.

The basic unit is the Byte. These are short learning experiences, generally under 10 minutes, built around a specific concept or practical skill rather than an entire subject. Rumie says its Bytes use a chunked structure intended to make learning more efficient, while its lessons commonly combine short pieces of text with images, GIFs, memes, and quizzes.

That format makes Rumie rather different from a traditional learning management system. It doesn't have a huge course to enroll students in and work through from beginning to end. Instead, teachers can search the library for a specific idea and use an individual Byte when it makes sense for their lesson.

The library covers categories including Career Skills, Digital Literacies, Civics, Health, Business Acumen, Learning to Learn, and Innovation. More specific topic tags are also available, making it easier to find resources around particular skills or learning approaches.

Importantly for schools, the content isn't restricted to traditional academic subjects. A teacher could use one Byte to introduce digital citizenship, another to explore critical thinking, and another to help students understand financial planning.

That gives Rumie a useful role alongside existing classroom resources rather than trying to replace them.

How does Rumie work?

The simplest way to use Rumie Learn is to search its library, find a relevant Byte and share it with students.

Rumie also has guidance specifically for teachers on using Bytes as part of a lesson. Its recommended approach is to choose a Byte based on the skill being developed, share it with students, and then use the content as a starting point for discussion and application. That means a Byte doesn't have to be the lesson. It can be the thing that gets the lesson moving.

For example, students could complete a five-minute Byte before class as a flipped-learning activity. The teacher can then spend classroom time discussing what students learned, challenging their understanding, and asking how they could apply the idea.

Alternatively, the whole class can work through the Byte together. Rumie's own lesson-planning example suggests reading a Byte as a group or having students work in pairs before discussing their thoughts as a class.

This is where the short format becomes useful. A teacher can introduce a new concept without committing an entire lesson to a digital course, leaving plenty of time for explanation, debate, practical work, or assessment.

The platform is also designed around accessibility of learning rather than assuming students have hours available. Rumie describes its Bytes as quick, commitment-free learning experiences that can build toward broader skills over time.

What are the best Rumie features?

Thousands of short learning resources
The biggest advantage is simply the size and breadth of the library. Rumie currently lists more than 2,500 published Bytes, while its homepage highlights topics ranging from career skills and digital literacy to health, civics, and learning strategies.

New Bytes are published regularly, giving teachers an expanding pool of material from which to draw. That makes the platform useful when you need something specific rather than a complete curriculum.

Microlearning that fits into existing lessons
A five-minute resource is much easier to fit into a normal lesson than a 40-minute online course. A Byte can become a starter activity, homework task, revision exercise, discussion prompt, or introduction to a new topic. Teachers can also combine several Bytes around a broader theme.

Rumie's own classroom guidance suggests using Bytes in sessions ranging from 30 to 60 minutes, with time built in for discussion and applying the learning.

Interactive content
Rumie uses visual content, GIFs, memes, quizzes, and other interactive elements to make short lessons feel less like reading a textbook. The format is designed to keep the learner moving through a single idea rather than presenting a large amount of information at once.

Content created by professionals
Bytes can be produced by corporate employees taking part in volunteer workshops, community partners, and Rumie's own learning designers. Rumie says its learning designers plan, author, and peer-review Bytes, while the organization vets content against its standards.

Each Byte also identifies its author and, when applicable, the organization behind the content. That provides teachers with some useful context about from where a particular learning resource came.

Useful beyond traditional subjects
Rumie can be valuable for the skills that don't always fit neatly into a timetable. Its library includes resources covering areas such as communication, career planning, financial skills, digital citizenship, mental health, and learning strategies.

Classroom-specific resources are available, covering topics such as inclusive classroom management, facilitation techniques, and accessible worksheets. That makes it a potential source of material for PSHE, pastoral learning, careers education, digital citizenship, and tutor time as well as more conventional lessons.

How much does Rumie cost?

Rumie is free to use. That's one of its biggest attractions for teachers and schools. Rumie is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to make learning accessible, and its public Learn platform provides access to its library of Bytes without charging learners for the individual resources.

Separate Rumie products are aimed at organizations, including Rumie Connect and Rumie Build, which allow for the curation of learning experiences or the ability create their own microlearning content. Those are part of Rumie's broader learning platform rather than requirements for using the public Rumie Learn library.

For an individual teacher looking for ready-made learning material, however, there's no subscription to pay for simply browsing and using the public Bytes.

Rumie Tips

• Use Bytes as lesson starters
  Don't feel you need to build an entire lesson around Rumie. Find a five-minute Byte that introduces the concept you want to teach, then use it as the springboard for your own explanation or activity.
• Try flipped learning
  Send a Byte to students before a lesson and use the classroom time to discuss it. This allows students to encounter the material before they arrive and gives teachers more time for questions and application.
• Make students explain the learning
  After completing a Byte, ask students what surprised them, what they found useful and how they could apply the idea. This turns a short digital activity into a discussion rather than another piece of passive screen time.
• Build a themed sequence
  Search for several Bytes around a common subject and use them across multiple lessons. Because each resource focuses on a relatively small concept, teachers can gradually build a broader learning journey without asking students to complete one enormous course.
• Let students explore independently
  Rumie's huge range also makes it useful for independent learning. Ask students to choose a Byte on a subject they know little about, complete it and then present the most useful thing they learned to the class.

Math can be a difficult subject to teach because so many of its concepts are abstract. Students have to understand numbers, formulas, shapes, patterns, and relationships that aren't always easy to visualize on a page.

The right digital tools can help bring those ideas to life. Interactive graphs, virtual manipulatives, games, simulations, and instant feedback can give students more ways to explore mathematical concepts and practice what they've learned.

We've covered plenty of math-teaching tools at Tech & Learning, ranging from comprehensive learning platforms to focused resources designed for a particular part of the curriculum. These are eight of the best, with options for different ages, abilities, and teaching styles.

Best Tools To Teach Math

Best overall math teaching tool

GeoGebra

GeoGebra is a free collection of interactive mathematics tools covering areas including geometry, algebra, graphing, statistics, probability, and calculus. Its biggest strength is visualization. Teachers can put a mathematical concept on screen and let students manipulate it, making it easier to see what happens when a value, angle, point, or equation changes.

The platform includes six main calculators covering graphing, 3D, geometry, computer algebra, probability, and scientific calculations. Students can use these to create graphs, construct shapes, explore equations, and investigate mathematical relationships.

GeoGebra also has a huge library of ready-made resources. The platform hosts more than one million math learning resources, including lessons, exercises, digital books, and interactive activities. Teachers can search by subject or use GeoGebra's Math Topic Map to find material covering areas from arithmetic through statistics. Activities can also be assigned to students, with teachers able to see their work and progress in real time.

A teacher can demonstrate a concept at the front of the room, students can explore it themselves, and the same platform can then be used for practice or formative assessment. And there's a big advantage for schools: GeoGebra is free for teachers and students using it for academic study and teaching.

Best for gamified math practice

Buzzmath

Buzzmath takes a game-based approach to math practice, giving students thousands of questions to work through inside a world of missions, challenges, and rewards. The platform is aimed at students ages 6 to 16 and contains more than 14,000 math questions. Teachers can assign activities to individual students or groups, with content designed to align with curriculum requirements.

Students receive immediate feedback as they work. When an answer is incorrect, the platform can provide guidance, hints, or examples before giving the student another chance. That gives students room to make mistakes and work through them without immediately needing help from the teacher.

Buzzmath also changes the numbers in its questions, so students can practice the same skill without simply memorizing an answer they've already seen. Teachers get reporting tools showing information such as accuracy, attempts, and time spent on tasks. This gives educators a way to identify areas in which individual students or the whole class may need more work.

Audio narration and visual glossaries are also included to support different learning needs. For teachers looking for something that can turn additional math practice into a game, Buzzmath is a strong option.

Best for elementary math

Prodigy

Prodigy turns math practice into a fantasy adventure, with students answering curriculum-aligned questions as they explore a game world and develop their own characters.

The game was originally built around math and now also includes English language arts. For this roundup, though, its math offering remains the main attraction. Teachers can assign specific skills, topics, and learning objectives through the teacher dashboard. Students then encounter questions connected to those skills as they play.

The system adapts to student performance, adjusting the level of challenge as they progress. Teachers can also monitor performance and use the resulting information to identify areas that need attention.

The game works in a browser and through mobile apps, so students can use it at school or at home. The core educational content, assignments, reporting, and classroom tools are available free to teachers and schools.

A multiplayer element is also available, allowing students to play together and compare their progress. That can add a social element to practice that might otherwise feel repetitive.

Prodigy's main appeal is motivation. Students who aren't enthusiastic about completing another set of math questions may be much more willing to tackle these when those questions help their character progress through a game.

Best for virtual manipulatives

Polypad

Polypad is a digital mathematics playground from Amplify that gives students a large collection of virtual manipulatives for exploring mathematical concepts.

The platform includes shapes, counters, tiles, graphs, number lines, probability tools, and other interactive objects. Students can move, combine, resize, and rearrange these elements to investigate mathematical ideas on screen. This is useful for concepts that benefit from a visual or hands-on approach.

Teachers can create their own activities and set up spaces in which students can experiment with a specific mathematical idea. The relatively open design also leaves room for students to find their own solutions and approaches.

Polypad covers areas including geometry, algebra, probability, and statistics, making it useful across a broad range of middle and high school math.

For teachers who want students to experiment with mathematical objects instead of simply writing answers, Polypad offers a flexible digital alternative to physical manipulatives.

Best for real-world math

What If Math

What If Math takes an unusual approach by putting spreadsheets at the center of math education. The idea is to teach students mathematical concepts through the kinds of digital tools they are likely to encounter outside school. Students use spreadsheets to explore formulas, graphs, data, patterns, and mathematical relationships.

The platform's Labs are spreadsheet-based lessons built around individual questions and experiments. Students can change variables and see what happens, giving them a way to investigate mathematical ideas for themselves.

Explorations are larger projects designed around problems that students can tackle collaboratively. These can combine mathematics with areas such as data science, computer science, spreadsheets, and functional thinking. That gives What If Math a strong real-world angle. Students aren't simply learning how to manipulate equations but they see how mathematical thinking can be applied using software that is already common in workplaces.

Teachers can also use free spreadsheet tools such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel alongside the approach, making it possible to extend the activities without requiring specialist software. For older students, especially those preparing for further education or employment, What If Math provides a different way to connect classroom mathematics with digital skills.

Best for creating digital equations

EquatIO

EquatIO solves one of the less glamorous problems with digital math, actually getting equations onto a screen. The tool allows teachers and students to enter mathematics by typing, handwriting, speaking, or importing from an image. It can then convert that input into editable digital notation. That makes it easier to create worksheets, assessments, explanations, and digital assignments containing proper mathematical notation.

EquatIO also includes a predictive math engine. Teachers and students can type naturally and use shortcuts such as "sqrt" to create mathematical symbols without having to navigate complicated formatting menus.

The Screenshot Reader can turn mathematical notation in worksheets, textbook pages, exam questions, or online images into editable content. In Mathspace, teachers can create interactive problems and students can draw, annotate, and show their work.

Graphing is supported through Desmos, while the platform also handles scientific notation, chemistry formulas, physics symbols, and other STEM content.

Accessibility is another important part of EquatIO. Students can enter equations using whichever method works best for them, including handwriting and speech. That can make digital math more accessible while also saving teachers time when creating and marking digital materials.

Best for elementary math practice

I Know It

I Know It is a math and English language arts practice platform aimed at students in grades K-5, with a large collection of individualized exercises and activities.

The math content covers foundational areas including arithmetic, fractions, geometry, measurement, and other core elementary skills. Students work through interactive questions and receive feedback as they go. The platform uses gamified elements to keep practice moving, while teachers and parents can access progress information to see how students are performing.

The individualized approach is useful when students in the same class are working at different levels. A teacher can use the platform for additional practice without needing every student to complete exactly the same activity. I Know It can also be used for homework, independent practice, or reinforcement after a concept has been taught.

The focus here is to provide younger students plenty of opportunities to practice foundational math skills while giving teachers information about where they are succeeding and where they need more help.

Best for an all-in-one digital calculator

ClassPad.net

ClassPad.net is an online mathematics workspace from Casio that combines calculator tools with geometry, algebra, graphing, and other mathematical functions. It's designed specifically for education, giving teachers and students access to many of the functions found on a physical graphing calculator through a browser.

Students can use it to work with equations, construct geometric shapes, create graphs, and explore mathematical relationships. Teachers can use the tools to demonstrate concepts or create activities for students to complete.

Because it runs online, students don't need to carry a specialist calculator between home and school. The browser-based approach also makes it easier to share mathematical work digitally.

The platform provides a useful bridge between traditional calculator-based math and digital learning. Students can explore a concept visually, manipulate the mathematics, and see how different representations connect.

For classes where graphing, algebra, geometry, and calculator skills all feature regularly, ClassPad.net packs a lot into one digital workspace.

Mindfulness is the practice of intentional attention to the present moment, focused on observing thoughts and feelings without judgment.

Teaching mindfulness to students has provided an array of benefits, including improving learning outcomes, boosting wellbeing, bolstering self-management skills, and enhancing social awareness and relationship skills.

I try to practice mindfulness while I’m running–listening to my steps on the track (sounds like a Clydesdale), my gasps of breath (also like a horse pulling a wagon full of beer belly), my heart thumping against my ribcage–all to try and encourage divergent thinking, which I rely on to solve problems in my life and any content on which I’m struggling. I find it works, for what it’s worth.

Here are apps and free resources specifically geared to help students build mindfulness.

DreamyKid

DreamyKid is an app that is filled with meditations specifically created for children. It is self-guided so it requires very little input from teachers, making it a useful tool for the classroom. It also offers some helpful sleep-focused meditations to also be a great help for children at home. Categories are organized by ages so you can find the ideal meditations for the class group with which you're working. Alternatively, you can filter by issues-based meditations, sports meditations, relaxing ones, affirmations, guided journeys, and more.

Calm

The Calm app offers a robust suite of online mindfulness resources focused on stress management, resilience, and self-care. It features 30 Days of Mindfulness in its Classroom resource, which includes reflection questions, scripts, and a plethora of mindfulness activities. Even if you are not familiar with mindfulness strategies, it offers a self-care guide for teachers with calm tips, images, blog postings, planning calendars, and links to videos.

Headspace

Headspace is built to help anyone find calm, although it specifically has plans tailored to educators and students. It is super simple to use so that minimal effort is required to get results -- ideal for use in class where relaxing students is the aim. With guided meditations, it is built to work easily for students of ages 8 and older, but also for younger students too. It offers gamification and a selection of guided stories and sound spaces designed for younger students.

Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind is a free meditation tool in app format that can bring calm into the classroom that students then can take out into their lives. The idea is to offer meditation, focused on thought and breath work, as a tool that students can learn from and have access to whenever they need. By offering private guidance it can help students of all ages, abilities, and emotional levels have access to a moment of calm. Teachers can download exercises to be used anywhere, so students without a decent at-home internet connection also can load up on meditation exercises to use outside of class.

Moshi

Moshi uses strong evidence-based approaches to help students down-regulate their nervous systems so they can be more available and attentive. This can be a great way to start lessons, setting everyone in the room on a similar level for calm and available attention. It includes calming stories, mindfulness, and a focus on sleep, which makes this ideal for transition periods, such as lesson beginnings or endings, as well as refusal points, or to help with sleep when needed.

Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame

Geared toward younger learners, this Sesame Street-sponsored app is designed to help children de-stress. Within it, a variety of scenarios are offered with video clips that learners move through to build skills such as problem-solving, self-control, planning, and task persistence. Additional resources and games can be accessed once the learner has completed the prerequisite activity. Activities are offered in both English and Spanish.

UCLA Mindful App

Developed by UCLA, this free app offers basic meditations in 19 different languages plus videos explaining how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness. It also provides weekly podcasts and 30-minute meditations on different theme, as well as a time if you want to meditate on your own.

Healthy Minds Program

The free Healthy Minds Program app is built on a scientific framework developed by world-renowned neuroscientists, and is based on four pillars of mental health and emotional wellbeing: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. It offers up to 600 days of free wellbeing content to help build healthy habits.

Insight Timer

Insight Timer offers a diverse variety of meditation categories designed specifically for kids. It features more than 200,000 free tracks, with 80+ new guided meditations added daily. It uses interactive and engaging techniques for students, including storytelling, playful imagery, and guided visualizations.

Mindfulness For Kids

Mindful.org provides a variety of resources for kids, schools, and families to build mindfulness, including core practices such as family kindness meditations, parenting tips, fun mindfulness activities, and age-appropriate meditations (from short audio sessions for preschoolers to 8-minute practices for older kids) to help focus on positive moments and breathing.

AI teaching tools have moved well beyond simple chatbots, with the best options now offer teachers practical help. That can mean lesson planning, assessment, differentiation, feedback, and classroom management. Some put AI directly into students' hands as a learning assistant.

The challenge is knowing which ones are actually useful. Countless AI tools now promise to transform education, but vary wildly in what is offered, designs for schools, and how much work teachers still need to do themselves.

These are some of the best AI teaching tools we've covered at Tech & Learning, selected for the different ways they can support educators and students. Some are designed primarily to save teachers time, while others are built to give students more personalized or interactive learning experiences.

From creating an entire lesson to helping a student practice a speech, these tools show just how broad AI's role in education has become.

Best AI teaching tools

Best AI teaching tool overall

EdCafe AI

Edcafe AI is one of the more complete AI platforms for teachers because it aims to cover the entire teaching cycle rather than focusing on one particular task.

Teachers can use it to plan lessons, create learning materials, assign activities, and assess student progress, all from the same platform. Existing resources can also be uploaded so the AI can work from the material a teacher is already using rather than starting from scratch.

This is helpful when time is of the essence. A teacher can upload a document, presentation, or curriculum material and use AI to turn that into lessons, quizzes, or activities that can then be shared with students.

Tools are also available for differentiation, including chatbots that can be tailored to different abilities or subjects. Teachers can then monitor engagement and performance, creating a feedback loop that can help inform future lessons.

For teachers looking for one AI platform rather than a collection of separate tools, Edcafe AI is a great option.

Best for personalized learning

Flint

Flint takes a different approach by combining an AI teaching assistant with an AI tutor for students.

Teachers can use the platform to create lessons, activities, and feedback, while its Sparky AI tutor gives students individual support as they work. The teacher remains in control of how much help the AI is allowed to provide, which is useful when you want AI to guide students without simply handing them answers.

Teachers can upload worksheets, rubrics, lessons, and other resources and use those as the foundation for AI-generated activities. Students can then work through those activities, ask questions, and receive support along the way.

The personalized element is great here. It doesn't expect an entire class to work through the same material at the same pace, but can provide additional support when individual students need it.

Teachers also get analytics and engagement information, while school-level controls and integrations make this suitable for wider deployment.

If you want to use AI to move toward more personalized instruction, Flint is a top choice.

Best for lesson planning

Eduaide.Ai

Eduaide.Ai is built specifically around the jobs that take up teachers' time, making it a useful AI assistant for planning and creating classroom resources.

The platform can generate more than 100 types of teaching resources, including lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, assessments, vocabulary lists, problem sets, escape rooms, and role-playing scenarios.

This doesn't rely on an open-ended chatbot prompt, so teachers can select the type of resource they want and provide the information needed to create it. That makes the process more straightforward for educators who don't want to spend time learning how to write elaborate AI prompts.

It also offers a built-in editor, so teachers can refine the generated material without leaving the platform. Support for more than 15 languages adds another useful layer for language teaching and multilingual classrooms.

Eduaide.Ai is less about giving students an AI chatbot and more about giving teachers an AI-powered resource creation assistant. It's ideal when the goal is to spend less time making teaching materials and more time using them.

Best for student AI interactions

SchoolAI

SchoolAI is designed specifically for education, with AI tools intended to support both teachers and students.

Teachers can use it to create tailored lesson plans, quizzes, and worksheets, with automatic alignment to educational standards. Students can then interact with AI in a more controlled environment rather than simply being handed access to a general-purpose chatbot.

SchoolAI is designed around the idea that AI can provide personalized support while still sitting inside a teacher-controlled classroom environment. The platform can adapt learning experiences to individual students, helping provide something closer to one-to-one support without requiring a teacher to spend one-to-one time with every child.

SchoolAI also highlights its FERPA, COPPA, and SOC 2 compliance, giving schools additional reassurance around its use in an educational environment. For teachers who want students to use AI rather than simply have AI create resources behind the scenes, SchoolAI is one to investigate.

Best for creating teaching materials

Almanack

Almanack is an AI assistant designed specifically for educators, with a focus on turning prompts into classroom-ready resources. Teachers can create slide decks, worksheets, lesson plans, quizzes, tests, games, and report card comments. It can also help with longer-term curriculum planning, giving it uses beyond simply creating a single lesson.

One of the top features is differentiation. Teachers can create multiple versions of a resource for different ability levels without having to start again each time. Almanack can also translate resources, which could be useful when working with multilingual students or creating materials for English-language learners.

The platform is standards-aligned and designed so that AI-generated content is created for teachers rather than being delivered directly to students. That leaves the educator in control of checking and refining the material before it reaches the classroom.

Like any generative AI tool, Almanack still needs a human check. But if creating teaching materials is eating into your preparation time, it can take a lot of the initial work off your plate.

Best for standards-aligned teaching

Teachally

Teachally uses AI to create personalized teaching resources while keeping curriculum and standards at the center. The platform can generate lesson plans, teaching guides, and assessments based on the subject, class, and individual learning requirements. It is designed to support differentiation, so teachers can create material that better suits students working at different levels.

One of its biggest selling points is its extensive standards alignment. Teachally supports hundreds of thousands of state and national standards, allowing teachers to connect generated resources with the requirements they're actually teaching. The platform also supports translation into more than 100 languages, giving it potential uses in multilingual classrooms.

That combination of AI generation and standards alignment makes Teachally useful for teachers who don't just want an AI-generated lesson, but want something that fits into the curriculum they already need to deliver. It's another good example of AI being used as a teaching assistant rather than a replacement for the teacher.

Best for public speaking

Yoodli

Yoodli takes AI into a more specific area of education, helping students become better speakers. The platform acts as an AI speech coach, allowing students to practice presentations, speeches, interviews, and other speaking activities privately before performing in front of a real audience.

Students can record themselves speaking and receive immediate feedback on things such as pacing, filler words, word choice, and body language. They can see specific areas to work on rather than simply being told that a presentation needs improvement.

Teachers can also create custom role-playing scenarios and learning activities, while Yoodli's AI Tutor can hold conversations with students and ask follow-up questions. This makes it useful for English, public speaking, presentations, interview preparation, and English-language learners.

The biggest benefit is the opportunity to practice without the pressure of an audience. Students can make mistakes, try again, and improve before they have to stand up in front of the class.

Best for teaching how AI works

Teachable Machine

Teachable Machine is different from most of the tools on this list because the AI isn't simply there to help the teacher. Instead, it lets students actually experiment with machine learning.

The Google tool allows users to train simple AI models using images, sounds, and movements. Students can provide examples, train the system, and then see how it responds to new information. This offers a super accessible way to demonstrate what machine learning actually means. Rather than explaining algorithms purely through theory, teachers can let students experience the process of training an AI system for themselves.

Educational resources are also available that can be used alongside the platform to explore topics such as algorithms, data, and AI ethics. For example, students can create an algorithm designed to identify their preferred type of sandwich, then examine why the system produces particular results. This opens the door to discussions around training data, bias, and the way algorithms can influence outcomes.

And there's no subscription to worry about as Teachable Machine is completely free to use and doesn't require users to sign in. For teaching AI literacy rather than simply using AI, it's hard to beat.

Atlas is an AI-powered learning platform designed to help students study more effectively by providing personalized support across subjects. Unlike a simple chatbot, it aims to become a study companion that can answer questions and more. It helps to explain concepts, summarize documents, create revision materials, and even work with a student's own course content.

To minimize the risks of overreliance or academic dishonesty, Atlas positions itself as a platform built specifically for learning, with features designed to encourage understanding instead of simply producing finished answers.

Students can upload class notes, PDFs, presentations, and assignments, allowing Atlas to provide responses based on their own learning materials rather than generic internet information. The platform also supports lecture recordings, helping students revisit lessons and generate summaries or revision resources after class.

For educators, Atlas is an example of how AI is evolving beyond general-purpose chatbots into subject-focused learning assistants. While it shouldn't replace classroom teaching or critical thinking, it can help students review difficult topics, organize information, and prepare for assessments when used appropriately.

Here's everything you need to know about Atlas and how teachers can use it to support learning.

What is Atlas?

Atlas is an AI study assistant designed to support students throughout the learning process. It works across a broad range of academic disciplines, including mathematics, science, history, literature, languages, economics, and more.

Students interact with Atlas through a conversational interface similar to other AI chatbots. However, the platform places greater emphasis on learning by allowing users to upload their own educational materials and receive answers based on those resources.

This means a student can ask questions about a textbook chapter, a teacher's presentation, research papers, or their own lecture notes. Atlas can then explain concepts, summarize information, identify key themes, generate quizzes, or create revision flashcards tailored to that material.

The platform also supports image uploads, allowing students to ask questions about diagrams, handwritten notes, worksheets, or mathematical problems.

Responses can reference a student's own course content, so Atlas can often provide more relevant support than general AI assistants that rely solely on their existing training data.

How does Atlas work?

Atlas uses large language models alongside retrieval techniques that allow it to search through documents and resources uploaded by the student.

After creating an account, you can upload PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, research articles, lecture slides, handwritten notes, or images. These materials become part of the student's personal knowledge library.

Instead of answering every question using general AI knowledge alone, Atlas can search those uploaded resources and incorporate these into its responses. This helps students receive explanations that align more closely with the material they are actually studying.

Students can also upload lecture recordings. Atlas generates transcripts, produces summaries, highlights key concepts, and creates revision notes from the recording, reducing the amount of manual note-taking required after class.

Another useful feature is its ability to generate study resources automatically. After analyzing uploaded content, Atlas can produce flashcards, quizzes, practice questions, and condensed revision guides that students can use before exams.

For mathematics and science subjects, Atlas is capable of breaking problems into multiple steps rather than simply displaying an answer. Teachers may find this particularly useful when encouraging students to understand problem-solving processes instead of memorizing solutions.

The platform also supports essay planning and writing assistance. Students can brainstorm ideas, organize arguments, identify supporting evidence, improve structure, and refine drafts.

Atlas can also connect with learning management systems such as Canvas, allowing students to organize coursework and access AI support within the context of their classes.

What are the best Atlas features?

Personalized learning using uploaded resources
One of Atlas's top features is its ability to answer questions using a student's own learning materials. It doesn't just offer generic explanations, but instead can reference lecture slides, course readings, textbooks, and notes that have been uploaded to the platform. This makes responses more relevant to individual classes and assignments.

Lecture summaries
Students can upload recorded lectures and generate summaries, transcripts, key takeaways, and revision notes.

This can help learners revisit lessons, and is especially useful if English is an additional language or if they need extra time to process complex material.

Automatic flashcards and quizzes
Atlas can convert notes and documents into revision materials without requiring students to build flashcards manually. Teachers could encourage students to use these self-generated quizzes as formative assessment before classroom tests.

Step-by-step problem solving
Rather than simply producing answers, Atlas can explain the reasoning behind mathematical calculations and scientific concepts. This makes it more useful as a tutoring tool when students need additional support outside lesson time.

Essay support
Students can brainstorm ideas, organize essays, improve structure, summarize research, and refine written work.

Teachers should make clear expectations around academic integrity so AI supports learning rather than replacing independent writing.

Course organization
Because Atlas stores uploaded learning materials in one place, students can build a searchable knowledge base throughout the school year. Instead of searching through multiple folders, notes, and documents, they can ask questions directly about their existing resources.

How much does Atlas cost?

Atlas offers a free plan that includes daily AI usage limits, allowing students to upload course materials, generate summaries, create flashcards and quizzes, and chat with their documents.

Those who need more extensive access can upgrade to Atlas Pro, which removes many of the usage limits and provides significantly more AI interactions for intensive studying.

Atlas also offers weekly, monthly, and annual subscription options, with prices varying by region and platform. At the time of writing, U.S. subscriptions range from $9.99 per week to $19.99 per month, while a yearly plan is available for $129.99 through Apple's App Store.

Educators should check the Atlas website or app for the latest pricing before recommending the service, as subscriptions and regional pricing may change.

Atlas Tips

• Encourage students to upload class resources
  Students will generally receive more useful responses if Atlas can reference the same materials used in class rather than relying entirely on general knowledge.
• Use AI-generated quizzes for revision
  Ask students to create practice quizzes from lesson notes before a test. This encourages retrieval practice while reducing preparation time.
• Compare AI explanations with classroom teaching
  Have students compare Atlas's explanations with textbook content or classroom instruction. This helps develop critical thinking while reinforcing subject knowledge.
• Teach responsible AI use
  Discuss when AI can support learning and when independent work is expected. Clear classroom expectations help students use the technology ethically.
• Remind students to fact-check
  Like all generative AI tools, Atlas can occasionally provide inaccurate or misleading information. Encourage students to verify important facts using trusted academic sources before relying on AI-generated responses.

NoodleTools is a research and citation platform designed to help students manage every stage of the research process, from finding sources to creating accurate bibliographies.

Rather than simply generating citations, the platform encourages students to think critically about the information they're collecting, organize their ideas, and develop original written work.

Concerns continue to grow around plagiarism, AI-generated assignments, and students' ability to evaluate trustworthy online information. As such, research skills have become more important than ever. Teachers need tools that don't just automate academic tasks but actively teach students how to research, analyze, and synthesize information responsibly.

That's where NoodleTools stands out. Thousands of schools and universities use this as it combines citation management, note-taking, outlining, collaboration, and teacher feedback into a single online workspace. The result is a platform that supports the entire research journey, not just the finished bibliography.

What is NoodleTools?

NoodleTools is a cloud-based research management platform built specifically for education. It helps students organize research projects by collecting sources, creating citations, taking notes, building outlines, and drafting written assignments.

The platform supports the major citation styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago, while encouraging students to understand why citations matter -- no more relying entirely on automatic generation.

NoodleTools treats research as an ongoing learning process. Students evaluate sources, connect evidence to arguments, organize ideas visually, and prepare structured writing before beginning their final draft.

Teachers and librarians can also monitor progress, provide feedback directly inside projects, and collaborate with students throughout the research process.

How does NoodleTools work?

Students begin by creating a project and selecting the citation style required for their assignment. As they research, they can add books, websites, journals, videos, interviews, and many other source types to their bibliography.

Each source becomes part of a wider research workspace. Students can attach notes, quotations, images, PDFs, and comments before organizing everything into digital notecards.

These notecards can then be tagged, grouped, rearranged, and connected to sections of an outline. This helps students identify themes, compare evidence, and gradually develop stronger arguments before writing begins.

Teachers can access projects in real time, allowing them to monitor progress, identify where students may be struggling, and provide targeted feedback before assignments are submitted. This ongoing visibility makes it easier to teach research skills throughout the process instead of simply grading the finished product.

NoodleTools also supports collaborative projects. This allows multiple students to contribute to shared research, while making individual contributions visible to teachers. Because it's entirely web-based, projects can be accessed from virtually any modern browser without installing software. Schools can also integrate the platform with Google, Microsoft 365, and Clever for single sign-on.

What are the best NoodleTools features?

One of NoodleTools' top features is its focus on critical thinking rather than automation. Students are encouraged to evaluate sources, organize evidence, and build original arguments instead of simply collecting references.

The integrated citation tools support multiple academic styles and help students generate accurate bibliographies while learning proper citation practices.

Its digital notecard system remains one of the platform's best features. Students can collect evidence, record ideas, tag themes, and reorganize information as their understanding develops -- creating a much more flexible alternative to traditional paper note cards.

Visual outlining tools help transform research into structured writing. Students can connect evidence directly to sections of their outline, making it easier to spot weak arguments or missing evidence, before drafting.

For teachers, classroom management features provide value. Educators can monitor research progress in real time, comment on student work, track collaboration within group projects, and intervene early when students appear stuck or heading in the wrong direction.

The platform also places a strong emphasis on student privacy, avoiding advertising and marketing, while giving schools confidence that student work remains protected.

How much does NoodleTools cost?

Individual plans for NoodleTools are $15 per year.

Prices for school and district plans are quoted on an custom basis, with discounts available for larger groups.

Free versions, such as NoodleTools Express and MLA Lite, are available and provide more limited functionality.

Best NoodleTools tips and tricks

Build better source evaluation
Instead of asking students to find sources, have them explain why each source is credible.

Check progress before deadlines
Use the teacher dashboard to review student projects throughout the research process.

Teach organization skills
Encourage students to use digital notecards and outlines before writing.

Support group research
Assign collaborative projects in which each student contributes different sources and notes.

Focus on research
Use NoodleTools as a research-thinking platform rather than simply a citation generator.

Glint is designed to speed up that process of creating visual resources. The browser-based platform uses AI to generate classroom-ready visual supports from simple prompts, producing resources that can then be edited, printed, or shared digitally.

It is aimed at teachers, special education professionals, speech and language therapists, and families, with a focus on supporting learners who benefit from visual communication.

Formerly known as NerChat, the platform has expanded beyond AI-powered conversation tools to become a broader visual support system. Today, it offers everything from communication boards and classroom schedules to social narratives and interactive visual resources.

This does not aim to replace teacher expertise. Instead, Glint acts as a starting point. Educators can create a resource in seconds before refining it to suit an individual learner, saving valuable planning time while still allowing for personalization. That makes it very useful in busy classrooms where multiple students could need different levels of support.

What is Glint?

Glint is an AI-powered tool designed to help teachers create visual supports, communication boards, and social stories for students with additional learning needs. Formerly known as NerChat, the platform has evolved into a broader resource creation tool focused on helping educators and support professionals build personalized communication materials faster.

Creating visual resources can be an important part of supporting students with autism, speech and language needs, and other learning differences. However, designing effective schedules, symbol boards, and social narratives can also take significant planning time, especially when teachers need to adapt materials for individual learners.

Glint aims to reduce that workload by using AI to generate editable classroom resources in seconds. Teachers can create materials for specific routines, activities, or communication needs, then adjust any to better suit their students before sharing digitally or printing for classroom use.

With features such as text-to-speech, multilingual support, and QR code sharing, the platform is designed to make visual communication tools more accessible across different learning environments.

How does Glint work?

Glint uses generative AI to build visual learning resources from natural language prompts. A teacher simply describes what they need -- for example, a morning routine, classroom expectations, a communication board for snack time, or a social story about visiting the library -- and the platform generates an editable visual support within seconds.

Glint produces a starting point that educators can adapt. Teachers can edit text, replace or rearrange symbols, adjust layouts, and tailor resources to suit an individual learner's communication level or educational goals. This flexibility helps in SEND settings, in which even students with similar diagnoses may require very different supports.

Resources can include images, symbols, written text, and in some cases, speech output, to encourage communication and independence. Finished materials can be printed as traditional classroom resources or shared digitally, while QR codes make it easy for students, parents, and support staff to access any from a phone or tablet.

Because Glint is entirely browser-based, there is no special software to install. It operates across Windows and Mac computers, Chromebooks and iPads, making it accessible in most school environments. Schools can also manage users centrally, helping larger organizations roll out the platform across multiple classrooms while maintaining consistency between staff members.

The overall experience is designed to minimize preparation time while still giving teachers full control over the finished resource, ensuring materials remain appropriate for each learner rather than relying solely on AI-generated content.

What are the best Glint features?

The best feature of Glint is how quickly it produces resources that would traditionally take far longer to create manually. Visual schedules, communication boards, and social stories can often be generated in less than a minute. This allows teachers to spend more time working directly with students instead of designing classroom materials.

Support for more than 50 languages is another standout feature. This can help schools communicate more effectively with multilingual families while also creating resources that are accessible to students who are learning English or who use another language at home. Being able to generate matching materials in different languages also helps reinforce routines across school and home environments.

Interactive communication boards go beyond static printable resources by incorporating text-to-speech functionality. Students can select symbols to hear words or phrases spoken aloud. This can support communication development and promote greater independence for those who benefit from augmentative and alternative communication approaches.

Glint also offers flexible sharing options. Resources can be exported as PDFs for printing, displayed digitally on classroom devices, or accessed through QR codes, making it straightforward to distribute materials without additional software.

For schools and districts, administrative tools allow accounts to be managed centrally, simplifying deployment across multiple classrooms or campuses. Combined with the ability to save and reuse previously created resources, this makes it easier for teachers to build a growing library of personalized visual supports that can be updated rather than recreated each time.

How much does Glint cost?

Glint includes a free tier that lets you generate up to eight visual supports each month, making it a good way to try the platform before committing to a subscription.

For individual educators, the Monthly plan costs $18 per month (discounted from $25) and can be canceled at any time. The Annual plan costs $150 per year -- equivalent to $12.50 per month -- offering around a 30% saving compared with paying monthly. Both paid plans include premium languages, access to the in-app Google Images library, the Glint mobile app, QR code sharing, and advanced board editing tools.

Schools and districts requiring multiple licenses can request custom pricing. These organization plans add centralized billing, shared resource libraries, administrator controls, usage insights, Clever/SSO rostering, and onboarding and training to support larger deployments.

Best Glint tips and tricks

Start broad
Begin with a simple prompt to generate a draft resource, then personalize it for individual students rather than trying to create the perfect prompt first time.

Support families
Use the multilingual tools to create matching resources for home and school. This can help reinforce routines and improve communication between educators and caregivers.

Build a resource library
Save commonly used schedules, communication boards, and social stories so these can be quickly adapted for different students instead of recreated each time.

While researching my recently updated article, Best Sites for Blended Learning, I came upon CK-12, a remarkable, new-to-me teaching platform that provides a varied and robust set of digital textbooks, AI-powered digital tools, teacher agents, simulations, and more.

CK-12 is the brainchild of the nonprofit CK-12 foundation, whose mission is to provide free access to high-quality, customizable educational content in multiple modalities, suited to multiple student learning styles, levels, and resources. Even better, all tools and features of CK-12 are fully free to educators, students, and families.

What is CK-12?

CK-12 is a K12 online education platform designed for teachers, schools, and families that serves as a customizable digital platform for teaching and learning.

Its flagship offering, Flexbooks, are standards-aligned digital textbooks for K12 math, science, English, social studies, and other topics, including college-level and adult education. Flexbooks are available in English, Spanish, Korean, German, Chinese, Greek, and Polish. A small selection of Flexbooks include built-in interactives.

In addition to Flexbooks, CK-12 offers a wide range of AI tools for teachers, AI teacher agents, learning analytics, study guides and adaptive practice for students, interactive simulations, and PLIX (Play Learn Interact eXplore) interactives.

How Does CK-12 Work?

Users can easily sign up for CK-12 via their Google, Microsoft, Apple, or email accounts. Once signed in, the teacher’s homepage highlights the newer AI-powered tools highlighted at the top, while the older flagship Flexbooks are lower down.

While the AI-powered tools and agents are intriguing and potentially time-saving for educators, the core of CK-12 is really the digital textbooks known as Flexbooks.

(Note that the continual right-to-left and left-to-right animation of the AI Teacher Tools boxes is an unfortunate choice for an organization that aims to be sensitive to learners of all types. Fortunately the student version of the site doesn’t include such distracting animations.)

FLEXBOOKS

Flexbooks carry a number of advantages over traditional textbooks. First, these are fully free, which offers an opportunity for substantial savings—perhaps as much as $1.5-2 million dollars for a district. And in contrast to paper textbooks, Flexbooks can be updated as needed, which of course represents yet another financial saving.

Additionally, Flexbooks are designed to be compatible with all external screen reading apps and tools, allowing for all content to be read aloud. This is especially useful for students who struggle to read at grade level. You can search Flexbooks by grade, language, and subjects. Additionally, one can browse the list of all Flexbooks, arranged by topic and grade.

For six selected math topics, Flexbooks are also available in an interactive as well as conventional version.

Educators can create classes directly in their CK-12 account, or via an existing LMS class, such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and others. Then add students through email, roster upload, or direct entry. Assignments can be made quickly through links on every content page.

AI TEACHER TOOLS AND AGENTS

CK-12’s AI-powered Teaching Assistant comprises a large library of tools to speed teaching preparation, assessments and assignments, specialized learning, communications, and much more. Teacher Agent goes further, allowing users to quickly set up their own AI-powered agent, capable of interactive with students while adapting to their responses and learning styles.

What Are The Best CK-12 Features?

In addition to its flagship product Flexbooks, CK-12 offers several key customizable features ideal for the classroom setting.

ADAPTIVE PRACTICE

Adaptive practice exercises in selected topics are available for students in grades 1-5. Each topic includes dozens of subcategory skills that can be assigned to students.

For example, the Measurement topic is divided into money, time, systems, conversions, capacity, and mass. Within each subcategory skills include comparing, identifying, converting, and many others.

FLEXBOOK TEACHER TOOLS

CK-12’s Teacher Tools are built into every Flexbook page and include a quiz creator, lesson planner, and lesson “hook” generator. Simply click the desired link in the lower left-hand box in order to create a quiz, standards-aligned lesson plan, or lesson hook for the content on the current page.

As with most CK-12 features, users are free to adapt the pre-filled templates according to their own preferences.

LEARNING ANALYTICS

Comprising “foresights” and “insights,” Learning Analytics provide granular data on student and class performance, as well as overall performance for each question. While Foresights predicts a student’s future proficiency in the selected topic, Insights displays skill levels that students have already demonstrated, from "beginning" through “mastery.”

Using graphs and lists, the platform also shares performance data from the class, makes recommendations about how to address performance gaps, and highlights students who are performing exceptionally well.

INTERACTIVE SIMS

Sims are a great way to combine text- and graphic-based learning with interactivity, engaging students more deeply than static lessons. Available for physics and chemistry topics, CK-12’s interactive sims are concept-driven, standards-aligned, and offer downloadable PDF worksheets.

Each assignable simulation begins with a brief animation representing the target concept and includes a video tutorial, challenge questions, and easy sharing options.

How Much Does CK-12 Cost?

Remarkably, CK-12 is completely free for all users -- educators, students, families or anyone wishing to study and learn. The nonprofit CK-12 Foundation’s core mission is to provide content and technology tools that support customizable teaching in multiple modalities, for all types of learners, therefore all its tech tools are 100% free.

Reading difficulties don't disappear when students reach middle or high school, but the resources available to help them often lag behind. Many literacy intervention programs are designed for early elementary learners, leaving older students to practice reading with books that feel childish or disconnected from their interests. That mismatch can make reluctant readers even less willing to engage, creating another barrier to improving literacy skills.

Storyshares' LIFT offers structured, evidence-based instruction that supports decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, with materials that respect students' age and encourage them to keep reading.

The Literacy Intervention For Teens (LIFT) program was developed for students in grades 6-12 who are reading below grade level. LIFT combines structured literacy instruction with age-appropriate decodable books and highly interesting texts written for adolescent readers.

The program seeks to build foundational reading skills using content designed to feel relevant and engaging.

The result is a comprehensive literacy intervention package that includes curriculum materials, classroom resources, and teacher support, making it suitable for intervention specialists, special educators, tutors, and classroom teachers alike.

Here's what educators need to know about LIFT, how it works, and whether it could be the right fit for supporting struggling secondary readers.

What is LIFT?

Storyshares Literacy Intervention for Teens (LIFT) is a structured literacy program designed specifically for middle and high school students in grades 6-12 who continue to struggle with reading.

LIFT combines evidence-based literacy instruction with books and activities that are perfectly appropriate for teenagers.

This focuses on high-interest, age-appropriate content that allows students to develop foundational reading skills without feeling like they're reading "baby books" aimed at younger years learners – as often that's all that is available.

LIFT uses structured literacy principles and the Science of Reading. The curriculum was developed alongside literacy experts, including HILL for Literacy, and is intended for Tier 2 intervention, making it suitable for small-group instruction, special education, English language learners, tutoring, and classroom support.

This doesn't concentrate solely on phonics, but instead the program also develops fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing through a connected sequence of lessons.

Designed to help teachers manage the wide range of reading abilities often found in secondary classrooms, LIFT provides a complete intervention package rather than simply a collection of books.

How does LIFT work?

The program is built around a structured sequence of decoding and fluency instruction that gradually develops students' reading confidence.

Students work through decodable chapter books written specifically for adolescent readers, alongside high-low (high-interest, lower reading level) books that allow them to engage with more mature themes while practicing core literacy skills.

Throughout the curriculum, learners revisit decoding strategies, build vocabulary, and improve reading fluency before applying those skills to increasingly challenging texts.

Teachers receive scripted and adaptable lesson plans, helping both literacy specialists and general classroom teachers deliver consistent instruction. The package also includes professional development, implementation support, and classroom resources that minimize preparation time.

Hands-on learning is another major component. Dry erase boards, sound-keyword cards, vocabulary cards, decoding workbooks, and fluency activities encourage students to actively practice multisyllabic word recognition rather than simply reading passively.

What are the best LIFT features?

One of the biggest strengths of LIFT is that it recognizes adolescent literacy requires different resources than early years reading.

Instead of relying on childish illustrations and simplistic stories, students get engaging chapter books featuring characters and situations more relevant to teenagers. This can help reduce the embarrassment some older struggling readers experience during intervention sessions.

The curriculum is also unusually comprehensive. Schools receive educator manuals, multiple book sets, student workbooks, vocabulary and decoding resources, classroom materials, and implementation training. This is all part of one coordinated package rather than assembling separate intervention resources themselves.

Another useful feature is its flexibility. LIFT is designed for special educators, literacy interventionists, tutors, multilingual learner support, and even general classroom teachers without specialist literacy training, making it easier to implement across different school settings.

How much does LIFT cost?

Storyshares lists the complete LIFT Intervention Program for Grades 6-12 at $2,399.

The package includes multiple classroom sets of decodable chapter books and high-low readers, educator manuals, student workbooks, classroom materials such as dry erase boards, and vocabulary cards, plus a 45-minute live implementation session to help schools get started.

Additional consumable student materials and professional development options can also be purchased separately.

Schools interested in district-wide implementation or customized solutions can contact Storyshares directly for quotes and partnership options.

Best LIFT tips and tricks

Use small groups
LIFT is designed primarily as a Tier 2 intervention, allowing targeted instruction for students with similar literacy needs.

Focus on confidence as well as accuracy
Age-appropriate texts can help reluctant readers stay engaged while developing core skills.

Take advantage of the scripted lessons
Even teachers without specialist literacy training can deliver structured intervention consistently using the provided manuals.

Build decoding into every session
Regular practice with multisyllabic words and fluency activities reinforces long-term reading development.

Use the implementation training
The included onboarding session helps staff establish consistent teaching routines and get maximum value from the curriculum resources.

Adobe is really known for professional creative software such as Photoshop and Illustrator, but its latest education-focused app goes in a new direction. Adobe Aqua is a free drawing and creativity app designed for children aged five to 12, to give younger learners a safe place to experiment with art, storytelling, and design.

Aqua focuses on building confidence through play. Students can draw, color, create comics, design fashion, explore simple 3D creations, and even digitize artwork they've produced on paper. The aim is to make creativity feel approachable while helping children develop artistic and visual communication skills.

For teachers, that means an easy way to introduce creative activities across multiple subjects without the need for previous art experience.

The app can support literacy, science, social studies, math, STEM, and social-emotional learning through drawing-based projects that encourage students to think visually as well as verbally. Adobe also provides classroom-ready lesson ideas that connect Aqua activities to curriculum topics.

Aqua is completely free, contains no advertising or in-app purchases, and has been designed with child safety in mind. That makes it an attractive option for classrooms looking to encourage creativity without introducing unnecessary distractions. Here's all you need to know about Aqua from Adobe.

What is Adobe Aqua?

Adobe Aqua is a free creativity app for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices aimed at children between the ages of five and 12. Developed by Adobe Labs, it combines drawing, painting, coloring, simple design tools, and creative games. This single platform is intended to make artistic expression feel fun rather than intimidating.

Students can work with traditional digital drawing tools, complete guided tutorials from children's illustrators, color thousands of templates, create comic strips, design clothing collections, and experiment with simple 3D artwork.

One popular feature allows children to photograph artwork they've created, on paper, and store it alongside their digital creations inside a personal virtual museum. This helps bridge traditional and digital art.

Aqua also includes collaborative activities such as "1-2-3 Pass," in which students take turns adding to the same drawing, encouraging teamwork and creative thinking. Other activities introduce design concepts such as color, composition, and pattern through playful challenges rather than formal lessons.

Adobe positions the app as a creativity platform rather than simply a drawing program. Alongside artistic skills, the company says Aqua is intended to help develop confidence, imagination, problem-solving, and communication through regular creative practice.

While these broader benefits depend on how the app is used, its emphasis on open-ended creation makes it great for a wide variety of classroom activities.

How does Adobe Aqua work?

Students begin by selecting from a range of creative experiences instead of opening a blank canvas. They might start with coloring pages, follow a guided drawing lesson, create a comic scene, build a fashion collection, or explore a collaborative game. Each activity gradually introduces creative techniques without overwhelming younger users.

The interface is intentionally simple, with large icons and clear navigation suited to younger children. Aqua concentrates on features that encourage experimentation and creativity while remaining easy to understand.

Teachers can use Aqua as an individual creativity tool or as part of wider classroom projects. Adobe's education resources suggest activities including illustrating vocabulary, designing historical costumes, creating diagrams for science topics, drawing story characters, and producing visual reflections for social-emotional learning.

Because the emphasis is on drawing ideas, rather than creating polished artwork, students with different artistic abilities can participate comfortably.

Some features make use of Adobe's Firefly AI technology to apply creative effects or help transform artwork into different visual styles. These AI features are presented as optional enhancements rather than replacing the student's own work. This allows learners to explore different artistic possibilities while keeping creativity at the center of the process.

Completed artwork can be saved inside each student's virtual gallery, creating a digital portfolio that can be revisited throughout the school year and shared with families when appropriate. Since Aqua also works offline for many activities, it can be useful in classrooms where internet access is limited.

What are the best Adobe Aqua features?

One of Aqua's biggest strengths is that it feels playful rather than instructional. Students are encouraged to explore ideas freely while still developing useful artistic and creative thinking skills.

The ability to combine physical artwork with digital creations is ideal for elementary classrooms. This allows traditional drawing lessons to continue while gradually introducing digital creativity.

Cross-curricular lesson ideas also make Aqua more useful than a standalone art app. Teachers can integrate drawing into literacy, science, history, or emotional wellbeing activities without needing specialist art knowledge.

Perhaps most importantly, Aqua removes many of the barriers associated with children's apps by remaining free, ad-free, and designed specifically for younger learners, making it easier to introduce safely in school environments.

How much does Adobe Aqua cost?

Adobe Aqua is completely free to download and use on supported iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

It has no advertisements, no in-app purchases, and no subscription required. Adobe has designed the app specifically for families and schools, with child privacy and safety forming a core part of the platform.

Best Adobe Aqua tips and tricks

Illustrate vocabulary
Ask students to draw new vocabulary words instead of simply writing definitions.

Support science learning
Create labelled life cycles, habitats, or diagrams using drawing tools rather than worksheets.

Retell stories visually
Have students recreate scenes or characters from class reading to demonstrate comprehension.

Teachers have no shortage of AI tools that promise to save time, but most still rely on writing prompts and refining the results. TeacherForge offers a structured approach to help build classroom resources through dedicated lesson generators.

This is designed specifically for English language teachers and creates grammar worksheets, vocabulary exercises, reading comprehension tasks, writing prompts, listening activities, and complete exams. Teachers choose a CEFR level, select the type of activity they want, and let the AI generate ready-to-use materials.

Unlike general AI chatbots, TeacherForge keeps everything focused on ESL and EFL teaching. Resources can be regenerated to produce fresh versions, downloaded as editable Word documents or PDFs, and include answer keys automatically. Listening activities also come with audio and transcripts.

For language teachers looking to reduce planning time without sacrificing quality, TeacherForge offers a streamlined way to produce classroom resources in minutes. This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how it could work for your class.

What is TeacherForge?

TeacherForge is an AI-powered lesson creation platform built specifically for teachers of English as a second or foreign language. It focuses entirely on producing language-learning resources, giving teachers a set of purpose-built tools instead of a general chatbot interface.

The platform is organized around six resource generators covering grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, and exams. Each one is tailored to the type of activity being created, so teachers choose options from guided menus rather than relying on carefully worded prompts. That makes it easier to produce consistent resources while reducing the amount of editing needed afterward.

Everything is designed around the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), allowing teachers to generate materials suitable for learners from beginner through to advanced.

Activities can focus on specific grammar points, vocabulary themes, or language skills, while reading exercises can either use AI-generated passages or text supplied by the teacher.

Once a resource has been created, it can be downloaded as an editable Word document or as a PDF for printing or sharing digitally. Listening activities also include generated audio and transcripts, while worksheets automatically include answer keys.

TeacherForge also stores the settings used to create each activity, allowing teachers to return later and generate fresh versions without starting again.

The result is a platform that feels less like chatting with AI and more like using a specialist lesson planning tool that happens to be powered by AI behind the scenes.

How does TeacherForge work?

Using TeacherForge follows a straightforward workflow that should feel familiar to most teachers. After signing in, you select the type of classroom resource to create before choosing the appropriate CEFR level for the learners. From there, each generator presents different options depending on the activity being built.

A grammar worksheet, for example, allows teachers to select the language point they want students to practice before choosing the exercise format. Reading activities can generate an original passage or build questions around text uploaded by the teacher. Vocabulary exercises can be based on custom word lists or predefined themes, while writing activities include prompts, guidance, and model responses. Listening exercises combine generated audio with accompanying classroom tasks.

After reviewing the generated material, teachers can download it as a Word document for further editing or as a PDF ready for printing. Because the documents remain editable, it is easy to adjust wording, replace examples, or tailor activities to a particular class before using any.

One of the platform's more useful features is its ability to regenerate resources. Instead of producing exactly the same worksheet every time, TeacherForge can create fresh versions using the same structure and level of difficulty. That makes it useful for parallel classes, revision activities, or assessment retakes in which teachers want similar exercises without repeating identical questions.

By guiding teachers through structured lesson builders instead of relying on free-form prompting, TeacherForge reduces the amount of trial and error needed to produce classroom-ready materials.

What are the best TeacherForge features?

TeacherForge's big appeal is its specialist focus. Every part of the platform has been designed around English language teaching rather than general classroom use, making the generated resources feel far more targeted than those produced by a standard AI chatbot.

The ability to regenerate worksheets is another standout feature, allowing teachers to produce multiple versions of the same activity for different classes without rebuilding the lesson from scratch.

Editable Word downloads also make it easy to personalize resources before reaching students. Automatic answer keys and listening transcripts remove several additional preparation steps.

Combined with CEFR alignment throughout the platform and these make TeacherForge really useful for teachers who regularly create their own language-learning materials.

How much does TeacherForge cost?

TeacherForge offers a free plan with a limited number of credits, allowing teachers to try each of its lesson generators before subscribing.

Paid plans start at around $5.75 per month when billed annually, with a higher-tier subscription offering unlimited generation and batch creation tools. School licences are also available for departments and institutions.

Best TeacherForge tips and tricks

Build differentiated lessons
Generate the same activity at different CEFR levels to support mixed-ability classes.

Upload your own texts
Turn class readers, articles, or curriculum materials into comprehension exercises instead of relying on AI-generated passages.

Create resit papers
Regenerate saved activities to produce fresh assessments that match the original level of difficulty.

Teaching in reality is very different than many of us envision it beforehand. It’s also harder than is depicted in movies and television.

That said, I find that those new to teaching often need a reminder that they are not alone in facing difficulties inspiring students, preparing classes, responding to inappropriate AI use, and much more. I still struggle with all this, and I’ve been teaching for more than a decade.

What I find actually helps is talking with other educators. I make a point of trying to share my struggles honestly and openly with other educators, especially new ones as they, in particular, typically need reminders of this.

So if you will be stepping into a classroom for the first time soon, here are some things I remind myself of and which may be helpful for you as well.

1. Not Every Idea You Have Will Work

Most teachers, especially when starting out, have constant innovative ideas for improving their lessons and classes. These ideas are impassioned and are really and truly great ideas—the problem is that students don’t always recognize their brilliance.! Or at least I’ve found It’s common for well-thought-out lesson plans to fall flat with students due to a variety of factors that are beyond my control.

This realization is a bummer when it happens, but it will happen, and more than many teachers will admit. Just realizing that I wasn’t the only one experiencing this helped me when I started.

2. There’s Such a Thing As Overpreparation

Teachers tend to be people who pride themselves in preparation. This is generally a good thing, but new teachers have a tendency to lean too much into this and can easily burn a lot of time painstakingly crafting lesson plans and overstuffed slides.

At best, this is just more work than necessary, but it can also actually hurt by eliminating the chance of spontaneity. Underpreparing isn’t good, either, but I learned fast that just because I spent my whole weekend preparing a lecture didn’t mean it would be good. In fact, I find that often spending less time on preparation allows me more time to focus on other teaching-related tasks and ultimately be more present for my students.

In other words, follow the old advice: work smarter, not harder.

3. You Will Encounter More AI Than You Think

Everyone knows about AI and has gotten used to spotting computer-generated slop on social media, but there’s still nothing quite like reading student emails or papers for the first time and realizing that these are AI-generated.

As a teacher, you are going to see this more often than you expect and in many cases, in the absence of clear institutional guidelines, you will have to determine how to handle AI misuse on your own. I’ve written about various approaches, but no approach of which I am aware is perfect, so be prepared to be flexible in your response to AI.

You also have to accept that teaching in the age of AI adds a layer of complication that wasn’t present years ago. Of course, there are many educators who find that using it can help save time in class prep and other areas of teaching, so for some, AI takes but also gives.

4. Good Teachers Question If They Are Good Teachers

Every good teacher I’ve ever met has one thing in common: they worry if they are doing a good job. This is because good teachers care, and the more you care, the more you feel like there’s more you can do. So those worries that you blew it or should be doing more are actually a sign that you’re doing the right thing by continuing to strive to do better for your students.

On the other hand, I’ve found that teachers who are overly confident often have blind spots. These folks give feedback that is less helpful than they think it is, and their “fixes” for AI misuse and other problems don’t actually work, but they’re too arrogant to see it.

Ultimately, if you feel some doubts creeping into what you’re doing here and there, that’s a good sign. You can start worrying when you feel like you have all the answers!

PlayKids Learning is an educational platform designed for children aged roughly 2 to 12. It combines videos, games, activities, stories, and original shows in a single app, with a focus on safety and age-appropriate content.

The company says this can help children develop academic and life skills while maintaining a healthy relationship with screen time. Something that could make this a parent's favorite educational app pretty fast.

PlayKids Learning lets children move between educational games, videos, creative activities, and interactive content covering areas including literacy, mathematics, arts, music, science, and social-emotional learning.

The platform is available across devices, including smart TV and interactive whiteboard platforms, making it accessible both at home and in school. This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about PlayKids Learning.

What is PlayKids Learning?

PlayKids Learning is an educational entertainment platform developed by Sandbox Group. It offers a large library of children's content that includes educational games, videos, cartoons, podcasts, and interactive learning activities. It is designed to provide a safe, ad-free environment in which children can learn through play and exploration.

The company says the platform is used by millions of families across more than 180 countries and supports multiple languages. Content includes both PlayKids original productions and licensed children's programming featuring familiar characters.

A key focus is helping children build skills beyond traditional academics. PlayKids highlights areas such as creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning alongside literacy and numeracy development.

How does PlayKids Learning work?

PlayKids Learning works as a subscription service that gives teachers and families access to a large library of child-friendly educational content through a single app. Once an account is created, parents or teachers can set up profiles for individual children and begin accessing games, videos, stories, podcasts, and interactive activities tailored to different age groups.

The platform is available on smartphones, tablets, web browsers, and many smart TVs, allowing children to switch between devices while keeping their progress and preferences. Content can also be downloaded for offline use, making it useful for travel or situations where internet access is limited.

PlayKids Learning combines entertainment and educational activities in one place. Children can move between watching shows, playing learning games, listening to audio content, and completing creative activities, while parents can use built-in controls to manage screen time and monitor usage.

The service is designed for independent use by younger children, with a simple interface and large visual navigation elements that make it easy to explore without constant adult supervision.

What are the best PlayKids Learning features?

One of PlayKids Learning's appealing aspects s is the variety of content available in a single subscription. Children can watch educational videos, play games, complete activities, listen to podcasts, and engage with interactive learning experiences without needing multiple apps.

The service is also designed with parental oversight in mind. Parents can set screen-time limits, manage profiles, and download content for offline use. Multiple devices can access the same subscription, which can be useful for families with more than one child.

Safety is another major selling point. PlayKids Learning is ad-free and promotes its kidSAFE certification and curated content approach. This can help parents avoid advertising and recommendation algorithms.

The platform also encourages activities beyond passive viewing. Alongside videos and games, children can access drawing activities, creative projects, music content, and hands-on exercises designed to extend learning away from the screen.

How much does PlayKids Learning cost?

PlayKids Learning offers two main subscription options through its website. The monthly plan costs $7.99 per month, while the annual plan costs $79.80 per year, effectively reducing the monthly cost by around half compared to paying monthly. A free trial is also available for new users.

Subscriptions include unlimited access to the platform's content library, support for multiple devices, offline downloads, parental controls, and access across supported mobile, web, and TV platforms.

It's worth noting that pricing can vary slightly depending on whether families subscribe directly through the PlayKids website, Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or a partner platform.

Best PlayKids Learning tips and tricks

Start with age-appropriate profiles
Take time to set up profiles that match each child's age and developmental stage. This helps ensure the recommended content remains relevant and engaging.

Use offline downloads for travel
Download videos and activities before trips or long journeys. This allows children to access content without requiring an internet connection.

Balance screen time with hands-on activities
Look for the platform's creative projects, crafts, music activities, and offline exercises. These can help turn screen-based learning into wider real-world experiences.

Even though it was composed more than 2,700 years ago, The Odyssey never gets old. This summer it will be brought to the big screen by Christopher Nolan in a much-anticipated film starring Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway.

Emily Wilson, a professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, says film adaptations of the epic poem always generate interest in the classic work and could provide a good excuse to introduce the epic into the classroom.

Wilson knows of what she speaks.

Nolan consulted her much-heralded 2018 translation for his film version. Wilson’s translation is also the first complete translation by a woman, and in it, she hoped to convey the rhythm of the original.

“Most of the available modern English translations before and after mine, use free verse or prose, rather than metrical, rhythmical verse,” she says.

Wilson recently shared some of the strategies she uses when teaching The Odyssey, and other works by Homer and myths, to her undergraduate students.

Teaching The Odyssey: Take A Detour From The Hero’s Journey

The Odyssey is frequently taught through Joseph Campbell’s framework of the “hero’s journey,” but Wilson thinks that approach can be too limited.

“[It] invites students to see The Odyssey as a kind of template for all other quest narratives, and to focus exclusively on the perspective of the protagonist,” she says. This can overshadow how Odysseus interacts with many other characters, “including those who do not have either a quest or a journey home.”

She adds, “When I teach undergraduates who have read The Odyssey in high school, I often invite them to reflect on both the appeal of this universalizing approach and to consider what it leaves out, including the historical specificity of the poem's concerns, which echo the particular preoccupations of the archaic Greek world, a world of large-scale Greek migration and colonization.”

Don’t Shy Away From The Alien Nature of The Book

“The Odyssey, like other works of ancient literature, is fascinating largely because it is both extremely familiar in its concerns and themes and also extraordinarily alien,” Wilson says. “The deities, for example, may seem like narrative conveniences, and in a sense they are, and yet The Odyssey was also created by and for people who worshipped and sacrificed to Athena, Zeus, and Poseidon.”

She finds that examining the conflict between the familiar themes and alien ones can lead to deep discussions with students. “The first four books are about the small-scale journeys of Telemachus, Odysseus' son, to visit his father's old comrades. The theme of a lost, anxious young person exploring his own identity through visiting alternative homes, is entirely relatable for any young reader.”

But at the same time there are limits to how far that relatability goes. “The terms in which the poem defines adult masculinity may be quite alien and even disturbing,” Wilson says. “Telemachus demonstrates a divinely inspired confidence by telling his mother to be quiet, and later takes a new step to manhood by murdering the thirteen enslaved people claimed by his mother's suitors to reclaim the honor of the household.”

Examine Gender Roles

Many students today take issue with gendered inequality seen in the poem.

“Those feelings can be an excellent opportunity for discussion and reflection,” Wilson says. She adds, it’s also “an opportunity to consider whether these feelings are invited by the poem itself, or the result of a gap in values between The Odyssey and modern values.”

Wilson’s students are often “outraged by the fact that Odysseus spends eight years in sexual relationships with two goddesses, at least partly voluntarily, and yet he seems to suffer no repercussions in his marriage to his eternally faithful wife.”

She adds, “There is an interesting and teachable mismatch between the modern idea of ‘adultery’—a gender-neutral disapproval of extramarital sex—and the ancient idea of moicheia, which refers only to sexual relationships between a man and another man's wife.”

This disconnect is more complex than students might realize. “The affair of Paris and Helen, or that of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, threatens the integrity of the household and the male lineage, whereas Odysseus's affairs abroad are of no relevance for the household,” she says.

This is all an example of how, in Wilson’s words, “There are many opportunities for discussion of the relationship between modern norms of gender and sexuality and those of the poem.”

Use Visuals and Share Technological Breakthroughs

“When I teach myth, including The Odyssey, I often juxtapose it with ancient art; students who struggle with literary analysis often flourish in response to visual representations,” Wilson says. “There's a lot to say about, for instance, how Athenian vases depict the blinding of Polyphemus, and how this might compare or contrast with the poem's version of the same scene.”

Modern technology is also playing a role in the ongoing story of ancient texts. High-profile AI-assisted translations of damaged text have recently been released, but that’s only the beginning of what technology can do, Wilson says.

“One of the most exciting developments to me is not AI but digital imaging combined with radiocarbon analysis, which has enabled the decipherment of papyri that would otherwise be unrecoverable,” Wilson says. “It's exciting for everyone, including students, to learn that we're still discovering ‘new’ ancient literature.”

Talk About Translation

Wilson is, of course, interested in the differences between various translations of Homer’s work, but stresses that there are many excellent translations beyond hers, and students should be invited to compare and contrast the differences.

“As a way of teaching the value of close reading and the fact that every word matters, there's no better exercise than asking students to look closely at maybe two to three lines of The Odyssey in several different translations," she says. "I love this exercise, and I find it wakes students up to the fact that literature isn't just, and in fact, isn't primarily, about meaning; it's about specific words in a specific order, and every choice matters.”

Wilson's new book Crossing the Wine Dark Sea, which will be released in September, ends with a long essay about what Wilson calls the “minutiae of choices involved in translating just a few lines of The Odyssey and comparing multiple different translations of the same lines.”

This essay is a great introduction for educators looking to explore the role of translations in The Odyssey.

Remember: Teaching The Odyssey Shouldn't Be An Epic Challenge

Wilson says sometimes teachers shy away from teaching The Odyssey because they think it will be daunting.

“In many ways, Homer, especially in a reasonably user-friendly modern translation, is far less daunting than Shakespeare, whom I hope people also teach,” she says.

She adds, “The debate about teaching great books or the canon is sometimes framed as if teaching canonical or ancient texts were antithetical to the project of inviting students to be aware of themselves, their own culture, and their own world, but to me, nothing could be further from the truth. We learn about ourselves by discovering who we aren't, and who we almost are, and how we relate to others. There's no more generative text than The Odyssey for exploring those questions.”

Critical thinking really can be taught, suggests a new study led by Michael Bishop, a professor of philosophy at Florida State University.

For the study, published earlier this year in the Journal of American Psychology, Bishop and his collaborators split 397 students into two groups. Students in one group took a critical thinking class while students in the second group did not. The students who took critical thinking saw significant advantages over the students who did not.

As Bishop and his co-authors note, “the results suggest that an appropriately designed critical thinking class can dramatically reduce four common biases in judgment and decision making: honoring sunk costs, inferring causation from correlation, ignoring regression to the mean, and overlooking opportunity costs.”

Bishop is currently working on a book about teaching critical thinking. He discusses some highlights from the study as well as his experiences teaching the topic to students.

Teaching Critical Thinking: Defining What Critical Thinking Is

Attempts to teach critical thinking frequently fail, Bishop says. He believes this is because most approaches don’t follow the proper steps to teaching the topic, the first of which is defining what it means for somebody to be a better critical thinker.

“A lot of people who try to teach critical thinking go wrong on this first step,” Bishop says. This is because Bishop believes common definitions of critical thinking often focus on the wrong things.

"One wrong answer is that a rational thinker uses good rules or rational methods," he says. "Or you might think a rational thinker is an expert debater." But he says these definitions of critical and rational thinking are incomplete. Instead, with students, he focuses on providing them with effective strategies for engaging more deeply and accurately with various topics.

“I think that, really, a rational thinker in the end, it's not somebody who wins a lot of debates or the person who's most well-informed about issues," Bishop says. "It’s somebody who asks helpful and fruitful questions. These are questions that tend to lead to better answers.”

Emphasizing that it's about learning the proper process, Bishop adds, “I’m not teaching them rules. I'm not trying to teach them to win debates. I want them to ask fruitful questions.” 

Implementing Critical Thinking Lessons

Once you define what critical thinking looks like, you have to accurately assess why your students are not asking fruitful questions.

Bishop says that often students can ask fruitful questions in idealized situations yet fail to understand the implications of these strategies in real-world scenarios. For instance, Bishop has a scenario he asks students about in which they have to imagine their country is going to war with an unfriendly country. Students are told that ultimately, the war will be beneficial for their country with rewards outweighing costs.

Putting aside the non-financial costs of war for the sake of this argument, most students say that going to war is a good idea. However, in giving this answer, they’re making a potentially costly assumption that becomes clear if they think about the problem another way.

Instead of going to war, Bishop asks students to imagine they’re given three envelopes and told they can have the contents of one of the three envelopes. If they look in the first envelope and see a $5 bill, they can stop the game then, and they’d be $5 richer than they were before the game started. But since seeing the contents of the other envelopes before making their decision is permitted, students realize that taking the $5 is a bad choice because there could be much more money in the other envelopes. 


Part of what Bishop tries to convey to students is that the envelope problem and the war scenario should be treated the same way. “When I argue that ‘Hey, we should go to war because it's going to bring us this benefit,' all of a sudden it's harder to see. It's harder to recognize.”

Critical Thinking in Different Contexts

The three-envelope and war example Bishop provides is a variant of the operational cost fallacy in which we tend to ignore the cost of pursuing alternative strategies — for instance, the benefits we miss out on by a course of action we could take instead of going to war. Each of these fallacies can take some time to understand and then implement in the real world.

This is part of why Bishop calls his strategies for overcoming these fallacies in real life "cheat codes.” Once students do the initial work to learn them, they tend to have more informed decision-making.

While this research focused on a handful of fallacies, Bishop says that teaching good critical thinking skills involves teaching additional fallacies and mistakes. For instance, another thing students should look for is confirmation bias. This occurs when people use good critical thinking when opposing ideas they disagree with, but throw all that out the window when examining their side of the argument.

This is so common that Bishop wrote a short ditty about it that serves as a quick and important critical thinking lesson all on its own. It goes: “Low standards for my views and high standards for yours/Make us bad thinkers, extremists, and bores.”

Smore aims to solve the problem of poor school-to-home communication by turning school newsletters into visually engaging, mobile-friendly web pages that are easy to create and share.

Newsletters traditionally were blocks of text and a few images. Smore lets teachers and schools build interactive updates that can include videos, calendars, forms, links, images, documents, and more.

The platform is designed as a communication tool rather than a classroom teaching platform. Teachers can use Smore to keep parents informed about class activities, share resources with students, celebrate achievements, publish project work, or create information hubs for events and school projects.

Because everything is web-based, newsletters can be viewed on phones, tablets, laptops, or desktop computers without requiring parents to download a separate app.

So what exactly is Smore and how can teachers make the most of it?

What is Smore?

Smore is an online newsletter and family engagement platform designed specifically for schools and educators. It allows teachers and admins to create visually rich digital newsletters -- using drag-and-drop tools rather than needing web design experience, as some platforms demand.

Teachers can build newsletters from templates or start from scratch, adding text, images, videos, buttons, calendars, documents, forms, polls, and event information. Completed newsletters can then be shared through email, links, QR codes, social media, or embedded into school websites.

Lots of communication tools focus on one-way messaging. Smore is designed to encourage engagement. Features such as polls, event RSVPs, embedded content, and analytics help schools understand whether information is actually reaching families.

The platform is used by individual teachers, entire schools, and districts that want a more modern method of family communication.

How does Smore work?

Smore works through a browser and requires very little setup. After creating an account, teachers can choose from a range of newsletter templates and customize one using a drag-and-drop editor.

Content is added in blocks, making it easy to insert announcements, photos, videos, links, classroom updates, homework information, event details, and downloadable files. Teachers can rearrange sections as needed without having to touch any code.

Once a newsletter is published, it receives a unique web address. That newsletter can be emailed directly through Smore, shared as a link, embedded into another website, or distributed using a QR code.

One very useful feature for schools with diverse communities is automatic translation support, allowing families to read newsletters in their preferred language on supported plans.

Teachers and administrators can also track readership through built-in analytics, helping them see how many people opened a newsletter and which links attracted the most attention.

What are the best Smore features?

One of Smore's best features is its ease of use. Teachers can create professional-looking newsletters in minutes without needing graphic design skills.

The multimedia support is another highlight. Rather than attaching files to an email, teachers can embed videos, include image galleries, add links to resources, and create a more engaging experience for families.

The event RSVP tools can also be useful for school activities. These help teachers collect responses for trips, performances, parent evenings, and classroom events.

For schools focused on accessibility, Smore includes support for accessibility standards and offers translation options that can help improve communication with multilingual families.

Analytics provide another advantage, allowing educators to see whether important communications are actually being read rather than simply assuming an email reached its destination.

How much does Smore cost?

Smore offers a free version that allows you to create up to three newsletters, send up to 200 emails per month, and access basic designs and limited analytics. For teachers who want to use the platform regularly, paid plans are likely to be the more practical option.

The Basic plan costs $99 per year and includes unlimited newsletters, advanced analytics, customizable designs, PDF exports, file attachments, event RSVPs, polls, and up to 5,000 email sends per month.

The Pro plan costs $179 per year and adds automatic translation into more than 130 languages, Canva integration, custom headers, a table of contents feature, logo branding, and a higher monthly email allowance of 15,000 sends.

For larger schools or educators with extensive communication needs, the Premium plan costs $299 per year and raises the monthly email limit to 30,000 while adding priority support.

Schools and districts can also opt for Smore for Teams, which adds multi-user access, shared folders, collaboration tools, branded templates, enhanced analytics, and administrative controls. Pricing is available on request.

Best Smore tips and tricks

Create a weekly class hub
Use a single newsletter format each week so parents know exactly where to find homework, key dates, and classroom updates.

Showcase student work
Embed photos, videos, and project examples to give families a window into classroom learning.

Use analytics to refine communication
Monitor which sections receive the most engagement and adapt future newsletters accordingly.

Blended learning is a teaching approach that combines both traditional in-class instruction with digital technologies for lessons, assessments, feedback and more. In other words, face-to-face teaching is supplemented and supported by online lessons and content.

The advantages of blended learning include flexibility, student engagement, and the ability to personalize lessons.

The following blended learning sites, many of which are fully free, provide a variety of features through which educators can implement their blended learning approach.

Best Sites for Blended Learning

FREEMIUM

Newsela
A multiple award-winning platform, Newsela includes ELA, social studies, and STEM topics, and is particularly strong for differentiated reading and current events. A 45-day free trial of premium Newsela is provided to educators with no credit card required. The free version, Newsela Lite, provides a new leveled article each week, standards-aligned skill-building activities, and access to the Binder to review student work.

Pear Deck Learning
From its beginning as a Google Slides add-on, Pear Deck has expanded to now offer three additional services: Pear Start, Pear Practice, and Pear Assessment. Pear Start offers more than 40 AI tools to save teachers time, while Pear Practice allows teachers to build, share, and assign practice sets for individuals or groups, and Pear Assessment enables formative and summative assessments and automatic grading. The original Pear Deck’s free educator plan offers generous features such as lesson creation, differentiated learning, Immersive Reader, and student participation controls. Each program provides a free account for educators and premium accounts for schools and districts. Well worth checking out.

Parlay
Parlay, a powerful platform for discussion and debate in classrooms, makes it easy for educators to sign up and explore its features. Create a new discussion (written or verbal), browse more than 7,000 discussion prompts, and select grades. Topics can be entered directly as text, or though a link or PDF. The output will feature everything needed for a productive classroom discussion, including learning goals, questions, and peer feedback instructions. Students can be invited via code, roster, link, or Google Classroom. Basic Parley Free for teachers includes up to six roundtables with 50 students per roundtable.

Kahoot
One of the oldest and best-known quiz game platforms, Kahoot offers millions of ready-made gamified quizzes as well as the ability to create your own. Kahoot offers four paid plans ranging from $36 to $228 per year. Kahoot’s free basic account for educators and others allows creating and hosting a limited number of games, as well as joining games and exploring public kahoots.

PREMIUM

Canvas LMS
A complete learning management system providing tools for course creation, grading, collaboration, and mobile learning. Canvas integrates with multiple other platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Nearpod, Google Assignments, Discovery Education, Skyward SIS, and Slate. Unfortunately, the popular Free-for-Teacher accounts are currently unavailable, as Canvas rebuilds the backend, aiming for a fall 2026 launch.

Starfall
Starfall’s easy-to-navigate site and modest membership cost makes it ideal for both home and education, while its gamified interface will engage young users. Aimed at preK-5 students, Starfall’s games are research-based, standards-aligned, and cover reading and math topics from rhyming to factor pairs. While they don’t offer a free trial, each topic provides one or two free games for interested users to try. Education accounts are modestly priced at $70-$355 annually for individual teacher, classroom, or school accounts, and include student access on campus and at home.

IXL
Offering a comprehensive, skills-based K-12 curriculum, the award-winning IXL platform also includes diagnostic, assessment, and analytics tools for language arts, math, science, and social studies. Unlike many other such sites, IXL permits generous exploration of skills and lessons without joining. A full, free 30-day trial is offered for educators.

WeVideo Classroom
Designed for education, the video-editing platform WeVideo Classroom includes a wide range of built-in tools for video editing and export, and the ability to upload and integrate text, audio, image, and other files. Teachers can create classes, add multimedia assignments and projects, and provide feedback. Webcam, screen recording, templates, interactive videos, storyboarding and podcasts, and more are all part of the WeVideo ecosystem. Free seven-day trial with no credit card required.

FREE

Khan Academy Kids
This educational app for kids aged 2-8 has earned a five-star rating from the independent nonprofit Common Sense Media. Friendly animal characters and the gamified interface create a welcoming and engaging atmosphere for kids to learn early literacy and math skills, as well as to explore the natural world. Teachers can assign lessons and track progress in the app, which is 100% cost- and ad-free.

CK-12
A robust education nonprofit that started by providing open source digital textbooks in 2008, CK-12 has steadily added digital teaching resources for the past 10 years. Their products include new AI teaching tools and agents, customizable, interactive digital textbooks and science simulations, PLIX (Play-Learn-Interact-Explore) interactives, and much more. A wide range of subjects and grades are covered, from K-5 science to college algebra to adult education. Integrates with Google Classroom, Canvas, and Schoology.

OpenStax
From Rice University, OpenStax claims to be the world's largest publisher of free, peer-reviewed digital textbooks. Although I can’t confirm that claim, I can attest to the diversity of K-12 subjects for which digital textbooks are provided. OpenStax’s textbooks are written by experts in their fields, peer-reviewed, and standards-aligned. Digital books can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. A free educator account with your school email is required for full access. Available in English, Spanish, and Polish.

TEDEd
Not only does TedEd offer a wide range of educational videos, it also offers lessons built around these videos. Even better, educators can customize video lessons according to their teaching goals or upload their own video as a lesson foundation. Each lesson includes questions as well as a discussion forum.

Nowcomment
A free collaboration platform that allows for the discussion and annotation of online documents, Nowcomment offers an easy signup process and a fairly intuitive site. Teachers can upload documents, create private groups of students, and invite them to add comments. Files accepted for upload include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, image, video, copy-and-paste from HTML, and text entry. For security and privacy, only invited users can comment on documents and private groups are not searchable by search engines.

iCivics Education
Top-notch collection of K-12 civic and social studies games, lesson plans, simulations, mystery-themed curriculum units, and more, iCivics Education allows educators to assign games, monitor student progress, and manage classes in one place. Integrates with Google, Clever, and other single sign-on solutions.

Khan Academy
A free learning platform that allows teachers to create and manage classes, assign courses, and monitor student progress, Khan Academy now also features Khanmigo Tools, free AI-powered tools for education. Courses include math, test prep, ELA, science, social studies, computing, professional learning, and more.

Prodigy
Fully free for teachers, schools, and districts, the game-based Prodigy platform gives educators the ability to create classes, assign lessons, monitor student progress, and identify learning gaps. Students play math and English learning games as individuals or in teams. Integrates with Google, Classlink, and Clever.

zSpace takes a different approach to VR, offering immersive 3D learning experiences without asking students to strap a device to their faces.

Designed specifically for education, zSpace combines hardware and software to create interactive lessons that allow students to explore complex concepts in a more hands-on way.

From dissecting a virtual heart, to examining the inner workings of an engine, or investigating scientific phenomena that would be impossible to recreate safely in a classroom -- the aim is to move learning beyond textbooks and flat screens.

STEM subjects, career and technical education (CTE), and workforce readiness all get a focus. zSpace has found a place in schools looking for ways to make learning more engaging while helping students develop practical skills.

Here's everything you need to know about zSpace and how it can be used for teaching.

What is zSpace?

zSpace is an immersive learning platform that combines dedicated hardware with a library of educational software designed for schools, colleges, and training environments.

The company focuses on what it calls experiential learning. This aims to give students the opportunity to interact directly with digital objects and simulations -- rather than simply reading about processes or watching videos.

zSpace does not rely on traditional VR headsets. Instead, students use specially designed laptops or workstations that display 3D content that can be manipulated using a stylus. This creates the feeling of interacting with physical objects and dodges lots of the practical challenges associated with headset-based VR.

The platform is popular for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but it also supports health sciences, manufacturing, skilled trades, and career-focused learning programs. The idea here is to help students better understand difficult concepts through direct interaction and exploration.

How does zSpace work?

zSpace is designed to make digital learning feel more physical. Students can pick up, rotate, enlarge, shrink, and examine virtual objects from every angle.

Rather than viewing a diagram of the human body, for example, they can pull virtual organs apart, explore anatomical systems layer by layer, and investigate structures that would be difficult to visualize using more standard teaching methods.

The same approach applies across other subjects. Engineering students can inspect machine components, science students can investigate molecular structures, and technical education learners can practice procedures in simulated environments before working with real-world equipment.

For teachers, the platform functions as another instructional tool rather than a replacement for existing teaching methods. Lessons can be integrated into classroom activities, used as part of blended learning programs, or offered in small groups.

Because students are actively interacting with the content rather than passively consuming it, the technology is designed to encourage curiosity, exploration, and discussion.

One of the biggest advantages is the ability to provide experiences that would otherwise be too costly, dangerous, impractical, or simply impossible in a normal classroom setting.

What are the best zSpace features?

One of the most standout features is the headset-free approach. zSpace removes the need to wear VR goggles, as many other immersive tech platforms require, making classroom use simpler and potentially more comfortable for learners.

The platform's interactive 3D models are another major strength. Being able to manipulate objects directly can help students grasp concepts that are often difficult to understand through static images alone. This is helpful for subjects such as anatomy, engineering, physics, and technical training.

zSpace also stands out because of its focus on CTE and career readiness. Much of the content is designed to teach academic concepts and to help students with skills and scenarios they may encounter in future professions.

The company also provides curriculum resources, implementation support, and professional development for educators, to help schools integrate the technology into existing teaching practices rather than treating it as standalone.

How much does zSpace cost?

zSpace does not publicly list pricing. Costs vary depending on the hardware selected, the software packages required, and the level of support and training a school needs.

As a result, schools interested in adopting the platform will need to contact zSpace directly for a customized quote.

Best zSpace tips and tricks

Use it for concepts students struggle to visualize
The biggest gains are likely to come when teaching topics that are difficult to understand through diagrams, photographs, or written explanations alone.

Build discussion around the experience
Rather than treating zSpace as a solo activity, use it as a starting point for questions, predictions, and classroom conversations that help students process what they have explored.

Focus on experiences you cannot easily recreate
The technology is at its strongest when it enables students to do something that would otherwise be impossible, unsafe, prohibitively expensive, or unavailable in a typical classroom.

ispring Free is a specific version of the larger ispring ecosystem that's designed to help make courses, and lesson creation, a simple process. Crucially, this offers a way to help teachers make digital interactive lessons using their own skills.

The idea here is to work as an add-in with Microsoft PowerPoint so that educators can build slides into lessons easily. This means using a platform that may already be familiar, only now with the option to add questions and more before outputting to an LMS for use.

The powerful free version lets you get going with lesson making right away, but you also have some other paid features including AI-driven tools to enhance the offering even further.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about ispring Free, primarily, with those extra paid tools mentioned later on so you know what else is available too.

What is ispring?

ispring is an elearning creation tool that works directly within Microsoft PowerPoint. This adds extra teaching and publishing features right there within a tool that many educators already know how to use.

Teachers can create lessons using standard slides, then enhance those with quizzes, embedded video, audio, YouTube clips, web objects, and interactive elements. Once finished, the presentation can be exported as HTML5 content or packaged as a SCORM course for use within an LMS.

You can also use PowerPoint animations, transitions, triggers, and layouts as these are preserved during conversion. Consequently, existing classroom presentations can often be repurposed rather than rebuilt from scratch.

The free version includes three quiz types: multiple choice, multiple response, and short answer. These are enough for many classroom assessments and knowledge checks, plus you can pay for the more premium features if needed.

How does ispring work?

ispring Free appears as an additional tab inside PowerPoint. Teachers build lessons as they normally would, then use ispring’s tools to add interactive and assessment elements.

To publish, educators can export lessons as SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 packages for upload into LMS platforms, or simply create HTML5 lessons that can be shared via links or websites.

Courses are responsive, so these automatically adapt for phones, tablets, and desktop devices without extra work. That's very useful for homework, remote learning, or flipped classroom teaching so students can then access content on different devices.

Teachers can track learner progress when using an LMS. Quiz scores, completion rates, and learner participation data can all be monitored through these systems.

This is built to be quick and easy to pick-up and use. So while there are limitations in terms of complexity, for a lesson building tool that works with ease, this does the job well.

What are the best ispring features?

ispring is integrated into PowerPoint, which is one of the main appeals here for ease of uptake and simplicity of creation. No training is going to be needed here in most cases.

SCORM publishing is another major appeal. Lots of other free tools struggle with LMS compatibility, but ispring Free supports SCORM 1.2 and 2004 output, allowing courses to work with platforms such as Moodle and Blackboard.

Courses automatically resize for different screens, which helps students access lessons on phones or tablets -- something that's rare to find in free tools such as this.

Quiz creation is simple but effective, with built-in knowledge checks that can include timers, shuffled answers, and feedback. In addition, there's support for embedding web objects and multimedia directly into lessons, helping otherwise less engaging slide decks feel more interactive and enthralling.

The biggest limitation is depth. The paid ispring Suite adds far more advanced interactions, branching scenarios, drag-and-drop tasks, AI tools, narration features, and richer quiz options.

How much does ispring cost?

ispring Free is just that, without any cost to use. It has no limits on time or slides, and does not include forced branding.

It's worth noting that the free version is very much intended as a gateway into the paid ecosystem. Those who want advanced quiz types, video creation tools, AI features, role-play simulations, or content libraries will need to upgrade to ispring Suite.

Individual accounts for the full suite start in the hundreds but for education institutions there are bespoke prices available on request.

ispring best tips and tricks

Reuse old presentations
Convert existing PowerPoint lessons into interactive online resources rather than rebuilding content from scratch.

Add quick knowledge checks
Use the built-in quizzes after key slides to reinforce understanding and keep learners engaged.

Publish for mobile learning
Export lessons as responsive HTML5 content so students can revise on phones and tablets.

As a journalist who writes about education tech, my kids' favorite education apps are those that have been tested and stand out above the rest. Over the many years of doing this there are some that really jump out, are loved by my kids, and get used continually over longer periods of time. Crucially, these also have a noticeable effect on their schooling and progress.

The apps I've written about have largely fallen across a few categories, some feeling too like homework, others repetitive when the novelty wears off, and some which strike the balance between playful and instructional while staying engaging. That last category is from where these app recommendations are coming.

So these are the apps that my kids genuinely returned to, out of choice, over the last year as I've been trying them out in our home.

Best of My Kids' Favorite Education Apps

Best overall

Wayground

Wayground is one of our favorite apps, bar none. This manages to combine the best of quiz-style platforms in a way that plays to the needs of the child.

So, in my house for example, one child was drawn to using it in a competitive way while the other was a lot more exploratory. It supports both, allowing them to enjoy it their way while still getting the learning from being on here.

While a lot of apps can feel built for the classroom and teacher-first, this is also good as an at-home app. It's easy enough to setup and use for parents and children, but that it can also be a bridge between class and home use.

Since this works across devices, using a browser, I could have one child on the laptop and another on my phone so they get their own experience, at their level. The pre-built quizzes make it as easy as handing over the device and letting them explore.

That said, the addition of AI now makes adapting to each child far more accessible as an option that's easy. Crucially, for me as a parent and for teachers, this isn't time consuming so you actually use it and -- as a result -- so do the kids.

To be clear, this is designed for teachers to setup and use, and works best that way. So if this is something your child's school is offering, or considering, I'd very much encourage you to take advantage of this and have your littles ones give it a go.

Best for literacy

IXL

IXL is a literacy app that's far less repetitive than many similar platforms by breaking learning into smaller, achievable chunks that build confidence steadily over time. Covering everything from spelling and vocabulary to grammar and reading comprehension, it offers a huge amount of structured practice while still feeling approachable for younger learners.

What worked well with my kids was the sense of progression. They could complete shorter activities, earn rewards, and immediately see improvement. The adaptive system also helped keep frustration levels lower by adjusting difficulty as they worked, which made it easier to maintain engagement.

The platform’s clean layout and focused exercises keep distractions to a minimum. While it still feels academically solid underneath, IXL avoids becoming overly classroom-heavy, which helped it slot naturally into home use. It became very useful for quick daily practice sessions that never felt too demanding.

Best for math

Buzzmath

Buzzmath feels much closer to puzzle-solving over traditional drills, which immediately made it more appealing in our house than many worksheet-style alternatives. Designed for middle school learners, the platform combines interactive challenges with visual learning tools that encourage experimentation and problem-solving -- rather than memorization alone.

One of the strongest features is how it handles mistakes. Instead of simply marking answers wrong, Buzzmath encourages students to retry, rethink, and work through problems independently. That helped reduce frustration levels, particularly with more difficult topics.

The game-inspired structure also works well without overwhelming the educational side of the experience. Progression feels rewarding, but the learning remains central throughout. Visual explanations and interactive feedback helped make more abstract concepts easier to grasp, especially for anyone that struggles with text-based instruction.

For kids who normally disengage quickly from math practice -- my daughter -- Buzzmath offers a far more approachable and confidence-building alternative that still delivers strong educational depth underneath the playful presentation.

Best for STEM

NASA Space Place

NASA Space Place stands out because it captures the sense of curiosity that great STEM learning should inspire. The platform introduces complex ideas through playful activities, bright visuals, games, videos, and short articles that make science feel approachable and exciting.

Space is naturally engaging for my and most other kids, and this platform uses that brilliantly to pull learners into wider STEM topics, including engineering, climate science, physics, robotics, and astronomy. One minute my kids were exploring planets, the next they were learning about satellites or weather systems without really noticing the educational shift.

The platform also feels refreshingly straightforward. Plus, no subscriptions, pop-ups, or overly gamified distractions competing for attention. Instead, the focus remains firmly on exploration and discovery.

For younger learners especially, NASA Space Place strikes an excellent balance between education and accessibility. It offers great STEM learning while still maintaining the excitement and imagination that often gets lost in more formal educational platforms.

Best for gamification

Roblox

Roblox may not look like a traditional education platform at first glance, but the creative side of the experience offers far more learning potential than many parents initially realize. Beyond simply playing games, children can build environments, experiment with coding concepts, design interactive experiences, and collaborate creatively with others.

What stands out most, watching my kids use Roblox, is how naturally problem-solving becomes part of the experience. Whether adjusting game mechanics, building worlds, or figuring out systems together, there is a constant layer of experimentation underneath the entertainment. It encourages creativity in a way that feels self-directed rather than instructional.

That said, Roblox still benefits from active parental involvement and sensible controls, particularly given the scale of the platform. The educational value depends heavily on how children engage with it.

Used thoughtfully, though, Roblox can become a surprisingly effective gateway into coding, digital creativity, collaboration, and design thinking. For children already interested in gaming culture, it offers opportunities to shift from passive consumption into active creation, which is where its strongest learning potential can emerge.

Best for AI

aiEDU

aiEDU offers one of the most accessible introductions to artificial intelligence I’ve seen for younger learners, managing to explain a fast-moving and often intimidating subject in a way that feels clear, balanced, and genuinely useful. As AI tools increasingly become part of everyday life, helping children understand the technology behind it all feels more important than ever.

Rather than focusing purely on flashy demonstrations, aiEDU places a strong emphasis on digital literacy and critical thinking. Lessons explore how AI systems work, where biases can appear, and why understanding the technology matters, all without becoming overly technical or difficult for younger people.

The platform also offers a clean design that keeps the focus firmly on learning rather than distractions. My kids engage particularly well with the real-world examples and discussion-led style of the content, which encourages curiosity rather than passive consumption.

Considering the quality of the material available completely free, aiEDU feels really valuable for families and schools looking to introduce AI concepts without adding yet another expensive subscription service into the mix.

Best for video

ClickView

ClickView takes the strengths of video-based learning and packages it all into a far more focused educational experience than the open-ended chaos of general video platforms. With curated educational content, interactive quizzes, and classroom-ready resources, it creates an environment in which children can stay engaged without constantly being pulled toward unrelated distractions.

What works particularly well with my kids is how effectively video helps unlock topics they might normally avoid in text-heavy formats. Complex ideas often becomes easier to understand once presented visually, especially through shorter clips and structured explanations designed specifically for learning.

The platform also feels thoughtfully designed for both school and home use. Teachers can integrate lessons easily while parents benefit from knowing the content has been curated with education in mind.

Importantly, ClickView avoids making video learning feel passive. Interactive elements throughout encourage participation and reflection rather than endless watching. The result is a platform that manages to feel engaging and educational in equal measure, which is surprisingly difficult to achieve consistently.

The recent trend of pushback against tech in the classroom is seeing schools across the country moving away from emphasizing 1-2-1 digital devices and focusing on old-fashioned classroom and group activities.

Dennis R. Willingham, superintendent of Walker County Schools in Alabama, recently realized how this trend has touched his own district when a principal told him about witnessing student behavior that had not been seen in years: the passed note.

“A little tear came in my eye that the kids were actually writing instead of texting,” this educator told Willingham.

In addition to reviving the once-extinct practice of students writing notes to one another, the new trend is cutting back on distractions in the classroom and helping support student learning, Willingham says. It’s been pushed by a combination of events, including decreased funding for 1-2-1 programs in the post-COVID era and a general fatigue among teachers and students that we’re all spending too much time looking at screens.

Willingham discusses the benefits of screen-free time he’s seen in his district as well as the challenges around continuing to provide device access to students, which remains a necessity.

Less Screen Time, More Social Interaction

Back in 2018 and 2019, there was a big push to provide every student access to a digital device, Willingham says. That intensified during the pandemic, but now many in the education world are realizing the embrace of digital devices may have been a little too enthusiastic.

“Now the trend seems to have shifted back the other way, and people are calling for more direct instruction from the teacher, going back to more cooperative learning groups, and more student engagement within the classroom,” Willingham says. “The big reason for that is for the sake of social skills. Because not only in the schoolhouse but also outside of school doors, kids are absorbed by electronic devices, with their phones, with laptops. And so we are seeing that students are lacking in social skills.”

In Willingham’s district, this movement has been facilitated by state legislation banning cell phones in schools, which went into effect at the start of the academic year. Most people, including Willingham, have applauded the new policy.

“We’re receiving positive feedback from just about every stakeholder about these electronic devices being banned in our schools,” he says.

The Need For Devices

Despite the benefits of cell phone bans, the larger movement away from 1-2-1 devices isn’t all positive. Walker County Schools still has a 1-2-1 policy in place that is needed, Willingham says, but funding for the program long-term is in question since COVID-era funds have dried up and federal funding for education is currently uncertain.

“We have state-mandated assessments starting in second grade. And those state-mandated assessments are electronic,” Willingham says. “It’s kind of a Catch-22. The trend now is going away from 1-2-1, but at times you need the 1-2-1.”

Federal funds are crucial to continuing to provide that access in Walker County Schools.

“It is going to be a challenge going forward. It is not feasible to continue finding 1-2-1 because of the upgrades and updates. That's not only with the hardware, but also with the computer systems and the software as well,” Willingham says. “We are a poverty district. We are about 70% poverty. And so we do rely on federal funding to keep our heads afloat.”

Advice On Going Device-Free

Ongoing uncertainty about federal funding notwithstanding, Willingham believes there is real benefits right now for teachers to provide more screenless activities in the classroom.

“Cooperative learning and student engagement, that's really where it's at. It's proven to be effective for learning, and it's also great for social skills, which we're seeing that our students greatly need,” he says.

Perhaps ironically, AI can help educators prepare more old-fashioned, pen-and-paper and group activities.

“It’s fantastic you can type in, ‘I want to teach a lesson on standard A3, and I want to involve cooperative learning and group activities,’ and boom, you’ve got all of that at your fingertips," Willingham says. "All you’ve got to just tweak it and make it your own.”

These types of group and in-person activities have the added bonus of limiting students’ increasing tendency to rely on AI themselves in unproductive ways, such as making it write a paper for them.

In a less digitized classroom, for instance, when students are writing notes back and forth to each other, you know, regardless of the content, that at least the students wrote the notes themselves.

Edcafe AI is a rare tool in the world of AI as it, unlike many others out there, is specifically designed to support classes through the entire teaching cycle.

Built for educators, this AI tool works to offer support across the full teaching process, from lesson planning to assessments -- all in one easy-to-access platform.

The idea here is to offer a more time-efficient way to work, without jumping around between tools. From building a lesson from scratch -- differentiating for mixed abilities -- to tracking student progress, this tool should streamline that process for ease.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about Edcafe AI for use in your class.

What is Edcafe AI?

Edcafe AI is a digital AI-powered assistant for teachers to help across planning, teaching, and assessing lessons. By combining multiple tools, this offers a single platform for teachers to create, organize, deliver, and evaluate learning.

This allows teachers to plan curriculum-aligned lessons and then create classroom-ready learning materials. Assigning these to students, and assessing as well as tracking progress, is also built into the platform.

That all should mean teachers only need to open this one tool to get everything done, saving on time and effort -- so they can focus on more valuable teacher-student time.

How does Edcafe AI work?

Edcafe AI combines the power of artificial intelligence with the materials already being used by teachers. Current and sourced materials can be uploaded for use, all being enhanced to work with the AI ecosystem.

What that actually looks like is a teacher uploads a document, slides, or curriculum content. The AI then generates lessons, quizzes, or activities that can be shared using links or QR codes. Students can then work with these materials as teachers track engagement and performance in real time.

Usefully, there are feedback loops that allow teachers to see how students are responding, so as to refine future lessons based on student ability.

Since students don't need accounts, this is all super simple to setup and share so students can begin working with the materials right away.

What are the best Edcafe AI features?

Edcafe AI uses artificial intelligence to make the creation of materials fast and easy from full lesson plans, slides, and quizzes to reading activities.

Chatbots can also be created, with custom inputs, which are then able to assist students as they work through topics. They then can get personalized feedback and help as they work, without it costing teachers on time.

Those quizzes that can be generated are also able to be auto-graded, saving even more teacher time. This can be a quick way to assess student ability with any learning gaps easy to identify and work on improving.

Since Google Drive can be used with this system, it makes for an easy way not only to access and enhance current materials, but to generate and share more across the school.

Everything is end-to-end here, so teachers can work in one platform to get everything done. This is not only helpful for saving on time, but can also be far less mentally straining.

How much does Edcafe AI cost?

Edcafe AI offers a tiered pricing model, including a free option. The plans break down like this:

Free plan: Limited AI generations and core tools.

Pro plan: From around $7.99/month (annual billing) with expanded features.

Premium plan: From around $14.99/month with unlimited usage and school-level tools.

Custom options are also available for schools and districts, including onboarding and integration support.

Edcafe AI best tips and tricks

Start with your own materials
Upload existing lesson content to get more accurate, curriculum-aligned outputs.

Use chatbots for differentiation
Set up different chatbots for varying ability levels or topics to personalize support.

Generate then refine
Treat AI outputs as a starting point and tweak for tone, accuracy, and class context.

ClassPoint is one of those tools designed to perfectly blend other software that teachers, until now, have been using separately. The idea being that this can save time and effort with one do-it-all solution.

The combination here is of the ever-helpful slides-based tools, such as PowerPoint, with quiz-style apps that allow for more measurable engagement.

This does plenty more though, thanks to AI and the ability to gamify learning, all while offering real-time feedback to educators.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about ClassPoint to see if it could save you time and enhance your instruction.

What is ClassPoint?

ClassPoint is a digital tool that combines slide-based teaching with interactive assessment options to offer a more dynamic class experience.

This integrates directly with Microsoft PowerPoint so teachers can use current tools and slides to make it all more interactive.

The app offers quizzes and polls that allow educators to measure student answers, live. This also helps teachers to turn slides into interactive whiteboards, with slide annotation live as the class works through materials.

To be clear, this works within PowerPoint, so existing class materials can be reused rather than doing everything from scratch.

How does ClassPoint work?

ClassPoint works as a PowerPoint add-on, so you can get this installed and then work on your slide decks directly.

Teachers can work with the interactive elements right there from within the slides. Students are sent a join code that allows them to interact using their own devices. Everyone can be working on the main whiteboard screen, with interactions sent live from their devices.

So while teachers are presenting as normal, students are able to respond with answers to quizzes, annotation drawing, or even uploads from their devices. The results of all this can be shown immediately on screen at the front of class.

Also integrated is an AI quiz generator. This scans the slides you're using and automatically offers questions that will work with that presentation. That can mean a huge saving on preparation time for teachers as well as the ability to get into a quiz on any slide section, even if previously unplanned.

What are the best ClassPoint features?

ClassPoint is all real-time so feedback from students is live, allowing teachers to adapt their teaching -- stopping longer on a topic or moving on -- as the lesson progresses.

That AI quiz generator is a really big value as saves time, offering more spontaneity and the ability to adjust these to suit different ability levels.

Teachers can gamify everything as there is the option to award stars, track progress, and even display leaderboards to help with motivation and participation.

Thanks for the ability to annotate directly, this allows any PowerPoint slide to become an interactive whiteboard canvas. This is for teachers, live, but also for students that want to add text, images, audio, video, drawings and more.

Usefully, for teachers, this can help with tracking of participation, with built-in reporting tools.

How much does ClassPoint cost?

ClassPoint offers a tiered pricing model that includes a free plan. The levels break down into:

Free (Basic): Limited features, small class sizes, and capped quizzes.

Pro: Around $8/month (billed annually), unlocks larger classes, unlimited questions, and more advanced tools.

Premium: Custom pricing for schools, with features such as unlimited AI credits and deeper analytics.

The free tier is functional enough for trying it out, but most of the more powerful features, especially AI and analytics, sit behind the paid plans.

ClassPoint best tips and tricks

Turn slides into instant quizzes
Add interactive questions directly into your PowerPoint to check understanding without switching tools.

Use live responses to guide teaching
Adjust your lesson in real time based on how students answer polls and quizzes.

Gamify participation with points
Reward correct answers and engagement to motivate quieter students to get involved.

ClickView is a video-learning platform that's been designed specifically to work in education class scenarios. That means this is a safe, classroom-appropriate resource that's loaded up with educators in mind.

Unlike the mine-field that can be YouTube, this is filled with curriculum-aligned content that is well-organized so teachers can find and use what they need with ease -- saving on time and effort.

Thanks to the vetted and curated content, along with interactive tools, this can be used as a powerful way to deepen or introduce learning in class and beyond.

This guide aims to lay out all you could need to know about ClickView as a potential tool for your class.

What is ClickView?

ClickView is all about video, specifically school-based video viewing. This education-focused video platform offers access to thousands of curriculum-aligned, curated videos that cover a range of subjects and topics.

Since this is built for education specifically, the content is all age-appropriate, curriculum-linked, and vetted for classroom use.

Usefully, it's all well-organized too. Teachers can browse by subject, topic, or learning level to get to video content that relevant and high-quality -- ultimately saving on search time. Plus, it's possible to add interactive, assessment elements to make this even more engaging.

Students can access this via a single sign-on, class code, or school credentials -- all meaning access through a secure and school-friendly system.

How does ClickView work?

ClickView is made to work as a tool that teachers can use to make their planning easier, more rich, and ultimately, faster -- while still giving students the most engaging experience.

Teachers start by logging in to their school account. They can then immediately search by topic, subject, or keyword as needed. Filters help to narrow results with results focused on level, content type, and topic.

When the video has been picked, it can be played in class, shared with students directly, embedded into lesson plans, or assigned for independent study at another time.

Teachers can give student access via a class code, or students can get in using their own login, depending on how the school is setup. This can mean in-class use but also at-home learning, if a hybrid model is being used with this setup.

Usefully, teachers can also add interactive layers to follow after the video has been watched. These include questions, annotations, and interactive timeline elements. All that should make for a more active learning experience that sticks.

What are the best ClickView features?

ClickView has thousands of videos that are all curriculum-aligned, so teachers can search by specific topic to quickly find ideal materials without the need to vet it themselves.

The interactivity of videos is a big draw here as it allows teachers to tailor the follow-up experience. That can lead to a more engaged viewer, knowing they need to answer questions after.

The search functionality is a big draw here as it allows for direct keyword searches but also a browse function. This can help stimulate lesson planning by browsing what's available, or offer direct results to save on time.

Since students can access these videos via a shared code, or school login, it makes for easy access across devices. Sharing these for in-class or at-home use is just as easy either way.

Analytics tools allow teachers to see how students have engaged with the videos and interactive elements. This should be useful in guiding help for students, adapting lesson plans, and generally tailoring support.

Teachers can even upload their own videos and resources to help build the customized library available across the school or class.

How much does ClickView cost?

ClickView pricing is not publicly listed and is typically offered via a school or district subscription model.

Costs vary depending on school size, region, feature access, and licensing requirements.

Schools usually need to request a quote or demo to get specific pricing details.

ClickView best tips and tricks

Use clips instead of full videos
Short segments keep attention high and allow for more targeted discussion.

Add questions directly into videos
Embedding quizzes help check understanding in real time without extra worksheets.

Flip the classroom
Assign videos as homework so lesson time can focus on discussion and application.

Dotstorming is a digital point of centralization for a class to help get everyone contributing as a team.

While real-world voting and brainstorming can leave out the quiet voices, this tool works to help everyone have a say. It's equal parts digital sticky notes and voting system, all working live in the room.

This is a simple tool at its heart, offering voting to the class, but in a way that's powerful in its potential output. With the option to span in class use and hybrid learning models, this is a helpful way to keep the class focused as a group.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how Dotstorming could work for your class.

What is Dotstorming?

Dotstorming is a digital tool that is browser-based for easy access across the class and devices available. This works as a brainstorming and decision-making system that lets the group share ideas and vote in real time.

Use text, images, videos, and PDFs, as the virtual board system allows for a range of materials to be shared in the class for discussion purposes.

This, used in conjunction with the "dot voting" system, allows the students to participate in group decisions instantly. Teachers can then cut the debate and noise when trying to get directly to a group consensus, or gauge of class opinions on a matter.

Easy organization of these "boards," by popularity, allow for further streamlining of this process for use in class with minimal teacher effort.

How does Dotstorming work?

Dotstorming offers teachers a space to create boards that can then be shared with students via a link. Since there is no login needed, or special devices thanks to browser access, this can be used across student devices easily.

Students are then able to add their own ideas in a post-style system using text, images, and videos. They can see the contributions of others and vote on preferred ideas using their limited number of votes to pick and choose.

For teachers, there is the chance to manage the number of votes each student has before letting them take part. Control over chat and commenting is also available, with the option to disable. Finally, teachers can also lock submissions ready to move onto voting as the only option, for simplicity.

Once voting is all done, the results can be stored and used as part of future discussions or lesson planning. All that helps this become a useful formative assessment tool as well as prioritization pointer.

What are the best Dotstorming features?

Dotstorming works in real-time so group collaboration, at speed, is possible without getting lost in debate or counting of votes. That can result in high-energy and inclusive lessons while keeping everyone involved in voting.

The rich media support makes this a powerful tool to use across a range of subjects. That means using images, videos, text, and PDFs to help teachers bring in ideas but also to allow students a way to freely express themselves.

The sticky note-style layout on the board makes for a very visually engaging way to share information. It strikes the balance between digital and analogue that feels easy to use while still staying efficient and organized.

The fact students can join in with a simple link and their name, without account creation being necessary, is a hugely powerful part of how easy and effective Dotstorming is for use in classes, even for the first time. It also supports student data privacy.

How much does Dotstorming cost?

Dotstorming works on a freemium model. That means you have two levels:

Free: Limited boards and topics, but fully functional for basic classroom use.

Paid plans: Offer expanded usage and additional features (pricing varies).

For many teachers, the free tier is enough to run effective sessions, especially if boards are reused.

Dotstorming best tips and tricks

Start with a focused prompt
Clear, specific questions lead to better quality ideas and more meaningful voting.

Limit the number of votes
Restricting votes forces students to prioritize rather than select everything.

Use it for checks
Have students post what they don’t understand, then vote to surface key gaps.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

These provocative and powerful words are familiar to most 21st-century Americans. But to truly appreciate their radical and revolutionary meaning, we must understand what political and social ideas were commonly held during the Colonial era.

These semiquincentennial lessons and activities provide a broad range of pathways through which educators can teach the founding of our country, its remarkable exceptionalism, and equally remarkable divergence between ideals and practice.

A note about the word semiquincentennial: As the semiquincentennial approaches, you may be feeling nostalgic for the days of the bicentennial, which was easier to pronounce and spell. But the word is actually quite logical in both. Based on Latin roots, semiquincentennial deconstructs as follows: semi meaning half; quin meaning five and centennial meaning hundredth. It’s pronounced sem-ee-kwin-sen-TEN-ee-uhl. Happy 4th of July!

Best Lessons and Activities for the Semiquincentennial

National Constitution Center: The Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
What’s the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? And what about the Bill of Rights – how does that fit? Although the U.S.Constitution and Bill of Rights didn’t exist in 1776, it’s best to understand these documents as part of the same striving toward democracy and freedom. This in-depth article, written by constitutional experts Jeffrey Rosen and David Rubenstein, explores and clarifies the similarities and differences among these three crucial founding documents. An ideal place to start for students in grades 6-12.

American Battlefield Trust: Declaration of Independence Lesson Plan
A detailed, standards-aligned lesson plan for use in middle and high school classrooms. Students will learn about the process of creating and adopting the Declaration of Independence as well as its importance in history. Includes a teaching guide, PowerPoint presentation, student worksheets, and digital versions of primary source documents.

PBS: The American Revolution Learning Resources
Based on video excerpts from Ken Burns’ The American Revolution, these standards-aligned lessons explore topics such as: demographics and economy of the colonies; causes of the American revolution, key events and figures; and consequences and legacies of the era. Lessons are classified by grade and include teacher guides, discussion questions, vocabulary, and handouts. Shareable to Google Classroom with a free PBS account.

DocsTeach America 250 Activities and Documents
From the National Archives, a selection of downloadable digital versions of the key primary source documents related to America’s founding and early years. Each document is accompanied by explanatory text as well as a complete transcript so readers don’t have to try to decipher faded old- fashioned handwriting. Activities for selected documents serve as grade-leveled lesson plans and formative assessments, and include suggested teaching instructions. Sharable to Google Classroom.

Bill of Rights Institute: Declaration of Independence Lesson
What were the philosophical bases and practical implications of the Declaration of Independence? This complete, scaffolded lesson plan takes a deep dive into these questions about our country’s founding document. Includes all required readings, activities, educator answer key, lesson extensions, student handouts, and graphic organizers. A free account is required to download the full lesson plan in a single PDF.

Museum of the American Revolution Mini Lesson Plans
Ten American Revolution lesson plans that while concise, nonetheless include everything needed to cover topics including historical object analysis, dissecting the Declaration, Alexander Hamilton, the people of colonial America, and George vs. George–a comparison between King George III and George Washington.

Museum of the American Revolution: Season of Independence
To Americans of our modern era, it may seem “self-evident” that all colonial Americans would have supported their states’ efforts toward independence. While the majority did support independence, this was not universal. Explore how the demographics of Revolution supporters vs. Loyalists changes over the first six months of 1776. Map-based interactive with links to further inquiry about people and places.

Beyond the Battlefield: A Virtual Field Trip to the Museum of the American Revolution
An enthusiastic and engaging virtual visit to the Museum of the American Revolution, hosted by Lauren Tarshis, author of the bestselling I Survived children’s book series. The video appears to be aimed at younger learners but the classroom kit that accompanies the video contains readings for students in grades 2-8. Downloadable PDFs include vocabulary, discussion questions, and answers. An excerpt from Tarshis’ I Survived the American Revolution 1776 is also provided. This would be a great place to start with younger learners or any students who respond well to a people-centered approach to history.

iCIVICS Education Investigation Declaration Game
Oh no! A criminal enterprise, known as Baddies Against Rights and Freedom (B.A.R.F.) has hacked into the Bureau of Ideas with the intent to destroy files related to freedom, democracy, and rights. Enlisted as Special Agents, players will collect clues from 1776 to restore the ideas and damaged files of the Declaration of Independence. This absorbing game is intricate enough to keep older kids involved, while also providing a glossary for younger learners. Available in English and Spanish. A free account is not required, but does allow users to save in-game progress and compete with others.

National Humanities Center: The American Revolution as Civil War
We think of the conflict that led to American independence as a revolution—and we commonly refer to it as the “American Revolution.” But at its heart, wasn’t it actually a civil war? In this lesson for grades 10-12, students will read and analyze a travel journal from 1775, written by a Scottish woman who visited her brother in North Carolina and observed patriot and loyalist activities. Provided are a teacher’s guide, close-reading questions, and a fillable PDF assignment for students. An excellent lesson for advanced students.

Gilder Lehrman Institute: The Declaration of Independence at 250
A wealth of activities devoted to the Declaration’s 250th anniversary. All activities are grade-leveled and include formative quizzes, teacher’s guide, and interactive elements. Explore topics such as whether the revolution was justified, how and why Congress changed Thomas Jefferson’s initial draft, and the reaction of British people to their colony’s assertion of rights.

iCivics: Why Do We Have So Many Governments?
In this inquiry-based, standards-aligned lesson plan, students will learn about the three levels of government, the principle and practice of federalism, and how life in the colonies and the Articles of Confederation affected the founders’ decision making. Includes Google Slideshow, PDFs, and student handouts. With a free account, educators can create a class and assign this lesson.

Abigail Adams and “Remember the Ladies”
Abigail Adams is famous for appealing to her husband John Adams during the months prior to the signing of the Declaration. Students will read her letters and analyze their words in response to close-reading questions. A teacher’s guide, fillable PDF, vocabulary, interactive exercises, and follow-up assignment are all included.

Discovery Education: Free Classroom Resources to Commemorate the U.S.'s 250th Anniversary
Organized by grade level and theme, this downloadable guide offers selected K-12 social studies resources relevant to the semiquincentennial. Topics covered include the Declaration of Independence, origins of the U.S. Constitution, equal protection under the law and more. Video, slideshow and interactive text materials are included.

Flint is an AI tool designed to offer personalized learning, and teaching, to students and educators in a very effective way.

Unlike many of the ever-appearing new AI tools out there, this is designed from the ground up as a way to make learning better. That's where this stands out. Rather than acting as a generic chatbot, it is designed specifically for classroom use, with guardrails, analytics, and structured activities that aim to keep teachers in control.

This is about extending teaching by giving each student something closer to one-to-one support, while still aligning with curriculum goals. Offering AI tutoring, assignment creation, and classroom analytics, this is built to make life easier all round.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how Flint could work in your class.

What is Flint?

Flint is an AI-powered learning platform built specifically for K–12 schools, designed to support personalized instruction across subjects including math, science, English, and languages.

Two key parts are available here: one in the AI teaching assistant, to help create lessons, activities, and feedback. But there is also the AI tutor part, called Sparky, which helps students by adapting explanations and supporting individual needs.

Centered around class workflows, these tools help teachers make AI-driven assignments, upload curriculum materials, and define how much help the AI is allowed to give, ranging from gentle guidance to more direct support.

Usefully, this can be deployed across schools, with admin oversight and LMS integrations, as well as helpful analytics and engagement tracking, all as part of the package.

How does Flint work?

Flint lets teachers create or upload content using items such as worksheets, rubrics, lessons, or external resources as needed. Using that as a foundation, the AI is then able to generate interactive learning activities to be completed.

Students can then interact through the sessions, asking questions, working through problems, or getting writing feedback as they go. This is great for projects, in which structured support can help them work at scale without the need for lots of teacher-based scaffolding along the way -- potentially helping build confidence, too.

The system uses large language models with tools such as web search, code-based calculations, and translation to improve accuracy and flexibility.

Teachers keep control throughout, since they can design and implement guardrails. This includes preventing the AI from giving direct answers or requiring it to guide students through reasoning instead, for example.

Admins and teachers can also view interaction histories, allowing for transparency and safeguarding, with automatic flagging of inappropriate content.

What are the best Flint features?

Flint is all about that AI tutoring for students to feel supported and engaged with at their level -- helping high achievers progress at their pace while anyone struggling can be supported to grow comfortably.

The ability to implement guardrails is a huge positive for educators. They can define how the AI behaves, ensuring it supports learning without simply giving answers.

The use of content already available, such as teacher materials currently in use, is a really powerful way that this extends teaching and learning without going from scratch. It can also help sticking to current lesson plans and standards easily.

Feedback is powerful here with real-time looks at student performance and engagement. This is individual but also with a general overview across the class.

When it comes to assignments, this AI can help with deadlines, time limits, and follow-up activities. At the same time it supports multimodal learning tools with text-to-speech, speech-to-text, image processing, and even graphing and code support for STEM subjects.

All that, plus it integrates with LMS and SIS, such as Google Classroom, to make integration and deployment an easy part of the process also.

How much does Flint cost?

Flint offers a free tier for up to 80 users, making it accessible for individual teachers or small pilots.

Paid plans are structured by school size, starting at around: $3,000/year for smaller deployments. This scales to custom pricing for larger institutions.

Paid tiers add features including LMS/SIS integration, advanced analytics, and dedicated support.

Flint best tips and tricks

Start with one class
Pilot the platform with a single group to refine how you want the AI to behave before scaling.

Set clear guardrails early
Define whether the AI should guide, hint, or explain, to shape student learning habits from the start.

Upload your own materials
Ground the AI in your curriculum to improve relevance and reduces generic responses.

Repetitio est mater studiorum.

Or to say it another way, repetition is the mother of learning.

And while repetition sometimes gets a bad rap (as in “drill and kill”), properly utilized, repetition can help cement foundational concepts and allow students to advance to more deeper and nuanced forms of learning.

The learning platform I Know It provides a wide range of activities and exercises for K-5 math and English language arts practice, as well as progress reports for educators and parents and gamified feedback for students.

What is I Know It?

I Know It is a math and English language arts practice site that provides extensive, individualized exercises for students in grades K-5.

The platform includes some of the most engaging features of gamification, such as congratulatory graphics and animations, sound effects, awards, and badges. I think it strikes an excellent balance between fully gamified interactives on one hand and dry data-driven instruction on the other.

I Know It goes beyond simple practice modules by aligning the majority of its exercises with Common Core Standards or selected state standards. Plus, its student-friendly features will encourage timely assignment completion as well as exploration of additional, unassigned problem sets.

How Does I Know It Work?

I Know It makes it easy for educators to sign up for its generous free trial. Simply provide your name, school name, phone number, and email and you’re ready to explore the site. Once signed in, teachers can set options for the following parameters:

• Standards (Common Core, Texas or Florida)
• Hints (none, three or unlimited)
• Animations (on/off)
• Students may explore on their own (yes/no)
• Questions may be read aloud (on/off)
• Progress report to parents via email (yes/no)

Given the level of control and optimization provided, I Know It has a remarkably clean interface with intuitive navigation. It’s also very easy to edit any of these parameters at any time later.

CREATING A CLASS

Create and name your class from the My Students tab. The easiest way to populate your online classes is to use the Rapid Roster feature, which accepts text input, or copy-and-pasted names from a text file, spreadsheet, or email. The system will then create the user names and passwords for you. These can be edited later if you wish. You can also print out a PDF with all student names and passwords.

GETTING TO KNOW THE EXERCISES

I Know It offers two categories of practice: math and English language arts. To start exploring practice sets, select a category and grade from the top menu or from the teacher dashboard. Now you’ll see the entire range of problems for that grade, with large bold print headings so you can easily find your preferred activities.

To get a quick view of a problem type, mouse over the description and an example will pop up. To try it yourself, click to open the problem. Your view will be identical to the student’s view, so you can see what happens following a correct answer or an incorrect answer.

Note the animation option toggle in the lower right corner. Students who prefer not to have graphic or animated feedback can adjust their own settings.

If you’d like to experience and test the platform exactly as a student would, sign in as a student in a separate browser. First add a student; e.g.; Test Student. Open a new browser (for example, use Edge if your teacher account is open in Chrome) and sign in as Test Student, logging in with user name, the class code and the password. A separate student email is not required.

ASSIGNING EXERCISES

To assign activities from the teacher dashboard, select grade and subject (math or ELA), then select the desired exercise. The Assign Lesson window gives you multiple options for the assignment, including number of questions (1-80), which students to assign, display options, auto reassign, and several others.

What Are the Best I Know It Features?

LESSON DIFFERENTIATION

One of most useful features built into the I Know It platform is the ease with which teachers can differentiate lessons. This can be accomplished in two ways:

1. Assigning a lesson of a lower or higher grade level to individual students.
   Instead of assigning fourth grade math sets to Jane Doe, you can assign second grade problem sets, since she's currently working at that level. You can then quickly assign grade-level work to the rest of the students if desired. Importantly, there will not be a grade level displayed on assignments.
   
2. Setting the "ability level" to a lower or higher grade.
   The "ability level" is an optional feature that, if set, will guide the level of exploration exercises offered to a student. These are the optional activities displayed underneath the student's assigned work.

PROGRESS TRACKING AND REPORTING

Student progress tracking allows teachers to see overviews of a class or student, or drill down into details if desired. "Recent Activity" lists students, lessons worked on, and scores, with a link to a detailed view for each student. Here teachers can view all of a student's questions and answers as well as time spent on tasks.

Teachers may also export a printable PDF progress report for selected intervals, or view awards won by students for completing lessons. Weekly progress reports will be emailed to parents if enabled in Settings.

BUILT-IN ACCESSIBILITY TOOLS

Each activity window sports a sound icon in the top left corner, allowing questions to be read aloud. Incorrect answers yield explanations clarifying the correct answer and offering the chance to view the question and answer again.

Does The Robot Have A Name And Why Is It So Much Fun?

Maybe it's just the fifth grader in me, but I love the animated robot character that responds to answers (if animations are permitted in settings). The variety of playful animations for correct answers—all with apt and amusing sound effects—include: blowing bubbles; barking dogs; flying birds; rain; rainbows; rocket ship taking off, circling the moon, parachuting back to Earth; juggling; a flower garden springing from the head; eating an apple that turns into a pie; and more.

My guess is that most kids will enjoy these animated rewards and hopefully, be more motivated to complete their work. Sadly, the riveting (and no doubt, riveted) robot is nameless.

How Much Does I Know It Cost?

I Know It offers three account types: Family, Single Teacher and School/District, with varying pricing and features. A 30-day free trial, with no credit card required, makes it straightforward to discover if the platform is right for your class.

The Family membership allows one parent and up to four children, using a single login, for $45 annually.

The Single Teacher account includes one teacher and 25 students (each of whom has an individual login) for $150 annually and the option to add additional student licenses at $7.50 each.

The District/School account provides additional benefits, such as a unlimited teacher accounts, a dedicated account manager, teacher training, phone tech support and others. The cost is per student and varies depending on the size of the school or district.

Buzzmath is, as the name suggests, creating a real buzz around the subject of math for young students. The idea is to bridge that gap between students who thrive on problem-solving, naturally, and those that struggle to grasp the sometimes abstract ideas.

By offering live feedback and gamified math interactions, Buzzmath works to help bring all students into a fun and engaging digital environment for learning.

Aimed at students from ages 6 to 16, this inclusive learning platform offers curriculum-aligned content that's made fun through the gamified process. They are allowed to explore at their pace, crucially, so they can feel in control while also giving teachers useful insights into their learning.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how Buzzmath could work for your class.

What is Buzzmath?

Buzzmath is a digital math practice platform that offers gamified tasks as a way to help students gain mastery in math.

The platform offers more than 14,000 math-based questions for students to tackle. This is very much useful as a tool to complement teaching, rather than to teach directly. Educators can assign activities, for example, as a way to reinforce learning after something new has been taught.

While teachers can tailor learning to individuals or groups, in either case there is storytelling and gamification involved with missions, rewards, and challenges to keep students motivated.

Teachers can use this to have students practice curriculum-aligned skills and see progress to then better tailor future sessions as needed.

Since Buzzmath is web-based, it should be easy to access across devices and internet connections -- both in school and at home.

How does Buzzmath work?

Buzzmath can be used freely, by students exploring the activities at their own pace. Or it can be utilized to assign tasks to students or groups specifically.

Students answer questions and are immediately given feedback with answers marked as correct or incorrect. In the latter case, guidance can be triggered to help them grow through productive failure.

Students can retry questions as needed and access hints or examples to help them progress. Teachers are then able to monitor progress using a detailed reporting dashboard. This can help to spot learning gaps from data such as time spent on task, attempts made, and overall accuracy.

Accessibility features include audio narration and visual glossaries to help students with varied learning needs get the most out of this service.

What are the best Buzzmath features?

While there are a huge selection of questions on the platform, thanks to dynamic variables, students are able to practice without the problem of repetition fatigue holding them back.

The real-time feedback and ability to retry allows students to feel supported while working at their own pace. This also equates to direct support that allows for independent working without teacher time being required. That should also lead to deeper levels of learning rather than surface-level answering.

Since teachers are able to personalize learning to suit individuals or groups, this can work as a very specific tailored learning support system.

Educators have access to a powerful dashboard that allows them to monitor student progress. Data such as time spent on tasks, attempts made, completion rates, and concept-level performance, can all help teachers define future learning requirements.

The gamification of everything -- with stars, badges, and missions -- can really help to keep students engaged and come back for more practice, naturally.

How much does Buzzmath cost?

Buzzmath varies in pricing based on usage. A limited 30-day free trial is available for teachers who want to give this a go before committing to any particular plan. The plans break down like this:

Schools and districts: Typically licensed per student, with pricing starting around $1 per student annually (minimum spend applies).

Families: Around $20 per month or $120 per year for home use.

Custom quotes are often required for institutional use, particularly outside the US.

Buzzmath best tips and tricks

Start with diagnostic assignments
Use early tasks to identify gaps before tailoring future work.

Use retries as learning moments
Encourage students to reflect on mistakes rather than rush through answers.

Assign differentiated pathways
Target individuals or groups with specific activities to support mixed-ability classes.

NASA Space Place is a digital resource that's built to help educators bring space and earth science into the classroom in an exciting way.

Also, crucially, it combines the rich resources of NASA is a way that offers depth but simple access for teachers. The fact this has been up and running since 1998 is clearly reflected in how well it has been refined and tailored to suit children over the years. The result: a powerful tool for the upper-elementary-aged students.

This free resource blends scientific accuracy with playful, engaging layouts, making complex concepts feel intuitive rather than intimidating.

The curriculum-friendly resources cover science topics from climate and the solar system to space tech and more. For a STEM-focused offering that comes from a credible source, this is a really wonderful option to have.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how NASA Space Place could work for your class.

What is NASA Space Place?

NASA Space Place is an education platform that offers a free way to teach upper-elementary students through inspiration and engagement -- all provided by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Science-specific areas covered include the solar system, Earth sciences, the Sun, and the universe, plus broader science and technology topics. Topics vary in depth and complexity to suit different student abilities, going from black holes to climate change.

Usefully, this is all set up as an engaging exploratory environment, rather than just a static set of tools. That means there is reading, there is watching, but there is also doing. Students can read about a topic, then play a game on what's been learned, followed by a hands-on activity in class or at home.

Educators have a dedicated section with materials such as printables, resources, and guidance across English and Spanish.

How does NASA Space Place work?

NASA Space Place is browser-based, so it can be accessed from most devices and internet connections. Everything is arranged into helpful categories that allow teachers and students to navigate by topic or activity type, for example.

So a student might browse a subject such as Earth then filter into articles, games, and hands-on activities -- ideal as it can be suited to how that particular student prefers to learn.

Articles break down scientific concepts into simple, digestible explanations, often supported by visuals or animations. Games reinforce learning through interaction. While DIY activities encourage practical application, such as building simple models or conducting experiments at home or in class.

Teachers have a few ways to take advantage of the platform. They can use it as a lesson starter, a supplementary resource, or even a flipped learning tool through which students explore topics independently before class discussion.

The material is aligned with real NASA missions and scientific research, so it also offers a level of authenticity that can deepen student engagement.

Plus, it can all be scaled. It's aimed at younger learners but the clarity can be helpful to older students who need to work on foundations.

What are the best NASA Space Place features?

NASA Space Place takes often complex scientific ideas and makes each one easily accessible and digestible -- but, crucially, without oversimplifying anything. This is thanks to those different formats available that can suit varying learner styles.

The games, which offer an interactive way to learn, are a powerful feature. Students can explore satellite tracking or planetary motion in a hands-on way, turning abstract ideas into something tangible. Then, the short videos and animations help visual learners grasp topics such as eclipses or space weather.

For teachers, the hands-on activities can be very useful with crafts and experiments offering experiential learning that can reinforce theoretical knowledge.

A wide range of subjects are covered here, from climate change and Earth systems to deep space exploration. The platform connects classroom learning to real-world science and ongoing NASA missions.

Educators can access the resources, such as printables and guidance, as a way to enhance teaching and make using this platform even more valuable and time-rich.

It's also worth mentioning that the bright visuals, simple language, and general sense of curiosity-driven exploration can all help to maintain student engagement.

How much does NASA Space Place cost?

NASA Space Place is completely free to use. No subscriptions, paywalls, or premium tiers to navigate. Everything on the platform is openly accessible to students, teachers, and parents.

In addition, there are no hidden requirements in terms of hardware or software. Because the platform runs in a web browser, it works across most devices, including desktops, laptops, and tablets. This flexibility makes it suitable for classroom use, remote learning, and homework alike.

NASA Space Place best tips and tricks

Hook with play
Start lessons with a quick game or animation to spark curiosity and ease students into complex space concepts.

Guide exploration
Set focused tasks that have students navigate specific sections of the site to build independent research skills.

Make it hands-on
Use the DIY activities as the core of lessons to turn abstract science into practical, memorable learning experiences.

The most affordable printers for schools means giving printable resource access to all, while keeping down costs.

Sure, that refers to the upfront cost of these print machines, but it also includes ongoing running expenses, ranging from ink and paper right through to parts replacements and regular maintenance.

This is mentioned right upfront here, as sometimes what can look like a good deal on the surface can hold some hidden costs down the line. In fact, printers that are cheaper to buy up front can often have higher ink costs ongoing, for example.

Printers in schools need to be simple enough to be used by teachers, admins, and students alike. But they also need to have enough complexity to work across wired and wireless networks and for a variety of tasks.

From laser to inkjet, auto feed to copying and scanning, printer speeds and features should be taken into account before embarking on buying a single printer, let alone for an entire school or district. Finding the best printers is a task worth taking time over.

This guide aims to lay out the most affordable printers for schools right now, to help you make the right choice.

Most Affordable Printers For Schools

1. HP Smart Tank 7001: Best overall for low running costs

The HP Smart Tank 7001 is a standout for schools that print frequently and need to keep ongoing costs under control. Unlike traditional cartridge printers, this uses refillable ink tanks, dramatically lowering cost per page -- critical for classrooms producing worksheets daily.

It also includes automatic duplex printing and strong wireless connectivity, making it easy for multiple teachers or students to use from different devices. Importantly, it ships with a large amount of ink in the box, enough to last potentially years in a moderate-use classroom.

Standout:
High print volumes, minimal ink costs, long-term savings.

2. Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Best for reliability and ease of use

Epson’s EcoTank line is widely regarded as one of the most cost-efficient printer ecosystems available. The ET-2850 is a particularly strong entry-level option for schools, offering cartridge-free printing, solid reliability, and simple operation.

It includes auto-duplex printing and wireless support, making it well-suited to shared environments such as staff rooms or small departments. Its refillable ink system keeps per-page costs extremely low compared to traditional inkjets.

Standout:
Low maintenance, predictable costs, and easy setup.

3. Brother HL-L2400DW: Best for high-volume black-and-white printing

For many schools, most printing is still text-based with worksheets, exams, handouts, and so forth. That’s where a monochrome laser printer such as the Brother HL-L2400DW excels.

Laser printers use toner instead of ink, resulting in far higher page yields and faster print speeds. This model also includes automatic duplex printing and wireless connectivity, ideal for busy departments or admin offices.

User feedback consistently highlights laser printers such as Brother’s as the most cost-effective option for heavy document printing.

Standout:
Fast, durable, and extremely economical for text-heavy workloads.

4. Canon PIXMA G3270: Best for affordable color printing

If your school needs vibrant color printing for posters, displays, or learning materials, the Canon PIXMA G3270 offers a strong balance of affordability and performance.

It uses a MegaTank system, delivering very low cost per page while maintaining good color quality. It also includes wireless connectivity and mobile app support, making it easy for teachers to print from laptops or tablets.

Standout:
Budget-friendly color output without high ink costs.

5. HP DeskJet 2922: Best for ultra-low upfront cost

For schools that need a simple, low-cost entry point -- perhaps for a single classroom or occasional use -- the HP DeskJet 2922 is one of the cheapest all-in-one options available.

It offers print, scan, and copy functionality, along with wireless connectivity, making it suitable for light-duty use. While ink costs are higher than tank systems, the low initial price makes it accessible for tight budgets or temporary setups.

Standout:
Minimal upfront spend for basic classroom needs.

6. HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e: Best affordable printer with ADF for schools

If your school needs to scan multiple pages regularly -- for student work, admin forms, or safeguarding documents -- this is where stepping up to an automatic document feeder (ADF) becomes essential.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is one of the most affordable all-in-one printers that includes a proper ADF plus fast performance, ideal for busy school offices or staff rooms.

It also adds duplex scanning, strong wireless features, and app-based workflows, so teachers can digitize and distribute materials quickly without manual handling.

Standout:
Massively improves workflow when scanning and copying are frequent.

Pathwright was created as a modern learning management system, LMS, that could work in education on all levels.

Spawned from an idea back in 2010, this was what co-creators Paul and Mark came up with as a far more usable solution. The space then was cluttered, wordy, and chaotic. Their design-focused solution birthed the far more user-friendly Pathwright.

Built over a decade alongside creative educators, the goal was to offer a personal learning experience for others. At time of publishing, this system has helped more than 2 million learners who have completed 80+ million steps on these learning paths.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about how Pathwright could work for your class.

What is Pathwright?

Pathwright is an online learning platform that's design-led -- it offers a way to make instruction easy for teachers and engaging for students.

This course-building platform lets educators create what the company calls learning paths, which guide students through lessons, activities, and discussions.

Teachers can design courses as needed with details such as deadlines, milestones, peer interaction, mentorship, and more, all included.

As such, this can work for schools delivering courses as well as individual educators selling online courses, for example. Not only can educators create courses but this also allows them to take advantage of student management features, monetization options, and more.

This digital classroom, professional development hub, and school learning platform is a versatile tool built for a wide array of uses.

How does Pathwright work?

Pathwright is primarily an online course creation and learning management platform. Teachers can be guided through the process of creating their own pathways, using video content, written lessons, assignments or projects, discussion prompts, plus quizzes and assessments.

This works with self-paced learning but also with cohort based programs. The latter sees students move as groups though the courses, which can be run with defined start and end dates, releasing lessons over time and encouraging students to progress together.

This model allows teachers to lead discussions, provide feedback, and create a more classroom-like experience online. Teachers can then track progress to see completion rates, areas of struggle, and discussion activity.

What are the best Pathwright features?

Pathwright offers a broad selection of tools that can be tailored to work across subject and topic ranges, inside and outside of school.

The way this works is that by using paths, it allows students to stay focused with a clarity from seeing what's coming next across the sequence of the course ahead.

The cohort-based learning is a helpful way to release lessons over time, allowing students to work through the tasks together, interacting with one another along the way.

That interaction moves into the community with an ability to post comments on lessons, join in discussions, and ask questions -- much like being in a physical world lesson.

The system allows for mentors. This can work with teaching assistants or other students, as a way to oversee groups of learners with support throughout.

For those selling in courses, this also offers a built-in payment system and the ability to integrate other apps, such as Stripe, as needed.

How much does Pathwright cost?

Pathwright uses a tiered pricing model designed for educators, small teams, and larger organizations. A free trial or free account option is available that allows educators to start building courses before committing to a paid plan.

Starter Plan: Around $99 per month for up to 1,000 members and one administrator.

Essentials Plan: Around $199 per month with more staff accounts, custom domains, and additional course features.

Complete Plan: Around $499 per month with unlimited cohorts and advanced capabilities.

Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing starting around $1,499 per month for large organizations requiring integrations, APIs, and advanced management tools.

Pathwright best tips and tricks

Start with a clear learning path
Outline the sequence of lessons and learning objectives so students move logically through the material.

Use cohorts for engagement
Run courses with start and end dates rather than leaving it fully self-paced. Cohorts encourage discussion, accountability, and higher completion rates.

Mix content types
Combine videos, text, and assignments to keep lessons engaging. Short interactive activities can help reinforce learning better than long lectures.

Knoword is a gamified platform that's built to help students progress in building vocabulary. The idea here is to make things so fun that students want to come back for more.

This learning-while-playing setup is designed to work across age and ability levels so that it's widely accessible to help all students, and educators, when it comes to vocabulary building.

The platform is already widely used and can be applied across subjects to allow for an uptake, which works school-wide, rather than specifically for English learning, for example.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about Knoword to see how this could work for your class.

What is Knoword?

Knoword is a web-based game so it's easily accessible across a wide range of devices and internet connections. It uses game-based learning to help develop vocabulary expansion. This is done with immersive word games and customizable activities.

The most basic offering here is vocabulary practice being turned into interactive challenges. This blends learning with gameplay to keep students engaged, and even eager for more.

Thousands of community-made packs to pick from are available. These range from academic-specific vocabulary to trivia packs. You also have the option to build custom packs, or edit pre-existing ones, to get the perfectly tuned result for a certain subject or unit, for example.

That all makes this useful both for self-guided learning as well as in-classroom use and even remote assignments.

How does Knoword work?

Knoword comprises thousands of word packs that are interactive sets of definitions and answers. These are broken down into several play modes to allow students and educators to pick the format, which includes multiple choice, typing mode, or pairs/recognition matching.

Educators can pick from a selection of pre-created packs in subject-specific areas, make their own from scratch, or duplicate and edit packs as needed. Helpful parameters are available, including setting time limits, answer strictness and more, to help teachers build ideally suited sessions. Then, once completed, educators can track student progress using detailed analytics.

The system also uses AI as a way to help generate text clues from lists to help automate pack creations -- saving time for teachers.

Students can get playing right away without the need to create individual accounts, making it an easy option to introduce into the class.

What are the best Knoword features?

Knoword offers a great selection of packs that can be aligned to subjects or topics. Crucially, these are adaptive and allow students to go at their pace so as to grow but at a rate that feels fun, comfortable, and engaging.

The immediate feedback and multiple play modes make this a stand-alone tool for students to work with on their time, but also with teacher assistance and interaction as wanted.

The AI-powered Magic Import feature is a helpful way to generate clues with ease. This allows educators to convert lists of terms into engaging gameplay in minutes.

Assignments offer a way to provide structured options to guide learners through material, while giving educators insights such as trends in accuracy and areas needing reinforcement.

Offline materials are also available, including printable worksheets. Any pack can be turned into customizable worksheets or physical flashcards, ideal for off-screen practice or differentiated learning.

The various game modes help to make this varied and fun while staying engaging over longer period of use. The different gameplay formats -- typing, multiple choice, match pairs -- appeal to varied learning styles, from visual to recall practice.

How much does Knoword cost?

Knoword operates on a freemium model. But there are tiers for more.

Basic (Free): Create up to five packs, generate content with AI, assign activities, track basic student progress, integrate with Google Classroom, and download worksheets.

Pro ($9.99/month): Allows unlimited packs and assignments, creates image and audio clues, and removes branded watermarks on cards.

Team Plan (~$80/year): Designed for schools or departments to manage multiple educator accounts.

Knoword best tips and tricks

Kick off with curated packs
Before creating your own, explore the community library. Thousands of packs across subjects are already available -- and bookmarking makes future reuse easy.

Use assignments strategically
Assignments let you control the learning environment: time limits, modes, and even answer strictness (capitalization, punctuation). Tailor these to your learners’ proficiency.

Blend digital and printable exercises
Export packs as worksheets for class use or homework -- great for reinforcing vocabulary with written practice.

Groovelit is a classroom platform created to help encourage writing through gamified guidance that works alongside teachers.

The idea here is to tap into the creativity in every student that might otherwise go underused in the face of literacy challenges. By gamifying the writing experience, and adding direct feedback, this can help to draw every student into the world of writing.

Creative prompts are used to help get started while a scoring system can work to progress students along toward mastery. This can be used to improve writing skills and fluency in a way that allows this to benefit students across a range of subjects, from ELA and social studies to science.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know about how Groovelit could work in your class.

What is Groovelit?

Groovelit is a gamified creative writing platform aimed at use by students from fourth to tenth grade. Through guidance and gamification, this works to ignite the creative spark in all students while empowering them by helping to learn how to use that effectively as a writer.

Groovelit prompts a student to produce written response -- be it narrative, persuasive, or vocabulary-rich -- within a short, structured time frame.

The system uses AI to evaluate submissions against criteria such as grammar, relevance, vocabulary usage, and adherence to the prompt. Points are awarded in ways that feel immediate and game-like rather than punitive.

This idea should help writing to feel less like work and more like play. Competition and natural reinforcement also help to shift student perspectives toward writing to be sought more readily, by choice.

How does Groovelit work?

Groovelit works a little like a quiz game, yet students don't select answers, instead they write answers. A teacher can pick a genre such as narrative or argumentative, for example, before setting prompts and aligning to curricular goals. Then they can send a link to students to begin.

Students work with a countdown timer, responding directly from within a browser window. They are assessed, live, by the AI, which uses criteria such as vocabulary, grammar, and engagement levels to provide feedback to students as they go.

Once the timed round is complete, the results are shown right away with scores. Teachers can later assess aggregated data, or spotlight certain areas to celebrate success.

This cycle continues with quick writing, instant feedback, and visible achievement, motivating students to progress further and faster toward mastery.

What are the best Groovelit features?

Groovelit gamifies learning but in a way that stays fresh thanks to a selection of game modes. These include narrative storytelling, argumentative responses, vocabulary connections, and root-based word games.

Teachers can also tailor the experience to suit needs, including adapting pacing, content focus, and student readiness.

The AI scoring works well as a way to offer immediate feedback and guidance that's tailored to suit the student where they are in their learning. This can help sustain focus and reinforce teaching moments.

For teachers, the formative data analysis options help offer actionable insights. The system offers growth areas, word-choice creativity, and standout sentences that exemplify strong writing.

The platform supports English language learners (ELLs), with customizable prompts and difficulty adjustment that should make this helpful for a wide range of language abilities.

How much does Groovelit cost?

Groovelit is free to sign up for and to use. Teachers can sign up from a school account, or it's possible to sign in with third-parties such as Google, for example.

This has no ads or tracking, and remains free to use for as long as needed.

Groovelit best tips and tricks

Alignment
Align prompts directly to your current unit of study so students see the activity as meaningful reinforcement rather than a standalone game.

Learnings
Review the formative data after each session to identify patterns in grammar, vocabulary, or comprehension that may need reteaching.

Wins
Spotlight strong student responses (anonymously if preferred) to model effective writing and build classroom confidence.

I recently wrote an article about the gamified STEM teaching and learning platform Brilliant. While Brilliant is indeed a top performer, it's not the only math "game" in town. I decided to round up a selection of similar online math platforms to help teachers find the perfect match for their students.

For this review, I focused on math or STEM platforms that provide a robust set of online practice tools and manipulatives. Platforms that relied primarily on printed materials were excluded, as I wanted to focus on the learning and engagement benefits of digital manipulatives.

These exceptional math learning tools are fully free or modestly priced, and aimed at engaging learners of all levels with their interactive tools, gamified features, graphics and sound effects. Simply put, they make learning and doing math fun. And because teachers have the ability to individually assign lessons, each platform serves as a personalized learning tool for every student.

Best Online Math Platforms for Education

BEST FOR K-8 MATH CURRICULA

ZEARN

Zearn, a nonprofit platform designed by teachers, provides more than 1,000 research-backed K-8 digital math lessons, and has earned the highest designation (Strong) rating from Evidence for ESSA. Individual teachers can sign up for a full suite of content at no charge, while schools and districts can pay for premium features. A teacher's account includes all Zearn math instructional materials, for up to 35 students and one teacher.

Unique among the platforms featured, Zearn provides brief video introductions that demonstrate how to solve problems in upcoming lessons. In addition to the interactive video lessons, it also provides fluency practice activities and mastery-based quizzes.

Zearn is also distinguished by its level of reporting. Using the four types of reports— Pace, Progress, Tower Alerts, and Sprint Alerts—teachers can easily monitor student progress and pace of lesson completion. Importantly, the two "Alerts" allow teachers to identify students who are struggling with content and fluency.

BEST FOR TARGETED SKILLS PRACTICE

Struggly

Struggly is a preK-8 gamified math supplement that emphasizes the value of persisting through mistakes. Instead of a sad buzzer sound with an error message, kids are congratulated for their mistakes. By acknowledging that mistakes are foundational to learning and brain growth, Struggly takes some of the pressure off both high-achieving and low-achieving students.

Consistent with Struggly's teaching philosophy, no instructions are provided for its engaging exercises. Instead, high-quality animations, pop-ups, and sound effects guide students on where to click on each page. Users can click on "hints" to get help if needed.

Struggly makes it easy for teachers to try its interactive tasks before assigning any. Currently, there are 68 separate tasks available, searchable by Common Core State Standards or topic. Although 68 is relatively few, each task includes a number of levels, so a single task can serve as deep practice across multiple grades. Struggly aims to release one to three new tasks per month.

Although Struggly is a modestly-priced paid platform, it offers a generous 60-day free trial—with no credit card required—to determine if it will be a fit for your classroom.

I Know It

I Know It shines as an easy-to-use K-5 interactive math practice site. Its clean, uncluttered interface offers intuitive navigation for teachers and students alike.

To find lessons, simply select Math from the top menu, then click on your desired grade from K-5, also on the top menu. Teachers can easily try each lesson simply by clicking on it, and also directly assign any lesson from within it. Creating classes and adding students is similarly frictionless.

While it's a fully interactive platform, I Know It's lessons aren't gamified at the same level as other platforms featured here. However, its amusing robot mascot does provide encouragement via sound effects and comic reactions to answers, right or wrong. Hints and encouragement are offered along the way as kids work through their problem sets.

Annual memberships, costing a modest $150, include up to 25 students, while the 30-day free trial (no credit cared required) will allow educators to fully experience the platform's tools and benefits.

BEST DYNAMIC TOOLS AND VIRTUAL MANIPULATIVES

GeoGebra

A fully free interactive math platform for grades 4-12, GeoGebra focuses on dynamic tools that help students visualize and understand concepts in algebra, geometry, numeracy, statistics, and more.

GeoGebra boasts an impressive library of more than one million math learning resources, including lessons, exercises, digital books, and interactives, contributed by the GeoGebra Content Team, as well as GeoGebra’s global community. Users can create and upload their own resources incorporating applets, text, video, images, PDFs, notes, questions, and more.

GeoGebra's intuitive website is easy to navigate and use. It's ideal for exploration, demonstration and formative assessments. Given the platform's extensive scope, educators should familiarize themselves with the interactives and curate relevant resources prior to classroom implementation. Fortunately, GeoGebra offers strong guidance via its Help pages and YouTube channel.

Although an account is not required for either students or teachers, teachers will need to create one in order to fully utilize this versatile and engaging platform.

Polypad

The fully free award-winning Polypad is a digital math playground that uses multimedia interactive tools, sound, and music to teach geometry, algebra, probability, and statistics to middle and high school students. Requiring no login or installation, Polypad runs on all devices and browsers, and provides an extensive set of pre-designed puzzles, activities, and lesson plans.

Available in English and Spanish, Polypad allows users to add co-teachers to their classes and offers detailed student progress reports. The recently added Snapshot Tool makes it easy for educators to select and sequence student work for class discussion.

Polypad also distinguishes itself with logic-based games, such as chess and dominoes, as well as interactive music tools that let users explore and compose music digitally. Open to teachers and students, the Polypad Art and Music Contest is an excellent opportunity to showcase creativity and skill in using the Polypad tools. These unique features of Polypad qualify it as not only a top-notch STEM tool, but also a first-rate STEAM tool.

BEST FOR ENRICHMENT

Brilliant

Brilliant features super snappy graphics and sound effects that mimic those of your students' favorite video games.

But Brilliant is much more than amusing characters, badges, points, and sound effects. In fact, it offers a huge variety of grade 3-12 STEM lessons in math, computer science, science, and data. Each lesson contains multiple levels, progressing from simpler to more complex, allowing students to build mastery and confidence as they work.

Ideal for highly motivated and advanced students, Brilliant allows users to jump ahead in lessons, preventing boredom for quick learners and encouraging them to explore STEM topics on their own.

Premium Brilliant is 100% free for qualified educators and their students.

Although women make up more than 50% of humanity, only since the 20th century have they achieved full legal rights and privileges in the U.S.—and in some countries, they are still second-class citizens. Consequently, women’s role in history and contributions to culture have been woefully overlooked.

Designated as Women’s History Month, March is a great time to dive deeply into women’s struggle for equal rights and triumphs in every arena. The lessons, activities and resources here are an excellent way to investigate and understand women as changemakers, activists, and heroines—worthy of becoming an integral part of the curriculum all year long.

Best Women's History Month Lessons and Activities

Bill of Rights Institute Women’s History Playlist: 1844-1860
Eight outstanding standards-aligned multimedia lessons explore the lives of notable mid-19th century women, both famous (Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman) and little-known ( Louise Smith Clappe). Each downloadable lesson includes a detailed narrative, primary sources, review questions, and suggestions for pairing with other lessons. Bonus: Download a single interactive PDF with all eight lessons included. Free account required to download.

American Experience: She Resisted
A highly creative, interactive audio/visual experience that delves into the wide range of strategies employed by suffragists in their quest for the right to vote. The opening sequence, featuring thrilling music and compelling film, will draw students into investigating the nine featured strategies. A riveting production that brings history and historical characters to life.

National Women’s Hall of Fame
A showcase for women’s achievement in every arena. Discover the Women of the Hall, then check out the online solitaire game, which combines the fun of solitaire with cards featuring fascinating women of achievement.

National Women’s History Alliance: This Month in Women’s History
Learn all about important dates of women's history throughout the year with this easy-to-use calendar, featuring birthdays of female trailblazers and important historical events from civil rights, politics, and culture.

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
Seven online exhibitions from the National Archives investigate topics such as “Who decides who votes?” and “What voting rights struggles persist?” Digitized original documents and photos featured.

Singing for Women’s Suffrage: A New Digital Collection from the Library of Congress
Add a musical note to your history lessons through the women’s suffrage songbook. Included are prompts and ideas for classroom and elearning lessons.

Women athletes who changed sports history
With female athletes starring in tennis, track and field, basketball, soccer, golf and other sports, students today may not realize how women of the past struggled to compete in the athletic realm. This round-up of notable female athletes includes many famous ones, like Serena Williams—and some little-known, like Toni Stone, the "female Jackie Robinson."

iCivics Women’s History Month Resources
A wealth of resources for teaching women’s history, including downloadable planners, videos spotlighting pioneering women, and standards-aligned lessons.

PBS Teaching Women's Suffrage
Women’s right to vote, and the struggle to achieve it, form the foundation for all successive rights. This extensive collection of multimedia lessons and activities is grouped according to topics such as the 19th Amendment, advocates and organizers, primary sources, and modern-day legacies. Each standards-based lesson includes downloadable support materials for teachers.

Unsung Women Who Changed America
26 short films and a one-hour documentary examine the lives of trailblazing women from the turn of the 20th century. Although most of these women are not widely known, their accomplishments call for recognition. Available in Spanish.

HMH: 10 National Women's History Month Activities for Students
A diverse collection of activities using research, writing, critical thinking, and art to analyze women’s history and the changing social mores about women’s role in society.

65 Famous Women in History Everyone Should Know
From astronauts to politicians to athletes to writers, these 65 women—some famous, others less so— have made their mark on the world. Read the brief biographies, then explore the links provided to learn more about Sally Ride, Shirley Chisholm, Soraya Jiménez, Empress Dowager Cixi, and many more.

Clio Visualizing History: Click! in the Classroom Lesson Plans
Organized by grade level, these lesson plans examine women's history through the lens of feminism, politics, careers, sports, and civil rights.

Scholastic Action: From Out of This World. . . To Under the Sea
What do the depths of Earth’s oceans have in common with outer space? Both are otherworldly realms, inhospitable to human life while captivating our imaginations. Meet a woman who has traveled to each place and find out why. A video and quiz round out the article. Integrated with Google drive.

Women's History Month: Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote
An online version of the Library of Congress exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote" looks at the history of the struggle for suffrage via handwritten letters, speeches, photographs, and scrapbooks created by American suffragists.

National Women's History Museum Digital Classroom Resources
A wealth of digital resources for women's history featuring lesson plans, quizzes, primary source documents, videos, and more. Searchable by type, topic, and grade.

Alice Ball and 7 Female Scientists Whose Discoveries Were Credited to Men
Learn about women who broke barriers in science but who were, until recently, not credited properly for their achievements. Compare this to the list of women recognized with the Nobel Prize.

DocsTeach: Primary sources and Teaching Activities for Women's Rights
Explore a wealth of primary sources covering topics ranging across women's suffrage, political cartoons, the Equal Rights Amendment, and many others. Teaching activities include online interactives investigating all aspects of the fight for women's suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Learning for Justice: Women's Suffrage Lesson
This Common Core-aligned lesson guides students in learning how women achieved voting rights and in evaluating the role of the federal government in the fight for suffrage.

National Museum of Women in the Arts Curriculum & Resources
On the website of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, find free resources to support teaching about women artists, including a complete curriculum, "Art, Books, and Creativity," and pre-K12 educator guides. Be sure to explore the extensive online exhibitions.

National Women's History Alliance: Women's History Quizzes
Seven quizzes on women's history cover topics including women in STEM, peace activists, Black women's history, and more.

Nobel Prizes Awarded to Women
Note how the rate of female Nobel laureates has changed dramatically in the 21st century.

Smithsonian Learning Lab Women's History
Sixty-three collections of digitized objects related to women's history add a rich context to the written word. The Learning Lab is a free, interactive platform allowing educators and other users to find digital resources and create content with online tools.

In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won
Ever heard of Henrietta Wood? Formerly enslaved, Wood successfully sued her enslaver for reparations in 1870. This Smithsonian magazine article details her amazing story, forgotten until very recently.

The best tools to teach storytelling can also be some of the most ideal ways to engage students, both creatively and more generally with education. From sparking their imaginations to helping structure a creative toolset, these digital assistants can be powerful in the classroom and beyond.

Giving a student the ability to structure and tell a compelling story can help to empower them in terms of literacy, empathy, and critical thinking.

Students can be given the opportunity to explore historical perspectives, dive into personal narratives, build fictional worlds, and present research in a story form. All of which helps strengthen communication skills while learning at the same time.

This guide aims to lay out some of the best tools to teach storytelling in the class and beyond.

Best tools to teach storytelling

Best to teach storytelling overall

Story Xperiential

Story Xperiential is a structured storytelling platform designed to teach narrative creation from the very start. Developed with input from professional storytellers, it focuses on helping students understand how to write a story and why stories work. Rather than functioning as a simple writing app, it delivers a curriculum-driven approach that breaks storytelling into clear, teachable components.

Students can move through the guided stages from idea development and character creation to plot structure, visual storytelling, drafting, and revision. Teachers can assign projects, monitor progress, and facilitate critique sessions -- essential in developing narrative strength. The emphasis on feedback and editing makes it especially strong for longer term development rather than one-off assignments.

Stand-out features include structured storytelling frameworks, scaffolded learning pathways, and cross-curricular flexibility.

This can be well used as part of a longer storytelling system while building in peer critiques to deepen understanding of structure and character development.

Best for interactive stories

SceneCraft

SceneCraft is an AI-powered storytelling tool that allows educators to create interactive, branching narratives through which students make decisions that shape outcomes. This is designed for classroom use by blending writing with decision-based learning, making it ideal for exploring cause and effect, character motivation, and ethical dilemmas.

Teachers can build or edit scenarios while students navigate storylines by selecting different paths. The interactive format often increases engagement, particularly for students who respond well to game-like experiences.

Standout features include AI-assisted scenario generation, branching pathways, and opportunities for social-emotional learning discussions.

Educators can pair digital storytelling with pre-writing story maps -- plus post-activity discussions -- to analyze how different narrative choices alter outcomes.

Best for visual inspiration

Storybird

Storybird is a visual storytelling platform that combines student writing with curated professional artwork. Students select images and build stories or poems around these, using visuals as prompts to inspire story ideas. This makes it effective for younger learners and reluctant writers, who can benefit from visual scaffolding.

The interface uses a book-style layout, encouraging students to construct stories page by page. This format reinforces pacing, sequencing, and concise writing.

Teachers can create assignments, review student drafts, and provide feedback directly within the platform.

Strong artwork libraries, support for both poetry and short fiction, and accessible publishing tools are key features.

Teachers can find it effective to use artwork for character development exercises or to set word limits per page to strengthen clarity and narrative precision.

Best for collaborative storytelling

BoomWriter

BoomWriter turns storytelling into a collaborative classroom experience. Students contribute chapters to a shared story, and classmates vote anonymously on submissions to determine which version becomes part of the final narrative. The completed work can then be published as a professionally printed book.

Teachers begin by setting a prompt and writing the opening chapter. Students submit their versions of the next installment, and peer voting selects the continuation. This structured cycle repeats until the story is complete, reinforcing narrative continuity, audience awareness, and revision skills.

The anonymous voting system promotes thoughtful critique while maintaining engagement.

Teachers can use this to establish clear evaluation criteria focused on storytelling craft rather than popularity. This can lead to discussions about why certain chapters effectively advanced the narrative and others did not.

Best for gamification

Imagine Forest

Imagine Forest combines creative writing tools with gamified elements to encourage ongoing storytelling skills. Students can respond to prompts, draft original stories, and publish their work. Badges and achievements help motivate consistent participation.

The structured editor supports story creation while offering built-in prompts to spark ideas. This makes it very useful for daily warm-ups, creative writing clubs, or independent literacy work. Students can develop stories over time, building confidence and fluency.

Pair prompt-based writing with mini-lessons focused on dialogue, pacing, or descriptive language. Also, encourage revision before publication to reinforce storytelling basics.