If you’re new to teaching or looking to learn more about digital tools for teachers such as Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, or Flipgrid--and all the related apps and resources--here’s where to get started. We have the basics for each one, including how to get started, plus tips and advice to get the most out of your experience.
Tech & Learning's guide to Google Education Tools and Apps features everything you need to know about tools such as Google Sheets, Slides, Earth, Jamboard, and more.
Communications
Remind
At its most basic, Remind is a communication platform
What is Remind and How Does it Work for Teachers?
Remind is a communication tool that connects teachers, students, and parents instantly, no matter where they are.
Best Remind Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Remind tips and tricks to help turn the communications platform into a powerful tool that will enhance the learning experience of students in and out of class.
Talking Points
What Is TalkingPoints And How Does It Work For Education?
TalkingPoints is a tool designed to help teachers and families connect across any language barriers, allowing teachers to communicate with families in their own language.
Best TalkingPoints Tips And Tricks For Teachers
How to best use the non-profit translation communication platform for the best results.
Clubhouse
What is Clubhouse and How Does it Work?
Clubhouse is a social media app (only available on iOS devices currently) that is an audio-only platform in which users can publish their talks or have others listen in.
Zoho Notebook
What is Zoho Notebook and How Can The Best Tips and Tricks Help Teachers and Students?
Zoho Notebook is a digital note-taking tool that works across devices and operating systems, offering an online suite of tools, including a word processor and an image and audio creator and organizer.
ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a digital platform that connects teachers, students, and families in and out of the physical classroom by using a feed of photos and videos as well as messaging.
Best ClassDojo Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Whether you're toying with the idea of introducing ClassDojo in your class, you're a regular user, or you've just reached a point at which you need something new, these tips and tricks will help.
Microsoft One Note
What is Microsoft OneNote and How Can It be Used for Teaching?
Microsoft OneNote is a free note-taking tool that also works for organizing digitally jotted down thoughts.
Parlay
What is Parlay and How Does It Work?
Parlay is a digital-based discussion platform that's inclusive and transcends physical barriers.
SurveyMonkey
What is SurveyMonkey for Education? Best Tips and Tricks
SurveyMonkey is a digital platform that specializes in carrying out and delivering the results of surveys. It can be a very useful in getting a clear perspective of a class or large groups.
Curation tools
Wakelet
What is Wakelet and How Does it Work?
Wakelet is a digital curation platform that lets teachers and students organize a mix of content for easy access.
Wakelet: Best Tips and Tricks for Teaching
These Wakelet tips and tricks can help teachers use curation in the classroom to offer media-rich resources for students to refer to and learn from.
A Wakelet Lesson Plan for Middle and High School
A sample lesson plan designed to help educators implement Wakelet into their instruction.
Seesaw for Schools
What is Seesaw for Schools and How Does It Work for Teachers and Students?
Seesaw for Schools is a digital, app-based engagement platform that allows students, teachers, and parents or guardians to complete and share classroom work.
Seesaw for Schools Best Tips and Tricks
Seesaw for Schools can enhance the student's learning experience and make a teacher's task more straightforward if you know how to get the most out of it.
Creative
Adobe Spark for Education
What is Adobe Spark for Education and How Does It Work for Teachers and Students?
Adobe Spark for Education is a smart yet simple to use digital tool that allows students and teachers to create visually engaging graphics, web pages, and videos.
Best Adobe Spark for Education Tips and Tricks
The best tips and tricks for Adobe Spark for Education can make all the difference in the classroom
Canva
What is Canva and How Does it Work for Education?
Canva is a free-to-use online graphical tool that combines design, photo editing, and layout to help teachers and students create beautifully finished projects.
Best Canva Tips and Tricks for Teaching
These Canva tips and tricks can turn this minimalist graphics tool into a key teaching ally to help engage students and promote more effective learning.
ChatterPix Kids
What is ChatterPix Kids and How Does it Work?
ChatterPix Kids is an app that allows teachers and students to animate pictures so that they talk.
ChatterPix Kids: Best Tips And Tricks For Teaching
The best ChatterPix Kids tips and tricks for teaching are essential to help get the most out of the creative app.
Animoto
What is Animoto and How Does It Work?
Animoto is free and easy-to-use video maker that allows for the creation and sharing of videos online. Since it is cloud-based and browser-accessible, it works with nearly any device, making it ideal for education settings.
Best Animoto Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Here are the best Animoto tips and tricks for teachers so you can get the most out of using videos inside and outside of your classroom.
ThingLink
What is ThingLink and How Does it Work?
ThingLink is a website and app-based platform that allows teachers to turn any image, video, or 360-degree VR shot into a learning experience.
Best ThingLink Tips and Tricks for Teaching
The best ThingLink tips and tricks can help you take an image or video and make it interactive, and filled with learning information.
WeVideo
What is WeVideo and How Does it Work for Education?
WeVideo is a cloud-based video platform to capture, edit, and view video footage.
WeVideo Tips and Tricks for Teachers
The best WeVideo tips and tricks can help teachers and students get a more effective learning experience with the use of videos and video editing.
TikTok
How Can TikTok Be Used in the Classroom?
The music video-making social media app is free to use, easily accessible for students, and can be a powerfully creative tool in the teaching toolbox.
Digital Learning
Bitmoji
What is a Bitmoji Classroom and How Can I Build One?
The use of Bitmoji, a commonly used app and image-based digital social interaction tool, makes sense for adapting classrooms to feel more natural to students.
Quizlet
What is Quizlet and How Can I Teach with It?
Quizlet is a fantastic tool for teachers to create quizzes for in-person and remote learning that makes building and assessing quick and easy.
Quizlet: Best Tips and Tricks for Teaching
The best Quizlet tips and tricks for teaching can turn the smart online learning tool into a powerful ally for both in the classroom and remotely.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a free online teaching resource that offers courses to students to further deepen their knowledge to enhance learning for all. While it was created to bring learning to those who either couldn't afford or didn't have access to education, it's now grown into a powerful resource used by many schools as a teaching aid.
TED-Ed
What is TED-Ed and How Can it Be Used for Education?
TED-Ed is the school education-focused arm of the TED video creation platform, filled with educational videos that can be used by teachers to create engaging lessons.
Best TED-Ed Tips and Tricks for Teaching
The best TED-Ed tips and tricks for teaching can help you take the video-based education platform to its maximum potential, both inside the classroom and for remote learning.
Wizer
What is Wizer and How Does it Work?
Wizer is a digital worksheet-building tool that that can include questions, images, videos, and recording directions, plus teachers can set specific tasks.
Wizer: Best Tips and Tricks for Teaching
The best Wizer tips and tricks will allow teachers to create and find pre-made worksheets that get the best out of students.
IXL
What is IXL and How Does It Work?
The IXL platform is a personalized learning space that covers the K-12 curriculum, including math, English language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish.
IXL: Best Tips and Tricks for Teaching
The best IXL tips and tricks for teaching are an ideal way to help students progress through their K-12 curriculum learning, enjoying it as they go.
Edpuzzle
What is Edpuzzle and How Does it Work?
Edpuzzle is an online video editing and formative assessment tool that lets teachers cut, crop, and organize videos.
Book Creator
What is Book Creator and How Can Educators Use It?
Book Creator is a free tool that allows educators and their students to create multimedia ebooks based off of class assignments and topics.
Book Creator: Teacher Tips and Tricks
Given Book Creator’s robust functionality, there are more ways to utilize ebook creation in the classroom than educators might initially realize.
GooseChase
GooseChase: What It Is and How Educators Can Use It?
GooseChase EDU is a popular digital tool that helps students learn through teacher-designed scavenger hunts.
Get the most out of GooseChase with these tips and tricks.
Scratch
What is Scratch and How Does It Work?
Scratch lets students use coding in a visually engaging way thanks to block based programming.
Digital Citizenship
Digital citizenship is the responsible use of technology, including learning tools, personal devices, and social media
How to Teach Digital Citizenship
Students need to have a thorough understanding of their digital footprint, how to effectively communicate, the tools they can use, strategies for when they feel unsafe online, and what is considered appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
Supporting Digital Citizenship During Remote Learning
Educators from New York City’s Department of Education share their best practices and advice for supporting digital citizenship.
Which Digital Citizenship Skills Do Students Need Most?
The data suggests that teachers and schools should consider adopting a more holistic approach to digital citizenship.
Fact-Checking Sites for Students
Online resources for students to properly research reports, papers, and more.
Game based learning
Kahoot!
Kahoot! is an online game-based platform that allows users to create quizzes.
What is Kahoot! and How Does it Work for Teachers?
Game-based learning has never been so easy for teachers and students to enjoy, thanks to Kahoot!
Best Kahoot! Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Kahoot! can help educators engage with students and enhance the teaching experience in class and beyond.
A Kahoot! Lesson Plan for Elementary Grades
A sample lesson plan designed to help educators implement Kahoot! into their instruction.
Minecraft
Minecraft is an online game that is often used for gamified learning
What is Minecraft: Education Edition?
Minecraft: Education Edition is a learning-focused version of the popular block-based game, with special options for teachers to offer control while still giving students that open-world freedom for which Minecraft is known.
Minecraft: Education Edition: Tips and Tricks
Minecraft: Education Edition can be a powerful teaching tool when used with the right tips and tricks
Minecraft is about freedom, a trait sorely lacking in education. Kids can build what they want, how they want, block by block, and are only limited by their imagination.
How To Turn A Minecraft Map Into A Google Map
Building a world in Minecraft and then turning it into a Google Map, complete with points of interest, is only limited by your creativity.
How Colleges are Using Minecraft to Create Events and Activities
Higher ed institutions have discovered the value of Minecraft to bridge gaps brought on by remote learning.
Presentation
Microsoft PowerPoint
What is Microsoft PowerPoint for Education?
Microsoft PowerPoint is a slides-based presentation tool that teachers and students can use to create digital slideshows.
Best Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks for Teachers
These Microsoft PowerPoint tips and tricks can turn the office-focused tool into a powerful platform for student interaction and learning.
Flippity
What is Flippity and How Does It Work?
Flippity is a tool that allows users to take Google Sheets and turn it into activities and helpful resources, such as from flash cards or quizzes.
Best Flippity Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Make flash cards, build quizzes, create activities, and better engage students with these Flippity tips and tricks.
Pear Deck
What is Pear Deck and How Does it Work?
Pear Deck is a digital tool that allows teachers more in-depth and graphic control when using Google Slides.
Pear Deck Tips and Tricks for Teachers
The best Pear Deck tips and tricks for teaching can help teachers better engage students while potentially also saving instruction time.
Nearpod
What is Nearpod and How Does it Work?
Nearpod is an online tool that allows teachers to use slide-based teaching both in the classroom and remotely thanks to a hybrid layout.
Nearpod: Best Tips and Tricks for Teaching
To get the best out of Nearpod check out these best tips and tricks that help you to not only get new ideas but also to make the process easier and faster.
Buncee
What is Buncee and How Does It Work?
Buncee is a slideshow system designed specifically for educators, students, and administrators that offers end results that are easy to share and is ideal for both in-classroom use and remote learning.
Buncee Tips and Tricks for Teachers
From videos and images to animations and emojis, there is a lot of media to pick from when building a Buncee, but with a few good ideas from those who have used the platform before, you can make Buncee brilliance.
Apple Keynote
How To Use Keynote For Education
Apple Keynote is a presentation slideshow creator that can be used in education to help teachers and students create the most powerful and engaging presentations.
Best Keynote Tips and Tricks for Teachers
Keynote offers a host of cinematic transitions and effects that can help to make any subject engaging and entertaining for students.
VoiceThread
What is VoiceThread for Education?
VoiceThread is a presentation tool that allows for storytelling with lots of mixed media sources, and for interaction between teacher and students.
VoiceThread: Best Tips and Tricks For Teaching
While VoiceThread does a great job of incorporating rich media both for presenting and for feedback, there are great ways in which teachers are using this platform to boost engagement.
Video communications
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a popular communications platform that works with the entire suite of Microsoft education tools
Microsoft Teams: What Is It and How Does It Work for Education?
Microsoft Teams is an online collaboration platform that allows for video chat, document sharing, collaborative editing, and more – making it ideal for teachers and students.
How to Setup Microsoft Teams Meetings for Teachers and Students
Microsoft Teams allows educators to hold meetings online and create a class environment with students, no matter where everyone is.
Microsoft Teams: Tips and Tricks for Teachers
From holding an online class to collaborating on a document as a class, Microsoft Teams integrates layers to make sure the experience is as seamless as possible. These tips and tricks will help educators get the most out of the platform.
Flipgrid
At its most basic, Flipgrid is a video communication platform
What is Flipgrid and How Does it Work for Teachers and Students?
Flipgrid is a discussion tool designed to work specifically for teachers and students in a digital classroom by using video to create an open platform of discussion and learning.
Best Flipgrid Tips and Tricks for Teachers and Students
The Flipgrid tips and tricks you need to know, from creating the best videos to engaging more with your Grid
Screencastify
What is Screencastify and How Does It Work?
Screencastify is an easy screen recording tool that also allows teachers to create, edit, and share instructional videos.
Screencast-O-Matic
What is Screencast-O-Matic and How Does it Work?
Screencast-O-Matic is a free screen capture system that allows teachers the opportunity to easily share their device screen with students, both in class and during remote learning.
Screencast-O-Matic: Best Tips And Tricks For Teaching
The best Screencast-O-Matic tips and tricks for teaching can help make digital learning more immersive and engaging, both in the classroom and for remote learning.
As it always is with education technology, evolution and change come quickly. Check back here regularly as we update these resources with the latest tools and best practices. Learning in the classroom can't happen if the teachers themselves stop learning!