There are hundreds highly efficient online tools that can make the learning process more fun and efficient at the same time, help teachers establish authoritative yet friendly relationships with both students and their parents and, in general, keep abreast of all the new education possibilities.
But such an abundance of possibilities inevitably leads to the crisis of choice: which are the best? What to prefer? We will try to give you some suggestions.
TutorsClass
TutorsClass is an easy-to-use yet highly efficient and professional solution for distance learning; most authoritative sources agree that it is one of the most popular tools of this kind. It allows you to set up a virtual classroom where you can meet with your students at predetermined periods of time and give lessons that will be just like the usual ones – except that both you and your students will be able to attend them from home. The very same system allows you to receive secure payments from students via PayPal.
You may easily see the possibilities here: you may start your own course or maintain contact with students who, for some reason, are incapable of attending classes. The use of TutorsClass is limited only by your imagination.
Socrative
Socrative is well-known and well-regarded in professional educational community, and for a good reason. This tool allows you to engage your students through their smartphones, tablets or laptops during the class via various educational games and exercises. It is an excellent solution for quick quizzes, tests and assessment of current level of understanding – and it is completely free at that.
Screenr
Screenr allows you to instantly create an online screen recording without the need of installing any software and learning how it works – you simply have to press a button, and that’s it. This tool is extremely helpful if you have to explain your students how a certain website works or how to use a certain piece of software without having to do it individually with each student.
Google Forms
Again, a simple solution to bypass all the tedious and repetitive personal interaction. With the help of Google Forms you can quickly create surveys: either as a basis for quizzes for your students or to be sent to their parents so that you can get the information you need from them or plan an event founded on their feedback.
Prezi
Prezi is a tool for creating presentations, creating a field you can pin slides, pictures and videos to – but it far from being a yet another hapless clone of PowerPoint.
Instead of creating a linear presentation, it creates a space with elements of presentation floating in. Users can move between these elements in any way they please, just like you do with your iPad: scrolling between them, enlarging the interesting bits, studying the interconnections between different elements, always being able to move forward, backward or in any other direction.
Children today start encountering technology starting with the first days of their lives – and teachers shouldn’t lag behind. If you want to be effective in your job and speak the same language with your pupils, you have to be tech-savvy.
