THE EDTECH COLLECTIVE
A Collective of Educational Technology Resources for Educators
DIGITAL TOOLS
What is a Digital Tool?
Digital tools are programs, websites or other online resources that can make tasks easier to complete. A lot of these can be accessed in web browsers without needing to be downloaded. Some examples of these include electronic devices, hardware/ software, computer programs, application software, etc. Below are 5 examples of digital tools that can support educators in the classroom and online settings.
G SUITE
G Suite is designed to provide a variety of task-oriented and collaboration functions and capabilities, which are developed and powered by Google LLC. G Suite is a free service to educational institutions, and both students and teachers have free access to world-class Google infrastructure to use services and applications by signing up a Google account. The key features of G Suite are Gmail, Google Drive/Docs/Sheets/Slides/Forms/Calendar, Google Classroom, Sites, Hangouts, and Keep. While using G suite as teacher’s as productivity platform, teachers are able to access different tools with their own Google account to create cooperative Google Docs, spreadsheets and Google Slides presentations, to setting up Team Drives to store the material for educational projects, to participating in class-wide discussions on Google Classroom.
KAHOOT
Kahoot is an easy-to-use platform for educators to create, host and share with their students. Educators and students can quickly create a learning or trivia game in minutes to share with the class whether it be in person or online. Kahoot also offers the opportunity to host live games which can be shared with players remotely! A benefit of Kahoot is that each student is being engaged and actively learning while having fun. Educators can utilize Kahoot to introduce new topics, review content, reinforce knowledge and teach an interactive lesson regardless if students are remote or in class! Kahoot is a fun way to break the ice and reward the students with an activity. Educators can use the game as a way to assess class progress and collect student opinions. Students can be encouraged to create their own Kahoot games allowing learning, leadership, creativity and teamwork to be promoted.
KURZWEIL 3000
Kurzweil 3000 is a reading system that was founded in 1996 by Ray Kurzweil. The system was created with the intention of being used by those with a visual or audio impairment. Kurzweil now has many features such as the ability to load textbooks or books and PDFs and change them to a form that can be copied and pasted. The program is also able to convert any text to speech that has been loaded onto the program. These features make it more simple for users to learn material and optimize efficiency. Since its release it has grown in popularity and is now used to support a variety of accessibility needs.
MENTIMETER
Mentimeter is an interactive presentation platform for real-time participation. Some key features include live polling, word cloud, quiz, questions & answers, presentations, translations, presentation remote using smartphone, and export data. There are profanity filters in multiple languages. Educators create a free account or sign up with Facebook or Google to get started. Students go to www.menti.com and enter the code provided by the educator and submit a response. It is a great way to improve student voice.
ALTERNATIVE PRESENTATION TOOLS
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Many educators recognize that offering students a variety of choices and opportunities for self-expression will encourage more creative and critical thinking. While writing has tended to dominate output from students, there are many digital tools that can extend or supplement traditional written output.
Tools like Powtoon and Prezi offer students flexible and creative platforms for sharing their learning through combinations of texts, graphics, and visuals. These platforms are similar to a tool like Google Slides, Keynote, or Powerpoint. For the visual artists or performers in your classroom, try iMovie or Stop Motion Studio. Using these digital storytelling tools, students can create, record, and edit their own artistic creations. While they may take some time to figure out, it is an awesome way to offer students a way to flex some creative muscle!