25 Brilliant Uses of Technology in the Classroom & 35 Ed-Tech Tools

The educator meticulously outlines the essay assignment, providing a detailed rubric and a sample paper to exemplify the expectations for a successful submission. A thorough discussion regarding academic integrity and responsible source utilization follows. The educator faces a substantial workload, with thirty essays ranging from three to eleven pages in length. Further compounding this challenge is the disheartening discovery that a significant portion, likely exceeding half, of the student body has engaged in plagiarism by copying from peers or utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to generate their essays. While it is undeniable that technology plays a crucial role in shaping many of our students' skills and abilities, educators face the daunting task of staying side by side of these advancements and effectively integrating them into the learning environment. Thankfully, there are various tools for teachers designed to help navigate these AI in classroom challenges, making it easier to maintain academic integrity and support student learning. If you, as an educator, have experienced stress or anxiety related to technology in the classroom, you are not alone.

This blog aims to alleviate these concerns by offering valuable insights and strategies to optimize your classroom experience. We will explore innovative solutions, such as EssayGrader.ai, a grading software for teachers to streamline the grading process for essays potentially impacted by technology, ultimately reducing your workload and stress.

What is Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)?

woman using a laptop - Technology In The Classroom

Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) refers to any technology, such as laptops, tablets, and virtual learning environments, used to enhance learners’ educational experience. According to a 2022 report by Learn Platform, the use of educational technology (EdTech), including technology-enhanced learning tools, increased by 99% after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One popular example of TEL is gamification, which incorporates competition and point scoring into learning modules. The Internet-based language learning app Duolingo is a prime example of how gamification can keep learners engaged. This type of TEL is also highly effective, as evidenced by a 2020 study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, which found that when reading and gamification are combined, students’ performance can be increased by up to 60%.

Other types of TEL, such as online collaboration tools, are also beneficial to teachers and learners. These tools help educators facilitate distance learning modules with students in various locations:

Zoom
Slack
Google Docs

Why Technology Enhanced Learning Matters

Virtual learning produces benefits during students’ academic experiences while preparing them for future careers. Online learning has been found to increase information retention and be more time-efficient. Education that incorporates technology effectively transfers knowledge and teaches students important digital skills they will carry into their professional lives.

Digital Diversity

Digital transformation does not look the same for every setting, school, or student. Individuals prefer different devices and apps daily, but teachers and students may opt for one program over another. Digital transformation does not require every education leader, teacher or student to implement technology singularly.

Rather, it is primarily about cultivating an organizational culture of openness to technology, the readiness to engage and implement technological advances, and a vision for student success that includes digital learning enhancements.

12 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom

students having a discussion on a table - Technology In The Classroom

1. Boosting Student Interest

Integrating technology into lessons can spark students’ interest in learning and motivate them to do better. Many students enjoy using:

Computers
Tablets
Smartphones

Incorporating these tools into classroom instruction can help them feel more excited about:

School
Learning

Engaged Learning

Research has shown a clear connection between student engagement and academic performance. The more actively students participate in classroom activities, the better they tend to do. Technology can provide a way to boost engagement. Gamified learning helps students earn rewards as they master competencies, making the process more enjoyable.

2. Enhancing Collaboration Skills

With technology, students can work together more easily in the same room or across the globe. While traditional group work often results in a poster or a presentation, digital collaboration allows students to create more authentic products, such as:

Blogs
Videos
Websites

Technology can also help students organize their group work more efficiently. Cloud-based applications allow students to save their work online so they can access it from any device. This also enables teachers to monitor groups’ progress and provide feedback.

3. Supporting Inclusiveness

Technology can enhance learning and promote inclusiveness for all students, especially those with special needs. Many students with learning differences struggle to keep up with their peers in traditional classrooms, and technology can help level the playing field.

Educational software can adapt to each learner’s level to provide personalized practice that gradually increases in difficulty as the student improves. Assistive technology can give students with special needs alternative ways to complete tasks and demonstrate their knowledge. A student with dyslexia may use speech-to-text software to write a report instead of struggling with the written components of the assignment.

4. Allowing for Differentiation

Technology opens up a world of resources for teachers and students, allowing for more personalized learning experiences. With the click of a button, teachers can find information suited to individual students:

Levels
Interests

Instead of assigning all students the same book, you might allow them to choose from various texts on a similar topic, some of which may be above grade level while others are below. Technology also enables students to work at their paces. As they master skills, they can move on to more advanced topics or personalized resources that target their specific areas of need.

5. Increasing Productivity

Using technology in the classroom can boost productivity for both teachers and students. For instance, students can use digital tools to stay organized and manage their time more effectively. Teachers can post assignment due dates on a learning management system, so students receive automatic reminders.

Word processors also improve productivity. Students can type and edit their work efficiently and won’t lose their papers if they misplace them. Technology also allows students to access resources more quickly and find information from reliable sources online instead of outdated textbooks.

6. Fostering Creativity

Technology encourages students to think outside the box and be innovative in their learning. Digital tools provide students multiple ways to express their knowledge and demonstrate their learning. Instead of writing a report, students can create:

Podcasts
VideosDigital presentations

Technology also allows students to use their imaginations to create original products. For example, students can use digital art programs to design their images, and music composition software lets them create unique musical scores.

7. Automating Time-Consuming Tasks

One of the biggest advantages of technology in education is the automation of tasks that take up valuable time. Instead of spending hours grading tests, teachers can upload assessments into a learning management system that grades them automatically.

Educators can also create digital rubrics for assignments to ensure consistent grading and provide students with detailed feedback on their performance. Technology can help teachers communicate with parents more efficiently. If a student is failing a class, the LMS can automatically notify the child’s parents.

8. Preparing Students for the Future

Today’s students need to be prepared for a constantly changing and evolving world, especially regarding technology. No one knows what the future will hold or what types of jobs will be available when today’s learners enter the workforce.

Future-Ready Skills

Research shows that technology will continue to play a crucial role in all aspects of society, including:

Business
Education

By integrating technology into the classroom, teachers can help students become comfortable with digital tools and develop the skills they need to succeed.

9. Accessing Up-to-Date Information

Another pro of technology in the classroom is that it allows teachers and students immediate access to up-to-date information. Where revisions to hard-copy materials take place over months or even years, updates to online textbooks happen almost instantly.

Gone are the days of cutting out articles from a newspaper to discuss current issues in class—current events are now reported in many online formats and on many reputable news sites. Students and teachers can even collaborate back and forth in real time through email and apps that offer messaging.

10. Cost Effective

Using technology can save districts and teachers money, thanks to the free, quality resources available online. Digital resources can also help a district reduce printing and paper costs.

Procedures like mailing report cards to students’ homes can be a thing of the past, as parents can easily check grades online (saving paper, time, and postage). Online textbooks can help eliminate some rebinding fees and storage issues.

11. 24/7 Access to Learning

IoT devices are making it easier for students to have full access to the classroom in a digital environment. Whether they’re at school, on the bus or at home, connected devices are giving students Wi-Fi and cloud access to complete work at their own pace and on their schedules without being hampered by the restriction of needing to be present in a physical classroom.

Various apps also help students and teachers stay in communication in case students have questions or need to alert teachers to an emergency.

12. Flipping the Classroom

Edtech tools are flipping the traditional notion of classrooms and education. Traditionally, students must listen to lectures or read in class and then work on projects and homework at home. With video lectures and learning apps, students can now watch lessons at home at their own pace, using class time to work on projects as a group collaboratively.

This learning style helps foster self-learning, creativity, and a sense of collaboration among students.

Efficient Grading with EssayGrader

EssayGrader is the most accurate AI grading platform trusted by 60,000+ educators worldwide. On average, it takes a teacher 10 minutes to grade a single essay, with EssayGrader that time is cut down to 30 seconds. That's a 95% reduction in the time it takes to grade an essay, with the same results.

With EssayGrader, teachers can:

Replicate their grading rubrics (so AI doesn't have to do the guesswork to set the grading criteria)
Set up fully custom rubrics
Grade essays by class
Bulk upload of essays
Use our AI detector to catch essays written by AI
Summarize essays with our essay summarizer

Primary school, high school, and even college professors grade their students' essays with the help of our AI tool. Over half a million essays were graded by 60,000+ teachers on our platform. Save 95% of your time for grading school work with our tool to get high-quality, specific and accurate writing feedback for essays in seconds with EssayGrader's grading software for teachers. Get started for free today!

5 Cons of Technology in the Classroom

upset woman infront of a laptop - Technology In The Classroom

The buzz about technology in the classroom often centers on its benefits. However, there are also drawbacks to using technology in education. Teachers should consider some of the cons of classroom technology before diving in.

1. Excessive Screen Time

Students spend a lot of their free time on tech devices, whether that’s:

Browsing social media on their phones
Gaming
Doing homework on their computers

When more technology is added to the classroom, it can feel as if students are constantly in front of a device. This impact can be minimized if parents and teachers limit students' hours in front of screens.

2. Distractions Galore

Another disadvantage of technology in the classroom is that it can be a minefield of distractions. Ads, pop-ups, games, news, fun websites, social media, text messages, and more constantly compete for our attention. This means teachers face the challenge of keeping students on task.

How can we ensure students are doing what they’ve been assigned? Teachers can help encourage students to focus on their work by setting clear expectations and consequences. Parents and districts can also set up internet blocks to help keep students from visiting other sites when they are supposed to be working.

3. Cheating Becomes Easier

Cheating has always existed, yet technology has made it even more accessible in some ways. Students can copy and paste each other’s work into their assignments. They can even search the Internet for other people’s works and submit them as their own.

Some tools can help combat plagiarism. Teachers can require students to submit their papers and then determine how much of the paper is similar to current or past submissions. The tool will also mark any anomalies it discovers for the instructor’s review.

4. Less Human Interaction

When students use tech devices, they have less human interaction. Teachers and parents worry that a lack of face-to-face socializing will leave students unable to communicate effectively when they need to have a real-life conversation. In reality, tech is just a tool designed to make our lives easier.

Balanced Tech Use

As with any tool, how you use it matters. Tech devices support complex communication. They give students a way to:

Work together on projects
Access to a vast library of information and knowledge
Connect them to the wider world, which expands their horizons

If teachers and parents are still concerned about the time spent on a device, they can moderate screen time and provide activities that encourage more traditional interactions.

5. Unequal Access to Technology

One of the more notable cons of technology in the classroom is that not all students have equal access to technology. Depending on their socioeconomic status and living environment, some students may need access to reliable Wi-Fi or can afford dependable devices.

Digital Divide

These disparities can affect:

Online learning activities
Online assignments
Access to online help

Some schools provide technology for students, which is certainly helpful. Some educational grants can also help offset the costs of technology.

25 Brilliant Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom with Ease

man working on a laptop - Technology In The Classroom

Communication

1. Run a Virtual Field Trip

If a location is out of reach due to logistical issues, you can simulate a virtual trip by buying a Google Cardboard for less than $15. There are apps you can use to explore famous buildings, such as the Empire State Building, and natural phenomena, such as the Great Barrier Reef. You may ask: “How will this connect with a learning objective?”

You could visit a foreign landmark, holding a mock conversation in that country’s language. Or, you could study the area itself from a geographic perspective. This can add a new, engaging element to your lessons.

2. Preview Field Trips Virtually

Similarly, you can use Google Earth to explore locations before visiting them. Let’s say your class is set to go to the Zoo. Find the location and travel through it using Street View to see which exhibits pique the most student interest. You can quickly discuss what they’re looking forward to, boosting excitement levels for the trip.

Popular field trip destinations will also have websites filled with visual media you can use to complement the preview. All it takes is a device connected to a projector or large screen.

3. Quiet a Noisy Classroom

Use a tool that tracks and displays classroom noise to make it easier to give lessons and presentations. Too Noisy is an accurate noise meter. You’ll likely find that students become quiet when the meter spikes without telling them. This means most of them won’t be as disruptive when you give a lesson or run an independent work activity. They may even shush each other. In turn, you’ll have an easier time presenting content.

4. Use Videos for Mini-Lessons

You can bolster your lesson plans by using videos as stand-alone overviews for some topics. Also available as skill reviews and previews, many websites host teacher-made video content. TeacherTube is an example of an education-only version of YouTube, covering core school subjects. You can search for a specific topic or browse by category, quickly finding relevant videos.

Searching for middle school algebra will load a results page containing:

Study guides
Specific lessons
Exam reviews

This easy way to use technology in the classroom adds a multimedia element to your lessons, which can effectively resonate with visual learners. Research has shown that the use of animated videos can positively impact a child’s development in several competence areas including:

Memory
Creativity
Critical thinking
Problem solving

5. Co-ordinate Live Video

You don’t have to limit yourself to pre-recorded videos, as conferencing technology can allow subject matter experts to deliver lessons. Whether it’s a contact from another school or a seasoned lecturer you reach out to, bringing an expert into your classroom will expose your students to new ideas and can lighten your workload.

You can add the person as a contact on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or whichever platform your school users! Ask your students to prepare questions, helping them enjoy — and fulling participate in — this modern take on traditional lessons.

6. Play Podcasts

Playing relevant podcasts for kids can not only supplement your lessons, but:

Engage auditory learners
Act as a learning station

Made by groups ranging from media giants to ordinary people passionate about a particular subject, you can find podcasts that are:

Interviews with the author of a book your students are reading
Lessons about studying techniques and strategies
Explorations of a curriculum-related topic
Lectures from professors

You could design a project for a high school course that allows students to create and play their podcasts. This is one of the easiest ways to use technology in your classroom — you just need a device with strong speakers.

7. Add Multimedia Elements to Presentations

Whereas slideshow presentations entirely made up of text can disengage students, ones with multimedia elements can effectively hold their attention by varying content delivery. When applicable, try to include:

Images
Graphs
Pictographs
Podcast clips
Sound effects
Short video lessons

News, movie and television show clips You don’t have to scour the Internet to find relevant graphs and pictographs — you can make them myself. There are free online tools that take you through steps to:

Input data
Adjust labels
Modify your design

It’s likely that slideshow presentations already play a part in your lessons, and adding different kinds of media can make them more engaging.

8. Send Adaptive Content

If each of your students has a smartphone and is always on it, why not use the situation to your advantage by delivering content through the phones? There are adaptive learning programs that students can access through:

Tablets
Smartphones

ClassK12 offers a mix of adaptive math and English exercises for students. It’s made up of mobile apps that students can download onto their devices. As a teacher, you can:

Create virtual classrooms
Deliver assignments
Run reports

Delivering appropriate content through such programs may seem difficult, but the process is usually intuitive and automated.

9. Share an Online Class Calendar

To keep students informed regarding the content they’ll be tackling, create and share a class calendar that details lessons and highlights important dates. You can use a program such as Google Calendar, emailing my calendar’s hyperlink to my students or their parents.

This not only keeps them informed, but helps you stay organized — you’ll quickly see if I’ve set too many due dates in a short period. And by keeping students in the loop, I’ll help them come prepared for each class.

Helping Students Process Content

10. Use Virtual Manipulatives

When teaching and reinforcing some math concepts, students can use virtual manipulatives in more ways than physical ones. A 6th-grade geometry activity from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives involves using geoboards to illustrate:

Area
Perimeter
Rational concepts

Although a few websites provide these manipulatives, many teachers regard the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives as the most versatile and engaging. The website comprises tasks targeted to students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, so there should be something for your class. This method of using technology in the classroom is not only easy to run but also appeals to hands-on learners.

11. Run Learning Stations

Learning stations are a method of both delivering a range of content and giving students different ways to process it. With a device at each station, you can provide:

Videos
Podcasts
Slideshows
Other digital media

Students can then solve challenges to build an understanding of the material. This can involve:

Using virtual manipulatives
Solving relevant problems in a computer game
Recording their thoughts about and responses to a podcast
Contributing notes to a group
Wiki page, which this guide explains in a later section.

One of the best parts of this approach is that it works for classes without one-to-one device use, as students can group at each station.

12. Provide Online Activities for Students Who Complete Work Early

Similarly, you can set up stations for students to use when they complete work early, giving them engaging ways to process content further. Set up a few devices that have:

Videos
Websites
Educational games open

Ensure this material aligns with my lesson, allowing students to delve into relevant topics. Doing so will encourage them to use every bit of class time wisely—even those few minutes before the bell rings.

13. Save Time for Exit Tickets

Saving ten minutes for exit tickets at the end of class opens the door for easy technology use. Exit tickets can take the form of:

Online Journal Entries: Using an online notepad, students can write a journal entry to summarize what they learned.
Slideshow Comments: Sharing copies of slideshows from the day’s lesson, students can make comments through PowerPoint or Google Slides to review and expand on important points.
Tweets: In 280 characters or less, students can summarize the most important point they learned in class.

You can easily see what they wrote by asking them to use a class-exclusive hashtag. Exit tickets are not only quick from a student perspective, but you should find them easy to introduce and oversee.

14. Use Twitter Hashtags to Take Questions

Just as you can use a class-exclusive hashtag for exit tickets, you can use it to take questions throughout the day. By inputting the hashtag in Twitter’s search bar, you can display the feed on a screen during class or check it periodically on your device. You can answer all the questions at once or as they pop up. Either way, you don’t want to see an empty feed. Encourage students to ask inquiry questions, as well as specific ones related to:

Lessons
Presentations
Homework

This use of technology can be especially beneficial for introverts who may be uncomfortable asking questions in front of the class.

15. Study, Review and Critique Content on Web Pages

Here’s a technology-focused spin on notetaking:

Find a web page with content reflecting or related to your lessons
Get students to make notes directly on the page

Using a program such as Bounce, you can create an interactive screenshot of any page just by inputting its URL. When students open the screenshot, they’ll see commands to make notes, feedback, and other edits. In classrooms with one-to-one device use, students can do this individually.

In classrooms without one-to-one device use, you can make it a group activity. Ask each group to make notes and feedback to improve the web page’s content. Once each group is done, compare the edits to see which group improved the page the most. Who knew writing notes could be so engaging?

16. Use Online Mind Maps for Class Brainstorms

A digital take on brainstorming, there are websites you can use to create clear and detailed mind maps faster than written ones. Many teachers use MindMeister, as its features are designed for:

Students
Educators

Put the program on a screen that everyone can see. Work with your students to brainstorm ideas to reinforce lessons or launch a problem-based learning exercise. Setting up this kind of classroom technology should only take a few minutes.

17. Gather Student Feedback

To encourage student input about content-processing activities, create and distribute surveys. In a few minutes, you can create forms and polls using applications such as:

Socrative
Google Forms
SurveyMonkey
Poll Everywhere

Students can respond through personal or classroom devices, giving you insight into their preferred activities. Based on the results, I may find an easy way to improve lessons. This could even involve using new technologies in the classroom.

Allowing Students to Create Products

18. Launch a Wiki Page for a Collaborative Assignment

Collaboration doesn’t have to occur face-to-face; you can give group assignments to create a wiki page. You can use many programs to create wiki pages, which are web pages that different people can edit. As a project, students can create one about a relevant topic.

This process inherently encourages collaboration — students must contribute their content to the page, editing and refining each other’s work. This version of a group paper may also prove to be more engaging than its classic counterpart.

19. Set Up Student Blogs

Blogging can be a creative outlet for students, especially in language arts classes and other writing-heavy subjects. There are free templates and comprehensive privacy settings on platforms such as WordPress, which you can use to host each student’s blog. As for the products they can create?

Some popular options are:

Poems Short essays
Diary entries from the perspective of a historical figure or character from a novel
Blogging takes some time to set up, but — once you’re rolling — it’s one of the easiest ways to introduce and use technology in the classroom

20. Offer Open-Ended Projects

When it comes time to start a new project, give students a list of options. This way, you can appeal to their distinct learning styles and they can effectively demonstrate their knowledge. The projects can involve:

Designing web content
Putting together ebooks
Creating original artwork
Composing musical tunes
Crafting multimedia products
Students can use widely-accessible software to complete these projects, which you may want to provide on classroom devices

This way, you can dedicate in-class time to project work while giving students autonomy over how they use technology in school.

21. Use Online Sign-Ups

When it comes time for students to deliver presentations, digital signup forms are an easy way to incorporate technology. You can share a class calendar or send students a link to a survey.

It should contain a list of dates to choose from so they can schedule a presentation time that works for them. They’ll likely be happy to complete the project at their own pace.

22. Base Assignments on Technology-Focused Subjects

Worried that students will find it too hard to use specific technologies when creating products? Instead, you can base assignments on subjects related to software and other technology. Students can write guides explaining how to use their favorite computer programs.

For a greater challenge, they can investigate and report how certain technologies have impacted:

History
Politics
Any other subject

They may develop a new appreciation for the technologies in question.

Offering a Unique Learning Experience

23. Introduce a Game-Based Learning Platform

An ambitious way to use technology in the classroom is to introduce a game-based learning platform. Most are designed to engage students, enlivening difficult topics and subjects. Research backs up other benefits, too.

According to a 2014 article in the Journal of Learning, Media, and Technology, video games stimulate an increase in midbrain dopamine to help store and recall information. Prodigy Education offers adaptive game-based learning through Prodigy Math and Prodigy English.

Teachers can create classrooms, track student progress and deliver custom questions through plans and assignments. You can create and sign into your free teacher account today.

24. Play Simulations

Geared to solo and group use, online simulation games can add context and real-world applicability to your lessons. Most simulations deal with subjects such as business and economics, which require the player to have math skills higher than the elementary level.

It is possible to find ones that appeal to younger students. Regardless, as simulation programs become more advanced, they grow more engaging by teaching students how to apply their knowledge in a greater range of scenarios. And, because many of these programs work on most devices, you’ll have an easy time testing and using them.

25. Participate in a Webquest

Webquests encourage students to find and process information in engaging contexts, adding an interesting spin to the research process. These free online adventures could place students in the role of a detective. To solve a specific case, they may have to collect clues — and information — related to a curriculum topic by scouring:

Certain sources
Web pages

You can create your adventure, but you should find WebQuests through some Google searches. By the end, your students will be surprised by how much research they did.

35 Best Classroom Technology Tools for the Modern Teacher

woman using a tablet - Technology In The Classroom

1. EssayGrader: The Most Accurate Grading Software for Educators

Efficient Grading

With EssayGrader, teachers can:

Replicate their grading rubrics (so AI doesn't have to do the guesswork to set the grading criteria)
Set up fully custom rubrics
Grade essays by class
Bulk upload of essays
Use our AI detector to catch essays written by AI
Summarize essays with our Essay summarizer

Primary school, high school, and even college professors grade their students' essays with the help of our AI tool. Over half a million essays were graded by 60,000+ teachers on our platform.

2. Prodigy: Level Up Student Math and English Skills with Game-Based Learning

Prodigy allows students to practice math and English in an immersive, game-based environment. As students play Prodigy Math and Prodigy English, they'll answer teacher-made, curriculum-aligned questions tailored to their level.

Its adaptive algorithm tweaks the skill practice based on their understanding of the content so they can build on struggle areas while they enjoy.

3. Tynker: Introduce Coding Early to Prepare Students for the Future

Our world has very quickly shifted to many jobs, services and experiences being offered online. Because of this, the skills our students need to learn to be successful have changed. Introducing STEM programs like coding and computer science early will set up students for success in the later stages of education and in the workforce.

Tynker provides a great first exposure to coding with approachable tutorials. It covers skills from the most basic to the most advanced.

‍Best for: Helping students engage in technical skill practice.

4. NearPod: Engage Students with Virtual Reality Lessons

NearPod is a more accessible and affordable virtual reality option for teachers to bring into their classrooms. Virtual reality can be an immersive experience that allows students to explore concepts in 3D and deepen their understanding.

NearPod offers over 450 VR experiences, from exploring volcanoes to the American revolution battlefields. There are lessons for students of any grade level and every subject.

‍Best for: Helping students engage in content using technology.

5. Kahoot: Turn Quizzes into Fun Games

Kahoot is a teacher favorite for in-class questionnaires and quizzes. The best part of this tool is how adaptable it is. It is compatible with many devices, and assessments can be joined remotely or in person.

Kahoot can turn a dreaded quiz into an experience that feels like a game show. This element of fun has been shown in studies to not only increase student attendance but also their engagement.

‍Best for: Helping students engage in quiz-based assessments.

6. Quizlet: Make Study Tools for Any Subject

Quizlet allows teachers to create study sets, review materials, flashcards and learning games for their whole class for any subject. It’s easy to access templates that you can use to make the process even:

Faster
Easier

There are also premade study sets from other teachers and even students on various topics.

‍Best for: Helping students review content in foreign languages, history or sciences.

7. Socrative: Assess Student Learning with Fun Quizzes

Socrative provides formative assessment tools to connect teachers with students in real-time as learning is happening. This quiz-based app helps teachers create engaging and fun assessments to match different learning styles.

This tool can also gauge each student’s understanding and offers multiple feedback options. With all this extra information, you can create targeted lesson plans to encourage student success.

‍Best for: Teachers looking to assess students through quizzes.

8. Parlay: Assess Student Discussions on Learning Materials

Parlay Ideas is designed for assessments that spur deeper discussions about the learning material. Teachers can see students' responses, provide feedback and give out a grade all in one place.

It simplifies how you collect response data so you have more time to review student work and better understand where each student is at.

‍Best for: Teachers looking to assess and get student feedback.

9. Flip: Give Students a New Way to Discuss Learning Topics

Previously known as Flipgrid, Flip offers a way for teachers to bridge the classroom experience and what students are working on at home. On the platform, you can prepare discussion topics and record a video of yourself presenting the topic. Students will then respond in a discussion forum with their own video.

Making this an at-home assignment gives students time to brainstorm their answers and feel more comfortable in front of the camera. This edtech tool resembles the popular social media app Snapchat, where one video is replied to with another. The fun and novelty of this way of learning can increase:

Student engagement
Excitement about academic topics

‍Best for: Helping middle and high school students discuss learning material and share feedback.

10. Prezi: Create Interactive Presentations for Class

Students commonly use Prezi as a presentation tool, but teachers can also use it. This virtual presentation software allows presenters to be on the same screen as the graphics, creating a more engaging presentation that doesn’t just have a voiceover.

While PowerPoint has been an extremely useful tool for many years, Prezi has more capabilities for creating visually appealing presentations with personal touches.

‍Best for: Making presentations more interactive and engaging for students to follow.

11. Storybird: Visualize Writing Assignments with Images

Storybird is a digital platform that encourages students to become better writers by adding images to their stories. When a picture is added first, it can pair an entered word with an image or vice versa. This tool can be especially handy for visual learners or when learning concepts like the different parts of plant cells.

A picture of that part of the plant can follow each vocabulary word. Storybird can be a great collaboration tool where one student picks the words for a story and another selects the pictures.

‍Best for: Encouraging students to visualize their learning.

12. Venngage: Create Infographics for Visual Learning

Venngage is a fun and easy-to-use design software that students love to use. It can be used to create infographics to:

Visualize data
Present ideas

The graphics are saved online and can easily be shared with current and future students, making them a good replacement for traditional posters.

‍Best for: Helping students turn learning insights into visually engaging graphics and study aids.

13. Google Classroom: The Free Classroom Technology Everyone Is Using

Google Classroom has become a popular learning management system in recent years. It’s free to use for everyone with a Google email account, and students enjoy the flexibility of logging in from a laptop or mobile device.

In Google Classroom, students can see all of their assignments, documents, and discussions in one place. It can also be used for videoconferencing with remote learners or messaging teachers with homework questions.

‍Best for: Managing multiple subjects or classes in one classroom admin platform.

14. Canvas: A Comprehensive Learning Management System

Canvas is another learning management system, though it does have a cost. This platform connects teachers and students for lessons as well as:

Monitor grades
Check attendance

It provides a singular place to share course documents and class rubrics. The messaging feature is also useful for communication between teachers and students.

‍Best for: Managing multiple subjects or classes in one classroom admin platform.

15. Slides With Friends: Create Interactive Lessons with Slides

Slides With Friends offers a flexible and simple platform to build interactive lessons. Creating a slide deck is a matter of a few clicks, through which you can add:

Quizzes
Polls
Discussion prompts

The students can answer directly on their devices, giving you real-time feedback on their understanding.

16. Quizziz: Create Fun, Game-Like Assessments for Students

Quizziz is another classroom technology that helps educators create immersive learning experiences. Its interface makes it simple to create interactive quizzes, and the import from spreadsheet feature lets you craft engaging tests in minutes. The platform has all the features necessary to captivate your students’ attention.

Because of the leaderboards and live chats, they can compete with each other while providing educators with real-time feedback on their learning.

17. Miro: Visualize Class Information with an Online Collaborative Whiteboard

Miro offers a virtual canvas for educators and students. It offers all the necessary tools — pen, highlighter, and text — to build a visual depiction of the information your class is dealing with. These features have a clean interface; they don’t get in the way of learning.

Templates are Miro’s forte. Whether you’re charting a mind map or leading a brainstorming session, the app has got you covered.

18. Whiteboard.chat: Access a No-Nonsense Online Whiteboard

Whiteboard.chat offers educators a no-nonsense interactive whiteboard. You can add text, draw, and even save your board as a PDF for offline viewing. The tool also lets you import files from:

Google Drive
Microsoft 365
Gsuite.

Getting started is as simple as clicking start class and sharing the classroom’s code with your students. Students can join your board via a QR code; they don’t need an account.

19. Microsoft Whiteboard: Another Online Whiteboard to Consider

If you’re already using Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Whiteboard is a great classroom technology to add to your toolbox. Notably, thanks to how easy it is to upload what you create on the whiteboard to Team Assignments. Teachers can create engaging content ahead of class with an array of tools, such as:

Digital ink
Shapes
Stickers

This platform shines in group projects. It's simple to upload digital worksheets or create new ones using the structured organizers provided. Live cursor identities let you see who's engaged and who might need extra help, promoting a collaborative learning environment.

20. Factile: Play Jeopardy! in Class to Review Learning Material

Factile gives teachers a Jeopardy-style quiz game interface for interactive review sessions. Teachers can create their own games or choose from a wide selection of pre-made game templates to quickly build review sessions.

The games can be played in a classroom or remotely, supporting various learning environments. With options for team or individual play, it allows for a collaborative or self-paced review process, catering to different learning preferences.

21. EdPuzzle: Enhance Video Learning with Interactive Features

EdPuzzle is an excellent choice of classroom technology to support students’ reviewing. Teachers can use existing videos or upload their own, editing out irrelevant parts and adding voiceovers or questions to focus on key concepts.

Students can't proceed to watch assigned videos until they answer the questions. This system forces them to pay attention while they review the material.

22. Microduino: Build STEM Skills with Hands-On Learning Kits

Microduino brings real-world technology in the classroom, empowering young minds to explore the world of STEM by combining play and learning. Their captivating kits and video tutorials help students gain to develop a deep love for learning. Microduino offers a range of educational STEM kits that are easy to:

Build
Play with
Code

Hands-On Coding

Their kits, targeted at children ages 5 and up, progressively:

Teach coding
Electronics
Product design

Their goal is to make learning a fun and interactive experience through hands-on activities.

23. Ozobot: Teach Coding and STEM with Color-Coded Robots

Ozobot offers a versatile platform for teaching coding and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) across all grades and subjects. It provides two distinct ways to engage with coding: screen-free with Color Codes and on-screen with Ozobot Blockly.

Ozobot provides a hands-on, interactive learning environment for all students. They see their efforts come to life, giving their learning a purpose.

24. LEGO Mindstorms: Explore Robotics and Coding Logic

The key advantage of LEGO Mindstorms is its intuitive and user-friendly programming environment. It introduces students to coding logic in a fun and accessible way. With a wide range of sensors and motors, students can create robots that can respond to the environment.

LEGO Mindstorms is an exceptional robotics platform that brings together the worlds of creativity and engineering. These kits provide students with the tools to design, build, and program their robots using:

LEGO elements
Sensors
Motors

25. Blooket: Gamify Your Classroom Review Sessions

Blooket is a web-based quiz platform that transforms quizzes into competitive activities. With its many game modes such as Tower Defense, Cafe, Racing, you will find the best activity to reach your classroom goals.

The ease of setup and competitive aspect makes it a solid choice for any educator looking to improve classroom learning. Its generous free plan lets up to 60 players join a game.

26. ClassDojo: Build a Positive Classroom Community Online

ClassDojo is a digital platform aimed at building a positive classroom community. It connects teachers, students, and parents, allowing them to share updates, photos, and videos on a private feed. This way, the classroom becomes a vibrant online hub, rather than a dreadful, disconnected place.

Through ClassDojo, students and parents are passive observers and active participants in the educational journey. They can celebrate achievements, offer encouragement, and seek support when challenges arise. Some educators might find the initial setup a bit cumbersome.

27. Edmodo: Foster a Classroom Community with Social Media Features

Edmodo is a classroom technology tool that offers educators powerful community-building tools. Features like interactive assignments and real-time updates make students and parents play an active role in education.

Edmodo empowers teachers, students, and parents to collaborate in education. This makes the platform a valuable addition to any classroom seeking to embrace digital learning.

28. Seesaw: Create a Digital Portfolio for Student Work

Seesaw is for elementary school teachers and has multimodal tools for students to fully express themselves in the learning journey. The app makes learning and communication simple, giving teachers access to:

Student messages
Progress
Lessons on any device

29. Kami: Use Digital Tools to Personalize Learning

Known as an “all-in-one sidekick” for teachers, Kami is a digital platform with over 40 features to personalize student learning. Via the platform, teachers can upload resources like slides and images and convert them into:

Dynamic lessons
Tasks

Additionally, teachers can give feedback through:

Voice
Video
Screen capture

30. Buncee: Get Students Creative with Digital Presentations

Buncee is a creation and presentation tool with multiple pathways for students to communicate their learning experience. With 2,000 templates to choose from, students can design creative content for:

Assignments
Feedback purposes

31. Genial.ly: Make Interactive Presentations and Infographics

Best suited to more mature students, Genial.ly is a sophisticated platform for making:

Presentations
Infographics
Interactive images
Videos

In 2021, Genial.ly was awarded the Best Presentation Tool by Edtech Digest.

32. Gimkit: Gamify Learning with a Live Game Show Tool

This live learning gameshow tool introduces or reviews classroom concepts. Gimkit can also function like flashcards, where teachers import existing question sets or spreadsheets to the platform. Students can also submit their questions, via the KitCollab feature.

33. GoGuardian: Monitor Student Online Activity for Safety

GoGuardian unifies schools’ filtering, classroom engagement, and mental health tools in a single place. Not only does the platform fuel classroom management, it can also notify staff about high-risk online activity among students.

34. Desmos: Visualize Math Concepts with Digital Tools

Desmos is a math-centered platform with several tools to help students visualize equations and plot graphs. Tools include the:

Graphic calculator
Scientific calculator
Geometry tool
Practice tests

Students can additionally enjoy specially designed math quizzes and games.

35. Sphero Robots: Use Robotics to Teach Coding Across the Curriculum

Trusted in more than 40,000 schools around the world, Sphero Robots level up students’:

Programming
Computational thinking
Problem-solving skills

Sphero’s robots for grades PK–12 make learning to code feel like play and are highly customizable to teachers’ and students’ needs.

4 Tips To Use Technology In The Classroom To Enhance Student Engagement

students working on their laptops - Technology In The Classroom

1. Construct Knowledge with Technology

Students disengage when they view technology as a tool to transmit information for them to:

Read
Memorize

Instead, we can use technology to allow them to construct their own ideas and create personal meaning. Technology is effective when used as a tool for knowledge construction, not knowledge consumption.

Critical Thinking

In the classroom, have students read two news articles on the same topic and then letting them decide which article was more persuasive. This allows students to access recent texts through technology, but it also allows them to sort through their thoughts to decide which article was more effective. Students can use technology to construct their ideas.

Some tech tools that work to help students construct knowledge include:

Newsela
NewsForKids
Britannica School
EBSCOhost

2. Collaborate with Technology

Students want to work with their peers, and technology can help facilitate those interactions. When technology is used as a tool to foster collaboration with others within and beyond the classroom, it will engage students. Educators must position technology to facilitate activities that foster social interaction.

Sometimes, we imagine classroom technology isolating—students quietly sitting at their desks working on a computer. Instead, we can use it as a tool for communication. I’ve had groups of students gather around a single device to watch a short video.

Yes, they could all watch it at their own desk on their own device, but positioning technology this way allows students to:

Pause the video
Talk to their peers
Rewind and rewatch as necessary

This huddled viewing makes the activity interactive and collaborative. Students continue to process their own ideas and engage with their peers to help refine them further. Some tech tools that allow students to collaborate include:

Google Docs and Google Jamboard
Padlet, Flip
MindMeister

3. Create Engaging Products through Technology

Technology leads to student engagement when it’s a tool that allows students to design, build, and perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult for them to do without access to the technological tools. Students feel accomplished when they create a product different from everyone else’s.

Student Choice

If we can design an evaluation task that allows them to choose how they’ll design their final product and provide them with the technological tools, the technology will engage them. I’ve had students redesign the cover of a book they’ve read in their secondary English classroom to market the book to preschoolers.

This enables them to consider colors, shapes, and images that would appeal to preschoolers and subsequently design, build, and create something that’s new and doesn’t exist. Some tech tools that allow students to construct include:

PosterMyWall
Canva
Picmaker
Adobe Photoshop
Fotor
Squarespace

4. Unite the 3Cs with Technology to Maximize Engagement

Despite the amount of learning through and with technology during the pandemic, I’ve noticed that students still find it engaging. I’ve found that rather than tasks that allow for one of the 3Cs, tasks that unite all of the 3Cs foster greater engagement that can be sustained over several classes.

The 3Cs allow students to:

Inquire
Connect
Design

These are 3 facets of education that emergency remote pandemic learning eroded. I implemented a task that unites the 3Cs to rebuild these important skills.

This activity gave students voice and choice, and the result was that they created work that they were proud to submit for evaluation. Some products included:

A radio ad
A TikTok video
An Instagram post
A city bus advertising wrap
An infomercial
A television commercial
A rap with a music video
A magazine ad

What my students created was beyond what I could have suggested because they had creative skills and media knowledge that I hadn’t been aware of until this project. I learned that when we design an activity that unites the 3Cs, it’s a gateway to invite student engagement.

8 Trends in Ed-Tech and Opinions of Industry's Most Thought Leaders

students using a laptop - Technology In The Classroom

1. Digital Footprints Will Reshape the Future of Education

The pandemic's most significant lesson is that students need improved access to technology and educational opportunities to improve their lives. The future of education will be shaped by the demand for better digital tools required for social gatherings. Experts believe that by 2050, 90% of people worldwide will have access to broadband internet.

This improvement will significantly affect future learning as almost 9 billion people could potentially participate in futuristic learning. Alain Chuard on how Prisma influences digital transformation in education future of education Princeton is reimagining education for the future by making it:

More globally
Technologically
Personally connected

Networked Learning

Alain is the founder and CEO of Princeton, a networked learning network that completely replaces traditional education. Princeton developed its learning framework rather than converting the main curriculum for use online. Princeton introduced the first Connected Learning Network in the world—a brand-new category in education.

Princeton's learning model is not a school in the traditional sense; rather, they're a locally based, globally connected at-home learning network that provides kids with the skills they need to start living their best lives right away. The team of educators, businesspeople, and technologists at Princeton is expanding quickly. Together, they've:

Created a successful charter school from the bottom up
Redefined education at the Harvard Creative Computing Lab
Explored moonshots at Google
Taught hundreds of children
Created prosperous technology firms

2. Game-Based Learning Reaches New Levels

Contrary to popular belief that playing video games is bad for you and a waste of time, the truth is that they teach vital life skills like:

Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Social awareness
Teamwork
Collaboration

Gaming is one of the most innovative trends shaping the future of education technology. According to forecasts, by 2026, the global market for game-based learning will have grown to USD 29.7 bn, a CAGR of 21.9%. In 2021, the market for ed-tech games predicted to facilitate learning was worth $11.0 billion. The idea behind game-based learning is that it helps students learn more effectively when they are working toward particular objectives while also having fun.

Gamified Learning

When learning in a classroom or online, the same techniques that are used in gaming are utilized. Teachers have gamified their courses by incorporating these gaming features into non-gaming scenarios to influence and encourage pupils. Gamified education engages college students in teamwork and friendly competition. The play has benefits for adults as well as young children.

Sophie Deen's perspectives on game-based learning future of education Prepare children for whatever the future may bring:

Fake news
Identity theft
Mass surveillance

Ethical Media

Bright Little Labs is a children's media firm founded by Sophie Deen that creates ethically produced, educationally beneficial children's:

Books
Apps
Games

Detective Dot and the CIA (Children's Intelligence Agency), their main narrative app, teaches coding through stories with a focus on getting girls and underrepresented groups interested in:

STEM
Coding

Question Everything

Sophia believes it is crucial to instill in children the habit of questioning everything, challenging what they are taught and the information they receive. On the future of technology in education, Sophia opines that children should be taught more about the world they live in during the next 100 years of education. Not just the area in which they were raised but also how they relate to other regions of the globe and how all decisions and actions immediately impact the environment.

Ana Lorena Fabrega is using Synthesis to build a gamified future for kids. Picture a digital playground where kids can learn to make responsible choices and hone their instincts, cognitive tools, and teamwork abilities to handle complexity while having the time of their lives. To look for alternatives to conventional education, Ana Lorena retired from teaching in 2019.

Future-Focused Learning

Fabrega took on the role of Chief Evangelist at Synthesis in 2020, an online initiative partially started by Elon Musk. Synthesis is a website for kids' enrichment that teaches through games and simulations. According to Synthesis, the future belongs to those willing to think unconventionally and approach issues in novel ways.

Synthesis students gain knowledge of mental models, judgment, and game theory by participating in challenging and group games. Fabrega believed that education shouldn't revolve around passing exams. It ought to emphasize independent study and exploratory learning. Another option had to exist. Synthesis is scaling up the most innovative Ad Astra ideas using a game-based learning strategy.

3. Cohort Learning Will Evolve Education Technology

Cohort-based learning is just a term that identifies a learning model in which a group of people start a course and end the course simultaneously and, therefore, can build a community together while learning something. Cohort-based learning is an idea that has been around for a few years and is steadily gaining traction.

Cohort Learning

Today, because of the rise of zoom and slack, people are much more likely to want to have more engaging online learning. Cohort learning seems to be a common evolution, and within two years, every online course will probably have some community component. Suppose there is anything to be learned about the advantages of cohort learning.

In that case, it is this, the completion rates for online courses focusing on smaller groups emphasizing direct interaction and collaboration with professors and peers exceed 85%. Take a closer look at the future of cohort learning technology and check out how cohort learning platforms meet the future trends in education technology.

4. AI and Automation Are Transforming Education

We'll need more automation in future online learning. Education is one of the areas where A.I. and automation are making a massive impact. Over half of Learning Management Systems (LMS) will be AI-enabled in the near future, and 86% of teachers believe that A.I. should play a significant role in the classroom.

AI for Education

It is important to understand that A.I. is not a threat to teachers, nor is it there to replace teachers but to deliver better education and make the whole learning experience better for both the kids and the teachers. The use of A.I. and automation in education has helped us to rethink our whole education system and how it is delivered.

In recent times, we are seeing a hybrid model that ensures we get the best out of our artificially intelligent enabled systems and our teachers as well. Using A.I. and automation in learning gives a more differentiated and individualized learning experience.

5. The Future of Education is Collaborative

The future of the educational workforce will be collaborative. Collaborative learning is a student-centered type of learning where small groups are often given more openly complex tasks, and the teacher is just a facilitator. Collaborative learning is now one of the most important ways students learn and grow.

Collaborative Resilience

Although individual work can be a great way to master content, collaborative work empowers and enables a student to cultivate resilience. Collaborative learning is based on a small group of active student participation over passive lecture-based teaching. The underlying premise of collaborative learning, and why it is a major trend now, is that in this model, students construct, discover, and transform knowledge.

Also, learning is conceived of as something a learner does, not something done to learn, thus pushing students to conclude. Take a Closer Look at the Future of Collaborative Learning and check out how collaborative learning platform meet the future trends in education technology.

6. Educational Communities Are on the Rise

Another big trend in the future of higher education is communities. Learning can be tough, especially when it is typically something people are used to doing in some form of isolation. Eeducational communities are on the rise, and being part of one is a huge saving grace!

Community Impact

Educational communities provide students from diverse backgrounds with a pathway into different fields. Programs like this help incoming students transition with personalized courses, advising, and activities that build a community from within. Educational communities are important because they provide camaraderie and evidence that others have the same issue or are struggling just as much.

What is very important is that they help and encourage each other to persist and get that degree.

7. Personalized Learning Will be the Norm

Many institutions are now focusing on personalized learning due to the many positive results garnered from this learning model. Personalized learning provides:

Students with opportunities for self-direction
A powerful sense of ownership
The ability to explore meaningful and relevant topics in their lives

Personalized Guidance

In personalized learning, the teacher is a guide and facilitator, walking around to ask reflective questions or guiding students to ask their questions. The teachers may also be providing demonstrations or pulling up information to support students in their explorations.

With the personalized learning model, there are many opportunities for students to explore their world and take ownership of their learning future.

8. The Increased Popularity of MOOCs

Online courses at the college level that are free are known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). MOOCs have been steadily gaining popularity and are a great fit for the futuristic educational model. They are provided by websites like:

edX
Udacity
Khan Academy
Coursera, among other online learning environments

Global Access

MOOCs' popularity has greatly increased worldwide; 92 million students registered for Coursera classes by 2021, up from 21 million in 2016. People who live in locations with poor or nonexistent infrastructure, such as those with few or no schools, roads, or buses, can benefit greatly from MOOCs' extraordinary learning opportunities.

Think about being able to enroll in a variety of interactive, free college courses to broaden your knowledge or, even better, to gain skills that will help you:

Escape poverty
Earn more money

Can the New Technology of Education Replace the Teachers?

woman taking a class - Technology In The Classroom

Technology is replacing almost everything in this modern era. In the digital age, paper books have been replaced by e-books and PDFs, and pens have been replaced by software. Can this modern technology replace teachers? This technology may mature enough to provide supplemental instruction to children, similar to virtual teachers, but it will never fully replace the role of human educators.

Technology can support the learning process, but it cannot replicate the nuances of human interaction, empathy, and guidance that are essential for effective teaching.

Teachers Remain Essential Even With Technology Resources Available

Having online resources available to students, what does a teacher need to do anymore? After the popularity of online learning, discussions began on this topic. Computers have also become more common in classrooms. Social media is growing in learning environments, and many learning apps are available for children.

Let us now consider alternative perspectives on this issue. Technology is very helpful in the learning environment, but it has not completely taken over the role of the teacher.

Students Still Need Teachers to Help Them Learn

Technology makes learning at home easier, but teachers provide that education. Online courses also require teachers to deliver lectures through:

Videos
Tutorials
Skype sessions,

Children need to learn computers to operate these online sessions. Of course, these are taught by teachers. It’s not just about imparting knowledge that teachers do. Students need teachers to guide them in learning:

Practical science
Technology
Engineering
Arts
Mechanical skills

Human Skills

Technology cannot teach these human skills, so children need teachers to learn critical skills such as:

Decision-making
Time management

Technology Cannot replace the Human Element of Teaching

Neither advanced technology nor intelligent computer programs or products can match the knowledge provided by a teacher. Studies have repeatedly shown that teachers can bring about changes that technology cannot. Effective teachers encourage:

Independent thinking
Independent learning

Positive Influence

They can be positive influencers and motivate others to set and achieve goals. The bond between teachers and students creates the perfect learning environment, which can never be achieved with virtual learning.

Even parents often fail to convey all the values that teachers effortlessly teach. Teachers' importance should not be underestimated, especially with young children.

Teachers Are More Than Knowledge Transmitters

It is imperative to remember that teachers are not mere transmitters of knowledge. Teachers also act as guides, mentors and inspirations for their students. Any technology cannot replace this role. Given critical skills such as decision-making and time management, children need teachers because technology cannot teach these human skills.

Technology plays a supporting role, but teachers bring it all together. Technology is changing how students learn, but it cannot replace teachers. Quality teachers create a classroom culture that motivates students and puts them on the path to success. Technology cannot inspire people, help them fight, fight back, or help them rise.

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