App/Site Name |
Free? |
Brief Description |
Instructional Use Ideas |
Available on... |
Requires Student Login? |
Brainpop |
Mostly paid; a few preview videos are free |
Short, animated videos on many curriculum topics |
Good for direct instruction. Includes interactive quiz and more. |
brainpop.com |
Often used for presenting whole group instruction, students would need the username/ password of the account holder to access on their own |
KidBlog |
No longer free; free one-month trial, then $36 per year. Probably worth it, but I'm still miffed it's not free anymore. |
Limited-access blog |
Great for Writers' Workshop. Students can draft in a blog and receive peer editing/revising ideas via comments. |
kidblog.org iPad app |
Yes, must setup a class and their usernames & passwords in advance |
Socrative* |
Free |
Quiz site; create quiz ahead of time or poll spontaneously during instruction; share quizzes with other instructors |
Includes generic exit ticket; can use to give graded quizzes; questions can be multiple choice or short answer |
socrative.com |
No login or class setup required. Students enter a code to join the "room" |
Kahoot!* |
Free |
Quiz site; create your own or load a user-created quiz; strictly multiple choice |
Quiz projected on screen, kids take quizzes on their 1:1 device. Creates spreadsheet of students' answers. Great anticipatory set or exit ticket. |
Teacher: https://getkahoot.com/ Student: https://kahoot.it/#/ |
No login or class setup required. Students enter a code to join the kahoot! |
Today's Meet* |
Free |
Back Channel for meetings/lessons |
During instruction, ask students to respond to a question using the site. All responses are visible to others. Sets up an instant messaging/forum atmosphere. |
https://todaysmeet.com/ |
No login or class setup required. Students enter a code to join the "room" |
Edmodo |
Not free |
"facebook" for education; allows students, teachers, and parents to communicate. Includes ability to turn in assignments similar to WebCT/ Blackboard at college level |
Too numerous to list; least of all, gives a great way to push out a link in a 1:1 classroom for instant student access |
edmodo.com iPad app |
Setup required. Accounts can be populated through school attendance software. |
PBS Learning Media |
Free |
Video streaming |
Gives access to short clips good for embedding in presentations |
pbslearningmedia.org |
I need more info! |
Moby Max |
Free signup requires affiliation with a school |
Student tutorial program. Students take a placement test and the program advances them from there. |
Great for use at a center, for providing individualized instruction for remediation or enrichment |
mobymax.com |
Yes, must setup a class and their usernames & passwords in advance |
ST Math |
Not free. Free sample games: http://www.mindresearch.org/play |
Game-based math instruction without text |
Great for use at a center, for providing individualized instruction for remediation or enrichment |
http://web.stmath.com/ |
I need more info! |
Duolingo |
Free |
Language Learning Program |
Great for use at home or during independent study. Requires use of microphone if using a desktop computer. |
duolingo.com iPad/iPhone app |
Account sign-up is wide open |
Twitter |
Free |
Social bulletin board; post messages of 140 characters or less; can include photo/video |
Great for keeping parents in the know; showcase photos of classroom activities, ask a student-historian to tweet exit tickets, send reminders to parents about permission slips, etc. |
twitter.com Apple/Android app |
Wide open, students under 13 should not have unsupervised access. Parents sign up for their own accounts and follow your feed. |
Remind (formerly Remind101) |
Free |
Text messaging service allows teachers to message parents and students without publishing their own number |
Send reminders about changes in schedule or class picture day |
remind.com |
I need more info! |
Explore Learning Gizmos |
Not free, free trial available |
Interactive simulations allow students to "do" labs in Science and Math without use of manipulatives and equipment |
Print 2-3 page student guide and ask students to complete using the Gizmo. Most have more than one activity for differentiation. |
explorelearning.com |
Teachers setup their students' logins and add appropriate modules to each class in advance. |
Discovery Education |
Some free resources; Tech Books and Streamline are paid services |
Large compendium of media resources |
Create interactive lessons, use media clips in direct instruction, assign work from Tech Books |
discoveryeducation.com |
Assignments require prior setup, Tech Books require class setup, media clips can be streamed but some may also be downloaded in advance to prevent problems with bandwidth and internet outages |
Educreations |
Limited use is free; pricing for classrooms and schools available for full use |
Interactive whiteboard |
Use as a simple student response board or have students create multi-page, media-rich presentations |
App |
I need more info! |
Prezi |
Free for most use; paid upgrades available for business & teams |
Online presentation software |
Students can create presentations on an assigned topic or to explain a math solution strategy or share the results of an experiment; many more creative options available than other presentation software |
prezi.com |
Accounts are open to anyone |
Google Docs |
Free |
Online document creation and storage suite. Facilitates sharing of documents and the ability to coauthor. Online training available. |
Use to assign students to flexible groups among several teachers; invite parents to edit a document to sign up for remaining available conference times. Share sub plan documents with substitutes. |
google.com |
Many schools are providing accounts to their teachers and students. Anyone can setup an account for him/herself. Check with your district about the appropriateness of having your students sign up for accounts without the district's oversight. |
Bouncy Balls* |
Free |
Online sound level meter |
Project onto screen or IWB, use tape or clothespin to mark highest acceptable volume. Allows students to self-monitor group volume during collaborative learning |
bouncyballs.org |
No setup of any kind required if using a laptop with built-in microphone (but be sure it's enabled!). Must purchase hardware mic for most desktops (can be purchased starting around $7). |
Class Dojo |
Free |
Online behavior managment software |
Teacher can reward and revoke points during instruction. Parents can view behavior data and message through the website. |
classdojo.com App |
Requires advance setup. |
Khan Academy |
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Code |
Free - and pledges to always be free. |
Online coding courses; sponsor of Hour of Code; free professional development available nation-wide. This is way easier than you think! |
Use at a center, allow early finishers to progress, use to start an after school club, recommend for rainy weekends |
Teacher: studio.code.org Hour of Code: code.org/learn Student login for a course is through a separate site assigned during teacher setup. |
Hour of Code activities require no prior setup. Participation in one of their courses requires setting up student usernames/logins |
Nearpod* |
Free |
Online presentation maker. Allows students to join the presentation to watch along on their own device. |
Great for students with poor vision. Also great because it allows teachers (especially substitutes!) to create a presentation in advance and then present it on any device with an internet connection (even without a 1:1 initiative). I used this the other day by hooking up a spare student Chromebook to the classroom's LCD projector and accessed the internet as a guest. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to prep in advance. |
Nearpod.com App |
Teacher must setup own account, but no student login or class setup required. Students enter a code to join the presentation (or just watch on the screen/IWB). |
Matific |
Free, but it wouldn't surprise me if they start charging a fee once they become popular. |
Short, interactive IWB-friendly math demos. Also includes lesson plans and other tools. During signup, you have the option to sync the tutorials with your school's textbook (EDM is one option) |
Use for direct instruction on an IWB. |
Matific.com |
Teacher signup required; need more info regarding student accounts |
Quizlet |
Free |
Totally customizable digital flashcards; teachers or students can create their own decks. Resulting cards can be printed or studied online. Neat game feature, too. |
Play the game feature on the IWB and let your students marvel at your impossibly fast typing skills! |
Quizlet.com |
Sign-in required. Teachers and students can share decks back and forth or each can make their own. |
Plickers |
Free |
Use similarly to Socrative for multiple choice, except requires no student devices! |
Quickly assess and keep records! |
Plickers.com |
No! |