Tech Tips & Tools

Here you will find tips and tools to make it easier for you to stay organized and connected with your learners and peers while working from home during pandemic. Scroll down to also see new tools and resources used/suggested by the community.
Get in touch with monika@alphaplus.ca if you would like us to add something.

Presentation slides and recordings from 'zoom-in' sessions focusing on:

  • Video meetings

  • Online classes

  • Connecting via Mobile Apps

  • Texting from computer

WHAT INSTRUCTORS IN THE FIELD ARE SHARING/USING ...

Bot-reader - application designed to help adult students with their literacy skills - specifically reading, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary and word comprehension shared by LLSC.

Remind - communication platform that helps teacher/students connect.

Discord - chat used by some groups to play games or watch videos together.

Libby App (from OverDrive) - Digital library - borrow and read books and audiobooks from your local library

CloudLibrary App - borrow and read books and audiobooks from your local library

The Learning Upgrade App - pilot (free for 2-3 months), Digital literacy course available

TOOLS FOR ONLINE MEETINGS VIA COMPUTER

ZOOM - BASIC FREE (40 min) TechSoup Canada has a software donation @ $90/year - gets you 50% off of the Pro rate of $200/year.

Paid versions available

A video and audio conferencing platform for online meetings. Staff can participate from mobile devices and laptop or desktop computers.

A Message to Our Users (Zoom CEO)

How to Keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event

Google App allowing personal Gmail users to chat, hold video meetings, share screen and make phone calls. Note that all users have to have a Gmail account and be signed in to participate.

GOOGLE MEET - FREE FOR SPECIFIC USERS

Available to Google for Non-Profit, Education and Business account users. Allows for easy-to-join video calls, chat and screen sharing tools. Host has to have a Google account but anyone can join via a link (no need to sign into Google account).

Google for Non-Profit is FREE for nonprofit organizations. Apply via Tech Soup Canada. AlphaPlus team can help you with this process.

Google for Education is FREE for educational institutions.

SKYPE - BASIC FREE

Talk, chat and collaborate using the mobile or desktop version. Available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

MICROSOFT TEAMS (free basic account)

Microsoft Office users can invite everyone they work with to chat, meet, call, and collaborate all in one place, no matter where they are.

TOOLS FOR CONNECTING VIA MOBILE APPS

TOOLS TO SET UP ONLINE CLASSES

GOOGLE CLASSROOM - FREE

Google application allowing users to set up courses and enroll students. Instructors can share links, videos and assignments. Students can submit assignments directly through Classroom. Assignments can be graded. Comes with personal Gmail account and is also available as part of Google for Non-Profits and education accounts. Both instructor and students will need to have Gmail accounts to access the courses. Can be quickly accessed via https://classroom.google.com/

CANVAS - FREE FOR TEACHER

A learning platform that allows users to create courses and manage students progress. Free for Teachers.

MOODLE - FREE VIA MOODLE CLOUD FOR UP TO 50 USERS

Open source learning platform. Users can choose from cloud-hosted option called MoodleCloud or set up their own system (free to install but site hosting and administration costs need to be considered). Moodle Workplace option is also available. Free Moodle App can be used to access the courses via mobile devices. Contact us if you need help with setting up a site.

BRIGHTSPACE

Learning Management System developed by Desire2Learn and often used by school boards and post secondary institutions. The cost is often prohibitive but some organizations connected to school boards and post secondary institutions are able to get access.

TOOLS FOR TEXTING FROM COMPUTER

RED OXYGEN - FREE TRIAL, Paid versions available

Send and receive messages from your computer. You can send messages via a browser or directly from email.

TEXTFREE FROM PINGER - FREE

Get a free account, choose a phone number and text from and App or a website.

COLLABORATION/PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS/APPS

SLACK - COVID-19 SPECIAL - 3 MONTHS FREE FOR NON-PROFITS (usually US$6.67 per month per user)

A collaboration hub that can replace email to help you and your team work together seamlessly. It’s designed to support the way people naturally work together, so you can collaborate with people online as efficiently as you do face-to-face. A Slack workspace is made up of channels, where team members can communicate and work together. Available as an APP and a website platform.

ONENOTE - comes with Office 365

A digital notebook that allows you to save and organize content and share it with others. Can be accessed in a browser or via an App. OneNote Clipper can be added to a browser for quick and easy saving from websites.

EVERNOTE - BASIC FREE

A great tool to save and organize notes, pictures, links, even handwriting notes. Can be accessed in a browser or via an App. Web clipper available.

GOOGLE KEEP - FREE

A great tool to save and organize notes, pictures, links, even audio files. Included in Gmail account. Can be accessed via a web browser or an App. Web clipper available.

TIPS AND ARTICLES WORTH EXPLORING

AFFORDABLE TECHNOLOGY