Distance Learning Tools and Apps
Below is a list of fun and engaging ed tools and apps that teachers use in their classes to teach in different ways, more interactively, and to increase student engagement.
Also below are apps or websites that help you create curricular materials such as working with PDFs or screen recording. Choose a category below for the link.
Ed Tools and Apps
EdPuzzle - Take a video (for example a YouTube video you like) and turn it into a lesson specifically for YOUR students by adding your own comprehension questions.
Flipgrid - a website where educators create assignments and students add short videos of themselves talking about the topic. Students can also respond with a video to someone else’s video.
Kahoot - a website that allows you to create fun interactive games where students answer questions.
Quizlet - Create and reuse vocabulary banks of words. Students can study the vocabulary words in different ways like flashcards and matching. Simply log in with your Google Account to create classes, vocabulary word lists, and resuse other ones.
Storybird - a creative writing website to enhance students writing skills.
Thinglink - Add areas on your images (pictures) that show information or link to videos or other websites. Look at the Gmail Compose Window thinglink example.
Voki - a free website where students can make an animated speaking character that can say anything that you choose. Click here for an example of a Voki talking about CCRS and CTE Model Standards.
Pear Deck
Pear Deck - A YouTube Video that helps you get started with the Google Slides add-on to make your presentation interactive.
Pear Deck Help Videos - videos from the Pear Deck website to help you use Pear Deck.
Pear Deck How-To Handbook - the handbook for synchronous and asynchronous learning with Pear Deck.
Pear Deck Knowledge Base - the resource knowledge base for Pear Deck.
Pear Deck template library (includes content area slides [ELA, Math, Science…] and Newsela/Pear Deck combo slides)
Pear Deck resources - additional resources for using the Pear Deck add-on [you must sign in after you add it].
Increased Engagement using Pear Deck while Distance Learning | 2020 Tutorial - a YouTube video showing ways to use Google Slides with PearDeck for distance learning.
Screen Recording and Working with PDFs
DocHub - a Chrome web store item to Drive that allows you to edit and work with PDF files. You can add form fields for students to click and type responses.
Loom - a website and Google Chrome extension that allows you to record your screen and saves the file to the Loom website while you perform actions. NO limit on video length for educators.
Lumin - an extension to Drive that allows you/students to type into pdfs (eg. scanned worksheets) and share the completed pages (eg. homework)
Screencastify - a website and Google Chrome extension that allows you to record your screen and saves the file to Google Drive while you perform actions. (Example) - Video for Schools/Teachers
Tools to create videos for teaching--compilation article