by - Best free online teaching platforms for teachers include Skillshare and Unacademy. These sites offer courses on topics like photography, creative writing and marketing. They also have hands-on class projects and video learning materials.
Teachers can use Jotform to create student surveys, quizzes and homework forms. They can also use HeyHi to discuss lessons and share an online whiteboard.
1. Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a cloud-based learning management system that helps teachers with online classwork. It has many features and benefits that make it an efficient platform for both teachers and students. It makes it easy for teachers to upload assignments and announcements, and students can access them from anywhere with an internet connection.
It also gives students the ability to collaborate on assignments with classmates, which can improve their understanding of concepts and help them understand the subject better. The platform can also be used to share video lessons with students and track their progress. There are a variety of educational apps and tools that can be used with Google Classroom, such as BrainPop (interactive and animated explainer videos), Typing Club (gaming/data-driven activities for keyboarding skills) and Pear Deck (interactive slideshows for engaging students).
All assignments in Classroom are automatically saved to the teacher’s Google Drive folder, making it simple for them to view and grade. It is also completely paperless, which reduces the amount of time teachers spend shuffled around paperwork. It also allows them to focus on their lesson plans and assessments rather than administrative tasks.
2. Moodle
Moodle is an open source learning management system (LMS) with a wide range of features for both teachers and learners. Its flexibility and responsive design have made it the preferred choice for many educational institutions and businesses.
Teachers can easily create their own courses and share them with students. They can also provide feedback on students’ work, helping them improve their skills and knowledge. Students can also check their progress and receive grades in a timely manner.
Another benefit of Moodle is that it is available on all devices. This way, students can access their course material from wherever they are, including during breaks or at home. This helps to increase student engagement and retention.
Moodle can be used at all levels of education, from primary school to higher education and beyond. Its intuitive and supportive environment is ideal for students who want to learn at their own pace. Instructors can use Moodle’s flexible platform to create their own courses and share them with students. Moodle can also help instructors assess student learning and engagement through a variety of tools, such as quizzes and surveys.
3. ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a digital classroom tool that connects teachers, students, and parents. Teachers use the platform to communicate with students and families through features such as a feed for photos and videos from the school day, messaging, and a translation service that supports more than 35 languages.
The tool also helps educators motivate their students by encouraging positive behaviors using a point system. Research shows that specific positive reinforcement increases intrinsic motivation over time (Garcia & Hoang, 2015).
Other ClassDojo features include a full classroom toolkit with tools like a noise meter, random student generator, classroom music, meeting app, and more. Educators can also display student work and create digital portfolios to showcase their progress.
All of these features are free for teachers, parents, and students. However, for an extra cost, teachers can upgrade to ClassDojo Plus to access additional features including personalized memory albums and access to previous year reports. The app is available on iOS, Android, and web browsers. Regardless of which device you choose to download the app on, it is simple for all members of the family to use and easy to navigate.
4. Thinkific
Thinkific is a popular online learning platform that allows instructors to create, market, and sell courses, coaching sessions, digital downloads, and membership subscriptions. It also offers features such as built-in webinars, one-on-one coaching, and a robust tax handling system.
You can easily customize the design of your course using the drag-and-drop editor. Thinkific also has a variety of lesson types, including text lessons, video lessons, and quizzes. You can also add downloadable content and create courses that have prerequisites. Thinkific also has an excellent customer support team, with a dedicated help center and live chat.
The platform does not charge any transaction fees, which sets it apart from its competitors. Its free plan is a good option for students and teachers who want to test out the platform before committing to a paid plan. The platform also supports integrations with Thrivecart and ClickFunnels. It does not, however, have a built-in feature to reward students with points for completing lessons or activities, so you will need to use external apps or creative solutions. The platform uses Accredible to offer certificates for courses completed.
5. Seesaw
Seesaw is an app-based digital tool that empowers students to create, reflect and share. It allows them to “show what they know” with photos and videos, drawings, text, links, PDFs and audio. Students can also add their work to their digital portfolio, which can be shared with teachers and parents. Teachers can leave comments and feedback on assignments, as well as provide voice recordings of directions.
Pupils can work on Seesaw using any device – mobile phone, tablet or computer. Their work is automatically saved online within a personal profile which can be viewed by the teacher, via the app or website, to assess it from anywhere in the world.
Teachers can create class blogs to communicate with pupils and their families, and encourage collaboration and social learning between classmates. They can allow likes, comments and edits on the blog posts and individual student work. They can even connect their class to other classes from around the world. This enables collaborative work on projects, homework and assessment tasks. This is a great way for schools to keep communication going with families when students are absent from school due to societal or family circumstances.
