Tools That Are Needed to Teach Online

Remote teaching has unique demands and challenges that require a different set of educational technology tools than in-person teaching tools. As education went online due to the pandemic, institutions and teachers had to find a way to reach and engage their students remotely. Educators adopted several new digital tools for learning that had varying degrees of success. Some platforms were effective for simulating in-person teaching and making online learning enjoyable, while others required steep learning curves that only alienated both student and teacher. This list is a run-down of the most effective teaching tools that are indispensable for remote learning.

PDF Editors 

The PDF format is one of the easiest ways to send important documents, including educational ones like academic journals and scientific reports. The sharing aspect is key in the virtual classroom, as teachers no longer have to make individual copies of a single document to share with a whole class. 

With a PDF, teachers can send a single file to the entire classroom, and every student gets the same document. While ease-of-access and shareability are advantages, PDFs are also notoriously hard to edit. When teachers need to add information or important data sets or have students comment on a passage, it becomes difficult without the proper software. 

Luckily, there are several online and offline PDF editors available that can make life easier for virtual teachers and students. A program like Lumin PDF is one of those programs. Lumin is available in an online version, as well as a downloadable offline version for more well-rounded access. 

With Lumin, users can share as many files as they want and sync their documents with a Google Drive account to make sharing even easier. With cloud compatibility, Lumin also gives users the ability to read, edit and add annotations to a PDF in real-time so other users can see those changes immediately. 

ThingLink

ThingLink is a mobile application that allows users to enrich visual media with tags that can provide more information about any image. Users can start with their media (videos or pictures) and add tags that can be embedded with hyperlinks to other sites that give viewers a more in-depth explanation. 

The tool is useful in the classroom setting so teachers can annotate images for an upcoming class and send them to students before, during, or after the class. Students can refer to the annotated images to understand a particular point about the image in more detail. 

History students can learn things about the context or setting of a famous image, while art and photography students can check the annotations to discover more about a certain style or effect. Students can also use the application to annotate their images and send them to classmates for self-directed learning exercises. 

ClassDojo 

ClassDojo is an educational communication platform that seeks to integrate parents, students, and teachers into one online community. The platform expands the communication between parents, students, and teachers by letting everyone message each other during a specific class and make comments even when a class is in session. 

Parents and students can communicate with each other, while teachers and parents can carry on a conversation at the same time. Everyone can comment on lesson materials and students can share their impressions with class material by uploading drawings and completed work so parents and teachers can interact with it in real-time. 

eduClipper

eduClipper (now Participate) is an online database of education-related images that is for both teachers and students. The platform allows teachers to create a portfolio for a specific class or subject that students can reference to learn more about a particular subject. The platform is open to all grade levels, as it has near-universal applicability. 

Users can also create communities around a particular subject and connect with other interested learners around the world. The platform gives users the ability to learn from one another as it features user-generated courses that anyone can take online to earn achievement points or other certificates. 

Socrative

Socrative is an online application that gives users the ability to create quizzes, tests, and other assessment tools for a wide variety of students to professionals. The tool is cloud-based and contains a wide database of different styles of quizzes and tests that users can edit to suit their needs or use as they are. 

Socrative also lets teachers prepare a test or quiz ahead of time so they can introduce it during the class and assess their students’ understanding right away. The tool has applications in the professional world as well, as employers can assess the skills and comprehension of their employees through personalized tests and questionnaires. 

Edmodo

Edmodo is an all-purpose and all-encompassing tool for teachers to better manage their classrooms with a wealth of planning, assessment, and scheduling tools. Edmodo gives teachers a wealth of content to use in their classes like pre-made lesson plans or assessment tools to better gauge their students’ learning. 

Edmodo also lets parents and teachers interact over class material as well as help each other plan school events and activities. Teachers can also share lesson plans with colleagues as well as other teachers to increase professional development or keep parents up-to-date on their child’s learning journey.