Technology moves fast, and it is easy for teachers to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tools competing for their attention. Not every new app or platform is worth your time, but some tools have proven their value in classrooms across the country. Here are 10 that deserve a place in every teacher's toolkit.
1. Google Drive
If your district uses Google Apps for Education, Google Drive is the foundation of everything. Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations can be created, shared, and edited collaboratively in real time. Students can work on group projects from different locations, and teachers can monitor progress and leave comments without collecting physical papers.
The real power is in the sharing settings. Teachers can distribute a single document to an entire class, give each student their own copy, or create shared folders for ongoing projects. For paperless classrooms, Google Drive is essential.
2. Edmodo
Often described as "Facebook for the classroom," Edmodo provides a safe, closed social learning environment. Teachers can post assignments, share resources, create polls, and facilitate discussions. Students can ask questions and collaborate with classmates. Parents can monitor their child's activity through a read-only parent account.
Edmodo works particularly well as a bridge between school and home. Students who are reluctant to speak up in class often find their voice in online discussions.
3. Kahoot!
Kahoot turns assessment into a game. Teachers create multiple-choice quizzes that students answer in real time using their devices. A live leaderboard drives friendly competition, and the energy in a classroom running a Kahoot session is unmistakable.
Beyond the engagement factor, Kahoot provides instant data on student understanding. After each question, the teacher can see how many students answered correctly and address misconceptions on the spot.
4. Nearpod
Nearpod is an interactive presentation platform that synchronizes content to student devices. Teachers control the pace while students interact with slides, quizzes, polls, virtual field trips, and 3D objects on their own screens. It transforms passive presentation viewing into active participation.
The platform includes a library of pre-built lessons aligned to Common Core and other standards, which saves preparation time for teachers who are just getting started.
5. Remind
Remind (formerly Remind101) allows teachers to send one-way text messages to students and parents without revealing personal phone numbers. It is ideal for homework reminders, schedule changes, and quick updates.
The simplicity of Remind is its strength. There is no app required for recipients; messages arrive as standard texts. Setup takes minutes, and the communication it enables can significantly reduce missed assignments and parental confusion.
6. Screencastify
This Chrome extension lets teachers record their screen, webcam, or both to create quick video lessons. It is invaluable for flipped classrooms, where students watch instructional videos at home and use class time for practice and discussion.
Teachers can record a lesson once and reuse it across multiple class periods and school years. Students who are absent can catch up on their own time. The recordings can also be used for substitute teacher plans.
7. Padlet
Padlet is a virtual bulletin board where students can post text, images, links, and videos. It works beautifully for brainstorming sessions, exit tickets, collaborative research, and gallery walks. The interface is intuitive enough that even young students can use it without instruction.
Teachers can create multiple boards for different classes or projects and control whether posts are anonymous, require approval, or are visible to the public.
8. Plickers
Not every student has a device, and not every school has reliable Wi-Fi. Plickers solves both problems. Students hold up printed cards with unique patterns, and the teacher scans the room with a smartphone to capture responses. The system reads each card and records the answer instantly.
It is a low-tech solution that delivers real-time assessment data. For schools still working toward 1:1 device ratios, Plickers is a practical alternative to app-based assessment tools.
9. Socrative
Socrative offers a more full-featured assessment platform than Kahoot, with support for multiple question types including short answer and true/false. Teachers can run quizzes, exit tickets, and space race competitions. Reports are generated automatically and can be downloaded or emailed.
The "Space Race" mode turns a quiz into a team competition, which adds a collaborative element to assessment. Socrative works on any device with a browser, making it compatible with BYOD environments.
10. Evernote
Evernote is a digital notebook that captures and organizes text, images, audio recordings, web clippings, and documents. Teachers use it to collect lesson ideas, organize professional development notes, and build resource libraries. Students use it as a research and note-taking tool.
The search function is particularly powerful. Evernote can even search text within images, which means a photo of a whiteboard or a handwritten note becomes fully searchable.
Getting Started
The worst approach is to try all 10 tools at once. Pick one or two that address an immediate need in your classroom, learn them well, and build from there. The goal is not to use more technology. The goal is to use the right technology to make teaching and learning more effective.