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Here are my choices for the best online tools for remote teaching.
This list is divided into three sections:
1.The tools I used teaching ELLs and my Theory of Knowledge classes this past year and which I expect to continue to use next fall.
2. The tools I plan on using when I teach ELL U.S. History next year.
3. Tools I’m exploring over the summer to determine if I want to use them next year.
I’ll add a fourth section when readers either let me know via tweet or comments what their suggestions are for tools to add to the list. If I don’t get to creating that list right away, please look at the comment section.
Here is what I have:
TOOLS I USED THIS YEAR
UPDATED DISTANCE LEARNING PLAN FOR MY NEWCOMER/INTERMEDIATE ELL CLASS
I’ve written about most of them in my British Council post, Four questions – and answers – about teaching English online, and you can use how I use some of them in VIDEO: HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF MY DAILY ONLINE LESSON FOR ELL NEWCOMERS.
Here’s an excerpt from that British Council post:
The free or very low-cost tools that I am using with my English Language Learner students now, and that I’m confident that I will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, are Google Classroom (free), Wizer (an interactive “worksheet” generator), Quizizz (online games), EdPuzzle (create interactive videos), and Quizlet (flashcard and game generator). I use all of those tools for homework that I assign on Google Classroom.
In addition, I use Quzizz and ThingLink (to create interactive photographs) during my online class lessons, along with Google Slides.
Three additional tools that are ordinarily higher-priced, but available for free now, and that I make available for student homework, are Raz Kids (for reading), English Central (for speaking and pronunciation) and Brainpop ELL (for all domains). Neither I or my school will be able to afford all three next year, so I’ll have to use the next few weeks to decide which one to keep. I might replace them with Read Works and EPIC!, both sites providing interactive reading materials.
I also used Whiteboard.fi as an easy and cool class whiteboard tool. It’s great for formative assessments and for Pictionary!
I primarily used 8×8 as a video conferencing tool, but will be replacing it with Zoom. Zoom just functions better overall and has more useful features. I also used 8×8 to record daily short summaries of lessons to post on Google Classroom. I might continue to use it for that purpose, or I’m considering switching to Screencastify or Screencast-O-Matic.
TOOLS I PLAN TO USE IN TEACHING U.S. HISTORY NEXT YEAR
I’ve written about these at Resources For Teaching U.S. History Next Year
UPDATED: Okay, Now, Here’s My Tentative Remote Teaching Plan For U.S. History
TOOLS I PLAN ON EXPLORING THIS SUMMER
Popin is a live polling tool that I learned about through the CristinaSkyBox blog. If you’re using Zoom, and your district for some bizarre reason has disabled the poll feature as our has, this might be a good alternative.
NEXT: HERE’S A DISTANCE-LEARNING PLAN FOR MY THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE CLASSES
Please share your recommendations in the comments!
You might also be interested in WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER FOR HAVING ONLINE ASYNCHRONOUS CLASS DISCUSSIONS WHEN TEACHING REMOTELY?
GUEST POST TUTORIAL: CONNECTING GOOGLE CLASSROOM TO YOUR CALENDAR SO STUDENTS CAN MAKE APPOINTMENTS
I would highly recommend https://www.liveworksheets.com/. It offers a ton of already made interactive worksheets for an amazing number of subjects or you can upload your own. They can be integrated into google classroom as assignments or as exams. You can also share your worksheets via blogger, WhatsApp, etc. On top of that, you can create workbooks and assign them to individual students or to a specific group.
And it’s FREE!!
I’m a big fan of https://www.flippity.net/ which lets you turn a Google spreadsheet into a set of online flashcards which can be used in many different ways . There’s also an option to use a number of the activities without a spread sheet https://www.flippity.net/NoSS.htm which is great when in a rush. A great tool for IWB or online use.
Another favourite site is https://learningapps.org/about.php which allows you to use/create/adapt mini learning “apps” which can include TTS (Text To Speech) and drag and drop.
Dear Dr.Ferlazzo:
I will be very grateful to you if you suggest a free web 2.0 tool for making videos. I am planning to ask my undergraduate student to make a video of 5 minuts.
Receive in davance my thanks for your support.
Bes regards,
Jairo Raúl
Screencastify is great!
I recommend http://www.off2class.com for teaching ELLs or ESOL students online and during distance learning. You can teach individuals or groups, the lessons are interactive and there is a step-by-step curriculum from A1 to C1 level 🙂
awesome info..new teacher here..thanks for this.
I have a XP-Pen graphic tablet ( https://www.xp-pen.com ) . I downloaded a whiteboard app and my life is so much easier. I use it to make my math videos mostly, but it has also been useful in drawing summary pictures for reading, underlining information in articles during video meets, and other things.
For teaching English to young learners, check out https://abridgeacademy.com – the lessons are super interactive and gamified, designed specifically for remote teaching. The step-by-step curriculum has everything you need to teach – interactive lesson slides, homework worksheets, lesson previews, vocabulary flashcards, extra games, etc 🙂
Thank you!
Also, you mentioned WordWall – another one I use which is kinda similar but can be used to make slightly different types of games is LearningApps: https://learningapps.org/ It’s also totally free, which is always a bonus 🙂
Thank you!