With a million and one things to do at all times, it can feel near to impossible to stay organised while teaching. Between last minute cover lessons, remote teaching tech challenges and unexpected parent-teacher meetings, it can be difficult to know what day of the week it is, let alone what class is next. To help you remain on top of your teaching game, we have curated a list of the top 25 free online teaching tools and software for you. From Canva to ClassDojo, you will soon have no excuse for missing your lunch five days in a row. Enjoy.
Canva
A brilliant, free graphic design tool you can use to create educational visuals and infographics for the classroom. It couldn’t be more intuitive and is loved by both beginners and experts alike. We guarantee you’ll be hooked.
WeTransfer
The answer to your prayers. Transfer large files easily to colleagues and keep your ideas moving. It’s free and does not even require you to create an account. Just upload files, enter the recipient’s email and you’re away.
Teacheroo, the online teacher community
Teacheroo is a dedicated, friendly space for teachers everywhere to connect, share ideas and browse 1000s of free resources. Share posts, blog and stream live video from your Teacheroo profile. Search, follow and chat with like-minded educators, join groups, and get tailored news, tips and insights straight to your feed.
Create an account and prepare to be inspired. From epic lesson plans to clever classroom design, Pinterest is the place to be. Create your own boards to collate all your ideas in one place and share your best boards with your students.
Pixlr
Pixlr is an online photo editing tool that allows you to design, create and edit your photos and images easily. Right now, Pixlr for Education is offering an upgraded version of Pixlr for free, for teachers and educators.
Loop
Ask your students anything in under 30 seconds on Loop’s easy student feedback app and website. Free for teachers and students.
Calendly
Stay in control of who you meet and when with Calendly, a free calendar booking app. Calendly integrates with your calendar so you are never double-booked – a miracle when teaching – and allows you to save time when booking in your parent-teacher appointments or meetings with colleagues.
Edmodo
No teacher is an island – join Edmodo’s global education network and connect with your fellow teachers and students now. Collaborate in groups, administer and provide educational materials, measure student performance and communicate with parents to create a more personalised and enriching learning experience for both you and your students.
ClassDojo
A favourite among teachers, ClassDojo is a free school communication platform that teachers, students and parents can use every day to build close-knit communities by sharing what’s being learned in the classroom through home photos, videos and messages. Parents can track their child’s progress, and children can showcase their learning. There are also free class behaviour management tools system and lots of added features for teachers too. Check out this free beginner’s guide for teachers to learn what ClassDojo can do for you.
Schoology
An award-winning learning management system, Schoology allows teachers to create a private social network for their students, parents and colleagues. Communicate with families and students, manage your classroom, collaborate with your colleagues, plus much more.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom helps classes communicate, save time and stay organised. It also makes teaching more productive by allowing you to streamline assignments, boost collaboration and foster communication. You can create classes, distribute assignments, send feedback and see everything in one place. Google Classroom also seamlessly integrates with other Google tools like Google Docs and Drive, helping to keep you organised and, most importantly, save time.
Classcraft
Gamify learning and turn your existing curriculum into an adventure. This app has huge praise from teachers with their students reportedly emailing in to ask for extra homework outside of school hours. Need we say more?
Bouncyballs
The perfect classroom assistant. Simply turn on your microphone and let the bouncy balls do all the work. Students can see when they’re making too much noise so you don’t have to tell them, making noise management much easier and, miraculously, less personal.
Classcraft’s Volume Meter
Another useful volume meter which is also free and proven to work. Students already engaged with Classcraft really respond to this and you can even integrate it with Classcraft to achieve further points.
Kahoot!
Create a learning game or trivia quiz on any topic, in any language in minutes and make learning fun again with Kahoot!
Teach Learn Lead
A curated, forum-like platform for teachers to access professional development resources, share ideas and connect with remarkable people, events and places along the education continuum.
Seesaw
A student-driven digital portfolio and simple tool for easy parent communication. Seesaw is an excellent tool for teachers and students to share their work seamlessly with their families and is perfect for keeping everyone in the loop.
Doceri
Doceri is an interactive whiteboard for teachers that is free for use with an iPad. This not only means that you don’t have to draw directly onto the whiteboard and then erase it when space runs out, but you can walk around the classroom, draw on the iPad, cast it from a projector, and save projects to return to later. Ideal.
Padlet
A fantastic tool for teaching, says @coolcatteacher, in her informative how to use Padlet guide. Even if you have never used productivity software before, Padlet is familiar and fun and easy to get to grips with. In fact, it couldn’t be easier to make beautiful boards, documents and webpages that are easy to read and share with colleagues, so why not get started now?
educreations
The essential tool for teaching and learning on the go, educreations is simple and intuitive. Simply record your voice and iPad screen to create dynamic video lessons that your students and colleagues can access at any time and start collaborating now.
Dropbox
Always a classic. Access your files both in and out of school, share your content and stay organised.
Evernote
Eliminate handouts. Take notes anywhere and share ideas with anyone so that nothing falls through the cracks. The perfect place for all your notes, ideas, lists and reminders.
Class123
A free classroom management tool loved by millions. Class123 has a number of handy gadgets including a timer, seating chart, random picker, chalk board, goal tracker and more.
TED-Ed
Create your own interactive lessons, gain presentation literacy skills and celebrate innovative leadership with Ted-Ed’s video-based lessons organised by subject and theme.
Storybird
Promote storytelling and boost your students’ writing skills while creating interactive and artistic books online through a simple and easy to use interface.
EdPuzzle
Save time and simply choose a video, create a series of questions that your students must answer and assess their learning in one short clip.
Doodle
No more back and forth. Simply create a meeting on Doodle and send the link to your colleague or friend. Once your colleague confirms, the meeting is booked and automatically added to both of your calendars. That’s it. Doodle is the perfect tool for when you need to find dates that work for everyone such as essential parent-teacher meetings or the infamous staff Christmas party.
Save articles, video and stories from any publication, page or app in one place. Access the content offline and curate your own space with everything you can’t wait to share with your students.
What are some of your favourite teaching tools? Comment below.
