That said, through my decade-long experience blogging and reviewing EdTech resources, I come to notice a common trend that I call 'outlier EdTech'.
These are educational technology platforms and services that are not only less prone to the temporal decay that plagues most online tools but have established themselves an authority in the field to the extent that they become too 'great/big/powerful/' to fall.
Examples? Google Classroom, Khan Academy, Edmodo, Nearpod, Socrative, and the list goes on.
The latest trend in EdTech that I see currently gaining traction is Artificial Intelligence technologies. While AI offers transformative services and has revolutionized knowledge and practice in many fields including health and education, I do have concerns regarding some of its recent services especially those AI writing tools.
Allowing a machine to do the writing while you sit back and watch is just insane. Not only does it encourage a culture of plagiarism and theft but will also stifle creative endeavour in sectors such as art and education.
I am watching the development of these AI based tools with a suspicious eye, hoping that they will prove my fears and concerns wrong!
There are literally tons of education websites and tools that you can use to enhance the quality of your teaching, learning, and professional development. In the list below I feature some of my favourite options that I have been recommending to teachers and educators.
YouTube Channels for learning Math
Here are some of the best Math YouTube channels to help your students and kids learn math in fun and engaging ways. I only included a sample click on the list to access the entire collection.Educational Science websites
Science is all about discovery, exploration, and learning. The web is full of resources that you can use to bring science to life in and outside of your classroom. To provide you with an easy way to access these resources, I compiled for you the list below featuring some of the best science websites and platforms.- Science YouTube channels for kids
- Science dictionaries for teachers and students
- Science podcasts for teachers and students
- Science websites for kids
- YouTube channels for science teachers and students
Language learning websites
Learning a new language is absolutely a challenging but rewarding feat. With the widespread use of web and mobile technologies, language learning has become way easier and accessible. You can now learn and practice a new language right from the comfort of your own couch.There are tons of web-based platforms and mobile apps that can help you learn a new language from scratch or develop your existing language skills. Here are some very good language learning websites to consider:
Game-based learning tools
These are tools that enable you to create game-based activities to boost students learning and collect key feedback about students performance. Tools such as Quizlet, Kahoot, Blooket, and Quizalize are ideal for designing such activities.The way they work is pretty much the same: You log in to your teacher account, create a class, invite students, start creating game-based activities, share with students, check analytics, and provide feedback.
Web conferencing tools
In this collection, I share with you some of the best video conferencing and webinar hosting tools for teachers and educators.
You can use these tools to deliver online training sessions, workshops, webinars, schedule and plan meetings, and more. All of these web conferencing tools support live broadcasting of presentations, screen sharing, messaging, and many more.
Researcher tools
There are numerous academic research tools that can help you in each stage of the research process.From research organization tools and academic research softwares to word editors and reference managers, you can definitely take your academic research to the next level by making web technologies part of the way you go about doing your research:
- Google Scholar
- WorldCat
- ERIC
- Zotero
- RefWorks
- BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine)
- Mendeley
- Easybib
- Citefast
- ResearchGate
Presentation tools
Presentations are part and parcel of your work as an academic researcher. You will be creating tons of presentations to share in conferences, webinars, and other professional meetings. Some of the best presentation tools I have been using over the last few years besides Keynote are:As for websites where you can search for and find ready-made PowerPoint and Slides templates, check out:
Homework help websites
Here are some of the best websites to help students with their homework. These are platforms where students can access quality resources and materials covering different topics including math, science, language learning, social studies, history, and many more.I invite you to check them out and share with us if you have other suggestions to add to the list.
Video creation tools
There are numerous video creation tools that enable you to create professional videos using simply a drag and drop interface.No prior video design knowledge is required. You can record your clips, edit them the way you like, insert annotations, add text to videos, and share them online or use them in your online conferences and webinars.
Some of the best video creating and editing tools I recommend include: Wevideo, Flexclip, Veed, Camtasia, and Kapwing. For recording your computer screen and creating screencasts and step-by-step tutorials I recommend using any of these tools: Loom, Snagit, Screencastify, or Screenomatic.
Some of the best video creating and editing tools I recommend include: Wevideo, Flexclip, Veed, Camtasia, and Kapwing. For recording your computer screen and creating screencasts and step-by-step tutorials I recommend using any of these tools: Loom, Snagit, Screencastify, or Screenomatic.
