There is no shortage of digital tools for the classroom designed to support instruction, student engagement, and learning. Here is an extensive list of 75 digital learning tools, apps, and platforms that can help your students explore ideas, demonstrate understanding, and apply new knowledge.
We didn’t just add any old tool to this list. Here are the criteria we used for those that made the cut:
- Supports a range of instructional strategies and ways to activate learners to be resources for themselves and peers
- Is free or awful close to it (under $10 per year, where possible)
- Allows both students and teachers to take the activator role when possible (sometimes teachers need to get things started)
Together, this list offers practical examples of digital tools in education, including formative assessment tools for teachers that inform instructional decision-making, as well as tools that support collaboration and reflection.
Before you dig in, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about exactly what you want to accomplish with your students. “How to pick the right digital tool: Start with your learning goal” by Erin Beard can help you wrap your head around goals and guide you in choosing the best tool for the task.
Digital formative assessment tools
Purpose: To check for understanding and gather real-time evidence of student learning that helps teachers adjust instruction.
When to use: During instruction or at natural pause points in a lesson to identify misconceptions and decide next steps. (Also check out “27 easy formative assessment strategies for gathering evidence of student learning” to help you decide what strategies work best for you and your students.)
- AnswerGarden Gives you access to formative assessment feedback.
- Formative Lets you assign activities, receive results in real time, and provide immediate feedback.
- GoSoapBox Works with the bring-your-own-device model and includes an especially intriguing feature: a confusion meter.
- Mentimeter Allows you to use mobile phones or tablets to vote on any question a teacher asks, increasing student engagement.
- Pear Deck Lets you plan and build interactive presentations that students can participate in via their smart device. It also offers unique question types.
- Plickers Allows you to collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.
- Poll Everywhere Lets you create a feedback poll or ask questions and see results in real time. Allows students to respond in various ways. With open-ended questions, you can capture data and spin up tag clouds to aggregate responses.
- Quick Key Helps you with accurate marking, instant grading, and immediate feedback.
- Socrative Uses exercises and games to engage students with a topic.
Practice and knowledge reinforcement tools
Purpose: To help students practice skills, reinforce content, and build fluency through repetition and feedback.
When to use: After initial instruction, during independent or small-group practice, or for review.
- Gimkit Lets you write real-time quizzes. And it was designed by a high school student!
- IXL Breaks down options by grade level and content area.
- Kahoot! A game-based classroom response system that lets you create quizzes using internet content.
- Quia Lets you create games, quizzes, surveys, and more. You can also access a database of existing quizzes from other educators.
- Quizalize Helps you create quizzes and homework.
- Quizizz Guides you through designing quizzes and lets you include students in the quiz-writing process.
- Quizlet Lets you make flashcards, tests, quizzes, and study games that are mobile friendly.
Survey, quiz, and response collection tools
Purpose: To collect structured student responses, opinions, or answers for analysis, reflection, or documentation.
When to use: When responses do not need to be analyzed in real time or when gathering data over time.
- Crowdsignal Lets you create online polls, quizzes, and questions. Students can use smartphones, tablets, and computers to provide their answers, and information can be culled for reports.
- Edulastic Allows you to make standards-aligned assessments and get instant feedback.
- FreeOnlineSurveys Helps you create surveys, quizzes, forms, and polls.
- Google Forms Part of the Google suite, Google Forms lets you create quizzes, polls, and surveys and see answers in real time.
- MicroPoll Helps you create polls, embed them into websites, and analyze responses.
- Naiku Lets you write quizzes students can answer using their mobile devices.
- Poll Maker Offers unique features, like allowing multiple answers to one question.
- ProProfs Helps you make quizzes, polls, and surveys.
- Quizmaker Helps you write quizzes quickly and easily.
- Survey Hero Designed to build questionnaires and surveys.
- SurveyMonkey Helpful for online polls and surveys.
- SurveyPlanet Also helpful for online polls and surveys.
- Typeform Helps you add graphical elements to polls.
- Zoho Survey Allows you to make mobile-friendly surveys and see results in real time.
Student reflection and demonstration tools
Purpose: To give students opportunities to explain their thinking, reflect on learning, and demonstrate understanding in different ways.
When to use: After learning experiences, for performance tasks, or when insight into student reasoning is the goal.
- Adobe Express Lets you add graphics and visuals to exit tickets.
- Animoto Gives students the ability to make a 30-second video of what they learned in a lesson.
- AudioNote A combination of a voice recorder and notepad, it captures both audio and notes for student collaboration.
- Flip Lets students use 15-second to 5-minute videos to respond to prompts. Teachers and peers can provide feedback.
- QuickVoice Recorder Allows you to record classes, discussions, or audio for projects. Sync your recordings to your computer easily for use in presentations.
- Seesaw Helps you improve family communication and makes formative assessment easy, while students can use the platform to document their learning.
- Vocaroo Creates audio recordings without the need for software. Embed the recording into slideshows, presentations, or websites.
- VoiceThread Allows you to create and share conversations on documents, diagrams, videos, pictures, and more.
- WeVideo Lets you use video creatively to engage students in learning. Teachers and students alike can make videos.
Collaboration and visible idea sharing tools
Purpose: To support collaboration and make student thinking visible through shared spaces for ideas and discussion.
When to use: During group work, brainstorming, or whole-class discussions to surface and build on student thinking.
- AnswerGarden A tool for online brainstorming and collaboration.
- Coggle A mind-mapping tool designed to help you understand student thinking.
- Conceptboard This is software that facilitates team collaboration in a visual format, similar to mind mapping but using visual and text inputs.
- Dotstorming A whiteboard app that allows digital sticky notes to be posted and voted on. This tool is best for generating class discussion and brainstorming on different topics and questions.
- Educreations Whiteboard A whiteboard app that lets students share what they know.
- Equity Maps These discussion maps can help you ensure every student has a chance to share their ideas.
- iBrainstorm Lets students collaborate on projects using a stylus or their finger.
- Miro Allows whole-class collaboration in real time.
- Padlet Provides a blank canvas for students to create and design collaborative projects.
- ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard Another whiteboard tool to check understanding.
- XMind Mind-mapping software for use on desktop computers and laptops.
Interactive instruction and engagement tools
Purpose: To engage students with content through interactive and media-rich learning experiences.
When to use: During lesson launches, whole-class instruction, or when introducing or reinforcing new content.
- BrainPOP Lets you use pre-recorded videos on countless topics to shape your lesson plan, then use quizzes to see what stuck.
- Buncee Helps students and teachers visualize, communicate, and engage with classroom concepts.
- Edpuzzle Helps you use video (your own, or one from Khan Academy, YouTube, and more) to track student understanding.
- Five Card Flickr Uses the tag feature from photos in Flickr to foster visual thinking.
- PlayPosit Allows you to add formative assessment features to a video from a library or popular sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo, to survey what students know about a topic.
- RabbleBrowser Allows a leader to facilitate a collaborative browsing experience.
- Random Name/Word Picker Facilitates random name picking. You can also add a list of keywords and use the tool to prompt students to guess words by providing definitions.
Feedback, revision, and peer learning tools
Purpose: To support feedback, revision, and peer-to-peer learning that improves the quality of student work.
When to use: After students create initial work and during revision or reflection phases.
- Classkick Helps you post assignments for students, and both you and your students’ peers can provide feedback. Students can also monitor their progress and work.
- Kaizena Gives students real-time feedback on work they upload. You can use a highlighter or give verbal feedback. You can also attach resources.
- Peergrade Helps you create assignments and upload rubrics. You can also anonymously assign peer review work. Students can upload and review work using the corresponding rubric.
- TeacherEase Rubrics This paid tool can help you ensure your rubrics are clear and accurate.
- Verso Lets you set up learning using a URL. Space is provided for directions. Students can add their assignment, post comments, and respond to comments. You can group responses and check engagement levels.
Class trend visualization tools
Purpose: To aggregate student input in ways that highlight patterns, trends, and common misconceptions.
When to use: After collecting open-ended responses to support synthesis and whole-class discussion.
- EdWordle Generates word clouds from any entered text to help aggregate responses and facilitate discussion. Word clouds are pictures composed of a cloud of smaller words that form a clue to the topic.
- Tagxedo Allows you to examine student consensus and facilitate dialogues.
- Wordables Helps you elicit evidence of learning or determine background knowledge about a topic.
- WordArt Includes a feature that allows the user to make each word an active link to connect to websites, including YouTube.
Communication and learning community tools
Purpose: To strengthen communication and build connections among teachers, students, and families.
When to use: On an ongoing basis to support discussion, coordination, and classroom community.
- Biblionasium Lets you view books students have read, create reading challenges, and track progress. Students can also review and recommend books to their peers.
- Chatzy Supports live, online chats in a private setting.
- Google Drive Google Drive allows you to create documents students can collaborate on in real time using smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
- Lino A virtual cork board of sticky notes, this tool lets students ask questions or make comments on their learning.
- Online Stopwatch Provides dozens of themed digital classroom timers to use during small- and whole-group discussions.
- Piazza Lets you upload lectures, assignments, and homework; pose and respond to student questions; and poll students about class content. This tool is better suited for older students as it mimics post-secondary class instructional formats.
- Remind Lets you text students and stay in touch with families.
- Voxer Lets you send recordings so families can hear how their students are doing, students can chat about their work, and you can provide feedback.
- Yo Teach A back channel site great for keeping the conversation going with students.
Learn more about digital tools for the classroom
There are many ways to continue learning about how digital tools for teaching and learning can support formative assessment and responsive instruction. For a quick start, download our eBook Making it work: How formative assessment can supercharge your practice, which offers practical guidance and strategies you can use right away. As you explore these tools, focus on your learning goals, try new approaches, and see how different tools fit into your everyday instruction.
