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There are a lot of tools out there that you can use as an online work format in an online lesson! So many that some teachers can't see the wood for the trees anymore and don't apply any tool out of panic, while other teachers try to squeeze as many tools as possible into a lesson! Both options are not really recommended. Using digital tools in an online lesson is a careful consideration. You have to take into account the learning goal of your lesson and the capabilities of your students and yourself! At all times, the use of digital tools in the lesson should not be an objective in itself, but rather should add something to the lesson. To get you started, we list our 5 favorite digital tools in this blog and explain how and when to use them!
1. Brainstorm with Padlet
Padlet is an online pinboard. You probably remember it from the old days, one of those boards where you could pin all your notes and ideas to with thumbtacks. Padlet works exactly the same, but online! On Padlet you can "pin" text, images, website links, and files to the board and share them with your students. Students can respond and work in the same Padlet without needing an account. This way you can work together on the same Padlet and brainstorm on a topic or assignment, for example. Once finished, you can save the Padlet and download it as a PDF file, Excel file, or image. You can also archive your Padlets so that you can always find information.
2. Pimp your presentation with SendSteps
SendSteps is a digital and interactive tool that you can incorporate into your presentation. During your presentation, students can respond to different types of questions from any device and without downloading anything, ranging from multiple-choice and open-ended questions to scale questions and a word web. The results appear instantly on-screen in your presentation! After the presentation, you can download the results in an Excel file. SendSteps is an ideal online work format to use in your PowerPoint presentation and makes sure you don't have to switch to another screen to ask questions to your students!
3. Quizzes with Kahoot
Kahoot is a digital quizzing tool with multiple-choice questions that you can apply to test knowledge. The tool is set up in a simple way. You can enter quiz questions with a total of four possible answers, which are displayed in different colors. The quiz question is displayed on the big screen, while students select the correct answer on their own device. After answering the question, the correct answer and the given answers appear on the screen! A competition element is added to the quiz: the person who answers the question correctly and the fastest receives the most points. At the end of the quiz, the stage with the three best players will appear on the screen.
4. Variation with LessonUp
LessonUp is a tool that you can use to make your lesson interactive and put it in a fancy format. Whereas Padlet, Kahoot, and SendSteps focus on interactive questions and testing and gathering knowledge, LessonUp focuses on the entire lesson. You can design your entire lesson as a presentation in LessonUp and add explanations, videos, images, and different types of quiz questions to it. You can also get inspiration and use lessons from other teachers in LessonUp. After the lesson, you can open a comprehensive individual report for each student.
5. Vlogging with Flipgrid
Flipgrid is a tool that allows you to add footage to your assignments. In an online closed room, students can post a video of up to 5 minutes, which they have recorded themselves. This way, students can respond to an assignment or topic in an accessible and familiar way! After students have uploaded their video you can give feedback in different ways. To prevent unwanted videos from being put online, you can set all videos to be approved before they are visible to everyone.
These were our five favorite digital tools! Want to know more about our favorite online tools? Then check out our workshop Activate your participants online. In this workshop, you will learn how to use interactive online work forms that make your lesson more fun and you will be introduced to even more of our favorite tools!
