In today’s world, technology is a fundamental part of daily life. Educators have often embraced new learning technologies, utilising learning tools to help us teach and our students learn. The benefits of digital tools for learning are endless. Using digital learning tools can help you to establish a creative and engaging lesson that encourages innovation, communication, collaboration and deeper learning.
Tools for engagement
It is always great to have some tools to help with engagement. Engagement tools often offer features, such as short quizzes, polls or word clouds.
- Kahoot: Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform. This educational technology is frequently used in schools and other educational institutions. Its learning games, ‘kahoots’, are user-generated, multiple-choice quizzes that can be accessed via a web browser or the Kahoot! app.
- Mentimeter: Mentimeter is an interactive presentation and online polling tool that can be used to present live or asynchronous polls, quizzes and word clouds.
- Gimkit: Gimkit is a quiz learning game. It is a game show that requires knowledge, collaboration, and strategy to win.
- Socrative: Socrative is a great app if you want to have fun and engage your learners. Check student understanding with prepared activities or on-the-fly questions, and get real-time reports to visualise learning.
- Padlet: Padlet is an online noticeboard tool in which you can upload, organise, and share content to virtual bulletin boards called ‘padlets’.
Quiz tools
If you want to be more creative, you could use quick games or tests during your live training sessions.
- Quizizz: Find and create free gamified quizzes and interactive lessons to engage any learner. Quizizz is a tool that lets you make flashcards, give quizzes, and review material in a game-based environment.
- Quizlet: Find millions of flashcards on all kinds of topics or create your own.
Online whiteboards
While most video conferencing platforms offer whiteboard functionality, it may also be worth looking into other options that you can use in a live training session:
- Miro: Miro is a fast, free, and simple-to-use online whiteboard built to help you collaborate with others anytime, anywhere.
- MURAL: MURAL connects teams with a digital whiteboard and collaboration features designed to inspire innovation.
- Google Jamboard: Jamboard is a digital interactive whiteboard developed by Google to work with Google Workspace.
Upping your presentation game
If you want to go the extra mile, or let your creativity flow, you could consider boosting the visual design of your presentations with some graphic and presentation design tools.
- Canva: Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.
- Prezi: Prezi is a video and visual communications software that uses motion, zoom, and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life and make you a great presenter.
- Coggle: Coggle is a collaborative mind-mapping tool that helps you make sense of complex things. (Another mind-mapping tool is Mindomo)
- Piktochart: Piktochart is an infographics tool where you can create infographics, poster and presentations online.
This list is a just taster of the digital tools for learning that are available, so have a look and see what grabs your interest! Using digital tools while teaching may help spark your learners’ curiosity, increase engagement and improve learning. Using the right digital learning tools can enrich your teaching practice in both the online or face-to-face training. It can also add an element of fun to the learning journey.
