Digital Tools
There is a plethora of tools available to engage students and help meet the learning outcomes of your course. I've listed several on this page, but first, see the image below from OERu, that highlights free and open apps. For more information, see here.
- Mastodon is a communication tool and is OERu’s equivalent of Twitter. It allows posts of up to 500 characters. It is not commercial like Twitter so there is no advertising.
- Blogs are also communication tools which you can use to post in more depth and include other media such as images, audio or video. We suggest the use of three free blogging tools – WordPress, Medium and Blogger – but you can use any blog you wish. We aggregate your posts by means of a post hashtag or label.
- WEnotes is a microblogging tool found on most course pages so you can make comments or ask questions right inside the page.
- Hypothes.is can be used to hold discussions, read socially, organize your research, and take personal notes. Find out more here.
- Semantic Scuttle is a social bookmarking tool which enables you to add, annotate, edit, and share bookmarks of web documents.
- Discourse is the OERu’s forum tool.
Below are some links to help students and instructors collaborate, communicate, create, and think critically.
Communication
Wikis
Blogs / Websites:
Study Tools
Forums / Discussions
Polls / Surveys
Graphic Organizers / Concept Maps
Timelines
Infographics
Screen/Video Recording, Presentation and Sharing
Photos / Graphics
Games:
Mindmaps/Word Clusters:
And finally, a couple more great links to help instructors and learners:
Communication
- Big Blue Button: open source web conferencing tool integrated with Moodle and Blackboard Learn.
- VoiceThread: Discussion board about images, where you can upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos. It is a cloud application, so there is no software to install. Here's an example
- Edmodo: Create an online classroom where students can connect, collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and notices.
- Answer Garden: A feedback tool that puts answers in a word cloud. Use it for real time audience participation, online brainstorming and classroom feedback.
- Padlet: An online group message board where you can post messages, videos, images, etc.
- Stormboard: Add ideas, photos, and videos to a shared online whiteboard.
Wikis
Blogs / Websites:
Study Tools
- Kahoot: Create and play learning games in the classroom.
- Quizlet: Includes flashcards, speller, tests, matching, and other review games. Find topics or create your own material.
- Flashcards: All of these sites allow users to create unlimited flashcards
Forums / Discussions
- Question Cookie: Real-Time Question Moderation
- Backchannel Chat: Facilitates online discussions.
- Tricider: Online discussions.
- Today’s Meet: Users create a room and present topics of discussion.
Polls / Surveys
- Poll Everywhere: text a free poll and get instant feedback.
- Survey Monkey: tools to create surveys, collect data, and analyze the results.
- Socrative: Create a poll. Students can respond via any device with Internet.
- Survey Anyplace
Graphic Organizers / Concept Maps
- Cmap: concepts maps to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models
- Mind Meister: Collaborate on mind maps in real time.
- Draw Io: create diagrams by dragging and dropping pre-existing icons and shapes from a menu
- Cacoo: Create diagrams online real time collaboration.
- ZeeMaps: https://www.zeemaps.com/
- FreeMind: Open source tool for download to create mindmaps and graphic organizers. http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
- Gap Minder: Interactive data
- Google Motion Charts: Create your own interactive charts .
Timelines
- H5P Timeline: Plug in for Moodle or Wordpress.
- Hstry.com Interactive timeline.
- 'When in Time: Create, view, share interactive digital timelines.
- Time Rime: An excellent site with educational instance (great for teachers) that allows users to create multimedia timelines.
- TimeGlider: Create multimedia timelines and legends.
- Time Toast: A bullet point centered timeline w/ text and pictures.
- Preceden: A fun easy site to use to create interactive timelines.
- Office Timeline: To integrate into PowerPoint.
- Time Glider
- Neatline: http://neatline.org/
Infographics
- Easel.ly: http://www.easel.ly/
- Visualize Me: http://vizualize.me/
- Create Visually: http://create.visual.ly/
- Many Eyes: http://www-958.ibm.com/software/analytics/labs/manyeyes/#home
- Infogram: http://infogr.am/
- Canva: https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/
Screen/Video Recording, Presentation and Sharing
- Prezi: a non-linear presentation tool. http://prezi.com/
- Photopeach: A slideshow application that can be shared or embedded. http://photopeach.com/
- Pachyderm: A web-based rich-media interactive presentation authoring and publishing system that focuses on nonlinear digital storytelling.
- Powtoon: Create animated videos and presentations
Photos / Graphics
- Skitch: Can take notes or draw shapes on pictures. http://evernote.com/skitch/
- Gimp 2.8: A graphic and image editing application. http://www.gimp.org/
- Sumopaint: A graphics editing and production application. http://www.sumopaint.com/app/
- Paint.NET: A free image and photo editing application. http://www.getpaint.net/
- PhotoVisi: Make a collage. http://www.photovisi.com/collage/create?template=template7
Games:
- Jeopardy: create a customized jeopardy template without PowerPoint. https://jeopardylabs.com/
Mindmaps/Word Clusters:
- Word It Out: Generates word clouds. http://worditout.com/
- Wordle: Generates word clouds. http://www.wordle.net/
- Tagul: make a world cloud that highlights words http://tagul.com/
And finally, a couple more great links to help instructors and learners:
- It’s Not About the Tools. It’s About the Skills: An interesting article focusing on the skills acquired through creating wikis, blogs, podcasts, etc.
- The “All-Time” Best Resources For Educators: A list of resources for videos, visualizations, games, ESL ideas, technology, writing, and much more.
- A Curriculum for Digital Media Creation: Sixteen Lessons, from Storyboarding to Producing a Documentary
- Word Clouds: 5 Ways To Use Word Cloud Generators In The Classroom
- Web Projects: This book describes over 100 web assignments and activities used in elementary to university classrooms.
- Example of Digital Storytelling & Mapping: http://mapping.uvic.ca/vicra/VICCIFN