Digital Tools For K-12 Remote Learning

Quicktime is a free screen recording application for the Mac OS computers. It allows you to create quick screencasts where you can then upload them to the Google Drive, YouTube, or directly into your LMS. In this video, I give Quicktime for a 2.5/5 rating for it's ease of use but lack of annotation tools and need for an Mac OS computer.

Screencastify is a screen recording tool for your Google Chrome browser. It allows you to record videos directly from the Screencastify extension and then saves directly into a Google Drive folder. I rate this tool a 4/5 for their ease of use and the smooth annotation tools. However to record longer than 5 minutes you need to purchase a premium version. The great news is that as of August 2020, the premium version for educators is only $29 a year.

Loom is a screen recording tool for asynchronous learners. Positives in this tool is the annotation and free education account. However, the tools can only be used if you download the application to your computer. Files are also stored on Loom's servers. My rating for this tool would be a 2/5.

Our fourth screen recording tool is Screencast-o-matic. My rating for this tool is a 2.5/5 as it will record our screen, but we will need to download a file to our computer. In addition, it can be confusing to a beginning remote learning teacher as the interface is somewhat confusing to navigate.

EdPuzzle is a web application that lets you record a video and embed questions as students are watching the material. It is a free tool for educators.

Wakelet gives teachers a "home" for materials that they want to organize for their class. These collections allow teachers to bring in PDFs, files, links, videos and more to increase course efficiency for students. These are embed into any Learning Management System or linked to your class website. An example collection would be gathering all the information for students to assist them in their research on projects.

Wheel of Names is a free tool that allows you to import the students of your class and then click on the wheel for a random student. You can also include pictures on your wheel. The best practice is to only list students first names when placing names on the wheel.

Classroom Screen is the perfect tool for classroom management inside the school building or during synchronous lesson. You can choose random names or have management tools such as a noice meter or a traffic light.

Flipgrid is the number 1 tool to empower student voice. Teachers can give students topics and a time limit to have students explain their reasoning or share their thoughts on video. These recorded videos can be moderated to protect the privacy of students from the rest of the class.

Padlet provides users with a virtual corkboard to have student pin notes. This tool can be used for book reports to mental well being check ins.

Canva is a graphics web tool that will allow you to create stunning graphics for your students. An example would be to create a week schedule and then embed it into your website or your favorite Learning Management System. Make sure you register your account and upgrade to a free educator account with your school email.