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Top 100+ FREE tech tools for educators
These are some of my favorite web 2.0 tools, but there are so many more! Click here to access more tools!
Click on the pdf below for my Aims 2011 presentation which discusses some of these tools in detail or check out the presentation as a video.(right under the PDf link)
Productivity/teaching tools
Webquests creation software: free webquest templates! All web based nothing to download.
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Puzzle pieces for a Boolean search(make online searches more specific) The more pieces you add, the more specific your online search becomes.
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Online spell check! Check the spelling on websites as well!
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Customizable search engine! |
Google Custom Search Engine: Create your own custom search engine and tell Google which sites you want it to index, and you’ll be able to offer your students the best of the web.
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Webposter |
This tool allows educators to create a lesson, worksheet, or class page and immediately publish it online. Teachers can also set up classes and assign projects to students. Students complete the assignments by creating their own online projects or reports. Teachers and students can even add images and links to their pages.
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Shorten long urls with this easy to use tool |
With TinyURL, you can also make a smaller URL that will work for any page on your site. The tinyurl created never expires.
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Tired of not being able to find things in your favorites? Then use this online tool to find all your favorite links in one location. |
Tizmos lets you see thumbnails of your favorite sites and access them anywhere!
Use tizmos to have students only look at selected websites. Your tizmos can be private or public. Check out the tizmo I made with all the sites listed on this page:
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| Another tool that lets you have all your Internet favorites in one spot! Requires login to access the information. |
http://only2clicks.com/
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Online calendar! |
Assign-A-Day is a free tool designed to enhance teacher and student communication through an online teacher-managed calendar. Teachers create a calendar for each of their classes and add assignments for the students to view. Students view their teachers' calendars in order to see assignments for classes they might have missed, or to get an overview of the class.
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Ever want to just use part of a youtube video for class but didn’t know how to edit it? Use tubechop to cut out the content you don’t’ want your students to see. After you chop the video, you get sent a url where you can access the video. No tech knowledge needed. |
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Another youtube editing tool. Similar to tube chop except you enter the time you want the video to start and stop.
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http://www.splicd.com/
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Want to use a youtube video for class or a presentation, but don’t have Internet access? Then use keepvid.com to save the youtube video to your computer’s hard drive. |
Simply copy and paste the video url into the url box on the page and click on download.
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Have videos you want to use on your website, but don’t want to take up space on your school server? Then upload them to vzaar! |
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Make easy screen shots! An easy to use screen cast video tool with audio. Launch the screencast recorder and record a screencast directly from you browser. Nothing to install. Can embed or get link to share.
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Make easy screen shot videos! Community clips is a free add on that needs to be downloaded. With it you can record what is on your screen in real time. Great for demonstrations! |
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Kid-safe youtube videos: This is a tool that is useful for k-6 educators. |
Provide a safe site to watch child friendly videos from You Tube online. Be assured that these videos have been screened to be appropriate.
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Make your powerpoint to online videos easily. Simply register and upload! |
Click on the link below to get more information about authorstream.
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Similar to authorstream, but you can upload word documents, pdfs, videos,as well as powerpoints. All uploaded content is then converted into an online video. |
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Audio tools
Written text translated into an mp 3: Simply type the text, pick the voice type you want, and then save the mp3 to your computer. (Easily upload the instructions to your website)
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Text to speech tool(cut and paste text and it reads it to you) |
Free text to speech. Upload documents, cut and paste text or link to feeds. Text reader converts text to speech automatically. Download audio and podcasts.
It's fast and easy to use. Get started right away! No software to download or install.
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Another online sound recording tool. Absolutely free. Enables uses to record, upload, listen and share recordings. No download required! |
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Voice recording software.(have to download it) |
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Creating your own online comics
Make your own comics online! |
Create your own one to three panel comic strips or --even better- have your students create them using this simple online tool. The libraries include many cartoon figures, voice bubbles, and more. You can also upload your own photos using the Imaginr(or pieces from them) and create your own characters using the Traitr. For a longer story, make a TOONBOOK instead of a single TOONDOO strip.
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Make your own comics online! |
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Make your own comics online! |
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Draw your own comics online! This tool lets you draw your comic strips by hand and stores them online. |
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Draw your comics and store them online.
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Interactive organizers(graphic organizers, flow charts)
Online outline organizer |
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Acrostic poem organizer |
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Supporting inquiry-based research projects, the Animal Inquiry interactive invites elementary students to explore animal facts and habitats using writing prompts to guide and record their findings. |
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Bio-Cube is a useful summarizing tool that helps students identify and list key elements about a person for a biography or autobiography. |
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Circle plot organizer |
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Compare-contrast essay map |
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Essay map |
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The Graphic Map assists teachers and students in reading and writing activities by charting the high and low related to a particular item or group of items, such as events during a day or chapters in a book. |
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Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author in this secondary-level interactive. |
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Persuasive essay map |
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Story map |
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Crossword puzzle creator!
The Crossword Puzzles tool lets children and teens choose from a selection of puzzles and solve them online. They can also create their own puzzles to solve online or print off. |
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Word search creator!
Create your own word searches using your words or existing word group. You can then print out your puzzles. |
http://www.senteacher.org/Worksheet/1/WordSearch.xhtml
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Create your own timeline |
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Venn Diagram organizer ( 2 circles) |
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Venn Diagram organizer (3 circles) |
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Use this interactive to create free-form graphic organizers, similar to the cluster web shown in the picture. You can drag your ideas around in the organizer to arrange any layout and relationship that you want. You can use circle or box (rectangle) shapes to appear on your chart. Each layer on the chart will have a different color border for the shapes that you choose. |
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Cluster web |
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Character trading cards: This tool provides a fun and useful way to explore a character in a book or as a prewriting exercise when creating characters for original stories. |
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The Flip Book is designed to allow users to type and illustrate tabbed flip books up to ten pages long. Students and teachers can use the flip book for taking notes while reading, making picture books, collecting facts, or creating question and answer booklets. |
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The Word Matrix is a tool designed to assist teachers in vocabulary instruction, but it has flexible applications in literary analysis and writing instruction as well. The interactive tool can be used to teach students the concepts of connotation and register; to help clarify differences between seemingly similar words; to explore the concept of diction in literary analysis; or to encourage more precision in word choice in student writing.
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Interactive math tools
Presentation tools: Tired of powerpoint?
Here are some fun, easy to use web alternatives.
Photo story!(has to be downloaded) (works only with windows) |
Photo Story 3 is a free and easy to use program from Microsoft that enables users to create compelling slide shows from digital images. Its features enable you to create a slideshow with your digital pictures, edit your pictures, create your story with original music, add narration, and share them.
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An alternative to photo story…this online application works for both macs and pcs. It’s free, easy and does most of the same things photo story does. |
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Weebly.com is a free service that lets you make webpages easily! Why not have your students make a website about a topic instead of a powerpoint? |
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A multi-user online whiteboard designed to give you the ability to quickly visualize and share your ideas as images. Other users share the room in real time. Save a sketch as an image for embedding. |
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Prezi is a web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides. |
Text, images, videos and other presentation objects are placed on the infinite canvas and grouped together in frames. The canvas allows users to create non-linear presentations, where they can zoom in and out of a visual map.
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Make your own motivational posters!! |
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Don’t have powerpoint? No problem! Make professional looking slides shows online! They are stored online and you can access them from any computer.
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Create slideshows and edit photos with fun effects, animations, music and more! Share your creations on the Internet or burn them to DVD. |
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Rich media presentation tool. Tell your story anyway you like. Add photos, music, video, and audio, and share it publicly or privately in an instant. |
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Online photo editing tool! |
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Create photo collages instantly with this free online tool. No download needed. |
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Create your newspapers, newsletters, and flyers with this online tool. Print out your flyers when you are done. |
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Online tools for reading/language arts instruction
Make your own character description. |
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Make your own children’s book!
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Electronic stories (read aloud, animated, interactive) |
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Online talking stories |
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Create your own myths and have them stored online! |
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Online tools for social studies/history
Create your own interactive timelines with pictures, words, and videos! |
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Virtual time capsule! Type in the date you want and see everything that happened that day. |
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This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. |
What items, for example, would you put in a box to describe your life; the life of a Victorian Servant or Roman soldier; or to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary? You can display anything from a text file to a movie.
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Online quizzes
Make free online quizzes for review. |
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Online review games
Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities, and diagrams in a flash. You can host them on your blog, website or intranet page! |
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Make online matching games, crosswords puzzles and quizzes. |
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In this site, you will find a variety of review games, classroom management software and other miscellaneous tools for educators. |
Make online games like jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire, speed match, interactive board games, seating charts, name picker and more!
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Make online jeopardy review games without powerpoint! |
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Online flash cards:
Online collaboration/instant chat tools
Free wiki pages for educators! |
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Twitter in the classroom?!! Well, maybe not using the actual twitter site, but using these online tools, you can create a twitter like class environment. You control the content and how it is used. |
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Instant discussion groups! |
Google Groups: Set up a discussion group for your classroom on Google Groups.
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Make a website for free! |
Weebly.com is a free service that lets you make webpages easily!
Google Page Creator: This Google tool allows teachers and students to create useful web pages without having to use complicated code.
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Make your own flash website for free!
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Make a class blog! |
Blogger: Start a class blog with Blogger, and you can share work, pictures, and more, all while staying connected with your classroom community.
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Another student blog site: Kidblog.org is designed for elementary and middle school teachers who want to provide each student with their own, unique blog.
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Kidblog's simple, yet powerful tools allow students to publish posts and participate in discussions within a secure classroom blogging community. Teachers maintain complete control over student blogs.
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Wallwisher is an online notice board maker. Like post-it notes but online. Great for collaboration or getting feedback from others. |
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A web based word processor that allows pupils and teachers to work together in real time. Each editor is in a different color. Even import current word, text or rich text documents and have people provide their commentary on it! Live chat available too! |
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Live chat/discussion tools! Simple and easy to use. |
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Online tool that makes it easy to work in groups, keep a shared calendar, send mass emails, voice and text messages, store and edit files in one folder. |
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Mark up, fill out, and collaborate on PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint slides, and web pages.
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Vyew allows you to meet and share content in real-time or anytime. Upload images, files, documents and videos into a room. Users can access and contribute at any time.
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A post it note site: A tool for taking notes on your computer.Create a workspace and create notes in the workspace. You can save your workspace at any time and return to them from the same computer or any other computer. You can also share your notes with others by providing the workspace name (or url) to a friend. |
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Online notebook! |
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Online notebook: An online notebook. Create pages, work on them with friends, and to share files. A great tool for group projects as it allows group members to easily collaborate. Advanced search, numerous templates, and 2GB of free file storage. Access it from anywhere anytime.
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A nice alternative to onenote if you don’t have onenote on your computer.
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Want an easy, free way to share class notes? Then use this is site. Just paste text from other webpage or word processor. Text formatting and images will be preserved. Add graphics to your notes. Import from file. Text formatting and graphic will be preserved. Automatic text backup every 3 mins. Download as PDF. Get a link to your notes to share with others instantly!
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Word clouds! Copy and paste any text, or type text in the box and click go. Your word cloud will show up. The most used words will be the biggest words in the cloud. |
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Another word cloud tool. Same as wordle, just copy and paste or type text, then click on the worditout button. |
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Online dictionaries/thesaurus
Super online dictionaries. |
MetaGlossary defines more than 2 million terms, phrases, and acronyms.
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Online surveys creators
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