EdTech: 100 Tech Tools for Teachers and Students

EdTech: 100 Tech Tools for Teachers and Students:

Editor’s note: This post is part of our popular top 100 tech tools series which is published every Monday. Don’t miss a week! Follow @DailyTekk on Twitter.
This post is quite a departure from last week’s subject: 100 Tools to Develop the Next Killer iOS or Android App. Our normal audience may not get much out of this week’s roundup but don’t worry, I’ll be back with something you can use next week! In the meantime I figured hey, there are over 7 million teachers in America alone* and that’s a pretty big audience who could potentially be looking for some cool tech tools. Not to mention administrators, parents and students themselves–that’s quite an ecosystem. What got me started on this subject in the first place was the fact that I kept seeing a post I did a while back called The 50+ Best Ways to Curate and Share Your Favorite Social Media and News Content being shared on Twitter with hashtags like #EdTech or #EduTech. As I dug deeper I realized there was a whole connected community out there interested in this type of stuff.
So here’s what I’ve got for all you educators our there: some random and cool EduTech tools, tech tools for teachers and students, ways to integrate mobile devices into the classroom, social learning tools, elearning and online learning resources and finally some test prep, textbook, educational gaming and a few other random resources. What you won’t find here are any lame attempts to pawn off something that’s not an education-specific tech tool as something marvelous and new like I’ve seen on a few other blogs (like Gmail or Skype–definitely useful, but come on, not education specific). The scope of this list covers everything from Kindergarten-age up through college-age so there’s hopefully something for everyone here.
Actually, this post has been a long time coming. While I’m not a teacher (no where close) I am part of a committee called TDEC which stands for the Technology and Distance Education Committee, a part of the nonprofit organization I work for, and have been involved with a distance education (via telepresence) initiative within that same organization. Not to mention my wife’s parents are both teachers, so education is something I run into a lot in my world.
I know there are tons of education technology resources out there so if I missed something good, maybe a favorite of yours or something that cropped up after I created this list, leave me a comment to let me know so I can get it added.

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1. Random and Cool
2. Tools for Teachers
3. Tools for Students
4. Integrate Mobile Devices
5. Online Learning & eLearning
6. Social Learning
7. Test Prep
8. Textbooks
9. Games that Teach
10. Miscellaneous / Others

Random and Cool

1. Engrade – Unify administrators, teachers, parents and students.
2. Noodle – Education search just got smart.
3. Dreambox Learning - Rigorous math curriculum. Intelligent adaptive learning.
4. LessonCast – Design experiences that engage teachers and improve student learning.
5. Enzi – Equity based education funding. Helps eliminate financial barriers to education.
6. littleBits – Opensource library of electronic modules for prototyping and play.
7. Edutopia – K-12 education and learning innovation site.
8. Education Elements – A leading developer of blended learning solutions.
9. Goalbook – Helps teams of educators, students, and parents collaborate.
10. Knewton – Helps schools provide personalized educational content to students.
11. SnappSchool - Be your child’s homework hero.

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Tools for Teachers

1. Planboard - Lesson planning made easy.
2. Schoology – Manage lessons, engage students, share content and more.
3. BetterLesson - Share what works. Free K-12 lesson plans, materials and resources.
4. LearnBoost – Free gradebook for teachers.
5. ShowMe - Learn and teach anything. An online learning community.
6. LessonPlan.it – Transform the way you plan your school year. Start planning online.
7. ClassDojo - Improve student engagement and behavior.
8. symbalooEDU – Organize and share the best of the web with your students (PLE).
9. The Coursebook - Discover, track and share great learning experiences.
10. Rafter - Find course materials your students will actually use.
11. Coursekit – Simple, elegant and free course management tools.
12. Glogster – 21st century multimedia tool for educators, teachers and students.
13. Remind101 – Text messaging for teachers.
14. Teachers Pay Teachers – Teachers buy, sell and share original teaching resources.
15. iversity - The collaboration network for academia.
16. Time to Know – Digital teaching platform.
17. Haiku – Learning management system. A simple way to bring the web to your classroom.
18. Celly – A platform of tools that enhances school communication.
19. Certification Map - Become a teacher. Teacher certification made easy.
20. GlobalScholar – SIS, curriculum management, gradebook, homework help, online tutoring.

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Tools for Students

1. OpenStudy - Get live help, social studying, help other students.
2. Grantoo - Students PLAY their tuition bills.
3. Brightstorm – Free homework help and affordable test prep.
4. Student of Fortune - Online homework help and tutoring.
5. Slader – Homework help and answers.
6. Acceptly – Tips on how to get into college. See your chances of getting in.
7. EducateNcare – Live, online, one-on-one tutoring. Homework help.
8. Spill – A nationwide support network made of and for college students.
9. Abroad101 – Study abroad reviews and programs.
10. Desmos – A beautiful and free online graphing calculator.
11. Boundless - Save money. Study faster. Ace the class. 100% free. Still in beta.
12. Alltuition – The college financial aid common application.
13. Koofers – Free test bank, professor ratings, lecture notes and more.

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Integrate Mobile Devices

1. Apple iPad – Learn how the iPad makes the perfect learning companion.
2. Top Hat Monocle - A web-based clicker and online homework tool.
3. Socrative – Engage the class using any device (iOS, tablets, computers, etc.).
4. Brainscape - Efficient mobile learning based on brain science.
5. Highlighter - Students can highlight, comment, share and save anything they read.
6. Matygo – The flipped classroom platform. Deliver provably better learning.
7. eSpark - Helps innovative schools use iPads to raise student achievement.

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Online Learning & eLearning

1. StudySync – Online learning that inspires higher levels of reading, writing and critical thinking.
2. Skillshare - Learn anything from anyone, anywhere.
3. ePals – Helps you connect with classrooms around the world.
4. Udacity – Free online university classes for everyone.
5. Coursera – Offers courses from top universities for free.
6. Udemy - Online courses from experts.
7. eLearning Brothers - Develop rapid elearning courses and games.
8. TED-Ed - Lessons worth sharing. Capturing and amplifying the voices of great teachers.
9. Khan Academy – Learn almost anything for free.
10. 2tor – Great universities unleashed. Deliver traditional offline curricula online.
11. General Assembly – A campus for technology, design and entrepreneurship.
12. The Concord Consortium – Realizing the promise of educational technology.
13. K12 – Online public and private schools + individual courses for sale.
14. Sclipo – Online campuses platform.
15. Memrise – The fun way to learn anything online.
16. Mindflash – Easy online training.
17. Duolingo – Learn a language for free.
18. WizIQ – Online e-learning resources.
19. Myngle – Online language education with private teachers.
20. Mingoville – English for kids. Approved by teachers.

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Social Learning

1. Edmodo – Secure social learning network for teachers and students.
2. KlabLab - The education co-creation network.
3. Inigral – Facebook for college admissions, universities and higher education.
4. Sophia – Teach what you know. Learn what you don’t.
5. BlueTeach - Online learning community with over 10,000 teachers/learners.
6. Spongelab - A global science community.
7. eduFire – Live video learning. A social learning community.

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Test Prep

1. BenchPrep – Web, iPhone/iPad, Android test prep courses. GRE, LSAT, MCAT and GMAT.
2. Magoosh – A personal tutor. Anytime, anywhere. GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, SAT.
3. WatermelonExpress – Learning, accelerated. SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and MCAT.
4. Grockit - Online test prep made fun.
5. smsPREP – Combining text messaging and test prep. SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, MCAT.
6. PrepU – An adaptive quizzing engine built by teachers and tested in the classroom.

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Textbooks

1. Inkling – Interactive textbooks for iPad.
2. Kno – Save 30-50% off over 150,000 eTextbook titles.
3. Chegg – Rent and buy textbooks.
4. Amazon Student App – An iPhone app for buying and selling textbooks.
5. Eleven Learning – Community powered textbooks.

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Games that Teach

1. CarrotSticks – The fun way to give your kids an edge in math.
2. Motion Math – Creates fun mobile learning games that let kids play with numbers.
3. BrainNook - An online game that helps kids develop math and English skills.
4. MindSnacks – Learn languages on your iPhone. 6 games in 1.
5. Stickery – Mobile learning for kids customized for mobile parenting.
6. The Education Arcade - Explores games that promote learning.

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Miscellaneous / Other

1. EdSurge - A newsletter that keeps you ahead of the curve.
2. Teach.com - Info about becoming a teacher. Who, what, when, where, why and how.
3. a4cwsn - Apps for children with special needs.
4. Launchpad Toys - Empowering kids to create, learn and share their ideas through play.
5. Do-Be – Inspire creative teaching.
6. Wireless Generation – Education data systems, adaptive curriculum and more.
7. Vittana – Microloans for education.
8. Funding4Learning – Crowdfunding for education.
9. The Minerva Project – The online Ivy school.

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Footnotes

*According to the US Government census.