5 Great Tech Tools to Get Your Students Excited

Educators are always looking for fun new ways to incorporate technology into their classrooms.  There are new edtech technologies being released all the time. Plus, other technology not necessarily intended for education, can be adapted for educational purposes.

Here are 5 new tech tools that teachers are excited about this semester:

1. Alexa - Echo Dot Kids

Using an Echo Dot Kids in a K-12 classroom is a fun way to help students find answers to their many questions.  Some teachers now have Echo Dot stations where students can go and ask Alexa to answer an educational question, for example asking for the definition of a work that they don’t recognize in their textbook.

2. 360 Degree Video

Many teachers are getting excited about 360 degree videos.  With 360 degree cameras averaging $400, schools may be about to purchase one of these cameras for themselves.  However, teachers can use 360 degree videos and pictures in other ways.  For example, they can allow students to explore a 360 degree video of a famous historical site.

3.  YouTube Distraction Free Chrome Extension

Chrome now has a plugin that allows YouTube viewers to watch videos without seeing any side ads, comments, or recommended videos.  This makes it much easier for teachers to show YouTube videos in class without students getting distracted by other content on the screen.

4.  AnswerGarden

The goal of every reading assignment is to get students digging deep and really engaging with the reading.  AnswerGarden is a fun way for teachers to find out what their students think of a particular reading.  The site has each student type in a one word answer to any question asked by the instructor, and then it generates a word cloud of the responses.

5.  Vocabulary.com

This fun website utilizes adaptive learning to help students master their vocabulary words. It gauges what words the students already know and uses games to test their knowledge.

Story via EdSurge