It’s the end of the year and we’re going through my best teacher apps of 2021. Now this is a top five but it doesn’t mean that number one is better than number five.
Nearpod: You’ll wonder how you taught without it
We’re starting with number five which is Nearpod. I found out about it this year. You can do loads of things on this platform;
- build lessons from scratch
- use the Nearpod library to take lessons
- edit and adapt lessons to the needs of your students
- use their range of amazing interactive tools,
- get all the students collaborating on the same task
- perfect for students learning online they can also connect to this platform and take part in the lesson altogether
- take VR trips
- test your students with interactive quizzes
I actually did a tutorial on Nearpod so if you are interested in using this in your class then why don’t you check it out.
Blooket: Quizzing was never so much fun
Number four is Blooket. This is a platform that I learned about this year. It’s been a great alternative to platforms like Kahoot and Quizizz.
I’ve loved using game modes like Battle Royale and Racing. There are also game modes which work really well with students doing homework. Blooket has a big team of developers behind it and there are always new game modes out. My students always looking forward to the next game mode they can play.
It’s bank of materials is getting bigger every day and you can also incorporate questions from Quizlet. You can build your quizzes from scratch or you can take some of the user made content.
If you are interested in using Blooket with your students, why don’t you take a look at my tutorial? I go through the basics of how to create quizzes, how to use the library and also explain the different game modes that are available.
Wheel of names: Simple but effective
Number three in my best teacher apps of 2021 is something that was so simple when I first saw it. It’s proved to be one of the most useful tools that I’ve used in my class this year.
My students have really enjoyed is all the little customizations you can make to the wheel. For example, I usually get my students to pick the kind of music they’d like to listen to for each roulette. I also can change the names to images. I can even change the text that appears at the end of the roulette that turns it into a question rather than a name.
There’s so many different ways you can use this roulette in your classroom because as I said before it’s very flexible. You can import images or text or anything into the roulette. To be honest in most classes, if I need to pick a student at random, this is my go-to platform.
If you’d like to learn a bit more about how this roulette wheel works then go to my post right here. I go into details not only about how the roulette works but also different kinds of games that I have set up
If you’re reading this and wonder what made apps made it into the list for 2022, then check out the post here.
Classkick: Supercharged supervision
Number two is a platform that I learned about when I had to start hybrid teaching. It gave me the opportunity to monitor students that were not only face to face but also students that are online.
This is because Classkick has this perfect feature where students can connect and they can complete their tasks individually but the teacher can monitor all of them at the same time. I could see from almost a bird’s eye view how each student was doing. If any student was having a problem, all they’d need to do was raise their digital hand. I could then go straight to where the problem was and give them assistance.
This feature was exactly what I was looking for when I was working in hybrid classrooms as I wanted to be able to supervise both groups at the same time. Classkick is so flexible I can upload my own materials, my own pdfs or my own jpegs.
I included ClassKick and a number of other tools that I use for hybrid learning in a video that I did on hybrid learning in general right here.
Educandy: Kids go crazy for this one
The final app I want to include in my top five teacher apps for 2021 is Educandy. The response I’ve got from me students in class has led me to include it in this list.
It seems like all they are, are very simple word games but with some of my younger learners these are exactly what they need. I can create my own quizzes and games for my own students. There is also user-created content that’s already on the website that you can use.
The game modes that Educandy offer are the game modes that our students have always loved. Games like;
- hangman
- matching pairs
- anagrams
There are lots of other game modes available too.
I also recently got my students set up on Educandy’s studio app on their tablets or phone. Students can create their own word games. It’s so simple to use for my students and they were creating games in no time.
The presentation of this app is very child friendly so if you are teaching young learners, Educandy is a great place to get started. I recently did tutorial on Edu candy so if you want to check that out then go right here.
Wrapping up
So there you have it those are my top five teacher apps of 2021 in no particular order. Every single one of these apps has made my classes so much more fun and so much more enjoyable for my students. I can’t wait to find out what apps are in store for our students and for me in 2022.