I've been on a steep learning curve journey the past few weeks trying to learn new ways of teaching in the new frontier of distance learning. Even though I teach at the university level, I feel that many of the apps I have discovered can be easily used in K-12 as well. I've had to completely redesign a few of the courses I am teaching this semester and it's been a journey! The word that my colleagues and I seem to be repeating often is "overwhelmed". Hopefully my descriptions of these apps can help you design engaging learning opportunities for your students, even when you are not with them.
1. Flipgrid: Flipgrid is an easy video app where you and your students can make mini videos. It feels a little more personal when you can see each other's faces. The other thing I love about this platform is that you can also reply with a video. It's sort of like a visual discussion board, which makes things much more engaging for students. You can create a free class account and share the code for the class with students so they can find it easily. You can create individual assignments within each class with descriptions and prompts on what students need to discuss in the video. You can also adjust the time frame when you set up assignments; the default is 90 seconds, but you can make it longer or shorter. I found this video helpful in learning a few more tricks in Flipgrid. Flipgrid is free. Here's a screen shot of my home page for my STEM ED Course. I have added 2 assignments so far.
. EdPuzzle: Edpuzzle allows you to upload videos you want your students to watch, with the added tool of inserting questions throughout the video. The video will actually stop until the viewer has answered the question. You can go back to your EdPuzzle account and see what students responded. This platform gives students accountability for watching videos. One thing I learned with this one is that you need to ask the students what their names are right away so you have record of each student's participation. You can find videos that are already out there, or you can make your own. I've even recorded Zoom sessions with screen share of a PowerPoint and then uploaded those to EdPuzzle so that I can ask questions throughout. Ed Puzzle is free for up to 20 videos stored per free account. 3. Nearpod: This is probably my favorite so far. I am using this app for many of my asynchronous teaching days where I am not on live Zoom. This app allows you to use powerpoints and insert all different kinds of interactive media. You can insert open ended questions, polls, web pages, simulations, and even your voice. If you use Google Drive to create slides you can install the Nearpod Add On which makes it super easy to use by allowing you to insert the interactive pieces right into your google slides presentation. For this one after you create the interactive presentation you get a code to share with your students. Nearpod is free for the "Silver" level. You can pay to get more benefits.
4. Voxer: Voxer is a walkie talkie type app where students can use their phones to have conversations regarding a reading or specific assignment. I am using this as a collaborative tool and making "Voxer Groups" so that groups of students can have a discussion group. Each group has to add me as well so that I can listen in. Voxer is free for the basic app.
Take some time to check these platforms out and be patient with yourself. It took me a week or so to get comfortable with each of these. I'm excited to give my students some engaging tools to help with the distance learning aspect of learning.
Are there any other apps or platforms that you have discovered? If so please leave a comment and share your experiences. We really are all in this together!
