Key Takeaways
Some significant changes have occurred in recent years, especially in the education offered, where the system has shifted to online education rather than the traditional education model. For this reason, over the years, education has gone beyond words and books and, as a result, technology and, more so, online resources.
Today, almost everyone can come closer to using a variety of facilities that can benefit students and educators in the learning-teaching process and make it more diverse, effective, and engaging. These tools are not ideas but solutions to some of the problems that we have in our educational systems today. What are learning tools? Learning tools are diverse, inclusive features found across various platforms that support learners in essential skills such as reading, writing, math, and communication. This evolution and expansion has not only taken education to all the corners of the earth evenly but also delivered education to learners appropriately.
This leads us to explore the main concern of writing this blog, highlighting some essential learning tools for this revolution. Would you like to familiarize yourself with learning tools that have become foundational in the educational field and foster effective, enjoyable, and efficient learning?
Role of Essential Learning Tools in Improving Educational Outcomes
The introduction of crucial learning tools in education radically changed the learning and teaching process, positively impacting education outcomes. These tools can improve reading skills by enhancing comprehension and engagement through effective techniques. These tools enable the efficient use of technology, innovative lessons, and more personalised and effective teaching endeavours to replace regular education with others who may encounter difficulties.
Some of the main advantages of the effective use of essential learning tools include the following:
- Duolingo and Khan Academy, for example, are educational apps that incorporate game playing to teach users.
- Duolingo, for instance, uses a gamification approach with skill levels and rewards in the form of feedback and fun challenges to ensure the student is focused on learning.
- Teaching aids are necessary to customize learning in a manner that suits students’ individual needs.
- Customization in learning, facilitated by essential learning tools, is vital to accommodate students’ diverse learning rates and styles.
- Tools like EdisonOS, Blackboard, and Canvas allow instructors to foster personalized learning experiences to meet learners’ needs, monitor progress, and provide timely feedback.
A real-life example of the positive impact of crucial learning tools is the widespread adoption of Google Classroom. Schools worldwide have used free tools and have reported significant improvements in student engagement and organization. For instance, the Chicago Public Schools District implemented Google Classroom across its schools and observed increased student participation and better management of assignments and resources.
Essential Learning Tools for Effective Learning
In today’s digital age, various learning tools and proven techniques are available to enhance educational experiences. To understand what is learning tools, they are resources utilized for educational purposes that enhance learning experiences, emphasizing the importance of communication and assessment tools within a framework aimed at adapting to online learning environments, particularly in the context of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. These tools are critical in making learning more effective, engaging, personal and accessible.
Digital Learning Platforms
Moodle
Moodle is a popular learning management system for educators' everyday use. It is open-source and easily scalable. Some of its significant benefits include its ability to support many activities and evaluation techniques, making it useful in face-to-face and virtual learning contexts.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom, as the name suggests, is designed for intuitive use. Its stream feature simplifies file and assignment sharing, and its seamless integration with other Google apps and services enhances its user-friendliness. The Immersive Reader tool, a free resource designed to enhance reading skills for individuals of any age or ability, can be integrated with such platforms to aid reading comprehension through its user-friendly nature, supported languages, and various applications across multiple platforms.
Schoology
Schoology is a unique tool that combines the features of an LMS with those of a name search and social networking site. Its comprehensive suite, of course, and its student and parent management tools make it a versatile solution for K12 and higher learning institutions.
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
EdisonOS
EdisonOS also has other essential features, such as branded iOS apps, integrated custom reports, 4K video support, and more. Its API and webhooks features make it an ideal solution for educators seeking to improve their teaching activities and student interactions.
Canvas
Canvas is a user-friendly platform for managing online courses to encourage instructors to create and organize content, assignments, and assessments comprehensively. It assists in understanding student engagement in eLearning and their progress through its analytics tools.
Blackboard
Blackboard is one of the most popular LMSs. It provides instructors with various tools for course delivery, content development, and multiple types of assessments. It has merged features that facilitate collaboration with a mobile app, making it an exciting option for institutions that want to improve their online learning experience.
Educational Apps
Duolingo
Duolingo’s approach focuses on playing games and accomplishing exercises to learn languages in a fun and easy way. The convenient length of practice and feedback system used in the language learning application ensures that learners remain motivated.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is an easily accessible platform that provides many free tutorials across university departments, including mathematics and sciences. Students can pursue the course content at their own pace; the course offers recommendations based on their learning progress.
Quizlet
Specifically, Quizlet (broken link) encompasses study capabilities such as using flashcards, quizzes, and games to help the students learn and grasp the required knowledge. Its cooperative content-sharing options enable students, families and faculty to share study sets and work on them as a group, making the learning process more enjoyable.
Collaborative Tools
Google Workspace
Google Workspace comprises Google Docs for document sharing, Google Sheets for spreadsheets, and Google Slides for creating presentations. These tools enable real-time collaboration among students and educators. These tools allow many users to edit the document at the same time, a free tool that promotes group collaboration.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is part of Microsoft’s Office 365 ecosystem, which aims to allow seamless working in groups and document sharing. Its alternatives to traditional messaging, including chat, video meetings, and collaborative document editing, make it suitable for online and face-to-face settings.
Slack
Slack is an organizational collaboration and communication tool that allows users to create channels to discuss topics, message one another, and share files. Its compatibility with various apps and services makes it optimal for effective teamwork and project management in educational institutions.
Multimedia Resources
YouTube
YouTube is a treasure trove of learner materials, whether in the form of tutorials or entire lectures. Websites such as CrashCourse and TED-Ed are appropriate for searching for educational material and resources that support traditional learning.
Podcasts
Podcasts offer informative subject matter and provide a more flexible way for students to be educated. Podcasts such as ‘Stuff You Should Know’ and ‘Science Vs’ are informative and entertaining and come in handy for learners whose preferred learning mode is listening, watching, or reading.
Edpuzzle
Edpuzzle is an application developed to enhance teachers’ video management skills, such as questioning, commenting, and including audio notes and answers within the videos used in lessons. This tool improves students’ participation in class and offers information on the level of knowledge on the topic being taught.
Communication and Support Tools
While many new technological advancements have been developed in education, email is still one of the most effective means of communication between educators and students. It can effectively communicate information, changes, and feedback in circulation to ensure all the concerned stakeholders know about the developments.
Chatbots
Chatbots have additional benefits, such as quick liaison and information sharing with students who sometimes have questions and need resources to improve their reading. Companies such as Crisp, Chatfuel and other tools can be implemented in the learning management system to promote students’ emotional support and engagement.
Remind
Remind is an application that enables the teacher to send messages and other real-time updates to students and parents. It supports text messages, app notifications, and email, among other methods, to ensure that information is passed on on time.
Integrating these tools is essential to helping educators effectively develop, prepare, and enhance the learning environment. They improve the learning process and guarantee that all students are ready to face the challenges of the contemporary world.
Summary
Technology is, therefore, an essential asset that has positively impacted the learning process and the educational system. It supports fun learning and approaches focusing on the student and increasing efficiency. Consequently, these tools enhance the implementation of access and collaboration simultaneously and provide accessibility to many different types of instruction and learning materials for students with different learning disabilities.
From connecting technology professionals and their communities to providing education applications to developing multimedia resources to support learning and communication, all help educators deliver practical and encouraging learning experiences. By applying these tools, education becomes more convenient and enjoyable, thus preparing learners to face the future aspects of an ever-progressing world.
.png)
