The 53 Best Teaching Tools in 2024

This piece explores some of the most innovative online teaching software, educational technology tools, and eLearning platforms that are designed to take your classroom to the next level. We’ve carefully classified these tools to help you navigate among them with ease. Feel free to check out these apps, test them out, and select those that fit best in your students’ learning environment.

Digital Learning Apps for Teachers

Here are some online technology tools for teaching and learning. These apps allow you to do a variety of things: create topic-specific lessons with videos and voice-overs, add assessments, analyze students’ performance, and provide feedback. Some are all-in-one solutions, enabling you to do everything in a single place!

1. iSpring Free

iSpring Free is one of the best online educational tools. It is a lightweight eLearning solution that helps teachers create mobile-compatible online courses with engaging quizzes instead of dull PowerPoint presentations. iSpring’s main advantage is its simplicity. Its intuitive interface works even for novice course developers who want to create an unlimited number of courses quickly and easily.

Download iSpring Free now

2. Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle enables you to create interactive, flexible, self-paced video lessons with embedded audio notes, assessment tools, and quizzes. Using its analytics tool, you can track the students’ progress in watching your videos and their understanding of the content.

Students can take a flexible and self-paced learning approach using Edpuzzle, with micro-lessons to guide them along the way.

3. Starfall

Starfall was initially designed as an online platform for teaching kids how to read. Its phonics-based learning model supports online games and is coupled with a print series for home and classroom use. The app also includes movies, songs, teaching practices, and math activities for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grades 1 to 5.

4. Quill

The Quill platform offers a set of creative tools you can use to teach writing, vocabulary, and grammar across all grade levels. With Quill and its teacher’s toolkit, you can create engaging classroom activities that include reconstructing sentences, proofreading passages, creating new passages, and more.

5. Google Docs

Google Docs is a part of the free Google Docs suite within Google Drive. This word processor lets you create and edit documents, review your students’ work, and leave comments to provide feedback.

Lesson Planning Tools

Planning classes is an important yet challenging part of a teacher’s work. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to make lesson planning more convenient and effective. Check out some of the best teacher tools you can leverage to organize classes for free.

6. Planboard, by Chalk

Planboard is a top lesson planning tool for teachers. Use this teaching technology tool to design lesson plans on iPhones, iPads, or Android devices. It allows you to attach files, photos, and videos, and check them during an offline or online class. Additionally, plans can be customized, edited, archived, and shared with your colleagues.

7. PlanbookEdu

PlanbookEdu is another top teaching software for generating teachers’ online planning lessons. It functions like a printed book but can be edited to add texts online. This software makes creating, sharing, and printing lesson plans a breeze. The free version limits your capacity to attach images and files to your plans.

8. Evernote

Evernote wasn’t designed with teachers in mind, but its free version is one of the most outstanding apps for teachers’ daily lesson planning. It enables you to collect ideas, articles, and images. Additionally, you can make to-do lists, store everything in a single place, and access it at any time. Teachers can also use Evernote for personal and professional development and organizing their lives.

9. Paymo

Paymo is a project management platform that enables teachers to organize classwork, develop lesson plans, and keep track of fulfilled tasks. The software provides various permission levels, giving students access to their coursework and facilitating collaboration.

Content Sources for Teachers

In order for teachers to prepare even more useful and enjoyable lessons, it’s crucial to have a list of trustworthy websites with valuable resources. Here are some reliable content hubs.

10. Ted-Ed

Ted-Ed enables you to create lessons around video content and evaluate how well your students comprehend the content.

11. YouTube Teachers

YouTube Teachers is a YouTube channel with educational videos to inspire and engage your learners. The Khan Academy, Ted-Ed, PBS, and other leading organizations and industry experts have created over 29 video playlists for the channel.

12. YouTube Edu

YouTube Edu is another YouTube channel that offers playlists on various subjects, from physics and chemistry to filmmaking and public speaking.

13. TED Talks

TED Talks are videos from experts in business, education, tech, and science subtitled in 100+ languages. Integrate TED Talks into your lessons to nurture creativity and innovation in your students.

14. TeacherTube

TeacherTube is a free platform for teachers to share video lectures and other materials, such as tutorials, lesson plans, and notes. You can also attach assessments and learning activities, browse other teachers’ content, and connect with colleagues who share your interests.

Also read → The Ultimate Guide to Lecture Capture: How to Get It Right

15. SchoolTube

SchoolTube is a free video hosting platform for integrating K–12 video content into your lessons without using YouTube. It offers unlimited video hosting, creation apps for video and audio, shareable playlists, automatic closed captioning, and a video quiz app.

16. Google Books

Google Books is a service that offers unlimited access to scanned books, documents, and magazines. It allows you to save, bookmark, or download any relevant books.

17. Readworks

Readworks supports elementary to high school students in building their background knowledge and enhancing their literacy. As a teacher, you can initiate reading groups according to their abilities and interests, monitor their reading comprehension, and assign extra-credit tasks for students as they complete reading assignments.

18. Bibsonomy

Bibsonomy is a user-friendly tool for managing publications and bookmarks, collaborating with colleagues, and finding new teaching materials. You can tag publication entries and bookmarks to simplify information searches.

19. Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is a digital library offering over 70,000 free e-books that you can download or read online, focusing on quality literature and works in the public domain.

20. Teach Learn Lead

Teach Learn Lead is a community that supports, encourages, and connects new teachers as they start their careers. It features the global education library, a curated hub of K–12 research and professional development resources.

21. ReadWriteThink

ReadWriteThink is another collection of numerous free lessons and resources developed by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. All lesson plans on this platform are engaging, research-based, and aligned with education standards. You can browse lessons by grade level (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) and by areas of literacy practice: learning through language, learning language, and learning about language.

Presentation and Design Tools

Visual content is an effective asset for achieving your teaching-learning objectives. If you want to save time when designing your presentation or lack the advanced editing skills to work with CorelDRAW and Photoshop, opt for easy-to-use tech tools for teachers from the list.

22. Visme

Visme is a user-friendly eLearning platform that’s used for creating interactive presentations. The solution offers a wide variety of customizable templates, team collaboration features, and even an AI-powered design generator.

23. Gapminder

Gapminder is a fact tank of animated statistics. The website offers posters, interactive presentations, graphs, and handouts on global facts that can enhance your teaching content.

24. Pixlr

Pixlr is a free graphic design software that gives you complete control over your pictures. You can add filters and borders and perform basic image editing using the Pixlr editor.

The platform has AI features, including an open AI photo editor and an AI image generator. This can expedite your work by generating edits, as per your request. It now also supports batch editing and animation.  

25. Animoto

Animoto is a free online video editor that converts your selection of photos and videos into slideshows. You can create your own presentation or just drag and drop your pictures and video clips into a pre-built presentation template.

Also read → Best Interactive Tools for Presentations

26. Smilebox

Smilebox is one of the web apps for teachers that are used for creating slideshows, collages, photo albums, and much more. As a teacher, you can make certificates, parent and student newsletters, and school photo albums and then share them online.

27. Pixton

Pixton is a cartoon creation platform that allows your students to create comic strips to represent their understanding of concepts. It offers numerous background options, characters, and different sets of comic strip layouts that your students can use to design comics and storyboards.

28. Chartsbin

Chartsbin is one of the online teaching and assessment tools that’s geared for the visualization of data. Teachers use this software to introduce different topics using infographics and diagrams. You can also use the application to train your students to create infographics from the material they have learned to show their knowledge of the subject.

29. Tableau Public

Tableau Public is a free data visualization platform. Teachers use it to create interactive graphs, maps, and live dashboards in short order. The app is also useful for managing in-class exercises and homework assignments. Moreover, there’s an active community, so you’ll easily find like-minded data enthusiasts and be able to connect with them.

Video Recording Teaching Software

Videos, screen recordings, and voice-overs can help you keep your audience engaged during lessons and lectures. Here are the tools for creating high-quality video teaching materials.

30. Free Cam

Free Cam offers a comprehensive set of features for creating professional presentations and video lessons. The app allows you to record screencasts, edit videos, and upload them to YouTube or send them to your students.

31. Vocaroo

Vocaroo is a free online tool that allows teachers to record, send, and download voice notes. The platform enables you to podcast, broadcast, tell stories, and give feedback. Recordings are typically available for three months.

32. MovAvi Screen Recorder

MovAvi Screen Recorder is an app that is widely used in eLearning. The tool offers full-screen or custom area video recording, webcam capture, real-time drawing on recordings, keystroke highlighting, and noise reduction. You won’t need advanced editing skills to work with MovAvi.

33. Screencastify

Screencastify is a screencasting app that enables teachers to record video lessons, create video feedback, and personalize learning experiences. This solution also allows teachers to see who has watched their videos and how many times.

Gamification Tools

Let’s explore some exciting interactive teacher tools that can turn a virtual classroom into a fun experience. These tools will turn your remote lessons into a vibrant experience for learners using interactive videos, sounds, pictures, quizzes, and animation.

34. Free Quiz Maker

Free Quiz Maker is an online platform you can use to build interactive assessments and exams for students using multiple-choice, multiple response, and short answer questions that gather student responses conveniently. 

The teacher’s toolkit on the app enables you to set scoring parameters, the number of attempts allowed, and time limits. Ready-made quizzes can be uploaded to any LMS, including Moodle and Blackboard. You can also use Free Quiz Maker to create surveys.

35. Blooket

Blooket is an interactive teaching tool that allows you to create question sets, customize quizzes, and analyze students’ performance. The platform comes with a wide variety of game modes to keep learners engaged.

36. Kahoot!

Kahoot! is an excellent game-based eLearning platform that’s ideal for creating fun activities and learning games for students. The software allows you to build quizzes on any topic in any language and customize them with diagrams, images, and videos. Students can use unique game codes on their devices or apps to log in to the platform and join “kahoots” (games).

You can create a kahoot from scratch or use an existing question bank within the platform. Moreover, you can use its interactive teaching tools to host live virtual classes and use kahoots as part of distance learning during or after class.

37. SpellQuiz

SpellQuiz focuses on helping kids and adults understand phonics. The platform contains English spelling lessons for individuals from Grade 1 to Adult, as well as fun quizzes and engaging word games.

38. Quizizz

Quizizz is a free tech tool that enables teachers to quiz students on social sciences, computer science, technical education, and art as a timed test or homework with a fixed deadline.

39. MakeBeliefsComix

MakeBeliefsComix is an in-browser comics creator that offers various ways to enhance learning in a virtual classroom. For example, you can have your students create comic strips to practice new vocabulary, develop conversational skills, or stimulate creative writing.

Teaching Software Tools for Classroom Management

There are plenty of teacher tools that can help you plan lessons, mark attendance, assign homework, and grade students. You can benefit from the classroom tools, online platforms, and add-ons mentioned below. They streamline all these processes to improve communication between you and your students and enhance the learning process.

40. Class123

Class123 is an app for teachers that allows them to manage classrooms online. The platform includes a chalkboard, a random name picker, a seating chart, and other interactive tech tools for efficient class management. 

It helps you keep track of students’ attendance and behavior, share stories and photos on boards, and let students interact privately via messages.

41. Flubaroo

Flubaroo is a Google Spreadsheets add-on developed for creating multiple-choice and fill-in assignments, grading and analyzing online student performance, sharing results with students, and affixing stickers and badges to completed tasks.

Communication and Collaboration Tools

Here’s a list of online teaching platforms that will help you make the teaching process easier and more efficient. It includes teaching communities, educational resource-sharing tools, videoconferencing software, and apps for teachers conducting online discussions.

42. Flip

Flip, an online collaboration solution by Microsoft, offers a user-friendly video discussion experience for parents and educators from Pre-K to PhD. Teachers can create digital whiteboards or discussion topics to share with students. And students can record and share their videos with their peers.

43. Teacheroo

Teacheroo is the only social network specifically designed for teachers worldwide. Here, you can share educational resources and tips, and interact with other teachers’ content through comments, likes, and reposts, helping you build professional relationships.

44. Ziplet

Ziplet allows you to collect real-time feedback from your students. You can type questions directly or choose from a curated library of best practice questions. Students get instant notifications and can respond immediately.

45. ClassDojo

ClassDojo enables schools to bring parents, teachers, and school administrators into the classroom, where they can track students and enhance classroom behavior in real time.

46. Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free educational tool that enables teachers to hold online classes, invite students, assign homework, discuss tasks, and track student progress. It integrates seamlessly with other Google apps, such as Google Slides, Docs, Sheets, and Drive, allowing you to work on multiple documents without a hitch.

47. Bloomz

Bloomz is an interactive app that helps teachers and schools share updates, events, and photos with parents securely. You can also send alerts about upcoming parent-teacher meetings to emails and smartphones with a single click.

Assessment Tools in Teaching

These educational tools are used to assess students’ knowledge, assign homework, and record grades.

48. Plickers

Plickers is an eLearning platform and assessment tool that teachers can use to collect poll data without students having to use a device, a pen, or paper. Students only need to rotate a card to show their answers, and you can collect answers by scanning them using your Android smartphone.

Educators can plan Plickers or use them on the go to check students’ comprehension and conduct polls. Additionally, Plickers cards come in different sizes for large classes, and with large fonts for younger learners.

49. Show My Homework

Show My Homework is an assessment tool that educators can use to manage homework much more easily. The accompanying mobile app allows teachers to quickly assign homework tasks, track student submissions, and record grades, even on the go.

50. FreeOnlineSurveys

With FreeOnlineSurveys, you can build online tests, surveys, and forms using the drag-and-drop feature. It comes with a data-reporting tool that enables you to analyze the progress and performance of your students. Additionally, it now supports AI, which can help you generate student surveys within minutes.

Anti-Cheating Software

Students constantly invent new ways to cheat on tests and exams instead of going to the trouble of studying. Here are some apps that will help you detect plagiarism and reduce cheating attempts in online testing environments.

51. DupliChecker

DupliChecker is another educational tool that allows you to scan texts for plagiarism. The website supports a variety of formats, such as Microsoft Word and PDF documents. To check more than one text per day, you’ll need a free account. And if you create one, you still have a limit of 1,000 words per search. To scan larger texts, you’ll need a paid account.

52. Plagiarism Detector

Plagiarism Detector is an educational software for checking texts in English, French, German, Italian, and other languages. You can check up to 1,000 words for free without creating an account.

53. QueText

QueText boasts an intuitive, clean interface, making it a user-friendly solution for plagiarism checks. The app generates insightful reports, clearly showing copied parts of texts and their sources.

This platform now includes an AI checker to test for academic content created using language learning models like ChatGPT and others. 

However, a free account allows only up to 500 words per plagiarism search and 250 words per AI search. For regular use, you’ll need the paid version.

FAQ on Best Free Online Teaching Tools

1. How many types of teaching tools are there?

Many types of teaching tools are available, each with its own unique advantages and use cases for educators and students in different settings. Here’s how we categorize them to help you choose what’s right for your unique needs. 

• Digital learning apps for teachers
• Lesson planning tools
• Content sources for teachers
• Presentation and design tools
• Video recording teaching software
• Gamification tools
• Teaching software tools for classroom management
• Communication and collaboration tools
• Assessment tools in teaching
• Anti-cheating software

2. Why are teaching tools needed in education?

Teaching tools are designed to help educators enhance the learning experience for students in the classroom. These tools make it easier for teachers to share their knowledge with the students while making the learning process exciting, engaging, and memorable.

3. What are the most commonly used teaching aids?

The most common teaching aid used in a classroom setting is probably a pen or pencil and paper, or perhaps the whiteboard (or blackboard). However, there are plenty of other aids an educator can use in the classroom, and they include: 

• Printed materials like textbooks, workbooks, handouts, and worksheets.
• Projectors and screens to display slideshows, videos, animations, and multimedia content.
• Visual aids like posters, charts, graphs, and diagrams.
• Audio-visual materials such as educational videos, documentaries, podcasts, and audio recordings.
• Models, puzzles, blocks, and other hands-on materials, especially in subjects like mathematics and science.
• Educational software and mobile apps that offer interactive simulations, quizzes, games, and exercises.