7 Online Free Tools Teachers Often Underutilize

For the last two weeks, I have been doing online classes because of the increase of covid cases in Guangzhou, China; I thought it would be a good idea to share the best free online tools for teachers. 

These tools will help you become efficient as a teacher and increase your students’ participation. What I like the most is that these tools make it easy to access all your teaching materials, including students’ grades, and assessments, online anywhere and anytime.

1 Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free online tool developed by Google to simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments. 

The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to streamline sharing of files between teachers and students, boost collaboration, and foster communication during your online class.

To access Google Classroom, you just need a Gmail account which will give you access to Google Suites, including Google Form, Google Docs, and Google Calendar.

Here are a few things you can do with Google Classroom:

• Use Google Classroom for online classes or one-on-one tutoring
• Track your students’ progress online without paper, including assignments and grades
• Add supporting materials to your assignments, including YouTube videos, Google Forms quizzes, and other notes from your Google Drive
• Also add real-time feedback for your students
• Post announcements and engage your students in question-driven discussions
• Invite your students’ parents to sign up for email summaries to keep them updated on their kids’ progress

2 Google Meet

Google Meet (think of it as Zoom) is one of the most popular tools, particularly for online classes or tutors. You can easily integrate Google Meet with your Google Drive, Google Classroom, and Google Docs. Google Meet is particularly good for one-on-one tutoring classes. 

With your Google account (Gmail), you can create a video meeting or virtual class. 

Google Meet includes the following features free:

• Screen sharing with your students
• Group classes with up to 100 participants for up to one hour
• Chatbox to send and receive messages from your students during your classes

3 Google Docs

Similar to Google Classroom, Google Docs is a free online word processor offered by Google. It is one of the tools I use the most for my online classes. It allows easy sharing and collaboration between teachers and students. 

With Google docs, you can see the times and dates your students worked on assignments and what edits they made. 

4 Kahoot

Kahoot is an online and game-based learning platform (free for students and teachers) that makes it simple for you as a teacher to create and share learning games or quizzes with your students.

You can create your own assessment games or use premade lessons from other teachers in the Kahoot library.

After creating a Kahoot quiz or game, you will need to share a simple access code with your students to allow them to log on and join the quiz or game.

Kahoot is excellent, particularly with younger students or if you teach a noisy class, as it keeps them engaged and focused. 

Here’s how Kahoot works:

• Design your Kahoot with images and diagrams to make your questions more engaging 
• After creating your Kahoot, you share the unique PIN with your students, who can join on their devices wherever they are located
• Students can complete the quizzes either in a classroom, virtual classroom, or even as homework.

5 Quizlet

Quizlet is an excellent online tool that helps teachers develop learning activities for students, including flashcards, study material, and interactive quiz games.

The great thing about Quizlet is that it is helpful regardless of your student’s age and level, and it teaches collaborative skills to students as they learn to work together. 

It is perfect for one-on-one tutoring or helping to prepare your students for assessments and tests.

Here’s how Quizlet works:

• Create study reviews or activities for your students
• Your students can add these study sets as review activities or use them to review for upcoming tests or exams
• Your students log into their accounts and choose the proper study set for the concepts or subjects they need to review

6 Google Forms

Google Forms is another member of the Google family, it helps create personalized quizzes or surveys. You can then link the quiz result to a spreadsheet on Sheets to automatically record the answers. 

What I like the most about Google suites is that you don’t need to carry a bag full of test paper. And more important, there is no risk of losing students’ grades or assessments. 

Here’s how Google Forms works: 

• Create a quiz for your students
• Send the quiz to your students to fill out
• Collect and save your students’ answers

7 Khan Academy 

Khan Academy aims to create a set of free online tools that help educate students. I personally use Khan Academy all the time. 

Khan Academy offers practice questions, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower students to study and learn at their own pace in and out of the classroom.

One thing I like about Khan Academy is that it breaks down how much time your students spend on a problem, which part of the problem they miss, which skills they master, and which skills they struggle with.

Here’s how Khan Academy works:

• Students or you as teacher, set goals for them
• Ensure your students use Khan Academy regularly for at least 30 minutes per day