Teaching is tough work. Thankfully, there are many modern tools available for creating a happy, functional, and highly effective teaching environment.

Kids learn best when their daily schedule runs smoothly and everyone knows what to expect. Incorporating these tools to assist with every aspect of a school day can help you and your students do your best.

Whether you’re looking for something online that speaks the language of today’s kids, tools to make lesson planning and grading easier for you, or a printable for hands-on learning, it’s out there.

Here's the ultimate guide to teaching tools for 2022

Instructional Tools

Instruction time is the most vital aspect of any classroom. Tools to help you set expectations and keep kids engaged can make learning fun and easy for your students. Many digital tools can also help reduce your workload by simplifying the grading process.

Try supplementing your lessons with these educational tools to keep your kids focused:

Kahoot! — A customizable online quiz game that can help students remember important details from their lessons.

Edpuzzle - An interactive quiz that allows teachers to create videos and monitor students who participate.

Yacapaca - Allows teachers to assign tests and quizzes that are automatically graded.

Edualastic - An online assessment tool that produces data and reports based on student performance.

Communication Tools

Setting clear expectations is an essential part of helping your students reach their goals. In order to do so, you’ll need to communicate effectively with parents and students. Check out these tools that can help you meet them where they are:

For communication with families

Remind - A messaging service that can help keep kids and parents in the loop with deadlines and important dates.

Voxer - allows users to send and receive voice messages - like a walkie-talkie that can be used anywhere.

For communication with students

Classkick - An online space where teachers can post assignments.

Peergrade - This online grading tool allows teachers to facilitate peer review and easily provide feedback on assignments.

Lino - An online bulletin board where students can share notes, questions, photos, and more.

Voicethread - This iPhone app allows teachers to give voice responses and feedback to uploaded assignments.

Backchannel Chat - A classroom message board that can be moderated by teachers.

Homework Tools

Keeping your classroom calm and collected sometimes requires some fun and easy worksheets. Using these tools can help keep kids engaged on less busy days.

Canva - Design your own worksheets to print. Kids can also use Canva to create their own designs and learn new skills.

Education.com- An online database that offers thousands of printable worksheets for free featuring a variety of topics, themes, and subjects.

Prodigy - This online math game makes practicing math skills fun and interesting for kids.

Splashlearn - An online game that allows teachers to assign math practice that corresponds to their curriculum. Players can earn virtual rewards for completing assignments.

BrainPOP - Online games cover multiple topics including social studies, science, English, math, art, technology, and health.

Lesson Resource Tools

JumpStart - This online teacher’s hub offers dozens of curriculum supplement materials for every subject.

Study.com - Online lessons for teachers. If you’re feeling lost or just need a little inspiration, this website offers a host of video tutorials and advice to keep your classroom running smoothly.

Teachers Pay Teachers - This online community for teachers only is a place where educators can share resources and get paid to do so.

Functional Tools

Having the tools to get through the day is essential for any classroom to stay on track. Having what you require handy for scheduling and your daily routine is key to keeping your day on track.

Scheduling and project tracking

Keeping everyone on the same page with due dates and even the daily schedule can keep your classroom running smoothly and help students do their best.

MURAL - This digital calendar app is free. It allows teachers to create customizable and interactive calendars to display on a whiteboard in the classroom. The share option allows students to interact with the calendar from their personal computers.

Google Calendar - A shared calendar that can be accessed by everyone who needs it can keep your schedule running smoothly.

Monday.com - An online calendar system allows teachers and students to stay on the same page. Parents and students can access this system with all the schedule information they need to know. It can also help teachers keep work organized.

Tool for Daily duties

Giving kids daily responsibilities is great practice for life skills and working as a team. These tools are a great way for your classroom to keep track of who is expected to do what during each school day.

Classroom pocket chart - Putting a list of daily duties in a pocket chart can help everyone remember who is the line leader, whose turn it is to hold the door, and more daily jobs that keep kids engaged.

Pic Monkey - This free online graphics editor allows users to design their own calendars. When it comes to daily duties, printing one for students to keep in their binder each month allows them to take personal responsibility for keeping track.

Tools for automating work

Google Forms - Completing assignments through Google apps can allow students and teachers to work together on projects in real-time.

Text Blaze - Text Blaze helps teachers save hours of their time by avoiding repetitive typing while grading papers or creating lesson plans.

Animoto - This app allows students to create short video presentations about what they’ve learned.

WeVideo - Teachers and students can use this online platform to create and share video content over current classroom topics or other important information to share.

Classroom Environment Tools

A happy environment makes learning fun for everyone. Research shows classroom elements from seating, to lights and overall comfort can improve behavior and learning outcomes.

Lighting

Strategically adding lights to improve the mood and level of focus in your classroom can make a big difference for students.

Smart light bulbs - Adding lights that offer control over the mood in the room can help students learn better and improve everyone’s mood.

LED Light Strips - Decorating with fun lighting in important areas can keep attention focused and highlight areas where students should look.

Puck lights - Placing these lights strategically and assigning meaning to each color can help students better understand the current expectation for their behavior. For example, puck lights that can be switched to green, yellow, or red can indicate whether kids may speak freely, whisper only, or stay quiet. Plus, since they’re usually battery-powered, the placement of these lights is highly versatile.

Fluorescent light filters - Placing filters over harsh classroom lights can help improve everyone’s mood, especially in classrooms where students may have sensory difficulty.

Flexible seating

Allowing students a choice for seating can help them learn to make good decisions for their own learning outcomes. Try implementing these options for your classroom.

Wobbly chairs - For antsy kids who can’t sit still, being able to rock around while working can help them stay seated, focused, and on task.

Bean bags - Sitting at a desk all day long can get uncomfortable, even for kids. A beanbag area can motivate kids to spend time reading comfortably and help them enjoy class time.

Interactive Rugs - There are many choices for classroom rugs that include engaging and educational features such as letters to practice spelling, or numbers for simple math games. They also help create an area where groups can sit together for storytime, or simply stretch out for better focus.

Exercise ball chairs - Just as wobbly chairs help more active kids stay focused, bouncy ball chairs help kids use up some energy while they study. Placing these at tables in your classroom can add a little fun and joy to the classroom.

Sensory swing - For classrooms with children who may struggle with sensory issues or overstimulation, a sensory swing can help.

Student Reward Tools

Research shows positive reinforcement is very effective for motivating student performance and good behavior. These treats can help you show your class how much you appreciate their hard work.

Kid Rewards - Keep track of who follows expectations and completes tasks with this web-based log. The tool allows teachers to assign goals for individual students and the whole class.

The Learning Station - This website offers a host of active brain break videos that will give your kids a chance to dance.

Wheel of Names.com - Kids who reach a goal or complete a task could earn a chance to win a prize in a drawing using this fun name wheel website. The wheel could also be used any time there’s a need to randomly select a student for games or other tasks.

Oriental Trading Company - This online shop offers prizes kids will love in bulk for inexpensive prices. From craft kits and art supplies to toys and treat bags, there’s a large selection available for rewarding your kids.

Wrapping up

No matter what challenges you and your crew face in the classroom, there’s a tool available to help make your day easier.

Do you implement a tool we didn’t mention? Let us know what tools and strategies you use to keep your curious kids on track.

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