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Introduction

My view on using technology in the classroom is that it should in some way help teachers create memorable learning experiences for their students. That help can come in the form of streamlining a workflow so that I have more time to focus on the fun aspects of teaching, working with kids. That help can also come in the form of technology that enables students to do things that generations before them could not have done, like producing a video that is seen by thousands of people around the world.

This guide is designed to provide you with an overview of a selection of free web tools, websites, and mobile apps that have utility in nearly every K-12 classroom. In each section you will find more than one tool that can be used to reach the same ends. I like to present more than one option in each category because we all have different levels of access to computers and tablets, different school web filtering policies, and different needs for our students.

Why didn’t you include X? I think you should include X? The danger of putting together a guide like this is that for every three tools I include there are probably three or ten others that are like it. The tools that I have included in this guide are ones that I have personally used with students and or in the many professional development workshops that I facilitate every year. I tend to gravitate to the tools that have the simplest user interfaces and those that I think a teacher can feel comfortable using with his or her students in a relatively short amount of time. To that end, throughout this guide you will find links to video tutorials on many of the tools that I’ve chosen to feature.

Where’s all the G Suite stuff? I have published guides about Google Drive, Maps, Earth, Sites, and Blogger in the past. Those guides alone total more than 200 pages. You can find those guides on FreeTech4Teachers.com under the heading of Google Tutorials. I also have a YouTube channel in which I’ve published more than three hundred G Suite tutorials. You can see that playlist at http://bitly.com/gafeplaylist