The EdTech market has grown rapidly over recent years and shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, quite the opposite. Last year’s surge in generative AI and chatbots took the world by storm, heavily impacting all tech-related industries and sectors. EdTech is no exception, with the capabilities of AI being integrated into countless digital platforms and tools for the education sector. As a whole, there are over 1700 companies in the UK alone built around selling or developing EdTech, experiencing an average company growth rate of 11.1%.
As a result of this growth, there are now a staggering number of digital tools available to teaching staff in 2024. Almost every type of tool, application or platform will have multiple versions from different companies, so it can be difficult to choose the right one. That’s why we wanted to compile a list of alternative apps and digitals tools for teachers to help them keep organised, carry out their work more efficiently and boost student engagement. Senior leaders of schools, academies and MATs should take note- these can significantly help with fostering a positive working environment for your staff. It is worth mentioning that we’ve deliberately left out some of the tools within Microsoft or Google software suites… that’s for another post!
For Keeping Organised
1. Asana (🆓/💰) - One that I personally can’t live without, Asana is a planning and organisation tool that allows you to set tasks, assign them to individuals or projects and stay in control of your work. RDC Research found that organisations using Asana were found to have an 82% higher employee satisfaction. What's more, Asana has a special discount for education customers specifically.
2. Wakelet (💰) - Wakelet enables educators to organise their bookmarks and content into visually appealing collections called ‘Wakes’. These can then be shared with others, including students. It also facilitates collaboration, allowing teachers to create lesson plans, newsletters, and collaborative projects within a secure environment.
3. LiveBinders (🆓/💰) - A web-based platform that allows users to create, curate, and share digital collections of educational resources. It is designed to function as an online three-ring binder, enabling users to organise and store a wide range of content, including websites, documents, videos, and images.
Positive Classroom Culture
1. Classcraft (🆓/💰) - A gamification platform that allows teachers to gamify their classroom by turning learning into an adventure. It encourages positive behaviour, teamwork, and collaboration among students by assigning them roles, establishing a points system, and creating a narrative for their educational journey. Through this platform, teachers can reinforce positive behaviour and foster a sense of community within the classroom.
2. Buncee (💰) - A user-friendly platform where users can design interactive presentations, digital stories and more using a wide range of multimedia elements such as images, videos, audio, animations, and stickers. Buncee promotes creativity, collaboration, and communication, allowing students to express their ideas in a visually compelling manner and enabling educators to deliver dynamic and interactive lessons.
3. ClassDojo (🆓/💰)- In addition to its organisational features, ClassDojo also provides a toolkit for fostering a positive classroom culture. Teachers can use ClassDojo to recognise and reinforce positive behaviours, share classroom moments with parents, and encourage students to develop important social and emotional skills, contributing to a supportive and uplifting classroom atmosphere.
Clear & Effective Feedback
1. Kaizena (🆓/💰) - Designed to provide feedback on student work, Kaizena allows teachers to give personalised, voice-recorded feedback on student assignments, making the feedback process more engaging and effective. It also allows for the tracking of student progress and facilitates ongoing communication between teachers and students.
2. Socrative (🆓/💰) - A cloud-based assessment app that facilitates real-time questioning, quizzes, and exit tickets. It allows teachers to create and administer assessments on the fly, providing immediate feedback to students.
3. Nearpod (💰) - An interactive classroom tool that enables teachers to create and deliver multimedia-rich lessons, including quizzes, polls, and open-ended questions. With real-time feedback features, teachers can monitor student responses and provide instant feedback, fostering active participation and understanding.
Mental Health & Wellbeing
1. Headspace (🆓) - Used by millions all over the world, Headspace is one of the most popular platforms for supporting mental health and wellbeing. Did you know that it actually offers free access to primary & secondary school teachers? The app aims to help educators bring mindfulness to their classrooms, promoting better focus, less stress, and happier thoughts.
2. JabuMind (🆓/💰) - A customised meditation experience designed to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and to increase well-being and improve sleep. This app is focused on the wellness of teachers, recognising the impact of teacher well-being on the classroom environment.
3. Smiling Mind (🆓) - Developed in Australia, Smiling Mind provides mindfulness exercises for teachers and education professionals, mindfulness activities and meditations for students and teachers, classroom resources for a social-emotional learning curriculum and new digital care packages to support student mental health.
Summary
Teaching is a profession that is full of innovation and support from EdTech developers who are utilising new technologies to create fun, engaging and useful digital tools for teachers to use. The day-to-day responsibilities and tasks that teachers have to carry out and manage can make it a highly challenging role, with fewer teachers applying and schools struggling to fill vacancies. EdTech can play an important role in addressing the teacher recruitment crisis but providing teachers with the right tech and tools that makes their job easier, more streamlined and more effective.
We hope you’ve found this list useful. If you’d like to find out more about the work we do visit our website here, or get in touch to have a chat about how we could help you.
