# data[].attributes.body
This app is great to allow students to follow a storyline and create their own movie! It’s fun and a great tool for learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
contributed by Sara McGuire, venngage.com

Technology distracts students, right? Keeps them from focusing?

One solution is to ban phones and computers from the classroom. Another solution is to harness their tech-savvy and engage students with online tools that will help them complete assignments while still engaging them electronically. Whether they're working on a research essay, a presentation, a science project, or a math report, there are ample tools available to make the process more engaging for students.

Think about it-if students are growing up in a world that requires them to be tech-savvy, then shouldn't tech play a big role in their classroom experience? Here are ten picks for tools to engage students in the classroom.
10 Technology Tools To Engage Students In The Classroom 1. Google Forms
We're starting with what's likely the simplest app on the list (well-aside the from background noise strategy): Google Forms

One of the best ways to engage all students in your classroom is to give students an easy (and even anonymous) way to ask questions, receive feedback, or otherwise reach out to the teacher. While there are many ways to do this, one of the most universally accessible (and free) methods is Google Forms.

Whether you provide specific questions and prompts for students to respond to as an exit slip (e.g., Was there any point during today's lesson where you were confused?), or you simple leave it as a way for students to post questions anonymously (which can be useful for some struggling students who might otherwise be hesitant to reach out), a simple messaging system or basic form can help improve student engagement.
2. Socrative
Like a few others on this list, you've likely heard of Socrative, a tool to "assess student understanding with prepared activities or on-the-fly questions, then adjust your teaching based on the results."
3. Kahoot!
Kahoot! is a handy tool that students can use to create in-class questionnaires and quizzes. This is handy for obtaining data for graphing assignments, data for research essays, and feedback from their classmates. Kahoot! is compatible with multiple devices and has a game-like feel that will help keep students interested.
4. Class Dojo
This is a fun tool to gamify the classroom. Students make their own avatars, gain and lose points based on classroom behavior, discussion approaches, and other soft skills agreed upon by the teacher and the class. Teachers can also use Class Dojo to take attendance and create graphs that breakdown the information for teachers. Not only will this tool encourage students to uphold class values, but it will also provide key metrics to help teachers adjust their teaching tactics accordingly.
5. Clickers
Classroom clickers may not be the higher-water mark for innovation in education, but as a simple and useful tool that you can use almost every day, it's a no-brainer for many classrooms.

This is a tool for teachers, to help assess students' understanding of concepts and their engagement with the material. With some tools, teachers can project questions onto their screen using while students answer them in real-time. Students' answers show up on the teacher's phone screen, and teachers can see which students got answers right and which didn't. This gives teachers an accurate picture of how students are following the information, and adjust their lessons accordingly.

Note, this is more of a general recommendation than an endorsement of a specific clicker tool or app. The problem with this otherwise 'no-doubter' recommendation is that many of the clicker tools are expensive-at least the ones we know of. Plickers, iClicker, Top Hat, and other tools are not only not free but often have monthly subscription-level pricing. If your school has the budget and you put it to good use, it's likely worth the investment.

Immediate responses from every single student instantly? That's a great strategy for engaging students.
6. Edvoice
Edvoice is a feature-rich communication tool with everything from lesson planning and rubrics, to messaging, announcements, notifications, and even tools to help prevent (or respond to) bullying in the classroom.

Depending on what you want the students engage in-you, one another, content, an assignment, etc.-they need to be able to focus, and classroom aren't always the easiest places to do that. Background noise can not only drown out excess noise, but more helpfully as students concentrate, there is less noise because they're concentrating. Neat trick, huh?
8. Venngage
Create interactive lessons, assess students on the fly, and see data and student responses in real-time. Students that can ask questions and receive feedback at any time are more likely to be engaged.

With so much focus being given to data analytics these days, data literacy is a useful skill for students to learn. Whether your students have collected their own data or they've collected it from other sources, being able to visualize their data in an infographic is a highly useful skill. Infographics appeal to both visual learners and textual learners. Venngage offers a selection of infographic templates that students can customize.
9. Prezi
Presentations are a core part of the curriculum but let's face it, PowerPoint isn't terribly engaging. Prezi allows students to create presentations that are more creative and exciting than was PP has to offer. Not only will this make the presentation creation process more interesting for students, but it will also make watching presentations more interesting as well. Plus, Prezi presentations are published publicly on students' accounts, so their classmates can access them later to check their notes.
10. Trello
Because so many students are in the habit of multitasking, a good skill to teach them is how to organize and streamline their assignments. Trello is a free and super easy-to-use tool students can use to create workflow charts. Multiple students can be added to the same board; great for collaboration on projects. (See also a better list of ideas for project-based learning.)
Bonus Cold Turkey
Students probably won't love this one but it's a useful tool you can use to mitigate the amount of multitasking students can do on their computers. Cold Turkey is a tool that allows you to block certain websites or the internet in general so that students can focus on their tasks. Even having students turn it on for half of a period for some focuses in-class writing time will make a difference in terms of their productivity.
10 Technology Tools To Engage Students In The Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Technology Tools To Engage Students In The Classroom -

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
contributed by Sara McGuire, venngage.com Technology distracts students, right? Keeps them from focusing? One solution is to ban phones and computers from the classroom. Another solution is to harness their tech-savvy and engage students with online tools that will help them complete assignments while still engaging them electronically.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Store photos and docs online. Access them from any PC, Mac or phone. Create and work together on Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Think that integrating technology into the classroom will only distract students and marginalize educators?

Think again. Since students are already interested and engaged in technology, teachers can harness that attention for educational purposes. Incorporating the internet, laptops, tablets and even smartphones into the curriculum has many benefits for teachers and students alike.

1. Engages students and creates active learners.

Using a computer, tablet, or other device encourages self-directed learning and creates an active participant in the learning process, rather than the passive learners found in a lecture environment. Interactive lesson plans can help turn "boring" conceptual subjects like math and science into fun, engaging, and educational activities for students.

2. Encourages individual learning and growth.

No one learns in the same way or at the same pace, but technology can level-set the classroom. For example, technology can provide accommodations for struggling or disabled students, and virtual lesson plans provide individualized instruction for all. Students can learn at their own speed, reviewing difficult concepts or skipping ahead as needed. Additionally, access to the internet gives students access to a broad range of resources to conduct research.
Ready to get started? Four steps to take to help you prepare a 1:1 classroom.
3. Facilitates peer collaboration.

In a research project conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, many educators reported that technology facilitated peer collaboration. They noted that when students were assigned to small groups for technology-based projects, those students who already had certain computer and technology skills routinely assisted less skilled students. Peer tutoring, mentoring, and collaboration were the unexpected results of the technology integration.

4. Prepares students for the real world.

Technology is an integral part of how we work and live, every day. Teaching students how to use technology to learn, research, collaborate, and solve problems from an early age will better prepare them for their careers. It can also help reduce the fear of new technology in the future by familiarizing them with the discovery process for each new tool.

5. Creates more engaged and successful teachers.

Using technologies like virtual lesson plans and internet resources can help free up time - both in developing and delivering the curriculum. This allows teachers to spend more time with the students who are struggling, ensuring the whole class is better prepared for tests and advancement.

As an educator, integrating technology into the curriculum is key. In other words, don't just add a piece of technology to a lesson plan just because you can. Make sure you understand:

How to use the technology

How to train students on using the technology

How the technology supports your curriculum

What benefits the technology brings to your lesson

An easy way to introduce technology is to start small. Try using a document camera to project textbook images on a screen, or introduce a website a week that corresponds with your lesson plan.

The point is not to let technology take over your classroom, but to integrate it. Traditional teaching processes like lectures, writing papers, and analog testing should not be abandoned. When combined effectively with the methods you're used to, technology can help you and help your students.
Capella University offers over 20 free professional development courses focused on educational technology, with options in three proficiency levels: limited technology experience, moderate experience, or teacher leaders/PD professionals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Reasons to Incorporate Technology into Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Think that integrating technology into the classroom will only distract students and marginalize educators? Think again. Since students are already interested and engaged in technology, teachers can harness that attention for educational purposes. Incorporating the internet, laptops, tablets and even smartphones into the curriculum has many benefits for teachers and students alike.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a game that will help the students not only enjoy math but work on getting better on their own time at their own level. This is also helpful for me to monitor at what level I need to be teaching each student.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an app that will be very helpful for integrating technology into our classroom. It can be used to distribute class materials and assessments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
HOW THE APP WORKSTo scan a QR code or barcode simply open the app, point the camera at the code, and you're done! There is no need to take a photo or press a button.

# data[].attributes.body
We will use PowerPoint for things like this eBook below and many other activities.