Our Favorite Online Teaching Tools: Which is Right for You? – Webinar Best Practices

Are you a tutor for high school students? Maybe you offer private coaching services to business professionals. Or provide therapy sessions to a specific group of individuals.

If so, we have to ask: have you considered online teaching? It would allow you to help more people, build a more flexible schedule, and earn more money. Win!

Of course, you can’t teach classes via the internet without online teaching tools. The only question is, which online teaching tools are right for you and your business?

We’ll help you answer that in this article! Keep reading to learn what an online teaching tool is, the benefits of this kind of solution, and the best options available to you in 2024.

What is an Online Teaching Tool?

An online teaching tool is any solution that allows teachers to instruct students via the internet.

There are many kinds of online teaching tools on the market. A virtual classroom, for example, allows teachers to present information and communicate with learners, just as they would in a normal classroom. The difference is that students attend class through their computers.

Other online tools in this category include design apps, which enable teachers to create visual aids to accompany their lessons; presentation software to share information in more convenient and effective ways; and quiz makers that help teachers test their students’ knowledge.

What are the Benefits of Online Teaching Tools?

So, why invest in one of the online tools we talk about in the next section of this article? Because they’re so beneficial! Here are three specific ways your online classes will benefit:

Student Engagement

Have you ever tried teaching online? Then you know it can be a wonderful experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Students often have more distractions in virtual learning environments than physical ones. To overcome this hurdle, teachers must learn to properly engage their class.

Online teaching tools will help with this, which is important. According to a Gallup study, engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to get good grades than their disengaged peers.

Different Learning Styles

Every student is unique. The best teachers adjust their lesson plans to accommodate different abilities and learning styles. This can be difficult to do in physical learning environments.

Online teaching tools enable teachers to personalize learning experiences—even in group settings. For example, teachers can segment students into breakout rooms and offer custom instruction. Then they can assign different resources related to each students’ progress.

Communication and Collaboration

With certain online teaching tools, teachers can easily communicate with students—even if said students live thousands of miles away. Just as important, students can communicate and collaborate with each other. When students interact in this way, they often become more engaged. As mentioned earlier, engaged students almost always perform better.

The Best Online Teaching Tools Available in 2024

There are plenty of online tools you can use to improve your teaching practice. Which are right for your organization? Only you can answer that question. But one of the six apps below should do the trick. Let’s take a deep dive into each individual platform: 

1. ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is a webinar, online events, and virtual classroom tool that’s used by tens of thousands of people in 125+ countries around the world. Unlike other online communication tools, it includes all the features you need to host online classes. Just as important, ClickMeeting is affordable, so even teachers on a modest budget can use it!

ClickMeeting’s Top Features

 

ClickMeeting’s Drawbacks

 

• ClickMeeting is affordable, but it isn’t free. If you don’t have any budget to spend on online teaching tools, you should consider a different platform.

ClickMeeting Pricing

 

• ClickMeeting offers a free 30-day trial to new users. After that, plans start at $26 a month and go up depending on features needed and the number of students served.

2. Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a popular learning management system (LMS). As such, it allows teachers to distribute lessons, collect student work, and return graded papers. One of the best things about Classroom is that it integrates with many of Google’s other free tools, like Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Slides. Because of this, it’s a great option for hardcore Google users.

Google Classroom’s Top Features

 

• Facilitate the entire online learning process, from creating lessons to grading homework.
• Communicate with students via class-wide message boards or private messages.
• Integrate Google Classroom with the other Google tools you already use.

Google Classroom’s Drawbacks

 

• Google Classroom doesn’t allow teachers to host live video classes unless connected to a separate tool, such as Google Meet. This makes teaching online more difficult.
• Not every Google Classroom feature is available on the solution’s mobile app.

Google Classroom Pricing

 

• Google Classroom is completely free, which means just about any teacher can use it!

3. Pear Deck

Pear Deck helps teachers create “active, collaborative learning environments.” It does this by allowing users to add interactive assessment questions into their presentations. Students can then answer said questions and receive real time feedback, which leads to better engagement.

Pear Deck’s Top Features

 

• Choose from a variety of templates to easily create your assessment questions.
• Encourage greater participation and spark deeper conversations with students.
• Track student progress to understand the comprehension levels of each learner.
• Integrate Pear Deck with Google Slides for a seamless presentation experience.

Pear Deck’s Drawbacks

 

• Like many of the other online teaching tools on this list (ClickMeeting excluded) Pear Deck doesn’t allow teachers to host real-time classes. You’ll need another app for that.
• To use Pear Deck, all students need a Google account. This probably isn’t an issue for most classes. But it could present a potential problem for certain students.
• It can take a long time to create presentations inside Pear Deck, so keep that in mind.

Pear Deck Pricing

 

• Pear Deck offers a free plan. For access to all features, you’ll need to pay $125 a year. Pear Deck also offers custom plans if you and/or your school have specific needs.

4. Kahoot

Student engagement is essential—especially when hosting an online class. Kahoot makes it easier to engage students by gamifying the learning process. Add interactive games and quizzes to your lesson plans to increase student participation and lesson comprehension.

Kahoot’s Top Features

 

• Enjoy a user-friendly interface to gamify your lessons in a hurry.
• Boost student engagement and get learners excited about your presentations.
• Access detailed reports to track student progress and fortify your grading tools.

Kahoot’s Drawbacks

 

• It can be difficult to integrate Kahoot with other tools, which is frustrating.
• Students can see what their peers score on games, which can cause low self-esteem.

Kahoot Pricing

 

• Kahoot offers three different pricing tiers that range from $3.99 per month, per teacher to $9.87 per month, per teacher. Higher priced plans come with more advanced features.

5. Baamboozle

Few online teaching tools can compete with Baamboozle in terms of fun. This app helps teachers create engaging learning games for their students—or access games already created by other teachers. No wonder 1M+ educators use the platform with their students.

Baamboozle’s Top Features

 

• Create your own trivia, crossword puzzle, or word search games for students.
• Access over 1M pre-made games and engage your students in your lessons.
• Integrate Baamboozle with digital whiteboard apps to help students collaborate.

Baamboozle’s Drawbacks

 

• Finding the right pre-made game for your class can be time-consuming. Baamboozle’s filters aren’t very advanced, which makes it difficult to find the ideal games for students.

Baamboozle Pricing

 

• Baamboozle offers a free-forever plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $4.99 a month. But to access all of the fun inside the platform, you’ll need to pay $7.99 a month.

6. Visme

Visme is one of the more unique online teaching tools on this list. Why? It’s a visual communication platform for businesses. But that doesn’t mean teachers can’t use it. Quickly design eye-catching class schedules, lesson plans, report cards, and certifications of completion. Also worth mentioning, students can use Visme, too, which will help them jazz up their presentations and (hopefully!) earn higher grades.

Visme’s Top Features

 

• Choose from thousands of unique templates to create a stellar project in less time.
• Record your presentations and allow students to view them in their own time.
• Use built-in collaboration tools to create projects with your students simultaneously.
• Track who views your Visme projects and how they interact with them.

Visme’s Drawbacks

 

• Visme is a powerful online tool. As such, it usually takes users a while to master. The steep learning curve may frustrate teachers who don’t take naturally to technology.

Visme Pricing

 

• Visme offers a free plan, though it’s pretty limited. Paid plans range from $29 to $59 a month, per user. But you can save over 50% by selecting an annual payment plan.

Keep Students Engaged With The Best Online Teaching Tools

Online teaching tools will help you engage your students, accommodate their various learning styles, and facilitate many communication and collaboration opportunities.

 

All you have to do is choose the right online tools for your teaching business.

 

While all the tools above are valuable, ClickMeeting is the most essential. Our platform will help you interact with your students and instruct them in the most effective ways. Plus, it has top features like screen sharing, collaborative white boards, break out rooms, and more.

 

Start your free 30-day trial of ClickMeeting today to see if it’s the online teaching app you need!