TOO COOL (PERFECT FOR SCHOOL): We've got our favorite edtech teacher and administrator tools for the week right here, as highlighted in our Instruct newsletter. By the way—got a favorite S’Cool Tool you like to use? We would love to hear and share your recommendations! If you’ve got a tool that makes you or your students sing from the proverbial mountaintops, fill out this form to let us know. It might just get featured! Note: If we have not appended a privacy flag to a tool’s description, it does not collect personally identifiable information. If a tool collects personal information, parents or educators should create an account for users under 13.
Free—Balefire Labs—Educational app reviews. Balefire Labs employs professional reviews to evaluate apps on their incorporation of instructional design and learning science, their usability design and whether they show inappropriate ads to and solicit money from children. To date, reviewers have taken stock of over 5,000 apps. Apps that score a B- or better are given the stamp of “Balefire Labs Top Rated.” Privacy flag: Educators must provide personal information when they register to access Balefire reviews.
Freemium—LearnHub—Project-based learning management tool. Students and teachers can create, manage and complete collaborative projects. Once they start completing projects, students can use the tool to create digital portfolios. Administrators can pull classroom- or school-wide metrics on projects and progress through the tool. Privacy flag: LearnHub collects names and email addresses when users register.
$780 (sixteen classroom pack)—mcSquares—Small, portable whiteboard squares. The 21st-century equivalent of the personal blackboard at each student’s desk. Each mcSquare is small enough for one student to use, but the squares can also come together to create a large dry erase surface.
Have a tool you can’t do without? Tell us about it here.
UPDATE: The version of the S'Cool Tools in our Instruct newsletter said that we were unable to find LearnHub's privacy policy. We have since received new information about the company's policy and included it here.
