GOOGLE CLASSROOM
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Whenever I teach a workshop, most teachers want to discover this tool: Google Classroom. I am glad they do, because to me this is one of the handiest tools out there!

Google Classroom is an online platform where you can create a classroom. You can choose to either invite your students by adding them one by one, or asking them to join by logging on with your personal classroom code. It is very easy to set up and does not require a lot of skills.

Google Classroom allows you to share material, short messages, set up homework assignments or schedule publications. Whenever you upload a homework assignment, Classroom will give you a clear overview of who handed it in at what time. If a student decides to slack and hand in half of the assignment, you are able to reject it so they have to redo their work.

Scheduling is another great feature that Google Classroom comes with. At the beginning of the week, you can upload all assignments, messages, and other material. You can choose when this material will be published, so you can just sit back and relax during the week, while you classroom is still running.

To me, Google Classroom is a great platform to communicate with students and provide them with structure. Give it a try!

Requirements
- Laptop/phone/tablet/desktop (not necessary in class)
- Internet connection
- Google account

Pros
- Very easy to use
- Wonderful platform for students and teachers
- Easy way to share all kinds of material
- Great features such as scheduling and assignments

Cons
- Requires a Google account

Have you ever used Google Classroom? Please leave a comment!

Any suggestions for another ICT tool? Please let me know!

LUCIDPRESS
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One of the tools I just recently discovered is Lucidpress. This particular tool was not originally designed for education, but is adapted in such a way that it's a very useful tool.

The tool, like others, allows you to design magazines, posters, and offers many templates to give a project a great head start. What makes this website more interesting than others, is the fact that it allows students to collaborate online. Both during class as outside of school, they can work on their projects simultaneously. This makes the tool incredibly time efficient.

I personally have used this tool to create my own posters, just to provide my students with a quick overview. Students, however, love to work with it as well. They create the most beautiful magazines with images, texts, and videos they find online. It is important to set your students a time limit and make sure the basic requirements are met. They easily get lost in adding more and more creative elements, while of course learning should be taking place, too.

Please note: The free version is limited in its features and allows you to create not more than three pages per project.

Requirements
- Laptop/tablet/desktop
- Internet connection

Pros
- Easy to use
- No elaborate sign up needed
- Great templates to get started
- Activates creativity

Cons
- More features requires update
- Free version is somewhat limited


Have you ever used Lucidpress? Please leave a comment!

Any suggestions for another ICT tool? Please let me know!

PLAYPOSIT
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Since Zaption, a tool I blogged about some time ago, is almost terminating its services, it's time for a worthy replacement. PlayPosit is not only an easy way to create interactive videos, but it also has a feature that allows you to take all your videos created in Zaption with you, for free!

The concept of PlayPosit is to create interactive videos. You can easily upload a link from Youtube or Vimeo, or of course upload your own video. Subsequently, you can add questions, comments, links, and images to the video. This doesn't only force your students to pay attention to what is being said, but they also process the material immediately. Tip: Don't make your video any longer than 6 minutes. Most students are not able to concentrate for any longer and therefore won't do anything with the content presented to them.

When the students have watched the videos, you can take a look at the analytics to see how they've done. Did they understand the questions? Did they answer correctly? Were they sneaky enough not to do any work?

For foreign languages PlayPosit can be a great way to practise listening skills. Students work on their own pace, they work quietly, and you can see how well each individual student understood the content.

Requirements
- Internet connection
- Laptop/pc/tablet/phone
- Earphones (very important!)

Pros
- Easy to create videos
- You can use your own Zaption videos again
- Useful analytics

Cons
- Making a video, especially in the beginning, can take some time
- Premium features require payment

Have you ever used PlayPosit? Please leave a comment!

Any suggestions for another ICT tool? Please let me know!

GOOGLE FORMS
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Some time ago, I wrote about Google Docs and how easily it can be used to write documents with colleagues or students. Google Forms is another tool by Google. Forms is often used for questionnaires and is very easy to set up.

One of the newer functions of Google Forms is that in settings, you can tick the box 'Quiz'. This enables you to mark answers wrong or right, to allocate points to questions, and to automatically provide students with a grade/score.

Google Forms as a quiz still has all the advantages of a Google tool: the link can be shared very easily via email (groups), you can embed the quiz on your website, and if the students sign in with a Google account, you can see each score individually. Instead of letting them sign in, you can consider making the first question 'What's your name?' so they don't have to sign in first. Apart from the individual scores, Google also provides you with an elaborated summary (see image below), where graphs will show you exactly how your group did.


Requirements
- Internet connection
- Google account

Pros
- Very easy to set up
- Clear graphs with results
- Students receive a grade (often motivates them)
- Easy to share with students

Cons
- Requires Google account
- You have to ask for their name or students have to have a Google account, too
- You cannot allocate points to open questions

Have you ever used Google Forms as an ICT tool? Please leave a comment!

Any suggestions for another ICT tool? Please let me know!