Since the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face classes had to be suspended in all schools and universities, at least for this course. To avoid the loss of these months, there are not a few centers that are considering the possibility of taking classes online. On the other hand, there are also teachers who are dedicated to giving private or support classes. To help teachers and students resume academic activity, there are a series of programs and websites that aim to replicate a class in a digital environment.
Technology has become the great ally of teachers to have the possibility of teaching in a school, institute or university, but also to give private lessons with high quality. Until now, online classes were mainly aimed at the completion of some courses and now it can be extended to the entire teaching field. For this there are virtual tools with which we can teach online comfortably and today we are going to talk about them.
Improved free platforms for teaching
Google Classrooms
It is the official Google tool created in 2014 to be able to conduct and manage online classes within an educational environment. All its functions and tools are associated with a Google account, so both teachers and students must have a Gmail account. This application is quite simple to use and allows assigning tasks selectively, it generates automatic folder structures to organize resources and share documents in the classroom. It also allows you to create documents, hold virtual meetings and share all kinds of information in different formats. Students can access classes, their notes or assignments from any device, since the application has a web client and versions for mobiles and tablets.
Google Classrooms is a completely free tool and we can access it through its website .
Peer2School
This free online platform will allow both teachers and students to carry out a class activity virtually . It will only be necessary to create a classroom without having to log in and invite your students to join through a link or by scanning a QR code, being able to use the name they want without having to register. This website has video chat and blackboard with various colors that we can use as a drawing tool and that will help us teach the class as if we were in a physical classroom.
Peer2School is a platform that we can use completely free of charge, for this we only need to access its website .
Moodle
It is one of the most widespread learning management tools in the world. It was created in 2002 and designed to manage an online learning classroom adapted to the needs of teachers and students. It is an intuitive and easy to use platform. It has a user panel that is characterized by its simple interface, with well-documented resources and allows you to share all kinds of documents with just drag and drop. Its possibilities are almost limitless since we can expand its functions by installing plugins and accessories.
Moodle is free software that is distributed under the GPL license, so its use is completely free. For this we will only have to access its official website , from any device in which we can access through a browser and have an internet connection.
Schoology
It is an online platform designed so that all students are fully involved in their learning. In addition, it allows to serve as a meeting point between parents, teachers and students within the same communication and collaboration platform. Through it, teachers will have all kinds of tools for preparing their courses , and may even embed content from YouTube, Office or Google Drive. It also has a grading tool that allows teachers to access their students’ work, as well as provide video and written comments and put grades.
Schoology has a Basic version that is completely free and which can be accessed through its website . It also has an Enterprise version with more advanced features.
Edmodo
We are facing one of the best known online learning platforms in the world, which is designed to allow communication between students and teachers within a closed and private environment. Through it, they will be able to participate, dialogue and collaborate for better academic development. The teacher can create virtual classrooms both by course and by subject, and each student has a virtual classroom within their profile that works independently. Inside each classroom there is a wall where you can share information or write messages. The platform also allows registering the parents of the students so that they can check the evolution and progress of their children.
Edmondo is a completely free educational platform so we only have to access its official website to register and start developing our classes.
Platforms to teach payment classes
GoToWebinar
It is a tool for conducting webinars, which allows us to access it from virtually any platform, be it mobile or computer. We will be able to do a good webinar , since the maximum number of participants is up to 1000, being able to record the class in order to save it on our hard drive, upload it to platforms such as YouTube or save it to the cloud.
GoToWebinar is a paid platform that we can try for free for 7 days with a maximum of 100 attendees. The product license can be purchased from $ 89 per month, with annual billing, with your Starter plan.
Verbling
It is one of the best web applications to teach online professionally. It is oriented to languages, not being possible to teach other subjects. In this way, if we are a language teacher, we can give private online classes through a personalized video chat. The platform allows us to establish the price we want to charge for the classes taught, knowing that Verbling will keep 15%. We will only be able to teach in our language, since the platform only supports native teachers.
If you want to teach through Verbling you must register your request through its website , and wait for it to be approved by the company.
Classgap
It is a specialized platform for giving private online lessons . It has a virtual classroom that has the possibility of exchanging documents or screen sharing. It also has chat in text format, as well as the possibility of making video calls. It stands out for having a text editor and a digital whiteboard with which you can share content and make all kinds of modifications in real time. It also has a rating system for both teachers and students.
Classgap is available for both teachers and students to access its official website .
