A Practical Guide – The 74

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</p> <h2>Caplan: I’ve tested more than 200 Ed Tech services this year. Here are the most useful for teaching.</h2> <p class="sans">By <a rel="author" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/jeremy-caplan/">Jeremy Caplan</a></p> <p>This story first appeared at <a href="https://www.the74million.org">The 74</a>, a nonprofit news site covering education. <a href="https://www.the74million.org/about/newsletters/?utm_source=republish-button&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=republish">Sign up for free newsletters from The 74</a> to get more like this in your inbox.</p> <p>As a tech explorer and author of the<a href="http://wondertools.substack.com/"> Wonder Tools</a> newsletter, I’ve tested more than 200 Ed Tech services this year in search of the 10 most useful teaching tools. The <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/2739-ed-tech-tools-later-where-are-the-outcomes/">massive number of apps</a> and sites clamoring for teachers’ collective attention can be exhausting. So this guide is intended to help you gauge what’s actually worth your time. </p> <p>Each of these top 10 tools is valuable whether you’re working with little kids, grad students, or learners in between. These services are all free to try, with paid upgrades available. I teach college and grad students, have two elementary school kids of my own and have worked with teachers at all levels for more than two decades. So you’ll find here tools designed to enhance teaching at all levels. </p> <p>–<em>Jeremy Caplan</em></p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading sectional">Make Concepts Stick</h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left"><a href="https://www.pathwright.com/"><strong>Pathwright</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Create a learning path</h4> <p>Pathwright is one of the best-kept secrets among teaching tools. It’s a well-designed, simpler alternative to complicated learning management systems like Blackboard or D2L, and it’s more elegant and flexible than Google Classroom. Rather than giving students dozens of menus to choose from, Pathwright lets you create a simple learning path for students to follow one step at a time. You can create a path with a few steps for guided independent learning, or set up a full online course that’s easy to navigate. Any step you create can include a reading, video, activity, assessment, embed or any other interaction. The learning paths provide an easy way to guide students toward learning objectives. It’s a visually delightful alternative to clunkier systems.</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.figma.com/education/"><strong>Figjam</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Visual thinking and collaborative whiteboards</h4> <p>When Google shut down Jamboard and Microsoft discontinued Flipgrid, teachers went searching for lively alternative tools. Figjam came to the rescue. Digital whiteboards enable the kind of open-ended visual thinking that’s invaluable whether you’re teaching about historical networks, systems thinking, scientific processes or anything requiring students to explore connections and relationships. The platform is free for educators. Figjam also has new AI capabilities, allowing it to categorize student comments or transform a scattered brainstorm into an organized handout. You can even use Figjam for presentations. Unlike sterile corporate whiteboard apps, Figjam includes playful stickers, stamps and templates designed for teaching and learning — from icebreakers to built-in timers. </p> </div> </div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading sectional"><strong>Inspire Curiosity</strong></h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://try.gamma.app/98h0agrxo6l4"><strong>Gamma</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Make attractive slides</h4> <p>Replace PowerPoint or Google Slides with Gamma. You’ll save time preparing slides, and they’ll be more engaging for students. Create vertical, square or horizontal slides. You can import existing PDFs or PowerPoint slide decks. When you’re done creating, you can export to Google Slides or PowerPoint. You can use Gamma without any of its artificial intelligence features, if you’re an AI abstainer, or you can use Gamma’s AI to jumpstart a new presentation instantly from an outline, text prompt or document you upload. </p> <p>Unlike PowerPoint, Gamma makes it easy to embed live websites, videos or data visualizations inside your slides to make them stand out. You can even use Gamma to build simple websites, social posts or interactive lessons. </p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://genially.com/"><strong>Genially</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Make interactive teaching materials</h4> <p>Genially is terrific for creating interactive lessons. Add clickable hotspots to any image, timeline, map, or other image. Student clicks reveal informational pop-ups, links, or audio files. These hotspots transform static visuals — like simple maps or timelines  — into engaging, exploratory learning elements. I’ve used Genially to turn my old handouts into resources with embedded audio. When students click on something, they hear my brief recorded explanation or anecdote. The free version works great for teachers. You can invite an unlimited number of students into your workspace for free, and like these other top tools, Genially is grounded in student privacy: it’s FERPA-COPPA and GDPR compliant. While it takes a bit of experimenting to get comfortable with the interface, once you understand the basics, you can transform boring handouts into interactive learning materials that students actually want to explore.</p> </div> </div> <h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-da66f7650aa8b7579d1b48ce633390fc" style="color:#002dd1">VIDEO</h4> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Jeremy Caplan Walks Through Three Top Tech Tools for Educators</h3> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <p><iframe title="Top Tech Tools for Teachers in 2026" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vazxy-VAHWs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> </div> </figure> <h2 class="wp-block-heading sectional">AI That Actually Helps</h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://notebooklm.google/"><strong>NotebookLM</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Build on your teaching materials</h4> <p>NotebookLM is a free tool from Google that lets you apply AI to any collection of documents. It’s super useful for searching through your teaching materials, but also for strengthening and repurposing them. You can have 100 notebooks in a free NotebookLM account, and each notebook can have 50 sources in it. A source can be a PDF, Word Doc, image, audio file, link or a Google Drive file. Each one can be up to 200 MB or 500,000 words. You can fit dozens of lesson plans, handouts, syllabi, slides, rubrics or even handwritten notes or voice recordings. NotebookLM makes everything instantly searchable and remixable. </p> <p>NotebookLM’s semantic search can find things in your materials based on level, topic, style or other characteristics that a simple Control-F search can’t do. You can also use it to adapt teaching materials into new formats. Turn a dense reading into an engaging audio overview students can listen to, or transform a handout into a colorful infographic or slide deck. Students can create their own notebooks and generate flashcards and interactive quizzes to help with studying. They can also use the mind map feature for helping to visualize connections across topics. </p> <p>You can create separate notebooks for each course you teach, or organize one for administrative tasks and another for curriculum development. NotebookLM works only from your uploaded sources — not generic web content — and provides citations so you can see the source of search results. </p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/projects"><strong>Claude Projects</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Your AI Teaching Partner</h4> <p>Claude is a general purpose AI tool, like ChatGPT, Gemini or Microsoft’s Copilot. Where it excels for teachers, though, is in a feature called Claude Projects. You start by uploading your existing teaching materials — syllabi, lesson plans, handouts, slides, rubrics, notes or pictures you took of whiteboard diagrams — whatever you use for your teaching. You also provide a detailed set of instructions and context to guide your project. This might include the level of your students, your approach to project-based learning, how much time you typically have for lessons, what kinds of activities your students respond well to or any special learning needs they have. </p> <p>You can then task Claude to be your critic and coach, pointing out blind spots in your syllabi, listing potential missing elements in your upcoming lessons or suggesting supportive materials you may want to create to supplement a particular part of your class.  </p> <p>You can use Claude to help you make your lessons and materials more inclusive and accessible. It can help you adapt content for different skill levels or even translate materials into multiple languages. It can suggest concrete examples and analogies, give you alternative elements to consider adding to a rubric, or even point you to additional readings or research you might want to explore related to a subject you’re teaching. It’s the closest thing most of us will get to having an assistant, available 24-7 to support our teaching prep. </p> </div> </div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading sectional">Spark Engagement</h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://kahoot.com/"><strong>Kahoot</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Add fun to learning</h4> <p>No other teaching tool generates as much classroom buzz as Kahoot, which turns quizzes into playful games. You can design your own questions or pick from a huge library of quiz games designed by other teachers. And now that Kahoot has an AI assistant built in, you can convert text from your handout or lesson into editable quiz questions.</p> <p>What makes Kahoot especially engaging is the variety of question formats: Students can drop pins on images, fill in blanks, guess numbers or order items in a list. There’s also dramatic quiz-show music that helps create a playful atmosphere. Students can play individually or in teams, so Kahoot works for both competitive and collaborative classroom cultures.<a href="https://www.gimkit.com/"> Gimkit</a>,<a href="https://wayground.com/"> Wayground</a> and<a href="https://www.blooket.com/"> Blooket</a> are good alternative game-style quiz platforms that offer fuller free plans for those on a tight budget.</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://padlet.com/"><strong>Padlet</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Get students engaging and interacting</h4> <p>Padlets are digital bulletin boards where students can post comments, links, voice recordings or short videos. You set up a board with a topic or a template. You can start with a map, timeline, discussion thread or an image gallery.  Students can then participate from their own device, adding their own notes, documents, images or comments. Or they can use the built-in recorder to add audio or video. </p> <p>You can build a board as a live, collaborative activity or asynchronously. You can also use it as a teacher to guide students through teaching material or as a showcase for exceptional student work. </p> <p>I find Padlet useful for brainstorming, collecting student questions before class and building collections, like students’ favorite songs, books or snacks. </p> <p>It’s so easy to use that most students can jump in without any training. Padlets are often used in elementary school classes, but I’ve also used them with graduate students and for mid-career training. It’s one of the best tools for getting students building on each other’s ideas, rather than passively consuming content.</p> </div> </div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading sectional">Tame the Chaos</h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.craft.do/"><strong>Craft</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Organize your materials</h4> <p>Craft is a surprisingly useful, underrated tool for creating and organizing notes and documents. Use it to develop attractive lesson plans, student handouts, syllabi or collections of resources. You can organize materials into neat visual cards students can click to explore. Add text, images, links or tables to your documents so they look more elegant than Google Docs, Apple Notes or Microsoft Word documents. It’s easy to share Craft docs with a link or export as PDF, and it’s easier to use than Notion or other pro tools. </p> <p>Craft also has a remarkably good mobile app, so you can actually use your phone or tablet to make notes or prepare documents. If you’re drowning in scattered teaching materials in various different apps, consider Craft as a new, flexible place to make, organize and share your docs.</p> </div> </div> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://tally.cello.so/s2zJWix6KRv"><strong>Tally</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Create free, useful surveys</h4> <p>Tally is the best free tool for making forms and surveys. Whether you’re gathering feedback from parents and students, or collecting information for trips, Tally forms are better-looking and more flexible and powerful than Google Forms. They’re just as easy to create in a few minutes. You can add images, videos or text before or between questions. You can use Tally to collect assignment submissions, create quizzes or handle RSVPs for events. The interface lets you start typing and add questions from a simple list — no complicated menus. You can make forms feel less bureaucratic than other boring survey tools and connect your forms to Google Sheets, Notion, Excel, or whatever other tools you like so you can analyze responses easily. Based in Belgium, Tally follows strict European privacy rules. For educators who need to collect information regularly, Tally lets you quickly make professional-looking surveys without paying for expensive tools. Extra fancy analytics require a paid plan, but the free tier will cover most of your teaching needs. I haven’t yet needed to upgrade.  </p> </div> </div> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left sectional">Bonus: Preserve Academic Integrity</h2> <div class="wp-block-group callout"> <div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://pangram.cello.so/XR3NTSX15Ob"><strong>Pangram</strong></a></h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading reverse">Detect AI writing</h4> <p>Students increasingly lean on AI for homework help. Sometimes they’re trying to make sense of something confusing, like a jargon-filled textbook diagram. On other occasions, they’re using AI in more problematic ways; 84% of high school students say they’re using AI to help with schoolwork, according to College Board<a href="https://newsroom.collegeboard.org/new-research-majority-high-school-students-use-generative-ai-schoolwork"> research</a>, while about 85% of college students say the same, according to<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-025-01109-6"> three</a><a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2025/08/29/survey-college-students-views-ai"> separate</a><a href="https://campustechnology.com/articles/2024/08/28/survey-86-of-students-already-use-ai-in-their-studies.aspx"> studies</a>. In some of those cases, students are using AI to avoid doing their own writing. </p> <p>That’s led some educators to look for new ways to discourage students from outsourcing their thinking. I wish we didn’t have to resort to AI checkers, but educators are clamoring for them. If you’re going to use an AI detector, Pangram is the most accurate. Its false-positive rates of around one in 10,000 are much better than the notoriously problematic early detection tools. From my perspective, Pangram can serve as a useful backup pair of eyes when you’re overwhelmed with questionable submissions, or if you’re just trying to identify the most egregious violations of academic integrity.</p> </div> </div> <p>
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