What Innovative Programs or Learning Tools Do You Use In Your Course That Students Enjoy and Learn With?

[N_C]

I want to make my class innovative and fun for my students. I want them to have lots of interaction with the modules and each other while learning. I am also writing a paper about technological tools that are effectively used by teachers inside the LMS so it doesn't matter to me if you are an elementary school teacher or a university professor, I would love to know what tools you use to get your students engaged in learning.  Please reply to me here. Thank you so much!! 

[Tina-Swanton · Accepted solution]

I have seen teachers use a lot of different tools. Here is a blog post for a while back but many of these tools are being used today. 

Embedding Web 2.0 Tools

[DrTerriC]

Tools are tools.. but in the end engagement is about personal connection and presence.. You might check out some of the work on Community of Inquiry and how teachers and professors show these connections..  

I get a lot of people who ask me about the outside tools that people use, but in the end, the Canvas LMS itself is pretty robust and things like Canvas Studio can do what a lot of outside tools can do too. 

[VPundir]

@N_C Great question, though probably not appropriate for Canvas forums.

Anyway, I like to use live polls and charts in class - for which I use Microsoft Forms, which integrates with PowerPoint really well - showing the QR code and live results right on the slide (this made me quit Poll Anywhere and Mentimeter). This enables me to run economics and psychology experiments in class, rather than telling students about them. So, if I want to talk about heuristics and biases, or if I am teaching game theory and want to talk about dictator game, etc., rather than tell them about the experiment and its results, I run the experiment in class. Makes the experience visceral - it's not some farway in distance and time participants that behaved this way, it was us! 

Live quizzes with Kahoot! are always a hoot 😉

Discursive learning works quite well with Padlet.

For large classes, Slido is nice for getting questions in.

For simulations, I tend to code something myself.

And don't forget the basics: Canvas Discussions in and out of the class, Microsoft Whiteboard and Microsoft Stream, which allows a degree of interactivity in the videos (our university does Microsoft365, and there's something to be said for not having to log in elsewhere, and the company already being our data processor, not to mention not needing additional subscriptions).

Oh, and Copilot Studio to create AI chatbots - did I mention we are on Microsoft365?