Tech Tips Tuesday - 15 Free Tech Tools for the Classroom

Today I share with you a guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online classes for OnlineClasses.org. You may have also enjoyed Karen's previous guest post: 20 Free Learning Technology Resources.

15 Free Tech Tools for the Classroom

Tech tools don't have to put a strain on your district's budgets. There are plenty of free tech tools that can be found online. Many of these tools were designed specifically for the classroom or for educators who want to enhance their lessons. Here are 15 free tech tools to try throughout the school year.

Edmodo - Designed specifically for the classroom, Edmodo provides a private platform for students and teachers to communicate online. Some of the things that can be shared through Edmodo include grades, assignments, polls, files, links, and class calendars.

Engrade - Engrade is a free classroom community for teachers who want to communicate privately and safely with students and parents online. Teachers can post assignments, grades, event reminders, progress reports, and more.

Empressr - Empressr is a web-based rich media presentation tool that can be used in the classroom to present lesson plans. The tool is easy to work with and allows everything from text and images to audio and video.

Eduslide - Eduslide makes it easy to create and deliver your own lessons, tutorials, and elearning modules online. You can also use this site to create your own websites for the classroom.

Web-Chops - Web-Chops is a great way to share specific parts of the web with your students. The site allows you to clip parts of the web--text, images, videos, etc.--and place them on one easy-to-navigate page.

Mikogo - Mikogo is an amazing tech tool for the classroom. It works across multiple platforms and can be used for multiple purposes. Mikogo is ideal for desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, and remote support.

Anki - Anki is an intelligent flashcard program that works on a spaced repetition system. You can use it to create and share decks of flashcards with your students in the classroom. Flashcards can contain text, images, and audio.

Popling - This desktop application also works well for creating flashcards that can be displayed on a computer at scheduled intervals. Popling is most often used by language learners, but works just as well for students of other subjects.

Class Marker - ClassMarker is a testing website that allows users to create free quizzes and tests that can be taken online. The site creates professional-looking quizzes and tests and marks them when students are finished so that you don't have to.

FreeRice - FreeRice is a unique web program that allows older students to practice their vocabulary and participate in a charitable cause at the same time. For every answer students get correct, 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program.

The Stacks - This scholastic site is a fun place for young readers to connect with each other and explore books and authors. The Stacks also offers games, videos, daily polls, and other interactive materials to engage students in literature.

International Children's Digital Library - This multicultural digital library provides award-winning books in multiple languages. After reading a book, students can expand upon the stories, create games, participate in scavenger hunts, and much more.

Shmoop - Shmoop offers study guides and unique web-based teacher resources that are perfect for the classroom. Covered topics include literature, poetry, U.S. history, and civics.

Topmarks - This UK site provides a wide range of interactive whiteboard resources on nearly every K-12 topic imaginable.

Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides interactive virtual tours that give students an inside look at the museums permanent exhibits. Other site features include a timeline of art history and a collections database.