Teaching and learning online is gaining traction as more people are foced to sit at home because of COVID-19 lockdowns. I have compiled a list of some of the best online education platforms in use by schools and trainers.
You may wonder why you need to bother about this when simple tools like WhatsApp and Zoom are available. It is true that some level of teaching can be done via these popular tools, but they are not designed for a structured teaching and learning environment where classes can hold, assignments give to students, submitted, marked and returned by the teacher/tutor/trainer.
The best online education platforms are those that provide these comprehensive features that allow for structured teaching. Of course, they also have to be available via mobile app, as well as Web/Desktop.
The best online education platforms
Without further ado, let’s have a look at the platforms and apps that meet these criteria.
Edmodo
This is a platform built specifically with classroom work in mind. If you run a school or training service and want to move all or some of your teaching and learning online, this is one of the finest available. The school can be setup, with separate classrooms. Teachers and students are assigned to each class for lectures.
Teachers and tutors can record and upload videos and audio files, as well as images and text. Pretty any form of documents can be uploaded as well, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. Edmodo is perfect for schools and training organisations that want to start online teaching quickly are not ready to dedicate resources to a self-hosted service.
One of our partners, a school in Lagos, has already adopted Edmodo and are putting it to good use for online teaching and learning. Edmodo is available via both mobile app and a web interface. The basic service is free, and you can get more comprehensive access by taking on the paid version.
Visit the Edmodo website HERE.
Google Classroom
As a trainer, this is my preferred online teaching and learning platform. I have used it for years now in conducting writing courses and digital media training. It offers all of the structured teaching features and like Edmodo, Google Classroom lets the teacher upload files, as well as give and grade assignments. It was developed with schools in mind.
Like all Google products, it requires a Google account though, which may be a turn-off for some users. It is also available via Web and mobile app. Google Classroom is 100% free.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to provide online learning, Google Classroom is a good one too.
The Google Classroom website is available HERE.
Moodle
Moodle is a free, community-driven online learning platform and the world’s most popular, for that matter. One of the distinguishing features of Moodle is its versatibility. You can sign up and use it from the Moodle website, mobile app (for Android and iOS), or you can install a self-hosted version on your school or organisation’s website and build your own online education community there.
This makes Moodle great for large schools and organisations that want full control and branding of their own system. You can visit the Moodle website HERE.
Skooler
Skooler offers a flexible digital workflow, planning, assessment practice tools and easy school-home communication, all in one package by turning Office 365 into an online education platform. It offers attendance tools, assignment and grading, as well as tools for tests, among others.
By default, there is a 30-day free trial period, after which there is a fee for continued usage. But because of the Covid-19 outbreak, Skooler has made its remote learning tools for free for a while. Skooler is available via Web/Desktop, Android tablet and iPad, as well as mobile app (Android and iPhone).
You can visit the Skooler website HERE.
There are quite a number of online learning platforms and apps out there that you can explore, but every one of the above-listed are the best online education platforms you can deploy for use by students and teachers of your school or training organisation.
If your organisation needs help setting up and training staff to use these tools, do contact me at yomiadegboye(AT)gmail(AT)com for my services. I offer remote consultancy and training to organisations globally.
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