Blended Learning Tools

1. HotChalk

“HotChalk is an education technology company founded in 2004” - www.hotchalk.com It allows teachers to create online tasks/assignments, and also grade and 'return' student work.

Benefits:

-built in grade book to allow the teacher to keep track and monitor student progress

-online lesson creator (some lessons are automatically built-in and teachers can also create their own)

-there is an automatic quiz grader tool that assesses multiple choice tests

-teachers can comment directly on student work/assignments

-easy to use for both students and teachers

Drawbacks:

-built-in lessons are aligned with American curriculum standards – not Canadian!

-only offers basic built-ins (does not work well for collaborative projects)

-advertisements are used to fund the site – students are exposed to ads while they work

2. Moodle

Moodle stands for “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment” - https://moodle.org

Benefits:

-contains built-in courses and activities for students/teachers

-world-wide site allows for students to interact with people from all over the word (fosters global education and global citizenship)

-Moodle encourages feedback from students and teachers so the site can constantly be improved

-teachers can view demos before downloading lessons, quizzes, activities etc

-works on any operating system which allows it to be accessed from anywhere in the world

Drawbacks:

-must be downloaded and installed on a computer

-younger students may need assistance in using the site/manoeuvring through the various programs

3. Edu 2.0

Edu 2.0 is a “beautiful, modern, cloud-hosted, LMS that makes it simple to deliver online education” - www.Edu20.org

Benefits:

-no advertisements or hidden costs

-built-in grade book lets teachers assess and keep track of student work/progress

-teachers can choose to create courses that are public or private for their online classrooms

-each student has their own homepage with a personal/customizable 'to-do list' and calendar

-teachers can access pre-made lessons, resources, attendance trackers, tests, quizzes...

-there is a chat and messaging feature that allows students to communicate with their teacher and peers

-multimedia (audio, video, slide shows) can be incorporated into lessons

-site is secure and can be accessed from mobile devices

Drawbacks:

-site appears to be structured for upper elementary aged students and older

-younger students may require adult support/assistance when first learning to navigate the site