Online Apps and Tools for Teaching

Interactive lessons

1. Nearpod

• Type: interactive lesson platform for live and self-paced multimedia lessons;
• Pros: 20+ formative assessment activities (polls, quizzes, drawing, VR field trips) inside one lesson; large library of ready-made lessons and Google Classroom integration;
• Cons: free plan limited to 40 students per session and 300 MB storage; AI tools and advanced features locked behind paid plans;
• Price: Silver plan is free; Gold is €142/year; Platinum is €355/year;
• Available on web,iOS and Android.

2. Pear Deck

• Type: add-on that turns Google Slides and PowerPoint presentations into interactive lessons;
• Pros: works inside the slide tools teachers already use; real-time student responses with anonymous joining and student-paced mode;
• Cons: teacher dashboard, drawing/draggable questions and feedback tools require Premium; best experience tied to Google Workspace;
• Price: free Teacher plan with core interactive questions; Teacher Premium is €133/year; school and district plans on request;
• Available as a Google Slides and PowerPoint add-on.

3. Mentimeter

• Type: live polling and presentation tool for real-time audience interaction;
• Pros: visually appealing word clouds, polls and quizzes; students join from any device with a code, no account needed;
• Cons: free plan capped at 50 participants per month; paid plans billed yearly only;
• Price: free plan available; Education Basic is €14/month and Education Pro is €28/month (billed yearly);
• Available on web.

4. Slido

• Type: Q&A and polling tool for live and hybrid lessons;
• Pros: unlimited Q&A with upvoting even on the free plan; integrates with PowerPoint, Google Slides, Zoom, Teams and Webex;
• Cons: free plan limited to 3 polls per event and 100 participants; quizzes and analytics are basic compared with dedicated quiz apps;
• Price: free basic plan; Education Engage is €15/month and Education Professional is €60/month (billed yearly);
• Available on web, with integrations for PowerPoint, Google Slides, Zoom, Teams and Webex.

Creative design

5. Canva for education

• Type: graphic design and visual communication platform for classrooms;
• Pros: thousands of education templates for posters, presentations, worksheets and videos; real-time collaboration and AI Magic Studio tools;
• Cons: free Education plan only for eligible K-12 teachers and students (verification required); wide range of features can distract from learning goals;
• Price: free for eligible primary and secondary teachers and their students;
• Available on Windows, iOS, Android and Chromebook.

6. Adobe Express

• Type: multimedia creation tool for graphics, web pages and short videos;
• Pros: professional-looking results with easy templates; AI generative features for images and text effects with classroom-safe settings;
• Cons: free premium access limited to K-12 schools; fewer education-specific templates than Canva;
• Price: free for K-12 schools and students via Adobe Express for Education; standard free plan available to everyone;
• Available on web, iOS and Android.

Storytelling

7. Storybird

• Type: creative writing platform combining stories with professional artwork;
• Pros: high-quality illustrations that spark creativity; writing challenges suitable for language learning and all age groups;
• Cons: many features now behind a paywall; students cannot upload their own artwork;
• Price: free basic plan for reading and community access; individual plan is €4.50/month; discounted school plan starting at 10 students;
• Available on web and iOS.

Book publishing apps

8. Blurb

• Type: self-publishing platform for photo books, magazines and e-books;
• Pros: professional print quality and many templates;
• Cons: printing costs can add up for a whole class; more suited to final projects than everyday classroom use;
• Price: design tools are free; you pay only for printed copies: paperbacks from €3.50, magazines from €6, photo books from €11 and notebooks/journals from €13;
• Available on web and desktop.

9. Book Creator

• Type: digital book-making tool for students of all ages;
• Pros: combines text, images, audio, video and drawing in one book; books can be shared via link or exported as ePub/PDF;
• Cons: free plan limited to 1 library and 40 books; real-time collaboration and templates require Premium;
• Price: free plan available; Premium from €10/month; school and district licences on request;
• Available on web and iPad.

10. WriteReader

• Type: book-creation tool designed for emerging writers;
• Pros: audio feedback reads letters and words aloud as students type; teachers can add “adult writing” below the child’s text to model correct spelling;
• Cons: aimed mainly at early primary learners; full functionality requires a paid plan;
• Price: free plan for unlimited teachers; Teacher plan is €7/month and Teacher Plus is €11/month per teacher (billed yearly); school and district volume pricing for 10+ teachers;
• Available on web.

Apps for quizzes

Apart from the always popular Kahoot and Wayground (formerly Quizizz), covered in our blog article about online tools for teachers, there are a lot of game-based options for quizzes and assessments.

11. Plickers

• Type: formative assessment tool using printed answer cards instead of student devices;
• Pros: no student devices or internet needed; instant results scanned with the teacher’s phone;
• Cons: limited question types (mainly multiple choice and true/false); cards must be printed and handled each lesson;
• Price: free plan with core features; Plickers Pro is €8/month;
• Available on web, Android and iOS.

12. Socrative

• Type: classroom quiz and real-time assessment platform;
• Pros: instant grading and reports; team game “Space Race” for competitive review;
• Cons: free plan limited to 5 quizzes, 1 room and 50 students per activity; design and interface feel basic;
• Price: free plan available; Essentials is €107/year; Pro is €320/year;
• Available on web, iOS and Android.

13. Quizlet

• Type: flashcard and study game platform;
• Pros: huge library of ready-made study sets; multiple study modes plus the live team game Quizlet Live;
• Cons: free version has daily caps on Learn and Test modes and shows ads; AI features require a paid plan;
• Price: core features are free; Quizlet Plus for teachers is €35.99/year;
• Available on web, iOS and Android.

14. Quizalize

• Type: game-based quiz platform with real-time analytics;
• Pros: detailed mastery data showing which students need help; automatic differentiation with follow-up activities;
• Cons: multiple-choice questions only and 3 AI-generated quizzes per month; team games and mastery data only on the paid plan;
• Price: free Base plan available; Standard is €7.99/month, with a 14-day trial for €1; discounts for schools and teams of 5+ teachers;
• Available on web.

Conclusion

Technology is now part of everyday school life, and it gives you more ways than ever to plan, deliver and assess your lessons. With the right apps, you can make your teaching more interactive and engage your students in new and exciting ways.

You don’t need to use all of them at once: start with one or two that fit your goals, try them with your class and see how your students respond. Most of these tools have free plans, so you can experiment at no cost.

Now we’d love to hear from you! Have you already used any of these apps in your teaching? Which ones work best for you, and which would you add to the list? Share your experience in the comments below.

Not sure which tools best fit your didactic goals? Our course “ICT in the Classroom: Innovative Tools to Facilitate Students Learning, Collaboration and Creativity” will help you choose and use them effectively with your students.