Khan Academy (Khan Academy, 2023)

• Description: Khan academy is an online learning platform that offers practice exercises, instructional videos, review quizzes, and assessment tests in a personzlied learning dashboard. This platform is suitable for students of all ages who can sign up and choose to study specific courses/subjects or join a digital classroom where teachers can assign homework, review, quizzes, and study material for students to compate at their own pace by a specific due date. 

• Breakdown: Khan Academy is free and accessibly for learners of all ages, including teachers. The program is fairly easy to use when first navigating, as Khan Academy provides walk-through tutorials for new users in how the platform works. It is practical to use in the classroom for studying and review because teachers can view scores, completion, and even the time spent on each assignment.

• Differentiation: Khan Academy differentiates for studnet interest, learning styles, and readiness in its personalized adaptive learning pathways. Students can learn at their own pace using the methods and resources on the platform that work best for them (gamified learning, videos, lectures, practice, etc).

• Instructional Strategies: Khan Academy works best with scaffolded instructional strategies because it strategically builds student knowledge towards mastery. The courses, assignments, and topics at Khan Academy give students a specific order for them to work their way up towards mastery of a course or topic.

• Promoting Learning and Ownership: Khan Academy promotes learning and student ownership of learning in the design of its tools. By allowing students to choose how and when they study, they are active participants and owners of their own learning. This means they are held accountable for any progress or lackthereof is made for the course.

Kahoot (Wang, 2020)

• Description: A digital, interactive tool where students demonstrate understanding through formative and summative assessments. They join via a game code using their own devices and compete in quizzes that reinforce learning. Kahoot promotes engagement with elements of competition, point scoring, and instant feedback, making it interactive and fun for all ages.

  Breakdown: Kahoot is user-friendly for teachers and students, allowing quick quiz creation and participation with minimal setup. It’s practical for review sessions or formative assessments across multiple subjects. Basic accounts are free, while premium accounts cost $150/year. School-wide custom pricing is also available.

  Differentiation: Kahoot offers a range of question types (multiple choice, true/false, open-ended) to accommodate varying difficulty levels. Students can work at their own pace or in live quizzes. Its gamified approach appeals to different interests, and visual learners benefit from its design. Teachers can create differentiated quizzes for advanced and struggling students.

  Instructional Strategies: Kahoot is ideal for gamified learning and formative assessment. It encourages friendly competition, engages students, and helps teachers assess understanding quickly. This low-stakes environment allows for adjustment based on student performance, reinforcing learning through repetition.

  Promoting Learning and Ownership: Kahoot promotes ownership by engaging students in gamified activities where they are accountable for their performance. Immediate feedback helps students see what they’ve mastered and where improvement is needed, encouraging self-directed learning through student-led challenges.

Pear Deck (Chmura, 2021) / (Pear Deck, n.d.)

• Description: Pear Deck is an interactive presentation tool designed to engage students in real-time during lessons. Teachers can create interactive slides that include formative assessments like multiple-choice questions, short answer prompts, draggable items, or drawing responses. Students can participate using their own devices, allowing them to engage with content in a more dynamic and personalized way.

• Breakdown: Pear Deck offers both free and premium versions, with the free version providing many of the core features. The platform is easy to use, with integrations into Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint, making it practical for teachers already familiar with those tools. It’s user-friendly for both teachers and students, offering seamless ways to incorporate interactive elements into lessons. Pear Deck is practical for formative assessment, since teachers can track student responses in real-time, which makes it very adaptable for cross-curricular lessons and real-world connections.

• Differentiation: Pear Deck differentiates for student readiness, interest, and learning styles by offering a variety of interactive formats (e.g., drawing, drag-and-drop, text responses) that cater to different learning preferences. Students can express their understanding in different ways, and teachers can adjust questions or activities to challenge more advanced learners or support those needing more help. Pear Deck also offers a self-paced mode, allowing students to work through lessons at their own speed, making it suitable for differentiation based on readiness.

• Instructional Strategies: Pear Deck works particularly well with instructional strategies like inquiry-based learning and formative assessment. Teachers can use it to ask thought-provoking questions, track student understanding during a lesson, and adjust instruction as needed. Pear Deck’s real-time feedback features are ideal for strategies that rely on continuous student engagement and immediate feedback, supporting differentiated instruction for a diverse group of learners.

References:

• Chmura, E. (2021). 3 ways you can use digital tools to boost student motivation. eSchool News. https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2021/12/03/3-ways-you-can-use-digital-tools-to-boost-student-motivation/.

• Khan Academy. (2023). Impact: A growing body of research indicates the impact that Khan Academy’s personalized mastery learning has on driving learning outcomes. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/about/impact.

• Pear Deck. (n.d.). Learning science. Pear Deck. https://www.peardeck.com/learning-science.

• Wang, A. (2020). Dozens of studies show learning benefits of using Kahoot! Kahoot! https://kahoot.com/blog/2020/07/01/dozens-of-studies-show-learning-benefits-of-kahoot/.