Best Student-Collaboration Tools

Student collaboration tools can be used to create single pages for your group project or even to create a shared dashboard for all of your projects at the same time. These tools can make your project easier to work with and offer you more opportunities for collaboration.

In today's ever-connected world, the need for student collaboration tools has never been higher. With the rise of remote learning and digital classrooms, student collaboration has become a must-have for effective learning experiences. 

With technology, collaborative learning are much easier to facilitate, whether you want students to work together outside the classroom or need to increase student buy-in and engagement. 

Here is the list of student collaboration tools that help to engage students in teamwork, getting them to create, reflect, share and collaborate on projects, inside and outside of school.

1. Edmodo

Edmodo is a student collaboration tool that can be used in an educational environment that is safe and easy to use. In addition to online class collaboration, Edmodo offers assessment tools, the ability to connect with other educators, the ability to monitor or limit access and activity, and the ability to share media such as photos, files, videos, and more.

Students can use Edmodo to interact with their private site, take quizzes, participate in games, ask the teacher questions and more. This handy tool encourages collaboration and creative expression, and it makes sharing assignments and giving feedback a snap for teachers.

This tool joins students, teachers, and even parents together in a shared learning process through one cohesive interface. The endless storage capacity and a functional suite of tools make all aspects of running a classroom more efficient and interactive. From assigning homework to creating exam questions to facilitating discussions to communicating with parents, Edmodo allows for active participation and empowers students to take charge of their own education.

This tool also integrates with Google Apps and Microsoft Office, so you can merge content from other sources into just one easy-to-track location.

2. Padlet

Padlet is a collaboration tool that allows students to easily express their thoughts on a common topic and read what others have to say. It is essentially a virtual bulletin board in which collaborators can simultaneously create and organize posts of any content type, whether it be text, documents, images, videos, links, etc. 

Student collaboration in a lecture or group setting can be enhanced by incorporating Padlet, a virtual wall that allows students to post ideas, images, links, and comments in real-time. Collaborative learning using Padlet can be adapted for online learning environments. Students can post their responses prior to a session or during an online teaching class.

Padlet is an online tool that easily facilitates collaborative learning, discussion, and the sharing of resources. Information that is added to a Padlet wall instantaneously appears wherever it is being viewed; it, therefore, provides an efficient method for sharing ideas, facilitating communication, and enabling peer interaction.

3. Flipgrid

An amazing resource from Microsoft is Flipgrid, a video learning platform that is 100% free for educators and learners. Educators create ‘grids‘ which are meeting places for learners, they can then add a topic for discussion. Learners respond with short videos that could include uploaded photos and videos, trimmed clips, whiteboards, video styles, text, emoji, inking, etc. to express their points of view.

Educators can also allow learners to record replies to classmates’ responses.  This makes for inclusive and interactive learning with all members responding with their own short-Insta Stories style videos. Videos responses are short from 15 sec to 5 mins and can be set as per the topic created.

Flipgrid is an engaging way for educators to foster discussion and collaboration in a space that has the familiarity of social media minus the ads.

4. Google Classroom

No student collaboration tool list could be complete without Google Classroom. This is primarily because firstly it’s free and secondly most learners are familiar with their existing email, sheets, and presentation tools – all of which can be easily integrated.

Google Classroom incorporates cloud-based management for teachers by organising multiple classes in one central location and working simultaneously with other teachers and students. Google Classroom allows teachers and students to work on any device for flexible learning, including online quizzes, task lists, and work schedules.

While Google Classroom is mainly free, there are some payment plans to subscribe to in order to gain full access to all features. They can be found on the Google Classroom Features page.

5. Kahoot

The next one on the list, Kahoot, is also a great tool to use when working on group projects. Kahoot allows you to create your own puzzles and have them graded by other students. However, by letting students grade puzzles on their own, you're encouraging them to learn from this collaboration and be more actively involved in their learning processes. This approach is versatile and can be used to achieve various different goals.

Kahoot!’s team mode helps students develop collaboration skills. Team mode was designed to boost collaboration in the classroom using a shared device and is a great way to nurture teamwork, leadership skills and good communication.

This collaboration tool has a few benefits that make it stand out from other collaboration tools. For instance, Kahoot is a very versatile kind of tool. You can make a set of pictures or drawings and have the students create a new puzzle on Kahoot.

6. Pear Deck

Pear Deck is a web application designed to make collaborative learning a breeze. Its interactive assessment templates are the central core of its business model. Adding questions in the templates is as straightforward as is answering them in real-time.

That way, rapid feedback is possible, which plays well with all involved parties. Furthermore, teachers and students can import lessons from Google Slides, PowerPoint, and Keynotes. In addition to the free Basic tier, Pear Deck also offers a $150 per year Individual Premium tier.

7. Seesaw

Seesaw is an app that enables learners to collaborate on drawings, videos, PDFs, texts, etc. To encourage collaboration, users can include instructions to every lesson, assign tasks to learners, and evaluate their answers. Each learner can even create their personal, collaborative learning journal. That way, they can share their content with their teachers and peers. The multi-language translation is a standout feature, especially with ESL students. In addition to the free version, Seesaw also offers a premium tier for schools. The premium tier costs $120 per year per school.

Seesaw is an app that enables learners to collaborate on drawings, videos, PDFs, texts, etc. To encourage collaboration, users can include instructions to every lesson, assign tasks to learners, and evaluate their answers.

Each learner can even create their personal, collaborative learning journal. That way, they can share their content with their teachers and peers. The multi-language translation is a standout feature, especially with ESL students. In addition to the free version, Seesaw also offers a premium tier for schools. The premium tier costs $120 per year per school.

8. Classcraft

Classcraft has got to be my favorite learning app as you can gamify your class! Classcraft is generally a classroom management platform that engages students through gamified lessons. It’s carved out a niche for itself as an engagement management system (EMS).

Students can create characters for themselves and they either power up or lose health points based on how they’re doing in class. As students are in teams, if a student does poorly, the whole team suffers, so students truly come together and collaborate to learn.

9. PowerSchool

This collaborative tool has been designed for all academic levels, from kindergarten to twelfth grade, to give students a “choice and voice” in how they learn. This multimedia interface enables teachers to make collaborative assignments, projects, discussion boards, and lesson plans, then oversee your students’ progress on this curriculum throughout the year.

In addition to promoting engagement in your own classroom, PowerSchool offers the unique ability to connect with other teachers, administrators, and student bodies through the website’s Learning Library to initiate a unified and interdependent educational community. 

10. Trello

Trello is a free visual collaboration tool used by students for easier coursework planning, faculty collaboration, and classroom organization. It lets you create boards, each of which can have multiple lists made of individual cards. You can break a big project into smaller tasks and add people to each card or board so that they can see which parts of the task are their responsibility and keep track of the whole project.

Trello can be used to organize, collaborate, communicate and coordinate on projects and assignments. Trello is great for a variety of work, educational, and personal uses, from school bulletin boards, lesson planning, collaborative student research projects, and task management to planning and organizing your next vacation with your family.

Collaboration is one of the key 21st century skills. To help you bring students together and encourage them to work creatively with their peers, the above list of student collaboration tools will be helpful.

Overall, implementing student collaboration tools is one of the best and most efficient ways to help students feel connected and motivated to work in groups.

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