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Common Sense Media Releases Its Best EdTech of the Year
posted by: Melissa | January 09, 2018, 09:13 PM   

Each year, Common Sense Media reviews and rates hundreds of games, movies, toys, and learning tools that are directed at K-12 students. Its mission is to help parents and teachers make better choices about the media that students are exposed to. Over the past few years, it has not only provided in-depth information to teachers, but also identified those products that they view as being top in their field.


The list of twenty-five edtech tools for 2017 include everything from social emotional learning to collaborative games. They also cover a variety of topics and are divided out into subject area.


Common Sense Media identified five different tools as winning edtech tools in the arts and social-emotional learning subject area, including two Adobe products. Both Adobe Photoshop Express and Adobe Spark are available for free to students and help students learn the skills that have made Adobe’s paid business versions so popular. Also in this category is an award for Google’s Arts & Culture website which curates museum exhibits and art works.


Content in the English/language arts includes a website that modifies the popular novel writing program, NaNoWriMo, for students and Checkology, a website that helps to promote news literacy. The math and science category gave awards to Ing-ITS virtual labs and biology research site, BioInteractive. Social studies awards were given to PenPal Schools and Expeditions, a virtual reality field trip provider.


There were a number of games also included in the awards. These games include the popular Minecraft, but don’t stop there. There is also a game that brings Thoreau to life, Walden, and Political Animals, a game designed to teach political science to high schoolers. For younger students, Fog Stone Isle teaches about fractions.


Finally, the list included two teaching tools. Spiral is aimed at upper elementary to middle school teachers and helps them provide meaningful feedback. The other tool is Screencastify, which makes recording your PC screen easy.


You can see the entire list on Common Sense Media’s website.


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