There are a variety of online tools available to teachers. And though they all focus on something slightly different, they can help make classroom instruction more effective.
Most online tools for teachers provide the option to both create and keep a grade book. Teachers can upload assignments and keep track of their students' attendance. The tools also let teachers share grades with parents. And since the syllabus and assignments are online, students will have access to the class resources no matter where they are. The classroom is truly anywhere the teacher (or student) wants it to be.
The majority of online teaching utilities are designed well. They guide teachers through the process of creating a grade book, uploading content, and making that information available to parents and students. The learning curve isn't steep.
If it's instruction help they're looking for, teachers can join social networks to find best practices or video sites to get class instruction ideas.
Here are five teachers' aids that stand out from the rest.
Top 5 teaching tools

Blackboard
Blackboard is one of the most capable teaching tools in the space. Educators can upload grades, monitor student performance, and administer tests. Teachers can also input assignments and manage their syllabus.
Students can access all the information their teachers add to their class page, check their grades, and complete assignments. Blackboard combines all those features with an outstanding design to deliver a fine tool for the student and teacher, alike.
Classroom 2.0
Classroom 2.0 is a social network for teachers. Educators can chat, send messages, and exchange ideas on how to best educate students. I found Classroom 2.0 to be an ideal place for teachers to find best practices to create a more effective educational environment. Many of the educators discuss ways to use the Web to enhance classroom instruction. And since it's such a lively community, I'm sure most teachers will find at least something to bring into the classroom to enrich their students.
Engrade
Engrade provides students with a place to monitor grades and see how they've performed on quizzes. All that information is provided by the teachers, who can also customize their Engrade grade books, input scores from anywhere they have Web access, and create instruction plans for students to download.
Engrade is a powerful tool that's easy to use for both students and teachers. And unlike most other services in the market, Engrade is free. That shouldn't fool you into believing it's not as capable as its competitors. Quite the contrary, Engrade is the best grading tool I saw.

MyGradeBook
MyGradeBook is an impressive utility. Once the teacher buys a license (prices range from $30.95 to $39.95 per license per year) he or she will find one of the most powerful teaching utilities on the Web. With the option to create online assignments, manage grade books, administer quizzes, communicate with parents, and provide access to students, MyGradeBook literally creates a virtual classroom online.
Though it's a powerful tool, I was impressed by MyGradeBook's simplicity. Teachers won't have any trouble populating their class page with content. Students will find it simple to access all the information they need. MyGradeBook is a full-featured educational tool that teachers shouldn't miss.
TeacherTube
TeacherTube is a video site for educators. Teachers can upload instruction videos, which can be viewed by anyone anywhere in the world. Videos can show classroom instructions on topics ranging from biology to Shakespeare. There are no limits on the content. I was impressed by the wealth of knowledge it provides.
Though its name might suggest otherwise, TeacherTube also lets students showcase their work. Most students are featured displaying their artwork, engaging in classroom activities, or showing off their special talents to the Web. In any case, I found the site to be a great learning tool for teachers. They can incorporate some of the ideas displayed in the videos in the classroom. And it's also a unique way to bring the Web into the educational process.
See also...
If you're looking for more grading tools, check out ClassBuilder, GradeNetwork, and SnapGrades.
Those teachers looking for other full-featured teaching utilities might also want to consider Digication, EdHelper, and WiZiQ. YouTube EDU is another video instruction site, similar to TeacherTube.
FAQs
What are the 5 most important characteristics of a teacher? ›
Some qualities of a good teacher include skills in communication, listening, collaboration, adaptability, empathy and patience. Other characteristics of effective teaching include an engaging classroom presence, value in real-world learning, exchange of best practices and a lifelong love of learning.
What are the 5 C's for teachers? ›The essential components of an excellent education today embody much more than the traditional three R's. Past President of NAIS, Pat Bassett, identifies Five C's – critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration and character, as the skills that will be in demand and will be rewarded in this century.
What are the 5 types of questions? ›Types of questions. There are 5 basic types of questions: factual, convergent, divergent, evaluative and combination.
What are the 5 things being considered in teaching effectively? ›Although there are many different ways to teach effectively, good instructors have several qualities in common. They are prepared, set clear and fair expectations, have a positive attitude, are patient with students, and assess their teaching on a regular basis.
What are 5 examples of traits? ›- Honest.
- Brave.
- Compassionate.
- Leader.
- Courageous.
- Unselfish.
- Loyal.
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills.
- Organization and Planning.
- Classroom Management.
- Facilitation and Engagement.
- Assessment and Coaching.
- Collaboration and Teamwork.
- Caring and Inclusiveness.
- Flexibility and Adaptability.
The Big 5 are: Alphabet Knowledge and Early Writing; Background Knowledge; Book Knowledge and Print Concepts; Oral Language and Vocabulary; and Phonological Awareness. You will find all the resources organized by the five key skills that lead to later school success for all children.
What does the 5cs mean? ›The 5 C's stand for Company, Collaborators, Customers, Competitors, and Climate. These five categories help perform situational analysis in almost any situation, while also remaining straightforward, simple, and to the point.
What are the 4 P's of teaching? ›There are also the current academic gap between the teaching constructs and efficacy. This study has compared how these and other teaching strategies have evaluated the efficacy of creativity derived from the 4Ps model (person, process, press, and product).
What are the 5 big questions? ›...
- Origin – Where did I come from? ...
- Identity – Who am I? ...
- Purpose – Why am I here? ...
- Morality – How should we live? ...
- Destiny – Where are we going?
What are the 5 questioning techniques? ›
- #1 Open-ended versus closed-ended questioning.
- #2 Funnel questioning.
- #3 Asking probing questions.
- #4 Asking leading questions.
- #5 Asking rhetorical questions.
- Concepts.
- Knowledge.
- Skills.
- Attitudes.
- Action.
The five broad personality traits described by the theory are extraversion (also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
What are 5 positive traits? ›- Courage.
- Trustworthiness, including honesty, reliability, punctuality, and loyalty.
- Integrity.
- Respect and courtesy.
- Responsibility, including accountability, diligence, perseverance, self-management skills, and self-control.
- Fairness, including justice and freedom from prejudice.
These five primary personality traits are extraversion (also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
What are the 5 key competencies? ›The CASEL 5 addresses five broad and interrelated areas of competence and highlights examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
What are the key skills of a teacher? ›- Critical thinking skills. ...
- Patience. ...
- Communication skills. ...
- Organisational skills. ...
- Creative thinking abilities. ...
- Leadership skills. ...
- Capacity for teamwork. ...
- Time management skills.
The name Big 5 is derived from the first five stores that were opened in California. Sportswest and Sportsland were acquired in May 1988 from Pay 'n Save subsequently. A list of major competitors can be found on this list of sporting goods retailers of the United States.
Why is the Big 5 so important? ›The term “Big Five” originally referred to the difficulty in hunting the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo. These five large African mammal species were known to be dangerous and it was considered a feat by trophy hunters to bring them home.
What are the 5 core reading skills? ›Effective instructional programs and materials emphasize the five essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
What is the 5 C's model? ›
The 5Cs are Company, Collaborators, Customers, Competitors, and Context.
What are the 5 C's of character? ›- Creativity,
- critical thinking,
- collaboration,
- communication and.
- compassion.
In line with an increasing focus on improving organisational practice around the psychological development and health of young footballers, Professor Harwood developed the 5Cs framework as a user-friendly tool to support coaches in encouraging this important learning process.
What are the 3 elements of teaching? ›Effective teaching involves aligning the three major components of instruction: learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities.
What are the 8 principles of teaching? ›- Develop mastery learning. ...
- Don't dismiss knowledge as 'lower order' ...
- Expect excellence from all. ...
- Guide learning. ...
- Ensure that students have to think hard. ...
- Put deliberate practice into lessons. ...
- Test to improve learning. ...
- Use questioning frequently and rigorously.
- Content knowledge. This is when teachers have a deep knowledge of the subject that they teach and can communicate content effectively to their students. ...
- Quality of instruction. ...
- Teaching climate. ...
- Classroom management. ...
- Teacher beliefs. ...
- Professional behaviours.
- Respect. Teachers respect each student, using what Rogers (1961) calls unconditional positive regard (UPR). ...
- Empathetic understanding. Teachers strive to see things from the student's point of view. ...
- Genuineness or congruence. ...
- REFERENCES.
Long heralded as key competencies for 21st-century learners, the ”Four Cs” (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration) are often embraced in theory yet stump educators in practice.
What are the 4 essential competencies of teachers? ›SEA-CFT consists of four essential competencies: (1) knowing and understanding what to teach, (2) helping students learn, (3) engaging the community, and (4) becoming a better teacher every day.
What are the four basic values of a teacher? ›The core of teaching consists of four basic values: dignity, truthfulness, fairness and responsibility & freedom. All teaching is founded on ethics – whether it be the teacher-student relationship, pluralism or a teacher's relationship with their work. Dignity means respect for humanity.
What are the three pillars of teaching? ›
The triangle of teacher support includes three pillars: training, planning, and coaching. These three pillars need to work in tandem to support effective implementation and result in quality instruction for students.
What are the three main teaching skills? ›- Communication. A huge part of teaching is communicating information. ...
- Patience. People learn at all different rates. ...
- Creativity. People learn best when they're doing something fun and interesting. ...
- Enthusiasm. ...
- Confidence. ...
- Dedication. ...
- Conflict resolution. ...
- Organisation.
- Technical skills.
- Creativity.
- Empathy or kindness.
- Organization.
- Discipline.
- Fairness.
- Persistence.
- Collaboration.
- Knowledge. Effective teachers possess a well-grounded knowledge of the content areas that are central to their teaching. ...
- Learning Environment. ...
- Personalized Learning. ...
- Community. ...
- Critical Reflection. ...
- Growth.
- 1.1.1 Respect the dignity, rights and opinions of others. ...
- 1.1.2 Demonstrate high standards of professional practice. ...
- 1.1.3 Protect students from harm. ...
- 1.1.4 Develop and maintain constructive professional relationships with.
- 1.1.5 Exercise leadership in their role as supervisors.
The findings of Atkin and Karplus directly informed the creation of the 5E Model, which focuses on allowing students to understand a concept over time through a series of established steps, or phases. These phases include Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.