Put away your PowerPoint presentations and forget about Publisher as tools for delivering education and check out these interactive websites for teaching and learning fun. The following three websites offer easy-to-use, exciting alternatives to traditional presentation tools.
Powtoon animation website
Release your inner animator on this free-to-use website that wants you to ‘captivate…engage…explain!’ Basic access is free on sign-up and offers basic slides, ten royalty-free tunes, eleven royalty-free styles, and up to five minutes of playtime. There are easy-to-follow tutorials, a blog, and a page dedicated to educators and students. You have the choice of professional slideshows or animated presentations, and Powtoon offers a good range of example videos, product demos, explanation videos, and social clips to help get your creativity flowing. The results are impressive animations that make teaching and learning fun.
Soundtrap interactive music website
Get your students started on their version of Dubstep, or let them plug in an instrument and mash it up – no matter the style, any individual can jam, record, and publish their first song through Spotify or iTunes for free. A basic personal account is free and offers 710 loops, five projects, and 125 instruments. Educators can access a specialist paid plan that allows their projects to be accessed anywhere, but also ensures young students work together in a safe, online environment.
DIY interactive website
This website wants to ‘show your kids that anyone can do anything by just trying.’ DIY will appeal to teachers and children, and I can imagine there are plenty of adult wannabe astronauts, paleontologists, and cub scouts who will find the site irresistible too! IA great place to get started is the skills page. Do you want to try art, philosophy, or exploring? Perhaps you would like to be a beekeeper, athlete, or entomologist? There are DIY camps complete with a counselor to keep the campers learning, and users who earn experience badges are scrolled on the main screen under a ‘Levelling Up’ banner. No real names or faces are allowed on the site, and it is carefully monitored by moderators to keep it safe for young children.
These websites are all incredibly user-friendly and share a common goal to enrich the learning experience for both educators and students. They offer a treasure trove of fun, interactive learning in a variety of mediums and contain plenty of tips and ideas for using their applications.
We have also written an article on the benefits of adding interactive games to your website. Read the article here.
Rob Jennings
