When the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S. in early 2020, it profoundly disrupted nearly every facet of daily life, including the education sector. As educators made the hasty transition to online teaching, they made do with the tools and tactics they were given. As many K-12 teachers prepare their online courses, they must lay the groundwork for the long haul. Luckily, Technology Tools for Online Education: A Guide for Modern Educators by Paul Richards is available to fill the void.

Richards draws on his thorough understanding of online communication platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom to offer a comprehensive playbook for educators that literally walks them through specific strategies and tactics that bring these and other technologies, into the online classroom. The goal is to use these platforms and other tools to make online learning interactive, immersive, and fun for both students and teachers.

You will learn how to get the most out of your school’s learning management system, popular platforms like Google Meet and Zoom, and how to incorporate document cameras, annotation tools, speech to text functionality, and Open Broadcaster Software and adapt them to your online classroom. In addition, Richards illustrates how smartphones can be put to positive and productive educational uses both in the classroom and outside of it – imagine that.

Richards will also show you how to customize and tailor your virtual classroom to reflect a dynamic learning environment and world that demonstrates the time and effort put in on behalf of your students. Technology Tools for Online Education is more than just a book, it’s part of a blended learning approach, a concept Richards advances at the outset. Blended learning environments use a hybrid approach that delivers 30% to 80% of course content online. You will also get to know the flipped classroom concept.

Teachers involved in K-12 education and beyond will find Technology Tools for Online Education: A Guide for Modern Educators a fundamental playbook filled with examples, best practices, and insights for planning fun online lessons, assignments, and group activities. Educators can take their learning to the next level by pairing the book with the Udemy course, which features video tutorials that cover the most important topics discussed in the book.

Richards, whose previously wrote The Online Meeting Survival Guide, is an expert in streaming video and online communication. His clear, down-to-earth style will bring you up to speed on the tools that are available to help you make your classes lively, engaging, and memorable. Increase your knowledge and familiarity with the best online educational tools with Technology Tools for Online Education: A Guide for Modern Educators.