Shared writing - Part 2: Creativity Tools

Create a simple review to share with your class. Consider the cost, time commitment, ease of use and final result. Add to the section
and improve if you can. Add a comment if you have a question. If you know of another ICT creativity tool, add it to the list at the
bottom.

Tool Name Target Cost Ease of Use / Resources available / end Pros and Cons Other comments
Audience Navigation product

Debate Graph Primary and Free Simple to use Resource allows for Pros: Makes learning fun due to it Extremely useful for
Secondary students to collaborate being colourful, as well as it learning for students
school information and opinions in allowing for collaboration.
students regards to any topic Cons: Slightly difficult to use

Answer All age free Simple to use Allows students to Pros: can use in collaboration with Very useful tool for
Garden students collaborate ideas and a whole group to generate a brainstorming and
information, theno the consensus. class discussion.
website generates the most Con: some valuable ideas may be
common answers and lost, no room for feedback
brings them to the centre.
The more common a
response is, the larger the
font is.

Kahoot Students of all free Simple and fun to Resource allows teacher to Pros: It is easy for both teachers I have found that
ages use create a fun and and students to use. Students students really enjoy
competitive quiz, tailored to enjoy using it. Students can using this application
what the students have answer individually or in pairs - and it is a fun way for
been using. Students can different levels of autonomy. the teacher to assess
answer individually or they Cons: Some students arent how much learning
can do it in groups/pairs. competitive and don't like has occurred,
competing with and being tested roughly.
If there are any questions in front of their classmates.
students struggle with, the
 teacher can identify areas of
weakness, that can be
applied to further teachings.

Socrative Primary, Free Easy-to-use, simple Resource allows teacher to Pros: feedback is immediate, Also can be used to
secondary and test students on prior teacher can monitor who assign exit cards
tertiary knowledge and test answered what (i.e. who yay
understanding of lesson understands, who does not).
Cons: students might give the
wrong/fake names

MS Paint All ages Free Very simple, lots of Allows students to draw and Pros: Simple to use, lots of drawing https://www.newsie
fun colours colour simple pictures and tools, Colourful nt.com/10-years-
colour them in Cons: Can be difficult to create hard-work-man-
complex images finally-illustrates-
book-using-ms-
paint/4605

Spiderscribe Primary and Free Easy to use Mind mapping and add links It helps you organise Greater degree of
Secondary and images thoughts/ideas into a structure, functionality
students and by sharing it you can compared to other
collaborate as a group or class. mindmapping tools.
Difficult to change the size of The ability to add
boxes or manipulate some basic date boxes makes it
formatting functions. particularly useful for
planning.

Popplet High School Free Easy to use Mind mapping. Great way Pro: easy to use once the concepts You can add photos
Students of creating cool looking are fully grasped. and export to pdf, or
mind maps Con: Editing tools not very clear at embed. If you have
first go. Converting to a PDF was trouble snipping tool
challenging is always

Piktochart Secondary Free Simple navigation, Infographic maker Pro: highly aesthetic product Very flexible tool.
Students lots of preset Can be used for
options, difficult to Con: Limited information can be presentations,
make fine presented on each page. Very hard reports, posters,
 movements to arrange, nowhere near as good flow-chart, graphing
as MS publisher. Cant change the etc.
single font size of words, you need
to add different text boxes
instead.

Quizlet Students Free Easy to use Fun, innovative way of Pros: Easy to use, flexible and Enjoyable for all
testing students knowledge. adaptable to any content. students. Can be
Great way to make Cons: Takes time to create competitive,
flashcards for study. questions and answers collaborative,
individual work or
just for casual study
use.

Prezi Secondary Free Easy to use Professional and resolved Pro: flexible and auto-saving A more visually
students way of creating slide shows feature, teacher can be added in appealing experience
with interesting and as a collaborator. compared to
engaging transitions PowerPoint
Con: quite time consuming process
and does take awhile to adjust

QR Code Secondary Free Easy to use Used as digital link Pro: Ease of use Unlikely to be used
Generator students Con: Reliance on internet very often. Can look
connection, need access to mobile messy and
device, need to download QR aesthetically
scanner unpleasing

Brain Pop All ages Free Easy to use Collection of science videos, Pro: Ready made resources for the
interactive games and class
animations. Con: There is only a small amount
you can access without a
subscription

Word Art All ages Free Easy to use Used to creatively display Pro: appeals to visual learners who Use is limited, works
key words or ideas about a can customise mind map to suit best if all words
topic. interests wanting to be
Con: not an effective inputted are known
 brainstorming tool prior to commencing.

Google Earth All ages free Easy to use Interactive mapping and Pro: HD imaging and street view Extremely good for
geography tool, Can be used capability historical based
to navigate through subjects such as
environments throughout Cons: Can get easily distracted as History and Religion,
the world. is very fun as well as Geography
of course.

Kahoot Secondary Free Fun and engaging Quiz creator. Usually Pro: very fun and engaging. Students love it.
students utilised as a teaching tool, Students really enjoy. Great formative task
but could be used as a at the end of a
creative task where Con: Very fast paced, students lesson.
students must create their who have difficulties with reading
own quiz for the other may be disadvantaged
students and a revision task.

Padlet Secondary free Relatively easy Resource that allows users Pro: simple to use, allows all forms Very similar to
students once you have to collaborate their ideas or of media popplet
used it once store information.
Con: can get confusing if not used
correctly

YouTube Anyone Free Takes some time to Students or teachers can Very popular with the students, Often inappropriate
learn create their own content; creative and engaging; takes some images and language
creates flipped learning learning; can be very distracting. is not mentioned in
titles and can be
opened in front of
children. Comments
are unsupervised and
needs to be intensely
monitored by
teachers.
Comic LIfe Students Free Fairly intuitive Provides a format and Easy to get the hang of, and Could be used as an
(for 1 templates to create comic suitable for a range of intentions alternative to
month) books. and abilities. traditional, written
report assignment.

Powtoon Anyone Free Quite easy to Powtoon allows users to Pro: Relatively easy to use, and the Powtoons are a
navigate. make their own professional result is a very professional looking creative way for
looking cartoons. cartoon. students to do a
Con: It is quite time consuming, so summative
it is not suitable for a quick assessment, as
activity. opposed to simply
writing an essay or
doing an oral
presentation.

Educreation Anyone Free Simple way of Allows teacher to create a Pro: Easy to use Great way of
creating a lesson fun and simple lesson that providing
others can watch. students can watch Con:Difficult to draw without a illustrations and
anywhere proper tools voice overs for
different topics

Sutori Secondary free Easy to navigate Great free resource for Pro: Easy to use, professional, Very useful for HASS
students generating timelines in collaborative learning supported, or English classrooms
individual or collaborative supports range of media types
settings. Includes support Con: Time consuming, not
for multimodal information appropriate for a short lesson

Silk Anyone Free Easy to Navigate Free online creative drawing Pros: Aesthetically Pleasing, Used carefully can be
http://weaves application. Perfect for creative, easy to use. an effective tool for
ilk.com/ simple graphic design, Cons: distracting, limited educative motivation and
spirograph work and brain application incentivising
breaks. productivity

Animoto anyone Free Easy to navigate Online creative tool that Pros - appeals to students who A creative way to do
first try allows you to make videos dont write well and the a summative
then presentations are very assessment rather
you professional than the traditional
 have to Cons - you have to pay after the essays - appeals to
pay first try and you would need to students who
have quite good rubric for struggle with writing
assessing this type of resource. large amounts of
text.

Pixton Anyone Free Can be difficult to Allow for students to create Pros: Can be used to
involved with navigate at times, comic strips in various styles Fun to use create fun revision
schooling however after and design avatars to use in Dynamic notes for students or
(teacher/stude experimenting with them. Creative to present
nt). the website you I.e. Here are some comics Cons: information in a
can use it easily. on my ICT page. Difficult website to use dynamic way. May
initially be good for visual
Potentially distracting learners or those
because it is fun and that like to do
creative creative writing or
More suitable for younger art.
secondary year groups (7,
8, 9).

Padlet Students of all Free Straightforward Creates an online bulletin Pros: Blank canvas, can personalise Great for the
ages and simple to board for teachers/students backgrounds, comments can be classroom, sport
navigate to post files, comments, identified or anonymous. Can be a teams and beyond.
links etc. to collaborate and secret/secured URL
share their thoughts Cons: Can easily become too
cluttered if a structure isnt
followed

Other ICT creativity tools: