note: all the tools featured are FOC. Some have additional paid (premium) but all are free to use to a large extent. Each tool is tagged with a specific #category.
For the past two years in SST, I picked up many new IT skills. Here are my top 10 prioritized in the table below.
#1 Google Meet #video-conferencing
Google meet has allowed me to connect with my teacher and my peers to learn together. Despite COVID-19, we can still carry out lessons and discussions with the comfort of our homes. Even though we were learning from different locations, we were able to work together and submit our projects on time. We also used ZOOM quite extensively, very similar to Google Meet.
#2 Keynote #presentation #image-editing
As I was writing this blog post, I was surprised that Keynote was ranked second. As I reflected, I recalled that I used Keynote for many projects at SST. Mainly for presentation slides, and image editing. Here is a sample of a poster designed entirely using Keynote.
#3 Google Doc #word-processing
The tool that has helped me the most after Keynote is Google Document. With the vast majority of android phone users requiring a Gmail account to set up, Gmail has become ubiquitous. Since everyone has a Gmail account, it's easy to set up collaborative google docs for easy online collaboration. This is especially relevant during COVID-19 where we had to move a lot of classes online, including projects. Its ease of use and convenience allowed my group mates to team up more effectively and submit our projects on time.
A close competitor to Google Doc is Google slides. While it is not as fancy as Keynote’s built-in presentations slides, it has a huge advantage over its collaborative nature. Imagine working with other teammates on a class presentation pitch, e.g. our presentation slide for Science Castle 2020 competition. If you search online for other google slide templates, there are thousands to choose from. So, with a bit of effort, you can make your slides just as attractive as those you find in Keynote.
iMovie is an excellent tool to create movie clips. It can do basic video-editing, modify soundtracks and even add subtitles. It has a slight learning curve, but once you are familiar with it, editing using this tool is extremely easy. One of my favourite videos was edited via iMovie is “Stubborn King”
Quizlet is basically an online flashcard. It allows students to generate cards to learn by themselves or for teachers to create lessons. It is good for revision. Here are some quizlet card sets I built to help me learn certain terms and concepts.
Kahoot is an engaging online quiz platform which is engaging and easy to use, but might be challenging to control when numbers get large. A very similar alternative is Quizizz, which has “power-ups” and memes to make it more engaging. FYI, I will be building some Kahoot for SC Connect2021… stay tuned!
If time is a constraint for your poster-design projects, I recommend Canva. It has thousands of ready-made design templates for you to drag and drop and create a good looking poster very quickly. Teachers may not like this because it's just so simple to use that it takes away our appreciation of the design principles.
Some of Canva’s images / hidden features cost money. However, I think the free features are more than sufficient for our needs as students. Combined with https://www.freepik.com/ and you should find everything you need without having to pay a cent! Here is a sample I built for my application to be CDO in SST Inc.
#9 Google forms #feedback-forms
Google forms is simple to use and easy to deploy. Anyone can access it via a PC, laptop, or a smartphone. A useful combination with Google form is a QR code generator. So that users can scan it with their mobile phones. Here is a sample, try it!
Mentimeter allows presenters to engage audiences via online poll easily. Easy to use, but it does not replace good presentation skills or preparation work required to make your presentations engaging. Usually, I am at the receiving end of this tool. However, for STConnect 2021, I will be using this together with other facilitators to engage our SST Sec 1s. So, stay tuned...
Others tools (not top 10) worth mentioning include:
Padlet is an online sticky note (post-it) board that you can share with any student or teacher. It is convenient and simple to use for brainstorming and sharing of ideas.
Xcode is a coding platform that allows developers to code apps. However, debugging error codes is difficult and extremely time-consuming.
Python is a coding platform to code. However, debugging the codes that have errors is difficult and time-consuming.
#Keepvid #utility Keepvid allows users to download videos for free, but might not be usable if taken down.
So, there you have it. My top 10 most useful IT tools picked up in my first 2 years at SST! I hope you find it useful. If you know of other useful tools that are not mentioned, please leave me a comment! We can learn and share from each other :)
I expect to be learning many other new IT tools, and will continue to share my 2021 "Top 10 list" in a year’s time. See you!
Howie Chia
7 December 2020
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