Educational Web Tools To Teach Writing
Education and the transmission of knowledge has been one of the basic premises of society for more than 2,000 years. The current educational system is the result of several centuries of progressive and exponential transition. At present, a change in the methodologies and the contents taught is necessary to be able to confront the complex and diverse future that awaits us.

When the inclusion and integration of technology in schools is conceived, it is often done in a very superficial way. The great majority of American institutions assume that the integration of technology in schools consists solely of replacing elements such as pencil or paper with more advanced tools such as the tablet, the electronic board and virtual platforms.

But that is only the top of the iceberg. The arrival of these new tools to schools must be accompanied imperatively by a change in the methodological level. Social networks, Cloud Computing and other tools have made it possible to improve the understanding of the lessons taught in the classroom, both in person and remotely and to facilitate access to materials. Currently there are endless web 2.0 tools to support teachers in different educational disciplines such as Technology, Literature, Mathematics or Physics to indicate some subjects.

The apps or applications on the web allow students to have virtual learning environments according to their educational level and adapted to their own pace and needs. According to the educational researcher Cody Blair, the way in which people absorb knowledge, is actively learning and remembering through the use of didactic materials. That is why in this article we will explore the best web tools and their uses.

We will start by examining the tools that promote the active and collaborative work of the students. One of the most popular is Google Classroom, it is a free application, part of the Gmail Apps. This tool allows creating a virtual learning environment through forums and the establishment of a task agenda. It is an excellent option when you do not have a virtual platform. When students are added to Classroom, a code is generated so that only authorized persons have access to the class in a centralized manner. By having in mind the deadlines, Google Classroom helps students to divide their Pro-Papers by parts and do not get in fuss with writing them.

Another useful tool is Google Docs that is integrated into the same group of apps. This tool allows you to create documents, presentations and spreadsheets that can be saved in the cloud on the Drive. The storage space is given by the limit of the email, but it has enough storage capacity to handle a class of up to 50 students for 5 years. These tools are essential to be able to do teamwork in a digital way, since they allow students to work on shared documents, create presentations or elaborate online evaluations through the Google Docs forms. All from their own homes, making group work more feasible.

Furthermore, there are web tools that allow teachers to create interactive presentations. Teachers are always looking for ways to make the class more entertaining, that is why it is always good to know about tools such as Powtoon. This program allows teachers to create videos or presentations interactively. For example, it allows a teacher to create characters with movements, set on different scenarios to portray historical facts or to pursue literary analysis. Other simpler tools are Prezi, which allows you to create interactive presentations with a graphic superior to that of Power Point. Others would be Slidedog and Haiku press.

Students like to listen or read stories, and they are excellent tools for teaching complex subjects. The best tool for this is Storyboard Creator web, which allows the teacher to select scenarios, characters and texts to create different scenes that relate to each other. Another popular resource with students are tutorial videos. To explain a topic with a how-to video, you can use Loom, this tool allows teachers to create tutorials with screencast, meaning that the program captures the images of the monitor and allows you to narrate simultaneously, creating tutorial videos with a maximum time of 10 minutes.

In addition to these tools, it is sometimes useful to have audio summaries in class, for this there are programs such as SoundCloud. This tool allows you to record audio and share it in any digital platform. You can create audio capsules to introduce a topic to be treated, make an audio summary of a content unit or record a greeting to the class. Finally, we will review how social networks can be used as an educational tool. For example, Facebook allows you to create groups where different institutions can share bulletins, files or internships. In this way, they are constantly updated with what happens on campus.

On the other hand, Twitter is a tool used by many colleges and universities to keep their students abreast of news about the campus. In addition, it is an excellent source of information, many teachers make their students follow accounts and work with current news. In conclusion, there are a lot of web tools that help teachers create interactive and engaging lessons, which not only make life easier for the teachers but improve the learning skills of students.  This all helps teaching better and more efficiently, engaging students being super productive.