Types of tools and their educactional potential
The interactive figure below makes a distinction between types of tools on the basis of their educational potential (Hamuy & Galaz, 2010; Lust, Elen, & Clarebout, 2013).
Click on the icons in the image below for more information about the different types of tools and their educational potential, also take a look at the examples, or read the table below.
| Types of tools | Educational Potential | Examples |
| Information tool | Supports information acquisition by structuring, enriching and applying the given learning material | Slides, lesson recordings, knowledge clips, animations, graphics, audio, video, prezi… |
| Organizing tool | Supports knowledge construction by offering a platform to visualize and organize information | Mindmap, blog, wiki, portfolio |
| Executive tool | Supports problem-based work by performing basic algorithmic tasks | Calculator, Excel, simulations |
| Practice tool | Supports self regulation and reflection by practicing knowledge or applying knowledge in the vicinity of feedback | Hot potatoes, clickers, online exercises, games, simulation |
| Test tool | Supports self regulation and reflection by testing knowledge | Tests, clickers, hot potatoes |
| Collaboration tool | Supports collaborative learning by offering a platform for online interaction | Chat, discussie forums, wiki’s |
| Tracking tool | Supports the teacher in the monitoring of the learning process of the students. A tracking device can provide data about the behavior, the test results and the progress of students in the online learning environment | A learning management system (eg. Moodle, Blackboard, Chamilo) often has a built-in tracking system |
