Engage the shyest of students with this backchannel/discussion tool.

I think if you can find the right reason to use it, it is a great tool. You do have to teach the students to write in as few characters as possible, which is tricky. Otherwise the kids are engaged in a safe environment to collaborate in. I highly recommend using this as a back channel for your classroom. It is very easy to set up. You can create an account and keep the channel open for as long or as little as you want. As a teacher you also have rights to delete what should not be there or to print all of the content.

Have used this for a few years and it keeps getting better. Students can join from home or other schools or countries to expand the conversation. Teachers can really keep each room through paused rooms and access controls. You can keep rooms open all year long or for a specific period of time. It doesn't have all the pretty bells and whistles of some other apps, but it is easy to use and can really have several purposes.

This is a simple, yet profound way to encourage student input. Most students like to have a voice. They like to see their names on the screen. It's a way to improve the content of conversations. The classroom remains very quiet and thoughtful. Who doesn't love that now and then!? Right now, the only aspect I'm not comfortable with (and, perhaps, it's my lack of understanding) is the inability to edit/change a comment. There are endless ways to use this tool! We have a ton of writing assignments where students brainstorm topics related to our big idea. I think using this to open up the discussion for possible options would help slow starters. I will definitely be using it more and more as I revamp my teaching practices to incorporate more technology and online participation.