TOP PICKS | 17 TOOLS

Best Games, Apps, and Sites for Personalized Learning

When learning isn't attentive to each student's needs, many are likely to check out, either bored and unchallenged or unable to keep up. These great personalized learning tools help teachers put each student first, letting individual interests, abilities, and goals drive learning. They range from subject-specific tools for math and ELA that adjust to students' needs to teacher-focused tools that aid personalized learning design and instruction.

Top Picks

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Goalbook Toolkit

Set tailored targets with pricey but worth-it kit of tools, strategies

Bottom line: You pay for quality with Goalbook Toolkit, including access to clear, well-crafted learning goals and strategies that allow for far easier differentiation.

Grades: Pre-K–12 Price: Free to try, Paid 30-day free trial. There are three paid plans: $995 per year including district/administrator support, $395 per teacher per year with district/administrator support, or $795 per teacher per year with online PD and 1:1 coaching for teachers. The latter two plans require a minimum purchase of 10+ licenses.

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Articulation Station

Pricey but definitely worth it for kids struggling with pronunciation

Bottom line: For helping students with letter and word pronunciation, this highly valuable tool is worth the cost.

Grades: K–2 Price: Free to try The only letter sound that comes as a trial with the free version is "P," otherwise you have to pay anywhere from $3.99 to $7.99 for the various letter sound programs. The Pro Package that contains them all is $59.99.

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Redbird Mathematics

Excellent adaptive math for flipped or blended classrooms

Bottom line: If you're looking for courseware for your classroom, this is based on solid research and proven technology.

Grades: K–7 Price: Paid Contact developer for pricing information.

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MobyMax

Track progress, play games with standards-aligned multi-subject lessons

Bottom line: Use these standards-based lessons to promote independent, self-driven learning and monitor student growth, but avoid over-reliance on them.

Grades: K–8 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid There's a free trial for one month. After that, there's a free version (which is limited), Micro Lite for $78 per teacher per year, Lite for $142 per teacher per year, or Ultra for $249 per teacher per year. School and district pricing plans are also available.

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Kiddom

LMS offers tangible options to differentiate learning

Bottom line: An excellent option for monitoring individual progress toward goals, but teachers will need to be deliberate when selecting and assigning content.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free

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Wizer

Digital worksheet builder lets students show learning in multiple ways

Bottom line: Students will appreciate this 21st-century take on worksheets, and teachers will love all the different options for creation and assessment.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free, Paid Wizer Lite is free for up to two classes. The premium version is $69 per year and includes additional features, such as unlimited classrooms, differentiation options, student insights, and Google Classroom integration.

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CAST UDL Book Builder

Sensitively designed so any student can write and share books

Bottom line: CAST UDL Book Builder is an excellent resource to get kids started on digital content creation; it's simple and straightforward and caters to a variety of learning styles.

Grades: 1–7 Price: Free

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Mindprint Learning

Expert feedback and tools designed for individual learner profiles

Bottom line: This impressive tool uses normed digital assessments to create a specific learning profile and provide authentic tools for individual learners.

Grades: 2–12 Price: Free, Paid There's select free content. Starts at $10 per student for assessments; contact for details.

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Formative

Superb real-time assessment tool a fit for 1-to-1, BYOD classrooms

Bottom line: Cleverly designed for teachers, Formative offers a flexible and attractive solution for gathering a variety of student response types and offering individualized feedback.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Basic features are free and include unlimited assignments and live student responses. Premium features are $12 per month (paid yearly) or a month-to-month price of $15 per month and include enhanced performance tracking, collaboration, advanced question types, and more.

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Rezzly

Leveling and quests turn classes into personalized adventures

Bottom line: A ready-to-go platform for introducing game-based learning principles into assessment and class structure, but success and engagement depend on solid class content.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid There's a free "Basic" account that supports 25 students and only one questing group. For $12.95 per month, the "Educator" account supports 125 students and 25 questing groups. There's also a "Legendary Educator" account for $26.65 per month (billed quarterly) that adds PD.

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Actively Learn

Empowering social ereader keeps kids actively, independently engaged

Bottom line: Far beyond the average ereader, this tool helps students connect and stay engaged while teachers easily measure progress.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid A free version is offered for teachers which includes access to thousands of books, assignments, the ability to import 3 articles per month, the ability to embed questions, notes and media, and a gradebook. The Personal Plan is $18 per month for teachers that do not yet have financial support from their school. This allows teachers to share and receive assignments from other teachers, unlimited uploads, differentiation for students, and much more. There's also a Team Plan for a group of individual teachers and their students; this plan is $695 per teacher per year (funded by the school or district). A School Plan is available and is $10 per student per year for all teachers, students, and administrators in a school or district. This offers administrator accounts, research tools and professional development webinars and in-person sessions.

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