Special Feature
2018 THE Journal Readers’ Choice Awards
For our fourth-annual Readers' Choice Awards, more than 1,000 education technology professionals weighed in on their favorite technologies, from instructional technology to security and privacy tools, from mobile devices to projectors, from games to multimedia authoring tools
In all, 1,109 classroom teachers, IT leaders and staff, administrators, instructional technologists, library and media professionals and other school and district staff voted for their favorite brands and products.
Top Overall Technologies
Lexia toppled the winners from the previous two Readers' Choice Awards, beating out Google and Apple for the top spot (Platinum award). Lexia Core5 was cited as the favorite both in the overall voting (in an open-ended question, no less) and in individual product categories, below.
Google came in second this year (Gold Award), with educators citing both G Suite for Education (including the highly popular Google Classroom) and Google Chromebooks as their favorites.
Last year's second place winner, Apple, hung on to third place (Silver Award) this year with its iPad and MacBook.
- Platinum: Lexia Core5
- Gold: Google (G Suite, Chromebooks)
- Silver: Apple (iPad, MacBook)
Top Technologies Adopted in the Last 12 Months
We also asked educators to name their favorite technologies adopted by their schools in the last year. Lexia Learning also took first place here (Platinum), as it did in last year's poll. Readers cited its power for personalized and adaptive learning, its ability to help struggling students, its support for ELL students, its teacher resources and its reporting tools.
Google took second place in this category for the second year running, again for a combination of Chromebooks and G Suite for Education. Educators said Chromebooks allow more students (and in many cases all students) to access technology every day for important learning activities.
Discovery Education cracked the top 3 for the first time this year, earning a silver award, primarily for its Techbook, but also for its streaming service and professional development resources. Educators cited the valuable resources Discovery's Techbook brings to STEM education (and non-STEM subjects), as well as standards alignment and support for differentiation.
- Platinum: Lexia Core5
- Gold: Google software and hardware
- Silver: Discovery Education Techbook, Streaming Plus, Discovery
Educator Network
2018 Readers' Choice Award Category Winners
(Note: Where no gold or silver winners are listed, all other nominees aside from the platinum and/or gold winners tied
with a negligible number of votes.)
Best Reading Program
- Platinum: Lexia Core5
- Gold: McGraw-Hill Education Wonders
- Silver: (TIE) Raz-Kids, Newsela, CKLA
Best Math Program
- Platinum: DreamBox Learning
- Gold: IXL
- Silver: ST Math
Best Science Program
- Platinum: Mystery Science
- Gold: Discovery Education
- Silver: FOSS
Best Robotics System/Curriculum
- Platinum: LEGO Education
- Gold: Wonder Workshop
- Silver: Vex
Best Coding Tool/Curriculum/Resource:
- Platinum: Code.org
- Gold: Scratch
- Silver: Hour of Code
Best Formative Assessment
- Platinum: Lexia
- Gold: Renaissance STAR
- Silver: DIBELS
Best Summative Assessment
- Platinum: NWEA MAP
- Gold: Lexia
- Silver: Renaissance STAR
Favorite Learning Management Systems, Course Management Systems & E-Learning Platforms
- Platinum: Google Classroom
- Gold: MobyMax
- Silver: (TIE) Edmodo, Schoology
Favorite Education Networks/Professional Communities/Professional Development Systems
- Platinum: Discovery Educator Network
- Gold: Twitter
- Silver: Teaching Channel
Favorite Adaptive/Personalized Learning Tool
- Platinum: Lexia
- Gold: Renaissance Learning
- Silver: DreamBox
Favorite E-Portfolio
- Platinum: Seesaw
- Gold: (TIE) Blackboard Learn, Moodle
- Silver: Canvas
Favorite Interventions & Remediation Software
- Platinum: Read Naturally
- Gold: Renaissance STAR
- Silver: Lexia
Favorite Other education Tool
- Platinum: Khan Academy
- Gold: Discovery Education Streaming Plus
- Silver: Aimsweb
Favorite Student Response Systems & Classroom Clickers
- Platinum: Kahoot
- Gold: Promethean student response systems
- Silver: Plickers
Favorite Collaboration Tool by brand
- Platinum: Google
- Gold: Microsoft
- Silver: Nearpod
Favorite Classroom Management, Culture or Student Success System
- Platinum: ClassDojo
- Gold: PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)
- Silver: Lenovo LanSchool
Favorite Student Information Systems & Data Management Tool
- Platinum: Infinite Campus
- Gold: PowerSchool
- Silver: Skyward
Favorite Lecture Capture/Screen Recording
- Platinum: Screencast-o-matic
- Gold: Adobe Presenter
- Silver: Smart Learning Suite/Notebook/Recorder
Favorite Document Camera (by Brand)
- Platinum: Elmo USA Visual Presenter series
- Gold: AVer Information
- Silver: HoverCam
Favorite Projector (by Brand)
- Platinum: Epson
- Gold: (TIE) Samsung, Mimio
- Silver: (TIE) Toshiba, InFocus
Favorite Interactive Whiteboard, Display, Flat Panel or Kiosk (by Brand)
- Platinum: SMART Technologies
- Gold: Promethean
- Silver: Epson
Favorite Videoconferencing & Web Conferencing Tool
- Platinum: Google Hangouts
- Gold: Skype in the Classroom
- Silver: Zoom
Favorite Virtual Classroom/Meeting Software
- Platinum: Google Hangouts
- Gold: GoToMeeting.com
- Silver: Skype in the Classroom
Favorite Classroom Audio Distribution/Sound Enhancement System (by Brand)
- Platinum: Smart Audio
- Gold: Lightspeed Technologies
- Silver: Califone
Top educational game or gamified learning tool
- Platinum: Lexia
- Gold: Prodigy
- Silver: Kahoot
Top game not necessarily designed for education but used as a part of instruction at your institution
- Platinum: ABC Mouse
- Gold: (TIE) Minecraft, ABCya, Cool Math
- Silver: (TIE) Starfall, Prodigy
Favorite Virtual/Augmented Reality Headset or Hardware System
- Platinum: Google Cardboard
- Gold: Samsung Gear VR
- Silver: Sony Playstation VR
Favorite Virtual/Augmented Reality Software/System
- Platinum: Aurasma
- Gold: zSpace
- Silver: (TIE) PBS Lunch Rush, Quiver
Favorite Gaming Platform
- Platinum: iOS
- Gold: Android
- Silver: Sony Playstation
Favorite Classroom Presentation Software
- Platinum: Google Slides
- Gold: Microsoft PowerPoint
- Silver: Prezi
Best Office/Productivity Suite
- Platinum: Microsoft Office
- Gold: Google G Suite
- Silver: Apple iWork
Favorite Multimedia Authoring Suites & Creative Software
- Platinum: Adobe Creative Cloud
- Gold: Apple creativity apps
- Silver: Ubuntu Studio
Favorite E-Learning Authoring Tool
- Platinum: Google G Suite
- Gold: (TIE) Adobe Creative Cloud, Camtasia Studio
Favorite Media Tablet (by brand)
- Platinum: Apple
- Gold: Samsung
- Silver: (TIE) Google, Dell
Favorite Chromebook (by Brand)
- Platinum: Google
- Gold: Dell
- Silver: HP
Favorite Windows Tablet (by brand)
- Platinum: Microsoft
- Gold: Dell
- Silver: HP
Favorite Convertible Notebook/2-in-1 Notebook
- Platinum: HP
- Gold: Dell
- Silver: (TIE) Acer, Lenovo
Favorite Education Notebook
- Platinum: Apple
- Gold: HP
- Silver: Dell
Favorite Virtual Desktops and Thin Clients
- Platinum: VMware
- Gold: (TIE) Lenovo, HP
- Silver: Acer
Favorite Wireless Access Point or Hotspot
- Platinum: Cisco
- Gold: Netgear
- Silver: Extreme Networks
Favorite 3D Printer
- Platinum: MakerBot/Stratasys
- Gold: (TIE) Robo 3D, Afinia
- Silver: (TIE) Dremel, Full Spectrum Laser
Favorite Network or WiFi Management, Analysis and Monitoring Tool
- Platinum: Microsoft
- Gold: Cisco
- Silver: Pandora
Favorite Mobile Device Management Solution
- Platinum: Google
- Gold: AT&T
- Silver: Lightspeed Systems
Favorite Anonymous Reporting Tool
- Platinum: MySafeSchool
- Gold: (TIE) Cyberbully Hotline, PublicSchoolWorks
Favorite Emergency Notification System
- Platinum: SchoolMessenger
- Gold: (TIE) Blackboard, School System Alert
- Silver: (TIE) K12 Alerts, One Call Now
Favorite Firewall Software
- Platinum: Norton 360
- Gold: Microsoft Windows Firewall
- Silver: Kaspersky
Favorite Firewall Hardware/Appliance (by brand)
- Platinum: McAfee
- Gold: Cisco
- Silver: Barracuda
Top Anti-Virus Tool (by brand)
- Platinum: McAfee
- Gold: Norton
- Silver: Microsoft
Favorite Classroom Furnishings and Charging Carts (by Brand)
- Platinum: Bretford
- Gold: Steelcase
- Silver: Childcraft