Our fellow educator friends and colleagues are always the best sounding boards as to which classroom tech, gear and materials are really worth it. They tell it to us straight if a piece of spelling software doesn’t deliver, or if a new math assessment app is tops in turning on lightbulbs over students’ heads. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an online teachers’ lounge of sorts that brought together the nitty-gritty reviews on education resources all in one place?
That’s the goal of EdCredible, a new website that is a hub for reviews on all K–12 products and services. It is a place for unbiased and anonymous opinions from teachers, administrators, media specialists and curriculum pros on everything education. Ed experts and users are giving ratings on whether the products actually meet classroom and district needs and the actual level of service from vendors.
Library and media specialist Leigh Ann Pike says, “I enjoy using EdCredible to not only rate products but also review what others have posted so I can make educated decisions about my school purchases. This is similar to how I make [personal] major purchases, so it’s a natural transition to educational purchases.”
Since we rarely purchase a product without checking Amazon Reviews, or book a hotel without visiting TripAdvisor, we see the potential for EdCredible to be a similar resource for all things K–12. EdCredible’s founders say that connecting educators with products that work is their passion, and they believe in the mission so much that the service is completely free for teachers to rate and review.
Not only can you access those truthy reviews at no cost, for every three reviews you make, you will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card! This giveaway is all about encouraging teachers like us to sign up to be an EdRater and provide our experienced opinions.
For each additional product you rate and review in excess of the five, you will receive one additional chance to win, so if you dig in and add your two cents about all your fave (and not so fave) classroom products, you can really up your chances of winning. Each weekday of the contest, one winner is drawn randomly.
Crowdsourcing about ed, and the chance to win some much-needed dollars (that, let’s be honest, if you win, you will probably sink right back into your classroom)? Sounds pretty cool to us.