Today the first Paperless conference was hosted at the stylish and forward-thinking Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, and organised by the indefatigable Carol Begg. URLS, apps and ideas were shared aplenty. Here are 10 of the best.

1. Open badges make it easy to track students’ progress with language learning apps across the web, and in particular on the popular Moodle LMS
2. Wix is a powerful and intuitive drag-n-drop website builder
3. SpeakPipe allows students to comment in audio on a class website or blog
4. Flow is “is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”
5. ReadLang allows you to read articles, and look up and save the meanings of unknown words whilst preserving their original context
6. Lex Flashcard Game uses Quizlet vocabulary sets to create engaging and educational vocabulary learning activities
7. Vocre aims to translate your speaking in real time into over 66 different languages
8. Hapara “helps educators effectively use cloud-based, open tools to positively impact student learning”
9. Kanjigames helps you to study the kanji…
10. …while cram.com offers a flashcard learning system for an array of subjects

If you found these tips useful, why not check out the new version of my book, which has been revised, updated and expanded for 2019: 50 Ways to Teach with Technology

1. Syncspace is a digital whiteboard for iPads
2. WordEngine provides English learners with specialised vocabulary training
3. CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) should perhaps be called TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning)
4. Language Cloud provides “productivity tools and analytics for language teachers”
5. Diigo is a “multi-tool for personal knowledge management”
6. Writing Planet helps English language learners become better writers
7. LiveCode helps you create apps for multiple platforms…
8.  …and Codea lets you create games and simulations for your iPad
9. SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition, and is a “method for judging how computer technology impacts teaching and learning”.
10. XReading is “the best way to do extensive reading”…
11. …while ER Central is the “go to place” for all your extensive reading needs
12. And of course I should mention Atama-ii Books, a fantastic new series of multi-path game books for iPad and Kindle, which I’m lucky enough to be involved with as an author 😉

If you found these tips useful, why not check out the new version of my book, which has been revised, updated and expanded for 2019: 50 Ways to Teach with Technology

1. Team Talk is a great way to chat with text or voice, on a LAN or the Internet
2. kotobaminers.org is a community for learning Japanese and English through Minecraft
3. Many teachers use the world-building game Minecraft to engage and educate.
4. Memrise is a great way to learn something new every day
5. Bubbl.us allows you to brainstorm and mind map online…
6. likewise, Popplet is a great app for brainstorming on your iOS device…
7. … and Padlet is paper for the web
8. VoiceThread is a tool which enables conversations in the cloud
9. Voki allows you to add voices (in over 25 languages) to customised avatars
10. BYOD means “Bring Your Own Device”
11.  Agoda is a great website for finding cheap hotels
12. The Mixxer is a great place to find language exchanges via Skype
13. LiveMocha provides drop-in, instructor-led conversation classes online
14. MyLanguageExchange is also a good place to find language exchange partners
15. Voice of America provides easy-to-understand news for English learners
16. livesofteachers.com interviews famous names in the English-teaching community
17. WeVideo is one of the leading online video creation platforms
18. Notability is a great app for annotating PDFs
19. WikiSpaces.com provides social writing workspaces for education
20. Text-to-speech.imtranslator.net allows you to listen to the English language in multiple accents
21. Popjisyo provides pop-up dictionary translations for English or Japanese vocabulary on any website
22. Simpleenglishnews.com provides simple English news for English learners!
23. BocaVideo is an app which turns your visuals and voice into attractive, engaging videos.
24. PBworks is a good tool for online team collaboration
25. Trace Effects is an immersive, free 3D video game for learning American English
26. Linguamation is a studio specialising in video games for language learners
27. The US Department of State has a website for learning American English
28. MailChimp is a great way to easily manage newsletter mailing lists
29. iTeacherBook records teachers’ schedules, student attendance, and grades, and more…
30. …while iStudiez helps students manage their learning
31. TeacherKit is an alternative (free) productivity tool for teachers, with many features
32. iGrade is an app for grading students…
33. … as is Paperless Teacher…
34. … while Bento can help you manage your files and data Update: Bento has been discontinued
35. Stick Pick is an app for randomising student names
36. iTools is an alternative to iTunes for managing Apps, Music and Photos on your iOS device
37. Infinote is a virtual pin-board for notes and tasks
38. Notes Plus allows you to use less paper
39. The Babel Program is developing advanced speech recognition technology
40. Desktop Tidy allows you to keep your Mac desktop tidy
41. You can upload videos direct to your Google Drive with the Google Drive app
42. Similarly, you can upload videos direct to YouTube with the YouTube Capture App
43. 8mm allows you to give that vintage 8mm look to your iOS device videos…
44. … while VideoFX Live lets you create real time video effects…
45. …and Video Star is great for becoming the star of your own music videos
46. Weebly is a super simple way to create great looking websites
47. MReader is Moodle Reader minus Moodle
48. There is a hidden side to everything
49. Elance is the best place to find freelancers
50. The JALT CALL Conference is an amazing opportunity for learning how to use technology in English teaching!

If you found these tips useful, why not check out the new version of my book, which has been revised, updated and expanded for 2019: 50 Ways to Teach with Technology