The Best Interactive Presentation and Lesson Tools for Classrooms

Buncee is our top choice because of the refined accessibility features and extensive list of learning activities. Though the free plan has limited features, Buncee has an intuitive interface and boasts a multilingual screen reader, OpenDyslexic font, and grouping options for differentiation. It has embedded recordings, panoramic images, and even virtual field trips. Overall, there's a wider range of features and premade templates to choose from than the other tools, and you can likely find the features you need more quickly. 

If you're looking for a free interactive slide creation tool with robust learning activities, device-based quizzing, and student progress tracking, ClassFlow stands out from the crowd. Once you sign up with student and teacher accounts, you can adapt premade lessons from the marketplace or pull in content directly from your own resources (on Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox). There are tons of activity types and assessment options, like multiple choice, true/false, short text, creative responses, and good progress monitoring. The main drawback here is that there aren't many accessibility features, and the tool is geared for fourth grade and up.

Nearpod has the most impressive and varied options for student activities of any tool on this list. Students are able to draw on a map or diagram, post a note or image to a collaboration board, and participate in a gamified "Time to Climb" challenge. Notably, there's a robust free version and an extensive library of free (and paid) standards-aligned offerings. In terms of accessibility, it integrates with Microsoft's Immersive Reader, which provides text-to-speech, read-aloud, audio, and translations.

Editor’s Note: Common Sense Education's K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum is available on Nearpod; however, this partnership does not impact this review. 

If you're already using Google Classroom as your learning management system, or have existing Google slides, Pear Deck is a natural choice. It's mostly an add-on extension tool, and it has smooth integrations with popular tools like Merriam-Webster, Newsela, and Gimkit. It also stands out because of its wide range of learning activities where students can review and respond to daily news articles, create flash cards with drawings, play games, and practice responsible digital citizenship. The basic plan is very limited, so teachers will need the premium features, which come in at a reasonable price in comparison with competitors.

LessonUp made this list primarily because of its extra differentiation features. There's a feature that lets teachers color-code slides to offer extra practice or create custom paths. Lessons can be assigned to specific students instead of the whole class. Teachers can also mark slides as "extra practice" to instruct students to take the path they need. There's a free basic subscription, but you'll need a Teacher Pro license if you want access to any classroom management features and more than 10 presentations per month.