Online brainstorming tools have revolutionized the way educators facilitate collaborative thinking in and out of the classroom. Here are some of the best online brainstorming tools available for educators’ technology needs:

1. MindMeister: MindMeister is an intuitive online mind mapping tool that allows real-time collaboration. It’s perfect for educators looking to engage students in joint brainstorming sessions and organize ideas visually.

2. Padlet: With its simple, bulletin-board-style interface, Padlet makes it easy to share thoughts, images, and links. Educators can create Padlet walls for different topics or projects and invite students to contribute.

3. Stormboard: Stormboard focuses on turning ideas into actionable tasks, making it a great tool for project-based learning. Teachers can create ‘storms’ where students post their ideas on sticky notes within a digital workspace.

4. IdeaBoardz: Ideal for group brainstorming and retrospectives, IdeaBoardz allows users to freely add, discuss, and prioritize ideas on a shared board. As an educator, you can set up boards for different subjects or group discussions.

5. Mural: Mural offers a collaborative whiteboarding platform that’s excellent for creative brainstorming sessions. It’s equipped with sticky notes, images, links, and collaborative drawing tools, which are essential for remote learning environments.

6. Google Jamboard: Integrated into the Google Suite, Jamboard is a digital whiteboard where educators can facilitate discussions and brainstorming sessions. You can insert images, draw sketches, and add sticky notes easily.

7. Miro: Miro provides a collaborative online whiteboarding platform designed to help teams work more effectively. Its educational version helps build engaging lessons that encourage students’ collaborative input.

8. Slido: While not a brainstorming tool in the traditional sense, Slido offers an interactive Q&A and polling platform that can be used during virtual classes to gather student questions and encourage idea sharing.

9. Conceptboard: Conceptboard specializes in visual collaboration with a focus on large canvases that can scale up as your ideas grow. This is beneficial when handling complex topics that need detailed exploration.

10. Coggl:Coggle is an online tool for creating and sharing mind maps and flowcharts. It supports real-time collaboration which makes it great for student group work where they need to visualize their thought processes.

Educators should choose the tool that best fits their teaching style and technology integration level – whether for synchronous or asynchronous learning environments these tools can boost creativity, collaboration, and engagement among students.