What are plugins

Wikipedia defines plugins as follows:

Plug-ins are sets of software components that add specific abilities to a larger software application. If supported, plug-ins enable customizing the functionality of an application.

In the same way wordPress plugins will add new features and functionalities to your blog. They can extend WordPress to do almost anything you can imagine.

You can have a look at the most popular plugins in this page:

The most popular WordPress Plugins

Five WordPress plugins for teachers

The following are some plugins for teachers:

1. Class Blogs
   It is meant to simplify the process of blogging as a class. It accomplishes this by making it easier to find, organize and analyze the work created by your students.
2. Learninglog
   It offers teachers and learners advanced functions to use WordPress as a learning tool which includes an administration interface for teachers to set up learninglogs for students, an administration interface for teachers to set up learninglogs for students, the possibility for teachers to create assignments for groups or individuals…
3. mtouch quiz
   It create a multiple choice quiz (or exam). This plugin was written with learning and mobility in mind. The quiz interface is touch friendly.
4. digress it
   It allows commenting at the paragraph level and is intended for in-depth conversations about longer documents.
5. Buddypress
   Features include: a class dashboard, courses, lectures, bibliography, assignments, quizzes, gradebook, and schedules.