Smartphones and tablets are no longer considered taboo in the classroom. In fact, teaching apps can be effective tools for streamlining monotonous classroom tasks and helping to immerse youngsters in the learning environment.
Teaching apps also help bridge the gap between classroom and home – and between parents and teachers – and are a great way to extend the classroom and make learning fun. The apps can help with everything from expanding the classroom to organization and lesson enhancement if you know which ones to use.
Communication Teaching Apps
Many teaching apps make it easier for teachers to send out assignments, give feedback and even grades. They also allow parents to track their child’s progress more actively throughout the school year. Some of the best communication teaching apps are:
ClassDojo – Teachers can easily message and communicate with parents. Photos and videos can be shared individually and even used to show parents their child’s classroom. It captures and generates behavior data to improve classroom behavior, and the app contains teaching tools such as Group Maker and Pair Share, syncing all of it across all devices.
Teacher’s Assistant Pro – Student actions, behaviors and achievements can be tracked and recorded, and teachers can add dates, times, notes and even photos. When conference time rolls around, they can have all the information they need in a single app.
Slack – A fantastic messaging app used by professors and teachers to host text-based office hours and send out reminders. College students love it because they can stay in touch with professors and others in the class when they’re not in the classroom. The app connects with many existing tools and allows you to read documents anywhere.
Technology Enhanced Learning Teaching Apps
Technology-enhanced learning is transforming education as we know it. Many apps allow children to learn through game play and even do additional work when necessary. Most of the apps enhance the teaching and learning experience inside and outside the classroom. Such apps help teachers reach students and convey information in an understandable way.
Blackboard – A free app that is ideal for online courses. It helps everyone in the classroom stay informed and allows teachers to update content, take assignments and tests from students, video chat for tutoring sessions, and even manage homework.
Educreations – This is an interactive whiteboard app with a screen-casting tool that helps teachers create easy-to-follow tutorials and lessons. They can create animations and diagrams with supporting audio of any kind to help students with assignments. Teachers can also share videos with the help of Facebook, Twitter and email.
Kahoot! – Another free for-fun learning app that helps teachers and students. Teachers can use exciting learning games and set up live games with students. The app allows them to challenge each other to competitive learning games and makes homework loads more fun.
Streamlined Organization Teaching Apps
Classrooms are busy from early in the morning until the afternoon, and it can be hard to stay organized. Throw in 30 kids and it’s nearly impossible. Teaching is easier and far more fun when teachers and students stay organized. Here are some great apps to help them do it:
Google Classroom – A light version of the G-suite used by teachers to store class materials in Google Drive. Teachers can also use it for making announcements and holding debates. The best part is that students can have easy access to materials that have urgent requirements.
Additio – Lets teachers ditch much of the paper by acting as a digital classroom and gradebook. They can take attendance, plan time tables and calculate grades using a smartphone or tablet. For a nominal fee, they can also get additional features such as the ability to take notes and performance analytics.
Seesaw – Allows teachers to record student strengths and weaknesses throughout the year for discussion at annual parent-teacher conferences. It’s often referred to as a student portfolio app because parents can see their child’s achievements and progress. Students love storing their best work on the app.