Apps for Classroom Backchannels

What is a backchannel? A backchannel is essentially a classroom conversation that takes place alongside a class. With the advent of technology in the classroom, backchannels can now take place digitally, in or out of the classroom.

How can a backchannel be used in the classroom?

Opening up a backchannel in your class can serve numerous purposes. It can allow quieter students to fully participate in class. By setting up a digital backchannel using one of the below apps, quieter students can simply log in and share their question or comment. It can supplement your teaching by allowing for discussions outside of the classroom. Students and teachers can participate in a supplemental dialogue about the subject after class is over.

Apps that can be used for a class digital backchannel include:

Backchannel Chat: An app and a website, Backchannel Chat gives the teacher control about what is discussed in the backchannel. Discussions can be archived and available for future reference. Another great aspect of this app is that every post in the backchannel can be moderated by the teacher and must be approved before posted for all to see. Along with the website, there’s an app for Android and iOS.

Padlet: Create a wall that pertains to a specific topic or chapter and use it as a backchannel. Allow students to comment and ask questions on the board. Make sure and turn on the profanity filter.

PollEverywhere: In the same way you opened a Padlet wall, start a discussion in PollEverywhere. Use the app or the website to let students communicate with you. Use PollEverywhere while students are working on a project or classwork. Great for students that are timid in the classroom.

Google Slides Q & A: If you use Google Slides to do a presentation, you’ve got to use Google Slides Q&A as a backchannel. Simply go to your audience tools and start a new Q&A. During the presentation, a URL is presented at the top of the presentation, directing students where to go to ask a question or make a comment. Students can vote on which questions or comments are the best then, at the end of the presentation, the teacher can choose to display the comments while they address them.

Verso: Verso is unique in that when you post an activity to discuss, it allows you to post a recording of yourself giving directions, a document from your Google Drive, or attach a link for students to access. Verso provides an option that allows the teacher, to include certain vocabulary. The other thing that’s unique about Verso is that, as the teacher, you can access classroom stats, showing who has participated in your discussions and how often. Verso is available on the web at Verso app.com as well as an app
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Slack: Slack is not only great for business teams, but it can be used in classrooms as well. Set up channels for different class topics. Use separate channels for comments and questions. As the teacher, send out discussion topics and ask students to comment. Send students feedback on their work in class.

Three Ways Students Can Annotate PDF's With Their Chromebooks

Paper is out and technology is in! The days of making copies for your classes are over! Why waste time at the copy machine when you can simply upload a PDF to your learning management system such as Google Classroom? Below are three Chrome apps that students can use to annotate the paperwork you would otherwise pass out to them in class. All of the apps below are available in the Chrome Web Store.

XODO: XODO greets you with a straightforward interface prompting you to open a local file (from your Chromebook), a file from your Google Drive, or a file from Dropbox. After annotating the documents, they simply download the file and then upload it to the desired Google Classroom assignment.

DocHub: Simply click “New” from the DocHub dashboard and upload a file from your Chromebook, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Download the document the device, then upload the annotated document to the Google Classroom assignment.

Kami: Clicking on the Kami icon presents the student with a straightforward interface with the options to upload from various options. Kami also provides the ability to create a new blank pdf page on which the student can draw or write. Students can download the document to their Google Drive or to their device. When downloading, Kami provides the option of downloading just the text box annotations, which is good for test taking when the teacher doesn’t need a copy of the questions — just the answers.

How to Lesson Plan With Trello!

The days of planning in a notebook are over! Not only can students use digital tools in the classroom to get their work done, but their teachers can too. Behold Trello. Trello is a versatile planning tool that can be used by students and teachers alike. Students can use it to plan their work on upcoming projects. Teachers can use it to plan out their quarter, semester, and year! And, you never have to worry about where you left your planbook because Trello is accessible from all your devices.

Trello is intuitive so the teacher won’t spend most of their planning time learning new software. Instead, with just a few clicks, they’ll be setting up their classes in Trello. Trello consists of boards, lists, and cards. In planning your classes, simply create a board with the title of one of your classes, let’s say Economics (as seen above in the graphic). Then, simply create a list based on a particular unit, chapter, or topic. As shown above, I’ve created lists based on chapters. Then, I created cards that represent what I plan on doing in that chapter, such as worksheet, a Nearpod, and a Kahoot.

Along with uploading documents to your cards, you can attach links. Do you have a Kahoot or Nearpod you like to use? Add the link to your Kahoot or Nearpod in Trello, then, click on the link to bring it up. It’s that easy! Trello also allows for the linking of your Google Docs, so it’s easy to move your Google Slides or Google Docs over to Trello. Then, with a click, you can simply access your documents.

As mentioned earlier, Trello is available on all devices, including Android, iOS, and a web app.

Why a School Staff Should Use Slack

Slack is a collaboration platform for communication and sharing and is used primarily in business, but lately, it's been finding it way in the classroom. Slack allows for group and direct messaging, file sharing, and third-party app integrations such as Google Drive. And, one of the best parts of Slack is that it's FREE!

Slack functions like Twitter in that it uses mentions (@) and hashtags (#) to organize conversations that can take place in specific theme based channels.  Slack is essentially an inter-office chat and collaboration service that allows teams of people to digitally communicate and collaborate with each other.  
School staff should take a look at using Slack for the following reasons:

1. Email: Slack can greatly reduce email clutter and negate the need for teachers to sift through their email, finding what’s important while disregarding email that either doesn’t pertain (group email) to them or sift through junk mail.

2. Polls: Slack is an easy way to distribute a poll to large or small groups of a team using an add on called Simple Poll.  Perhaps you only want a single department to respond to a poll instead of the whole staff. Simply create a poll and include it in the proper channel.

3. Communication: Create a channel titled "announcements."  Then, place any announcements you may have in that channel.  Slack is also a time saver.  Instead of walking across campus to tough base with someone, simply send them a message in Slack.

4. Sharing Documents:  Slack is great for sharing documents.  Since it works with Google Docs, uploading from Docs to Slack is a snap.  Sharing docs through Slack is a great alternative, especially if you're always hitting your storage limit in your email.

5. Collaboration: Sometimes it can be difficult for a department to meet and collaborate.  Slack makes it easy.  Teachers can create a channel for their department.  Using their Slack channel, they can ask questions, share lessons, and discuss what their doing.  

6. No Phone Number Necessary: With Slack, a phone number is not necessary.  Instead of asking teachers for cell phone numbers  (which may or may not be awkward or perhaps they prefer not to have their phone number out there) so you can message them, all you need is their school email address and their in your Slack workspace.  

Three Digital Whiteboards that are Classroom Ready

A digital whiteboard is essentially a blank piece of paper. For teachers, it can be a fantastic way to flip a classroom. Teachers can use the digital whiteboard to explain a concept, then, when students return to class, they can ask questions or practice what they’ve learned.
 Students can use the digital whiteboard to demonstrate their learning, explain a concept, or review for a test. And, with a stylus, digital whiteboards are easy and even fun for students to use.
 Below are three digital whiteboards teachers and students alike can use for their class.

1. Explain Everything: Available on all platforms, Explain Everything. Like the other whiteboard apps, Explain Everything allows the student to record their voice while putting together their whiteboard project. Students can share their project via a link that can be copied and pasted on a learning management system such as Google Classroom for review.

2. ShowMe: Like Explain Everything, ShowMe is available for Chromebooks via a ChromeOS app. The project can easily be shared via a link. Along with using their stylus, ShowMe allows for the insertion of a text box, in which the student can type in text. And, like other whiteboard’s, a link to the project can be copied where it can be easily shared with the teachers via a learning management system such as Schoology or Google Classroom.

3. Educreations: Create various classes within Educreations and add lessons to that class. Students can join your class with the class code assigned to that class. Students can use Educreations in much the same manner. They can create classes based on the classes their enrolled in, then, share their project with a link.

Podcasting in the Classroom

With more and more students having access to Chromebooks or iPads, there are new ways students can achieve their learning objectives, one of those being podcasting.

Back in the day, podcasting would have required a portable tape recorder and a blank cassette. Students could talk into the microphone on the recorder all the while making sure they pressed play/record on the machine. Each group would have to use their own audio cassette or share one among the class, hoping they didn't record over other groups work.


Today, podcasting has gone digital. It's a great tool to use for formative assessment and collaborative work. Simply pair students up or have them work in larger groups to create a podcast.

Why podcast? Along with serving as a tool for formative assessments, podcasts can address many listening and speaking standards. A few ways to integrate podcasts into the classroom include:

Reflections: Students can reflect on their learning by speaking what they've learned. And then listen later as a way to review their learning.
Language Practice: Podcasting can be a fantastic tool for language classes. Students can practice speaking a new language, listening to themselves improve in their skills. Teachers can also model the language and have students playback and respond to the teacher in a podcast.
Exit Ticket: Students can respond to an end of day question by speaking their answer and recording it for the teacher or class to listen to.
Interviews: Students can interview each other in a couple of different ways. First, one can pretend to be a historical figure, author, etc. Second, interviews can serve as class introductions. Each student sharing their likes, dislikes, favorite foods and whatever else they can think of.
Explain a Concept: Great for math and science. Students can record themselves explaining the steps on how to solve a math problem or science concept.

Now that we know what podcasting can be used for, we need to find a podcasting tool that students can use. Three apps that are easy to use and classroom-friendly include:

Voicethread: Available for both the Chromebook and iPad, Voicethread allows for the creation of a thread topic, where students can respond. A great way for an exit ticket question posed by the teacher.
GarageBand: The only one of these that's iPad exclusive. Garageband is not only great for creating music but serves as a podcast studio as well, allowing students to record their voice only.
Synth: Synth is also available for the Chromebook and iPad. With Synth, teachers create a podcast classroom where they give the students the code to join. Students can post in the Synth class or respond to a teachers question.

Real-Life Digital Tools for the Classroom

There’s nothing wrong with using Google Classroom. As a matter of fact, many of the articles I’ve written tie into using Google Classroom. It’s a great digital tool to distribute and collect class work. But, in addition to using Google Classroom or any other learning management system in your class, it’s important to integrate "real-life" digital tools into your classroom.

Google Classroom and other Google tools such as Docs and Slides are perfectly adequate for the classroom. Google tools are good. But, if we want to prepare students for life after school, whether it’s after K-12 or after college, they need to be familiar with the tools they may encounter in the workplace.  Let’s face it, students are more likely to use Evernote, Trello, or Dropbox in the workplace than they are Google Classroom.

I’ve written before about how some of these tools can be used in the classroom. If we want well prepared lifelong digital learners who are ready for life after school, teachers need to expose students to those digital tools they may encounter in the workplace, which I call "real-life" tools. Below are a few of those tools students may encounter in the workplace followed with an idea on how to implement them in class.

Trello: Student can use when working in groups.  They can keep track of team responsibilities.  They can also use Trello as a to-do list.

Skype: Assign students to work in pairs, but with a student from another class!  Ask students to connect with students in other classes and have them work collaboratively via Skype.

Any.do: Have student create and keep to-do lists using Any.do.

Evernote: Ask students to keep their notes in Evernote.  They can share their notes with each other and work collaboratively on an assignment or share their notes with the teacher.

Slack: Students can use Slack when working collaboratively.  They can communicate and share work with each other.  

Explain Everything: Have students explain concepts using this digital whiteboard.  

Dropbox: Students can use Dropbox to store a portfolio of their work, then share their Dropbox with their teacher.

Twitter: Teachers can use Twitter as a means of keeping students informed of classroom activities.

Google Calendar: Have students keep a Google Calendar in which they’ll note upcoming due dates and class events.

8 Apps For Class Warm Ups

Class warm-ups are an important part of the class. The teacher can use them as a review of the previous days material or they can provide an inquisitive foundation for the days learning. Below are five apps that can get the days class off to a good start.

Recap: With Recap, the teacher can initiate a chat-style discussion. In addition to the typed chat response, one of the cool things about Recap is that it gives the teacher the flexibility to let the students respond to a class warm-up with a video response.

Socrative: A great app for multiple choice quizzes. Socrative allows for the creation of a short answer warm-up question as well. If you feel a little competition would be fun, you can create a digital race where students answer questions faster than the competition to reach the finish line.

Seesaw: A fantastic online digital journal. Seesaw provides the flexibility for the teacher to either post a video, a drawing, a link, or something from Google Drive to the students journal for them to write about.

Google Sheets: That's right, you can use Google Sheets for class warm-ups! Simple create different sheets for different opening topics. When students enter the class, they open their shared Google Sheet, choose a square, and address the topic.

Newsela: Not just for English or Social Studies. Newsela is a great way to increase literacy. Choose from a variety of subjects. Ask students to read the content and answer the questions.

Kahoot: Gamify the opening of your class. Have your Kahoot waiting as students enter the room. A great way to get students seated with their device ready to begin the day.

Padlet: Create a Padlet board to open the class. Ask students to address the topic with links, photos, or video to make the discussion more interesting

Tag Journal: Tag Journal is the only app in the list that's for iOS only. What makes Tag Journal cool is that it allows the students to tag topics. For example, if the class is studying World War II, the journal topics may have something to do with the subject matter. Students can add pictures or audio to their journal entries.

10 Great Review Apps for the Classroom

Want your class to review before a test? Facilitate a test review with these apps:

Kahoot: Gamify your review with Kahoot! Students log in and compete against each other in choosing the correct answer to review questions.

Nearpod: Make your review interactive with Nearpod! Nearpod is a fantastic interactive presentation app where the teacher can lead the class through an interactive presentation or let the students go it alone at their own pace.

Socrative: Turn your class review into a space race! The first person or team to answer the review questions correctly is the winner!

Quizlet Live: Review while fostering student collaboration. Students are assigned teams in which they try and answer review questions before the other teams.

Pear Deck: Keep your students engaged with this great interactive presentation app. Students can work at their own pace or can be teacher led. Pear Deck slides feature draggable answers, multiple choice, or drawing.

Flipgrid: Ask students to explain concepts using Flipgrid. Then, ask other students to comment on or add to what other students have said.

Recap: Use Recap to pose review questions and facilitate a chat. Students can respond with either a typed chat response or a video response.

Plickers: Get instant feedback without student devices! Print out the cards and distribute to the students. Students simply hold up the card representing the correct answer, then the teacher uses their phone to read the cards, getting instant feedback.

Poll Everywhere: Use Poll Everywhere to either ask your students open-ended review questions or multiple choice questions review questions. Instantly see where your class stands for the test.

EdPuzzle: Use EdPuzzle to create a teacher review video. Then, insert questions in the video at key points. Students work at their own pace to complete the video review.

Great Apps for Assessment

With Chromebooks and iPads becoming more commonplace in the classroom, teachers are often looking for ways they can use the technology to assess their students. Below are a few recommendations.

Socrative: Use Socrative to give a multiple choice or true/false test. One of the great things about Socrative is that you can view your students progress as they take the test. Students can instantly get their results upon completion of the test. Upon giving the test, the teacher also has the option to let the students go through the test at their own pace or it can be teacher directed, going through each question one by one with the students. Test result reports can be printed or saved to your Google Drive. Socrative also has a student app for phones and tablets that makes it even easier to take the assessment.

Nearpod: The fantastic interactive presentation app, Nearpod, has a quiz element to it. Embed a quiz at the end of a presentation where the students have just reviewed the information. Nearpod makes it possible to add reference material to each question, such as a website, a picture, or a video. For example, include a map in a question and ask the students the relevance of the map. Include a drawing slide and ask the students to draw a flag or trade route. For math, ask them to solve an equation. Include an open-ended slide where the students address an essay question.

At the end of the assessment, Nearpod provides a detailed summary of how each student performed on each question type, whether it’s an open-ended question, a drawing question (which could be used for math to solve equations or draw maps), or multiple choice.

Google Forms with Flubaroo: Google forms is a great way to give students a formal assessment. But the power of Google Forms is amplified with the use of the add-on, Flubaroo. If you haven’t used Flubaroo, you owe yourself a try, it’s easy to use. Simply link your Google Form assessment to a Google Sheet. Install the Flubaroo add-on, and you’re ready to go! Take your assessment and set your answers as the answer key, so when Flubaroo grades the tests, it will grade them against your key. Once the test is graded, Flubaroo shines with the data it presents. If a majority of students got a question wrong, Flubaroo will identify that question by color coding it. And, students who scored low on the assessment will be color-coded as well on the spreadsheet — pretty cool. You can view a report showing the grade distribution as well. And lastly, the teacher can email a copy of the grade report to the student, identifying which questions the student did well on and which ones they didn’t.

Educreations: Educreations is a handy whiteboard app where students can record themselves explaining a concept. So, how can it be used for assessment you ask? Well, Educreations shines in the math classroom by asking students to explain how to solve math problems. Why not use it for assessment? Give your students problems to solve, then, ask them to work each problem out on a separate page in Educreations. When they’re done, they can copy the link of the assessment and paste it into their classrooms learning management systems such as Google Classroom, Edmodo, or Showbie for their instructor to view.

Pinterest in the Classroom

Pinterest is a great resource for, well, everything. Pinterest is a good place to start if you're looking for inspiration or fresh ideas. Pinterest is also easily adaptable for classroom use, and, chances are, your students already know how to use it.

1. Student introductions. A great way to have students introduce themselves is through the creation of their own Pinterest board. Ask students to tell the class about themselves through the use of pictures. Have them include in their board their favorite foods, likes, dislikes, favorite places, interests etc.
2. Student collaboration. If students are collaborating on a project, have student groups create a board where they save information on their topic. The board would be a great place to serve as an information repository.
3. Distribute assignments. Create a class or subject board to distribute assignments, such as reading and worksheets.
4. Research. Students create boards as a place to store their research.
5. Share what’s happening in class. The teacher displays pictures of student work and projects. Include photos of assignments and other goings on in the classroom.
6. Post assignments. Create a board and use it as an assignment repository. Include worksheets, classroom and homework assignments, as well as instructions for assignments.
7. Students visual report. Have students create a board in which they create a visual report. Students include pictures on a topic and explain the significance of each picture as it pertains to the topic.
8. Comment board. Students post their work for other students to comment on.
9. Assignment repository. Teachers create a board for each unit/chapter in the class. Include all relevant information pertaining to the unit or chapter.
10. Parent communication. Teachers stay in touch with parents. Create an upcoming tests/assignments/events board
11. Celebrate students.  Celebrate those who do well with an achievement board. Post exemplary student work and test scores.
12. Brainstorm.  Create a brainstorming board. Students upload images where all students can review the board for ideas.
13. Presentation board. Students create a presentation board with images only.
14. Share resources. Create a board that includes class notes and readings that will help students with class work.
15. Samples of student work. Create an example board. Sometimes students need examples of past work and projects. If students need examples, point them to the board.
16. Bellringer prompts. Create a board for bellringer prompts.

Engaging Apps For Summer School

Summer school teachers, the days of lecturing for hours or having your students do book work for most of the day are long gone.  You have one class with the same students and the same subject for the entire day, why not make it fun and engaging?  With technology, students can now be fully engaged in a lesson while spending hours in the same class. 

You say you don't have access to Chromebooks or iPads in the classroom?  Well, there are ways around that, especially at the high school level.  Knowing that most of your students have cell phones will set you free of a day of classroom monotony. 

Here's some ideas to energize your summer school classroom, all of which have phone friendly apps:

Socrative is a great way to spend a summer class session. Split the class up into teams using just a few cell phones and boom! You've got fun learning that can last as long as you need it or want it to.  Students can participate in a race to answer questions correctly or review with a quick quiz or morning warm up.

Kahoot is another great way to keep the troops entertained while there is actual learning going on. Again, split the class into groups based on cell phone availability and review the days topic with your students. You can create a quiz beforehand or quickly use one that has already been created.

Nearpod is a good activity to use when other reviewing content or going through it for the first time. With Nearpod, the teacher can create either a teacher led presentation or a student paced presentation where the students work through the various activities at their own pace.  Nearpod exercises can include drawing activities, quizzes, short/long answer, and collaborative activities.  Nearpod is great for keeping students engaged throughout a lesson.

Edpuzzle is a fantastic way to show your class a video.  Using Edpuzzle, students answer questions throughout the video, keeping them engaged.  Students watch the video at their own pace.  So, if they don’t know they answer to a question you’ve posed, they can simply review the video again until they find the right answer.

11 Apps That Foster Student Collaboration

1. Explain Everything: The well-known whiteboard where groups of students can work on a project together.  Anyone with a link/code can edit.

2. iMovie: A great way to get students to work together!  Making a movie forces groups of students to collaborate, by virtue of the app.  Someone can direct while others act.  And, they should be working from a script, which they all collaborate on as well.

3. Voicethread: Have students put together interviews, conversations, or theatres of the mind.  Ask them to collaborate on a script and the actual voice recording, with students playing different parts in the audio recording.

4. Google Docs & Slides, Apple’s Pages & Keynote: All of these productivity apps can be used collaboratively.  Use them to take collaborative notes, write dialogue as a group, create slides etc.

5. Book Creator for Chrome: Have students create a book on whatever topic you choose.  And the cool thing is, they can do it collaboratively.  Students invite their partners to their library and they can work on a book together.

6. Padlet: Each group can create a thinking map.  Students can use Padlet to address a question or explain the steps in a process, perhaps how to solve a math problem.

7. Popplet—Great on the Chromebook!  Students use the share button with their partners to collaborate on timelines or graphic organizers.

  

8. Recap: Pose a complex question to groups of students and ask each student to contribute to a discussion.  Ask students to present their answers to the rest of the class.

9. Google Drawing: Life Google Docs and Slides, students can collaborate on a poster or drawing, working on the project at the same time in real time.

10. Canva: Students can work together creating posters, photo collages, or infographics.  Students simply share their creation with a partner and their off and creating together.

11. Evernote: Have students share a notebook.  Then, they can work on a piece of writing together or add different entries in a journal style writing assignment.

5 Ways To Measure Engagement Without Breaking Your Lesson Flow

The book "Bold School" (Keischnick, 2017, p. 95),  states that "Trying to measure engagement and comprehension without breaking the flow or falling behind schedule is a great challenge for direct instruction."

This is where technology can come to the aid of a teacher trying to infuse checking for understanding throughout the lesson without pauses or time-consuming transitions.  Chromebooks and iPads have created numerous opportunities for teachers to measure engagement during instruction.  The trick is how to measure engagement without breaking the flow you've created in your instruction.  How can technology help in keeping the lesson flowing, without interruption or dead spots?

The other consideration is to make sure every student has a voice.  If you simply ask students if they get it, some may genuinely understand, while others, not wanting to risk embarrassment or hold up the class, shake their head in the affirmative.

These apps can help you reach each student while incorporating checking for understanding in the lesson without breaking the flow of your lesson.

1. Nearpod: Use Nearpod for all phases of your lesson, from the introduction all the way to your formative assessment.  All the while checking for understanding in between.

2. Pear Deck: Pear Deck will not only help you present your lesson and incorporate checking for understanding with an anonymous thumbs up or thumbs down option, but you can also ask a question on the fly for students to answer in the lesson, without having to exit your Pear Deck lesson.

3. Google Slides Q & A: If you're presenting a Google Slides presentation, make it a Google Slides Q & A presentation.  Students can have their phones at the ready to ask a question without interrupting the class.  Q & A is great for those students who oftentimes are too shy to ask a question.

4. Kahoot: At the beginning of class, prior to the lesson, ask students to prepare for a Kahoot by having them go to Kahoot.it.  Then, you can insert Kahoots at various points of your lesson.  Prepare a few checking for understanding questions throughout your lesson.  Then, when the time is right, throw in a Kahoot.

5. Socrative: Use the Quick Question feature in Socrative to ask a multiple choice, T/F, or short answer question.  Like Kahoot, ask your students to prepare to use Socrative.  You can either have questions prepared (in which case, you can make a rocketship race out of it) or ask them on the fly.

Tech Tools Teachers Can Use To Keep Parents Involved

• 1. Seesaw:  A fantastic portfolio app!  Ask parents to install the Seesaw parent app. From there, whenever their child posts something (like a journal entry, a photo of their work, a video, or a drawing), their parents are notified.
• 2. Google Classroom: Use the Google Classroom email guardians feature to email parents about student missing work, upcoming work, and any other relevant class activity.
• 3. Weebly/Google Sites/Adobe Spark Page: Create a web page.  Use web site creation tools such as Weebly, Google Sites, or Adobe Spark Page to create a page that shares classroom information such as a classroom calendar, upcoming events, and student work.
• 4. Twitter: Create a class Twitter account!  Add photos of student work.  Keep parents abreast of upcoming class tests and assignments.
• 5. Instagram: A class Instagram account would serve the parents well.  Include photo’s of student work and daily class goings on.
• 6. Pinterest: Create a Pinterest board!  Include pictures of the class at work as well as student work.
• 7. Blogger:  Keep a blog!  Use Blogger or Google Sites to blog.  If you find it difficult to keep a daily blog, try a weekly blog.  Write about what you’re doing in the classroom. Include photos of student work.  Include a calendar of upcoming class assignments and events.
• 8. Remind: Use Remind to let parents know about upcoming tests and assignments due dates.
• 9. Class Dojo: Let parents know how their child is doing in class by sending messages, photos, or any updates from class.
• 10. Bloomz App: A great way to communicate with parents!  Bloomz allows you to instant message parents—pretty cool.  Once parents have signed up, they can receive posts you’ve written, announcements, alerts, and upcoming events.  Use Bloomz to schedule parent/teacher conferences too!
• 11. Edmodo for Parents: If you use Edmodo in your class, this sister app is a must for parents!  The app allows parents to be notified when their child turns in an assignment, when tests are upcoming, and when homework is due.  

5 Apps That Should Be On A Teachers Phone

A smart phone is an indispensable tool in the classroom.  As a teacher, you have to be prepared to do things in the classroom at a moments notice.  Some of those things might include classroom management tasks or jotting down a note.  And, it helps to have a small, mobile device to help you do those tasks.
To help in the classroom, there are five apps that should be on every teachers smart phone.

Post It Plus

Sticky notes for your iPhone.  Available for iOS, Post It Plus allows you to take a note on a virtual sticky note.  Simply tap the “+” button take a quick note, jot down a reminder, or create a to-do.  Post It Plus allows you to group sticky notes into “boards.”  Perhaps you want to group your sticky notes according to class subject or tasks.  Post It Plus also allows you add a photo to your sticky notes.  A great way to take a quick note.

Evernote/Scannable

Ok, so there are two apps here (So there’s really 6 apps, not 5).  They are both made by the same people and go hand in hand in your productivity workflow.
The ever-popular Evernote.  Evernote is all-purpose note taking app available on all platforms.  Set up various notebooks in Evernote based on class period or topic.  You can add pictures to your notes as well as sync them across devices.
Scannable is made by the good people at Evernote and is the perfect companion to Evernote.  Take a quick scan of student work, and share it to various apps.  Along with being a great scanner app, it saves your scans directly to Evernote.  If you have Evernote, you should have Scannable.

Google Keep

Google Keep works across all devices.  If you yourself are using a Chromebook, Google Keep should be your must app for note-taking.  You can add pictures, to-do lists, and even sketch out notes.  You can ad a drawing and image to your notes.  Create a to-do list and ad collaborators to your notes.  In a Google Classroom, Keep is a must.

Google Classroom

A must for the Google Classroom!  If you’re using Google Classroom to manage your class, this app has to be on your phone.  The functionality is virtually the same as it would be using a computer.  The app allows for the addition of classes, the posting of assignments and announcements.  You can use your phone to review and mark-up class assignments.

Class Dojo

Class Dojo is a really good classroom management app where students are rewarded for positive behavior.  And, on that same note, you can take points away for negative behavior.  This app is especially useful on a mobile device because while you’re monitoring students, you can simply take out your phone and reward behavior.  Students get a kick out of accruing points and can become competitive, therefore promoting positive behavior in your class.