Technology has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, so it’s no surprise that the education field has taken advantage of innovative technologies, too. Cell phones and other mobile devices are now commonplace in K-12 schools, and there are a multitude of apps that can help teachers enhance their teaching strategies and better engage with their students. In this post, I’ll highlight some must-have apps for teachers that can make their jobs a little bit easier.
1. ClassDojo — ClassDojo makes it easy for teachers to track, manage, and share student behavior with parents in real time.
2. Dropbox — Even the best teachers can forget to bring home copies of their students’ work, but Dropbox makes it simple for teachers to securely store and access important documents like homework assignments, lectures, and even syllabi from any mobile device.
3. Google Translate/Apple Translate — Students today speak a variety of languages. A translate app makes it easy for any teacher to communicate with students in dozens of different languages.
4. Twitter — In a world where social media plays an increasingly large role in political and cultural discourse, it’s important for teachers to have a presence on social media. as well as communicate with their students’ parents. Share student work with other teachers or school admin.
5. Google Keep/Apple Notes — Both apps are generally native to your device, whether it’s an iPhone or Android device. Taking and keeping detailed notes is a fundamental part of the teaching profession, and these apps make it easy for teachers to create, save, and share notes.
6. Instagram — With the increasing popularity of social media and photo sharing apps like Twitter and Instagram, it’s important for teachers to learn how use these tools in a professional way. As with Twitter, teachers can share student work with parents, other teachers, and admin.
7. Google Classroom — Google Classroom makes it simple to create assignments, track student progress, and communicate with students and parents all from one place. It ensures that teachers’ hard work is visible for parents (and other faculty) to see.
8. Remind — Whether it’s providing instructions for an upcoming assignment or reminding parents to buy school supplies, Remind makes it easy for teachers and students to communicate and collaborate.
9. Socrative — Teachers can get immediate feedback on how well their students are doing with this app, which allows them to create quick quizzes and polls on the fly. It also provides real-time results for easy assessment of student understanding.
10. Google Apps for Education — I don’t know how any teacher can get by without using Google apps these days, but if you do, you’re missing out on some of the most powerful educational tools available. My favorite app of the bunch is Google Classroom.
11. Nearpod — One of my favorite ways to engage students in the classroom is by projecting images onto a screen while I demonstrate something on an interactive whiteboard, or give instructions for students to follow along with at their desks. Nearpod makes this easy for teachers and students.
12. Padlet — Google Docs is a great tool for collaborative writing, but what happens when you need to collaborate on something more than just words? Padlet makes it easy to create virtual walls for discussions, events, or simple brainstorms, all on the fly.
13. Pocket — Keeping up with your favorite websites is hard on a full-sized laptop, but on a phone screen? You might as well just give up. Pocket makes it easy for teachers to save their favorite educational websites and access them at any time.
These apps should make your life as a teacher just that much easier, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what’s possible with a smartphone in the hands of a teacher.
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