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TOP PICKS | 19 TOOLS
Apps and Websites for Improving Parent-Teacher Communication
Top Picks
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Messaging & Announcements
Classting
Social media approach draws families into the daily classroom
Bottom line: Flexible, practical platform for sharing updates and information with families, creating positive communications.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
ParentSquare
Versatile communication tool fosters parent engagement and involvement
Bottom line: A convenient way to help schools streamline communication among administrators, support staff, teachers, and parents.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Paid An initial one-time fee of $300 per school includes setup and training. After, there's a yearly service fee of $4 per student for the main features or $5 per student to add smart alerts, as well as maintenance fees of $200 per school per year.
Remind
Teachers' text reminders keep students -- and parents -- up to speed
Bottom line: Well-designed, highly effective messaging tool has the potential to keep students and families connected with their schools.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free, Paid Remind is free, but if you use it to fundraise for events, they charge a fee of $0.50 per transaction. School and district plans are also available.
TalkingPoints
Multilingual texting tool enhances school-to-home communication
Bottom line: Easy-to-use tool for supporting communication and engagement with families in 100+ languages.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free, Paid The app is free for teachers to use. Schools can request a quote for school-wide use (per-student charge).
ClassDojo
Handy management and portfolio tool can promote student growth
Bottom line: With thoughtful implementation, it can help teachers and parents support students' growth through goal-setting, feedback, and celebration.
Grades: K–6
Price: Free
Bloomz
Full-featured parent-teacher communication platform
Bottom line: One-stop multi-tool for parents, teachers, and students.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
ClassTag
Flexible user-friendly tool gets teachers and families in sync
Bottom line: Effective communication platform with practical options to meet classroom needs.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Heard
Parent communication and resource-sharing tool keeps families engaged
Bottom line: With a mindful onboarding process, Heard has great potential to be a go-to tool for parent involvement and community building.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid The app is free for teachers to use in their classrooms. School plans are priced at $3 per student per year, but the developer offers discounts based on need.
Smart classroom tool if used with care; priceless for PLNs
Bottom line: Twitter offers something for everyone: information, resources, and an easy way to connect with just about anyone.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Portfolio Tools
Sesame
Portfolio and communication tool makes formative assessment a snap
Bottom line: A useful way for teachers, students, and parents to monitor progress and demonstrate holistic evidence of learning.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free, Paid The Lite version is free for up to five classes. The Pro version is $120/year and includes more analytical, feedback, and customization options. The School version is $1,000/year for every 10 teachers and includes year-over-year data, single student profiles, and Google Apps and SIS integration.
Seesaw: The Learning Journal
Versatile digital portfolio appeals to teachers, students, and parents
Bottom line: A powerful multimedia learning and communication tool that demonstrates student progress over time.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Seesaw Plus is $120 per year, and gives teachers more privacy options and other features. Seesaw for Schools, which includes school-wide reporting, is priced per student.
FreshGrade
A fresh way to capture, document, and share student learning
Bottom line: Multimedia documentation tools and a customizable grade book help communicate learning and expand both summative and formative assessment.
Grades: 3–9
Price: Free Fresh Grade is free for teachers. District pricing is available.
Bulb
Slick portfolio tool has cool features, limited feedback options
Bottom line: A neat tool for publishing online, possibly better suited to teacher content creation than student publishing.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free, Paid The free version supports 10 pages and 2 GB of storage. Bulb+, which adds unlimited pages and storage as well as Google Classroom integration, is $30 per year or $3 per month. There's also a school- or district-wide version that's $2-$3 per user with more administrative support.
Websites & Class Blogs
Edublogs
Customizable classroom blogs get students writing and collaborating
Bottom line: This rich and safe blogging tool makes it easy for teachers and students to extend the classroom into a wider community.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Paid Basic free version. $7.95 per month or $39.95 per year for Pro account.
Weebly
Impressively easy-to-use website-creation tool
Bottom line: Helpfully walks students through each step of website creation, and teachers can control access and monitor progress.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Paid Basic features are available for free. Weebly has optional Pro account features for $39.95 per year, and they offer add-on packs of student accounts (10 accounts for $10) if teacher needs exceed the 40 accounts that are included.
Blogger
Versatile, easy-to-use blog platform best used with teacher guidance
Bottom line: With teacher support and guidance, motivated kids will find this easy-to-use and eye-catching platform a fun place to share their voices.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Google Sites
Make your own website with easy, intuitive drag-and-drop features
Bottom line: With a few clicks, students can design a basic but custom, responsive website that allows for easy collaboration with their peers.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
WordPress
Inviting, customizable mobile blog platform with easy-to-use interface
Bottom line: Wordpress's app makes it easy to create and edit blog posts, manage comments, and view friends' blogs, and could be an indispensable tool for communication and collaboration if well-implemented.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
