Awesome Productivity Tools for Back-to-School

Top Pick

Both students and teachers can benefit inside and outside of school from organizational tools like calendars, presentation templates, and note-taking apps. Whether students are setting goals, receiving homework reminders, using mind maps, or tweaking their schedules, they are sure to be building long-lasting skills. Teachers can also use these tools to curate the best edtech, easily grade student work, and organize lesson plans. We've found some of the best and served 'em up here.

Need help developing norms, routines, and procedures for all this technology? Check out our Teaching Strategies page on Digital Classroom Management.

Note-Taking Apps and Sites

Pages Publisher: Apple Impressive word processor and publisher with great sharing features	Grades 3-12 Type App Price Free, Paid Platforms iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Evernote Publisher: Evernote Impressive organizational tool has limitless uses	Grades 6-12 Type App Price Free Platforms Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire, Nook HD, Chrome, Windows Phone, Apps for Windows Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Microsoft OneNote Publisher: Microsoft Mobile version of a note-taking giant, now built for flexible, collaborative work	Grades 6-12 Type App Price Free Platforms Android, iPad, Kindle Fire, Chrome, Windows Phone, Apps for Windows, Mac Apps, Fire phone Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating 4
Notability Publisher: Ginger Labs Flexible note-taking tool empowers learners of all abilities	Grades 6-12 Type App Price $2.99 Platforms iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Common Sense Rating 5 Teacher Rating 4

Resources for Gathering and Organizing Ideas

SymbalooEDU Visit Website: http://www.symbalooedu.com Organize favorite educational links into handy grid	Grades 1-12 Type Website Price Free, Free to Try, Paid Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating 4
MURAL Visit Website: https://mural.co/ Multifaceted message boards help kids collaborate	Grades 2-12 Type Website Price Free, Free to Try, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
MindMeister Visit Website: http://www.mindmeister.com Powerful mind mapper aimed at adults, simple enough for older kids	Grades 5-12 Type Website Price Free, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
WorkFlowy Visit Website: http://www.workflowy.com Simple tool helps teachers and students make lists, get organized	Grades 5-12 Type Website Price Free Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating Not Yet Rated
LiveBinders Visit Website: http://www.livebinders.com/ Cool organization and eportfolio tool; watch out for privacy features	Grades 6-12 Type Website Price Free, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 3
Google Drive Visit Website: https://drive.google.com/ Nifty tool for collaboratively editing docs and syncing files across devices or online	Grades 9-12 Type Website Price Free, Paid Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating 4

Scheduling and Goal-Setting Tools

Goalbook Toolkit Visit Website: https://goalbookapp.com/toolkit-info/ Set tailored targets with pricey but worth-it kit of tools, strategies	Grades Pre-K-12 Type Website Price Free to Try, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Remind Visit Website: https://www.remind.com/ Teachers' text reminders give students -- and parents -- a reason to check their phones	Grades 1-12 Type Website Price Free Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Time Timer Publisher: Time Timer LLC Easily conceptualize, manage, and visualize time	Grades 1-12 Type App Price $1.99-$4.99 Platforms Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Google Calendar Visit Website: http://www.google.com/calendar Simple calendars aid communication and keep kids up to date	Grades 6-12 Type Website Price Free Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating 3
My Study Life Publisher: My Study Life, Ltd. Organizational tool makes managing complex schedules a cinch	Grades 10-12 Type App Price Free Platforms Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Windows Phone, Apps for Windows Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating Not Yet Rated
myHomework Student Planner Publisher: Rodrigo Neri Digital planner makes scheduling easy, if paired with teacher app	Grades 7-12 Type App Price Free, Paid Platforms Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire, Chrome, Windows Phone, Apps for Windows, Mac Apps Common Sense Rating 3 Teacher Rating Not Yet Rated

Templates for Presentations

Educreations Interactive Whiteboard Publisher: Educreations, Inc Enliven lessons and presentations with easy-to-use presentation tool	Grades 6-12 Type App Price Free Platforms iPad Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Tiki-Toki Visit Website: http://www.tiki-toki.com/ Create eye-catching multimedia timelines for any purpose	Grades 6-12 Type Website Price Free, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 3
Explain Everything Classic Powerhouse tool for creating stellar multimedia presentations	Grades 7-12 Type App Price $7.99 Platforms Android, iPad Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 4
Prezi Classic Visit Website: http://prezi.com/ Stylish presentation creator with a unique 3D zooming effect	Grades 8-12 Type Website Price Free, Paid Common Sense Rating 4 Teacher Rating 3

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Note-Taking Apps and Sites

Resources for Gathering and Organizing Ideas

Scheduling and Goal-Setting Tools

Templates for Presentations

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