TOP PICKS | 22 TOOLS
Classroom-Management Apps and Websites
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Class Charts
Seating chart system makes managing classroom behavior simple
Bottom line: It's an easy-to-use, engaging tool for managing and tracking student behavior and participation, but does employ carrot-and-stick-style rewards.
Grades: K–6
Price: Free to Try, Paid Pricing is highly variable and depends on volume. For example: 1-100 students is $300 per year, 200 students is $200 per year, $300 students is $900 per year.
ClassDojo
Handy management and messaging tool helps recognize, reward students
Bottom line: With thoughtful classroom implementation, it can help students, teachers, and parents support students' growth through goal-setting and celebration.
Grades: K–6
Price: Free
Bloomz
Full-featured parent-teacher communication platform
Bottom line: Provided all parents have access, Bloomz can be a great way to get them involved.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Classkick
Easy-to-use, real-time monitoring, feedback, and assessment for 1-to-1
Bottom line: It's a great option for teachers who want to go paperless, provide specific feedback, and encourage collaboration among students in 1-to-1 classrooms.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Free to Try, Paid The free version offers unlimited assignments and feedback options. After a free trial, the Pro version is $9.99 per month; users can access grade automation, chatting options, extra editing tools, and more. A school plan is also available via quote.
ClassMax
Affordable classroom management system tracks student data
Bottom line: If teachers invest some time in setting up the system, they can save time, paper, and hassles.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free to Try, Paid After a free trial, single teacher accounts are $5 per month or $25 per year. Annual school accounts are $15 per teacher and $3,000 for storage and maintenance fees (up to 99 teachers), and $12 per teacher with $5,000 in fees (for 100 teachers and over).
Nearpod
Interactive slide show tool engages students and promotes collaboration
Bottom line: This effective tool leverages the capabilities of 1-to-1 environments and brings slide shows into the 21st century.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Silver edition is free and supports up to 30 students. Gold edition is $120 per teacher per year and supports up to 50 students. Platinum edition is $349 per year and supports up to 75 students. Volume discounts available for schools and districts. There are also in-app purchases for additional material.
Otus
Free LMS feels rich in offering data-driven differentiated instruction
Bottom line: This teacher-created site solves more problems than it causes, but it will take some up-front professional development to take full advantage.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free, Paid Otus is free for teachers and students and includes data management and progress monitoring features. The district plan ranges from $3 to $12 per student up to a certain number and then decreases with increased enrollment.
Seesaw: The Learning Journal
Versatile digital portfolio appeals to teachers, students, and parents
Bottom line: Students can showcase their work in text, pictures, videos, and more.
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.
Stick Pick
Differentiate, engage with assessment app aimed at higher-order skills
Bottom line: Useful reinvention of a classic means of encouraging student attention with the added bonus of support for higher-order thinking and response tracking.
Grades: K–12
Price: $2.99-3.99
Time Timer
Easily conceptualize, manage, and visualize time
Bottom line: Goes above and beyond standard timers to include handy customization and visual cues.
Grades: 1–12
Price: $2.99-$4.99 The mobile app is $2.99 and the iPad app is $4.99.
Handouts
Targeted tool helps teachers manage worksheets digitally
Bottom line: A useful tool for teachers, especially elementary teachers, looking to make worksheet workflow digital, but those looking for more comprehensive paperless solutions will need to look elsewhere.
Grades: 2–6
Price: Free, Paid Free version supports one class and 10 assignments per month with limited feature set. Pro version is $7.99 per month and supports unlimited classes and assignments and adds full and robust feature set.
Google Classroom
Simplify communication, collaboration, and document sharing
Bottom line: Google Classroom is a great way to manage and organize learning, though teachers who need more features may need to look elsewhere.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
GroupMaker
Improve classroom management and encourage collaborative work
Bottom line: Don't be deceived by the design; multiple tools lie within this handy classroom-management tool.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Paid $1.99
Spiral
Provide instant feedback with collaborative, multimedia assessment tool
Bottom line: Engaging, easy-to-use tool that supports both formative and summative assessment while allowing for student collaboration.
Grades: 3–8
Price: Free, Free to Try, Paid Spiral Teacher is free forever and covers up to five classrooms. The Pro Teacher subscription is $39 per teacher per year and offers unlimited classrooms, student accounts for home use, and progress reports. The Pro School subscription is estimated at $3 per student and offers the features of Pro Teacher plus additional features, including full integration with the school's LMS.
FreshGrade
A fresh way to capture, document, and share student learning
Bottom line: Multimedia documentation tools help communicate learning and expand assessment, and the addition of a gradebook sets this tool apart; still, student experience could use some polish.
Grades: 3–9
Price: Free Free for teachers, district pricing is available.
LessonUp
Flexible interactive presentation tool engages kids at school and home
Bottom line: LessonUp is for teachers who like designing unique lessons to reach every learner.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free, Free to Try, Paid Free basic subscription and a free 30-day trial of the teacher license; contact for the annual subscription cost.
Classcraft
Track behavior, motivate students with clever, cooperative game
Bottom line: Classcraft is a fantastic game for encouraging positive behavior while students build knowledge and develop communication and collaboration skills.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free, Paid The free version allows for unlimited students and classes with the base game experience. The paid version is $8 per month (billed annually) and adds LMS features, customizable avatars, and more. There's a discount of $6 per month if three teachers sign up together.
ClassFlow
Robust lesson-creation, presentation tool offers built-in assessment
Bottom line: This powerful tool supports connected and blended learning from instruction to assessment, though it's best used to enhance already great instruction.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Schoology
Top-tier LMS for digital classrooms
Bottom line: To make the most of Schoology, you'll need some ramp-up time and great tasks and assessments, but it can offer rich learning and collaboration experiences.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free The Basic version is free to instructors. There's a paid Enterprise version that adds administration features attractive to districts. Call for pricing.
Showbie
Flexible desktop, mobile assignment tool works best with pro features
Bottom line: A flexible way to collect student assignments and offer written and verbal feedback, especially with the premium features.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free, Paid The free Basic version has limits of 25MB per file, 10 assignments (which expire after one year), 1-minute voice note length, and 1-minute video clip length. The paid Pro version has a 500MB per file limit, unlimited assignments with no expiration, 30-minute voice note length, and 10-minute video clip length. It also adds a student portfolio, gradebook, class discussion, and parent support, among other special features.
Peergrade
Feedback tool with great rubrics might work best for older students
Bottom line: With appropriate teacher support, this could be a powerful way to help teach your students about giving and receiving critical feedback.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid Peergrade is free for students to use, and institutions can purchase a subscription with more custom integrations and personal support.
Credly
Great how-to content, flexible features boost digital badge tool
Bottom line: A useful tool for issuing digital badges.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free, Paid Free; $1,495 per year for the Premier plan, which includes expanded features.
