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Great Apps for BYOD Programs in Schools

Bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives and programs are a low-cost way to tech up a classroom, and they offer students a platform to battle through digital distraction and practice media balance. So which tools will you and your students find useful for learning and organization? Start with this list, which features easy-to-use apps and websites useful for a variety of grades and subjects. We've made sure to curate cheap or free BYOD tools that'll work well on a variety of mobile devices (from tablets to phones). We've also selected tools that'll be highly useful throughout a school year, specifically for helping students create and show what they know. Take note that there are also a few teacher-focused tools that'll help you tackle two big BYOD challenges: assessment and classroom management.

Top Picks

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Flexible Content-Focused Tools

ScratchJr

Drag-and-drop programming is an effective intro for budding coders

Bottom line: With a little adult help, this is a rich platform for getting kids into programming and digital creation.

Grades: K–2 Price: Free

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Epic! - Unlimited Books for Kids

Free, expansive digital library unlocks treasure trove of books

Bottom line: This large collection of books and videos on a wide variety of topics is an easy -- and free -- enhancement to any classroom library.

Grades: K–6 Price: Free to try Free to elementary school teachers and school librarians in the U.S. and Canada.

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Dictionary.

Vast word reference features tons of content and word games

Bottom line: Powerful tool crammed full of games, classic reference information, and flexible controls.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free Remove ads for $1.99 in-app purchase.

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Lab4Physics

Bring physics to life using lab sensors built right into your smartphone

Bottom line: Use your smartphone to gather data and study speed, gravity, waves, and other physics concepts.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free, Paid Premium costs $14.99 each year with a 45-day free trial.

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Science Journal by Google

Turn your phone into a lab sensor to collect and analyze data

Bottom line: Science Journal does a good job recording real-time motion, sound, and light data using phones.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

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NPR News

Top-notch digital content takes students beyond the airwaves

Bottom line: Provides an easy, fun, and effective way to engage students with radio.

Grades: 9–12 Price: Free

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Useful Classroom Management, Assessment, and Productivity Tools

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.

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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.

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Bloomz

Full-featured parent-teacher communication platform

Bottom line: One-stop multi-tool for parents, teachers, and students.

Grades: K–6 Price: Free

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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.

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Nearpod

Interactive slideshow tool engages students, promotes collaboration

Bottom line: This effective tool leverages the capabilities of 1-to-1 environments and offers both teacher- and student-paced learning.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free, Paid The Silver edition is free for up to 30 students, the Gold edition is $120 per teacher per year for up to 50 students, and the Platinum edition is $349 per year for up to 75 students. In-app purchases are available for additional content, and schools and districts can receive volume discounts.

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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.

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Formative

Superb real-time assessment tool a fit for 1-to-1, BYOD classrooms

Bottom line: Cleverly designed for teachers, Formative offers a flexible and attractive solution for gathering a variety of student response types and offering individualized feedback.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid Basic features are free and include unlimited assignments and live student responses. Premium features are $12 per month (paid yearly) or a month-to-month price of $15 per month and include enhanced performance tracking, collaboration, advanced question types, and more.

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Kahoot!

Game-like student-response tool can spark competitive fun

Bottom line: Effortlessly fun quizzing that can lead to productive formative assessment and student reflection if implemented effectively.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid While Kahoot! is free, there's a Plus version for teachers priced at $1 per teacher per month, which includes a shared folder for quizzes, co-creation and co-editing of quizzes, and advanced reporting. A $3 per month Pro version adds an image library.

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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.

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Screencastify

Easy screen-recording tool facilitates outside-the-box instruction

Bottom line: If you have access to Chrome, Screencastify is an easy instructional tool that lets teachers and students communicate in new and creative ways.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid Free version offers up to 50 watermarked videos per month and a maximum length of 10 minutes per video; premium version ($24 per year) removes the watermark and unlocks more features, including trimming and exporting capabilities. Bulk pricing is available for groups of teachers and districts.

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Slido

Increase student buy-in with interactive polls and Q&A sessions

Bottom line: Engaging classroom response platform offers teachers and students real-time feedback opportunities.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid Basic plans are free and include up to three active polls and crowd-sourcing events for up to 1,000 participants. The teacher plan costs $75 per year and includes all basic features plus unlimited polls, moderation capabilities, data exporting, analytics, integrations, and more.

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Edmodo

Manage classes, content, and communication with social LMS platform

Bottom line: This free platform allows for teacher-monitored classroom communication but lacks excitement.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free This website is free to use for all features, but it does contain advertisements on the teacher side.

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Gimkit

Game-show group fun and independent study in one engaging tool

Bottom line: Put students in the driver's seat with collaborative setup and gameplay features.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free to try, Paid Gimkit Pro is billed annually at $59.88 or month-to-month at $7.99. There's a group discount for 6+ teachers.

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Kami

Versatile annotation tool helps users critically connect with content

Bottom line: Kami is an effective way to promote student interaction with texts, authentic documents, and pictures.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid Free version includes basic annotation features and comes with in-app advertising. Teacher Plan is $99 per year, which supports 150 students and includes additional features. School/district pricing is available.

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Pear Deck

Interactive slideshows offer a variety of ways to engage and assess

Bottom line: While it has some limits, the useful presentation features provide terrific options for formative assessment from any device.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid The Basic plan is free and includes integration with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint as well as access to educator-created lesson plans. The Individual Premium plan is $149 per year and includes student-paced mode and more. Custom plans are available via quote and add report options and professional development.

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Evernote

Organize digital content with full-featured web clipper and notebook

Bottom line: Students and teachers can learn to better manage their digital lives via this comprehensive organizational tool.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Basic, Plus, and Premium plans available. Basic plans are free; additional plans and in-app purchases range from $2.99 to $7.99 per month. Yearly pricing is also available. Plus plans give users up to 1GB of uploads per month and Premium plans add even more features.

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Notebook - Take Notes, Sync

Curate and organize all kinds of content into customizable notebooks

Bottom line: From the novice to the super-organized student, Notebook's versatility is a rare free find.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

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Microsoft OneNote

Note-taking giant built for flexible, collaborative work

Bottom line: A powerful (and free) tool for thinking and organization that's making smart strides in the education space.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

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Todoist

Calendar meets to-do list in versatile multi-platform organization app

Bottom line: Mastering all of the features will take some time, but it's a dynamic app that promotes both individual and team productivity.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid The free version includes up to 80 active projects. There's a 30-day free trial for paid plans, which are $4 to $5 per month (based on annual subscription). Month-to-month plans are $5 to $6 per month. Teachers and students are eligible for a 70% discount.

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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

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Inspiring Arts and Creativity Tools

Popplet

Cool mind-mapping tool good for organization, collaboration

Bottom line: Popplet is versatile and accessible and gives students an engaging tool for organizing ideas.

Grades: 1–12 Price: $4.99

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DIY App - Creative Community for Kids

From cardboarding to cooking, this app helps kids find the fun in DIY

Bottom line: Fabulous way for kids to get skills and share their projects digitally.

Grades: 3–8 Price: Free While currently free at the time of this review, this app will reportedly offer paid premium services and real embroidered patches for a fee in the future.

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Explain Everything Whiteboard

Powerhouse tool for creating stellar multimedia presentations

Bottom line: Teachers and students can make dynamic presentations that involve different types of media in this innovative, fun app.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free to try, Paid There's a 30-day free trial. The Education Plan is $4.99 per user, per year (minimum of 5 users). Individual plans are $24.99 per year.

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Canva - Graphic Design Creator

Create snazzy designs in seconds with flexible, cloud-based tool

Bottom line: A flexible, accessible way to get kids -- especially design novices -- creating digitally in your classroom if you have stable internet and time to get students set up to be successful.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free

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Adobe Photoshop Express

Top-notch photo editor helps perfect pics for creative projects

Bottom line: This is a powerful, free creation tool from the industry leader in photo editing.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

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Adobe Premiere Clip

Decent on-the-go video editor shines when using other Adobe tools

Bottom line: It's a good tool that gets better when using other Creative Cloud apps, but the limited features make this a hard sell for anything other than introductory editing.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free Additional Adobe Creative Cloud storage available for a fee.

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Sway

Create dynamic visual presentations on flexible storytelling platform

Bottom line: A seamless transition from design to presentation makes Sway a great fit for presenting carefully curated content.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free Sway is free with an Office 365 account.

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Animoto: Slideshow Maker

Slick video slideshow tool lets kids tell stories and share them

Bottom line: Anything that happens during school can be turned into an engaging video slideshow.

Grades: 7–12 Price: Free, Paid There's a free version. Basic plans ($4.99/month or $29.99/year) support slideshows of up to 10 minutes and longer video clips. Personal plans ($9.99/month or $59.99/year) include all the features of basic plus HD videos.

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Autodesk Sketchbook

Impressive creation tool for teens serious about art

Bottom line: Gives students easy access to professional tools for creating digital art.

Grades: 7–12 Price: Free to try While the app is free to try, the full Pro version is $4.99. This version adds a host of creative options from brush types to colors to more layers. There's also a $29.99 per year Sketchbook subscription that unlocks the Pro version across all platforms.

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