There are many apps that not only can make your life easier, but are free. Some of these are for students and some are for teachers. Here are 10 apps, in no particular order, that you may want to try.
Running Record Calculator: The Running Record Calculator helps you calculate student words per minute read, accuracy percentage, and self-correct ratio. Just input the time, number of words, errors, and self-corrections and your scores will be calculated for you automatically.
Fry Words: The Fry 1000 Instant Words are a list of the most common words used for teaching reading, writing, and spelling. They should be recognized instantly by readers. The words are broken up into unique sets of 10 words each. You can add an unlimited number of new words and customize your lists to suit your instruction.
Remind: Remind offers teachers a free, safe, and simple way to instantly text students and parents. Interactions are safe because phone numbers are kept private and messages are sent with no open replies. Teachers, students, and parents see mobile messages from all their classes in one place.
ClassDojo: ClassDojo helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. Teachers can use this app to give their students positive behavior feedback and manage their classes, while parents can check on their child's progress at school. Everything syncs across all of your devices.
Rover: One problem with iPads is they can’t access Flash. With Rover, you can. Rover is a free-to-download education app that streams educational Flash content to your iPad.
Show Me: Want an easier way to handle assignments for absent students? Show Me is a virtual whiteboard. Write on your iPad using your finger or stylus and audio record your voice, and you can immediately play back a tutorial that can be used over and over.
ScootPad: ScootPad is an adaptive learning platform for Grades K–5. It delivers continuously personalized learning experiences for each student, enabling comprehensive practice, accelerated progress, and rapid concept mastery. Teachers get real-time insights that enable proficiency tracking.
Sphere - 360º Photography: Step into the future of photography. See Paris from a hot air balloon, feel the energy from the American Idol stage, and hold onto your raft as you approach Hubbard Glacier. With Sphere, your device is a movable window you control.
iBrainstorm: Instead of note taking and chart paper, students can share their ideas among four different iPads or iPhones with just a flick of the finger.
Prezi: Prezi is a slide-style presentation program that captivates by zooming through a story, visually explaining how ideas relate to each other, and using images and video to enhance presentations while letting students build their presentations collaboratively.
Heidi Marie Rock (heidirock@rockresearchgroup.org), an ILA member since 2007, is president of Rock Research Group, Inc., an educational consulting company providing professional development and grant support services to schools and nonprofits.