Educators are installing smart boards in their classrooms everyday for this reason. Successful teaching could mean the difference between a student struggling and a student excelling. Having an interactive and engaging classroom can make a major difference for both students and teachers.
Since the early 2000s, the number of companies introducing online teaching apps has increased significantly. As they say, technology is developed to make our lives easier, especially when it comes to education. Online teaching apps are targeted for classrooms for students to use all their learning materials on-the-go. If you’re looking to choose an online teaching app for your learners, take a look at our list of the best online teaching apps in 2019.
1- Nearpod
The first app that proves ideal for livening up lessons, and made especially for teachers, is the one called Nearpod. This application allows teachers to present multimedia lessons that students can upload to their mobile devices. The Nearpod app is completely free and offers different layouts, which make it suitable for various teaching activities.
nearpod.com (ios) / nearpod.com (Android)
2- Viper (Windows)
The second app worth mentioning and proving suitable for teachers is the one called Viper. It is in fact a valid Windows application that contains ready-made themes which allow teachers to present them directly to pupils. In this app, students are also able to compare their work to understand how to write better by avoiding grammatical errors, paying more attention to syntax and typos.
viper.en.softonic.com (Windows)
3 – Attendance
The third app that proves effective for teachers, who have an Android device, is the one called Attendance. Teachers can use it to draw up a list of attendance in their various classes, and to help them keep track of the studies and classwork of each individual student. This app also allows a photo to be added to each name so that the teacher can better verify and follow the necessary information.
Attendance (Google Play)
4 – TooNoisy
The fourth app for teachers is a little bizarre, but in some ways useful; in fact, it is called TooNoisy. It was created to detect environmental noises and it can be used for both an Android device and with an iPhone in a classroom. This app specifically emits a beep when the aforementioned noise threshold is excessive. The main function of this app is dictated by the fact that students, themselves, can become more aware of how to behave, and regulate their behavior. It also helps students avoid the risk of punishment by a teacher or educational representative if they aren’t following the rules.
toonoisyapp.com (ios and Android available)
5 – ThingLink
The fifth app that a teacher can download for free from Google Play on his mobile device is the one called ThingLink which is used to keep students attentive during lessons. In addition, the app is useful for creating interactive images for teachers who intend to use them to better explain a topic or make concepts clearer to students who download it on their mobile device.
thinglink.com (Android)
Audience response
6 – AnswerGarden
With this free tool, teachers can ask their students a question which can be answered with a single word or short phrase. Responses are received through a web link, QR code, or AnswerGarden’s iOS app, and begin to populate on a display screen in a word cloud. The words that are submitted most often will appear as the largest in the cloud. This is a very handy tool to use for brainstorming activities with a group in the classroom.
answergarden.ch (ios)
7 – Poll Everywhere
The first company to offer an alternative to clickers, Poll Everywhere started as a service that allowed students to respond to a poll via text message. Now students can also respond through a web browser or through Poll Everywhere’s mobile app. Polls can be created using multiple-choice, ranking graphs, clickable images, and questions that include LaTeX syntax and alphabets from different world languages.
Classtree
Collecting those pesky parental consent forms from your students for field trips can be a nightmare, but Classtree makes the process painless and paperless. Unlike Remind, which simply notifies parents of the logistics of an upcoming field trip, Classtree actually lets you attach a consent form for parents to e-sign to go along with the announcement. The app lets you add optional questions, facilitates urgent queries, and manages comments from parents. The app even shows you exactly who has seen your note and who owes you a signed form.
Slack
It’s not just businesses that rely on Slack to keep employees connected: Professors and college students are increasingly turning to the messaging tool to stay in touch beyond school hours. Not only are some instructors hosting text-based “office hours” on the platform, but they are also even pushing important reminders through the app to their students, just in case. You can now use the settings to switch Dark Mode on or off and upload multiple images simultaneously from the message box and in channels and threads.
Trello
Group projects can be difficult when everyone is operating on a different schedule and page. Fortunately, Trello lets students stay organized, providing handy tools designed to keep them on task. The app allows them to create checklists, upload images, and assign tasks to other users among other actions, while conveniently syncing content across devices via the cloud. Content is displayed within a card-peppered interface, with options to easily delete tasks once completed. You can add outside elements like photos or links, directly to Trello, for immediate viewing. The app honors your last card so that when returning to the app, you’ll get right back to the last board or card you were viewing.
Additio
There is a better way of keeping attendance, grades, and class notes than in easily misplaced notebooks or on random pieces of paper. As a digital grade book and classroom management app, Additio lets you take attendance, calculate grades, and plan your timetable, all on your mobile device. Recent versions incorporate a new system to calculate averages based on categories and subcategories. For additional features, like performance analytics and note-keeping, you need to opt for the $8-per-month Plus edition.
Doceri
Taking advantage of the iPad’s touchscreen and portability, the Doceri app, only for iOS, turns the mobile device into a portable interactive whiteboard. You can annotate whatever material you have on-screen as you teach, which makes for a more interactive lesson. Besides letting you handwrite complicated math equations or brainstorm Venn diagrams on the fly, the app can also record the class and post it online directly from your iPad.
Epic Unlimited Books for Kids
Elementary school teachers are always on the lookout for new books for their students but worry about spending too much of their own money on their classrooms. With the Epic Unlimited Books for Kids app, teachers in the U.S. and Canada get free access to over 40,000 kid-friendly books ranging from National Geographic Kids to the Goosebumps series. The Educator’s version of the app also includes lesson ideas and videos to make life easier for teachers. Recent updates include features that help kids pick the next book in their favorite series and Epic! Originals, which offers stories from the kids’ favorite authors.
Conclusion
Canvas, Elluminate, WebEx- all great teaching apps. However, they are expensive and had server downtime in the past. You want to find an app that is affordable and more importantly will not have the customer support issues the bigger apps have had. That’s why I created this list of powerful alternative free online teaching apps to use for your online classes.