20 Best Apps for Teachers for iPhone and Android
Dec. 29, 2020While education apps had always been quite helpful for teachers to communicate and guide students, they had never proved to be so inevitable before. In the backdrop of COVID-19,online classeshave become the need of the hour. Fortunately, both the App Store and Google Play Store boast a ton of apps designed for educators. After a meticulous selection, I have listed out the 20 best apps for teachers for iPhone and Android, which can prove to be a well-timed shot in the arm for not only enhancing communication but also keeping a tab on the learners.
With a wide assortment of apps vying for attention, I would recommend you to go with your set goal for a better selection.
Giving priority to several pivotal aspects like grading,managing class schedule, assessing performance, and also entertaining young learners with game-based lessons, this roundup consists of a variety of apps. Thus, so long as you have got the target in your mind, you can find the preferred apps.
Beyond the usual apps, I have picked out other essential applications that can enhance learning, keep you updated withreal-time reminders, boost teamwork through collaboration, offer seamless communication with parents, and even let you store all of your projects securely in the cloud. With that said, let’s get started, shall we?
It’s essential for teachers to have a better understanding of a student’s ability as it enables them to carve out a viable strategy that can unlock creativity. With Seesaw Class, while students are able to put their learning on full display, teachers find a better way toget insight into students’ potential. As a result, it becomes a tad easier for educators to recognize the talent of learners.
To bolster the leadership quality in each student, Seesaw Class offers full freedom to learners to express themselves. As a teacher, you cankeep an eye on the progressof your students and also engage parents in conversations on the learning. Besides, families can track their child’s work and also leave comments.
What’s more, Seesaw Class offers you the option to translate notes into more than 50 languages such as French, Japanese, Spanish, and more. It’s worth noting that you will require to go for the premium version (Seesaw Plus for $12.99/month) to unlock features to getreal-time insights into schoolwide learningand check students’ progress year over year. Everything considered; it’s one of the best teacher apps for Android and iOS.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $12.99/month for Seesaw Plus)
Communication with parents is a must when you want students to have all-around improvements whether scoring high marks or becoming a disciplined kid. And this is where ClassDojo can have a role to play in establishing easycommunication between teachers and parents. Using this handy app, teachers can motivate students to not only boost performance in terms of marks but also improve teamwork.
The app allows teachers toshare photos, videos, and important announcementsso that parents can remain informed about what’s going and therefore be able to offer the needed assistance. If required, they can also communicate with parents via message.
Notably, ClassDojo allows you to control comments and even delete individual comments if required. Plus, there is also an option tocustomization push notifications for quite hours. Though the app is free to use, you will need to subscribe to the $7.99/monthly plan if you wish to take advantage of the ClassDojo Beyond School for extra features.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $7.99/month)
If simplicity and ease of use are your top priority, Google Classroom is for you. With this app, teachers cancreate classes, distribute assignments, and keep everything perfectly organized. Moreover, Google Classroom also offers a straightforward way to grade assignments and makes the copy of a Google Document for both flexibility and security. The app allows teachers to add students directly or share a code with their class to let everyone join.
Plus, the Classroom appautomatically creates Drive foldersfor each assignment so that it can remain safe and accessible across devices. While teachers can track who hasn’t completed the work, students can monitor what’s due on the assignment page. Additionally, students can share resources with each other and stay updated with real-time feedback. Being deeplyintegrated with G-Suite, it works in sync with other Google apps like Calendar and Gmail to let you manage everything as desired.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
They say, “Learning is a lifelong process.” And as a beloved teacher, if you think your learning needs to get a bit more mobile, Khan Academy could be a worthy addition to your catalog of the best apps for teachers. What makes this app a must-have asset for both educators, learners, and anyone who is willing to enhance knowledge is amassive library of videos, interactive exercises, and a ton of articles about several topics including algebra, differential equations, economics, finance, humanities, and more.
Khan Academy lets you practice exercises, quizzes, and tests at your own pace. Besides, it also providesinstant feedbackand step-by-step hints so that you never get stuck. You can evendownload your favorite exercises, topics, and even videos in order that your learning doesn’t come to halt when there is no internet connection. Long story short, Khan Academy can serve as a one-stop platform for your lifelong learning.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
Unique ideas have a pivotal role to play when it comes to shaping the mind. And as a teacher, you would like to have the luxury of plenty of intriguing ideas that can drive the curiosity of your learners. For this exact purpose, TED seems to be a vital asset. Featuringthousands of informative and inspiring videos, the app can help you bolster your knowledge and also discover the game-changing ways to get the most out of your learners.
Depending on your interests, TED offerspersonalized suggestions. So, you won’t have to spend much time to find the videos that you prefer to watch. What’s more, you can also explore curator’s picks which is a collection of highly-rated videos. As TED allows you todownload videos, you can stream your favorites at your convenient time even offline.
One of my top picks of this app is the“Surprise Me”feature that always brings something out-of-the-box to keep you guessing. While TED is a free-to-use app, you will need to spend $11.99 if you want to get TED Supporter.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $11.99 for Ted Supporter)
Learning becomes more joyful when it has interesting elements. And what better way to bring plenty of fun into learning thancreating brain-teasing quizzesand asking your learners to sort them out? With Quizizz, you can create fascinating quizzes and also host them.
If you are a student, you can take on quizzes to check where you stand. To bring more fun into the play, you can alsochallenge your friendsto compete with you. As the app offers quizzes on several topics including mathematics, English, science, history, geography, languages, and general knowledge, you will always have plenty of quizzes to take on.
Interestingly, the app alsoprovides insight into what you knowand what are the things you need to review, which is yet another plus if you prefer to be in complete control. On top of all, you don’t have to spend any bucks to get the most out of Quizizz, which makes it one of the best free apps for teachers for iOS and Android.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
Awesome ideas tend to strike when you expect them the least. So, the sooner you capture them the better it is. And for this very purpose, Evernote has to be your top bet. Widely considered as one of thebest note-taking appsacross platforms, Evernote lets you not only take quick notes but alsocreate checklists and to-dosthat you can share with your students.
Another feature that shows the versatility of Evernote is the ability toinclude audio, web clippings,sketches, and photos to your notes. Using your device camera, you can organize your documents, whiteboards, and handwritten notes. To ensure important tasks don’t slip out of your mind, you can alsoset remindersto keep a tab on the things that matter to you.
With the neat web clipper, Evernote lets youclip articles and web pagesto read later. As it syncs all of your notes across devices, you can access them from anywhere. That’s not all, the app also allows you to annotate docs and work with your colleagues on a shared project. While Evernote is available for free, you can upgrade to the premium variant of the app to get features like 10 GB of new uploads each month,annotate PDFs, and business card scanning.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, in-app purchases start at $2.99)
For more ways than one, Edmodo is a complete teacher app. With Edmodo, you can facilitate discussions or connect with each student individually through directmessages. Thanks to theautomatically updated planner, it becomes pretty easy to keep students guided.
Another feature that makes Edmodo a handy tool is the ability todiscover new lessonsas well as trending topics and share them with students. The app provides a number of useful educational resources that you can use to offer the best guide to your students.
Plus, it also offers a better way tokeep your entire classes and assignments organizedright from one-stop, so you don’t have to spend much time to manage them. Overall, Edmodo is a top-notch teacher app for iOS and Android.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
To inculcate teamwork,seamless collaborationis a must. And if you are willing to put more emphasis on teamwork, Slack is the one you shouldn’t miss out on. Using Slack, you can enhance communication with your students, thanks to the ability to send secure messages and call any person or group.
The app allows you toshare documents with multiple peopleand edit them in sync with the real-time updates. With the customized notifications, you can stay updated about things that matter to you.
The dedicated channels ensure keeping a track of everything related to a topic or project remains easy going. Notably, it also allows you to set your status to let everyone know your availability. Furthermore, you can alsointegrate it withGoogle Driveand Dropboxto keep all of your projects secure and easily available across devices.
If for some reason you don’t prefer Slack, you can check out our favoriteSlack alternativesand use them instead.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
A reliablecloud-storageis a must if you want to keep everything secure and easily accessible across platforms. While there is no dearth of cloud-storage platforms, Dropbox remains the most loved service due largely to the flexibility it offers. As a teacher, you have to deal with a ton of files that need to be managed and kept organized for hassle-free access.
With Dropbox at the disposal, you can put all of your files in the Apple-pie order and access them whenever and wherever you may need them. Thanks to the support for more than175 file formats, it’s fully equipped to handle almost any file type. One of my favorite features of this app is the ability to automatically upload photos and videos to cloud storage. Besides, I also find theoffline supporthighly appreciable as it ensures you can navigate through your files without any interruption.
Dropbox offers 2GB of cloud storage for free. After that, you can subscribe to the premium version (starts at $9.99/month for 2TB) to store more data.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, starts at 9.99/month for 2TB)
Whether you are a professional who has to work from home or a teacher who has to teach a number of students, Zoom can prove to be a well-timed addition to your collection. Touted to deliver the bestunified communication experience, the app comes witha wide assortment of toolsto let you communicate and collaborate on shared content.
Using thevideo-conferencing app, you caninvite up to 100 peopleto join you on a video. Moreover, the app also offers you the flexibility to send messages, files, links, and fun-loving GIFs to keep the laughter going. Being available across platforms like macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS, it ensures incompatibility never comes your way when trying to stay connected with the people that matter to you.
Bear in mind that the freemium version of Zoom will let youstream group meetingsfor up to 40 minutes only. If you want to remove this restriction and also unlock other goodies like group meetings for up to 30 hours,social mediastreaming, and 1GB cloud recording, you will need to opt for the premium plan that starts at $14.99/month.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $14.99/month)
Viewing and presentingpro-grade presentationsdoesn’t have to be a hassle when you have anintuitive presentation applike Prezi Viewer always ready to get your work done. With the help of this app, you can access your presentations and share them through multiple mediums like email, message, and social media.
Prezi Viewer featuressmooth touch gesturesso that you can pinch to zoom and drag to pan around to present your ideas. The support for AirPlay allows you to view your presentations on the big screen. Additionally, it allows comments on the collaborative presentations so that everyone can express their thoughts.
Thanks to thesupport for many languagesincluding English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Japanese, and Hungarian, the app makes you have the flexibility to present your ideas in your favorite language.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free)
As a language teacher, you would like to have Duolingo at your beck and call to make the task oflanguage learninga fun experience. Claiming to be the world’s most downloaded education app, Duolingo is designed to teachmore than 35 languages. The bite-sized lessons focus on all four dimensions of language learning: speaking, reading, listening, and writing.
To prevent boredom from creeping into learning, Duolingo offers a handful of game-based lessons which you can play to learn the basics without having to stress. It usesscience-based teaching methodologyto foster long-term language retention. Notably, the app also allows you to keep a track of your progress and offers plenty of rewards and achievements to keep you motivated.
If you wish to bring your learning into practice, there is an option to join the community of learners as well. To sum up, Duolingo is a feature-rich language learning asset for teachers.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, in-app purchase for unlocking premium features)
Oxford Dictionary is the sort of app that deserves a safe spot in the catalog irrespective of whether you are an educator or a student or a professional for more than one reason. Boasting an ever-growing database ofmore than 350,000 wordsand phrases, the app has got you fully covered as a language reference. Moreover, it also provides over 75, 000audio pronunciationsto help you pronounce correctly.
What I love the most about this app is the word-of-the-day that enables you to learn a unique word each day. Besides, the ability tocreate custom folderswith special words has also appealed to me a lot. With a handful of colorful themes, the app allows you to deck up the interface as well especially for the times where you don’t want the monotonous feeling to dampen your spirit of learning.
Keep in mind, you will need to opt for the premium version of the Oxford Dictionary to use features like audio pronunciations and offline mode.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $2.99/month)
When you are dealing with a number of students, ever-growing workloads, and the impeccable desire to help students deliver their best, there are bound to be situations where something may slip away from your mind. If you no longer want to let forgetfulness to hurt your productivity or become hindrances in your path, you should start using Todoist to keep you in the loop about everything that matters to you.
With Todoist, you cancreate to-do listsand keep an eye on each one of them. The timely reminders make sure you don’t forget to carry out your tasks on time. Using priority levels, you can prioritize your to-dos to complete the urgent tasks first. Interestingly, it also provides aproductivity trendto let you find out how well you are performing.
The integration with apps and services likeGmail, Slack, Amazon Alexa, andGoogle Calendarenables you to speed up your tasks. Overall, Todoist is a super handy tool that can amp up your productivity.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $3.99/month)
A proficient classroom management assistant is a must for keeping the entire class organized and on the right track to achieve the set goal. With TeacherKit, you get aversatile classroom assistantthat can let you carry out essential things like logging student’s attendance add behavior notes, and also keep the parents informed about your students’ performance.
TeacherKit also makes it easier tocreate and print a seating chartfor students so that there is no mess up in the classroom. Oh, it also kind of sends out a clear warning that sitting on the backbench is never a wise move in order to remain away from the spotlight! Jokes aside, TeacherKit offers a premium version ($3.99/month) with additional features like in-depth reporting.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $3.99/month)
When learning tends to become predictable or appears to lose interest, teachers need to find a way to make it fascinating. If that’s what you are after to make learning a pleasing affair, Kahoot could be worth checking out. The app has a solid collection ofquiz-based gamesthat students can play at school and at home. For a more personalized experience, learners can also create their own quizzes with custom challenges.
Kahoot allows students tojoin quiz-based games hosted live and also let them invite friends for friendly duels. With the detailed reports, the app lets you assess learning outcomes to find out where your students stand. Do note that the app offers optional upgrades to let you unlock cool features like a huge image library and advanced question types including puzzles.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, offers in-app purchases)
It’s no secret that kids’ enjoy reading interesting stories that can drive your curiosity to no end. Equipped with40,000audiobooks, learning videos, and ebooks, the app has got a variety of interesting content to fascinate young learners (up to 12 years old). The app allows up to 4 individual child profiles per account to let multiple kids use it in a fully personalized way.
To keep kids motivated, Epic providescoveted rewards and badges. As a teacher, you can assign books and keep an eye on the reading progress to ensure learners can remain on track to achieve the goal. Some of the books that have caught my attention are: Flat Stanley, Warriors, Biscuit, National Geographic Kids, and Batman. Knowing how interesting they are, I guess kids will never get tired of reading them.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(one-month free-trial, $7.99/month)
Pocket has long been an amazing tool for readers. So, if you are on the lookout for an app where you can store all of your favorite articles, news, stories, and videos to catch up with them later, this one has to be your top bet. As the app isintegrated with popular news sourcessuch as New York Times, BBC News, Google News, The Guardian, and more, exploring the articles that you enjoy reading will never be a big deal.
What’s more, Pocket is alsoconnected with Twitter and YouTubeto keep you at pace with the trending stuff. It features an intuitive layout and a fully customizable display so that you can read your favorite articles with complete peace of mind. Not just that, it also provides dark and sepia themes to make reading a pleasing experience at night.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, $4.99/month for the premium version)
Ifgrading studentsseems to be a tedious task, Additio is the one you should try. The app provides assessments based on skills and learning standards for more accuracy. Plus, you also getcustomized reportsfor a better insight into the overall performance. Hence, it becomes a little straightforward for you to grade students. That aside, Additio features a lesson planner per session and provides circular units with a number of customized templates to let you take control of the class and run it with the desired flow.
The app isintegrated with Google Classroomand Microsoft for Education to let you manage your class efficiently. Besides, you can sync your data with Google Drive Microsoft OneDrive to keep it secure. The offline functionality and the ability to export data to excel and PDF further enhance Additio’s reputation as a useful asset for teachers.
Key features:
Install:iOSandAndroid(free, offers in-app purchases )
Best Teacher Apps for iPhone and Android Lined Up for You
So, that ends our article on the top apps for teachers. With so many highly-rated apps, I hope your needs have found the right asset to let you manage your class or improve your learning. Keeping in mind other important needs like storing files, boosting productivity, and enhancing knowledge, I have chosen other apps that go well beyond the usual lines.
We have also covered bestapps for studentsin a separate article. So, if you are looking for good apps to suggest to your students, don’t forget to check out the article.
So, have you found the right teacher apps for your Android or iOS device? If yes, feel free to offer up your feedback about them. Also, tell us about the other equally impressive teacher apps that may have failed to find a safe spot in this roundup.
An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.
