The document discusses several educational apps including Google Classroom, Edmodo, Plickers, Voicethread, and Pick Me!. Google Classroom allows teachers to create paperless assignments, communicate with students, and provide feedback. Edmodo enables teachers to create quizzes, polls, and lessons, and facilitates parent involvement. Plickers conducts polls and quizzes without requiring student devices. Voicethread creates interactive lessons. Pick Me! allows teachers to randomly select students to participate.

1. The 10 Best Apps in
Education
EDT 620
Chelsea Brackett and Claire Summers

2. Google Classroom
Hyperlink: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-
classroom/id924620788?mt=8
Google Classrooms is a great app for both teachers and students. With
easy set up, teachers can invite students or share a code with the class
for them to join. This app saves time with the simple, paperless
assignment workflow which allows teachers to create, review, and grade
assignments quickly, all in one place. Students can stay organized and see
all of their assignments on an assignments page, and all class materials
are automatically filed into folders in their Google Drive. Teachers can
enhance communication by sending announcements and starting class
discussions instantly. Also, students can share resources with each other
or provide answers to questions on the stream.

3. About Google Classroom
 Specific Uses in Classroom: With this app, teachers are able to create
classes, distribute assignments, send feedback to students, and are able
to do all of this in real time.
 Standards: The teacher creates the content that is shared with the
students. This way, they can customize the material to be relevant to
the concept/standards/frameworks.
 Authenticity: All of the activities used in the app take place in real time
and students can utilize this app anywhere.
 Feedback: The teacher is able to provide feedback to students in real
time using this app.
 Differentiation: Because the teacher is creating assignments for
students and sending or uploading them to students with this app, they
would be able to differentiate assignments if needed.

4. About Google Classroom Cont.
 User Friendliness: Students can launch and navigate within the
app easily.
 Instructions: The instructions within the app are easy to
understand.
 Higher Order Thinking: Can promote higher order thinking if the
teacher creates and includes assignments that involve using
higher order thinking.
 Student Motivation: Students will be motivated to use the app
because it’ll help them stay organized with their classes.
 Privacy: The teacher places students into a class and then all
information can be shared with the group or one-on-one.
Students are able to contact those in their class to communicate
with them.

5. EdmodoHyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/edmodo/id378352300?mt=8
Edmodo has a variety of uses for teachers. Teachers can create
quizzes or assignments, conduct in-class polls to check feedback,
and manage information all in one app. It has the additional benefit
of easy parent involvement and communication; parents can
download the app and be active in classroom groups, so they can
see students’ assignments and be involved with learning at home. It
makes online collaboration easy, and collects assignments, quizzes,
and feedback all in one place.

6. About Edmodo
 Specific Uses in Classroom: Edmodo has a variety of uses for teachers. You can
create quizzes or assignments, conduct in-class polls to check feedback, and
manage information all in one app. Parents can also download the app and be
involved in classroom groups, so they can see students’ assignments and be
involved with learning at home.
 Standards: Application/relevance to standards depends on the teacher’s use
of the app. Teachers can create assessments and lessons as they choose,
including the skills and standards they need to emphasize.
 Authenticity: Students participate under their own name in the online
classroom, as they complete the teacher’s assigned tasks and interact with their
peers.
 Feedback: Feedback from student quizzes is immediately recorded for the
teacher’s use. Teachers can use this information to determine what aspects of
the lesson need more reinforcement and what students seem to understand well.
 Differentiation: Teachers can assign students as much or as little of the work in
the online classroom as they want. Some students may be more competent,
while other students may struggle. A teacher should be able to adjust
accordingly with this online format.

7. About Edmodo Cont.
 User Friendliness: The app is fairly straightforward and interactive,
so students should be able to navigate it on their own.
 Instructions: The app guides you through the setup/getting started
process, and it is fairly easy to follow.
 Higher Order Thinking: Depending on what it is used for, teachers
can engage higher thinking skills with this app through the kinds
of assignments and assessments they create.
 Student Motivation: Students should be able to get accustomed to
using an app like this, and the more it is used the more they will
remember to check and participate in the online lessons. Generally
speaking, they will only use the app when the teacher has a specific
assignment or lesson for them.
 Privacy: The teacher can totally control who joins the classroom
groups and sees anything they create using the app. Students must
enter a group code given by the teacher in order to use the app.

8. Plickers
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plickers/id701184049?mt=8
A teacher can use Plickers for quick checks of understanding to know if their
students are understanding big concepts and mastering key skills that they are
covering in class. Plickers does not rely on student devices, just a card that is
connected to the individual student and the teacher’s device. This is beneficial
because not all students have the correct devices that would be needed to
download other apps of this nature. This also saves time by not waiting on
students to find the right app or log onto a computer. Students think of Plicker as
a game and that it makes learning fun and interesting. It also helps all students to
participate without feeling self-conscious because only they know what they are
submitting as the answer.

9. About Plickers
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: Plickers can be used in the
classroom to poll or give quizzes to your students without the need
for student devices. The teacher projects the questions at the front
of the class. Each student is given a card that is connected to their
name, and the teacher uses their iPhone to scan the cards to
instantly check for understanding. This can be used to check for
understanding, exit tickets, and impromptu polls.
 Standards: This app can include content related to content
standards/frameworks because the teacher creates questions to be
used within the app.
 Authenticity: This app is authentic because the students will be
taking quizzes with questions created by their teacher.
 Feedback: The teacher can customize what the students see. This
includes the correct answer and a graph of student’s responses.
 Differentiation: This app does offer flexibility for the teacher to set
up their class rosters and to customize the questions, what students
see, and how the questions are displayed.

10. About Plickers Cont.
 User Friendliness: This app is to be used by the teacher and it is user
friendly.
 Instructions: The instructions included are helpful. The teacher can also
include more instructions, if needed, to fit the reading levels of the
students in their class.
 Higher Order Thinking: This app can promote higher order thinking if the
teacher creates and includes questions that promote higher order
thinking.
 Student Motivation: I think students will be motivated to request taking
quizzes this way because it is fun. I also think teachers will be motivated
to use this in the classroom often.
 Privacy: This app does not really offer any privacy options.

11. Voicethread
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voicethread/id465159110?mt=8
VoiceThread is an easy way to create interactive lessons that can be
used in a flipped classroom setting or to post discussions as homework
assignments. It is easy to use and gives each student a chance to speak
up and be involved, including those students who might be shy or
overlooked in a classroom setting. Teachers build the lesson as they
want, post their own instructions, and then students can participate on
their own time. It is a fun way to involve students in an interactive
lesson.

12. About Voicethread
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: Can be used to create fun and
interactive lessons for students to complete. This app allows the
teacher to check for student understanding in real time and they are
also able to collect and share student responses. The teacher can
even assign for students to create VTs in order to show
understanding of a concept they have covered in class.
 Standards: The teacher creates the content that is shared with the
students. This way, they can customize the material to be relevant
to the concept standards/frameworks.
 Authenticity: The skills presented will be practiced in an authentic
format because the teacher creates the interactive lesson.
 Feedback: It depends on how the teacher creates the interactive
lesson if the students will receive feedback or not. The app itself
will not send the students feedback.
 Differentiation: This app does not really have flexibility in altering
settings to meet student’s needs.

13. About Voicethread Cont.
 User Friendliness: Students can launch the app on any device and
navigate within the app.
 Instructions: The instructions within the app are easy to
understand. The teacher will create the instructions for the
interactive lesson.
 Higher Order Thinking: This app can promote higher order thinking
if the teacher creates and includes questions that promote higher
order thinking.
 Student Motivation: Students will be motivated to use the app
because the interactive lessons are fun and the teacher will most
likely use some of the assignments as homework assignments.
 Privacy: Students just need a username, email address, and
password to create an account. They have the option of making a VT
they create public or private.

14. Pick Me!
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pick-me!/id444045099?mt=8
Pick Me! is an easy, fun, and fair way for the teacher to randomly call
on students in class. This app can help ensure that students are
studying to stay current on the concepts being taught and that they are
paying attention in class because they could be called on at anytime.
The teacher can track formative assessment over time by noting
student answers. They are then able to email the results to other
teachers, students, or their parents. This app can also be beneficial to
the teacher by connecting names with faces if they choose to upload
pictures for their students.

15. About Pick Me!
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: This app can be used to make it easy, fun
and fair to randomly call on students in class or pick them to participate. It
randomly selects students and once you ask them a question, you can select
and keep up with whether or not they got it right with a thumbs up or
thumbs down selection. It can also be beneficial in helping to connect names
with faces because teachers can upload pictures to go along with their
students.
 Standards: This app does not contain information related to content
standards.
 Authenticity: This app is not intended for student use and does not contain
information related to content standards.
 Feedback: This app does not provide student feedback because it is utilized
by the teacher. It can be programmed to send reports to the teacher.
 Differentiation: This app does offer flexibility for the teacher to set up their
class rosters, to set up how it chooses students, and how many chances they
get to be called on.

16. About Pick Me! Cont.
 User Friendliness: This app is very user friendly and the teacher can
launch and navigate within the app.
 Instructions: The instructions are clear and easy to understand.
 Higher Order Thinking: This app is not intended for student use,
therefore it does not provide opportunities for higher order thinking.
 Student Motivation: This app is not intended for student use, but I
do believe that I would use this app everyday throughout my
instruction.
 Privacy: This app does not really offer any privacy options.

17. Khan Academy
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/khan-academy-learn-math-biology/id469863705?mt=8
Khan Academy is an online resource full of information on various subjects.
Teachers can create profiles for each class and choose missions for them to
finish. Khan Academy is filled with descriptive, narrated videos for a vast
list of concepts in a lot of disciplines such as history, math, sciences,
computer programming, etc. Each video breaks down each concept and
most provide a quiz for students to test their learning. There are also
write-ups within the groupings of concepts that explain the subject. This
can also be used as a study aide for students who need remediation, are at
the current grade level, or are above their current grade level.

18. About Khan Academy
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: Teachers can create profiles for each
class and choose missions for them to finish. Khan Academy is filled with
descriptive, narrated videos for a vast list of concepts in a lot of
disciplines such as history, math, sciences, computer programming, etc.
Each video breaks down each concept and most provide a quiz for
students to test their learning. There are also write ups within the
groupings of concepts that explain the subject. This can also be used as
a study aide for students who need remediation, are at the current
grade level, or are above their current grade level.
 Standards: This app is relevant to the state frameworks for most
biology/life science classes. It covers a variety of different concepts that
are also covered within the state frameworks.
 Authenticity: The students view explanatory and descriptive videos and
write-ups throughout the app. Throughout the video, there are quiz
questions that check for understanding and if they are struggling, they
can go back to review on what they just learned before they move on
within the video.
 Feedback: The app provides the answers to the quiz that the students
can take to check for understanding. It encourages them to go back and
rewatch the concepts they may be struggling with.

19. About Khan Academy Cont.
 Differentiation: This app does offer some flexibility. The students can
choose videos based upon grade level. Whether a student is learning
below their current grade level, at their current grade level, or above
their current grade level there is content and tutorials for everyone to
view and learn.
 User Friendliness: Yes, students should be able to launch and navigate
in the app independently.
 Instructions: Yes, the instructions are helpful and can be at the reading
level for each person because they choose content based on their level.
 Higher Order Thinking: Khan Academy engages the listeners and
provides the information in a new way that encourages them to look at
the information in a new way.
 Student Motivation: I believe students will be motivated to use this app
and use it often. The app awards badges to motivate learners to
continue their learning.
 Privacy: The only information required for an account is an email
address, username and password; and there is really no other privacy
options in this app.

20. Quizlet
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quizlet-flashcards-study-tools/id546473125?mt=8
Quizlet makes it easy to engage all students with free and powerful study
tools. Teachers can create study sets for their classes, students can create
their own and share with peers, or they can borrow sets that have already
been created by other users. There are six different activities that let
students study on their own, compete for highscores, and to test
themselves on their understanding; so there is a way of studying for all
learners. Quizlet is accessible to all students because it is available through
a web browser and mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

21. About Quizlet
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: Quizlet can be used to create
digital flashcards and other study aides to review for assessments.
There is also the option to choose study material uploaded from
other Quizlet users. The teacher can project the flashcards in front
of the class for a group review or encourage students to use Quizlet
on their own to check their understanding of the concepts covered
in class.
 Standards: The teacher can create sets of flashcards and other
material to be shared with their students. This way, they can
customize the material to be relevant to the concept
standards/frameworks.
 Authenticity: This app is authentic because the students will be
viewing flashcards or other study material with content created by
their teacher or peers from their class.
 Feedback: This app does not really provide students with feedback
because they are reviewing material that was previously uploaded.

22. About Quizlet Cont.
 Differentiation: This app offers flexibility because students can
create sets of cards based on their individual needs.
 User Friendliness: This app is very user friendly, intuitive, and easy
to navigate.
 Instructions: The instructions are easy to follow and are at the
correct reading level for middle school and high school students.
 Higher Order Thinking: This app can promotes higher order thinking
through repetition.
 Student Motivation: I believe students will be motivated to use the
app often. Especially if the teacher creates sets for them to study to
review for tests or quizzes.
 Privacy: The only information required is a username, email
address, and password. Students can adjust privacy settings on their
flashcards so that they are public, visible only to those they allow, or
private.

23. Socrative
Hyperlink:
http://www.socrative.com/apps.php
Socrative is an easy-to-use polling app that provides instant feedback during
lessons, and is a great way for teachers to check understanding on the go.
Teachers can create quizzes, ask “quick questions,” and even assign exit tickets
with this app. It’s easy for students to use--after logging in with their teacher’s
classroom code, they simply have to wait for the teacher to initiate an activity
and then follow the directions to participate. It’s a fun way to involve students,
and is extremely useful for informal assessments.

24. About Socrative
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: This app allows teachers to quickly
check for student understanding during class by creating on-the-go
assessments. Teachers can ask quick questions, create quizzes, and
assign exit tickets with this app.
 Standards: Since the teacher is simply using the app as an informal
assessment tool, they can emphasize and reinforce any standards or
skills they deem necessary. It allows teachers to see what standards
need more work.
 Authenticity: All the activities used in the app take place in real
time, while the students are in the classroom.
 Feedback: Feedback is instant and shows the teachers immediately
what areas students are struggling with.
 Differentiation: since the app is largely used to generate answer
options to use with teacher-constructed questions, there is not much
room within the app itself for differentiation. However, teachers can
ask questions at a variety of intellectual levels.

25. About Socrative Cont.
 Differentiation: Since the app is largely used to generate answer options
to use with teacher-constructed questions, there is not much room
within the app itself for differentiation. However, teachers can ask
questions at a variety of intellectual levels.
 User Friendliness: Students simply have to download the app and enter
the classroom code given by their teacher to log in. The app then simply
waits for the teacher to initiate an activity, at which point students
respond as necessary.
 Instructions: The app gives instructions as the teacher works. It tells the
student to wait until the teacher initiates an activity, and then gives
them the instructions that accompany the activity.
 Higher Order Thinking: Whether or not higher learning skills are
targeted depends on the method of assessment chosen by the teacher.
 Student Motivation: This is not an app for students to use on their own
time; it is designed purely for in-class polling.
 Privacy: Ttudents only have to enter the room code to open the app;
even their name is not required unless the teacher requests it on a
specific activity, so a quiz to check for understanding could be
anonymous if desired.

26. Nearpod
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nearpod/id523540409?mt=8
Nearpod makes it easy for teachers to create fun and interactive lessons in
which their students participate. Teachers can even download or pay for
already created multimedia presentations that are aligned with Common
Core. It is a great app because students can be engaged on any device:
computer, phones, tablet, etc. The teacher is able to see student responses
and assess student understanding in real time. This app also provides great
privacy factor because students will only be able to see the lessons that the
teacher provides the pin number for.

27. About Nearpod
 Specific Uses in the Classroom: Can be used to create fun and
interactive lessons for students to complete. This app allows the
teacher to check for student understanding in real time and they are
also able to collect and share student responses.
 Standards: The teacher creates the content that is shared with the
students. This way, they can customize the material to be relevant
to the concept standards/frameworks.
 Authenticity: The skills presented will be practiced in an authentic
format because the teacher creates the interactive lesson.
 Feedback: It depends on how the teacher creates the interactive
lesson if the students will receive feedback or not. The app itself
will not send the students feedback.
 Differentiation: This app does not really have flexibility in altering
settings to meet students needs.

28. About Nearpod Cont.
 User Friendliness: Students can launch the app on any device and
navigate within the app.
 Instructions: The instructions within the app are easy to
understand. The teacher will create the instructions for the
interactive lesson.
 Higher Order Thinking: This app can promote higher order thinking
if the teacher creates and includes questions that promote higher
order thinking.
 Student Motivation: Students will be motivated to use the app
because the interactive lessons are fun and the teacher will most
likely use some of the assignments as homework assignments.
 Privacy: In order for a student to view an interactive lesson assigned
on Nearpod, they will need a PIN provided by the teacher. They
don’t even really have to have an account. They just open the APP
and provide their name and the PIN and that’s it.

29. Class Dojo
Hyperlink:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/classdojo/id552602056?mt=8
This app is perhaps most useful for younger students, although it could
certainly work for any age level. It allows teachers to essentially keep
an online grade book for monitoring students’ behavior. Teachers keep
a record of student activity by creating a profile for each student and
awarding points for positive behaviors. Teachers can also indicate
behaviors students may need to improve. The app generates a daily
behavior report for each student at the end of the day, and features a
messaging program for communicating with parents easily.

30. About Class Dojo
 Specific Uses in Classroom: This app allows teachers to give real
time feedback to students based on their behavior in class. Teachers
create a profile for each student in the class, and reward them with
points based on positive behaviors. They can also indicate things
that the student needs to work on. It features an instant messaging
program for communicating with parents and shows daily behavior
reports for each student.
 Standards: This app is not related to content standards.
 Authenticity: Student behavior is recorded in real time, and they
can access their own behavior charts to self-monitor and adjust. It
promotes self-awareness.
 Feedback: This app allows teachers to provide feedback for students
regarding their behavior, and it is presented in a tangible format so
students can view both positive feedback and constructive criticism.

31. About Class Dojo Cont.
 Differentiation: Since this is not related to actual content,
differentiation would likely not be a major issue except in the case
of a vision impairment. In that event, I don’t think the app would
really work for that student.
 User Friendliness: The interface is simple and designed for any age
student.
 Instructions: the app walks teachers through setup instructions, and
although I couldn’t create a student account I’m sure it has simple
instructions for students as well.
 Higher Order Thinking: It helps students to think about their own
behavior and interactions, encourages collaboration and group work,
and promotes self-awareness.
 Privacy: Teacher information is totally private. When students
create accounts, they choose their own username that does not
need to be their real name, as well as a password.