Five basic classroom apps every teacher needs

-
School is an extremely busy place. You need to invest in time-saving devices so that you do not become too overwhelmed. The five communication tools can be regarded as a basic communication suite. The good news is that all these apps are free, except for number 4.

1. Make use of an online calendar.

I wrote in previous posts on why a Google online calendar is an indispensable tool to have. Check out my post and do further research on Google's support portal.

2. Use an Online Cloud storage system.
Google Drive logo for blog


Make use of an online cloud and file storage system like Google Drive. Visit the website, techrepublic.com to learn 10 ways to maximise your use of Google Drive.

3. You will need a note taking app.
Evernote logo
Download a Note taking app like Evernote. These note taking apps are lifesavers. You can scribble your classroom notes, meeting notes and save all types of documents in Evernote. The saving feature is automatic. The date, time and place will be recorded, if you enable these features.

4. Using your smartphone or your tablet to project presentations.

Adapter for iPhone
Using your smartphone or tablet to do classroom presentations is not a necessity but a definite nice- to -have facility. Imagine you have downloaded an awesome video clip that you want to share with your class or peers. All you have to do is link up your mobile device and in minutes, the video clip is displayed.

Since there are so many apps for our smartphones and our tablets, we can project a project or a presentation straight from our mobile devices. You will need a special adapter that will cost about R 700,00.
The Business News Daily has a good article on five ways to use your smartphone or tablet for presentations.

5. Open a Youtube account.

There are hundreds of good videos you can use as part of your lessons and for professional development.

When you have a Youtube account, you can save your favourite videos, leave comments, rate videos and flag videos you want to watch later. If you have a Google Plus account, it is easy to sign up for Youtube. You can sign up for Youtube without having a gmail or a Google Plus account. Do some research on the internet about these options.

Are there other apps you are interested in? Let us know how you are doing after playing around with these awesome apps.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We say `'Well Done" to two teachers whose full-time teaching career has come full circle

-
Image
Maurien Jacobs, the principal of Blouvlei LSEN school and Doreen Parker, an educator at Levana Primary School, will be retiring at the end of this term. Between the two educators, they have served  the Steenberg-Lavender Hill community for a whopping 98 years! Maurien Jacobs taught at Blouvlei LSEN for 16 years. For the past seven years, Maurien was the school principal of the school. Over the sixteen years Maurien travelled every school day from Wellington, a Cape Winelands town situated 85 kilometers from her school. She covered roughly 544,000 km to and from school over the sixteen years. That is about twelve times around the world! This sounds crazy, but this is what Maurien did without batting an eyelid. She would report for duty every single day at 7:15 and frown upon those who came late to school. Maurien Jacobs  Maurien Jacobs, School Head of Blouvlei LSEN (right) and me  I asked Maurien what motivated her to travel her so far. "Many people have asked me t
Read more

Welcome to my new Youtube Channel, School Corridor

-
Image
I know, I know... this blog has been in hibernation for a loooong while. I finally found a new way of reaching out to you. The School Corridor Tatler is really a super communication channel, but I have upped my game. I have taken the plunge and now I am the proud creator of... Drum roll please... The School Corridor Youtube Channel! I hope you enjoy this very first video of the School Corridor Channel. I am super excited to have you there as well. Let's learn and have fun together! The School Corridor Channel is here to grow, inspire and empower you as leaders at schools or anywhere else. School Corridor Youtube Channel Focus The content will cover three streams: Talks and presentations on leadership research, qualities of great leadership and how you can help yourself grow to become a great leader. Personal well-being will also be a focus. The second stream will focus on Q&As, interviews and book reviews. The third stream will focus on instructional vi
Read more

The launch of Child Protection and Youth Month at Metro South EducationDistrict.

-
Image
  The Social Worker component at our education district launched our Child Protection and Youth Month campaign. The sad reality is that our children are extremely vulnerable and they are subjected to all forms of abuse, neglect and sexual abuse. We were reminded that our children are entrusted to us; that it is our legal and moral responsibility to protect our children against all forms of abuse. Glen van Harte delivering his keynote address. Our district director, Glen van Harte, said, "We need to recommit and reenergize ourselves to look after our children. We have to watch our language. Language has the ability to leave scars that are often far more damaging than physical scars. We have to mediate the language we use with one another and with children. We need to be mindful of the relationships we have with one another and with our teachers. It is also important to look after ourselves so that we can look after our children." Lucinda Pelston, our Sen
Read more