Staying with this year’s personal device trend, part two of our app series is all about apps for administrators. Here’s our list of the top ten app picks for administrators:
- Classtree (FREE demo; Paid membership)
Communication is at the center of a strong learning environment, and Classtree aims to help administrators with this. Through this app, you can securely and privately send documents, announcements, surveys, and consent forms to teachers, students, and parents. Classtree also offers controlled one-on-one chat and the ability to safely monitor conversations.
- DialMyCalls (Pay-as-you-go credits, 140/$10; $7.49+ for monthly membership)
In K-12 schools, one of the most important lines of communication is the automated phone call to help remind parents and students of important dates and inform them of emergency situations. Many automated phone broadcasting applications require special hardware or software, but DialMyCalls is unique in its 100% web-based platform. Download the app on your personal device and you’re prepared to send out mass phone alerts at a moment’s notice.
- G Suite for Education (FREE)
A popular suite of applications used in many schools, G Suite for Education aims to be a one-stop management solution for schools that combines Google’s full suite of applications—including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Calendar—along with exclusive perks like Google Classroom and discounts on Google laptops and tablets for your school. This collection of apps is completely free for use by schools, and can increase your school’s productivity immensely.
- Wunderlist (FREE)
Every administrator has an extensive to-do list, which likely includes the delegation of tasks to other educators in your school. With Wunderlist, you can make an interactive to-do list—including due dates, reminders, subtasks, and notes—and assign tasks to others through their free Wunderlist account. This app can help you minimize your to-do list to one platform available on all of your devices, helping you to keep track of everything you have to do and improve your efficiency.
- LinkedIn (FREE)
You are probably already familiar with LinkedIn as a professional networking site, but it has several other features to offer that can benefit you as an administrator. Just like any social media site, users can share links with their followers. By connecting with education journalists, companies, and groups, you can find links and resources to help you with professional development and the discovery of new EdTech for your school.
- Scanner Pro 7 ($3.99)
As an administrator, you likely have an endless stack of papers piling up in your office, which can make staying organized difficult. With Scanner Pro 7, you are able to go paperless with all of your important documents by photographing them with your smartphone. The app then converts the photo into a clear, professional-looking PDF file, which you can edit, save, or send to your cloud storage so you will always have access to your important documents—even on the go.
- iTunes U (Subscription)
iTunes U is a great way to facilitate the technology the teachers at your school have. Although it requires a subscription, iTunes U gives all the educators at your school access to course management and the world’s largest catalog of free education content—right from their iPad. If your school is focused on creating a 1:1 learning environment and many of your teachers have iPads, this solution could be the way to empower their teaching through technology.
- TED (FREE)
The TED app is something that all professionals looking to widen their knowledge should download to their personal devices. In the app, you get access to the entire TED Talk library in video and audio format with the ability to download and view talks offline. TED Talks can be extremely helpful to you as an administrator because of the professional development pathways they can open for you and the educators at your school. Download this free app to explore a world of innovative ideas from speakers all over the world.
- QR Code Maker (FREE)
As simple as this app may seem, it can greatly help with the way you communicate with students and parents. Rather than leaving long web addresses in paper newsletters and forms you send home with students, you can quickly convert these links to QR codes through this free app, and they will be immediately accessible through any personal device with a built-in camera.
- Edivate Observe (Yearly membership)
Edivate Observe is a comprehensive observation app that aims to help administrators create personalized professional development plans to support the growth of educators in their school. Through observing teaching behavior and determining educator goals, you can simply establish professional growth plans for your teachers. Although you have to buy a license to use this service every year, the benefits and functionality of Edivate Observe will offset the cost quickly.
Apps are a great way to streamline your goals as an administrator and help your school and teachers grow. Having these apps available on your personal device will make them instantly accessible wherever you go, facilitating your ability to help your teachers and students form a strong learning environment within your school.
What are your favorite apps? Share them with us in the comments below! If you enjoyed this list of apps for administrators, be sure to look out for the third part of our app series next week, featuring the top ten apps for students. And if you missed the first part in our app series, click here to check out our top ten apps for teachers!
