If you are anything like me, you know there are TONS of great APPS that you can use in your classroom, BUT who has time to figure out how to download it, figure out how to use it, download it to all of your classroom devices, make sure everything works and then develop a step-by-step approach for teaching the students how to use the app in a meaningful way in your classroom. I know it takes A LOT of time and planning to try out any new technology in your classroom. So I like to make sure that all of the FREE APPS for education that I suggest are easy to use and time friendly!

As a media specialist and technology teacher, I LOVE engaging my students with technology, but I also have the class time to do so. When I try to help teachers integrate technology in their own classrooms, I always have to keep in mind that unlike in my class, grade level teachers have curriculum that has to be covered, testing, daily grades and a ton of other daily tasks that I do not have to worry about as a related arts teacher.

So I have compiled a list FREE apps for education and for use in your classroom that you can use in teaching almost anything! These APPS do not require a ton of prep work or learning on your own. They are simple, easy to use, and for the most part the students will be able to figure them out without much help from you. Once they have their assignment and a brief introduction to the app, they will be ready to go.

I do always recommend giving the students about 5 minutes of “exploration time” BEFORE they start an assignment. I have the students open an app and test it out before I tell them anything about it. Then the class shares what they learn during their exploration time about how the app works. You are there to answer any questions, but really the students are taking on the teaching of how to use the APP. This is also a great time saver for you!

3 APPS You Can USE in Your Classroom TOMORROW

1. Chatterpix Kids

I LOVE this APP. I love it for all grade levels and all subjects.  BUT it is only available with Apple products, so you can use it with iPhones or iPads. It is so easy to use, engaging and the best part is NO log-in is required. With this app, students are able to give a voice to any picture. They are able to use the Chatterpix gallery of pictures OR take their own picture of anything. After they have their picture, they draw a line anywhere on the picture.  The line becomes a mouth and then they can record (up to 30 seconds) of talking. With the mouth and recording they have created, any picture can come to life and speak.

This APP can be used to give student created characters a voice. They can take a picture of the character and have the character describe him/her or itself. In math, students can do a quick drawing of a shape from a geometry word problem, and then have the triangle, square or any shape tell how they arrived at the solution. The ideas and possibilities with this app are endless, and I promise you the students will love it! They can also add stickers to their pictures. Just make sure you give them a time limit, or they will be decorating their pics all day!

2. Quiver 

Quiver or Quivervision has great availability as you can download it from the Apple Store, Google play or Amazon.  So it can be used with apple, google and amazon devices. It also does NOT require a log-in. Woo hoo!  This App has both free and paid content, and brings augmented reality into any subject.  This APP allows students to bring a 2D drawing to life.  All you need to do it is print out a picture from the QUIVER App.  I go to quivervision.com to print easily.  The students can color the picture with pencils, crayons or markers of any kind, and then use the app to truly bring their drawing to life.  The students will be able to see the character come off the page with the augmented reality feature.  There are tons of free coloring packs that are both for fun and for education.

They are currently working on an Education Portal and you can sign up here to get notified when it is released.  The Quiver Education App for Education was just released about 2 months ago and is $7.99.  I would definitely start with the free product and see how it works for your classroom. The students will LOVE this app, and it is a cool way to bring volcanoes, dinosaurs, planets and other untouchable things into the classroom. I practiced this App at home with my son first.  As you can see in the pictures, the coloring does not have to be neat to work! He got such a thrill from seeing the dinosaur on his leg!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Shadow Puppet EDU

This APP allows students to create videos using photos that they have taken or photos saved from the internet on their camera roll and it’s SO easy.  Students start right away by selecting pictures.  They are then able to record a voice over, use a song from the music library provided by the APP for their video or do both! This APP allows students to create videos on their own without having to learn how to edit video.  Within the APP, there are also examples and several ideas with lesson plans that link to standards.

This is APP requires very little prep from the teacher besides downloading and giving the students the assignment.  I personally think this APP is great for students of all ages!

 

 

While this is not an extensive list, as promised these three free apps for education can be used in any subject and require very little teaching from the teacher.  Download it tonight and let the students explore in your classroom tomorrow.  It is amazing to see how quickly students figure out the app and use it to make engaging material in your class! Please comment below with any questions or to share how it worked in your classroom!