Teachers are always looking for help with classroom management. Sometimes, traditional methods work. Other times, however, teachers might need to find some outside resources to help manage their classrooms. Fortunately, there are plenty of useful digital resources that can help. No matter what you’re looking for, there’s bound to be a high-quality (and even free!) classroom management app to suit your needs.
Want to improve your classroom management? Learn how Classcraft can help you engage your students.
General classroom management software
Most teachers have systems in place to provide rewards and consequences for classroom behaviors. For some classrooms, this might be a sticker chart. For others, it may involve a color-coded system of sorts. Additionally, there are general classroom management apps available to help students know where they stand in terms of classroom behavior as the day progresses. These tools are also accessible to parents so they can see how their children are behaving each day.
Classcraft
Classcraft is a classroom management platform that focuses on engaging students through gamified lessons. It’s made its mark as an engagement management system (EMS). The platform fosters positive outcomes by getting kids excited about school and improving engagement, personalized learning, and social-emotional learning (SEL).
As a teacher, you can create quests that weave your lesson objectives into an exciting, choose-your-own-adventure story. Students can move at their own pace but can choose to work together. Along the way, they’ll learn new things, participate in battles with colorful monsters, and earn rewards for their virtual avatars. They can also earn powers that give them privileges you set in class, like having a few extra minutes on a test or being able to eat at their desks.
Other features can be used to add unexpected elements of fun to learning — such as starting class with a fun random event — and students have opportunities to have Hero moments when they help and support each other.
Classcraft’s highly engaging platform reduces behavioral issues in your classroom and makes learning more fun for everyone involved. Learn more about how you can transform your classroom with Classcraft.
Class Dojo
One of the more popular classroom management apps out there for students, parents, and teachers is Class Dojo. With this program, each student in your classroom can create a digital portfolio to showcase their classwork. Only the student’s parents and teacher can view and comment on their work, making it an excellent (and engaging) way to keep everyone in the loop on a student’s achievements.
Students who demonstrate certain positive behaviors that you’ve defined can earn “dojos,” points that simply measure how well a student is meeting your expectations. Conversely, students who misbehave may lose points.
Lastly, Class Dojo can be used to share news and other information with parents, such as class photos or stories. Students can also be assigned to groups to make managing certain assignments easier.
Digital classroom management software
Sometimes, teachers need help monitoring a digital classroom. If a classroom has multiple computers, it is impossible for a teacher to manage all of the students and their devices at once without a little assistance. Luckily, there are some free apps available to help keep students on task and reduce classroom management issues.
Veyon
Veyon is a free digital classroom management tool that helps teachers monitor everything on their students’ computer screens through a convenient icon view. A teacher can take over control of any student computer by clicking on that student’s screen icon. If a student is off task, teachers can click the screen and put the student right back to where they should be. Teachers can also lock all screens to minimize distractions while instruction is taking place. If you need to share something with the class, you can broadcast your screen to all of your students’ screens.
LanSchool Lite
LanSchool Lite is a tool that, like Veyon, helps you monitor students’ computer screens. In fact, LanSchool Lite can monitor up to 3000 students. By clicking on a thumbnail, the teacher can watch any student’s full-size screen.
Teachers can watch students’ screens in real time as well as identify the last site that a student visited. Additionally, teachers can receive questions from students and even monitor the battery life of all of their students’ computers (because the last thing you want is for someone’s computer to die mid-lesson!).
When students know they are being monitored, they’re less likely to stray off task and cause classroom management problems.
Classroom collaboration software
Allowing students to work together can help make lessons more engaging and meaningful. With more engaged students in class, teachers tend to encounter fewer behavioral issues. While traditional classrooms try to incorporate more movement and activities to make learners more engaged (see our article on increasing student engagement for more ideas), learners sometimes want to be engaged through technology. In this case, there are some free apps to help manage student collaboration in the digital classroom.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom exists as a one-stop shop for students, teachers, and parents. Teachers can create a Google Classroom for any course where they can drop all important links, lessons, images, clips, and more. If a student is absent, they can catch up by simply visiting your Google Classroom site from home. Parents also have access to the site, making it easier for them to keep tabs on their children’s progress.
Students can share work and easily collaborate in real time using Google’s free apps, such as Google Docs and Google Slides. Teachers can chime in as well while students are working.
Notably, Google Classroom makes group projects easier to manage — both for you and the students — because it allows students to work at their own convenience and from any device.
Another great thing about Google Classroom is that it integrates seamlessly with partner platforms like Classcraft and Quizizz.
Edmodo
Edmodo is a collaboration app that’s a bit like social media Teachers can host a classroom site, and students and teachers can make posts and add comments. Teachers can post a discussion question, and students can chime in with their opinions. Additionally, Edmodo has a stockpile of searchable lessons that teachers can use. Teachers can assign work on Edmodo, and students can submit their work through just that single platform. Students enjoy Edmodo because of its social media feel, but parents and teachers can rest assured that Edmodo is an educational tool.
Something for everyone
While teachers can often feel overwhelmed when it comes to classroom management and incorporating technology into the classroom, there are lots of free apps and platforms that can make their lives much easier. Students will enjoy using collaboration and classroom engagement tools to complete their assigned work. Teachers will appreciate the extra help with monitoring their classrooms, as well as the added benefit of minimized classroom disruptions and off-task behavior. It’s certainly reassuring to know that classroom management help can be just a click or two away!
Photo credit: William Hook/ unsplash.com
Classroom Management