Back Pocket Apps

I have a handful of apps and websites that I like to call “back pocket tools,” because they are always there, work in almost any setting, have relevant academic uses in almost any age group or content area. They are ones that I can fall back on if the tool that I was going to use keeps crashing, the wifi is spotty, the original tool just gets too complicated, or for keeping others busy when I’m trying to get login issues sorted through with a few students. I also use these with teachers who need an easy access point with edtech and need to see some immediate success.

Seesaw (iOS and Android mobile app and web-based) a digital learning journal that works on any device and allows students to submit work by photo, audio or video recording, drawing, or file upload

• If Flipgrid isn’t working, students can submit a recording of their remaining questions after a lesson on circuits through Seesaw
• When you can’t use Google Classroom to submit a document, they can send it via Seesaw
• When you can’t use Chatterpix to make a speaking image of a king issuing an edict, have kids record their voices over a hand-drawn picture

Doodle Buddy (iOS and Android mobile app, no wifi needed)--just a drawing app, with some stickers to embellish and some backgrounds for designs as well. Here are some alternate ways to use it. [Chromebook alternative: A Web Whiteboard or ABCYa Paint]

• When you can’t use Wixie to create a class counting book, use Doodle Buddy to have students write a number and add that number of sticker items (write 4 and add 4 stickers of a frog)
• When your students can’t use Classkick to do a math problem to show their work, have them use Doodle Buddy as a whiteboard and hold it up!
• When you can’t use Google Docs to have students practice their spelling words, they can practice writing them in multiple colors with Doodle Buddy by drawing or adding text 

Pic Collage (iOS and Android mobile app, no wifi needed)--a collage tool that lets students pick a template, background, images, and captions [Chromebook alternative: PicMonkey]

• When you can’t use Thinglink to create a digital poster about solar power, students can do so with Pic Collage and take relevant photos and add captions
• When you can’t use Google Drawings because you’re on a mobile device, you can have students create their comic strip about the life of Abraham Lincoln by pulling in digital images and using speech bubbles in Pic Collage
• When you can’t use the flash-based math tools online, you can have students practice identifying acute, right, and obtuse angles by taking photos of these angles in the room and identifying what kind of angle it is with a caption

Notes app (native iOS app only, no wifi needed) When students can’t use Google Docs to document their learning for the day, they can always use the Notes app, and copy and paste text later, if need be. [Chromebook/Android alternative: Google Keep or Docs]

• All of the drawing options available in DoodleBuddy work here as well (but no stickers/backgrounds)
• When you can’t edit a webpage, you can have students save the site (in Reader View from Safari, ideally) as a pdf, pull it into Notes and highlight and annotate as needed (a la Booksnaps!)

FreeRice (browser-based and via Facebook) a website that allows you to answer various multiple choice questions on vocabulary, math facts, and more--for every correct answer, it donates 5 REAL grains of rice to the UN World Hunger Programme

• When kids finish early, this is an excellent tool to practice simple recall knowledge while doing real good in the world (make it a class competition!)
• Great to use if the original tool isn’t working and you need a few minutes to pull your brain together and figure out something else

So, these are some of my back pocket tools. What are yours?