6 Apps for In-Class Assessment
A monthly showcase of the latest mobile apps for educators and students. This month's roundup features a selection of apps for creating tests and generating reports using mobile devices.
- The Socrative Teacher app lets teachers create quizzes and capture student results in real time and in a number of formats, including multiple choice and short answer. Activities can be modified to be either student- or teacher-paced. The app also allows for multiple students to answer individually but still contribute to a group score. A separate app is available for students. Free; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- Three Ring allows users to snap mobile photos of student work and compile it into digital portfolios. Work is then organized by student and accessible via the app or online. In addition to photos, the app supports audio and video work as well. Free; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- MyClassTalk can assist teachers in ranking students by participation levels. The app lets users create profiles for each student and award and subtract points for participation, either in general or by subject or assignment. Users can then compile reports and rank students by points earned. Free; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- An alternative to classroom clickers, QuizCast by Dear Panda lets users create multiple-choice quizzes and push them out to multiple devices at once. Both questions and answers can include images and text. The app tracks student progress and generates reports. Free-$49/month; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
- Smarty Pants School focuses on building early reading skills, like sight words and phonics, in five different classes, each with multiple activities and games that increase in difficulty as students progress. When students complete all the levels in a class, they get a diploma. Teachers can add multiple students to the app, which tracks individual progress over the course of the school year. $9.99; iPad.
- A+ Spelling Tests lets teachers and students create their own custom spelling tests and e-mail them to others. Students can listen to recordings of the word they need to spell out loud. The app includes multiple modes, including an unscored practice mode and a word scramble. A detailed report is generated whenever a test is completed. Free; iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Did we miss any apps? Let us know in the comments or e-mail us.
About the Author
Stephen Noonoo is an education technology journalist based in Los Angeles. He is on Twitter @stephenoonoo.