Teacher Pal - DG58 App Review
Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 11:31AM App Title: Teacher Pal
Grade Level: Any
Purpose: B+ This app is a teacher productivity tool. One function that it serves is as a database for student information, including parent email addresses. Another function of this app is to collect information about your students. You can organize your students easily into classes, (and seating charts within those classes,) and take attendance. There is also a grade book and behavior monitoring feature.
Program Functionality: B+ This app appears to be very functional. The interface is easy to navigate, the aesthetic is very uncluttered, and the information it records is pertinent.
Overall Educational Value: B+ Having not actually used this app in practice yet, it seems to meet my needs at an "A" level. One of my main goals with the iPad is to streamline my data collect of formative assessments, and this app seems absolutely fitted for this.
Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: "I imagine having this app at my fingertips throughout the 30-minute instrumental music lesson. After taking attendance at the beginning of class, I could link a prepared Google form to each student that serves as a checklist of the skills we are evaluating that day. At the touch of a finger, progress will be recorded into an excel sheet that I could easily display as a chart for a parent, or my own reflection."
Recommendation(s): I fully expect to be able better answer this question after using this app in practice, but in the design phases, I just wish it had more capabilities to customize. For example, I may want to record different information about the student than what they prompt, or modify the grade book to better suit our needs.
Developer Website: http://www.teacherpal.net/
iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teacherpal/id389584618?mt=8#
Reviewer Name: Mackenzie Martin
Reviewer Blog: http://www.dg58.org
