Technology has transformed the classroom in recent years, with tablets now a staple requirement for nurseries and primary schools throughout the UK.
Bursting with potential, apps and technology can enhance your lessons and make managing the children a much easier task. But with so many apps available, where do you start in finding the best ones?
We’ve done some digging to pick out our 5 favourite apps for primary school teachers, from fun classroom activities to great tools to keep the kids quiet!
1. Educreations
Not everyone is a natural at writing on a white board, and for small classrooms space can be limited. Educreations is a free app that transforms your screen into a digital whiteboard, which can then be shared with the children. So you can easily write out your calculations, spellings or questions, and you won’t have to worry about children straining to see the whiteboard from the back of the room.
2. Too Noisy
Trying to keep the noise levels down can be a near impossible task. But turn it into a game and suddenly the children will be desperate to stay as quiet as possible. This light-hearted app monitors the noise level with a fun animated metre, and triggers an alarm if levels exceed an acceptable level. Work it into rewards and penalties and this will go down a treat with the kids.
3. QR Generator/Reader
When trying to teach a new topic to the class, retaining facts and information can be a cumbersome task. With the QR Generator/Reader you can create an interactive treasure hunt around the nursery or school. Print out QR codes which, when scanned, will reveal facts or clues. Getting the children out of their seats and working together can really enrich your lesson, and enthuse the class about a topic.
4. Heads Up
Do you struggle to fill those spare minutes between lessons? Heads Up! is here to save the day, with an interactive game that requires quick thinking and helps to foster communications skills. The children must place the tablet above their head and guess the name on the screen with the help of their classmates.
5. Maths Apps
Maths can be a tricky subject for Key Stage 1 and 2 children, and encouraging your pupils to see the puzzle in calculations will encourage them take an interest in maths and ultimately progress. Transforming boring additions and subtractions into interactive games, maths apps are increasingly popular teaching aids in the classroom.
And you’ll be spoilt for choice when searching for the perfect app, whatever age group or ability level your class is.
Harness technology as a teacher as you’ll soon wonder how you lived without tablets in the classroom. A great way to add variety to your lessons or nursery activities and keep the children engaged, these apps offer just a snapshot of the potential offered by tablets, for schools and nurseries willing to invest in the future.
