There are so many apps out there for educators. Some of them are great, some not so great. However, I came across one today that could really be a time saver...if it works the way I envision. I downloaded two different versions. One was free. The other was only 99 cents. The apps are to help you with your classroom library. If it works like it says it can, all you would have to do is scan your books and then they are automatically loaded into your iPhone, levels and all! We use Accelerated Reader at my school and I love that it would have the AR level AND the AR points!! You can also use it as a check out system. If this works...it is a teacher's dream!
Here are the two apps I downloaded:
Book Retriever- 99 cents
Classroom Organizer-free but you also have to create a free account on the Classroom Organizer website.
**I've messed around a little with both of them. So far with the books I have at home, neither application has recognized any of them so I would have to input the data instead of being able to just scan it. The Book Retriever main page seems easier to use and understand than Classroom Organizer but using the Classroom Organizer app along with the website seems to have potential.
If you know of any other apps like this, especially ones that you have used and like, please share!! I would love to find the best application of this type!
Came across your blog today as I was trying to compare these two apps. I have tried the Classroom Organizer app and it was okay, but very slow to load and I didn't think the check in/out process worked very smoothly. I was thinking of trying Book Retriever but didn't want to pay (even just $0.99) if it wasn't worth it. Have you had a chance to experiment any more?
ReplyDeleteI ended up keeping the Classroom Organizer app and deleting the Book Retriever app. I had more success with CO. The BR app just didn't work with any of my books and after looking at their website, it looks like it might work better if you ordered their books from their website. The BR app on the phone was more colorful and looked like it would be easier to use but for me, it wasn't. Once I worked with CO a little and looked around the website, it was fairly simple to use. It doesn't look as user friendly as the other app but it worked better for me. I took it to my classroom and it recognized about half of the books I scanned. I have about 400 books in my library if not more. So even though it didn't recognize them all, it did cut my work in half. Students can check out their books through the website so they don't have to use your phone. I plan on leaving the webpage open or have an icon on the desktop so they can get to it easily to check out their book. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you find something better!
Delete