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Life as an after school program leader is no walk in the park. Fortunately, there are countless apps available that are designed to help you get organized, stay productive, and complete your to-do list with ease.
Life as an after school program leader is no walk in the park. On any given day, you may have to plan a lesson, organize an event, communicate with parents, and oversee program operations.
Fortunately, there are countless apps available that are designed to help you get organized, stay productive, and complete your to-do list with ease. And having these digital tools in your virtual pocket can help you stay on track from the start of the school year to the end.
So pull out your mobile device and prepare to download these 9 free or low-cost apps that will instantly make your job, and life, a little easier:
Need a tool that will increase your productivity? Whether you need to draft a parent newsletter, brainstorm lesson plans or manage PBL projects, Trello can help you get it done. The drag-and-drop app not only lets you organize projects and workflows using boards, cards, and lists. But it also facilitates collaboration by allowing you to add members, comments, attachments, and more directly to each card. Check out Trello for Education to see how other teachers use the platform to boost productivity.
Life can get hectic at times, and even a five-minute mindfulness exercise can help you feel more settled and relaxed. With Calm, you can access a number of breathing exercises designed to help you experience less anxiety and bring peace to your daily life. The guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3-25 minutes, and cover topics like gratitude, focus and happiness. Your students can even experience the power of mindfulness with The Calm Schools Initiative.
Need an easy way to communicate with staff, parents, and even students? Slack is a collaboration app that provides messaging, communication tools, and file sharing in one secure location. Simply build a workspace and create different channels to keep conversations separate. Free plans are available, but not-for-profit programs can receive an 85% discount on paid plans with Slack for Education.
Get rid of the piles of paper sitting on (and under) your desk. Scannable lets you capture any document, like a sticky note, receipt, or student worksheet. Then it turns the document into a high-quality PDF and image that you can easily save and share. It’s also a great way to stay organized without taking up more physical space.
As program leader, good time management is essential to having a productive day. And Focus Watch is a timer and task manager that lets you make daily to-do lists and track the time you spend completing each task. Even better, you can schedule short breaks to help you switch gears and refocus between tasks.
Say goodbye to paper and pencil! MyAttendanceTracker lets you record attendance anytime, anywhere and on any mobile device or computer. Although it’s designed with classroom teachers in mind, program leaders can also use the app to message parents, manage student groups, and track student progress. Even more, the app’s simple interface makes it easy for anyone to use.
Create documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more, and store them all in one place - the cloud. Google Drive is a one-stop shop for teams that need to collaborate, access, and save a variety of files from different devices. You can also use Google Drive to upload and store content created in other places, like curriculum materials, employee handbooks, and student photos.
Keeping track of your program budget is no easy task. But Pennies, a money tracker app, makes it simple by helping you manage your budget, track your expenses, and save money. You can set up budgets for different areas - like maintenance, snacks, and supplies - and see how expenses affect your budget in real time. Pennies cost $3.99 to download, but check out Mint for a free alternative.
Volunteers are essential to your program, and SignUp makes it easy to sign up, schedule and notify volunteers for program activities. The free app removes the need for “reply-all” emails, clipboards and spreadsheets, and lets you organize help in three easy steps: 1) You plan the event, 2) Volunteers sign up, and 3) The tool reminds them to fulfill their duties. Even better, you can access sign-up sheets on any device!
Do you use apps to help manage your day? Which apps would you add to the list? Share them in the comments!
