What should a teacher consider when choosing the best mobile application for managing their classroom efficiently? A tool that assists teachers with taking notes, grading, assessm
ents, maintaining a record of every student, organizing classes, and connecting with parents to efficiently manage their classroom. A few of my friends suggested Evernote when I was looking for such an App. After playing around with it for a few days, I realized that though Evernote was a good app, it was not custom-built for teachers. I was looking for an app that helped teachers efficiently manage their classroom activities. I even browsed the internet for suggestions but to no avail. There were not nearly as many apps that brought most of the tasks on one platform. Then, one of the parents suggested the Chronicle Cloud App because this parent was receiving assignments from teachers via the Chronicle Cloud teacher app.
"I have been using Chronicle Cloud for two years, and I am convinced that Chronicle Cloud is one of the most powerful apps that brings most of the classroom tasks on one platform."
Teaching is not easy. As teachers we know how we have to juggle teaching, classroom activities, meet deadlines, plan and execute lesson plans and assessments. With all that, we have to observe student progress, give feedback, manage individual and group tasks, create reports, and take care of administrative tasks also! :)
Let me tell you all the features I like on Chronicle Cloud, and then I will tell you the best five that have made my life easy! With Chronicle Cloud, I have been able to:
• organize classes-
• organize, and share classes and rosters with other teachers
• retrieve Notes and Speed Notes from archives
• attach multimedia files
• create artifacts for quick reference
• record formative assessments
• quick calculation of grades
• share assignments with parents via the parent app
These are the features that I like the best on Chronicle Cloud. Take a look!
Advance Note-taking
Chronicle Cloud is an advanced note-taking system that assists teachers with conferring notes on individual students. The note-taking feature also has a separate block to write about the instructional needs of every student. Because of the user-friendly interface and simple
design, the note-taking feature helps teachers monitor and record individual student growth. Follow-ups are an integral part of learning, and effective learning happens when teaching and feedback go simultaneously. The note-taking feature acts as a motivational tool for me.
I can write detailed Notes on an individual student, define learning goals, note down my observations on every child, and plan instructional needs.
I can write detailed Notes on an individual student, define learning goals, note down my observations on every child, and plan instructional needs.
• I document progress and formulate strategies for optimum student performance. There is a ‘Miscellaneous Notes’ section where I write down the behavioral aspects. That gives me a better understanding of a student's learning needs and helps me understand the student better. I also use the Miscellaneous Notes to write things that amuse me about the student. With Chronicle Cloud Note Taking, I can record assessments, track performance, and share with linked contacts.
Chronicle Cloud is an advanced note-taking system that allows me to add multimedia notes images, audio, video, and write text in the space given. I capture photos, take videos and add multimedia notes. I can also load it from the device gallery- whatever it is- audio, video, and text files that will help my students with a better understanding of a concept.
Capturing thoughts with Speed Note and Organizing with Tags
Tag a note by clicking on the tag icon, and run a keyword search when you want to refer to the Notes. There! You will find all the tagged Notes separately!
Speed Notes
If ever there was a time-saver, then Speed Notes is the one! Increase efficiency levels by quickly searching and reusing previous notes or student feedback with Speed Notes! You can search with a keyword also! Bingo! There you go!
Let us see how you can add Speed Notes-
• you can import speed notes from .txt or .csv format.
• Speed notes are reusable notes that you can retrieve by clicking on the ‘Bolt’ or the ‘Lightning’ icon.
• Speed notes are in alphabetical order, hence use a keyword to search any specific Note you want on the Chronicle Cloud App.
And now, with Speed Notes, you can write a quick note, no matter what you are doing. Just
jot down information on any student, anywhere, and retrieve it whenever you like from the backend.
Group-Notes-
• Group notes refer to notes that you write for a group of rosters or students. • Make a group according to proficiency levels and learning needs.
• Define groups by shared instructional needs or behavioral aspects for positive reinforcement.
• Create group notes on the Chronicle Cloud app. Make a group for achieving better learning outcomes. You can also share group notes according to proficiency levels and learning needs.
Whether I am assigning group project work to students or assessing group instructional needs, Chronicle Cloud makes communication easier for teams in different settings.
Formative Assessment
As teachers, we always wished there was some way to record Formative assessments and keep the data in one place, didn't we? Chronicle Cloud offers innovative ways to evaluate students in ways that are not possible with traditional multiple-choice tests. Chronicle Cloud app makes it very easy to record formative assessment data. For instance, I conduct discussions and record the formative data simultaneously on the app. The traffic light system helps me in assessing quickly. All I have to do is note my observations in the colors of the traffic light. That gives me an idea of a student's learning needs. And I have seen the students responding beautifully to the traffic lights. I have observed remarkable improvement in their concentration whenever I announce I will be giving them colors according to their understanding and delivery of the concept.
Grading and assessment
A gradebook that records quantitative data and writing descriptive notes to record details on an individual student is not connected most of the time, in both use and purpose. But the Chronicle Cloud app bridges the gap and creates synergy, promoting all types of data to be used as formatives. And a combination of the two has helped me maximize student learning. I can navigate easily between the gradebook and the note-taking feature. I confer text notes in the Note Taking and calculate the numerical averages in the grade book. O, by the way, there is an incredible feature of tagging descriptive notes with the grades too! I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it the first time! So, this is how it went- I was conducting formative assessments just before the final grades, and I chose to use the grade book to evaluate students and give them a lucid picture of their preparation. And there it was! The note tagging with grades helped me recall my observations after the assessment, and we had a fun exercise recalling and eliminating the minor -but-important errors!
Connected parents app
There is a connected Chronicle Cloud Parent app too! The connected Parent App has made my life immensely easy! I can share notes and assignments with parents, and together we can monitor student progress. My interactions with parents via the app have proven invaluable! We often ignore human bonds and the impact that can have on education.
Chronicle Cloud has made collaborating with other teachers and parents very easy. I share notes and grades with other teachers and home assignments with parents. I sometimes share anecdotal notes and instructional needs also with parents.
Great features should not come at the cost of our privacy. Chronicle Cloud provides security, encryption, and the cloud to share and store student data safely. Chronicle Cloud is the only app I have come across that takes care of most of my classroom teaching tasks.
