In my professional capacity I run and manage many different classes. These are supplementary classes, helping the children with their school studies, and also managing madrasa classes.
I was looking for a software to manage my classes.
I was looking for a software that could:
- Add student details
- Take a register Keep a record of grades and exams
- Keep notes on student progress
- Produce reports
- And everything else related to school management
Instead of a desktop software, I decided to go for an ipad app because of its mobility. In my search for ipad app, I could only identify 3 apps suitable for my requirement: TeacherTool, TeacherKit and Teacher’s Assistant Pro.
My eyes were fixed on TeacherTool due to good ratings and its price. TeacherTool costs around £20. I thought because the price is high, the app will be better than others. TeacherKit is free but of you want to produce reports, it will cost around £5. Initially, I did not pay any attention to TeacherKit. I did not believe that a free app will be any good or I thought that it will be very limited.
So I went ahead and purchased TeacherTool. After purchasing, I spent many hours figuring out how to use this beast but was not too successful. There are not any tutorials in English that could help.
I found the following about TeacherTool:
- Too complicated
- Use of terminology is difficult to understand.
- This is due to the fact that it is developed by German developers.
- Cannot use the app outside the class’s timetable.
- It has a rigid approach to class management.
- I did not try the CSV export and am disappointed that TeacherTool does not provide graphical reports.
Teacher Tool may be great for some people who are looking for an extensive app. But if your requirements are simple and you want an easy to use app to manage your couple of hours a week classes, then Teacher Tool is not for you.
At the end I had to give up on Teacher Tool and experimented with TeacherKit. To my surprise, Teacher Kit was much easier to use and configure and did the job quite well.
Teacher Kit still has some limitations. The big disadvantage for me is its limited ability to sort the students list. I want to be able to sort out students by their mainstream school, school year or age. Teacher Kit only allows you to sort the children by their name or grade. Also Teacher Kit does not give you much option to save too much students’ details.
I hope this review will help you to decide what app to get for your supplementary classes management.