Teachers: Choosing Apps as a School, Not One Room at a Time
A director once showed me a tablet cart with eleven apps on it, six of which did the same thing. Every teacher had chosen something reasonable. Together, they had built a mess.
The cost of deciding alone
When each classroom picks its own app, three things happen. Children relearn the same routines every year. Families get a different recommendation from every teacher. And nobody can tell which purchase actually helped.
Decide on three questions, not a favourite
Bring the staff together and answer these, in this order:
- Does it have a clear ending, so children can put it down?
- Does it fit how we already teach, rather than asking us to change the room around it?
- Can a child use it without an adult sitting beside them?
An app that passes all three is worth trialling. An app that fails one is a preference, not a decision.
Trial with two rooms, not all of them
Pick two classrooms with different ages. Give it six weeks. Ask the teachers one question at the end: would you choose this again with your own money? That answer is more reliable than a survey.
Write it down
Keep a short list: what you use, why, and when you last checked it. It saves the next September, and it makes the budget conversation far easier.
A school that picks together gets fewer apps and better ones. That is the entire argument.
Try it with your child
Montessori Kids has six hands-on activities for ages 4+. One-time purchase, no subscriptions.
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