Best App for Teacher-Parent Communication and Supporting Remote Learning

Reaching parents and keeping them engaged was already challenging, without the added burden of helping them support their child through remote learning. It’s important that you have the best app for teacher-parent communication and tools to easily share resources with parents.

If we’re going to fight the ever-widening achievement gap that has been added to by the COVID crisis, we need to reach, engage and share learning resources with every parent in the class!

Which is the best app for teacher-parent communication that supports remote learning?

Comparing different platforms can be overwhelming, so we’ve pulled together a comparison of the parent engagement essentials, to help you make the right choice for your classroom community.

As you’re looking at the chart below, consider the following questions:

• Do you want a platform designed to support remote learning through parent/teacher communication or for student-focused tasks?
• What remote learning features are important to you?
• Do you need to hold online events and conferences for parents?

Download this chart as a printable PDF

How is supporting remote learning on ClassTag different from other communication apps?

Which platform was designed as the best app for teacher-parent communication?

ClassTag is a free teacher-parent communication platform with everything you need to reach, engage and support every parent. We have been, and always will be about parent-teacher connections.

• ClassDojo and Seesaw are more student-focused. ClassDojo’s focus is on “classroom management” and creating happier classrooms through managing student behavior. Seesaw’s mission and focus are on “students show[ing] learning” through a shared digital portfolio.
• Remind’s focus is on “two-way communication,” or through sending parents and students phone texts.
• Talking Points’ focus is parent-teacher connections but has limited features to help your remote learner succeed.

When choosing the best app for teacher-parent communications, you probably want one that has robust parent-teacher communication capabilities! With ClassDojo, Seesaw and Remind the parent communication element is secondary.

Which is more accessible for parents?

Parent access to technology can have a major impact on important communications. Communication between teachers and parents can only happen in the ClassDojo app, whereas ClassTag can reach parents through email, SMS, paper, mobile or web app.

Communicating with ELL parents during remote learning can be challenging. ClassTag removes the language barrier and automatically translates in 100+ languages.

ClassTag also gives teachers smart, actionable alerts and recommendations, ensuring they are able to connect with harder-to-reach parents. With read receipts and parent-engagement stats, you can focus on the parents who are not receiving messages or participating and may need additional support and follow-up.

Which features are important for supporting your teaching?

Remote learning brings a new set of needs and complications to classroom communication. You’ll want to choose the best parent-teacher app for communication that allows you to share important classroom information and student work while not duplicating your work across multiple platforms.

How can I share student work with parents?

ClassTag, ClassDojo, and Seesaw all have a portfolio of student work. ClassTag’s virtual student backpacks house student work, but also provide a safe and secure area for important documents (e.g. IEP  or 504 copies). Remind focuses on communication through text and does not have student portfolios. Talking points, while focusing on a bit more than just communication, also does not have student portfolios.

ClassTag’s ability to let parents respond to stories with student work helps promote classroom community and collaboration.

Which is better for Google Schools or Google Classroom educators?

Like Google Classroom and Google’s suite of tools, ClassTag is completely free for teachers and parents. We know how important it is for teachers to have access to a free stack of tools, and we’ve designed ClassTag to integrate with the full Google suite in a seamless way.

Google Integrations

ClassTag’s integration with Google Classroom and Google’s suite of tools keeps parents in the loop without any added frustration for you, the teacher.

With ClassTag’s integrations with Google Classroom, teachers can save time with roster-syncing, only having to add parents and students once! Additionally, teachers can direct message ClassTag parents with automatic translation in over 100+ languages, without ever leaving Google Classroom with our Chrome extension.

ClassTag helps streamline file sharing, scheduling, and conferencing through integrations with Google Drive, Meet, and Calendar. Teachers and parents using ClassDojo, Seesaw, Talking Points and Remind would need to learn a multitude of platforms to accomplish everything ClassTag allows parents and teachers to do.

Need to Hold Events and Conferences that ALL Parents Will Attend?

ClassTag makes scheduling in-person or remote conferences and events a breeze by allowing parents and teachers to pick times that work for their schedule.
Events and conference times will automatically sync with Google Calendar and add a conferencing link through Google Meet. This helps parents keep track of important events and conference information, all in one place.

When using ClassDojo and Seesaw, teachers and parents have access to events, but not parent-teacher conferences. Additionally, parents may forget important conferencing information without a calendar sync reminder and conferencing link. Remind and Talking Points do not include event coordination with time slots.

So, why ClassTag?

Reaching EVERY parent during remote learning can be difficult, but we make it easily accessible with automatic translation in 100+ languages, event scheduling, video conferencing, and more!

With features supporting parent engagement during remote learning such as direct messaging, event coordination, and Google integrations, ClassTag is an absolutely FREE all-in-one platform that rewards you for engaging with parents.

No matter how you go to school this year, we will help you reach EVERY parent!

Join ClassTag