This is the first in a Lancer Media series exploring technology in the classroom.

One of the best ways to integrate smartphones into school is to frequently use apps as a teaching tool in the classroom.

English teacher Laura Scuffins is knowledgeable on the subject of educational apps and serves on the school’s technology committee. She is passionate about technology being a great add on to a student’s learning experience.

Specifically, Scuffins recommends the apps Evernote, Socrative, and Google Classroom. Of her favorite apps, her top choice is Google Classroom.

Google Classroom is a free app available on both Apple and Android market that is designed to help students and teachers connect easily without the hassle of email. Assignments can be posted by a teacher on their student accessible page. Students can turn their work for grading and they can also open links that the teacher posts as an announcement to the classroom feed.

Scuffins said, “It is so easy to use, and it actually offers functions not available if accessing the site using a laptop or desktop.“

The most notable feature of the Google Classroom app is the option to have notifications sent to a device when an assignment is due in the immediate future. This is incredibly helpful when students are on their phones late at night and completely forget about their assignments due the next day.

This app has the potential to equip every student with an essential tool to make sure they will never turn in a late assignment ever again. Any absent-minded student can find success with Google Classroom, but unfortunately it still has drawbacks.

“While I wish the app offered more options as the administrator, I think it is incredibly user friendly, and students have told me that they think it works well,” said Scuffins.

Though this app is not capable of meeting every need, it is for sure a great choice for the responsible and irresponsible student. It can be predicted that sometime in the future apps, such as Google Classroom, will be at the forefront of technological educational tools.

Scuffins said, “Technology should not replace instruction or learning but it should add to a student’s educational experience.”