The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their picks for Best Apps for Teaching & Learning 2019. “Apps recognized foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration and are user friendly to encourage a community of learners to explore and discover. “

The app Equity Maps allows educators to “chart & record the interaction of students or colleagues to measure and graphically illustrate levels and types of participation. Participants are clearly labeled, and participation can be easily tracked by tapping on the student’s icon. There are also icons for chaos, pair/share, small group breakouts, silence, media, or teacher talk. Analytics are viewable immediately and can be broken down individually for the purpose of conferencing with students and providing feedback.”

Platform: iOS
Cost: $1.99
Grades: All

The Tech Coach site includes Equity Maps in this article about new apps with exciting possibilities for classroom use. This article on Edu-Tech tools shares one tech instructor’s experience working with teachers who have used Equity Maps to help grade their classroom discussions. Finally, this article from the Deerfield Scroll shares one school’s use of the Equity Maps app and opinions about it from both teachers and students.

This video (1 min) shows how the app works: