Best Practices in Getting a Middle School Class Using Thunkable

Hi Everyone, I am exploring using Thunkable with Gr7 and 8 classes, and looking for direction with best practices including:
-does Android or iOS work better?
-I do not want students bringing own phones into class - advice on which devices I should try to provide?
-I know there is a gallery on Thunkable, but are there any public apps what you would recommend I use as exemplars as good starting points?
-public or professional accounts? (I know that there is a survey to ask what we would pay - will do it once i know Thunkable better)
Thanks very much,
Marco

Hi Marco,

Do you mean the Classic platform or Thunkable X? (I appreciate that it was originally called iOS!)
There are a few extra components in Classic, which is why some people might find it useful for personal projects but from my own experience the two things that make Thunkable X the best choice for a classroom setting are the live testing (which doesn’t require devices to be on the same WiFi network, which Classic does) and the ability to remix projects. Personally, I loved having the ability to create a template or scaffold app for students and get them to complete it themselves. (This is particularly useful if you have shorter class periods or if a student is absent from class)

Take a look at the best 18 apps of 2018:

Or the #ShareYourApps category in the community here.

I guess this will vary from school to school, I’m happy to discuss this further with you via email but we are eager to provide the best possible value to our educational users.

In my own classes the students were allowed to bring their own devices, so hopefully someone else in the #teachers group can provide some insight here. @tfountain do you have any experience with this by any chance?

I have very cheap Blue phones that we use for testing. These work really well. I do allow students to bring their own phones for downloading finished apps if the are doing it for the 1st time.

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