TEACHERS | TalkingPoints

Name: TEACHERS | TalkingPoints
Rating: 4.8 (5127 reviews)
Author: TalkingPoints Corp

School Communication

Free

5.1K Ratings
Age Rating

4+
Years
Category

Education
Developer

TalkingPoints Corp
Language

EN
English
Size

51.1
MB

The TalkingPoints Teacher app helps teachers reach all parents and guardians, regardless of language, via text messages in 100+ languages. Our translation is done by a combination of human translators and machines, allowing for seamless communication with all of your families. TalkingPoints helps teachers • Communicate with non-English speaking parents through automatic 2-way translation • Quickly send messages to one parent, a group of parents or to the whole class • Keep their cell phone numbers private by sending text messages through the app • Attach pictures, videos, polls, and files to text messages to share what students are learning in school • Preschedule messages to go out when parents are available to read them "Teachers have busy schedules and don't have a lot of time to learn how to use a new tool, but what I want other educators to know is how easy it is to communicate with parents through TalkingPoints. I love it and use it everyday!” - Ms. Cardenas, ESL teacher TalkingPoints is free for teachers in the U.S./Canada. Sign up today!

Ratings & Reviews

4.8

out of 5

5.1K Ratings

Frustrating
09/13/2020
vogitunes
I have used this app all last year and was very happy with it. However, the latest version is absolutely terrible and as much I used to love it I may have to stop using it altogether. My messages never load on the app on my phone and I can only check them on the computer. Today I have carefully selected two groups of families and send them two different reminders with specific information. When a confused parent got back to me a few minutes later and I looked at what she actually received and realized that one of the messages meant for some people went to everybody. So, some families received two mutually excluding messages within minutes. How did something that used to be so good got so messed up? Now I am nervous about using it because I don’t want my parents receiving messages that are meant for somebody else. Please return the old version!!!
Frustrating
09/13/2020
vogitunes

I have used this app all last year and was very happy with it. However, the latest version is absolutely terrible and as much I used to love it I may have to stop using it altogether. My messages never load on the app on my phone and I can only check them on the computer. Today I have carefully selected two groups of families and send them two different reminders with specific information. When a confused parent got back to me a few minutes later and I looked at what she actually received and realized that one of the messages meant for some people went to everybody. So, some families received two mutually excluding messages within minutes. How did something that used to be so good got so messed up? Now I am nervous about using it because I don’t want my parents receiving messages that are meant for somebody else. Please return the old version!!!
Text messaging with translation
04/26/2021
Ms. OctoberLilyPad
I like using this TalkingPoints because I don't need to share my personal mobile number with families. I also like the possibility to have the message translated to the parents language of preference. I could also see using this with older students who are English Language Learners. The information gets to the person who needs it, and they can respond immediately or later now, just like text messaging. However, it is not the easiest to use for families who are not "tech savvy." I don't know if the parent version of the app is set up the same as the teacher version but my explanations of how I use the app did not help the parent. Also the English to Korean translation may not be the most faithful or accurate. A parent mentioned that my message was confusing and requested to get English messages. It may be that my message have too many English conventions that are difficulty to translate to Korean. A "tips and tricks for making your message/ announcement translation ready" would be nice. And stronger translations.Overall, I would recommend TalkingPoints. And if they continue to improve it, will recommend it to any school system I am in.
Text messaging with translation
04/26/2021
Ms. OctoberLilyPad

I like using this TalkingPoints because I don't need to share my personal mobile number with families. I also like the possibility to have the message translated to the parents language of preference. I could also see using this with older students who are English Language Learners. The information gets to the person who needs it, and they can respond immediately or later now, just like text messaging. However, it is not the easiest to use for families who are not "tech savvy." I don't know if the parent version of the app is set up the same as the teacher version but my explanations of how I use the app did not help the parent. Also the English to Korean translation may not be the most faithful or accurate. A parent mentioned that my message was confusing and requested to get English messages. It may be that my message have too many English conventions that are difficulty to translate to Korean. A "tips and tricks for making your message/ announcement translation ready" would be nice. And stronger translations.Overall, I would recommend TalkingPoints. And if they continue to improve it, will recommend it to any school system I am in.
Useful app
05/04/2020
crina brock
I have used Talking Points this past school year to communicate with parents of English learners and it’s been the most parent-teacher communication I’ve had. Some parents mentioned that the translation is confusing and in same cases they preferred English, but overall, it has been very very handy! I definitely recommend it to any teachers, but especially those in ESOL. I’ve had only 2 challenges with it: A. Many times I can tell that I’ve gotten messages but they do not load on my IPhone. Most school days I leave the website open on my work laptop for quick texting with the parents, but if I want to see the messages on my phone, sometimes I can’t read them. B. Sometimes I receive a message that appears as 2 lines long and I think I’ve read what the parent said. At random times, I’ve clicked on the parents’ original message (some languages I understand) and discovered That their message was actually much longer, and a good part of it never got translated.
Useful app
05/04/2020
crina brock

I have used Talking Points this past school year to communicate with parents of English learners and it’s been the most parent-teacher communication I’ve had. Some parents mentioned that the translation is confusing and in same cases they preferred English, but overall, it has been very very handy! I definitely recommend it to any teachers, but especially those in ESOL. I’ve had only 2 challenges with it: A. Many times I can tell that I’ve gotten messages but they do not load on my IPhone. Most school days I leave the website open on my work laptop for quick texting with the parents, but if I want to see the messages on my phone, sometimes I can’t read them. B. Sometimes I receive a message that appears as 2 lines long and I think I’ve read what the parent said. At random times, I’ve clicked on the parents’ original message (some languages I understand) and discovered That their message was actually much longer, and a good part of it never got translated.
Excellent App for Teachers
03/20/2020
ealaddin
I am a third year science teacher in a 100% English Language Learner campus. This means 100% of my students come to our campus with zero English and learn English while at my school. That presents a different challenge when trying to communicate with parents important information from our school. This app translates to Spanish and Swahili (which is primarily what is spoken at our campus) and it is so helpful to communicate with families!! This is an absolute game changer and life saver. I would recommend this app to anyone who likes the idea of the Remind app, but needs it to be accessible to ALL parents. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have access to all languages, but I think that would come with time as they become more known with time.

Developer Response
Thank you so much for the review and for sharing your story! We are honored to serve you and your families and as you said, more languages will come with time as we improve and enhance the technology. Thanks again!
Excellent App for Teachers
03/20/2020
ealaddin

I am a third year science teacher in a 100% English Language Learner campus. This means 100% of my students come to our campus with zero English and learn English while at my school. That presents a different challenge when trying to communicate with parents important information from our school. This app translates to Spanish and Swahili (which is primarily what is spoken at our campus) and it is so helpful to communicate with families!! This is an absolute game changer and life saver. I would recommend this app to anyone who likes the idea of the Remind app, but needs it to be accessible to ALL parents. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have access to all languages, but I think that would come with time as they become more known with time.
Developer Response 06/30/2020
Thank you so much for the review and for sharing your story! We are honored to serve you and your families and as you said, more languages will come with time as we improve and enhance the technology. Thanks again!

Welcome! We're continuing to add to and improve the teacher mobile app so that you can easily engage with your students' families when you are on the go. This update includes bug fixes and improvements. To make sure that everyone is up-to-date with the recent enhancements, we are requiring an app update. Please take a few minutes to update your app!

Version 8.2621.1 Oct 20

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
- Contact Info
- Identifiers
- Usage Data
Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Location
- Contacts
- User Content
- Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

Information

Seller: TalkingPoints Corp
Size: 51.1 MB
Category: Education
Compatibility: Requires iOS 16.0 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later.

Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages: English
Age Rating: 4+

4+

Learn More

Contains
Messaging and Chat