TEACHERS | TalkingPoints

Name: TEACHERS | TalkingPoints
Rating: 4.8 (5123 reviews)
Author: TalkingPoints Corp

School Communication

Free

5.1K Ratings
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Education
Developer

TalkingPoints Corp
Language

EN
English
Size

68.7
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

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.
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!!!
A super useful app for family/school communication
12/21/2023

Pgh the 412
This app is extremely useful for great school and family communication! I'm an ESL teacher and I use the Talking Points for Teachers app to communicate with instantly translated text messages with my families while they use the Talking Points for Families app. It's quick and easy to set up an account. As a teacher, I click "add manually" to add a family name and contact phone number, then select their language. My families tell me how much they love the communication all the time. If they have questions about activities at school or their child will have an early dismissal for a doctor's appointment the next day, they can send a translated text message to me, the secretary, or the school nurse. This app is so easy to use. Make sure to keep it updated.

Developer Response
Thanks so much for your feedback, successful and easy communication is the goal!
A super useful app for family/school communication
12/21/2023

Pgh the 412

This app is extremely useful for great school and family communication! I'm an ESL teacher and I use the Talking Points for Teachers app to communicate with instantly translated text messages with my families while they use the Talking Points for Families app. It's quick and easy to set up an account. As a teacher, I click "add manually" to add a family name and contact phone number, then select their language. My families tell me how much they love the communication all the time. If they have questions about activities at school or their child will have an early dismissal for a doctor's appointment the next day, they can send a translated text message to me, the secretary, or the school nurse. This app is so easy to use. Make sure to keep it updated.
Developer Response 01/09/2024
Thanks so much for your feedback, successful and easy communication is the goal!

Welcome! We're always working to make the app better so you can easily engage with your students’ families. This update includes a few bug fixes. Make sure you've got the latest and greatest version of the app!

Version 8.2522.1

Nov 3

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