TeacherVUE 4+

Especially now with virtual learning, I’m using every screen I can access to keep organized. Many times I’m on the go grading in blackboard and Teams on my iPad and trying to enter grades on my phone. As an English teacher, I need the bigger screen of the iPad to view essays and writing assessments. I was very excited to see TeacherVUE offered an app, and jumped at the chance to download. Unfortunately the only functionality it has is to take attendance. The biggest piece of the puzzle that this app is missing is the ability to enter quick grades. I continue to waste time switching between screens on the iPad while I grade in Blackboard and then enter into synergy. Honestly, synergy - think like a teacher! What would you want this app to do? I guarantee you, in the middle of a pandemic, attendance taking is NOT top of the list.

Everything we need this app to do is missing, and it’s like they went out of their way to brainstorm every possible useless feature and built an app. It’s like they went to that one admin who tried teaching and completely tanked, so they demoted him to admin, and they asked him what they should put on this app. Sometimes I feel like we’re on a game show where they give us piles of garbage resources and watch us like one of those satanic obstacle course shows where contestants are hit with rubber balls on a rotating balance beam.

This app is a testament to the state of public teaching.

I was hoping to open it up to give a quick daily work grade while I was on the go. After spending ten minutes of researching how to login (You need your school district’s url, but it’s a synergy version of your school districts url. Seriously, why is there not a drop down menu?), I found out that it doesn’t even let you access the grade book. I have no idea what any teacher would use this app for—looking at their class rosters maybe?