Last week I had the opportunity to observe my guided reading groups in action with my instructional coach. I was surprised at the amount of conferring you can get done with the kids right there in groups vs. the weekly 1:1 conferring (without groups) I try to squeeze in every week. I decided this weekend I was going to set a plan in motion to get better at conferring with my students and pleasantly remembered the awesome nature of this app!
Need to take notes on your students? Pin it to save!
Now I have to admit, I’ve known about this app for a while. Last year, while teaching Kindergarten, I stumbled upon it and tried out the free trial with my kiddos. By the way, the trial only supports 1 subject of up to 10 kids. It was a great app, but because of the steep price and still getting on my feet as a newer teacher, I decided not to invest. But now was the perfect time to jump in with both feet. Confer is used to take anecdotal notes on your students on any subject. With the full version app, you can create many different subjects, import your same students in each easily, sort students into groups based on levels, strengths, teaching points, next steps, and so much more. It instantly gives groups based off levels, tags and other like comments in their notes.
The individual student view is simple and user-friendly! It shows all of your notes from newest to oldest in sequential order. When adding a new note, you have the option to type in the field or add/select from pre-loaded text/phrases you have typed before to save time! I went ahead and uploaded all the CAFE strategies with the common core standards linked. You also have the option of adding more than one note to each category.
In conclusion, I am happy with my $14.99 purchase of this app, even though I thought I would NEVER spend that much on one app. But I guess it is worth it in the end if you can ultimately save your precious time that teachers don’t have enough of right?? I was able to confer with 7 kids today during my three rotations and still work with my guided groups! If you have seen this app around but haven’t taken the plunge yet, I hope I have helped you make up your mind one way or the other! Final Grade: B+ … It would be a perfect “student” if it didn’t cost so much!
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wow i just read your review. looks interesting! – however the price has jumped to 24.99!!! eek! are you still finding it useful?
Wow! That is a price jump! Since I've made this post they have updated their system and changed a lot of features but I still believe in it! I use it almost every day in my class and my kids also use it to set goals for themselves too. I think the best part is you can take pictures of their work and have it stored under their name too! It's an amazing tool and I totally think it's worth the price! I hope this helps!!
This app was just brought to my attention and it sounds amazing! Do you still use it in your classroom? I am not able to find it in the App Store, has its name changed?
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear you can’t find it. I no longer use it in the classroom but maybe you can find something similar. I did try to do a google search and found that their website is still active. Maybe try contacting them there.
I would like to use Confer in my classroom.
Hey there, Alba! I’m not sure if Confer is still an working app or not but you can check their website here and maybe contact them: http://www.conferapp.com/ This post was created years ago and may have some outdated information in terms of the availability. I don’t work for them so you’ll need to check with them directly. Best of luck!
Is this app still available? I can’t seem to find it any more. If not, have you come across an alternative?
Hey there! I’m not sure if Confer is still an working app or not but you can check their website here and maybe contact them: http://www.conferapp.com/ This post was created years ago and may have some outdated information in terms of the availability. I don’t work for them so you’ll need to check with them directly. Best of luck!