Classroom management is one of the most important — and most challenging — aspects of teaching. A well-managed classroom is a place where learning can happen. A poorly managed one is exhausting for everyone, teacher included.
The good news is that technology has produced some genuinely useful tools to support classroom management — tools that help with everything from tracking behaviour and rewarding positive choices to monitoring device use and communicating with parents. These digital classroom management tools won’t replace the relationship-building and professional judgement at the heart of great classroom practice, but they can make managing a busy, diverse classroom significantly more efficient.
Here’s a practical guide to the best ones available right now.
ClassDojo: Building Positive Classroom Culture
ClassDojo is one of the most widely used classroom management tools in primary education worldwide — and for good reason. It’s free, intuitive, and genuinely effective for building a positive classroom culture.
The core feature is a simple points system: you award or deduct points for specific behaviours (effort, teamwork, kindness, being prepared) and students can see their totals in real time. The immediate, visible feedback loop is surprisingly motivating for younger students — and the ability to customise the behaviour categories means you can align the system with your specific classroom values and priorities.
Beyond behaviour tracking, ClassDojo includes a class story feature (a private feed of classroom photos and updates visible to parents), a messaging feature for parent communication, and a portfolio feature where students can document their work and learning. It’s evolved into a genuine classroom community platform, not just a behaviour tracker.
Best for: Primary / Elementary classrooms. Free to use.
Classdojo Alternatives for Secondary Schools
ClassDojo’s visual and gamified approach works brilliantly with younger students but can feel less appropriate for older ones. Here are some alternatives better suited to secondary classrooms:
Behaviour Watch / CPOMS
These are more serious behaviour tracking and safeguarding platforms used at whole-school level. If your school uses one, it’s worth investing time to understand how to use it effectively — having a consistent digital record of behaviour incidents is valuable for identifying patterns and supporting students with complex needs.
Google Classroom Announcements and Private Comments
Not a dedicated behaviour tool, but Google Classroom’s private comment feature is useful for quiet, discreet communication with individual students about behaviour or engagement. A private message acknowledging positive effort — or addressing a concern — can be more effective than a public comment.
Nearpod and Pear Deck: Keeping Students Engaged and Accountable
One of the most effective classroom management strategies is simply keeping students actively engaged — and these two tools are brilliant for that. Both allow you to make presentations interactive, so students are responding and participating throughout rather than passively watching.
Nearpod and Pear Deck let you embed polls, quizzes, open-ended responses, and drawing activities directly into your slides. Students respond on their devices and you see the results in real time. The interactive format keeps students on task far more effectively than a standard presentation — because they know they’re expected to respond, not just watch.
Both have free plans that are useful, with paid plans offering more features. If you’re already using Google Slides or PowerPoint, Pear Deck integrates directly with these, which makes it particularly easy to get started.
Best for: All age groups. Both have free plans.
GoGuardian: Real-Time Device Monitoring
For schools using Chromebooks, GoGuardian is one of the most powerful classroom management tools available. It gives teachers a real-time view of every student’s screen, the ability to close tabs, push specific websites to all students, and lock devices to a single application when needed.
From a classroom management perspective, the knowledge that the teacher can see their screen is often enough to keep students on task — without needing to constantly monitor every device manually. The deterrent effect is real.
GoGuardian also has AI-powered safety features that flag potentially concerning content or behaviour — useful for safeguarding as well as classroom management.
Best for: Chromebook schools. Requires a school subscription.
Remind: Parent and Student Communication
Clear, consistent communication with parents is one of the most effective behaviour management strategies available — and Remind makes it easy. It’s a free messaging platform that lets teachers send messages to students and parents without sharing personal phone numbers.
You can send individual or group messages, share files and links, and schedule messages in advance. Parents can respond, creating a genuine two-way communication channel. The ability to message a parent quickly and easily — rather than waiting for a formal letter or a phone call that requires diary coordination — means communication happens in real time, which is far more effective for managing behaviour issues before they escalate.
Best for: All age groups. Free to use.
Timer and Focus Tools
Sometimes the most effective classroom management tools are the simplest. A visible countdown timer — projected on screen — is one of the most universally effective tools for keeping students on task during timed activities.
Several free options work well:
- Classroomscreen.com — a free online tool with a timer, random name picker, noise meter, and several other classroom management features in one clean interface
- Online Stopwatch — simple, free, and highly visible countdown timers in various formats
- Brain Break apps — tools like Go Noodle (primary) that provide quick, structured movement breaks to reset focus
A visible timer changes the energy in a room. Students work with more focus and urgency when they can see time ticking down — and transitions between activities become smoother when the end point is clearly visible.
Random Name Pickers: Fair and Engaging
A random name picker might seem like a minor tool, but it’s surprisingly effective for classroom management. When students know they could be called on at any moment — rather than being able to predict who the teacher will ask — they’re more likely to stay engaged and ready to contribute.
Tools like Classroomscreen, Wheel of Names (wheelofnames.com), or the random name feature in many LMS platforms all do this well. Use them consistently and you’ll notice a shift in how attentively students follow class discussions.
Noise Monitors: Managing Classroom Volume
For teachers who find noise levels difficult to manage during group work — particularly in open-plan or acoustically challenging spaces — digital noise monitors can help. Tools like Too Noisy or the noise meter on Classroomscreen display a visual indicator of classroom volume that updates in real time.
Students can see when the noise level is too high, and there’s something slightly game-like about watching the meter — which tends to be more effective at regulating noise than repeated verbal reminders.
For more on managing the digital side of the classroom, our post on how to manage student screen time covers the broader picture of keeping devices purposefully focused on learning.
Building Your Digital Management Toolkit
A few principles worth keeping in mind as you explore these tools:
- Less is more — pick two or three tools and use them consistently, rather than trying five and using none of them well
- Introduce tools gradually — give students time to learn how a new tool works before adding another
- Use tools to support relationships, not replace them — the most effective classroom management is always built on genuine relationships; digital tools support that work, they don’t substitute for it
- Check your school’s policy — before introducing any new tool, confirm it’s approved and that data privacy requirements are met
Final Thoughts: The Right Tools for Your Classroom
There’s no single combination of digital classroom management tools that works for every teacher, every age group, or every school context. The best toolkit is the one that fits your teaching style, your students’ needs, and your school’s infrastructure.
Start by identifying your biggest classroom management challenge — whether that’s behaviour tracking, parent communication, device monitoring, or keeping students engaged — and find one tool that directly addresses it. Master that before adding anything else.
Technology won’t solve classroom management challenges on its own. But the right tools, used consistently, can make the job significantly more manageable — and free up more of your time and energy for the teaching that really matters.
Which digital management tools do you use in your classroom? Share your recommendations in the comments below!
📌 Keep reading: More practical guides in our Classroom Management in the Digital Age series on Teacher Tech Zone.
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