Popular K12 workflow app releases new feature that adds educational development to learning environments using iPads, Chromebooks and other 1:1 learning devices.
EDMONTON, CANADA – September 28, 2015 – Classroom workflow app Showbie has added a new digital portfolio feature to Showbie Pro. Influenced by feedback from educators using the app, the digital portfolio gives teachers and students the ability to easily collect assignments and reflect on them without purchasing additional apps or switching between apps to upload work.
With 1.7 million users, Showbie’s user base has grown by half a million in the last six months, coinciding with four significant software updates (including the most recent digital portfolio release):
- Mobile accessibility (March 24, 2015)
- Annotating using pinned voice notes (June 17, 2015)
- An integrated gradebook (August 4, 2015)
- An integrated digital portfolio (September 28, 2015)
Capping off this season’s updates, Showbie’s digital portfolio gives K12 students a place to save, reflect and share classwork with teachers and parents. Teachers can easily add a student’s work in Showbie to their portfolio in a single swipe, helping students track their learning progress by showcasing their best work. Because students can share work in Showbie from other creative apps, a variety of media types can be added to the digital portfolio, including video, pictures and text. Students can also take the lead and curate their own portfolio when their teachers allow it, and portfolio work is viewable grade-to-grade on a timeline, allowing students to track their learning as they progress through school.
There are so many other digital portfolio apps out there, but what makes Showbie stand out from the others is the functionality and ease of use,
explains Kristen Paino, Showbie Champion and lead technology integrator at The World School in New York, NY. Since many schools already use Showbie, students and teachers won’t have to learn how to use [or go to] another app to upload their content into a digital portfolio. The Showbie digital portfolio also allows students to carry on their digital portfolio from grade to grade. This is a huge and important feature that most digital portfolio apps are missing.
Over the last school year, we found many students and teachers going beyond paper-like assignments in Showbie and using the platform for rich multimedia submissions involving video and voice. These amazing student work showpieces simply had to have a separate dedicated area to be highlighted and shared. The digital portfolio update is driven by direct feedback and suggestions by educators who are using Showbie, as well as current education technology trends,
explains Showbie CEO and co-founder Colin Bramm.
About Showbie
With over 1.7 million users, Showbie is an Edmonton, Canada-based classroom workflow app that makes it easy for 1:1 classrooms to go paperless on mobile devices. Teachers can easily create classes and assignments, and students can complete assignments using a variety of compatible apps, or by using Showbie’s built-in annotation tools. Teachers can then review, provide feedback, grade and place work in portfolios all within the app. Showbie is an all-in-one platform to manage lessons and classwork in schools implementing a 1:1 device program, and it is backed by Point Nine Capital, Kymbask Investments Inc., Yaletown Venture Partners and Imagine K12.
Pricing and Availability
Showbie 2.3 is compatible with Apple’s iOS 9 update, and it’s available exclusively in the App Store. The basic app is free, and Showbie Pro is available for teachers at $12 a month, and free for students. A school-wide version is also available directly through the company on our plans page. A more in-depth look at Showbie’s 2.3 update is available on the Showbie blog.
For more information, press only:
Kelly Kowalchuk
Showbie Inc.
Phone: (415) 683-7126
kelly@showbie.com
