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Smartphones can help deepen and extend relationships beyond the scheduled parent-teacher conferences.

Technology, particularly smartphones, has changed the way we sleep, eat, read and watch TV. So why should teachers still regularly relay information to parents by sending a piece of paper home with their child?

A Gallup poll found that only 20 percent of parents consider themselves “fully engaged” with their kid’s school. Conversations with their child's teacher tend to consist largely of paper-based notices and a few parent-teacher conferences a year.

“Parents have told me that they can’t always depend on their kids to deliver a note that was sent home in their take-home folder,” says Jessica Meacham, a first-grade teacher and blogger, on SmartBrief. “There’s a clear disconnect between the way teachers are communicating and the way most of the world is getting its information.”

As reported by Time, the average American checks his or her phone 46 times a day. Now, a number of apps have cropped up aimed at harnessing this attentiveness into parent-teacher communication.

Ranging from Facebook-like social formats to simple SMS reminders, these apps provide safe messaging options and communication tools to create a stronger relationship between teachers and parents. Here are a few worth checking out:

Bloomz

With the vibe of a social networking site, Bloomz has teachers invite parents to join the class group. Once there, parents have access to class schedules, photo albums, private messaging with teachers and other parents, and interactive sign-up sheets.

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