What I do is give them an insight into the apps that I have on my iPad that I use all the time or that I use in preparation for my lessons. They probably say more about my own teaching style than I would care to reveal. See if any of them are useful for you.
My students have always use Prezi exceptional well to zoom in and investigate the detail and then pull back to see how it all fits within the curriculum outcomes. Skitch is one that has been a very recent addition but one that I am finding indispensable. Who has What? is also a recent addition but one that I will use frequently this year. I don't know how many great resources I have lost simply because I have lost track of who borrowed them. So here is my little list of apps that I think are great for teachers
Dropbox is a free service that lets you save any file to your Dropbox and it will automatically save to all your computers, your iPhone and iPad and even the Dropbox website! The beauty of Dropbox is the ability to use it to distribute and collect student's work. I love the fact that I can save a file on one device and get access to it on any of may other digital devices. The new add-ons that continue to appear also make Dropbox an important tool for the classroom.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dropbox/id327630330?mt=8
Flipboard: FREEFlipboard creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. Connect Flipboard to all your social networks, and you'll have a single place to enjoy, browse, comment on and share all the news, photos and updates that matter to you. This is a perfect way to keep abreast of all the information on a specific topic that you are investigating in class. Collect feeds from different related hashtags and send them all back to your Flipboard
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/flipboard/id358801284?mt=8
Socrative brings smart clickers to a whole new level. Engaged the entire class with educational exercises and games. Let the students see their classmates’ ideas in real time and interact with the responses. Students can provide you with instant feedback on the lessons and how well they understand the material. Ask your own poll questions for the entire class or use a pre-made activity. This can be very powerful tool for teachers.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/teacher-clicker-socrative/id477620120?mt=8
Skitch for iPad only came out a couple of weeks ago and already I am finding it indispensable. It is the perfect tool for creating how-to and instructional materials for students and colleagues alike. I love how easy this app is to create really professional looking images that can be dropped into documents or used as stand alones. It is almost too simple. The beauty of this app is that it is just as valuable in the hands of your students.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/skitch-for-ipad/id490505997?mt=8
TweetDeck allows you to monitor multiple social media outlets all at once. You can follow 6 or 8 hastags at once. Bring together your Twitter and Facebook feeds in a column-based dashboard. All major Twitter features are supported: Sending updates, retweeting, favourites, mentions, direct messages and searching. Posting to multiple Twitter accounts is a breeze. Facebook status updates, notifications, Likes and comments all at your fingertips.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/tweetdeck/id429654148?mt=8
Who has What? helps you keep track of items that you lent to or borrowed from other. This app allows you to become your own resource library. Scan out items that you lend and then have automatic reminder sent to remind you who has borrowed it. It's incredibly easy. Add new entries with the built in bar code scanner. 1. Scan the Barcode of the Item, 2. Choose a Contact from your Address Book 3. Add a Return Date for the Entry, it is that easy!
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/wer-hat-was/id480481608?l=en&ls=1&mt=8
DoInk is probably the best animation iPad on the market. Like all the best iPad apps, its simplicity is a key strength. There are plenty of other excellent animation apps and it was indeed difficult to chose just one but for me this the one that I like to use and that I like my students to have access to when they are creating digital stories. It has the ability to be used simply or to produce works of surprising complexity
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/doink-animation-drawing/id364762290?mt=8
Dragon Dictation is an voice recognition app that allows you to dictate and instantly see your text on the iPad. In fact, it’s up to five (5) times faster than typing on the keyboard. Dragon Dictation will also utilize the data in spoken messages collected over time to continuously improve and provide high speech recognition accuracy. This app is getting better all the time. Once completed simply email your text and open in any of your other apps.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8
Prezi Viewer: FREEPrezi is called the zooming presenter. It is a non-linear presentation tool that is like powerpoint on steroids. It is perfect for making connections between disparate items and then looking at the big picture. This is because you can zoom into and out off the canvas. This allows the audience to make the overarching connections or conversely to focus on one particular piece of information. Prezi Viewer allows you to show your prezis on the iPad!
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/prezi-viewer/id407759942?mt=8
This is the lastest Search app from Google and has been completely redesigned for the iPad. I like the Voice Search function which is excellent for some of your disabled students. Google Goggles is also a great function that allows you to search by image to find more information about what you are looking at. It also gives you quick access to other Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Docs and more. Nice package all round.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/google-search/id284815942?mt=8
Great list. I think Dropbox is the most useful of them all, it allows easy file sharing and keeping things up to date is much easier when using that app. Everything else is great as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article!
And let's not forget about the iPad and Droid apps for WatchKnowLearn.org. 32,000 free educational videos for teachers. Yes, free. Very generous benefactor supports the nonprofit. Rated by teachers for teachers.
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I am an elementary teacher and have just discovered Fluencyfinder in the app store. The app is for iphone/ipad and allows you to quickly assess a student's WPM reading fluency. It also stores the data so you can track the results. Fluencyfinder is great because it replaces the paper/pencil/stopwatch assessment with your device. You can focus on the student and not the process. Great app- Fluencyfinder
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. If you get the chance, check out Classroom Manager. It allows the classroom teacher to collect real-time data on student behavior, aggregates it to identify patterns, and allows a report to be emailed home to parents, to Support Educators, or to RTI teams.
ReplyDeleteWe loved your blog at The High Tech Society. Some of my writers are home schooling their children and they use some of these apps to help them. There are some great comments here too, I see some other apps mentioned that may also be helpful. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI commented earlier, but I forgot to tell you that we (The High Tech Society) appreciated your article and found it helpful in our research for our article about Technology in the Classroom. (not sure if you allow links, you can remove if not) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThese application can help teachers for completing their tasks easily and a short period of time.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know more about Prezi Viewer app. this app is useful for me so if you please give me a favor, I will be very thankful to you.
ReplyDeleteI love to see the post about the teachers app. The teachers are always are dead busy so that these apps can be helpful to get their work done. by spending limited time.
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is great, let alone the content!
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