 | Aurasma is available for both iOS and Android. It is an augmented reality app (think QR codes, except cooler) that uses visual triggers to pop open a video. Authors can create a video on their device, or they can upload a higher production value video to their device and use it. Imagine creating quick tutorials for students, and letting them access the "help" files right from their homework. www.aurasma.com |
 | Originally designed as an article aggregator, Flipboard would push relevant and trending articles (based on topics chosen by the user). It has morphed into a platform where one (or more) people can curate content and then share it. This could be a potent tool for professional development (remember - the collaborator(s) can add any articles they want into the Flipboard). Students can use Flipboard to wrangle articles relevant to a project they are working on (or anything else that requires research). The actual research package is digitally available, immediately to you for consumption at your leisure. Note that Flipboard can also pull relevant articles when linked to your Twitter or Facebook account. www.flipboard.com |
 | Similar to Flipboard, Zite asks for interests and will push stories to the device in a clean, concise interface. The difference is that Zite actually gets smarter as you use it. This is something that doesn't happen with Flipboard, although Flipboard allows for easy curation and collaboration. Both Zite and Flipboard can pull contextual themes from Twitter and Faceboook (although Zite will also pull from Pocket). www.zite.com |
 | Although most people think of professionally published material when considering the Amazon Kindle app, the truth is that simple tools like Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace allow anyone to create digital content that can be shared (and in the case of CreateSpace, the content can be printed on demand). www.amazon.com/... |
 | Formerly called "Read It Later", Pocket is designed to keep track of articles that you come across, but can't read immediately. There is an add-on for most browsers that allow the user to "Add an article to their 'Pocket'". When Pocket is accessed from a mobile device, the articles are available. The user can archive an article once they read it, they can send it to a friend, and they can indicate it as a "favorite". This app is great for teachers who need to time-shift their reading, but also for students that want to do the same. Users can consume their articles using a mobile device or any compute. Users can also "tag" articles, and Pocket plays well with other apps. getpocket.com |
 | There really isn't too much to say about this app - it is self-explanatory. It's a free app, and extraordinarily convenient for educators that work in Common Core environments. MasteryConnect, the creators of the app, also have three other apps (a new Science Standards app [Science], a ScanTron-type app [Scan], and an assessment app [Assess]). www.masteryconnect.com |
 | When having students present, this timer app is more sympathetic than most harsh countdowns. It is a traffic light that can be configured. Each light - green, yellow, and red - have independent durations. Tell the students that when the green light changes to yellow, they will have 2 (or any amount) minutes left before the red light, at which point they will be cut off. This app would be great for Exhibitions. A down side is that this app is ad supported. www.itunes.com/... |
 | A simple app that randomly selects a student from a list of students. Can be great for randomly calling on students or for forming teams. www.itunes.com/... |
 | Yes, it costs $9.99. And yes, it is only available on the iPad. But it is undoubtedly the best in it's class. Not only does it play well with many, many apps, but the full functionality of iAnnotatePDF is nothing short of impressive. Great for marking up student work, but also for managing files (see FileScanner below). www.branchfire.com/iannotate |
 | Using the camera on your phone, take photos of any paper document and the software will render it into a PDF. There are a few different options (like color, black and white), and it even adjusts for perspective. This is the kind of app you don't know you need, but you really need it. Convert all handouts from meetings, workshops, and seminars into PDFs. For an added workflow bonus, save them to your Google Drive! www.abbyy.com/... Note that there are many good PDF scanning software - check out this list |
 | In the past year, Prezi has become available for iOS. Using the HTML5 standard instead of Flash has made it accessible for many, many more people. The touch interface on the iPad (this app is not available for iPhones) is pretty slick, making both presenting and creating Prezis very intuitive. This ties in directly with the web portal, which means you can create and/or view a Prezi across either device; it's a cloud-based solution.' A word of caution - limit motion on Prezis; they can make viewers sick. www.prezi.com |
 | Generally speaking, Keynote is a little bit slicker than PowerPoint. On the iPad, the interface for Keynote (and Pages, too) is surprisingly easy to use and fully-functioned. One nice transition, the "Magic Move", is particularly subtle yet flashy. A drawback to Keynote is that the cloud-based solution for most Mac software is lacking when compared to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive). www.apple.com/... |
 | Strictly using desktops, there is not a better annotation, presentational software than SMART Notebook. However, the iPad version is light on features (it is missing shapes, easy access to layering and grouping, and other fundamental functionality). However, when compared to other apps in its class, SMART Notebook for iPad gets high marks. It does tie in to the SMART Classroom Response System, and also allows exports to both Google Drive and Dropbox. Although there is not an elegant solution for presentation software, SMART Notebook is pretty close. smarttech.com/notebookapp |
 | This is the easiest, most inexpensive way to make quick, episodic tutorials and videos. It is essentially a whiteboard that records the audio and pen strokes. You can tie in photos from your camera roll or take new photos. Educreations also allows for multiple pages in one video. You can access your creations from any computer, and share them (or embed them!) with whomever you please. There are many, many apps that do what this one does, but Educreations is probably the easiest to use, and their website hosts really well done videos from other educators around the world. www.educreations.com |
 | If you like Educreations, then pony up $2.99 and get ExplainEverything. It is an app that is worth ten times the price. Not only does it allow on-the-fly editing (you can pause, undo, redo), but it can export each slide as images, or as a movie (it even allows upload directly to YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, and other software). While creating the video, you can move objects (images, stamps, annotations) which is a big deal - even if it doesn't sound like it. Other features include a laser pointer for highlighting specific areas when presenting, arranging items menus (bring to front, lock, etc.), and the ability to insert photos, videos, files, and even bring in a web-browser. www.explaineverything.com |
 | Socrative is a free solution to classroom response systems (which are typically very expensive. The teacher can create (or edit) an assessment on a mobile device or online (which is probably a little bit easier). Then, the teacher can administer the quiz live, and students can participate. Types of questions include multiple choice, true/false, and short answer. There are a few different ways to administer the quiz (student paced or teacher led), and you can get instant feedback. In fact, at the conclusion of the activity, you can have Socrative email you the results. Students without mobile devices can participate via any computer. www.socrative.com |
 | The name "Whiteboard" does not adequately describe this app; it is more like a document camera. The app is fairly straightforward - it allows you to annotate on a live image (or a photo, or a snapshot). It's a great application to use in lieu of an actual document camera, and it can save your work to multiple venues. No bells or whistles, but it does the job well. One nice thing is that you can have the pointer tool active concurrently with annotating - you don't need to switch. www.ipevo.com/... |
 | A small paragraph is not sufficient to describe all the uses of Evernote. For starters, it's a great app for students to aggregate research. They can have different "notebooks", and can tag all their entries. There is a web portal that allows students to access and curate content from a computer - not just a mobile device. There are ways to share a notebook, as well as collaborate with others. There is even an add-on for most web browsers that allow the user to append anything from online into their notebook. Furthermore, it can be a great venue to keep track of ordinary, run-of-the-mill information (like a grocery list). www.evernote.com |
 | In a class of apps with many contenders, Notability stands above the rest. It is the most comprehensive solution to taking notes. There is a tiered hierarchy, so notes can be nested inside notebooks with some logical organization (you can have a Category, which can contain multiple Subjects, which can contain multiple Notes). It supports panning (two fingers) and annotations. It is the closest solution to an entire notetaking workflow - it plays well with other apps. www.evernote.com |
 | This app gets better and better. Now, you have not only unfettered access to the thousands of instructional videos, but you can create playlists for yourself. Teachers can create classes and curate their own lists. www.khanacademy.org/downloads |
 | Another venue for self-paced, quality learning. www.apple.com/... |
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