iPad Apps for School

The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers

University

MyHistro – Create Location-Based Timelines On Your iOS Device

by

Screen Shot 2013-03-05 at 10.30.20 AM MyHistro is a service that allows you to create location-based stories. The best way to describe it is as a timeline builder and map creation tool rolled into one nice package. On myHistro you can build a personal timeline or build a timeline about a theme or event in history. On the free MyHistro iOS app (not optimized for iPad screens, but it works) you can create stories that include pictures, text, locations, and dates.

If you’re creating a personal story you can take pictures with the MyHistro app, use your current location to automatically add locations to your story, and edit the timestamp for each event. If you’re creating stories about historical events, disable location-based services and you can set each event and timestamp individually.

Screen Shot 2013-03-05 at 10.48.11 AM

myHistro does have a collaborative aspect as you can invite people to work with you on events or entire stories. To work with you your collaborators will need to register on myHistro. For students over age 13 myHistro has great potential for create digital historical stories.

3 iPad Apps Students Can Use to Explore Stars and Planets Through Augmented Reality

by

Screen Shot 2013-03-03 at 10.34.01 PMGoogle Sky is one of my favorite Android apps, but unfortunately it is not available for iPads so I set out find an alternative to Google Sky to use on my iPad. I found three that I think are worth noting. All three of these apps use your location (enable location based services in your iPad’s settings) to help you identify the stars and planets viewable from where you are standing with your iPad.

The developers of Go Sky Watch Planetarium calls it an “astronomy star guide.” The app displays the stars and planets that are viewable with the naked eye from wherever you are standing at the moment. The app even tries to show the relative brightness of objects to help you identify them when you look up at the night sky. You can also use the app to search for the location of a star, planet, or constellation and see it on a map of the night sky. A demo of the app can be seen in the video below (warning, the background music borders on annoying).

Like the other apps in this list SkyView for iPad uses your location to show you the stars, planets, and satellites that are viewable from your location. Point your iPad’s camera at the sky and SkyView will lay a map of the stars over what you’re actually seeing. Outlines of the constellations are included in the overlay to help you identify the objects that you should be seeing. If you want to know what you will be able to see on a future night, just change the date and SkyView will show you what you will be able to see on that date.

Star Tracker HD is the most expensive app on this list ($3.99 USD, the other apps have free versions to try) but for me it was the easiest of the apps to navigate. The options menus are clear and easy to find and adjusting my location (my location setting was a bit off, but it always is at home) was easy to do too. Like the other apps in this list you can point your iPad to the sky to see a map of the stars and planets placed over what you’re actually looking at with your naked eyes.

Photo-3_3_13,-10.31.37-PM-1

Coach My Video – The iPad App Coaches and Phys Ed Teachers Need

by

Screen Shot 2013-02-27 at 5.31.32 PM Coach My Video is an iPad app that allows coaches to video their players in action to provide feedback on their movements and techniques. With Coach My Video installed you can record a video of your player(s) in action then as you play the video back you can pause it to annotate the the video frame-by-frame. You can draw on the video to illustrate a movement or to point out something that needs correction. In other words, you’re kind of like John Madden with his telestrator. When you have finished marking up your video you can email to your players for them to view on their iPads or laptops.

Screen Shot 2013-02-27 at 6.08.54 PM

Coach My Video is currently available for free. You can learn more about the app here and see some sample uses of it here.

The Phrasal Verbs Machine – A Nice App for ELL Students

by

Screen Shot 2013-02-25 at 10.44.21 AM One of the true challenges for English language learners is understanding the meanings of phrasal verbs. The Phrasal Verbs Machine, developed by Cambridge University, is a free iPad app that aims to help ELL students learn the meanings of phrasal verbs. The Phrasal Verbs Machine provides students with short animations that illustrate the meanings of many common phrasal verbs. There is a written definition below each animation. Students can view the animations and definitions as many times as they like before trying their hands at the practice identification exercises. The Phrasal Verbs Machine provides definition translations in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Portuguese.

Photo-2_25_13,-11.02.58-AM-1

Photography Assignment Generator for iPad and iPhone

by

Screen Shot 2013-02-22 at 10.44.21 AM Photography Assignment Generator could be a helpful iPad and iPhone app for photography teachers and students or anyone else interested in taking better pictures. The Photography Assignment Generator app provides users with assignments that are designed to help them learn about various elements of photography. The assignments range from using different camera settings like shutter speed and white balance to creative composition prompts. Each assignment includes a description, basic directions, and some sample images to model the assignment.

Photo-2_22_13,-10.51.37-AM-2

Photography Assignment Generator is available for iPads and for iPhones. The apps comes in a free version and in a paid version. The paid version includes more assignment prompts. The video below provides an overview of the app on an iPhone.