iPad Apps for School

The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers

Flipped Lessons

Create Simple Whiteboard Videos on ScreenChomp

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screenchomp-150x150 ScreenChomp has been around for a few years now. In fact, I think it was one of the first apps of its kind. While other whiteboard apps have come along and offered more features, ScreenChomp remains as a simple and free tool for creating whiteboard videos. So when a reader asked me earlier this week for a recommendation for a very simple whiteboard app, ScreenChomp was my recommendation for her situation.

ScreenChomp provides a whiteboard on which you can demonstrate things by drawing and talking people through your instructions. You can draw and talk over a blank whiteboard or you can upload an image and draw on it while you’re talking. Either way, ScreenChomp records your voice as you go.

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When you’re done recording ScreenChomp provides you with a unique URL for your recording. Share that URL through email, social media, or post it on your blog for students to watch.

Ask3 – An iPad App for Creating Flipped Video Lessons Your Students Can Actually Respond To

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Screen Shot 2013-03-16 at 4.29.45 PM Ask3 is a free iPad app from TechSmith. TechSmith is probably best known as being the company that produces Jing and Camtasia screen capture software. Ask3 is a tool that teachers can use to create short instructional videos that are shared directly to their students’ iPads. Students can use Ask3 to ask questions about the video, mark the video with drawing tools, and create their own audio comments about the video.

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You share Ask3 videos to your students through a virtual workspace room. When you register as a teacher you are given a room number to share with your students. Students then open the Ask3 app on their iPads, enter their names, create a password for themselves, and enter the room number that you gave them. Students do not have to have email addresses to use Ask3. Anytime students enter your Ask3 room they can access the videos you’ve posted to the bulletin board in that room.

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Ask3 could be a great app to use to develop and share short tutorials with your students. The option for students to insert comments and questions might make Ask3 your new favorite whiteboard app.

Knowmia Teach Is a Great App for Creating Lesson Videos

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Screen Shot 2012-12-20 at 7.18.40 PM Knowmia is a website and an iPad app for creating, sharing, and viewing video lessons. The Knowmia Teach iPad app is an excellent app for creating your own whiteboard videos in the Khan Academy style.

I have found the Knowia Teach app to have far more creation options than the similar Showme and Educreations apps. Some of the highlights of Knowmia Teach app include the option to use your iPad’s camera to record yourself while drawing on the whiteboard. You will appear in the corner of the screen so that your students can see you while you’re talking them through the lesson. The app includes the option to import images and graphics from your iPad to your lessons. You can draw free-hand on the whiteboard screen, type on the whiteboard screen, and insert pre-made shapes and figures.

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All Knowia Teach lessons can be uploaded to the Knowmia website with just one tap of your iPad’s screen. Students can watch your lessons on the Knowmia website. If you’re thinking about trying to create some “flipped” lessons for your students, take a look at Knowmia and the Knowmia iPad app.