iPad Apps for School

The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers

ipad app

Create Interactive Images With ThingLink’s New iPad App

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Screen Shot 2013-05-28 at 10.35.31 AM ThingLink is one of my favorite tools that I’ve reviewed on Free Technology for Teachers. The free service allows you to make any image interactive by adding digital pinmarks to it. Those pinmarks can include text, links, videos that are revealed when some touches those pinmarks while viewing your shared images. The service previously worked in your iPad’s web browser, but now this great service is now available as a free iPad app too.

The new ThingLink iPad app allows you to import pictures from your iPad’s camera roll and or take new pictures to turn into interactive images. You can start using the app without creating a ThingLink account. To get started just import a picture from your iPad or take a new picture with your iPad. After selecting a picture tap it to add interactive placemarks. Each placemark that you add through the app can include text and or video links. When you’ve finished adding placemarks you can publish your image publicly or keep it private in your ThingLink account. ThingLink accounts can be created using an email address or a Facebook account.

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A few of the ways that I’ve seen ThingLink used by teachers is to have students add multimedia labels to diagrams of cells, to label geographic features, and to label historical images like that of the signing of the declaration of independence.

Virtual Frog Dissection on Your iPad

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Screen Shot 2013-05-18 at 10.37.45 AM Frog Dissection for iPad is an app that is popular with biology teachers. The latest version of the app includes more labels, quizzes, and videos. Of course, the main purpose of the app still remains. That purpose is to provide a virtual environment in which students can dissect a frog just as they would if they had a frog and a scalpel in your classroom. The app provides step-by-step directions for students to follow as they virtually dissect their frogs.

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At $3.99 Frog Dissection for iPad is kind of pricey yet still cheaper than a lot of the frog dissection kits on the market. And your students can use the app until they get the dissection right. There’s no do-over with a real frog.

VerbBusters Helps Students Learn Irregular Verbs

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Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 10.35.27 AM VerbBusters is a straight-forward iPad app for learning and practicing recognizing English irregular verbs. VerbBusters supports learners whose native languages are French, Spanish, German, Portugese, and Italian. The app can also be used by native English speakers to practice recognizing past and present tenses of verbs.

VerbBusters has two modes; a practice mode and a quiz mode. To start using the app students have to select a base or native language. After choosing a language students select a level of difficulty from beginner through advanced learner. Each activity has students type the infinitive, past tense, and participle of each verb. If students get stuck in the practice mode they can tap the help button to get the correct answer.

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VerbBusters costs $1.99. It could be a good practice application for high school ELL students.

Kids Boats – A Game for Exploring Climates

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Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 10.10.39 AM Kids Boats is an iPad app through which students discover animals of different climate zones. In Kids Boats students navigate a boat down a river avoiding obstacles and collecting stars. Along the river students will find animals native to the climate zone that the river is in. At the end of each river students will see the animals of that climate zone.

Students can make boats move through Kids Boats in three different ways. The simplest way to navigate the boats is to drag and move the boats. Students can tilt their iPads to make the boats move. The third way to make the boats move is to blow on the iPad (near the microphone) and the boats will move.

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Kids Learn About Healthy Snacks on Healthy Heroes

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Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 9.45.10 AM Healthy Heroes is a free iPad app designed to help children learn about healthy snacks and meals. In the free app students feed healthy foods to a friendly monster. Before each activity students are shown a few healthy foods and they’re told a bit about the nutrition and calories of the foods. Then in the activity students tap mystery boxes to find the snacks and drag them to the monster’s mouth. Between each activity a short, healthy eating tip is played for students to watch.

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Healthy Heroes could be a great app to include in an elementary school lesson about health and nutrition.

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Thanks to David Kapuler for sharing the app last week on his blog.