iPad Apps for School

The Best iOS Apps for Students and Teachers

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The Most Frequently Used Apps On My iPad

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ipad-254337_640 Over the weekend on FreeTech4Teachers.com I shared a list of my most frequently used desktop apps. That post was fairly popular so I think that a similar post about iPad apps is in order. These are the apps that see the most daily use on my iPad.

Evernote
When I am reading a blog post that I want to save for later, I share it to my Evernote account. I also use Evernote to save Skitch images. Occasionally, I use Evernote to share items from my iPad’s camera roll.

Skitch
Skitch is the tool that I use on my iPad when I want to create an annotated screenshot. I can use Skitch to draw on and label a screenshot to aid my explanation of how an application works. I can also use Skitch to blur or enhance a part of a picture that I’ve taken with my iPad. And if I just want to sketch out diagram and share it, Skitch for iPad lets me do that too.

Penultimate
Even though I can type relatively quickly with my poor technique, I still prefer to handwrite a lot my notes. For that reason, Penultimate is the app that I use to taking notes on my iPad. Penultimate provides a place for you to hand-write notes on your iPad. The app allows you to create multiple notebooks with multiple pages in each. You can change the color and size of the pen strokes that are created when you write in your notebooks. Each page in your notebook can include pictures that you have stored on your iPad or pictures that you take through the Penultimate app. The app provides the option to change the look of the virtual paper on which you write. You can copy and paste content from one page to another and from one notebook to another.

Apps Gone Free
I check this app at 12pm Eastern Time for new apps that are free for a limited time. Some of the apps are only free to download that day while others may remain free for a week or longer.

Google Drive
I don’t do much editing of Google Documents through my iPad because I find it much faster to do that on a Chromebook or laptop, but I do use Drive for reviewing Documents that have been shared with me. I also use Drive for storing videos that I have created on my iPad.

What about RSS subscriptions?
I have Feedly and Flipboard installed on my iPad. I use both to read the latest posts from my favorite blogs. That said, because of the workflow that I have set-up for myself, I don’t do a lot of reading on my iPad. Most of my reading of RSS subscriptions happens on my laptop where I can have my feeds in one browser tab and I can write my notes about what I’m reading in another tab. When I’m not reading at my desk, I tend to browse feeds on my phone which is an Android phone that has Feedly installed on it.

10 Great Apps for a Teacher’s New iPad

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Did you receive a gift of a new iPad this year? If so, you’re probably spending this holiday vacation week trying out all kinds of new apps. Here are ten that I recommend getting started with.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 8.08.05 AM Evernote is the Swiss Army knife of iPad apps. I use Evernote for a little bit of everything from bookmarking websites to dictating notes to myself. The app automatically syncs with my online Evernote account so that I can access my notes, bookmarks, and saved files from any computer or device that is connected to the web. Learn more in the video below.

 

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 8.16.27 AM I subscribe to the RSS feeds of a few hundred blogs and websites. The way that I keep up with all of those updates is by spending thirty to sixty minutes a day flipping through Feedly. Feedly takes my RSS subscriptions and lays them out in a nice magazine style format that makes it easy for me to quickly scan the headlines and images attached to the articles. If I want to read the full article I can simply click through to read it. If I want to save the article to read later, I can mark it for reading later. If I want to share an article to my favorite social networks I can do that too.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 8.22.11 AM If you want to make your own short instructional videos for students, Knowmia Teach is an app you have to try.  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.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 8.27.18 AM Box is another service that I use for file storage and sharing. On Box I can create public and private shared folders to which I can send files that I want others to access. For example, I created a folder just for video files that I share with my editor at School Library Journal. She can access the folder and download the files whenever she wants. A bonus aspect is that I get an email notification when she’s accessed the files. Box on the iPad offers the same features as Box on the web.  Currently, if you download the  free Box iOS app they will give you an additional 10GB of storage for free. The iOS app will sync with your online Box account so that you can access your files whenever you connect to the web.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 8.51.45 AM It took me a while to come around to Pinterest, but now that I have I really like it. I like it for the same reason that I like Feedly, it’s visual interface makes it easy to browse through my favorite boards and find things that are of interest to me. And of course, I can Pin things myself through the Pinterest for iPad app. Here’s the board that I started for this blog.

 

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.01.10 AM Haiku Deck is an iPad app that all students and teachers should have installed on their iPads. Haiku Deck enables anyone to create beautiful slide presentations. There are two features of Haiku Deck that stand out. First, Haiku Deck intentionally limits how much text that you can put on each of your slides. Second, Haiku Deck helps you find Creative Commons licensed images for your presentations. When you type a word or words on your slides you can have Haiku Deck search for images for you. The images that Haiku Deck serves up are large enough to completely fill your slide. You can also upload your own images from your iPad or import images from Instagram and Facebook.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.04.51 AM Skitch for iPad is an app that I use when I want to quickly edit, create, and or draw on an image. I can use Skitch to draw on and label a screenshot to aid my explanation of how an application works. I can also use Skitch to blur or enhance a part of a picture that I’ve taken with my iPad. And if I just want to sketch out diagram and share it, Skitch for iPad lets me do that too.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.34.13 AM A couple of years ago a friend of mine set a New Year’s resolution to watch one TED Talk a day. The purpose of his goal was to try to expose himself to new ways of looking at the world. That year I used TED Talks once a week in my homeroom for the same purpose. The TED Talk iPad app allows you to search for new talks, organize playlists and watch your favorite talks on you iPad.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.53.16 AM You may have noticed that this list is comprised entirely of free apps. Free apps are great because it doesn’t cost me anything except my time to try them out. Apps Gone Free is a great app on which you can find apps that would normally require a purchase. The Apps Gone Free app lists new apps every day. Some of the apps are only free to download that day while others may remain free for a week or longer. I check it every morning.

Screen Shot 2012-12-26 at 9.51.58 AM Chrome is the browser that I use 90% of the time that I’m on the web. Chrome for iPad is my browser of choice because I can sync all of my tabs from my laptop and desktop to my iPad browsing experience.