When ever I run a training session on iPads for learning, people ask me about my apps, they want a list everything I have. If I did that, most would be overwhelmed. I have 512 apps installed on my iPad right now (I consult in classrooms k-12). That is too many for any teacher or student.
I often preach to teachers and administrators that they should start with a dozen apps, get to know them well, and start using them in the classroom. I’ve put together 9 apps that cost just $11 that I think offer a variety of possibilities in most classrooms. By no means is this the perfect list for everyone. In fact, even as I sit here looking at it, I ponder changes. For the full list including thumbnails, and suggestions of how to use the apps, see this pdf. For the quick list, check below.
FREE ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard
- allows you to record voice over whiteboard tutorials and share them online. You may create tutorials for students, have them create tutorials, or use it as a “show me what you know” tool.
$2.99 StoryPages HD
- allows to create a story or story board with both text and visuals (draw inside the app or import images from photo library). It is a nice compliment to iMovie when doing digital story telling, so that students can plan and prepare for their digital story.
FREE Toontastic
- is a story telling app that uses stock images (backgrounds and characters) and your recorded voice to tell a story. It includes a story arc. It works well to talk about the structure of story, tone and mood (music is built into the app and story writing process) and animation.
$2.99 Strip Designer
- This one allows you to use photos from the internet or your camera to create comic book pages or comic strips. Easily add speech bubbles, comic frames, and add a variety of effects to the comic and images. This is a different way to tell a story that is more visual. Students, especially adolescent boys, enjoy creating graphic novels of their own, and share them with peers and parents.
$4.99 iMovie
- iMovie is an Apple designed app that can be used to create movies, slide shows, narrate pictures and do assessments. Students are using it in everything from CTS, early learning, physed, and secondary content areas to show what you know, do peer/self assessments, and simply to be creative.
FREE Sundry Notes
- Sundry is a note taking app that allows you to type, insert photos, graphs, audio recordings, calculators, charts and drawings. It might be used to make notes more visual. And dynamic. It might also be used in field trips or science experiments to capture audio and visual as a part of documentation and observation.
FREE Neu.Annotate
- A way for you to write on and mark up PDFs. This way you can provide feedback, create your own notes on a document, or even use note taking templates such as Cornell Notes. There are many other advanced features included for those that need them.
FREE iMotion HD
- iMotion HD is a stop motion animation program for creating claymation like movies such as the classic Rudolf christmas claymation film. On a PC, creating animations like this is laborious, and near impossible given the time required. With the iPads built in camera and fast computing power creating short scenes can happen in no time.
FREE Dragon Dictation
- This is a speech to text app. You can easily dictate notes, emails, and memos with surprising accuracy. Students may use this to practice their oral speech (in English, French, and a variety of other languages)
If you have your own list of “must have” apps or “starter” apps, please share them below!