10 More Free iPad2 Apps for Teachers

Last month I shared 10 free iPad2 Apps for Teachers and it has become one of the most frequented posts on my blog (Over 1,000 hits in the past month). Since then I have continued to practice tightwad downloading of apps and I’m now ready to share 10 more of these awesome and completely free tools for teachers.

Timer+
This simple timer is extremely easy to use and looks great on the large iPad screen (despite the banner ad at the bottom). Some might say that a timer app is a waste of such a robust device, but it’s a lot quicker than digging through your desk drawer looking for the old egg timer.

QR Reader (Scan)
I mentioned in my last post all of the possibilities QR codes bring to the classroom, and this is just the app for that! It’s free and quickly scans and recognizes QR codes.

Popplet Lite
Popplet is an easy-to-use mind mapping tool similar to proprietary software like Inspiration/Kidspiration/etc. It integrates with the iPad’s dual cameras and photos app so images can be quickly added to the popplet diagram.

GridPaper
I admit that this app is in need of some updates, but it’s still worth the download. GridPaper recognizes complex math problems, exponents, and even multi-step equations (kind of). It’s like a more organic version of a graphing calculator. The app still struggles with some finger gestures, but I suspect this will be one to keep an eye on in the future.

Atoms HD Lite
This is an excellent review tool for chemistry students looking to practice labeling neutrons, electrons, and protons of an atom.

MindMash
MindMash is similar to Popplet but it focuses more on functionality rather than aesthetic appearance. Users can combine text, writing, and images to create mind maps, brainstorm, or take notes.

RSGS URL
Url shorteners like bit.ly and tinyurl have become so popular that the shortened address is actually becoming quite long (at least by the 140 character Twitter standard). Rs.gs is not a pretty name, but it’s handy on the iPad and pumps out urls that are no more than 8 characters long!

ShowOfHands
ShowOfHands is a polling app. There are a continuous stream of general opinion questions and after voting, the app displays a ton of different percentages based on demographics (age, gender, and political party, etc.). It even shows poll winners by state. Aside from this app being strangely addictive, it could be used in a history/economics/political science class to get a snapshot of varying opinions across the country. Because of the math, this could also be used to generate some interesting data for percentage or graphing lessons.

Verbally
The iPad is a natural fit when it comes to assistive technology. Take for example, the $190 alternative communication tool called Proloquo2Go. It essential takes the place of an augmentative speaking device that can cost into the thousands. Unfortunately, it's still $190 more than I'd like to spend for an app. Luckily, Verbally is there to fill the void.

Pocket Pond
Every teacher needs time for quiet reflection. Pocket Pond is surprisingly cathartic. Lazily drag your fingers across the screen and watch the water ripple and fish disperse. It’s like having a koi pond in your pocket (without the obvious problems that would ultimately arise with carrying fish in your pants).

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10 Free iPad2 Apps for Teachers

My wife is the best.

For our fifth wedding anniversary, she surprised me with a new iPad2. The first thing I did was search the app store for as many free apps as I could find. With the dual cameras and 3G capabilities, the educational possibilities have greatly expanded since the premiere of the original iPad.

Here is my list of top apps for the classroom.


AppStart

AppStart is basically a static list of promoted apps for the iPad2. It was the first app I stumbled across while looking for new and exciting things to download, so I figured it warranted heading off this list. The layout is beautiful and it contains some good information. My suggestion – download it, glean as much as you can, and then remove it.


Dragon Dictation

This simple app features a single red record button in the middle and allows anyone to record their voice using the built-in microphone. This has a natural fit in the classroom as assistive technology but can also be used so students can practice their oral fluency expression and speaking skills. Dragon dictation is surprisingly accurate and this makes it a useful tool in the classroom.

Photo Mess

This collage app makes it easy to resize, re-orientate, and manipulate images taken from either of the iPad’s two cameras. This is a great way to make expressive collages on the fly – both as a student project or as an assessment tool.


Photoshop Express

This is the free equivalent to the online Photoshop Express and is especially useful in conjuction with other apps (such as Photo Mess). While it is lacking some of the more spectacular features of the full Photoshop software, it is still an excellent tool for cropping and other basic editing on the iPad.


Junaio

This app uses geo-location to tag a specific location with either text, picture, or 3-D model. At first glance this may appear to be too intricate to be used in the classroom (especially one in a middle school such as mine). But this is not the case. I wouldn't expect students to use this app, but not because it is too difficult. Instead, teachers could use this app for outdoor activities and field trips. I teacher could go to the location ahead of time and place markers. Then, on the date of the trip, students could take the iPad2 to add use it to view the markers and get additional virtual information about the physical location that they are seeing. With Junaio, every outing becomes a potential virtual field trip.

Splice

Capturing video is not very useful without a way to edit and polish it. Despite the iPad2’s dual cameras it does not come loaded with any video editing software. Slice is just that. It doesn't have a lot of special features, but it does the basic editing that most people typically need. This is useful in the classroom to create quick student videos, video assessments, or even on the go vodcasts.

Wikipanion

It's surprising how many companies have not yet created official iPad apps (Facebook, for example). Wikipedia is also one of these offenders. Luckily, Wikipanion is an excellent substitute. In fact, it has features that the native iPhone Wikipedia app should probably consider adding in future versions.

Tour Wrist

Here is another app that makes for an excellent digital field trip. This one, however, uses free recorded 3D Panoramic images and the iPad2’s built in accelerometer to turn the iPad into a pair of binoculars (for lack of a better analogy). There are tours for buildings, museums, airship hangers, etc. An additional app is in the works to allow 3rd parties to add to the available tours on Tour Wrist as well. This is something to check back on!

Confer Lite

This app allows a teacher to add a classroom list of students and then track and monitor individual progress by lesson/activity. It is not a gradebook; instead it allows the teacher to qualify (rather than quantify) students’ learning behaviors. It’s an amazing app, but I don’t think it would work in a regular classroom. This app is probably best geared toward small group instruction situations.

Photosynth

Photosynth is actually an iPhone app, but it still works great on the iPad2. This handy apps creates panoramic images almost instantly. Last fall, I wrote this tutorial on how to do something similar using a digital camera. Using this method, it takes about 30 minutes to create a panoramic image. Using Photosynth, it takes about 30 seconds.

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10 New Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

I spent today scouring Delicious and Twitter for new Web 2.0 tools that I can use this year in my classroom. Some of these services aren't new in the sense that they are recent startups, but they're new to me, so I don't consider the title of this post incorrect! I hope you find these useful!

GoAnimate
This tool creates multi-scene, animated cartoons. This is probably the most difficult resource on this list to learn, but it also yields the most impressive results. The quality and style of the cartoons remind me of Family Guy (which is either a praise for GoAnimate, or a slam to Family Guy!).


Issuu
Issuu isn’t a new tool, but it’s just so cool that I had to include it on the list. Issuu allows users to upload .doc and .pdf files and creates flashy online books. This service practically begs to be used to make end-of-the-year portfolios with students.

Sqworl
In addition to having the coolest name among the Web 2.0 tools on this list, Sqworl is a web application that creates one page to bookmark multiple URLs. Users of Opera or Google Chrome web browsers will notice that Sqworl pages look just like their home pages. It’s a great way to share multiple links with students – excellent for webquests, research, etc.

ZooBurst
I wrote a post about this service last week. ZooBurst creates online, interactive 3-D pop-up books. It also takes advantage of computers equipped with webcams and allows the “book” to be viewed in augmented reality, which needless to say, is really, really cool.

NumberQuotes
NumberQuotes puts large numbers into perspective by comparing it to something more tangable. For example, the Antoine Dodson Internet meme has more than 25 million views. If each view were a penny, the pile of pennies would weigh as much as 9 African elephants. How did I know that? NumberQuotes told me.

Ahead
Ahead is a tool similar to Prezi, but with a much tighter, spatially-friendly presentation. I’ve used Prezi in class before, and although it is a dynamic presentation tool, I’ve found that students have a difficult time following connections between each movement. If you’ve noticed this too, I would recommend giving Ahead a try!


TypeWith.Me
Last year, I wrote about using the collaborative workspace called Etherpad with students. Since then, Google has acquired the service and released the source code to the world. TypeWith.Me is more-or-less Etherpad under a new moniker.


PhotoPeach
This online slideshow/photo sharing application is similar to Animoto, but with a few added features. PhotoPeach allows for text overlays, and viewers can even leave comments that will appear in the closing credits of the slideshow. In my opinion, Animoto doesn’t fit under the umbrella of Web 2.0 because it is a one way street. PhotoPeach, on the other hand, provides a way for the viewer to interact with the project rather than just be a static observer.

Pixton
Pixton creates colorful and professional online comic strips. Users can choose from a library of clip art, or they can create their own. Pixton is free for personal use, and approximately a $1 per month per user for an education account.

ToonDoo
ToonDoo is a sub-project of online office suite powerhouse, Zoho. ToonDoo’s about us page says it was designed as “a new way of expression for those who do not have the talent to draw,” and the result is a simple comic strip generator that relies primarily on simple cartoon-style clip art. It doesn’t look as fancy as Pixton, but it is far easier to use.

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Top 10 Teacher Apps for the iPod Touch

Searching for iPod Touch apps for teachers in Google results in close to a million hits, so what’s the harm in adding one more? Here is my list (some scholarly, some not so much) of apps that I couldn't do without.

1. Dropbox – This handy app compliments the dropbox.com file storage website. The service is an excellent alternative to uploading and sending files to your own email. The Dropbox app also allows for offline use, which is where it comes in most handy. It also has a built-in media player. If I’m in a hurry and need a media file but don’t want to wait interminably for iTunes to load, and then have to go through the laborious task of finding my iPod usb connector, this is an effortless alternative.

2. NoteBrainer – This is a must have app for any music student struggling to learn how to read both treble and bass clef. The app displays or (optionally) sounds the note, and then asks you to correctly identify it. It’s simple, but addictive (and much more interesting than rote memorization!). I've been learning how to play piano since August, and this app is great practice.

3. Pandora – Pandora is an Internet radio station that plays songs based on your previous song preferences. This is a must have for any English Language Arts teacher who is teaching a book/unit that takes place in a specific era. For example, if I was teaching S.E. Hinton’s That was then, This is now and I wanted to give my students a taste of music from the time period, all I would have to do is create a Pandora station based on the search term “60s rock.”
4. Stanza – This free e-book reader is not only intuitive, but effortless to use. The app contains a searchable database using e-book sites like Project Gutenberg, and downloads automatically so that they can be read offline. The latest version also features capabilities to highlight and annotate.

5. Instapaper – This app takes any website and converts it to “digital paper” that can be stored on the iPod and then read offline. This is particularly useful to me because many of the news sites that I enjoy reading are blocked by my school’s filter. With a little bit of foresight, I can convert the page at home, and then read at my own leisure during my lunch break!


6. Free RSS – This app is exactly what it sounds like. Again, similar to instapaper, I appreciate that this app stores posts from a blog’s RSS feed so I can read them when I am not connected to a wifi signal.

7. Office² Plus – I wrote about using Zoho on the iPod Touch as a portable word processor, but this is only possible when within range of an Internet signal. Office² Plus is a suitable alternative. Files are saved in .doc format and can be emailed to a desktop computer for further editing and printing.

8. Paper Toss – Fine, maybe this isn’t very educational, but if I am making a list of my favorite apps, this has to be on it. Paper toss is a game that challenges you to do exactly that – toss balls of paper into a trashcan. It sounds lame, but it is dangerously addictive!


9. Wink – If you have an iPhone with a built-in camera, then this app is especially useful. Wink allows you to take pictures stored on your iPhone, or from Flickr, Facebook, or Shutterfly and organize them into a photo strip. Then, for $2.50, that strip can be printed and sent via snail mail. This could be a great way to creatively document field trips or in-class activities.


10. Wikipedia – Maybe it’s a bit of a cop-out to put this on an app list, but there’s no denying how important Wikipedia has become. In fact, a recent study has shown that more than 80% of college students turn to the source when beginning research. Of all the apps on this list, this one offers the greatest potential simply because of the extraordinary amount of information that it contains.

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