Google Mobile App for iPad

Not really an education app specifically, but I do use it everyday to help me in my classroom and keep me connected in a variety of ways.

I use Google for everything - email client, document production, news reader, mapping, calendar... even this blog is done in Blogger, a Google product!

So this app allows me quick access to all of the Google world: Search, Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, News, Translate, Maps, Earth, Photos, Buzz, Talk, Youtube, and Blogger all in one handy app. All I need to do is tap on the app I want and I'm instantly taken to the corresponding page in Safari.

How can I use this in an education setting? Check out this link for many classroom ideas.

The only drawback to using Google Apps on your iPad? Google Docs just does not work well on iPad devices. Sure you can see your documents, and even edit some of them (like spreadsheets). But don't even bother trying to create new Google Docs on your iPad or playing around with fonts or style.... it just won't work. Mobile Safari does not support rich text editing.

Now, I'm not blaming Apple or Google of intentionally not cooperating, but I'm hoping that this is something they will want to remedy. News last week seems to point in this direction. I'm looking forward to this working soon (as long as Apple doesn't mind a little competition for its iWorks suite!).

Otherwise, I still use this app all the time. Check it out at the iTunes AppStore!

NASA App HD for iPad

Cost: Free!

Do you have students that are out of this world? How about those you think might be from another planet!?   :)

Well, for anyone who loves Space, this is the app for you.

NASA has produced a free iPad app that covers everything space-related. Explore the planets of the solar system in detail. Watch NASA TV videos of shuttle launches, space station missions, and more. Follow satellite missions and browse high quality satellite images. Everything NASA is here at your fingertips, and it's all free.

A great app. Check it out at the iTunes App Store!

Labels: free, iPad, space, science,

Globe for iPad

Cost: Free!

Wanting a globe for your classroom, but don't want to shell out the money? Worried country boundaries and names will change? Looking for more information on a country than just the name and location? This app will take care of all these problems...and it looks great, too!

Globe is just that...a virtual map of the world. It has a great, really clean, 3D look to it. Like a real globe, it can be spun around at the touch of a finger. You can even take a look at the poles or zoom in easily to any location. It only shows political boundaries, but this just means it isn't cluttered by landforms graphics

One extra feature over a physical globe, however, is that each country is linked to a Wikipedia article. Just tap you finger on the country and instantly have access to a wealth of information - history data, population numbers, laws, religions, cultural habits, etc.

Check it out at the iTunes App Store.

CloudReaders for iPad

Cost: Free!

CloudReaders is a free book and comic reader for the iPad. It supports PDF files, as well as CBR, CBZ, RAR, and ZIP (these formats are usually used for viewing comic books).

This app is one of the best book readers I have seen for the iPad. It is very easy to transfer your own files through iTunes or over a wifi connection. Any PDF file you have created or downloaded can be read through this app. Documents you have uploaded are stored in your 'bookshelf', and any number of books can be stored. There is also a link to a common library of public domain books (but there are few titles available at the moment).

A few other features:

- add tags to books to better organize your list

- read left-to-right or right-to-left

- quickly zoom in on pages, or adjust screen brightness

- install the separate neu.Notes app, and you are able to annotate pages of the documents you are reading, and save these pages for later.

This is a fantastic and easy to use comic book viewer. Expose your students to a variety of reading texts, without having to sit at the computer. Upload worksheets you've created, and students can annotate the pages and answer questions using the built in neu.Notes app.

Check out both CloudReaders and neu.Notes at the iTunes App Store.

Escape Motions

Intrigued by this image? Then you must check out this website!      EscapeMotions.com

Here you can explore many of the properties of matter, but also create amazingly beautiful works of art.

Peter Blaskovic is a 3D CG animator and designer who has created some amazing online physics "experiments" (his word).

His physics engine experiments include: a fluid painting tool and various water and fluid simulations; flame and light painting tools; fire, gravity, and magnetic field simulations; and a "bioexperimental laboratory" where you can play with cells in an "interactive petri dish".

Great for use on an interactive whiteboard or other touch-enabled device. It feels like fingerpainting! Lots of fun learning here.

NeoPaul

Cost: Free!

NeoPaul is a fantastic and very easy to use iPod/iPad text-to-speech reader.

Paste or type any text into the workspace, click the play button, and NeoPaul will read back your text. You are able to modify the speed, pitch, or volume of the spoken voice and save text files for future playback.

One of my favourite aspects of this program is the inflection in the voice. Often text readers use very robotic and monotone voices. NeoPaul's voice is very easy to understand.

For a female voice, check out NeoKate.

Check out more at NeoSpeech.com or at the iTunes AppStore.

Dragon Dictation for iPad

Cost: Free!

By the makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking. Instantly turn speech into text with this tool. Unlike other Dragon programs, no training of the program is necessary - just start speaking into the microphone and your text is written out for you. Notes can be saved and added to at a later date.

A great tool for students who are unable to type quickly or have difficulty in writing things out by hand. Very simple and straightforward to use.

One drawback seems to be that it requires a wireless connection to work, even if the note is only stored locally; hopefully this is a flaw they will fix.

Overall a great app that is very useful in the classroom.

Welcome!

So, this is going to be a blog sharing a number of great apps I have found for education. Not necessarily apps that have been labeled as "educational" - frankly most of those suck - but ones that I have found to have great usefulness in the classroom to bring about real learning. Hopefully you will find these useful as well.

I'll will mostly be looking at iPod/iPad apps and online tools...and "free" is my favorite word! No sense wasting a ton of money if you don't need to, right?

Let's see what we can find!