Classroom iPad Apps

Here are the apps that we are in the process of loading on my 30 classroom iPads. So far, we've hit a few snags with Apple Configurator, but nothing unmanageable.

Free Apps:

• Nearpod Student
• Google Search
• Educreations
• Free Books
• Find My iPhone
• Aurasma Lite
• Paper by FiftyThree
• Storify
• Google Drive
• Socrative Student
• Dropbox
• Lanschool Teacher's Assistant
• iBooks

Paid Apps:

• GoodNotes
• Bywords
• Comics Head
• ArtRage 
• Pages
• iMovie

I tried to chose apps that would stand the test of time - apps that were not limited to one purpose, but could be used for many different types of assignments and projects. We'll be adding to this list as the year progresses, but I'm excited to get started on Wednesday with the ones we have.

FYI, if you are interested in using Apple Configurator for deployment, this video is well worth your time.

The Crunch

School starts in four weeks. Teacher orientation starts in two and a half weeks. Summer is almost over and it's crunch time.

I spent most of my summer gleaning information from twitter, webinars, blogs, google+, facebook, and face-to-face conversations. At the beginning of August, I created a blueprint for my classes, mapping out the where, when, and hows.

Now, it all comes together. This week, I've been focusing on google accounts. My school does not use Google Apps for Education, but my students do use many google apps. To make this easy (ha!) I set up a google account for each student to use while in my class. I give them a password and link the accounts to my google account so I can monitor and address issues as needed. It's not a perfect system, but it works. It takes massive amounts of time to set up. Breaks are a must.

My plan for this year: PBL. I have a lot to learn and a lot to explore in the next few months as I start to implement PBL in more of my classes. I've used PBL on a smaller scale for the past two years - it's time to expand.

While my mind is mostly focused on curriculum, I'm also thinking about my classroom setup. Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to swap out desks for tables. This year, I will continue with the tables, but I'm desperately searching Craigslist to see if I can change my long tables for round tables. Round tables would allow me to move easily around my classroom, and check in with table groups. I would love to do something like this.

My plan for the walls is much like the design in my GTA video:

I'm currently working on adding wood grain to butcher paper to make the railings and parts of the cabin. Here's where I got that idea.

It may be crunch time, but I still have two and a half weeks to enjoy sleeping in (which, really, is the best part about summer)!

Google Search App... and So Much More

Have you tried the Google Search app on the iPad? I ignored it for a year because I had no problems using the browser based google search. I did not know what I was missing out!

On a whim, I checked it out recently in my desperate hunt for the Google Docs integration on the iPad.

Do not be deceived - this in not just a Google search platform. It's so much more (hence my title). Here's what you see when you open the app:

I immediately tried out Goggles. I think I heard about this a while ago, but I never gave it a whirl. Handy! It scanned the book I had sitting next to me, and provided relevant search results. On the iPad, this makes a lot of sense - less typing.

The little boxes on the left scrolled across the screen while Google analyzed the image. You can see the results on the right. It found accurate links for the book. Fabulous. With this one tool alone, this app is worth taking up real estate on the home screen of your iPad.

The next tool I tried out was Google Voice. I've used Google Voice on my phone before - and it worked as expected on the iPad. It had no trouble understanding me. 

I really liked the visual search results option (top right box).

Next, I tried the normal search. Works just like you would expect it to, with an option to open webpages in Safari (wish they could open in Chrome).

But wait... there's more! If you click on the Applications button, a list of common Google apps appears.

This is quite useful to have in one place. On my iPhone, I have links on my Home Screen for Reader, Docs, and Earth. 

Remember me complaining the other day about how Blogger didn't have a mobile app for the iPad? The blogger mini-app here handles most of my needs with finesse. Can you use web-based photos in your blog? Not without some coding, but you can import pictures from the camera file.

Google Docs mobile version works here, although in a limited capacity.

BUT, I did find that I could write a Doc in the mobile version, then switch to the desktop version for sharing options. That is a nice work around. You still can't collaborate on a document in real time, unfortunately.

There are many other mini-apps in this one app to explore. I highly recommend doing so.

I'm not sure why Google has branded this app "Google Search", granted the Search feature is front and center (and simple at all times to swipe back to). Instead, it should be named "Google Apps" - that seems more fitting given its functionality.