Classroom technology has come a long way since chalk and the blackboard. Now, more and more classrooms are being outfitted with laptops, SMART boards and even iPads. In order to keep up with the changing times and technologies, it is a good idea for teachers to be aware of the many apps available for them and how they can be used in the classroom.
Here is a list of just a few helpful apps to help you or the teacher in your life get started.
Teacher Tools
Evernote: lets you take notes, create to-do lists, search through images, and share your memories. Everything is seamlessly synchronized across all the devices and platforms you use, including Evernote for Mac, Evernote Web, and Evernote for Windows.
DropBox: free, online storage accessible wherever you are
ShowMe: turns the iPad into an interactive whiteboard
Time Timer: free timer, great for testing and reading breaks
Edu Teacher: lists best web tools and reviews educational websites
Socrative: Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
Multimedia Tools
Voice Thread: create and share dynamic conversations around documents, snapshots, diagrams and videos — basically anything there is to talk about. You can talk, type, and draw right on the screen.
Story Wheel: allows the user to spin a wheel of images and create a story, complete with animation, based on the image chosen.
Math Tools
ClockMaster: helps students learn to tell time and establish an understanding of the relationship between hours/minutes and analog/digital
Graphing Calculator: includes the usual arithmetic functions and exponentiation, along with roots, intersections and a unit converter among other
Science and Social Studies Tools
Discover: “Wikipedia in a magazine”
Molecules: 3D renderings
Be sure to check out the complete list and email Karen Janowski at karen.janowski@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Also, be sure to listen to the INDATA Podcast about iPads at Danville High School, Part 1 and Part 2, if you want to know more about what one school is doing to stay ahead of the technology curve.