Edmodo

Format: iOS, Windows (via internet browser), Droid (via internet browser)
Price: Free
Vender: iTunes, Google Play

Edmodo creates a message board for students to access teacher created material, respond to items left by a teacher and their peers, and take online quizzes in a Facebook like environment. It does not allow students to message each other, is closed from outside access, and allows for teachers to monitor student work. Students can only access Edmodo when they are given access to a teacher-created groups or classes.

James: I like the potential that Edmodo has, and I am planning on having each student have an account next year. This will let me post Flip instruction, allow absent students to see what occurred in the classroom, and also take formative assessments. The teacher creates groups for students to belong to, which can be classes or small collaborative groups. I tested this for a literature circle, and it has a lot of promise.

Please read the first comment below before setting up your Edmodo account.

ProCon.org

Format: iOS
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes

The ProCon.org app is an RSS feed to the procon.org website.

James: With the move towards Common Core Standards, and the "special place" for argument, I have begun using procon.org as a venue for different perspectives on current issues. While not every topic is age-appropriate, it still is a cornucopia of argument. Especially useful is resources for the current presidential election.

iBooks

Format: iOS
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes

Publisher's Description: Both a way to read books and a way to buy them, iBooks transforms the simple act of reading into something simply delightful.

James: iBooks is Apple's "Nook" or "Kindle" app. It is a pretty good eReader, but what I like about it is that it can take any PDF file you download onto the iPad, which then can be organized into "bookshelves". In iBooks, the PDF page turns are vertical, rather then the horizontal scroll that is typical in other PDF readers.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Format: iPad, Droid
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Google Play

Merriam-Webster Dictionary on the iPad.

James: I prefer the M-W Dictionary over the Dictionary.com App. The app has a clean interface.

Evernote

Format: iOS, Windows OS, Droid OS
Price: Free
Vender: iTunes, Developer Homepage, Google Play

Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web.

James: I use Evernote on my PC at work and home, and on the iPad. On the PC, I have downloaded the Evernote clipper for Chrome browser and use it to clip nonfiction articles for use in class and professional articles for me. Because Evernote keeps everything up in the Cloud, what I clip at home, I can access at work, or on the iPad. In Evernote, I have made behavior logs for each class, parent contact logs and committee notes to track what was discussed from one meeting to the next. Evernote can work like a simple word processor, and notes then can be bundled into notebooks. A great app!

ShowMe

Format: iPad
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes


Turn your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard!
ShowMe allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them online. It’s a radically intuitive app that anyone will find extremely easy to use, regardless of age or background.

RH: This app is fantastic for recording whiteboard tutorials on any subject. I have recorded and placed them on my web page for student review, played them during class, and had a sub play one that I pre-recorded for a review. This app works much like Khan's flipping the classroom model. You can pause the recording and make corrections, erase clutter, or even bring in new images. Of course, you can draw your own.

Yellow Pages

Format: iPad, iPhone, Computer, Droid
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Google Play, Internet


Yellow Pages app.

Dictionary.com

Format: iPad, iPhone, Droid, Computer
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Google Play, Internet

Dictionary reference app.

Google Search

Format: iPad, Droid
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Google Play


Basic Google search app redesigned for the iPad.


RH: This search app has been redesigned for the iPad and has some cool features. To name just two, it has a "voice" search and a "goggles" search. The voice is obvious but the goggles allows you to take a picture and the app searches for like images from its world wide data bank. Pretty cool.

Socrative Student

Format: iPad, Droid, Computer
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Internet, Google Play

Student version to go with Socrative Teacher "Clicker" app. Students may down load this version or may go to the Web and log on and enter your teacher room number. 


RH: This is the student side of Socrative and it seems to work very well. They may run it from the app or the Web.

Mr. Braunsdorf's 7th grade science

BYOD (bring your own device)

Show the results on the screen

Socrative Teacher

Format: iPad, Droid, Computer
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Internet


An Internet based program that works from your computer or from your iPad or Droid. This is the teacher version which when connected to student devices works like a "clicker" service with which you may conduct a written or oral quiz. Students may download the "student" version or go to the web page and log in.


RH: I have only experimented a few times with this app. So far I feel that it has great potential. Students may use their personal devices to give you feedback or you can set up individual tablets on the back shelf and have students participate in that fashion. You can choose to ask one question at a time or set it to run at student pace.

CLASS DOJO

Format: iPad (Home Screen), Computer
Price: Free
Vendor: Internet


Class room management program that is Internet based and can help you arrange seating and track class behavior.


RH: I have only used this a few times. It has great capabilities to track and record student behavior. That I know of, it does not give you the ability to import pictures at this time. This Web based program does not have an app at this time. You may select "Add to Home Screen" to make an "app-like" icon on your iPad.

TeacherPal

Format: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes

Personal organizer for the teacher. Allows you to take notes, import pictures, set seating arrangements and more. 


RH: This is a pretty good organization app. It does the things mentioned above but the main reason I like it is that you can set seating arrangements with pictures and then print it out for your subs. That is about all I have used it for. One major issue is that I had to take pictures of each student to import. A very quick and easy task with the iPad. Who can wait until pictures come back anyway?

A+ Signature

Format: iPad, iPhone
Price: 1.99  (Lite Free)
Vendor: iTunes


This app gives you the power to annotate over any photo. You can simply make notes on them or even sign your name to forms.


RH: Everyone has favorites and for annotating over photos, this is mine. There is a "lite" version which is good but the fee version gives you the opportunity to write as many individual notes as you want. The writing is very smooth which is what I look for in a writing app. I can take a form from the office and import the image here and sign away as well as fill in boxes. Then, I can simply email it back to the office without leaving my desk. What I really like is that it makes my poor penmanship look pretty good.

Here are a couple of samples of photos annotated using A+ Signature. Wish I really visited Hawaii. 

You may import any photo such as a form, sign, and send it. (Using your iPad, snap a screen shot of the form, save it to your photos, then import it to A+ Signature.)

Twitter

Format: iPad, iPhone, Droid, Computer
Price: Free
Vendor: iTunes, Internet, Google Play

iPad app for the social media connection to Twitter.

RH: I have used a couple of different apps for Twitter and seem to always come back to the original.