ALA Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2013

The American Library Association, always a trusted source for recommendations, provides a list of apps that it considers “of exceptional value to inquiry-based learning . . .”  These are apps that encourage students to be innovative and creative as they engage in collaboration with others. Categories on the list include: Books, STEM, Organization & Management, Social Sciences, and Content Creation. A few of the apps on the ALA Best App List are: Shakespeare in Bits, Got to Have Music, Operation Math, SimplePhysics, Tinkerbox, Dropbox, Evernote, Socrative, News-O-Matic: Daily for Kids, GarageBand, and Educreations. There are links to all the apps on the list.

Memories of Today and the Future

The app To Me, By Me ($1) lets students email their future selves. They can choose to receive an email in as little as a month or in several years. Using the app, students think about what memories they want to preserve. The memories can be text, images, and audio recordings.  The company that produced To Me, By Me also has apps for journals and daily diaries.

Are You in Information Overload?

The leaders of the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) know about information overload, and in their technotes, they offer suggestions for keeping current without being overwhelmed. To help you “relax and recharge” after a busy school year, you might want to take time to try Spigot, Zite, and Flipboard. Spigot is a free site that offers snippets of current information for teachers and media specialists. Zite, called a personalized magazine, finds out what you are interested in and brings stories you want to your mobile device (Android, iOS, Windows). With Flipboard, an iOS and Android app, you create your own publications filled with what you want to know. Both Zite and Flipboard can gather content from Websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Lucidchart: Free Graphic Organizer—the Best

Blogger Brad Hanks calls Lucidchart “the best free learning tool you’ve ever heard of.” That’s quite an endorsement considering all the free tools available for students and teachers. Lucidchart, even though it is free, is, according to Hanks, supported by a for-profit company, which mean it won’t disappear after you’ve created your best work on the organizer. Hanks suggests you use it for leading discussions; for thinking, pairing, and sharing; for real time feedback on assigned tasks; for exploring concepts; for individual and group assignments; for brainstorming with mind maps; for teaching logic with Venn diagrams; for use with tablets; and for moving beyond the classroom with Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, personal sites, and more.

Get Organized with Edshelf

Keep track of your favorite apps, sites, and software tools by organizing them with Edshelf.  On the site, you can browse featured collections of tools for use in education or you can search for individual tools. If you click on a tool, you’ll find reviews written by parents and educators, price information, age and grade levels, and information about how to acquire the tool. Collections include groups of tools (apps, sites, software, etc.) that have been compiled by other teachers and parents. For example, some of the collections are: First Grade Apps, ESL Resources, Game-Based Learning, Story Creators/Publishers, and Fun Tools. You can create your own collections and share them with others if you want, add your ratings to the tools already rated, follow collections you like, or just browse for great ideas and information. Membership in edshelf is free. 

Win Premium Evernote for 250 Students & More

Enter by 08/20/12 at 11:59 PST to win up to 250 Evernote Premium Codes for your students, plus IdeaPaint to complete a high tech learning environment.  With Evernote and IdeaPaint, students write notes on an IdeaPaint surface, take photos of what they write, and zip it into Evernote. In Evernote, they can organize their notes as they need.

All you need for this setup is a smooth surface to cover with IdeaPaint clear, black, or white; and you’ll be able to create your own dry erase board.  The paint is Greenguard Certified so it can be used inside. In these times of budgetary crunching, the Evernote and IdeaPaint duo makes sense.  Complete the form on the IdeaPaint site for a chance to win 250 Evernote Premium Codes for your students, a Webinar with an Evernote Educational Specialist, 300 Sq. Ft. of Clear or White IdeaPaint, 48 IdeaPaint WRITE dry erase markers, 6 IdeaPaint ERASE microfiber cloths, and IdeaPaint CLEANSER and gallon refill.

Apps for Special Needs Students

The TL (Technology & Learning) Advisor Blog has selected Common Core Apps for Special Needs students. Part I of the selections features Apps that meet all of the Grade One standards, and some for other grades as well. They include Explain Everything ($2.99), Popplet ($4.99), Feel Electronic (Free), MeeGenius (Free), Inspiration Lite (Free), Inspiration Maps (Free, Full Version $14.99), 1^st Fiction ($2.99), Wordweb Audio Dictionary ($3.99), Tumblebooks to go—Munsch-6 pack ($5.99), and National Geographic Kids (one free sample, individual magazines $3.99, subscription $19.99). Find out more about each of these Apps that can be put to work for Special Needs children by clicking on the TL Advisory Blog. Also make sure to look for Part II of the recommendations.

What Can You Do with an iPad in the Classroom?

Tom Barrett, in his 103 Interesting Ways to Use an iPad in the Classroom, has developed a presentation with tips and ideas for teachers. You can browse his tips and tips contributed by other educators through a Google Docs presentation, and you can add your own ideas if you wish. Barrett wants to keep track of how people are using the resource and urges you to email him or tweet him @tombarrett.