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15 (plus) Must Have Free Apps For Education

Page history last edited by Roxann Nys 12 years, 1 month ago Saved with comment

15(+) Must Have Free Apps for Education (presentation for Digital Learning Day, Feb. 1, 2012)

compiled by Roxann Nys, CESA 7 Educational Technology Services, Tech Integration Specialist

Note: Unless stated, apps are available for all iOS devices; Android version listed if available. Descriptions come from the app stores (iTunes or Android)

 

General

iTunes U

An entire course in one app.

The free iTunes U app gives students access to all the materials for your course in a single place. Right in the app, they can play video or audio lectures. Read books and view presentations. See a list of all the assignments for the course and check them off as they’re completed. And when you send a message or create a new assignment, students receive a push notification with the new information.

 

Share your content with anyone. Anywhere in the world.

When you create and distribute a course on iTunes U, you’ll join a large and growing community of schools and institutions that are sharing their content with students and lifelong learners all over the world. iTunes U includes Stanford, Yale, Oxford, and UC Berkeley, along with other distinguished institutions such as MoMA, New York Public Library, and more. Students can use iTunes on their computer or the iTunes U app on their iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to browse and download over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books, and other resources on thousands of subjects.

 

iBooks 2

Introducing iBooks 2 — now with iBooks textbooks. In addition to all the original features of iBooks (dozens of them!) with iBooks 2, you can:
• Experience gorgeous Multi-Touch textbooks designed for iPad
• iBooks textbooks are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, and videos
• Tap to dive into images with interactive captions, rotate 3D objects, swipe through image galleries, watch videos in full screen, and more
• Use a finger as a highlighter when swiping over text in a textbook
• Take advantage of Study Cards to help you memorize important highlights, notes, and glossary terms
• Tap glossary terms to see definitions of key topics and concepts without leaving the page

The iBookstore offers textbooks on Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, and Physics from McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Currently only available to customers in the United States. Textbooks from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are coming soon.

 

All textbooks sold through the free app, which is available only to Apple's i-devices, will be priced at $14.99 or less!

 

Evernote   (also available for Android OS)

Evernote is an easy-to-use, free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use. Stay organized, save your ideas and improve productivity. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders--and makes these notes completely searchable, whether you are at home, at work, or on the go on a variety of devices.

Key Features:
- Sync all of your notes across the computers and devices you use
- Create and edit text notes, to-dos and task lists
- Save, sync and share files
- Record voice and audio notes

- Take and add photos to notes
- Search for text inside images
- Organize notes by notebooks and tags
- Email notes and save tweets to your Evernote account
- Connect Evernote to other apps and products you use
- Share notes with friends and colleagues via Facebook and Twitter

 

Flipboard

(similar Android apps are Google Currents, Feedly, Pulse)

Named Apple's iPad App of the year and one of TIME's Top 50 Innovations, Flipboard creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. Flip through your Facebook newsfeed, tweets from your Twitter timeline, photos from your Instagram feed and much more. Fill Flipboard with the things you like to read, from niche blogs to publications like Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair, and use Instapaper or Read It Later to save articles to read later. Connect Flipboard to all your social networks, and you'll have a single place to enjoy, browse, comment on and share all the news, photos and updates that matter to you.

In addition to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, you can flip through your newsfeeds and timelines from Google Reader, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Flickr and 500px on Flipboard.
New to Flipboard on iPhone is Cover Stories, a selection of interesting articles and photos being shared with you right now. And it gets smarter every time you use it.*
*Coming soon to iPad.

 

Vodio

(Sort of like Flipboard, but for video feeds.) With the wealth of video content available, knowing what to watch isn’t always as easy as it seems. Vodio lets you discover and enjoy the best videos, based on what’s being shared around you as well as your personal preferences and interests.

Additionally, Vodio lets you share videos through your social networks, so your friends can enjoy it too.
Features:
* Personalized video streams
* Slick and Intuitive UI
* Quick Share of cool video content via Facebook, Twitter and Email
* Constantly adapting to your personal taste in video content
* Vertical channels (News, Entertainment, Music, Sports, Comedy, Science, Sports, Music, Comedy and more…)

 

 

ShowMe -Interactive Whiteboard (iPad Only)

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.

INTUITIVE AND POWERFUL
- Begin recording your ShowMe as soon as you open the app—no need to navigate complicated menus
- Drop images from your photo library to write over or around
- Easily switch between drawing and erasing (as well as pausing and playing) to make your ShowMe flow from concept to concept
- You can make your ShowMe as long or as short as it needs to be, and record as many ShowMe’s as you want. Go nuts!
- Once you’re finished recording, upload your ShowMe to share with the community (or keep it private if you prefer)
- Discover awesome tutorials created by the community at ShowMe.com

 

Popplet (Lite) (iPad Only)

Great for work. Great for school. Popplet is a platform for your ideas. Popplet's super simple interface allows you to move at the speed of your thoughts. With Popplet you can capture your ideas and sort them visually in real time.
Use Popplet to:
+ Explore Ideas: Brainstorming, Mindmapping
+ Plan Projects: Diagrams, Process Charts 

+ Record Thoughts: Journals, Notes, Lists

+ Collect Inspiration: Mood Boards, Scrapbook, Travel Plans

+ Create Galleries: Photo albums, Portfolios, Presentations


+ Study: School Projects, Class Notes

Popplet Lite will be free forever, but is limited to just one popplet. (Note: you can save a popplet as a .pdf or .jpeg and email them as well.) The full version of Popplet ($4.99-not this version) lets you create an unlimited number of local popplets, which are stored on your iPad. You can also use the full version to create online popplets, which can be shared with and edited by other Popplet users, both on the web at popplet.com and on their iPads.

 

Scavenger Hunt with Friends Lite (also available for Android OS)

Every one loves scavenger hunts, but traditional hunts require way too much prep and organization – hello Scavenger Hunt with Friends! Now, Scavenger Hunt with Friends finally merges the great world of scavenging with the convenience and flexibility of using your phone. Scavenger Hunt with Friends changes how the world will forever conduct scavenger hunts – no more paper, no more mandatory meet ups, no more hassle - its all done for you in the power of an app!

Easily set up your hunts and complete the items on your list using the camera on your phone to provide evidence that you found the item. Need to find a cat with a lampshade on its head? Grab Mittens and make him a star. Whip out your phone, snap a photo, and upload it. Boom! 100 points! It’s that easy.

Set up one-on-one or multi-player hunts. Populate your hunt’s list quickly and easily by making use of our extensive library of items to choose from or set up your own custom lists. Add one or many friends to your hunt or play against a random opponent. Set your hunt’s game duration and hit the streets [or your school!] with your [camera equipped iOS or Android device] and start tackling the items on your list.

 

TED (also available for Android OS)

Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world. TED's official app presents talks from some of the world's most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. Find more than 900 TEDTalk videos (with more added each week) on the official TED app -- now for both iPad and iPhone.

 

Google Search  http://www.google.com/mobile 

 Optimized for mobile devices. 

 

21st Century Skills

Professor Garfield-Cyberbullying

Professor Garfield-Online Safety

(both apps are iPad only) 

Cyberbullying Storyline: Garfield's friend Nermal wishes to win the best dance star competition on the "Animal Idol" website. Little does Nermal realize that he's soon to experience a major cyber smackdown. Willard and Lorenzo, the mean dogs next door, plan to humiliate Nermal online by using his email address to write hurtful messages to him and to other Animal Idol contestants. Sensing trouble, Garfield turns into his super-smart alter ego Professor G. Together with his high IQ companion, Dr. Nova, they help Nermal get to the bottom of these cyber attacks.

In addition to the story that unfolds, an interactive "Try" and "Apply" section are included to help users gain insight to the problem. Try your hand at recognizing cyber threats and Apply your knowledge to prevent becoming a victim of cyberbullying.

Through reading and interacting with the Try and Apply sections of this comic, users will:
• understand the meaning of cyberbully
• learn to recognize different forms of cyberbullying
• learn different strategies for dealing with a cyberbully
• learn the importance of enlisting the help of a trusted adult when cyberbullied

 

Online Safety Storyline: After buying a special anniversary issue of the PET FORCE comic book, Nermal goes online to the PET FORCE message board. Excited to connect with other fans, Nermal starts chatting with someone who uses the online name “comic_cat12.” When comic_cat12 asks Nermal to meet in person and bring the special issue, Arlene is a bit skeptical. Enter Professor Garfield and Dr. Nova, who talk to Nermal about keeping his personal information safe online.

In addition to the story that unfolds, an interactive "Try" and "Apply" section are included to help users gain insight to safe surfing. Try your hand at using the Internet safely and Apply your knowledge to keep your personal information safe.

Through reading and interacting with the Try and Apply sections of this comic, users will:
• learn how to use the Internet safely and effectively
• understand that people online are not always who they say they are
• learn that they should never give out personal information without an adult’s permission, especially if it conveys where they can be found at a particular time
• understand that predators are always present on the Internet

 

English

Puppet Pals

Puppet Pals HD (for iPad only)

Create your own unique shows with animation and audio in real time! Simply pick out your actors and backdrops, drag them on to the stage, and tap record. Your movements and audio will be recorded in real time for playback later.

This app is as fun as your own creativity. Act out a story of Pirates on the high seas, fight as scary monsters, or play the part of a Wild West bandit on the loose. You can even combine any characters however you want! Your creations are only limited by your imagination.

FEATURES
- Create an actor from a photo
- Use a photo as a backdrop for your storytelling
- zoom and rotate your characters using two fingers
- flip them around with a double tap
- a wide variety of creative characters to download (including famous talk show hosts and politicians)
- limitless possibilities of story creations

 

In-app purchase(s) allows you to buy additional character/background sets or buy the "Director's Pass" for all future content/updates.

 

Toontastic

Somewhat similar to Puppet Pals but with a "story arc" for creation and the ability to draw your own characters and backgrounds.

Creating a Cartoon with Toontastic is as Easy as…
1. Select a scene on the Story Arc: A Setup, Conflict, Challenge, Climax, or Resolution.
2. Draw your own Setting and Characters, or custom color a Character from our collection of pirates, princesses, swashbucklers, and more.
3. Press the Start Animation button and move your characters around onscreen, telling your story through play. Toontastic will record and play back your animations and your voice as an animated cartoon.
4. Choose the music for your scene by adjusting the scene’s Emotional Energy level and plotting out the perfect Story Arc.
5. Title your cartoon and upload it to ToonTube for friends and family to see all around the world!

 

Comes with a basic set of characters and backgrounds, in app purchases (.99 ea set) for more.

 

Sparklefish

If you enjoy Mad Libs, then you’ll really love SparkleFish. It’s fun for all ages, species, individuals, groups, etc.
FEATURES:
* Record your voice to complete each story
* Comes with 4 stories for free
* Save your recordings and listen to them later
* Post comments on your Facebook wall directly from the game
* Buy "story packs" (each with 5 stories) for more fun! (.99 ea pack)

* Record the stories as many times as you'd like.

 

Bluster! (iPad only)

This word matching game develops vocabulary and word understanding for school-aged children [grades 2-4 are listed within the app]
Shine bright in single-player mode as you learn and practice important word skills. Match rhyming words, prefixes and suffixes, synonyms, homophones, adjectives, and more. Collaborate with a friend in team mode. The multi-touch iPad screen allows both players to play simultaneously, so you can work together to weather the vocabulary storm. Switch to versus mode and play head-to-head for the ultimate test of your lightning quickness. Disrupt your opponent with weather attacks like tornadoes and blizzards - it’s thunderous fun and just might give you the edge you need to reign supreme! Bluster includes over 800 vocabulary words. Players choose a skill to practice and then try to make matches of three. Ten matches wins a round.

Features:
• Three different play modes - including two-player action.
• A variety of grade level appropriate content.
• Engaging animated gameplay with sound effects.
• Head-to-head and High Scores tables.
• Plays on the iPad in both landscape and portrait mode.

 

Science

TinkerBox

TinkerBox HD (iPad)

If you can imagine it, you can build it with TinkerBox. TinkerBox is a fun, free-to-play physics puzzle game. While it is full of interesting science facts and teaches basic engineering concepts, TinkerBox is more than just educational!

Take the tools in your hands to explore your creativity and imagination with Invent mode. Build outrageous machines, share them with your friends, or download popular inventions online at http://www.tinkerboxnews.com. Stretch your brain through the devious Puzzle mode. Get immersed in physics-based puzzles and mechanical concepts, where your only hope for success is your creative problem solving.

 

Project Noah

[Your students can become citizen scientists with this mobile app version of ProjectNoah.org]

Noah stands for networked organisms and habitats. Read on to find out how it all works.
By encouraging the mobile masses to document their encounters with nature, we're building powerful force for data collection and an important educational tool for wildlife awareness and preservation. We hope you'll support us by joining Project Noah today.

The Project Noah app has 3 modes:
✔ Spottings: Grab a photograph of a plant or animal that you find interesting or want to learn more about, select the appropriate category, confirm your location, add some descriptive tags, and submit it. If you need help identifying species, no prob, just select the check box and the community will suggest species IDs
✔ Location-based Field Guide: See what kinds of plants and animals have been spotted near you and learn more about them. Search through a map view, list view, or grid view of most recent spottings all based on your location. You can filter wildlife by categories so you can explore what you’re most interested in.
✔ Field Missions: We work with labs, environmental groups, and various organizations to help them gather important data for their research projects. Missions can range from photographing squirrels or mushrooms to tracking migrating birds or invasive species. Missions allow users to contribute to ongoing research projects, but they can also be for fun and exploration

 

With our website, www.projectnoah.org, we're building an active community where users can view submissions, help identify species, choose their favorite photos, follow their favorite contributors and discuss their encounters. Users can also make submissions directly from the web.

 

NASA Apps (Some apps available for Android OS)

Here are some of the apps created by NASA:

  • Sector 33: Air Traffic Control Game

  • 3D Sun for iPhone and iPad

  • Aquarius for iPhone

  • Ascent: Commemorating Shuttle for iPad

  • AstroApp: Space Shuttle Crew for iPhone and iPad

  • NASA Space Weather App for iPhone and iPad

  • Space Images for Android, iPhone and iPad

and many more!

 

Social Studies

History Pin (also available for Android OS) (rated for 12+)

The official Historypin app reveals photos near your current location and allows you to view them layered over the modern scene in front of you. You can also explore Collections of some of the best old photos from around the world, wherever you are. [Since it's a relatively new app, not all areas have photos available yet.]

You can add your own piece of history and pin it to the map, too, by using [your camera equipped device] to digitize an old photo, capture a modern moment of historic importance, or take a modern replica of a photo on the app. Historypin was created by the not-for-profit company We Are What We Do, in partnership with Google.

Key features:
✓ Explore the Historypin map - the Historypin map has 1000s of images and stories pinned to it and the app allows you to browse this by date and location, using your location to find the nearest content, or exploring remotely.
✓ Explore the streets - holding your phone up to the street, the app uses your camera view to display nearby images. By selecting the image, it can be overlaid onto the modern view to create an historical comparison, which you can toggle or fade between.
✓ Read stories and recollections - all stories shared can be accessed through the app.
✓ Capture a modern moment of history - images taken with the app are immediately pinned to the Historypin map, with any captions and stories you add. Images can also be added from your phone’s albums.
✓ Digitise an old photo - take photos of old pictures as an easy alternative to scanning them, then add photo details and pin them directly to the Historypin map.
✓ Take modern equivalents of old classics - when exploring historic content, you can snap exact contemporary replicas
✓ Browse Collections from anywhere - you can explore selected Collections from Historypin.com
✓ Shake history up - a simple shake of the app brings up a random piece of content from anywhere in the world

 

Today in History Lite

[Today in History iPad Version is also available for free-search in the app store on your device]

As soon as you open the application you are shown all the major events that happened on that day. Created for history, trivia, and knowledge lovers and also for fans of On This Day, This Day In, Today In pages. Don't like Ads? Get the pro version.
TOP FEATURES
✔ Over 100k historical events.
✔ Several wikipedia links per entry
✔ Add your own events, share them with friends
✔ Share events via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

 

Math

Math Quizzer

 

Description

Math Quizzer is an interactive and fun way to, not only learn, but also to boost your skills in; Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division. It offers an easy to understand chalkboard visual, which keeps track of your "score" as you progress. It's excellent for all ages and all skill levels as it allows you to select a specific category or from all four subject areas.

This math "flashcard" approach allows beginners to learn at their own pace while also allowing intermediate and advance levels to be challenged based on their speed. A pleasant sound indicates a correct answer while a vibration indicates an error (or a whoops).

 

Middle School Math 7th grade

[With the new math CCSS, this may well be very appropriate for 5th/6th graders!] Here's a fun way to practice your middle school math skills. Guide the monkey down the ladders to the end of a level. Answer questions correctly to keep going.
Math topics included are:
Negative Numbers
Absolute Value
Order of Operations

There are three levels of difficult for each topic. Replay levels to improve your scores and compete against your friends using Game Center leader boards and achievements. Email your progress to your teacher.  Attention Teachers: Contact us to find out about free reporting tools on our web site for showing the progress of your entire class.

 

Quick Graph

Quick Graph is a powerful, high quality, graphic calculator that takes full advantage of the multitouch display and the powerful graphic capabilities of the iPad and iPhone, both in 2D and 3D. A simple, yet intuitive interface that makes it easy to enter and/or edit equations and visualize them in mathematical notation.
It's capable of displaying explicit and implicit (opt) equations as well as inequalities (opt) in both 2D and 3D, in all standard coordinate systems: cartesian, polar, spherical and cylindrical, all with amazing speed and beautiful results, which can be copied, emailed or saved to the photo library.

 

Projects

Red Stamp

Email, text, post, or paper mail personalized cards, notes, invitations + announcements effortlessly, right from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
Snap a photo + share the gratitude of great gifts as they are being opened. Give your host instant gratification on a well-thrown party as you head out their door. Mail fresh, modern, expertly designed invitations, announcements and holiday cards to your list of 1 or 189 in mere minutes. With just a couple of clicks, Red Stamp will print a high-end, eco-friendly paper postcard and mail it directly to your list of recipients, postage included.

Features Include ::
• A clever card-finding feature allows you to scroll + select the perfect design pre-filled with edit-able sentiments + prompts written by modern etiquette experts.
• 400+ thank you notes, greeting cards, invitations, announcements + personalized stationery, each with multiple color schemes resulting in thousands of possibilities. {Red Stamp has been featured in publications such as O Magazine, Real Simple, Town & Country, InStyle and more.}
• Photo-friendly designs, giving you the ability to grab photos from your camera roll or take pictures in-app.
• A virtual mailbox to help you manage your favorite, premium + sent correspondence.
• Seamless integration with your device’s contacts to easily order + mail paper postcards to everyone on your list.
• Postcards printed on premium, eco-friendly white card stock.
• Premium designs starting at $0.99; printing + mail-for-you pricing from $0.49-$1.99/card, $0.29 postage included

 

 

 

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