Sean H

20 More Top Educational iPad Apps Teachers Can Actually Use By a Teacher Who Actually Uses Them

It’s been about three years since I posted my original list of iPad apps teachers can actually use.

Since then I have compiled a few other app lists:

But I do think it’s time I update my original post. Or at least added to it. Most of the apps and tools on the original list are still around, but there are a whole lot more that are useful.

Tap on the name of the app or on the picture to be taken to the App Store.

 

 

Explain Everything

Thinking about flipping your teaching? This is one of the easiest apps to use. Also a nice alternative for student presentations. A must on every teacher’s iPad.

Notability

Absolutely essential. The app around which your teaching life can revolve: all your ideas, all your planning, all your marking. Notability is the best note-taking app there is, and should be an essential part of anyone’s workflow.

IDoceo

This app will make you seem like a more organized teacher than you are. Your students will believe that you are a super teacher. Make comments on all your assessments / activities and use these notes to provide your students with specific and directed feedback. Parents will also be amazed by the detailed feedback you provide. Amaze your students by learning their names in just a few days. And it integrates with your calendar – great for disorganized teachers like me. There is so much you can do on IDoceo, I haven’t even discovered all of it yet.
Warning: For an app, it does cost a lot, but it also does a lot.

Book Creator

An easy, cool way to create ebooks. My students created their own ebooks in place of a final standardized assessment and produced some amazing things. One of the most overlooked apps for student-created content, and one that they love using.
The developers are very responsive to teacher requests – a big plus.

Tellagami

Especially useful for ugly, introverted teachers like me. It’s still your voice, but in the mouth of a cartoon character. You can even add emotions. And you can make videos in your PJs. The first time a fellow teacher showed her class a Tellagami video she used, she had students who literally squealed in delight. Another cool tool for students to generate their own content.
(Note: There is a free version for you to try.)

VideoScribe Anywhere

You know those videos where a hand writes text? This is the app they use. Students also love using it to generate content. This version is far simpler to use than the old VideoScribe. (I actually prefer the more difficult to use, more functional original version, but I know when I am out-voted.)

ThingLink

A new way to present content. Everything is on one page. A fantastic, easy way to get started on using technology in learning. Looks professional and encourages hands-on learning. Again, allow students to use it to create great-looking, engaging presentations.

Padlet

(Formerly Wallwisher.) From the App Store description:

Padlet is a digital canvas to create beautiful projects that are easy to share and collaborate on. It works like a piece of paper. We give you an empty page – a padlet – and you can put whatever you like on it. Drag in a video, record an interview, snap a selfie, write your own text posts or upload some documents, and voilà! A padlet is born. Make it even more beautiful by choosing custom wallpapers and themes.

Classkick

Something I am still trialing. Keep an eye on what students are doing, offer live assistance and allow students to help one another.

ReMarkable

A pretty good app for the final frontier of digital integration: marking and assessing. (Also see: Notability.)

Google Classroom

It’s been around for about a year now, and it’s awesome! And being a Google product, it’s getting better and better.

SlowPro

Here’s the idea: shoot a video and then slow it (or parts of it) down or speed them up. Great to use in the science classroom.

Canva

Yes, you too can create a great looking infographic. Or just a really slick looking poster. It’s easy to use and easy to share the content you’ve created. Students love using it. An essential part of discovery-based learning.
If you hit the ‘ABOUT ME’ link at the top of this page you will see something I created on Canva. I do suspect that this page may have helped me to get my nifty new job!

KomaKoma

My favorite stop-motion video creator. My students used it to create to great effect to put together their own stories about sustainable development using Lego. I also used it as part of a hands-on learning workshop to learn about John Davitt’s Learning Event Generator.

Google Docs

The great thing about Google Docs: students create a series of collaborative documents that they can work on in groups in real-time. Stop and think about that for a moment: meaningful, collaborative learning… That is some absolutely amazing twenty-first-century stuff. And how about using it to plan in your departments, or even collaborating with other schools? And what about using it instead of, or to augment dull staff meetings?

Classcraft

Want to see students run to your class? Want to see them trying to earn creativity points or critical thinking points or even ‘being nice’ points? I am unabashedly in lurv with Classcraft. It has changed the way I teach. To my mind, it is the best way to nurture those twenty-first century ‘soft’ skills. And again, I look like the cool teacher just because I use this simple gamification tool.
But here’s the best bit: every student matters, because they play a very specific role in the team. I wrote a whole blog post on Classcraft and even use it in teacher training.

Comics Studio

Make comics. (That kid looks like my brother looked about 30 years ago!)

Popplet

A nice mind-mapping tool. Try the free version first.

Aurasma

OK, I haven’t actually used any augmented reality apps yet. I’m putting Aurasma here to force me to get into it more, simply because I reckon AR is going to be the next big thing in the next 4 years.

 

 

Final note: I do not make any money off these lists, and do not accept solicitations. I am happy to look at any and all suggestions from teachers, and even from developers, but I reserve the right not to include these on my list if I feel they will not be useful in a real classroom. Please leave suggestions and motivations as comments below. My criteria:

A good app must be like me:

  • Cheap
  • Easy to use
  • Able to do a variety of things
  • Reliable
  • Constantly evolving
  • Engaging

 

2 comments

Share your thoughts: