The Best Awesome Apps for Educators

By John O’Sullivan

John O’Sullivan (Now) Librarian/Assistive Technology Specialist I worked as a Technology Integration Specialist

and a Special Education Teacher I love Technology, Education, Research, Writing

and helping people with assistive technology. I work for Chelmsford Public School. I run the High School Learning Commons

Twitter

@The_App_Guide

Books

The Teacher’s Awesome App Guide FREE e-book

Teaching Projects with Computers Free e-book

The Teacher’s Awesome App Guide

This book allowed me to search and see what apps are out there in every education category imaginable.

600 plus pagesVersion 1.5The book evolved over several years.

A High Percentage of the Teacher’s Awesome App Guide has Special Education Apps

So if you know a special education teacher or someone in a related field that is techie then tell them about the book.

I am going to write a book about Special Education Technology

Most teachers are not that interested when I want to talk about assistive technology. However, you use it everyday without knowing it. The concepts that originated in assistive technology are going mainstream.

The Presentation Focuses on Apps that Everyone could use

Then focuses on apps that focus on common problems in the classroom.

There are many more apps in the book that are excellent but do not address a large enough audience.

Finding the Best apps is not enough

We have to explain how to use an app for people to understand the value of the app. We are going from saying this is a good app to explaining how to teach with the app.

The hardest thing for a Technology Integration Specialist to do is:

Getting people to use technology

Communication is everything.

These apps will transform your classroom and make your life better

Who is in the audience?

How many teachers? Administrators? What ages do you work with? Younger? Older? Who teaches Math? Reading? Writing? Science Any Specialists?

You are what you transfer

DropboxGoogle DriveEmailSpecialty Browsers (download

from websites)

Practice transferring from app to app

There are multiple ways to transfer. You will see the same themes over and over and need to practice.

You should be able to transfer a document through several apps.

Link your apps

DropboxGoogle DriveEmail

Install the Dropbox folder

A number of file transfer services allow you to install a folder on your PC or Mac

This makes file transfer seamlessYou can do the same thing for:

Google DriveOneDrive

File Transfer Browsers

These allow you to download files from the web directly to your iPad.

Perfect Web Browser

Atomic Web Browser

You can use Flash on an iPad

Photon

Scanning AppsMy Favorite Scanning Apps

Fine Scanner Pro

Tiny Scanner

Tiny Scan

Airplay

Projecting with an iPad

You can write on your board from any where in the classroom

This can be better then a Smartboard or an Eno board

Examples of how to use it:

Use a whiteboard app to annotate a diagram

Use iBooks to highlight and a passage or show students your notes

Record your directions with example and play it for the class.

Use a grammar app to illustrate a point

Take pictures or video of students then use as an assessment

If you cannot turn your back then sit or stand anywhere and write on the board

It does require some planning but is well worth it.

ResearchYou can save your favorite library databases as an icon on your iPad

Many school libraries have links to major databases on the schools website. If they don’t’ you can access major databases from your local library with your library card online.

Cases

The price of cases is way down.

You can get a great case for under 20 dollars

The Big thing is Keyboard cases. You can get one for the teacher. You can get them for 35-75 dollars. The 35 dollar case have good ratings.

I prefer to shop at Amazon.com for the prices.

Amazon will take purchase orders.

However, setting up an account will take some effort.

Make sure the cases fit in the container where you lock your iPads

Word Processing apps

Pages Microsoft Word You can get Microsoft Word online free with an email

accounts Some school give all of their students Microsoft

email and online word processing account to every student like a Google School.

WPS Office: FREE Mobile Office + PDF By Kingsoft Office Software, Inc.

Writing Apps

Writing Prompts (app)

Story Writing Apps (young students)

My Story App (Simple template)Book Creator for iPad (makes PDF Books)Demibooks® Composer Pro (Free and

powerful)Printzel Photo Books (allows you to

insert a picture then write about it)Story Patch

Publishing

Make a poster or a simple invitation.

Poster Maker Publisher Master for iOS

Whiteboard Apps(Best Whiteboard Apps)

Educreations (teachers)

The is great for teachers to record a lesson and then put it on the web. An example would be recording your voice annotating a pictures.

Explain Everything (students)

This app records a video that is on the iPad. It has a lot more features then most whiteboard apps

Educreations

Teacher Example Website

https://www.educreations.com/browse/

Example: https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/fractions-on-a-number-line-and-chart/886897/

Fractions

Explain Everything

Clickers Apps(Best Clickers Apps)

Socrative (free and very popular

Plickers (works well in some rooms)

More Advanced Options

Nearpod (more advanced users)

Otus (More advanced) (highly rated but not commonly used)

Exit Ticket (does more than Socrative but the interface not always as intuitive)

Plickers

Socrative

Nearpod

Otus iPad Apphttps://www.youtube.com/user/OtusPlus

Grading Test Apps(Best Grading Apps)

ZipGradeWISEThese apps will grade a Scantron like sheet by taking a pictures. The feedback is instant.

ZipGrade

WISE App

Annotation Apps

PDF Notes PDF Notes is excellent but you have to be comfortable with

transferring files for this to make sense.

SnapType full name(SnapType For Occupational

Therapy)

SnapType allows you to take a picture of a worksheet then type on it. It is as close to seamless as you can get. This app is good for the younger ages.

PDF Notes (app)

Showbie

Go paperless

100 dollars per year

12 dollars a month

SnapType Full name is: (SnapType For Occupational Therapy) (easy to use compared to most annotation apps)

OneDrive/ MS Email account

MS Word MS PowerPoint MS Excel Google is awesome with sharing files but Apple and Google compete

for market share. Unless the two work together it is uncertain if Google document will always work on an iPad.

Presentations Apps

KeynoteHaiku DeckPowerPoint

Presentation Websites

PreziGlogsterEmazeSlides

Presentations for Kids

Sock Puppets PuppetPals HDFelt Board

Sock Puppets

Stick Around by Tony Vincent & Explain Everything (Great for Projects)

Students can make these awesome interactive puzzles!

http://learninginhand.com/tutorials

Video Editing Apps

iMovieMagisto Video EditorWeVideo (website)

WeVideo (website)

Audio Recording

Voice Record Pro (FREE)

You record and then it email you the recording in MP3 formatVoice Recorder (FREE)

Voice Record Pro (FREE)

Common Core Math Apps

App TutorSplash MathiTooch All teachers what apps that do an assessment and are linked to

standards. I really wish all of the app makers knew this before the make a ton of educational game apps.

iTooch http://www.edupad.com/

App Tutor

https://vimeo.com/57875711

Algebra Touch(Best High School Math)

This app is so simple and good

Osmo(Best Preschool Apps)

Newton for OsmoMasterpiece for OsmoTangram for Osmo

OsmoYouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5g54nt6xdIdPK6XnZhe0AQ

Books

iBooksKindle

iBooks

Speak Selection HighlightingDictionary This works great with projection

an iPad onto a board.

Whispercast Kindle App(Best Way to Push eBooks onto a Tablet) This allows you to buy an e-book give it to your students and then

take the book back.

You can upload a list of student emails or have the program generate account for you.

Student can use the e-book on multiple devices

You can change the passwords or the accounts

You must use the Kindle app or a Kindle. It will work on an iPad.

The hardest thing about doing this is getting this to work is setting up the account and dealing with purchase orders.

Whispercast

Quizlet (Best Flashcard Website)Video is 12 minutes long –skim through it

Chapter 19 of the Teacher’s Awesome App Guide (Learn to Read)

This chapter show you how to teach a child to read with apps. There are a ton of apps that teach each of the stages of reading development and many are free. A number of them are low prices. If you have a classroom set of iPad and you want to teach a child to read you can.

Library

Citation

NoodleTools Companion

EasyBib

http://www.citationmachine.net/ (website)

Anti-Plagiarism

Turnitin

join.me (Reverse Projecting)

This app allows you to project a computer onto an iPad. (reverse projecting) The free version allows you to do this with a small group of 10. The paid app allows up to a group of 250. Instead of projecting onto a board you can project your computer onto multiple iPads. This is a four star app.

Free

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/join-me/id409811927?mt=8

Awesome High School English Apps

Project Gutenberg (copyright free e-books)

iPoe 1 and 2Shakespeare ProShakespeare In Bits

Programing AppsFor the Hour of Code

HTML

Web Page Creator for iOS - HTML Egg

Lightbot Jr 4+ Coding Puzzles

Different ages

http://masstlcef.org/hour-code-lessons/

For Children

Scratch Jr

Daisy the Dinosaur

Lightbot Jr 4+ Coding Puzzles

The Best Science app a great for Projecting

They tend to be very specific to age and curriculum

Here are some of the best:

Solar Walk

Star Walk

Human Anatomy Atlas – 3D (there are a number of other apps on the human body)

Frog Dissection

Monster Physics

Chemistry Formula Practice

Chapter 7 Section 7 Engineering apps

There is a ton of them that are Awesome.

You could teach a class with just iPad apps

They also have apps for creating 3-D objects and then 3-D printing.

Grammar Apps

The Mobile Education Store makes some of the best apps in this category: Great App Maker

http://mobile-educationstore.com/category/apps/

Online Services

IXL Math and English

Read Live People sometimes forget that there are a number of websites that

have apps that work quite well in a classroom that has an iPad card.

Note Taking

Notability Super Notes: Recorder, Note, Memos, Photos.

Notebook plus Notepad. Free Noteshelf - Take Notes, Sketch, Annotate, Evernote

Sync MyScript Smart Note

It is getting to the point where notetaking apps will include pictures and media.

Locked Notes(Good for Meetings)

Safe Note Note Lock Both have free version and paid versions This is good for teachers that go to a lot of meeting

Reading Disabilities (Best Apps and Services)

Learning Ally (service cost 105 dollars per year) Must qualify

Bookshare (free for those that qualify)

Dragon Dictation (FREE app)

Voice Dream Reader (app), Voice Dream Writer (Voice Dream Suite)

iWord Q (app)

Pages (app)

Prizmo (app)

Prizmo

You take a picture of a pageIt converts it to textThe app reads the text to you.

Prizmo

Voice Dream Writer Review

Voice Dream Reader App demo

Electronic Organization(Best Apps)

PDF Notes/SnapTypeDropbox, Google Drive,

OneDriveScanning Apps Tiny Scan, Fine

Scanner ProA wand scanner cost $50-$100

Foreign Language

Duolingo Foreign Language (website/app) FREE

https://www.duolingo.com/Mindsnacks (they make a ton of

apps) busuuLearn Spanish with!

Art and Music Apps Chapter 10

Ton of Awesome Apps.You can teach a class with just art or music apps