10 Excellent Apps for 1:1 iPad Classroom
November 21, 2015
The massive embrace of technology in education has radically transformed teaching pedagogy giving birth to some new instructional approaches that were, to the very recent past, unheard of. It has also helped in creating teaching environments where personalized and student-centerer learning is encouraged. One such environment is what is known as the 1:1 iPad classroom. If you are lucky enough to be teaching in a classroom where every student has access to their own digital device then you would have probably experienced firsthand some of the pedagogical benefits of this approach.
However, while 1:1 iPad classrooms come with numerous advantages, there are also certain caveats to be heeded especially in terms of classroom management. Students can be easily distracted by their devices and lose focus and attention. They might try to use social media apps while in class, multitask in a negative way and many more. To learn more about the challenges facing 1:1 teachers together with the best practices on how to manage them, we highly recommend these reads: 5 Best Practices for Managing a 1:1 iPad Classroom (by Hans Mundahl); Teaching in a 1:1 Environment (by iPad Bootcamp for Teachers); and 5 Epiphanies on Learning in a 1:1 iPad Classroom (by:Alyssa Tormala, Edutopia).
Below is a collection of iPad apps we have curated specifically for 1:1 iPad classrooms to help teachers and students make the best of their iPads.
1- Showbie- Paperless Classroom
“With Showbie, you can quickly and easily assign, collect and review student work on your iPad, then provide rich feedback to your students by adding annotations, text notes and voice notes directly onto their documents. Students can show their learning creatively by submitting to Showbie from thousands of compatible iPad apps, or by completing assignments with Showbie’s built in tools. Showbie keeps everyone organized with individual student assignment folders, email and push notifications.”
2- Teacher Toolkit
“Over a million educators worldwide trust TeacherKit with managing their time and activities. TeacherKit helps you organize classes and students easily. Create a seating chart, record attendance, log behavior, and track grades all with few taps. TeacherKit lifts the headache of routine administration, allowing you to focus on what really matters to you – teaching.”
3- Socrative Teacher
“Engage, assess and personalize your class with Socrative! Educators can initiate formative assessments through quizzes, quick question polls, exit tickets and space races all with their Socrative Student app. Socrative will instantly grade, aggregate and provide visuals of results to help you identify opportunities for further instruction. Save time and visualize student understanding when it matters”
4- Nearpod
“The Nearpod platform enables teachers to use their iPads to manage content on students' iPads, iPhones, iPods or Macs. It combines presentation, collaboration, and real-time assessment tools into one integrated solution.”
5- The Brainstormer
The Brainstormer is kindling for creative minds. A tactile tool to randomly combine a plot, a subject and a setting or style, the Brainstormer provides a moment of inspiration for writers, painters, or any creative mind. Combat creative block, spark new ideas and summon up quick subjects for doodling, sketching or journaling.
6- Prompts
"Get more than 1,000 starting lines and creative writing prompts to inspire you and give you ideas for improving your creative writing. Great for students, amateur writers, or professionals who want to free write often."
7- Videolicious
‘Over 3,000,000 downloads! Videolicious 3 is beautifully designed to make high quality video creation even easier and faster! Instantly weave together interviews, videos, photos, music and more into a sophisticated video production—in seconds. Just talk and tap—or watch and tap—to make the perfect video.’
8- Pixlr Editor
'Unlock your creativity with Pixlr – the free photo editor! Capture any moment and make it beautiful with over 2 million combinations of free effects, overlays, and filters. Once you’re done, share your finished work directly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or your other favorite social networks!'
'Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere. Using Explain Everything, you will be able to create slides, draw in any color, add shapes, add text, and use a laser pointer. Rotate, move, scale, copy, paste, clone, and lock any object added to the stage.Add existing photos, objects, import PDF documents from local storage, Google Drive, Dropbox or insert a fully functioning web browser window'
The massive embrace of technology in education has radically transformed teaching pedagogy giving birth to some new instructional approaches that were, to the very recent past, unheard of. It has also helped in creating teaching environments where personalized and student-centerer learning is encouraged. One such environment is what is known as the 1:1 iPad classroom. If you are lucky enough to be teaching in a classroom where every student has access to their own digital device then you would have probably experienced firsthand some of the pedagogical benefits of this approach.
However, while 1:1 iPad classrooms come with numerous advantages, there are also certain caveats to be heeded especially in terms of classroom management. Students can be easily distracted by their devices and lose focus and attention. They might try to use social media apps while in class, multitask in a negative way and many more. To learn more about the challenges facing 1:1 teachers together with the best practices on how to manage them, we highly recommend these reads: 5 Best Practices for Managing a 1:1 iPad Classroom (by Hans Mundahl); Teaching in a 1:1 Environment (by iPad Bootcamp for Teachers); and 5 Epiphanies on Learning in a 1:1 iPad Classroom (by:Alyssa Tormala, Edutopia).
Below is a collection of iPad apps we have curated specifically for 1:1 iPad classrooms to help teachers and students make the best of their iPads.
1- Showbie- Paperless Classroom
“With Showbie, you can quickly and easily assign, collect and review student work on your iPad, then provide rich feedback to your students by adding annotations, text notes and voice notes directly onto their documents. Students can show their learning creatively by submitting to Showbie from thousands of compatible iPad apps, or by completing assignments with Showbie’s built in tools. Showbie keeps everyone organized with individual student assignment folders, email and push notifications.”
2- Teacher Toolkit
“Over a million educators worldwide trust TeacherKit with managing their time and activities. TeacherKit helps you organize classes and students easily. Create a seating chart, record attendance, log behavior, and track grades all with few taps. TeacherKit lifts the headache of routine administration, allowing you to focus on what really matters to you – teaching.”
3- Socrative Teacher
“Engage, assess and personalize your class with Socrative! Educators can initiate formative assessments through quizzes, quick question polls, exit tickets and space races all with their Socrative Student app. Socrative will instantly grade, aggregate and provide visuals of results to help you identify opportunities for further instruction. Save time and visualize student understanding when it matters”
4- Nearpod
5- The Brainstormer
6- Prompts
7- Videolicious
8- Pixlr Editor
'Unlock your creativity with Pixlr – the free photo editor! Capture any moment and make it beautiful with over 2 million combinations of free effects, overlays, and filters. Once you’re done, share your finished work directly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or your other favorite social networks!'
10- Skitch
Skitch allows you to easily capture your screen and share it with others. You can also use it to annotate images and PDFs by adding shapes, arrows, stamps, text and many more.As a teacher, you can use Skitch for a variety of purposes. You can, for instance, use it to mark up a PDF document and highlight important parts you want your students to focus on. You can also use it to create annotated visuals to include in your instructional tutorials. Skitch is also a great tool to use to give feedback and share ideas with students.
Skitch allows you to easily capture your screen and share it with others. You can also use it to annotate images and PDFs by adding shapes, arrows, stamps, text and many more.As a teacher, you can use Skitch for a variety of purposes. You can, for instance, use it to mark up a PDF document and highlight important parts you want your students to focus on. You can also use it to create annotated visuals to include in your instructional tutorials. Skitch is also a great tool to use to give feedback and share ideas with students.
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