I know everybody has their favourites but I thought it was my time to share the iPad apps that I can’t live without! I have had my iPad since September 2011 and found that as each day at school went by I was using it more and more. Regular readers of my blog would already be aware of my affection for Evernote and Good Reader and how I use these apps to eliminate paper in my reading assessments with students. These are just two of my favourites so I thought it was time to share a few more!

1. Evernote-

I have said it before and I will say it again and again until every teacher I know at least tries Evernote! Evernote is a note taking app that allows users to take notes by typing, audio, video and pictures. It can be used on a variety of devices and syncs, so if I edit on my laptop it appears on my iPad!

I use Evernote to-

Save all of my assessment notes and data-
I have notebooks set up for different subjects and add notes about students as I notice them! I always have either my iPhone or iPad with me in the classroom so I can update quickly and easily, it keeps me mobile, away from the laptop and I never forget anything!

Keep checklists-
I have checklists set up for keeping records for homework and home reading, as well as keeping track of spelling results. I also know of teachers that have set up checklists for use in guided reading.

Minutes-
I keep track of all staff meeting notes so that I can refer to them later, again I find this easier than writing my notes on paper or in a book as I tend to put it down somewhere and never find it again! I also take notes on team meetings and can easily share or email the notes between team members.

ifttt-
If This Then That- “Put the Internet to work for you!” ifttt is a web app that allows you to create tasks of a simple structure. For example I could get ifttt to send me en email with the weather forecast every morning or send my mum a Facebook message on her birthday.

I use ifttt with Evernote to-

• Save my starred items from Google Reader. It keeps them all together and easy to find at a later date.
• Save new blog posts- every time I write a new post it sends a copy to Evernote for safe keeping.
• Save my Twitter favourites- every time I favourite a tweet on Twitter it saves in Evernote.
• Make a copy of my YouTube videos.

Professional Learning-
I keep track of all of my professional learning using Evernote- I can create quick and easy notes, take pictures, video and audio so that I don’t forget what I have learnt!

2. Good Reader

Good Reader is an app that allows you to annotate PDF and Word Documents.

I use Good Reader to-

• Complete running records (I then save them in the corresponding student note in Evernote)
• Complete paperless Observation Surveys.
• Complete assessment checklists.
• Have important documents on hand ready to go- eg when I am completing a reading conference I have the CAFE menu open and have easy access to the CAFE Ready Reference Guides.

Basically anything that you can do on paper you can scan or email and do it on the iPad!

3- Twitter

The most influential and inspiring Professional Learning Network around! For any teacher reading this who is not on Twitter I would highly suggest that you get on and have a look. I use Twitter to
LEARN and to SHARE. Kathleen Morris shares her ideas for teachers new to Twitter- Using Twitter to Build Your PLN, Are You On Twitter Yet? and Top 10 Twitter Tips

4- WordPress

The WordPress app allows me to edit and update blog posts and make comments easily and efficiently.

5- OneNote

I do all my planning and work program using OneNote and since Office 2010 and the integration of SkyDrive it is even better! It is great having OneNote on my iPad and iPhone. The app allows me to have easy access to my planning documents at all times and I can add and edit on the go. The only thing I don’t like is that you can’t edit a table that has already been created- can be frustrating!

6- TED

Need some inspiration- take 10 minutes to listen to the latest TED talk.

7- Flipboard

Turns your social networks into an interactive, online magazine! Add your Facebook or Twitter account to view in a dynamic and different way on the iPad or iPhone. You can also set up different Twitter hashtags that you follow.

8- Prezi Viewer

Allows you to view Prezi’s on your Ipad!

 

9- Splashtop Whiteboard

Download the Splashtop streamer on your computer and iPad to create an easy and free remote desktop! Sit anywhere in the classroom and control your IWB or have students demonstrate on iPad rather than standing up in front of the class.

With Splashtop Whiteboard-

Teachers can:

Be in Control – Have complete control over the applications on the classroom PC as if you were sitting right there. No need to stay at the front of class. Be free to roam around. Hand the iPad to a student and let their imagination do the rest!

Experience lifelike play back – All video and audio are played in high definition on your iPad. Play Adobe Flash content, iTunes music, DVDs, CDs, etc.

10- iMovie

I love iMovie! It is so easy to use, very user friendly- I demonstrated once to some Prep, 1 and 2 students and that was it! They were publishing their writing using iMovie to be uploaded to our class website and were so excited about it. I find that it is a lot more instant than Photo Story or Movie Maker. I have used iMovie to create weekly school vodcasts, record and make movies of students working, had students make movies and photo stories to publish their work.

Ok so there are just 10 apps that I love and use lots! I hope that you get some ideas and maybe try some yourself!

How have you used these apps?

What are your favourite apps?

I have had a fabulous response to my use of Evernote, Goodreader and the iPad. It has been great to hear from like minded educators about how they are using these tools in the classroom. Today however I have had lots of questions and Twitter conversations about how to save files from Goodreader in Evernote so thought I would do a quick ‘how to’ post to hopefully make it a bit easier on users. See video for step by step instructions.

Once I have my file in Evernote I copy and paste it to the selected student note, this however, I have only figured out how to do using Evernote on my computer, if anyone knows of an iPad way, please share. Depending on how you have your notes set up you could just rename and tag the note that has already been created.

Hope this helps!

Well it has been a few days since my last post and I thought I would write an update to how I am going with my new found tools!

Let’s just say I don’t think I have ever felt so organised when it comes to assessment notes and running records….not to mention saving so much paper! I have really enjoyed having everything ready to go and accessible in such a short amount of time. I have noticed that I am even becoming much more aware of writing my observations as soon as I notice something about a student.

Using Goodreader to annotate running record sheets has allowed me to eliminate photocopying and have all my student assessment records stored in the same place. As I mentioned in my last post it was a little tricky using my finger to annotate and thanks to a colleague, I was able to test out an iPad stylus. This was fantastic, although my writing is a little bigger than usual it was much more accurate and easier to write with.

I also thought that I would share a screen capture of how I have my Evernote notes set up- I would love some feedback from this, interested in seeing how other teachers are being organised!

If you have an ipad I would seriously suggest giving it a go! Let me know how you go!