#5- Educreations & ShowMe
What's that? I listed two different apps above? Yeah, sorry about that. While trying to rank these apps, a problem quickly emerged: they're essentially the same things.
Both Educreations and ShowMe are digital whiteboard applications which allow you to draw on the iPad as if it were that ubiquitous large board at the front of your room. If you have the right dongle for your iPad (and a digital projector), you can present this to your class via HDMI or VGA cable.
More than just being a mess-free portable whiteboard, these apps allow the user to record their lecture as they utilize their whiteboard. No more unintelligible notes or indescribable graphics to be found amidst bullet points and quotations.
Best of all, the lectures are shareable. Through the magic of internet, email, Twitter and Facebook, the recorded lectures can be given out to students who may have missed the class or require audio/visual accommodations.
#4- GoDocs
As I'll discuss in a later post, Google Docs has become an integral part of my curriculum. Computer-based group projects are an ease with Google Docs. No more, "but my partner has all the notes and they aren't here today!" The GoDocs app allows me portable access to Google Docs right from my laptop and iPad. Very nice! How much? At $4.99, this app is fairly pricey for its limited usage, but if you are as wealth-paid as this public school teacher (and obsessed with Google products), it is well worth the price
#3- Keynote
This app is simply one more example of my begrudging and reluctant transfer to the world of Apple. Though I bemoan their extraordinary profit margins and lament their child-labor practices, they do put out a good product. For only $9.99 (I seriously have a spending problem when it comes to technology), this handy little app allows me to make Keynote presentations on the fly. When my laptop dies or my iPad is the only thing within reach, it is nice to be able to employ the user-friendly interface to craft the next day's lesson. I absolutely DO NOT endorse throwing together a last-minute presentation at red lights on the way to work.
#2- Pointer
This app is in no way flashy or exotic. The graphics seem to indicate that though it works well enough with the iPad that it was meant for the iPhone. I mean, the iPhone. However, the PowerPoint comes through the projector with crystal-clear quality and the app allows the user to click, highlight or annotate the PowerPoint wirelessly. As someone who uses PowerPoint perhaps too heavily, this app has been a little $0.99 godsend.
#1- Splashtop HD
With the steepest price tag of this top five ($19.99 for the HD version), I have found it well worth the cost. This app allows the user to wirelessly stream their desktop (or laptop if one prefers to go even smaller) to their portable device. I find this extremely useful in helping managing an effective classroom instead of being tethered to my desk.
Now, I've heard rumors of other similar apps which allow access to one's home computer from work. One such app is "LogMeIn." I, however, have not been able to get LogMeIn to work properly and have as such abandoned the process. Over the long summer days spent at the pool, though, I will probably try my hardest to get said app to function properly.
As I said before, these are simply the apps which have worked most frequently and best for my own classroom environment. Their applications beyond the classroom, however, are too numerous to count. i recommend trying these apps and similar ones for yourself. Feel free to drop me a line if you find one that works better (or is cheaper)!
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