I thought I knew a lot about apps until I attended an educational technology conference (FETC) with 9,000 educators from all 50 states and 28 countries.
What an eye opener.
There are countless cool apps for the classroom, and best of all, they are FREE. I can't take credit for curating this list. Thanks go to Hall Davidson, Gail Lovely and Jenna Linskens who introduced me to these standout apps. Most are geared to classroom use but since they are free, all are worth checking out.
Student Clicker - Socrative 
(Free iPad/iPhone)
Teacher Clicker - Socrative (Free iPad/iPhone)
Socrative brings smart clickers, student response and ease of use to a whole new level. Be engaged for the entire class with educational exercises and games. See all your classmates’ ideas in real time and interact with the responses. Provide your instructor feedback on the lessons and how well you understand the material. Ask your own poll questions for the entire class or build a premade activity
for your whole class. Have Fun!
MOST POPULAR ACTIVITIES:
✔ Short Answer Questions
✔ Space Race
✔ Exit Tickets
✔ Quick Quiz
✔ Multiple Choice
NearPod by Panarea (Free iPad/iPhone)
What's Nearpod?
The Nearpod platform enables teachers to use their iPads to manage content on students' iPads, iPhones or iPods. It combines presentation, collaboration, and real-time assessment tools into one integrated solution.
How It Works
· Teachers use Nearpod to share content with their students and to manage the flow of the lecture.
· Students use Nearpod on their iOS devices to receive multimedia content and to participate in engaging assessment and collaboration activities.
Nearpod allows teachers to:
1. Create Content: Teachers log in to www.nearpod.com to create multimedia presentations with interactive features such as quizzes, videos, polls, drawing tools, and more. They can also access featured presentations from certified publishers and fellow educators.
2. Engage: In the classroom, teachers log in to the Nearpod iPad app to share content with their students and manage the flow of the lecture. Students use the Nearpod app on their iOS devices to receive curricular content, participate in activities and submit responses.
3. Assess: Teachers can see students’ answers in real time on the Nearpod app. Additionally, teachers can log in to www.nearpod.com to access post-session data and obtain detailed activity reports.
Pointer by Karmeye (Free iPad/iPhone)
❞ Show your presentation on a secondary screen such as a projector, TV or monitor and interact with it by pointing and drawing
❞ All user controls will be hidden from the audience
❞ Supports wireless connection via AirPlay!
To access presentation files:
● Transfer files from the computer via iTunes File Sharing
● Access files from Dropbox (In-app purchase)
● Access files from Google Drive (In-app purchase)
● Access files from Microsoft SkyDrive (In-app purchase)
● Access files from Internet
● ... or browse the Web and point on anything you like
Aurasma by Aurasma
(Free iPad/iPhone)
Aurasma is an augmented reality app that’s changing the way millions of people see and interact with the world.
· Bring tagged images, objects and even physical locations to life with interactive digital content, such as video, animations and 3D scenes, we call Auras
· Look out for our ‘A’ logo in newspapers, magazines, books and on product packaging and clothing– wherever you spot the ‘A’, there’s an Aura for you to discover
· Use the map feature to discover Auras at nearby locations
· Browse the ‘explore’ and ‘featured’ sections of the app to find the latest and most popular Auras
· Use the simple tools within the app to create your own Auras and share them with friends and other Aurasma users
· Create Auras by choosing from thousands of digital animations already on the platform or alternatively use your own photos and videos
· Most popular user-generated Auras include adding 3D dinosaurs to your street, sending a video message on a greetings card, leaving hidden clues in a treasure hunt, adding instructional information to a machine and augmenting text books and project work in education
Subtext by Subtext (Free iPad only)
-TURN ANY BOOK OR DOCUMENT INTO A DIGITAL CLASSROOM-
In Subtext teachers and students can exchange ideas as they read, right in the pages of almost any digital book or document. You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes—opening up limitless opportunities to engage students, foster analysis and writing skills, and assess student progress. Subtext’s service extends the reading experience far beyond traditional books and aligns with the Common Core Standards across reading, writing and 21st century digital skills.
-READ BOOKS, DOCS & WEB ARTICLES-
Subtext offers access to lots of quality content including:
• Any book sold by Google Books
• Free books from Google Books & Feedbooks
• Web pages you add to Subtext using our bookmarklet ‘Save to Subtext’—think NY Times articles and blog posts on NASA For Students
• Free and public domain books
• Any document in ePub format (or Word Doc or PDF converted to ePub)
• Recommended free and Common Core reading lists, organized by grade level
-THE ONLY READER BUILT FOR CLASSROOMS-
Subtext is the only ereader built for classroom use, so it’s packed with features designed specifically for you and your students. (And, don’t worry, we didn’t overlook the basics like smooth page turning, adjustable fonts and the indispensable built-in dictionary.)
123D Catch by Autodesk Inc.
(Free iPad/iPhone)
Automatically turn your photos into amazing 3D models with Autodesk 123D Catch.
Capture the world around you in a whole new way! Use this amazing app for free.
✓ Take up to 40 photos with your iPhone 4/4S/5 or iPad, then submit them to the Autodesk Cloud to automatically convert them into a realistic 3D model that you can view, share, and download
✓ Touch the screen to set your subject’s focus and exposure for best results
✓ Connect with the 123D Catch Community Gallery to see the amazing captures other users have shared and submit your own!
✓ Browse the example gallery to get inspired
✓ Interactive startup guide walks you through the process
✓ Control your 3D model viewpoint by moving rotating your device or simply use Multi-Touch view controls
✓ Receive Notification Center alerts when your capture is finished processing
✓ Email your finished captures to friends or open their 123D Catch projects
✓ Catches made on your iPhone or iPad are also saved to "My Corner" in the cloud, where you can open them for editing inside the 123D Catch desktop and web apps.
Save and store as many Catches as you want and export OBJs for a LIMITED TIME ONLY.
Chirp by ASGI Ltd (Free iPhone)
Chirp is a magical new way to share your stuff – using sound. Chirp 'sings' information from one iPhone [or iPod] to another. Share photos, links, notes and more: all from your built-in iPhone speaker. What will you chirp?
Chirp lets you send information over the air to anyone running the app near you. Use the app to send or receive pictures from your camera, and share with everyone in the room. Chirp is the super-simple way to share that everyone's talking about - download it now.
✔ Share photos with groups of friends
✔ One-button simple: just chirp it!
✔ Share any link you like
Notes: you need to run Chirp to receive chirps. Sharing requires a network connection. Chirp works in noisy places too - check it out.
TourWrist by Spark Labs
(Free iPad/iPhone)
The perfect compliment to your device's new pano capability!
• DEMO 2012 People's Choice Winner!
• MacWorld 2012 Best of Show Winner!
• See what CNN, TNW, Mashable, Communication Arts, WIRED, TUAW and Fast Co. Design are all talking about.
• "One of the most spectacular virtual-tour user experiences I've seen" - Fast Company Design
• "It just blows me away… You will love this, I guarantee it." - Adam Curry's The Big App Show
• "One of the slickest iPhone apps on the planet… I cannot sing its praises enough" - The Next Web
TELEPORTATION IS HERE!
With TourWrist®, iOS devices become portals. So when you point your device up, you’ll truly appreciate a new property’s grand staircase. Turning around will give you the full stadium seating experience. And looking down will reveal just how much leg space a vehicle has to offer. You can also view "tours" through our intuitive, touch-based controls. Check out travel destinations one minute, hotels and restaurants the next, or even look inside new homes. With powerful creation, editing, search, sort and sharing tools, TourWrist® gives you the power to travel, remotely.
Remind101 by remind101 (Free iPhone)
Remind101 provides a safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. It is 100% free and is used by over 200,000 teachers, students and parents to send millions of messages every month.
FAST, SAFE & EASY
*Message your entire class of students or parents in seconds.
*Teachers never see students' phone numbers. Students never see theirs.
*Students and parents join by sending a text message. No computer needed.
WHAT ARE TEACHERS SAYING?
*Revolutionized my approach to parent communication -Jessica D.
*Love it! Easy. Quick. Unique way of communicating with parents/students -Michael B.
*Communicating with a click from a mobile device is instant & saves me important teaching time! -Erin K.
*It has made a HUGE difference for many students in getting homework in on time -Craig N.
*Improved my students' morale, behavior, AND grades! -Catherine F.
sling Note by Mobilebuster.com Pty Ltd ($2.99 iPad only)
Yes there is a cost associated with this app, but it Frees students from the tedium of copying text and URL addresses for research projects and is quite possibly the best big kid app I've seen. sling Note allows students to have two screens side by side on an iPad and copy between apps by slinging a highlighted portion. Some of the uses include:
☆ Cut web clips and drop them into notepad.
☆ Drag web link into notepad and vice versa.
☆ Drag calculation result into notepad and vice versa.
☆ Annotate web clips, photos and text with pen, highlighter and tooltips.
☆ Drop text boxes and tooltips with movable pointer.
☆ Draw sketches and diagrams with automatic curve smoothing.
☆ Use three finger swipe gesture to switch between application easily.
☆ Landscape mode to pair two application side by side or Portrait mode to focus on one application.
☆ Email notepad page to yourself and other people.
☆ Export notepad page as a PDF
☆ Import PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS, Keys, Pages, Numbers and RTF files
☆ Translate website with one click.
☆ Dual browser to let you open Gmail, chatting, twittering, updating Facebook while browsing online.
☆ Import photo from your library
Jill Goodman is excited to bring free apps for big kids to the attention of our readers and hopes teachers will use some of these in their classes.
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