Materials for a presentation for Tech Forum Texas by Gail Lovely

1. Great Tools for
Kids and Schools
by Gail Lovely
Gail@GailLovely.com

2. Web 2.0 Tools… a few.
Just a few…

3. Textivate
 http://www.textivate.com/
http://www.textivate.com/menu-2ddjn1

4. Inklewriter
 http://writer.inklestudios.com/

5. Duolingo
 http://duolingo.com/
Apps are in the works…

6. Croak it!
 http://croak.it/
Also apps….

7. I fake text
 http://ifaketext.com/

8. The App Store…
Like a box of chocolates…
Like a box of chocolate

9. Some stats…
Apps available for download: 659,936
Education Category: 65,530 (active)
Average App price: $1.99
http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/

10. Price…
Free? Really?

11. Clash of Clans – a “free” app

12. “All television is educational television.
The question is: what is it teaching?”
Nicholas Johnson

13. Educational Criteria
• Teach or practice curriculum or skills of
value
• Create evidence of knowledge or skills
• Produce materials to learn with or
from
• More than CUTE, ENGAGING, FUN.

14. But, cute is okay too.
• Teach or practice curriculum or skills of
value
• Create evidence of knowledge or skills
But
• Produce materials to learn with or
from
• More than CUTE, ENGAGING, FUN.

15. You HAVE to be Careful…
There is a reason 30% of apps are opened
only once.

16. Reading Level Mismatch
Screenshot from Casey’s Contraptions

17. Confusing…?
Screenshots from Live ABC

18. Photoshake… really?

19. Technical Criteria
Ability to get files off device
Screenchomp (free)
– Output to link on their site (with ads)
– On the iPad on which it was made
Explain Everything ($2.99)
– Output to: Email, Dropbox, Evernote, Box,
YouTube…

20. Screenchomp (free)
File
formats?

21. Explain Everything

22. Explain Everything

23. Apps and Application of Apps
Educational researchers and practitioners
alike assert that the potential of new
technologies for learning is likely to be
found not in the technologies themselves
but in the way in which these
technologies are used as tools for
learning (Means & Olson, 1995; Owston, 1997; Valdez et
al., 1999).
From NCREL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm

25. Additional Criteria
• Ability to play well with other files and
apps
• Appropriate learning curve
• Useability

26. “Don’t bring in an elephant
to teach the color gray.”
Madeleine Hunter

27. StoryKit

28. Book Creator

29. Format matters
Does the app consider multiple users?
Bluster and Futaba
are examples of this…

30. Pedagogy and Strategy matter
Does the app target the users
appropriately?
Toontastic

31. Lets Look…

32. Apps I Planned to Share
(may be updated after the session)

33. Drop Box
free
File
management
Gail@GailLovely.com

34. AudioBoo
free
Audio
recording
Gail@GailLovely.com

35. Explain Everything
$2.99
Annotation on
almost
anything, and
so much more
Gail@GailLovely.com

36. Zapd
free
Almost instant
image-rich
websites or
blogs
Gail@GailLovely.com

37. sling Note
$2.99
capture and
annotate parts
of websites
Gail@GailLovely.com

38. Zapper Scanner
free
The best QR
code reader
and creator so
far!
Gail@GailLovely.com

39. Book Creator
$4.99
My current
favorite book
making tool.
http://www.padgadget.com/2011/09/20/publish-ibooks-with-book-creator-for-ipad-ipad-app-review/
Gail@GailLovely.com

40. Collin’s Big Cat Books
free
picture books
PLUS - record
your own
audio, make
your own
books
Gail@GailLovely.com

41. Futaba Games for Children (upgrade)
$2.99
A reading
game – worth
upgrading to
paid version
Gail@GailLovely.com

42. ArtSet
$.99
A full
collection of
art tools yet
easy to use.
Gail@GailLovely.com

43. Fotopedia - Heritage
(free)
Amazing
images from
World Heritage
Sites
Gail@GailLovely.com

44. Tools4 Students
$.99
Graphic
Organizers for
students to use
Gail@GailLovely.com

45. Today’s Front Pages
free
Front pages of
newspapers
from around
the world and
the nation for
the day
searched.
Gail@GailLovely.com

46. TourWrist
free
360
panoramas
around the
world… OR
make your
own
Gail@GailLovely.com

47. Math Doodles
$2.99
Interesting
math practice
and problem
solving with a
variety of
number
systems
Gail@GailLovely.com

48. Wikipedia (Offline)
$9.99
Wikipedia…
offline, just
what it says!
Gail@GailLovely.com

49. The End
Made in Art Set

50. Great Tools for
Kids and Schools
by Gail Lovely
http://LovelyLearning.com