Friday, November 30, 2012

Top Ten Apps for Grades 4 and 5 1:1 ipad Initiative November 2012


TOP 10 Paid App Ideas
Our district is implementing a 1:1 ipad initiative soon for all 4th and 5th graders.  We'll purchase and manage close to 700 ipads.  Our implementation and training committee members have been asked to list their top ten ipad apps.  Here's my list!  More posts later on the Learning Management System selection process.

Volume pricing in red (20+ licenses)

standard pricing in black if volume is not available
as of 11/30/12.


Book Creator 
(2.49) - Students and teachers write and publish books of their own and share them with others.






Evernote - FREE app for organization, sorting, tagging, writing, reading, sharing.   Teacher Premium Account would be great- with Journal.     






Journal for Evernote App (.49)  Organize files, take notes, capture photos, record audio and organize ideas



Nearpod: Paid version- Price TBD- An all-in-one solution for the synchronized use of iPads in the classroom. With Nearpod, instructors launch interactive presentations to engage their students and assess their work with the use of iPads. They can easily create their own Nearpod Presentations (NPPs) with the Cloud-based Content Tool.



  Zaner Bloser Cursive Handwriting - (1.99) Learn to write cursive uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) letters and numbers with the fun and interactive Zaner-Bloser Handwriting—Cursive app.




Explain Everything (1.49) Explain Everything records on-screen drawing, annotation, object movement and captures audio via the iPad microphone.

 Import Photos, PDF, PPT, XLS, RTF, Pages, Numbers and Keynote from Dropbox, Evernote, Box, WebDAV, Email, iPad photo roll and the iPad camera. Export MP4 movie files, PDFs and share the .XPL project file with others for collaboration. 




iStop Motion
(4.99)  Create stop motion animation about any subject using photography stills that are sewn together digitally.








Math Set of 4: (2.97 total) (I am counting this as one app!)
Marble Math(.99) Practice Basic Math Skills
Virtual Manipulatives- FREE manipulatives- fractions, decimals, percents.

National Geographic World Atlas HD(.99) Designed specifically for the iPad, National Geographic's new and improved World Atlas HD puts our best maps in the palm of your hand.





GoodReader - (4.99) Read and annotate texts which are uploaded by the teacher or students.







WolframAlpha -  (1.99) Reference source and calculations- misc. subjects.






'Free for Now' or Honorable Mentions that are keepers:

Class DojoFREE ClassDojo helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators.


Mindmeister- FREE Mind mapping app.

Project NoahFREE- Live field guide for Science and Social Studies investigations.

Side by Side- FREE- up to 4 sites / apps open at a time.

Socrative- Free Polls for immediate feedback- teachers can create presentations that are broadcast to students' iPads with built-in interactive questions and activities. Quizzes/ instant feedback, teacher has control of all ipads.

Stick Pick- 2.99 Pick a student at random just by giving your device a shake or tapping the screen -- but that’s just the beginning. Stick Pick suggests question starters for learners at different levels.

Voicethread- FREE- storytelling, visual literacy app. 

Science Website with ipad capability requiring subscription:

Discovery Science Tech Book requires yearly subscription based on enrollment- ipad compatible and aligned with Georgia Standards.  Pricing TBD.