Featured 7-8-2014: Timeline World War 2 with Robert MacNeil

 

Timeline World War 2 is a definitive history of the Second World War, presented by broadcaster Robert MacNeil.

 

Timeline World War 2 for the iPad features a zoomable interactive timeline that dramatically alters how history can be viewed and understood, bringing to life the events of 70 years ago for a 21st century audience.

 

With more than a hundred films from the archives of British Pathé and US broadcasters, additional commentary by Robert MacNeil, over 600 still images, and 1500 written entries provide the viewer an insight into the events of WW2.

 

Timeline World War 2 key features:

• Search and filter the event timeline to focus on content that most interests you.
• A dynamic map of the war, showing invasions, occupations, allegiances, fronts and country boundary changes.
• The location feature on timeline items can be used to see where each event took place on the world map.
• Over 100 WW2 US and UK (British Pathé) newsreels from the declaration of war to the dropping of the atomic bomb.
• Choose from the original newsreel audio, or Robert MacNeil's commentary.
• Watch the films that interest you in the order of your choosing, either on your iPad, or on your television with AirPlay.

Timeline World War 2 is compatible with iPad and requires iOS 5.0 or later. It is available for $9.99 (USD) from the iTunes App Store.

 

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Featured 7-2-2014: Peekaboo Studios

 

Peekaboo Studios is an educational app developer focused on building apps aligned with Common Core State Standards for PreK-12.

 

Peekaboo Studios has created over 140 apps that teach early concepts, critical thinking, vocabulary, math, music exploration, and more. A few of the available titles are Best Books for Tweens, Ultimate Trivia: The Fault in our Stars, Learn the Colors, Math 7 Testing Prep, Learn the Alphabet, and Reading 5.

 

There are apps available for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, Google Play Android devices, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Amazon's Kindle devices. For a full list of apps:

• iPad/iPhone/iPod: Apple apps
• Nook apps: Nook apps
• Apps for Kindle: Kindle apps
• Android apps: Google Play apps

You can contact Peekaboo Studios for a free promo code to try out one of their iOS apps (only Apple provides promotional codes).

 

 

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Featured 6-25-2014: MathTerms

MathTerms is a free illustrated glossary of nearly 1000 mathematics terms for middle- and high-school students and teachers in both English and Spanish.

 

With its colorful, annotated illustrations, MathTerms has been accessed online by millions of students over the past five years. It is now available as an iPad and Android app with permission of The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin and Agile Mind, Inc.

 

Key features of MathTerms:

• Free with no advertising
• Covers Middle School Math, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Precalculus, Calculus, and Statistics
• Colorful, annotated illustrations
• Complete, sentence-based definitions
• Alphabetical indexes
• Flash card function
• No internet connection required for use

 

Complete definitions are available in both English and Spanish. Display toggles between English and Spanish terms, and the search function is available in both languages.

 

 Watch a video demo of the MathTerms app

 

 The MathTerms iPad app requires iOS 3.2 or higher. The Android version requires Android 1.6 or higher.

 

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Featured 6-12-2014: TypingClub School Portal

 

The TypingClub School Portal gives you the ability to completely manage your students' typing progress. You can setup your classes, design engaging typing lessons, and track student progress.

 

Customize lessons and create lesson plans using the TypingClub School Portal. Then assign lessons to your students within a user-friendly interface.

 

The student interface is designed to be clean, simple, and engaging. Helpful instructions guide students through every step. Students receive continuous feedback and are motivated to repeat each lesson to mastery before proceeding. You also have the option to add your own instructions to each lesson to further guide your students.

 

 

The TypingClub School Portal allows you to track the progress of your students class-wide and individually with a rich set of analytics data.

 

 Watch Improve your Students' Typing with Typing Club

 

The TypingClub School Portal is available in free and paid versions. The free version includes an unlimited number of students in up to three classes for two teachers, as well as access to Create/Customize Lessons, Lesson Plan Marketplace, and Typing Games.

 

 TypingClub School Portal's free iPad app, lets students use their iPad to sign into their account and continue practicing. Whether students use a browser or iPad to practice, you will still be able to view and track their activities.

 

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Plus 5-23-2014: Explain Everything

 

Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.

 

 

Use Explain Everything to create slides, draw in any color, add shapes, add text, and use a laser pointer. Rotate, move, scale, copy, paste, clone, and lock any object added to the stage.

 

You can also add new or existing photos and videos. Import many types of files from Evernote, Dropbox, Box, Google Drive,email, and more. Export MP4 video, PDF documents, YouTube video, or XPLX project files.

 

 

No account is necessary to use Explain Everything and share creations.

 

 See a video overview of Explain Everything

 

The iOS version requires an iPad running iOS 5.1.1 or higher. The Android version requires version 4.0.3 and up.

 

Note: There are some functional differences between the iOS and Android versions.

 

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Featured 5-14-2014: ReMarkable

 

ReMarkable is a free iPad app that offers students an easy way to submit digital documents in many formats to teachers and professors for marking. 

 

The concept of ReMarkble is functional and practical for both students and teachers. Upon signing up, teachers get a unique email address that will be used by students to submit all work directly to the app. All assignments go directly into ReMarkable where educators mark all the work within the app.

 

ReMarkable accepts many document types including .docx, .pptx, .xls, .jpg, .gif, .pdf, and more.

 

The annotation tools are very intuitive and were designed with the needs of teachers marking student documents in mind.  The features of ReMarkable were reviewed by a panel of educators.

A customizable folder system gives teachers the ability to control and organize submitted files. Move, copy, and upload all files to various folders or to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.

 

 Watch ReMarkable’s Kickstarter video

 

ReMarkable gives teachers the convenience of accepting and marking papers anytime from anywhere.  Teachers will no longer have to carry home loads of papers to mark, all that's needed is an iPad running iOS 6.0+.

 

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Featured 4-28-2014: Scrawlar

 

Scrawlar offers schools free cloud-based collaborative word processing that works on any smartphone, tablet, or computer.

 

Use Scrawlar to create, edit, share, and save documents on any web-connected device. No app, installation, or plugin is needed.

 

 

After creating and saving a document, students have the option to share with any classmates. They can also choose whether other people can edit or just view the original document.

 

As a teacher, create an account for any class. Add your students to your network, each student is assigned a password. Students login using the class code you provide and their unique passwords. No student signup or email is required.

 

Teachers can leave feedback right on documents, and parents can follow along in real-time from anywhere.

 

 

Scrawlar also offers an easy-to-use whiteboard interface that includes basic drawing tools and text.

 

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Extra 4-11-2014: ReferenceMe

ReferenceME is a free mobile app that makes managing and organizing research simple.

 

Use the ReferenceME app to scan book or journal barcodes to create and manage references for your essay or research report. You can alternatively enter the ISBN, ISSN, DOI, or website URL into the ReferenceME search field and the reference will be created.

 

ReferenceME creates references in Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, MHRA, MLA, Oxford, APA, and Turabian formats. You can request custom styles at the online platform.

 

 

ReferenceME syncs with the ReferenceME web platform or you can save your references to Evernote to organise your research.

 

ReferenceME for iOS is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and requires iOS 7.0 or later. The Android app requires Android 4.0 and up.

 

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Featured 4-9-2014: Today’s Document Mobile App

The National Archives has released their first mobile application called Today’s Document  based on the Today’s Document website from the US National Archives.

 

The Today’s Document app (available for both Android and iOS) is an interactive gallery that allows you to explore the holdings of the  National Archives through a collection of 365 documents and photographs from throughout history. Find out what significant event happened on any date, search the documents by keyword, or browse the full collection.

 

Featured documents have included popular documents like the Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation as well as lesser known documents like the Zimmerman Telegram, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell address, and a handwritten draft of President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Inaugural Address.

 

 

You can zoom in on the high resolution images to get a closer look, use the calendar feature to select a specific date, or select 'Surprise Me' to show a document at random. Learn more by tapping the Info icon to get background information on the document and links to related websites. Share documents by email, Facebook, and Twitter. Add documents to your list of favorites.

 

 See a demonstration of Today’s Document

 

The Today’s Document mobile app is currently available free in the Android Marketplace and the Apple iTunes Store.

 

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Featured: 4-8-2014 Mobento

Mobento is a video learning platform that features a “spoken word” search. They believe they have invented a better, faster way to search.

 

A keyword search in Mobento will yield videos in which those keywords were spoken as well as the frequency of the words and the the precise location of the words in the video.

 

 

Mobento wants to help you manage the wealth of educational content and technology that can be overwhelming without proper tools. School Accounts are quick, easy, and affordable to set up. Intuitive and simple to use, School Accounts enable you to organize and secure video and other digital assets and deliver education that is efficiently used without online distraction.

 

Benefits for teachers:

• Powerful and flexible video learning system
• Simple to administer
• Manage users
• Easily create digital courses
• Build secure public/private libraries
• Attach documents and links to videos
• Control content and assure security

Students who have been raised on online video get a fast, engaging user experience. They can download or stream content and make Inline notes while viewing.

 

 

 Mobento offers free mobile apps for both Android and iOS that allow streaming and downloading, note-taking, favorites, watch lists, and device synching.

 Watch a video overview of Mobento

 

Mobento launched with only 200 videos, but that number has grown to well over 4000 currently, sourced from speakers at Stanford, Yale, Khan Academy, TED, and more.

 

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Featured 4-7-2014: Geddit

Geddit is a free iOS app that enables students to give instant private feedback about their understanding in real-time in the 1:1 classroom. It also works on any web-enabled device.

 

Designed to be used with any lesson, you don't have to change anything to use Geddit.  Start collecting real-time, personal student feedback as they participate in your lesson.

 

You can get insights into your students’ confidence and understanding in context. Geddit includes several built-in question-and-answer features. Multiple choice and short answer responses let you immediately check for evidence of understanding. 

 

 

Students can develop metacognitive skills using Geddit. They are able to develop a realistic understanding of their own learning, at the same time you can identify individual student needs on the fly with Instant, real-time feedback facilitating better differentiation.

 

Geddit supports differentiation by helping you: 

• Respond to needs and effectively direct your attention
• Form collaborative groups based on ability
• Facilitate peer-to-peer coaching

 Watch What is Geddit?

 

Geddit for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch is available free from the iTunes Store and requires iOS 5 or later.

 

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Featured 4-1-2014: Museu.ms

Museu.ms is an international portal to museums worldwide, collecting information and presenting it to the public in a searchable format.

 

Museu.ms is visited daily by thousands of users from all over the world. Users can register for free to mark favorites, write reviews and recommendations, and post to social networks.

 

Museum professionals can submit their museums and publish information about their institutions, such as visitor information, collections and objects, exhibitions and events, articles and more. It’s free.

 

The data submitted to Museu.ms can be quickly and easily transformed and distributed across different platforms and devices. The data is not available only on the website but also in mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows 8.

 

 

Museu.ms is designed and developed by Semantika, one of the leading museums documentation providers in Central Europe with over 10 years of experience in .collection management systems.

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MS OneNote for Mac OS X

I have been an Evernote user since long before Evernote was trendy. I was among the first 10K users. Evernote has a prominent position in my digital life and many of my workflows.

Yesterday, I downloaded and tried Microsoft OneNote for Mac OS X. Hey, it’s free, so why not. Here are my impressions.

 

OneNote has a very nice interface. If you are an Office user (I’m not), you’ll find the interface very familiar with the ribbon metaphor. There is a lot of flexibility in the creation and content of new notes. You can place a text box anywhere in the note and include various kinds of media.

 

I would think that OneNote could be very useful to anyone who would use it principally for note-taking.

 

 

However, my main use for Evernote is capturing and organizing web content. The browser extension Web Clipper gives a number of options as to what exactly you want to capture and what you can do with it.

 

Unfortunately, OneNote falls woefully short in this regard. You capture a web page using a simple bookmarklet which creates a new page in OneNote consisting of a static ‘screenshot' of the web page which is not editable and contains no live content. Any links are the page are not functional. You cannot select and copy or delete text. Maybe Microsoft will add more capturing features in future versions, but right now it comes up short.

 

OneNote syncs through a MS OneDrive account. My experience was that it was slow updating. Web page captures did not appear in the app for a few minutes. This could be just an early-days glitch.

 

Also, some pages didn’t render very faithfully. The proper positioning of page elements was lost. Be aware as well, that there appears to be no simple way to import your existing Evernote data.

 

At this point, OneNote doesn’t have the extensive integration with other apps to match Evernote, but that will likely improve over time.

 

After these experiences, I didn’t try out much else, because I realized OneNote was not going to work for me. But, that’s me.

 

It’s FREE, so if the issues I noted are not deal-breakers for you download it from the App Store and give it a try.

 

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Featured 3-24-2014: Subtext

Classroom groups can exchange ideas right in the pages of digital texts using Subtext, a free iPad app, opening up opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills.

 

Subtext was built to support classroom reading, with practical features such as getting everyone on the same page in class to insight into how your students read.

 

With Google Books and Feedbooks built in, you can search for any book or digital document, or import your own ePub formatted documents. You can also share and discuss web pages with a class in the same way as books.

 

A set of annotation tools helps to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills. Students can highlight key passages or tag a set of commonly-used literary concepts.

 

 

Set up a closed class groups in Subtext to keep your students focused and secure as they read. They will only see notes from you and their classmates.

 

Subtext can help you follow how students and classroom groups progress, including reading speed, word look-ups, highlights, notes, and quiz results.

 

See Subtext in Action

 

Subtext is aligned with the Common Core Standards. When students read with Subtext, they are encouraged to analyze what they read, articulate what they think, and make connections between texts and the real world.

 

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