Eber's Top 10's for iPads

I took the liberty in deciding that I would make two lists -- one for paid apps and one for free.

All of the prices below assume individual license purchases. I suspect we'd get a discount on the volume purchases.

TOP 10 PAID APPS

1. GoodReader - $4.99
This app is a very robust .pdf reader that allows students to read and annotate texts using a variety of annotation tools. It is easy to use, and it works with a large variety of document formats. It would be a vital app to have if we were trying to go relatively paperless.

2. KeyNote - $9.99
In addition to being a presentation tool, this app could be used for students' word work and word study journals. I had students build illustrated math dictionaries and journals using the slides in KeyNote.

3. iMovie - $4.99
While it doesn't have all of the features of the computer version, this is still a great app for student use.

4. Book Creator - $4.99
A fantastic app for writing that allows students to design, write, and publish their own eBooks that are compatible with other eReaders. Easy to use with amazing design potential.

5. Explain Everything - $2.99
I haven't had the chance to play with this one yet, but it shows up on virtually every educator's top 10 list that I've seen. It appears to be a design tool that lets you annotate, animate, and narrate explanations and presentations. In that way, it may be similar to Show Me or ScreenChomp, but it appears to do more. I've also read that the clips produced through this app can be imported to other apps (e.g., iMovie).

6. Pages - $9.99
A versatile word processing app for the iPad that will be useful for publishing student work.

7. Dictionary.com - $4.99
Yes, there's a free version of this app, but this one is ad free and will work offline.

8. GarageBand - $4.99
Music and sound editor that can be used for creating student podcasts.

9. PhotoSync - $1.99
Allows wireless transfer of photos and videos between devices -- iPads, computers, etc. May be very useful for having students turn in their work.

10. WolframAlpha - $3.99
Great reference resource for quick information about many cross-curricular topics. Probably safer and more reliable for quick answers than sending students to Google.

TOP 10 FREE APPS

1. Show Me app - FREE
This is an interactive whiteboard app that can also record audio and screen actions. It's great for making tutorial-type movies.

2. Evernote - FREE
This app lets you take notes, capture photos, record audio and organize ideas in a user-friendly, easily accessible way.

3. BrainPop - FREE
The app version of the website.

4. Rover - FREE
This app was created for educational purposes, and it's a cloud-based Flash player/web browser that allows Flash-based websites to run on iPads.

5. Google Earth - FREE
The app version of the website.

6. Adobe Photoshop Express - FREE
Allows students to make minor tweaks to photos -- including cropping, eliminating red eye, adjusting color, etc.

7. QR Code Reader and Scanner - FREE
I've integrated QR codes into several classroom activities; students would need this app for its functionality.

8. Khan Academy App - FREE
Videos and tutorials for a large variety of math and science topics.

9. NearPod - FREE (for now)
This is a newer iPad app that allows teachers to create presentations that are broadcast to students' iPads with built-in interactive questions and activities. I haven't used it yet, but it looks amazing. There are several videos about it at https://vimeo.com/nearpod. The basic edition is free, but if this is something we like and want to explore further, we may need to contact them for pricing about the school edition which has more features.

10. Virtual Manipulatives - FREE
This colorful app has manipulatives for fractions, decimals, and percents -- a big part of the 4th and 5th grade math curriculum.

Honorable Mentions (a.k.a. If they're free and useful, do we really need to stop at 10?)
* VoiceThread - records audio over pictures; students may have familiarity with it from the K-3s.
* The Weather Channel app - we study weather in 4th grade, and it's helpful for data collection, etc.
* iTunesU - free access to courses from universities and other schools -- great for advanced students
* Edmodo - allows student-teacher interaction, assignment submissions, polls, etc.
* Spelling City - games and activities to support differentiated spelling instruction