Day 2 of the iPad and a bit more to share. We spent some time going over Keynote and a bit on Garageband, both are apps I am very familiar with in their desktop format. I will talk a bit more about what was covered, what I found and what I think will work. Keep in mind, most – though not all of the apps – I will talk about are free. I’m trying to keep the educator in mind and we don’t always have money to purchase new apps. So …
I’m highly impressed, for the most part, with Garageband on the iPad. I created a song using the smart instruments and available beats. I got creative on the rock organ and got down to my own riff reminiscent of a classic Doors tune. It was easy, fast, fun and had limitless creativity. To see what I mean, check out George Lambros and his Garage Band Creation
Whether your are musically inclined, or like me and not musically inclined, you can easily create a tune to use on or with your projects. Even better, this is a great way to teach your students to start to create their own music rather than to continually use copyright music. My only request, I would like to have access to more instruments. The choice there now is great, and I would like to see that grow over time.
Doodle Me is a great way to turn your iPad into a white board. If all you need is a quick check of your students’ progress, they can use their finger to write, add stamps, shapes and symbols and then hold it up for all to see. This is an old tried and true means of EDI assessment.
Join.me is an app that allows other people to access your desktop … visually that is. If you are offering instruction or want to show something from your desktop, people can use the app or the website to access your computer from anywhere in the world.
Word Lens is great for the traveler. Say you are in France and having trouble reading a sign, activate the app, hold it up to a sign and right in front of you the letters will change and rearrange into English. The app itself is free, the translation books cost money starting at about $9.99 and go up from there. The demo version will rearrange letters or make words disappear right in front of you.
Biblion from the New York Public Library gives you access to the New York Public Library with images and texts much like a magazine. A great way to have your students conduct research and find information at one of the greatest libraries in our country.
The last one I will talk about – briefly – is Splashtop. Splashtop is a mirroring application that uses wifi to give your iPad/iPhone access to your laptop/desktop. At $3.99 it is much more affordable than many other mirroring apps, like Doceri, but it is pretty basic in that it just gives you control of your desktop. Splashtop does have a whiteboard app, and I will review that at a later date.
Much more to come, again, if you have any favorite apps please let me know. Also, if you use any of these apps and have suggestions please pass that on as well.
Cyber Cafe 
Leave a Reply