iPad Apps

The first app I looked at was Air Sketch.  I loved this app!  It allows students to choose paint, chalk, or glitter, and even a smudge option.  You can choose the size of your lines.  You can insert all kinds of "stamps" which look like simple clip art (and even what size to make them).  You can put in text and choose your font, size, and color.  I think this app would be great not just for younger kids (like many of the drawing apps I've seen), but even for older kids.  I think you could really make some intricate drawings with this app.  This could be used for kids making posters or illustrations, or even diagrams.  And of course, this would be great in an art class!  I think you could even use it as a type of whiteboard where kids could write their answers and hold them up, then erease them for the next question.

Another app I looked at and really liked was Leaf Snap. This app asks you to take a leaf, place it on a white back ground, and take a picture.  It will then identify the leaf for you!  Once you have confirmed the identity of the leaf, you can put it in your collection.  These collections are connected online, so you can see local species and other collections.  You can also browse a database of species if you are trying to identify an unknown species.  I think this would be a great way to get kids involved in some hands-on biology.   It would be a great way to help them learn what scientist do and what it takes to put together a database like this.  It could also be used in a lesson on classification to give kids some practice.

The last app I looked at was History Maps.  I loved these map!  I was never very enthusiastic about history as a student, but just the visual of these maps was really fascinating.  You can look at maps like "The present distribution of Europeans, Negroes, Chinese, and Japanese (1911)," or "The spread of colonization."  This is a great app for any and all history classes.  It's a great way to talk about how people understood their world at the time.   Also, some of these maps are not in textbooks, so it is a great supplement.  There seem to be hundreds and hundreds of them,  so I am sure you can find almost anything you need.  Another handy feature is that you can sort them by category or era, so that they are easier to find.

Almost every app I looked at had exciting possibilities, so what I really learned from this blog is:  look before you plan!  You never know what might be out there to help you out and make things more interesting for your students.