The Apps for Learning page lists smart device apps discussed in the context of learning (e.g. during the MELSIG event in 2013) and organises them within a proposed Smart Apps for Learning Taxonomy. This organisation focuses on the primary purpose of the learning activity.
(The links from the App descriptions point to iTunes. If someone would like to send me the Android links please do).
- Accessing Content & Data
- Content Production
- Personal Organisation
- Communication & Collaboration
- Authentic Activities
Accessing Content & Data
Main purpose: the learner is actively engaged in finding, selecting and using media and data e.g. checking assignment briefs, reading papers, watching videos, listening to audio, receiving feedback, using databases and catalogues.
Leafsnap
Leafsnap is the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves. (free)
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. Use it to gather live responses in any venue, e.g. presentations, classrooms.
PollDaddy
Offline Survey Response Gathering
Set up and log in to a Polldaddy account. Then select the surveys from your Polldaddy account you’d like to make available for iPad. The app will download all of the question information to the device so you can take this survey out into the world and collect offline responses. When you’re back on the internet, sync those responses back to Polldaddy.com to analyse the data. (free)
Content Production
Main purpose: the learner is actively engaged in producing media e.g. writing assignments papers, producing video and audio, producing notes, collating data, making notes or recording activities.
BookCreator
The simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad.
Read them in iBooks, send them to your friends, or submit them to the iBookstore. See the video of Book Creator. (£)
Camera Awesome
Camera Awesome takes sharp, well-exposed shots. (free)
Dragon Dictate
Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This can be faster than typing on the keyboard and is useful for recording data and transcribing by speaking. (free)
Easy ePub Code Editor
Create fixed layout ebooks outputing to ePub 3.0. It includes various views: book manager, media manager, file manager, code editor, page manager. Quite expensive. (£)
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. (£)
iMovie
Effective video editing software providing a good range of tools to produce simple movies quickly. Upload these to Vimeo or YouTube or organise them or share them. (£)
iPadio
Broadcast, record, play back and share high quality audio up to 60 minutes in length. Pause and resume recordings, add up to 4 high resolution photos and automatically geolocate your call. (free)
Keynote
Keynote is Apple’s presentation app designed for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Capable of saving in PowerPoint format it is useful for creating presentations and other types of slide-based resources on the move. (£)
Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more. (free)
SkyDrive
Use SkyDrive to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. You can also upload photos or videos from your phone to SkyDrive. (free)
Sound Drop
Use Soundrop to create music by draw lines. This is useful for addressing the problem of finding copyright free music for media projects. (free)
Splice
Splice is an easy-to-use yet sophisticated video editing and audio/video effects system. (£)
Vine
Vine is a social video tool. Create short, looping videos simply and post them on Vine and share to Twitter and Facebook. (free)
Scoop.it
Let’s you easily publish online magazines by curating content on your favorite topic.
YouTube
Upload, share, watch and comment on videos.
Historypin
The official Historypin app reveals photos near your current location and allows you to view them layered over the modern scene in front of you. You can also explore Collections of some of the best old photos from around the world, wherever you are.
Edmodo
Award-winning Edmodo for iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad makes it easy for teachers and students to stay connected and share information. Use your iOS device to send notes, submit assignments, post replies, and check messages and upcoming events while away from the classroom.
Fuse
HMH Fuse gives every student a personalized learning experience using video tutorials, MathMotion step-by-step examples, homework help, quizzes, tips, hints, and many other integrated features to teach, review, and assess all concepts.
TED
The official TED app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch presents talks from some of the world’s most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. Find more than 1,400 TEDTalk videos (with more added each week) on the official TED app -now for both iPad and iPhone.
Educreations
Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Creating a great video tutorial is as simple as touching, tapping and talking. Explain a math formula… Create an animated lesson… Add commentary to your photos… Diagram a sports play…With voice recording, realistic digital ink, photos and text, and simple sharing through email, Facebook or Twitter, now you can broadcast your ideas from anywhere.
voice thread
Create and share dynamic conversations around documents, snapshots, diagrams and videos — basically anything there is to talk about. You can talk, type, and draw right on the screen. VoiceThread takes your conversations to the next level, capturing your presence, not just your comments. Anyone can join the discussion from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC — anytime, anywhere.
Personal Organisation
Main purpose: the learner uses technology to manage themselves, their academic work and other aspects of their lives, wherever they are e.g. planning work, checking timetables, planning projects, travelling to and finding places.
Corkulous
Corkulous is a multi-purpose app containing cork boards where you can place notes, labels, photos, contacts, and tasks. Group your ideas visually on one board or spread ideas out across multiple boards (sub-boards also supported). Each cork board has plenty of real estate to capture your best ideas and plans.
Evernote
Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your everyday life using your computer, phone, tablet and the web.
Evernote
Evernote is a free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use. Stay organized, save your ideas and improve productivity. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders–and makes these notes completely searchable, whether you are at home, at work, or on the go.
Mindjet Maps for iPad® lets you easily enter ideas, tasks, and meeting notes into intuitive visual maps that help you quickly organize concepts and prioritize action items. Instantly create new maps or import them from Mindjet Connect.
Mindjet is software for visually capturing and sharing ideas, organising information, creating plans, and working across teams to implement projects. Mindjet works where you do—on Windows and Mac desktops, in the cloud, on-premise and on mobile devices. Capabilities include information mapping, file management and sharing and integrated task management
Easy App Manager, deals with all the app things for you in one app. It will manage your apps intelligently and considerably.
Your all-purpose digital library on iPad – bookmarks, archives, annotations, notes, images, and screenshots. Collect everything, find fast, share easily, and access anywhere.
Scholarley is an unofficial Android client for Mendeley; which is a free and convenient application for managing your library of academic papers Scholarley has been designed for both Android phones and tablets.
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by Dropbox, Inc., that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, and client software. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder on each of their computers, which Dropbox then synchronises so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it.
Communication & Collaboration
Main purpose: the learner is actively engaged in learning with others, either formally or informally (students, tutors, co-workers, friends, family, etc) e.g. arranging meetings, discussing ideas, group work, peer feedback, co-production of knowledge, listening to others, summarising activities.
Google+ is Google’s Social Network. But Google+ is different to Facebook and Twitter in the fact it is more about data: it will be part of every Google product in the
Hangouts give you multi-way Google Talk chat features plus multi-way voice and video meetings with screen sharing, all with encrypted true-to-life video and high fidelity audio. Connect with multiple people around the world at the same time
Offer a more collaborative, interactive, and mobile learning experience that constantly evolves, and you’ll keep everyone engaged like never before.
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by Dropbox, Inc., that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, and client software. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder on each of their computers, which Dropbox then synchronises so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it.
A Social networking platform used to interact, create groups and for online chat.
A professional social media site used to promote work history, write references and interact.
Participate in Adobe Connect Meetings anywhere, anytime from your mobile device. Enjoy a complete mobile conferencing experience from your Android phone, Blackberry PlayBook tablet, or Apple iPhone or iPad.
Allows for synchronised use of presentations in the classroom.
With the use of hashtags, It captures tweets and performs live chats.
Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more
Your all-purpose digital library on iPad – bookmarks, archives, annotations, notes, images, and screenshots. Collect everything, find fast, share easily, and access anywhere.
Delicious is the place to collect and showcase your passions from across the web. Save what you like – videos, pictures, tweets, blog posts, or articles – on topics you enjoy and search through others’ collections of links to discover cool stuff.
Free voice and video calls to anyone else on Skype, whether they’re on an Android, iPhone, Mac or PC, as well as IMs to your friends and family, no matter where they are.
Authentic Activity
Main purpose: the learner is actively engaged in real world activities or situations reflecting the way knowledge will be used in real life e.g. role play, preparing, social discourse, observing and reflecting on activities, analysing, comparing and improving processes, working in different physical and virtual spaces; speaking, writing, recording, presenting, reporting, summarising.
Socrative brings smart clickers, student response and ease of use to a whole new level. Be engaged for the entire class with educational exercises and games. See all your classmates’ ideas in real time and interact with the responses. Provide your instructor feedback on the lessons and how well you understand the material. Ask your own poll questions for the entire class or build a premade activity for your whole class.
Rocklogger is a geological tool for measuring the orientation of rock outcrops. It uses the phone’s compass and orientation sensors to measure dip & dip direction, or dip & strike, in a single click.
GPS and magnetic field information can also be saved, along with details on the rock plane & type.
Record it. Break it down. Get better. Improve your pitcher’s fastball, straighten your golf swing, easily break down a volleyball serve, improve soccer skills, or even demonstrate weightlifting form. Coach’s Eye makes instant feedback possible on the field or on the go.
Notability powerfully integrates handwriting, PDF annotation, typing, recording, and organizing so you can take notes your way! Discover the freedom to capture ideas, share insights, and present information in one perfect place on iPad.
Keynote is the most powerful presentation app ever designed for a mobile device. Built from the ground up for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, it makes creating a world-class presentation — complete with animated charts and transitions — as simple as touching and tapping.
Get your point across with fewer words using annotation, shapes and sketches, so that your ideas become reality faster.
Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides.
Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more
Vine is the best way to see and share life in motion. Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see.
• Unlimited uploads and free
• Instantly post videos on Vine, then share to Twitter and Facebook (more coming soon!)
• Find, follow, and interact with people close to you
• Explore trending posts, featured hashtags and editor’s picks
• And so much more
Vine supports iPhone 3GS and higher.
A Social networking platform used to interact, create groups and for online chat.
A professional social media site used to promote work history, write references and interact.
SkyDrive is the place to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. With SkyDrive for Android, you can now easily access and share files on the go. You can also upload photos or videos from your phone to SkyDrive.
Google Drive lets you create, share and keep all your stuff in one place. Upload all your files – even the big ones – and you can access them anywhere, even on your iPhone or iPad. We’ll get you started with 5 GB free.
A social news and entertainment website where registered users submit content in the form of either a link or a text (“self”) post. Other users then vote the submission “up” or “down”, which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site’s pages and front page.
Great for work. Great for school. Popplet is a platform for your ideas. Popplet’s super simple interface allows you to move at the speed of your thoughts. With Popplet you can capture your ideas, sort them visually, and collaborate with others in realtime. Quickly and easily.