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iPhone and iPod apps for Schools

iPhone and iPod apps for Schools

Following the creation of the Teaching UK iPhone application, I decided to investigate other apps that might be useful for teachers and schools. As well as finding some wonderful new applications, I also found lots of really useful iPhone+education related sites:

  • Educate 2.0 is an application for teachers, giving them access to timetables, student data, teaching strategies and elearning tools. Find out more in this Youtube video:

  • iPhone for Kids is a wonderful blog which shares ideas and advice for ‘iParents’… those parents who want to give children opportunities to use their iPhones. It shares useful applications and offers advice, much of which will also be helpful for teachers.
  • The Random Activity Generator generates thousands of learning challenges for students to try. There are over 50,000 combinations of activities.

  • There are lots of language applications which would be useful for MFL classes. Free French Tutor is the most popular free education app at the time of writing this, but lots of other language apps are available.
  • Don’t forget that podcasts are also a wonderful teaching tool for pupils, whether you are making your own or downloading / listening to those made by others.
  • I also use these applications in my own classroom occasionally:
    • Ambiance – An ‘environment enhancer’ which lets you find / download / play a wide range of audio which can be played whilst children are working, or to set the scene as part of role play / drama activities.
    • Announcer – A fun app which lets you play announcements by the voiceover man from lots of popular TV shows. Some of them are not appropriate for use in the classroom, but imagine your pupil’s surprise when they hear ‘Ladies and Gentlemen… please welcome… that’s right… fabulous’ (etc) played out occasionally through your classroom speakers when connected to an iPhone.
    • Memiary – We use the online version of Memiary to record five achievements every day. This app lets you record this information using your iPhone / iPod (I’m also helping to set up a version of Memiary especially for use in the classroom so look out for information about this soon!).
    • eduTecher – A wonderful tool which lets teachers find (and share) useful resources and web tools that can be used in the classroom.
  • BullyingUK have an iPhone app which shares the latest advice from the site for teachers, parents and pupils.
  • Many schools are now developing their own applications for teachers, parents and pupils to use. Take a look at this example from Porchester Junior school.
  • EducationApps produce a selection of mobile applications for teachers and students. At present, these cover GCSE Geography and AS Level Economics.

  • In the iTunes App store, remember that there is a section for Education applications. There is also a special ‘Apps for Kids’ area at the moment which is worth exploring.
  • Don’t forget the ‘Interesting Ways to use an iPod Touch‘ presentation on Ideas to Inspire.
  • Here’s a useful presentation which gives advice for managing the iPod Touch in the classroom. Thanks to Ian Williams for sharing this on Twitter.

View more presentations from guest59f879.

  • Claire Barnes has suggested Labyrinth and Labyrinth2 which allow you to develop levels on the website and then download them to the device. She also recommends mathemagics, brain exercise games, word games (e.g. Textropolis and Boggle) and MP3 stories which can be played using the iPod.
  • Finally, here’s a wonderful concept called ‘Phone Book‘. I’m not sure when or even if it’s available to buy, but it made me smile:

UPDATE – An ‘iPod Touch Conference‘ took place recently, allowing educators to discuss the use of these devices in education. The accompanying web site has lots of useful information, videos, links and discussions which are worth exploring. One of these includes a link to Apple’s own PDF guide to using iPods and iTunes for teaching and learning. Thanks to Julian Coultas for bringing this to my attention.

UPDATE 2 – I’ve also discovered an amazing Google spreadsheet which lists useful apps for different curriculum areas.

UPDATE 3 – Since writing this post, our school has received six iPod Touches which I’m planning to use in my own classroom. I’ve posted some initial thoughts about this project in a mindmap and PrimaryPad. I would love to hear your thoughts about these.

Do you know any useful iPhone applications that can be used in the classroom? Please let us know in the comments…

Posted in 1. Education News, Featured Articles, Recommended Sites, Resources3 Comments

Map of Outdoor Learning Experiences

Map of Outdoor Learning Experiences

Peter Richardson has started a ‘map of outdoor learning experiences’ (also known as MOLE) which teachers can use and contribute to.

The map, created using Google Maps, identifies opportunities for learning outside of the classroom, all of which have been contributed by other teachers. You can also add to the map yourself, sharing places that you have explored with your classes.

Here’s a video which explains a little more about the map:

Find out more on Peter’s blog or click here to view the map so far. This looks like a wonderful resource which is building all the time. Take a look at the map and don’t forget to add new places to it. It only takes a few seconds but the locations you add might give other classes a valuable new learning experience that they might not otherwise have known about.

Posted in Featured Articles, Geography, Recommended Sites, Trips0 Comments

Spelling Resources

Spelling Resources

Here are links to a selection of online resources which can help with the teaching and learning of spellings:

  • SpellingCity.com – Teachers can register on this site and add spelling words for their pupils to learn. Children can then try a range of activities and take part in tests.

  • SATs Spelling Tests@arsenalchris has added all of the spelling words used in KS2 SATs tests to SpellingCity and made them available for others to use. Mrs Aviss has also created a set of 10 spelling revision lists which will give more practice.
  • BBC Skillswise – The BBC have lots of spelling resources on their Skillswise site, covering a wide range of spelling patterns.
  • Youtube Spelling Bee – An interactive spelling bee is available on Youtube. Click on the correct answers to go to the next video. There is a prize at the end!

What are your favourite spelling resources?

Posted in Featured Articles, Literacy, Recommended Sites0 Comments

TeachingUK iPhone application

TeachingUK iPhone application

I’m really pleased to announce a new iPhone application for teachers. The app is called TeachingUK and it’s available in the App store now! The application is a really easy way for teachers to find the latest news (from this Teaching News blog) as well as the most recent additions to Teaching Ideas.

You can also browse the Teaching News and Teaching Ideas sites within the app if you want to see the content in more detail:

The app also allows you to browse the most recent tweets from the @TeachingIdeas Twitter account (which now has over 2,000 followers). To install the app, just visit http://bit.ly/teachinguk or search for TeachingUK in the App Store.

I am planning a future post about other useful iPhone applications for teachers. If you use any great education apps on your iPhone / iPod Touch, please get in touch by email or by leaving a comment below. Thanks.

Posted in Featured Articles, Resources1 Comment


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