Utility Apps
Finally! I found a digital plan book that I actually like and will use. Planbook.com has a website and apps for mobile devices so you can create, edit, and manage your lesson plans from anywhere. You can copy, and paste, bump lessons, forward and back, add extra classes, cancel classes, and more. It is color coded and visually appealing, without being overbearing. It does cost $12 per year, but they offer a free 30 day trial. I did the trial this year and I happily handed over my $12 after trying it out.
Remind 101 lets you send text messages to students and/or parents en masse without you seeing their phone numbers or them seeing yours. Texts only go out, for safety reasons and so you don't have to manage another in box. The app assigns you a phone number. Recipients send an initial text to the number and they become part of the group. You can even schedule messages to be sent later. (free)
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Skitch lets you annotate photos and PDFs with arrows, text, stamps, shapes, and highlights. Simple to use to prepare images for videos, presentations, or just planning. (free)
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Notability gives you great versatility in your note taking. Combine handwriting, audio, text, PDF annotation along with Google Drive and Dropbox sync. A nice spot for brainstorming. ($1.99)
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Penultimate is a handwriting app similar to Notability but with fewer features. (free)
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Numbers is a spread sheet app with 2D and 3D table and chart graphics that look quite nice. It's expensive so consider using the chart feature in pages if you don't really need the full functionality of a true spread sheet app. ($9.99)
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Tools4Students and Tools4Students2 each have sets of twenty-five graphic organizers. Students fill them in and then can easily export them via email or upload as a PDF to Edmodo, Google Drive, or other classroom management site. ($0.99)
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ReadNRespond is a comprehension app organized according to Bloom's Taxonomy. Each level has 20 somewhat generic questions. Students choose one, type in the answer then share via email, Edmodo, etc. Not what I'd use for everyday in-class work, but great for when there's a sub or you just want accountability that a reading assignment was actually completed. ($0.99)
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Dragon Dictation is a simple to use speech to text tool that is great for users who have difficulty typing. It works well in combination with text creation apps like Pages or Evernote. Be aware that it will have difficulty with accents and speech impediments. (free)
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Reflector mirrors your iPad (or iPhone) via AirPlay to your computer, and therefore to your presentation screen. Use it in conjunction with a screen casting tool like Camtasia to record the lesson as you give it. The app is free, but the computer software (Mac and Windows) is $12.99. This may be expensive, but they have a good education discount and it's a far sight cheaper than an Apple TV for $99.
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Board Cam lets you manipulate your document camera or interactive white board from your mobile device so you aren't tied to the computer or the board. Roam around the room during lessons and allow students to participate from elsewhere as well. ($4.99)
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Class Dojo is a behavior management program with some useful features. Create your class(es) on the website, then choose/modify the positive and negative behaviors for monitoring. I go heavy on the positive and lump negative behaviors into just a few catch-all categories. You monitor behaviors and then use the stats, individual and whole class, for reflection. You can also add parent emails so detailed weekly behavior reports are automatically sent to parents. (free)
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