Oh man! There are so many apps out there! I love looking through apps - cruising over to iTunes just to look around - kind of like window shopping through the screen of my computer! They always look so shiny and cool. Apps literally take me right back to the toy isle when I was a kid. There are apps for EVERYTHING! It's awesome! In some ways I totally feel cheated! How cool would it have been to have apps when we were growing up? Create your own story online and illustrate it with your own digital drawings! Then download it to your online bookshelf! Then order your own personal hardcopy? And to think, I just had a box of crayons and some paper.
The potential I see in using apps is tremendous, especially when I look at helping my own two boys. I can't even imagine what technologies they will be using by the time they are in high school. In addition to reading nightly, we will spend some time on an iPad or iPod working on word or math games and I am constantly amazed at their level of proficiency in working the technology and learning the skills embedded in the apps. Apps are another great tool to help in the learning process and in keeping kids challenged and engaged. It is just a matter of finding the right apps for your situation.
A few apps that I use consistently are from Hudl, QR Reader, and Gas Buddy.
Hudl is a web-based program for coaches and players to access and work with video and data online. We use it in our football program to break down game film, edit clips for our position groups, and send email and text messages to players and coaches. The things it enables us to do to prepare for Friday nights is unreal. We have won games simply because of the preparation it allows us to do. The app lets us take that with us anywhere we go. I can pull up game film on my iPhone and start breaking down the opposing team even before I get to the meeting room!
QR Readers are just cool. They allow you to upload more information about the product or services and take you deeper into what ever it is you are checking out. There are many different kinds of QR Readers to choose from. I am hoping to have my kids create QR codes in my classroom and post them around the school or community. I think that would be a neat project.
Gasbuddy is an example of an app that I use in my personal life. When you punch in your zip code, it will show you the closest gas stations and where the best prices are. With gas prices as high as they are, it's always nice to have that on hand. Without that app, there is no way you would be able to know what stores have the best prices in your community.
While I am enamored with apps for all they offer in convenience, fun, and learning, I still am troubled with being able to sort out the best of the best and find the specific apps that will be most beneficial to me in an educational and professional setting. I really like the idea of using Dropbox and Evernote, but once again it requires yet another login and password and it will take time to figure out how to operate the site. Sometimes I am so busy that I don't think I will have the time to sit down and figure out how to operate and utilize it to its fullest potential and I don't want to create logins on these sites and then never go back. That thought process sometimes prevents me from trying out new apps that could help improve what I do as a teacher. So while I love the potential of apps I sometimes have a hard time embracing it... I wonder if there is an app for that?
Make it a great day!
DG
The potential I see in using apps is tremendous, especially when I look at helping my own two boys. I can't even imagine what technologies they will be using by the time they are in high school. In addition to reading nightly, we will spend some time on an iPad or iPod working on word or math games and I am constantly amazed at their level of proficiency in working the technology and learning the skills embedded in the apps. Apps are another great tool to help in the learning process and in keeping kids challenged and engaged. It is just a matter of finding the right apps for your situation.
A few apps that I use consistently are from Hudl, QR Reader, and Gas Buddy.
Hudl is a web-based program for coaches and players to access and work with video and data online. We use it in our football program to break down game film, edit clips for our position groups, and send email and text messages to players and coaches. The things it enables us to do to prepare for Friday nights is unreal. We have won games simply because of the preparation it allows us to do. The app lets us take that with us anywhere we go. I can pull up game film on my iPhone and start breaking down the opposing team even before I get to the meeting room!
QR Readers are just cool. They allow you to upload more information about the product or services and take you deeper into what ever it is you are checking out. There are many different kinds of QR Readers to choose from. I am hoping to have my kids create QR codes in my classroom and post them around the school or community. I think that would be a neat project.
Gasbuddy is an example of an app that I use in my personal life. When you punch in your zip code, it will show you the closest gas stations and where the best prices are. With gas prices as high as they are, it's always nice to have that on hand. Without that app, there is no way you would be able to know what stores have the best prices in your community.
While I am enamored with apps for all they offer in convenience, fun, and learning, I still am troubled with being able to sort out the best of the best and find the specific apps that will be most beneficial to me in an educational and professional setting. I really like the idea of using Dropbox and Evernote, but once again it requires yet another login and password and it will take time to figure out how to operate the site. Sometimes I am so busy that I don't think I will have the time to sit down and figure out how to operate and utilize it to its fullest potential and I don't want to create logins on these sites and then never go back. That thought process sometimes prevents me from trying out new apps that could help improve what I do as a teacher. So while I love the potential of apps I sometimes have a hard time embracing it... I wonder if there is an app for that?
Make it a great day!
DG