Teacher+Productivity

Need a timer? A random name generator? A place to store anecdotal records? Wish you could use your iPad instead of depending on your laptop so much? We'll look at many apps that can make your role as an educator simpler. As time allows we'll match iPad apps with Marcia Tate's 20 Instructional Strategies to engage and motivate students.



 **Sand Timer** (free but can pay to ads removed) Students are often familiar with the sand timer since they are included in many games. For that reason you might want to use a sand timer with smaller children.  **Classroom Timer** (free) The maximum time that can be set on this timer is 1 hour.

 **Giant Timer** This app includes a timer and a stopwatch.

 **Timer+** (free or $2.99 to remove ads) The beauty of this timer is that you can present several timers and then use them as needed. For example, if you have silent reading everyday for 20 minutes you make a timer for silent reading. Later in the day you might set a timer for independent work. Whatever kind of schedule you have you can easily preset your activities. This video shows how to set the timers. media type="youtube" key="ONF_ArO9MHE" width="432" height="264"

**Stick Pick** ($2.99) You can use Stick PIck just as you've used popsicle sticks with student names on them. But for almost $3.00 that seems a little ridiculous. However, it has more great features. The teacher can tie the elements of Bloom's Taxonomy to each student. There are questions that are tied to each student's ability level. Here's a great blog post about Stick Pick.

Visit the QR Code page of Buhler's iPad Launchpad for ideas on using QR Codes in the classroom.

NeoReader (free) This reader will scan QR codes. I have found that with this scanner students can sit in the back of the room and scan a code on the screen. Other scanners do not reach that far. This is something you'll have to experiment with. QR Code Maker (free) With QR Code Creator you can create your own QR codes! Just what you expected right? You'll see that this is a very simple way to create codes, these can be messages or URL's.



Confer ($14.99) Ouch, that's a bit pricey. This video demonstrates some pretty awesome features of this app. Wish there was a free one so we could just give it a try! media type="youtube" key="oJd8eZC_hrY" width="420" height="315"

Evernote (free) Evernote is an easy-to-use, 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. You can also share notebooks for collaboration with your PLC.

GoDocs ($4.99) See all of your Google Docs in this app. Only synchronize the ones you need.

Other Apps to check out! NeoReader - for scanning QR codes QR Code Maker - making your own QR codes Evernote - great for anecdotal records and portfolios iBooks - collections and PDF's Music Notes Sheet Music Viewer - must have an account with Musicnotes.com Make Dice - create your own dice with student names, fractions & decimals, etc. Common Core Standards - just an app so you can have the CCR standards readily available Microphone & Recording - use your iPad as a microphone while teaching Infographics - You can't make infographics but you can view several iPromptPro - this is like a teleprompter iVoice - audio recording Safari - save Webclips to Home Screen PaperDesk - my favorite app! Record lectures, take pictures, keep anecdotal records Readability - cleans up a noisy article online - removes adds, pictures, etc. Create a readability account and you can share documents from your computer to your ipad Print Friendly - cleans up a website page like readability so it can be printed or added to another app such as notability YouTube - great educational videos AccuWeather - great app to use with students JoinMe - share your screen with someone else (do not have to be on the same network) == Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites Wiki == As a result of studying Marcia Tate's work, Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites, this wiki was created. Each page contains a strategy for teachers to use in lieu of so many worksheets. For each strategy you'll see technology tools, websites, iPad Apps and resources to help teachers know and understand the strategy and to help them use more technology in their classrooms.