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"AUTHOR: ISSIE LAPOWSKY. ISSIE LAPOWSKY DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05.04.15. 05.04.15 TIME OF PUBLICATION: 7:00 AM. 7:00 AM INSIDE THE SCHOOL SILICON VALLEY THINKS WILL SAVE EDUCATION Click to Open Overlay Gallery Students in the youngest class at the Fort Mason AltSchool help their teacher, Jennifer Aguilar, compile a list of what they know and what they want to know about butterflies. CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED SO YOU'RE A parent, thinking about sending your 7-year-old to this rogue startup of a school you heard about from your friend's neighbor's sister. It's prospective parent information day, and you make the trek to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. You walk up to the second floor of the school, file into a glass-walled conference room overlooking a classroom, and take a seat alongside dozens of other parents who, like you, feel that public schools-with their endless bubble-filled tests, 38-kid classrooms, and antiquated approach to learning-just aren't cutting it. At the same time, you're thinking: this school is kind of weird. On one side of the glass is a cheery little scene, with two teachers leading two different middle school lessons on opposite ends of the room. But on the other side is something altogether unusual: an airy and open office with vaulted ceilings, sunlight streaming onto low-slung couches, and rows of hoodie-wearing employees typing away on their computers while munching on free snacks from the kitchen. And while you can't quite be sure, you think that might be a robot on wheels roaming about. Then there's the guy who's standing at the front of the conference room, the school's founder. Dressed in the San Francisco standard issue t-shirt and jeans, he's unlike any school administrator you've ever met. But the more he talks about how this school uses technology to enhance and individualize education, the more you start to like what he has to say. And so, if you are truly fed up with the school stat

You probably saw the title of this post and thought 'okay there's no friggin' way he's going to assemble a list of the best 50,000 education apps. But thanks to a partnership between Edudemic and FindTheBest, we've done just that. We've been working hard behind the scenes to build a robust directory of, as of this writing, about 56,000 education apps. But it's not just a list… it's a finely tuned directory capable of sorting out all the apps in ways not even available in the iTunes or Mac App stores. For example, you can now find out the average price of all education apps to see where your app falls. (Hint: the average price of an education app is $2.66)

You can build just about any app you can imagine with App Inventor. Often people begin by building games like WhackAMole or games that let you draw funny pictures on your friend's faces. You can even make use of the phone's sensors to move a ball through a maze based on tilting the phone. But app building is not limited to simple games. You can also build apps that inform and educate. You can create a quiz app to help you and your classmates study for a test. With Android's text-to-speech capabilities, you can even have the phone ask the questions aloud. To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app's behavior.

WOW! Very Scratch-like UI for programming Android mobile apps!!

The iPad (or iPod touch or iPhone) with its apps opens many new opportunities for learning. At the same time, it offers a slightly different wrapper for older learning opportunities. Both can be worthwhile, but it would be a shame if teachers missed the former for the latter. And, if past experience and research is any indication, educators are much more likely to co-opt the new technology to accomplish the status quo. This activity is designed to help teachers think through both opportunities and to categorize those apps that lend themselves to either or both. Teachers will start by exploring a variety of apps, some that lend themselves to learning content such as math facts or spelling words and others that can be used in open ended content creation such as storytelling or photography. Then, teachers will examine a set of lessons that use these apps. Finally, teachers will use a "taxonomy" such as Bloom's Taxonomy, SAMR, LoTi, ETaP, Prensky, etc. and attempt to classify/categorize where the apps fall. Most likely teachers will need to contextualize the app to a particular use/activity. Ideally, teachers will realize that in most cases it is not the app itself, but the use that detrmines where it falls and that the apps belong in multiple places.

I've started creating a table of important skills, some derived from the Padagogy Wheel, and actions, some derived from iPad As… What I am planning to highlight is that there are many apps that can be use for many purposes and for developing many skills. For example, I have already added "Explain Everything" to 9 categories as I see it as a multifunctional app and one worth its price because of the educational benefits it provides. Over the coming months I plan to add text descriptions to each category to explain how the apps listed address the skill or action they have been linked to and may also link them to other online sources that show them in action. I'll also provide direct links to the App Store, as I always do on this blog when I mention apps so you can check them out yourself if you want. Now this sounds like a big task and it is. So I do need some help. What do I want from you? Anything you can give. Just add them to the comments of this post. Examples of apps that help to develop specific skills Additional skills I haven't listed here Examples of apps that are multifunctional. Explanations of good pedagogical practice with apps. Don't worry, all credit will go to you when I include your suggestions. Links to blog posts, websites, Youtube tutorials, open wikis, nings etc that promote good practice that I can link to from here. Examples on add ons like bookmarklets for curation sites, websites that work well with iPads ( Flash-free) that can still be categorised under these headings for iPad use. Spread the word regularly through Twitter, Facebook, Curation sites like Pinterest and Scoop-It to keep educators coming back.

Gary Toews has put together the below list of useful education apps as recommended by the STaRT Education Department. On this page are nearly all the apps I'd personally recommend to anyone looking to outfit their iPad, iPhone, or other device with free apps perfect for their grade level.

EXCELLENT SITE!

Lists of apps for k-6, teachers and parents

Google Apps Education Edition is a broad IT solution that schools can use to bring communication and collaboration tools to the entire academic community for free. Google manages all the technology details, so you can focus your time, energy and budgets on teaching your kids. Students, teachers and staff can share ideas more quickly and get things done more effectively when they have access to the same powerful communication and sharing tools. Google Apps Education Edition lets tech administrators provide email, sharable online calendars, instant messaging tools and even a dedicated website to faculty, students and staff for free. There's no hardware or software to install or maintain, since everything is delivered through a standard web browser -- anytime, from anyplace.

"As I started a go-to list of the best educational iPad apps for kids, the list got so long, I split up my posts into categories. So, today we'll start with my favorite iPad apps for literacy - reading and writing for toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age kids. Also, I've included special needs iPad app resources at the end of this post."

Ways to Evaluate Educational Apps

"I tried to make my rubric work for the broadest range of apps, from drill and practice to creative endeavors, while stressing the purpose for using the app. My rubric also emphasizes the ability to customize content or settings and how the app encourages the use of higher order thinking skills."

"This is a list that comprises some of the best math apps and extensions in Chrome store. We have literally gone through hundreds of apps to finally decide on the apps that would make the cut.These extensions are meant to help kids develop math skills through a wide variety of exercises, activities, games, interactive simulations and many more. Some of these apps are integrated with Google Drive and are also available for  iPad, Android, and Chromebooks."

"My EdTechTeacher colleagues Beth, Greg, and Tom have been pouring over educational apps. Lots and lots of apps. As practitioners, their instinct is that the vast majority of educational apps are terrible. Shovel-ware. Flashcards. Garbage. Tens of thousands of them."

Great list of Android apps for education - 93 in total - sorted by Pre-k, elementary, Middle School, High School and "apps for everyone.'  Some interesting (and new) apps to try!

This ipad app gives you 100 idea prompts to great your children thinking and writing. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/things-to-think-about/id664670576?mt=8 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English

Technology has been trying to 'revolutionize' education for a long time now. The mistake we've been making all along is placing all of the focus on the least important component of the revolution - the tech itself. It's where all the money goes and then what? Nothing left to actually ensure it's going to make the difference we want, with the the people we want to impact - the teacher and the student. It's happened all throughout education tech history in recent times. The film projector, the photocopier, the typewriter, the desktop and laptop computer, data projectors, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras were all heavily invested in ( and many still are today ) to bring engagement and improved teaching and learning to the educational world….But talk of the revolution is still going on. And now we have the tablet. The iPad has begun a new "education revolution" and now the obligatory opposition tech companies have joined the battle. The question has to be asked - are we again starting from the wrong end of the battle lines? Is the iPad (inserted alternative tablet if so desired) the real catalyst or is there so much more to this than money spending school systems can see beyond the new and shiny? It's why I ask the question: Is it the iPad, the App or the User?

This article has ten of the best educational iPad apps to use in the classroom. Most were designed specifically for the iPad platform, but all of them have educational uses for the classroom. There is something for everyone here, from preschool all the way to high school.

A directory of apps created by Apple Distinguished Educators

APPitic is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to help you transform teaching and learning. These apps have been tested in a variety of different grade levels, instructional strategies and classroom settings.

Directory of apps in education

Apps for children with special needs

A great variety of iPad apps specifically collected for students with learning differences. All of the ones I've checked out so far are free or under a dollar.

"What are the best apps for teachers? We asked TED-Ed Innovative Educators and the TED-Ed community. Below, 25 awesome apps recommended for teachers, by teachers."

A great app to support teaching and learning spellings. Updated.