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One area where the iPad and other tablets have lagged behind is with web apps. While Safari on the iPad is a modern, quite capable browser, many web apps are difficult to use with fingers, and can run very slow on slower processors. Over the past year, though, more and more web apps have been designed or updated to take advantage of the iPad's features, including multitouch, gestures, and mor

If you're not already using Dropbox - you should. They had a developer conference and will likely end up everywhere in every app. Some very cool things coming. Just like Evernote - who has a powerful "trunk" features where developer work is showcased - Dropbox is going to find that opening up to development opens a whole new marketplace and ingenuity beyond what they have in house.  Some info from the wired article.  "But after all that single-mindedness, Houston and Ferdowsi now want to let their baby sing. Today, at Dropbox's first-ever developers conference, the company is officially launching a new set of coding tools designed to push Dropbox into every corner of your digital life. Not content to stay sequestered inside the box, the company's co-founders are unveiling ways for developers to meld their service with every app on every device you own. For the first five or so years of its existence, Dropbox was synonymous with its "magic folder." Save your files in the Dropbox folder on your computer, and they "magically" reappear in your Dropbox apps on your phone and tablet and in your Dropbox account on the web. Now, if developers take to the company's new tools, the service will escape the confines of this folder, fusing with third-party apps running on practically every computer and smartphone operating system. Houston wants Dropbox to become the "spiritual successor to the hard drive." He says the hard drive needs to be replaced because so many of us are doing so much computing on devices that don't fit the traditional paradigm for working with files. Users don't interact with files on iOS, Android, or the web the way they do on PCs. Apps don't have "open" or "save" options that launch a separate window where you tap through a folder tree."

This is a superb site for creating mobile browser apps online. The builder is quick and easy to use with lots of functions to include. You can continue to update and tweak your app. It's a great way for your class to begin making apps before they move on to full coding. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

This is an iPad app and site where you can create video tutorials on a virtual whiteboard on an iPad and share it on the web to view on any device. The site has a extensive bank of shared tutorials from other educators on a range of topics, including maths, science, English, languages and more. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

IF you tweet or share a to a lot of apps, this app, Drafts will connect to just about anything. Type it, then decide where to send it, or you can save your most inspirational items to tweet, Facebook, or wherever later. It links with evernote, twitter, facebook, app.net, email, messages, calendars, dropbox, evernote, bufferapp, toodledoo and more (as well as ifttt.com integration.) I'm still learning about all the ways to use this handy tool. The only thing I wish it did is that I could add to it from the web and then see it on my ipad.

This is a great game app for learning Chinese Pinyin, simplified Chinese and Mandarin. Play the Scrabble-like game by arranging your tiles on the board to form Pinyin words. Choose a character and the correct meaning to gain extra points. Play against friends on the web. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinyinpal-only-free-mandarin/id573873383 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Mandarin+%26+Chinese+culture

For this list, we've collected educational apps from a variety of categories that can replace popular commercial software. In many cases, the open source options listed here offer features that aren't matched by their closed source counterparts. And while we limited our list to 50 apps, you can find many more on the Web.

This is a presentation creating app for iPads. Enter a few titles and pieces of text and the app finds stunning images for you to choose from to add to your slides. The finished creations use html and can be viewed on most web enabled computers, tablets and mobiles. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

This is a 'must try' iPad app where you can design a 3D creature. Tap, drag and pinch your creation until it is just right and then 'paint' it with the patterns you want. It's a great resource to use alongside creative writing or science work. If you have access to a 3D printer you can even fabricate your design. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/123d-creature/id594014056. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

This is a fun programme and control iPad app where players must programme the crane to move the boxes into the correct configuration. It's a great way to introduce the basics of programming to your class. Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cargo-bot/id519690804 to download the app. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

This is a great iPad app which lets users design and play simple games by drawing the character and backgrounds. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sketch-nation-studio/id506337826 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

This is a great iPad app which lets you make amazing games with the minimum of coding experience. Use the pre-made characters and props or make your own using your camera or gallery images. Control the behaviour of each item to make some intricate games with a flick of your finger. Your designs are only limited by your imagination. Share your games with others at the click of a button. Download the app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/GamePress/id637370800?mt=8 http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Create micro-courses or find them and learn from them. This is the web app for Coursmos but there are also apps for your phone, etc. This might be an interesting thing to do with students to have them create demos, etc. about how to do tasks. Very interesting.

"Sharendipity is a web based creativity suite where anyone can build and deploy engaging and interactive web applications. Go. Build something wonderful today. Free creation tools inside the browser Integrate third-party web services No programming required Deploy your apps anywhere on the web"

There are some cool new features in the Kindle app - in addition to xray and notebook (previous feature upgrades) you have multi-colored highlighting, brightness sync across devices and a prompt to rate a book when finished (I like this one because, perhaps, more REAL people will rate amidst many book reviewers who are either biased for or against an author for undisclosed reasons.) Update that iOS or Droid Kindle app or whatever device it is on. 

twitter apps site full of twittery goodness

Twitter apps site

Microsoft has announced an initiative as part of the ConnectED movement in the US. Here are the details: "Windows 8.1 Pro Operating System: One of the most powerful and flexible operating systems for education, it provides the ability for students and teachers to use education apps and Microsoft Office, search for information across their device and the web, and is optimized for touch, education apps, research, productivity and digital inking, critical keys to better learning outcomes. Office 365 Education Communication and Collaboration Tool: Email, sites, online and offline document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing capabilities for all you students for free. Plus 5 copies of Office for free for more than 12 million students at qualified institutions. Partners in Learning Network Teacher Training and Resources: Partners in Learning provides educators with a network of nearly 1 million educators from 136 countries. It offers them a forum where they can share ideas, find free lesson plans to inspire classroom learning and develop professionally. Bing for Schools Ad-free search: An ad-free digital literacy platform aimed at helping students learn important digital skills based on access to a connected computing device, daily common-core aligned lesson plans, and a safe, private environment where search history will not be mined for data. Student training and resources: Microsoft IT Academy: For roughly 2,000 high-needs schools, Microsoft is providing academic institutions and their educators, students, and staff with digital curriculum and certification for fundamental technology skills. Affordable Broadband from EveryoneOn: A critical component to connected learning, Microsoft's non-profit partner EveryoneOn is offering home Internet service for as low $10 to the 36 million Americans living in low-income communities."

This is a wonderful photo designer site with a range of web apps. Design a photo collection using the 'PhotoBox' tool which uses a range of templates by Upload images or finding photos lots of places online. Make a mini poster with the 'Thoughts' app. Design a 'verses' poster where you set two things side by side. You can also make collages, photo piles, edit images with PicMonkey and many more. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Photos+%26+Images

Amazing Apple and Android app which allows you to take a poll from your class instantly using the camera on your device. Your students simply hold up the symbol for the multiple choice answer they wish to give. The app logs how many answered each choice, but also who chose which answer - Making assessment and feedback easy. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Free apps for students, and others