Education

Learning with Lynda.com on iPad

by on in Education, iPad, iPad in Education

Screen Shot 2013-01-23 at 19.25.53

Even if you have been following trends in online education only casually in recent years, you will have noted that the advent of the iPad (and rivals) has opened up many avenues towards new interactive and mobile learning methods. It is sometimes hard to believe that we once lived in a world where Youtube, Khan academy or TED Talks were unknowns or did not enjoy broad appeal. Coupled with the popularity of iPads and the beginning of the Tablet Age, we are now in the lucky situation of being able to find a video tutorial or range of online courses on a vast array of topics. With quick and easy access to these platforms, we can educate both ourselves and children using our mobile devices. [click to continue reading…]

Share this:

Kikstart: A Great iPad User Guide App

by on in Education, iPad App Reviews

Kikstart for iPad

Kikstart is a learning app for anyone who is brand new to the iPad and wants to get to know it better, and for those who have been using the iPad for some time but would like to learn to use it more effectively and get more out of it. It’s published by BCS, the UK’s Chartered Institute for IT – and is the first app I’ve seen that offers an assessment exam and an official certificate to show a recognized standard of competence in using the iPad.

There are a number of apps and books that set out to help new iPad users learn as this one does. I always find these apps interesting – partly because I want to see if I can learn any new tricks and more so because I have a number of friends and family members who are newer iPad users and I like keeping track of good resources to share with them.

So I’ve spent a good amount of time going through Kikstart from start to finish to see how it stacks up as a tool for getting started with and getting the best out of the iPad.

[click to continue reading…]

Share this:

Review: Robots for iPad, Hurray Robots!

by on in Education, iPad App Reviews, Our Recent Favorites

Robots for iPad

Robots for iPad is a new iPad app that promises to help us ‘Discover the amazing world of robots with this fun and engaging app’. I’m happy to say the app does a great job at delivering on that promise. It offers a fascinating look at how robots have become reality and are already enhancing our lives. 

Notes

The app is published by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers) and has a very impressive set of features. Here are some of the most notable:

• Meet 126 robots from 19 countries
• View over 500 spectacular photos
• Watch hundreds of videos of robots in action
• Learn how to get started in robotics
• Read detailed specs and articles about each robot
• Listen to audio interviews with leading roboticists
• Keep up to date with daily robot news
• Optimized for Retina display
• Works on any iPad model, including the iPad mini

[click to continue reading…]

Share this:

PaperHelper: iPad App Splits the Screen for Document Writer and Web Browser Combo

by on in Education, iPad App Reviews

PaperHelper iPad app

PaperHelper is an interesting and impressive iPad app from a pair of teenage developers. It offers a writing app and web browser app rolled into one and seems to be aimed primarily at students writing essays. Here’s a little slice of its App Store intro:

Writing essays just got simpler! With PaperHelper, You can have your source and paper right next to each other.
PaperHelper uniquely splits your iPad screen in half providing you with a Internet Browser and a Document writer.

The initial promo email for the app caught my attention because it was a well-written approach from a 17 year old who is the co-CEO of RumbleApps, the publisher of PaperHelper. The other co-CEO is 16. As impressive as that is, it wouldn’t generally be enough to write about an app – but a quick look at the App Store page for PaperHelper had me interested enough to install the app and take a look. And I’m glad I did.

[click to continue reading…]

Share this:

Review: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for iPad

by on in Education, iPad App Reviews

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum iPad app

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was released last week on the iPad App Store. It’s great time to launch the app as we’re now at the mid-point of the MLB season and it’s All-Star week. In fact, the app is currently on offer at a ‘special price’ of $1.99 to mark All-Star week.

Here’s a little excerpt from the App Store page for the app, that gives an intro to the museum that the app celebrates:

Founded in 1990, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM), located in the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District of Kansas City, MO is a privately funded, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rich history of African-American Baseball.

Through the inspiration of Horace M. Peterson III (1945-1992), founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America, a group of local historians, business leaders, and former baseball players came together to create the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Now the museum brings you an app to learn even more about a key time in American history surrounding the league and all of the great players involved, players like Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Jackie Robinson, and many more.

As Buck O’Neil once said, “Man, could we play!”. And they could.

[click to continue reading…]

Share this:

Review: My PlayHome for iPad

by on

There is little my now-3-year-old daughter enjoys more than dressing her toys up and swapping all their clothes. She also enjoys making imaginary cups of tea (I am British remember) and food for us all. My PlayHome is quite a simple little app. The people as you see them in the picture here are fixed [...]

Read the full article →

Review: Dinosaur Zoo for iPad

by on

Dinosaur Zoo for iPad is pretty much just what the name implies – a zoo full of dinosaurs as an iPad app. And who doesn’t love dinosaurs? I’ve never met a kid who didn’t, and not too many grownups either. Here’s part of the app’s intro in the App Store: Time to start your own [...]

Read the full article →

Qwiki for iPad delivers Wikipedia on speed

by on

I try to keep an open mind when test driving an app for the first time. The 3 main questions going through my mind are – what does the app do? Does it do it well? And, will I use it?  I apply these three basic questions to any app, whether it’s being heralded as [...]

Read the full article →

Why the iPad will change education as we know it

by on

(image source: http://www.ninjamarketing.it) When I was in high school, we lugged really heavy and expensive textbooks around e.g. Gardner’s Art through the Ages (Amazon link), our backs bearing their combined weight during our commute. Now in 2011, a student’s life is being transformed to adapt to the digital age (at last). As we’ve seen since the [...]

Read the full article →