A question that comes up a lot at the Hub meetings and on social media is the question of what are the best apps to use on iPads in the classroom? So... below is a list of apps that have been tried and tested at my school and are currently used lots. Also included are apps that have been highly recommended by other schools...
Spark Adobe
This is a fantastic app for allowing children to share/present writing outcomes in a more interesting and engaging way. The app has built-in templates that are easy for the children to follow and, once published, the outcomes look professional and slick!
Green Screen
When producing Stop-Motion films, our favourite iPad app is
Green Screen. Choosing this app came after a lot of trial and error when trying out suitable apps, but this one is fantastically easy to use as well as consistently reliable. It also hosts a range of built-in features that make it a must-have for producing stop-motion films!
Stop Motion
This is an alternative to the Green Screen app. It is an easy to use app that allows the user to create stop motion movies and also includes useful built-in features. Good, but not as polished at Green Screen in my opinion.
Morfo
Morfo is a brilliant app I saw being used in a classroom a couple of months ago. It was being used as part of a History and English lesson where the children were being asked to write the dialogue for an interview between themselves (as reporters) and historical here, Sir Francis Drake. The Morfo app allows the user to upload an image of someone onto the iPad which can then be easily manipulated so that the eyes, nose and mouth can move. The fact that the mouth can move is brilliant because as the user speaks into the iPads microphone, the mouth reacts and looks as though it is speaking. This app can also record the speaking and alongside the use of the iPads built-in camera whole conversations can be recorded and edit together to produce an interview! When I watched the lesson being delivered, the children were unbelievably engaged! A fantastic use of the app!
iMovies
An essential app for movie making! It is an Apple classic and remains one of the most used and reliable apps for editing and producing movies. It can be used alongside iMovie software on a Mac (if you have one) or simply used on the iPads itself. iMovies has an enormous amount of built-in editing features as well as some great professional looking templates which can be sued to produce fantastic outcomes that the children will be both amazed and proud of!
Accelerated Reader
For schools that use Accelerated Reader to support the reading, then this app is essential as it provides students with instant access to the enormous online quiz database allowing children to quiz instantly once books have been completed. A must-have for Accelerated Reader schools!
Garage Band
This is one of my absolute favourite apps that I use both in and out of the classroom! If you've not used it before, then it is a must (especially if you're trying to embed technology into the teaching of Music)! The Garage Band app is full of built-in music features that allows the user to quickly and easily produce their own musical creations.
Scratch Jr
This app from Scratch is aimed at KS1 children as is great at introducing the basics of block coding. It has an easy to navigate screen and is ideal for schools looking to use technology to start the teaching of coding and algorithms in KS1...
Comic Life 3
A fantastically simple to use app that allows children to
publish writing ideas in an engaging and more interesting way. As with most apps, it has easy to use templates built and is loved by children (and adults)!
Book Creator
Again, another great app that can be used to share writing outcomes. A simple and easy to use app that the children love as it makes their work look instantly amazing! :)
Bee Bot
This is an app that can be used alongside physical Bee Bots as it uses all the same controls and ideas. A great app for KS1, especially as the children, love them built in scenarios and games.
Tynker
Like Scratch and Scratch Jr, this app teaching coding through blocks. The great (and most engaging) part of this app is the many
game-based scenarios that are built in (including Minecraft!). A great to have and use, especially for teachers who are not too confident when delivering Computing. This also an app that is used lots at the Apple Store and is highly recommended by them.
Swift Playgrounds
This another comprehensive app teaches coding through fun,
game-based scenarios. It comes highly recommended by a number of schools and teachers within Plymouth as it covers so much of the Coding elements of the Computing curriculum! Again, a great app for those not confident in teaching Computing, but want to ensure coverage is being met.
Times Table Rockstars
The must-have app for schools that use TT Rockstars to support the teaching and learning of times table skills. A great app!
To sum up... as said at the beginning, this list has been compiled through trial and error and recommendation, but what's missing? Feel free to suggest more and i'll add them to the ever growing list...
