Apps-itizers May 2013

Welcome to the Icy Tea blog with stories from the technology front at ISL.

Did you miss the Apps-itizers? Don't worry, there will be a next time.

On Friday after school, we held our second Apps-itizers session where colleagues showed an iPad app which would be of interest to others.

We're not sure how to spell Apps-itizers yet.

Apps-itizers is part of the Meet and Greet in the Library event at which Upper School teachers are introduced to the latest of the resources which are continually added to the collection. It is also a TGIF occasion: look out for the next one.
During Apps-itizers, volunteer colleagues show and tell about their App discoveries. Since it is a TGIF social event, we do not confine ourselves to educational apps. On Friday, we ranged from Geography through Worldwide Radio to Wine. Below are the apps which we presented. Click on the links for more info, or talk to the presenters.

ShowMe presented by Steve Weatherell. Upload a picture, record your voice describing  and annotating it and then share it with your students or colleagues. It's FREE.

Explain Everything presented by Tanya Irene. This app is very popular in one-to-one iPad schools. Teachers or students can record their presentations of ideas and share them.

TuneIn Radio presented by Nicki Crush. Travel round the world in sound with your iPad. From UK to Luxembourg to South Africa, listen to music and talk radio live. It's FREE.

Magazine iPad apps presented by Marion van Engelen. Many of the library's paper subscriptions are also available online. Read The Week, The Economist, and others on your iPad. See the library wiki for information about how to access them (ISL staff and students only).

Geo Master Plus presented by Zak Lawrence.
The ultimate Geography quiz. Do you know where the world's capitals are? Point to them on a map and earn points. Have fun as you learn.
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Instatube presented by John Ertel. Instatube is a full featured video player that supports YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion videos allowing you to seamlessly stream content to your iOS device. You can create playlists for all your favorite movies giving you instant access to your most watched content.

Vivino presented by John Ertel. With your iPad or smartphone, scan the label of a bottle of wine and get information about it as well as rating it yourself. It's FREE.



MyScript calculator presented by Steve Weatherell. As a Physics teacher, this is the app I've been waiting for. Write the calculation with your finger on the iPad screen and get the instant answer (no more button-pressing). It deals with most of the functions we use, and it even reads my handwriting. If you want to email your calculation to someone, it does that too. It's FREE.


Thanks to Nicki, John, Zak, Tanya, Marion for their bravery and presenting skills; to Barb for lending us her library and Nancy for her great support.

After the Apps-itizers comes the main course.