iPad Apps for Small Liberal Arts Colleges

Several institutions in the NITLE Network will be experimenting with iPads in fall 2010. A frequent question NITLE has heard: what are the standard apps that work well for teaching and learning and for faculty? To shed light on this question, we’ll be using UserVoice to help the community identify the most popular answers.

Please submit app names, and briefly describe their application, then use your 10 votes to prioritize the apps that you feel work the best for teaching and learning.

Which iPad apps do you recommend for teaching and learning at small liberal arts colleges? What is the standard starter set for iPads given to faculty?

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    1. Dropbox

      Can be used to share files among your own computers (including the iPad) and with others.

      30 votes
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      • Evernote: Useful for persistent note taking with desktop & iPad apps that synch.

        Evernote is free; There are desktop clients, as well as clients for the iPhone and iPad. Notes can be tagged for organization. This is more of a productivity tool, but it could be useful for faculty work or student note taking.

        28 votes
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        • GoodReader

          Great for reading and acquiring PDF files. Download via Web or DropBox. Works well with iAnnotate. Better for managing PDFs on the iPad.

          24 votes
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          • iAnnotate PDF

            Great for reading and marking up PDFs. You can email marked up PDFs directly from the application.

            21 votes
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            • SoundPaper

              Lets students type and record the lecture, very helpful for those who are visual/aural learners. Also, helps them to concentrate more on the lecture, instead of frantically trying to write down every word.

              11 votes
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              • Documents To Go

                Docs to Go allows you to read and edit Microsoft Office files. At present, it is the only Office-wannabe that allows you to at least read footnotes and diacritics, and doesn't strip them.

                9 votes
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                • Popplet Lite

                  Simple to use mind mapping software - quick interface to use for brainstorming

                  6 votes
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                  • 2Screens Presentation Expert

                    2Screens - Presentation Expert
                    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2screens-presentation-expert/id370913954?mt=8

                    This is an amazing app! This app costs $4.99 but is well worth the price. Initially we investigated this app because it can use the video output to connect to a projector. After researching further, this app is all you will ever need to do a projector based presentation from the iPad.

                    Basic features:
                    First and foremost this app is a web browser. You can type in a URL and save them to bookmarks for later visits. It has a crude pointer that you can turn on/off to point to specific parts of the screen,… more

                    5 votes
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                    • 4 votes
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                      • 3 votes
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                        • Zenbe Lists

                          A "to do" list maker that easily syncs across platforms (I have two laptops, an iPhone and an iPad). It's very simple, which I prefer to the fancy lists -- this is just like writing it down on a sheet of paper. It allows you to create what time-management people call "closed lists."

                          3 votes
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                          • 3 votes
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                            • Sugarsync

                              Like Dropbox on steroids. Sugarsync synchronizes files between different computers, so your home and work computers always match, and has an excellent iPad app that lets you access your files anywhere, edit it, and put it back online where it automatically suncs with your regular computers. Unlike Dropbox, your files stay in their original folder structure (though there is a 'Magic Folder' as well that does what Dropbox does). It's free if you need less than 2GB of storage and reasonably priced for larger sets. With Sugarsync, I can always get to any of my files through any computer, my… more

                              3 votes
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                              • GoSkyWatch Planetarium

                                Google Sky Map for the Droid is an awesome application, and this seems to mimic that functionality for the iPad. Hold your iPad up to the sky, and the app shows you the stars and planets you're viewing.

                                3 votes
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                                • SpaceTime 4

                                  Mathematics app that gives iPad much of the power of Mathematica/Matlab.

                                  3 votes
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                                  • Twitterrific

                                    A great Twitter client, useful in aggregating course Twittering or links

                                    2 votes
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                                    • eclicker host

                                      Allows faculty member to collect data via a clicker using the ipad-students have to download the eClicker application. eClicker Host app costs $9.99

                                      1 vote
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                                      • 1 vote
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                                        • iMinder

                                          Syncs with HiveMinder on desktop or laptop computer. Tagging, group sharing, and task assignment features. A powerful complement to EverNote that makes to-do lists easily manageable. Like EverNote, free version available. And available for iPhone, iPodTouch, and iPad.

                                          1 vote
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                                          • Readdledocs

                                            Like iAnnotate but without the bells and whistles. I prefer this pdf reader for annotations and notes, and syncs with dropbox.

                                            1 vote
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                                          • iPad Apps for Small Liberal Arts Colleges

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