Top 40 apps for learning and teaching - Mobile Special Interest Group – Jan 2013
Sections:

Audio

Smarter working

Anatomy

Images

NTU systems

Chemistry

Video tutorials/ screen capture

Communication (voice and chat)

Image banks

Online document storage and
management

Mapping and measuring

Astronomy

Timelines

Misc.

Spreadsheet

Note taking
Name of app
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
Audio recorder + email (or in
browser app)
Free for 3
mins of audio.
Amazingly straightforward means of getting audio online. Can
be a time saver for lecturers. Useful for:
Audio recording
Audio
PhoneBoo
(via a telephone)
In browser app
(widget provided)
AudioBoo
Pro account
£5 month.
iPhone & iPad
Android
Nokia (Symbian)

Interesting way of communicating with students

Group feedback

Anonymised individual feedback

Integrates with twitter (asynchronous audio discussion /
# tagged debates)

Widget for NOW
Online sharing
Windows Mobile (3rd party
app)
Android
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Mac & Windows desktop
Free for 5
mins of
recording
AudioNote
Note taking app that sync’s the audio to the Note you are
taking. Useful as a study tool for students in group work
scenarios:

Group work

Note taking in meetings

Narrated diagraming
Audio recording
Note taking
Study tool
Images
In browser based app
Browser add on’s/ extensions
(e.g. chrome + firefox)
Pinterest
Android
Free
Social bookmarking for images; allows you to create an image
board collaboratively.
Imagery
Online sharing
Great for info graphics and themed boards.
Allows sharing
iPhone & iPad
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Name of app
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
Android
Free
Sketching app that allows for intuitive painting and drawing.
With tools designed for professional artists, illustrators and
designers, the easy-to-use interface.
Imagery
Adobes mobile version of its industry-standard image editing
software. Photoshop touch is £6.99 at time of writing and is
consider a true mobile version being much more touch friendly.
Imagery
iPhone & iPad
Macs & Windows desktop
Image editing
Sketchbook Express
Android
Free
iPhone & iPad
Photoshop Express
Image editing
Snapseed is considered a better alternative by many and
worthy of a look at.
Video tutorials/ screen capture
iPhone & iPad only
Free
ScreenChomp
From the company that makes Camtasia (techsmith) this
software tutorial creation narrated and annotated documents.
Useful for creating short “lessons” with could be used to:

explain a complex concept

take a student through a study guide or an assignment

be used by students to explain to other how to do
something
Video tutorial
creation
Document
annotation
Many apps allow for mirroring and Reflector is one of these,
although the recording happens on a secondary (mirror) device
Online document storage and management
Android
iPhone & iPad
Macs & Windows desktop
Dropbox
Android
iPhone & iPad
Macs & Windows desktop
Free - limited
to 2GB initially
(ways to
increase by
enabling
features &
sharing with
friends, or
payment)
Very convenient (drag and drop) online storage and sharing
service.
Free for 5GB
amount of
storage
Google drive offers: collaborative authoring; document sharing;
cloud service; publishing; peer reviewing; group working.
GoogleDrive
Useful document sharing features image gallery functionality.
Ensure you are familiar with the terms of use for online
storage services and do take precautions, this article may
help
Collaboration
Online document
sharing
File storage
Cross device
working
An NTU specific Skydrive account would offer be an more secure
alternative.
Ensure you are familiar with the terms of use for online
storage services and do take precautions, this article may
help.
Online sharing
File storage Cross
device working
An NTU specific Skydrive account would offer be an more secure
alternative.
Spreadsheet
Requires iOS 5.1 or later.
Optimized for iPhone 5
Numbers
£6.99
Apple designed spreadsheet — with tables, charts, photos, and
graphics. Works with iCloud, so spreadsheets stay up to date
across all devices. Recommended by [1].
Data presentation
2
Name of app
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
In browser app
Free with
limited
Useful text, audio and image note-taking app which allows
sharing of notes between devices - via an account.
Note taking
Allows for document creation and document storage (word, pdf,
etc).
Document
storage
Evernotes tag line is “Remember everything”, it’s powerful
search and review feature makes discovering your notes and
documents extremely easy.
Cross device
working
This app allows you to annotate a PDF with typed notes,
highlighted sections, drawn markings, or audio clips of up to
one minute.
Document
annotation
Note taking
Android & iOS
Windows desktop & Mac
Evernote
iPad
$9.99 for iPad
Android
Lite version
free for
Android
iAnnotate
In browser app
Android
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Mac & Windows desktop
OneNote
Free on
Android
First 500
notes free on
iPad (£10.49
otherwise)
Online sharing
It can serve as a aide to markers who are short of time, even
extracting all of the feedback into email format at the end of the
process. The students you’re sending the work back to don’t
need to have the app themselves as you can save the file back
into a PDF, complete with annotations.
Notes are saved, searchable, and synced to OneNote apps on
your other devices. The OneNote app is available through the
Windows Store to customers participating in the Windows 8
Release Preview.
Note taking
Put articles, videos or pretty much anything into the Pocket app
which allows you to then view them .
Offline reader
Online sharing
Part of Office
suite on
desktop
Smarter working
In browser app
iPhone & iPad
Pocket
Android
Google chrome
Save directly from your browser or from apps like Twitter, Pulse
and Zite.
Android
Free
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Open tab/ windows syncing
Cross device
working
Mac & Windows desktop
User interface syncing
Internet browser
Useful for common, efficient, experience across all devices.
browser
In browser app
Android
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Pulse
Bookmark syncing
Cross device
working
Free
Pulse is an elegant news reading application for iPhone, iPad
and Android devices.
It incorporates colourful panning story bars and fills them with
content from sources you select e.g. news sites, blogs, anything
with an RSS feeds, in a pleasantly presented and intuitive
interface.
News aggregator
Cross device
working
3
Name of app
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
Android
Free basic
version
Access SharePoint sites via your mobile device.
NTU systems
Allows for document sharing, document management and wiki
authoring through any SharePoint site that you have access to.
SharePoint
‘NTUanywhere’ for your mobile device.
NTU systems
Allows you to access the University network and access your
shared drives (e.g. your M and H drive).
Remote
desktoping
Combined with Junos Pulse (above) 2X Client allows you to
control your NTU desktop PC with your mobile device.
NTU systems
NTU systems
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Shareplus
Playbook
Mac
Android
More feature
rich pro
version $20
Free
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
Junos Pulse
Android
Free
iPhone & iPad (iOS)
This is very useful for working with Microsoft Office and bridging
any functionality that is missing on your mobile device.
Playbook
2X Client
Mac
Online sharing
Remote
desktoping
Windows
Communication (voice and chat)
Android
Free
iPhone & iPad
Windows phone
Microsoft Lync
Online
communication
This app is limited to text chatting only, audio, video and
desktop sharing is not currently supported.
Nokia (Symbian)
Macs & Windows desktop
Android
NTU uses Microsoft Lync, you can download a Microsoft Lync
2010 app for your mobile device and stay in touch with those on
Lync while on the go.
Free
More than likely does not need an introduction. Skype is offered
as across most mobile devices and is free.
Online
communication
Free
Maps and views of places around the world. Recommended by
[1].
Mapping &
measuring
£1.49
World atlas from National Geographic. Recommended by [1].
Mapping &
measuring
£0.69
Calculates distance, area and elevation of routes drawn on
map . Recommended by [1].
Mapping &
measuring
iPhone & iPad
Windows phone
Skype
Nokia (Symbian)
Macs & Windows desktop
Mapping and measuring
Android
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Google Earth
Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
iPhone & iPad
Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
World Atlas
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
MapTrace
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Name of app
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
Android
Free/£0.69
App for measuring the angle, slope or inclination of an object or
surface. Recommended by [1].
Mapping &
measuring
£0.69
App which measures angles and gradients. Recommended by
[1].
Mapping &
measuring
Free
British Geological Survey giving geology of Great Britain - needs
web connection. 3D version also available.
Mapping &
measuring
£6.99
Make and present timeline charts from events. Recommended
by [1].
Timeline
Free
IBM digital recreation of a 50-foot-wide wall installation that
was part of the 1961 Mathematica exhibition designed by
Charles and Ray Eames. Interactive journey which illustrates
how mathematicians and mathematics have shaped the world.
Recommended by [1].
Timeline, Maths,
History
£2.49
Virtual & humane experience of dissection using 3D imagery.
Recommended by [1].
Anatomy, Biology
£2.49
Each of the 300 entries in The Human Body is illustrated with an
annotated colour artwork accompanied by text on the body
part’s function and an information table. Designed for medical
students but accessible to general user. Recommended by [1]
Anatomy, Biology
iPad.
Clinometer
Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
Angle Meter HD
Android
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
iGeology
Timelines
Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 6.0 or later.
Timeline 3D
iPad.
Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Minds of Modern
Mathematics
Anatomy
iPad.
Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Frog Dissection
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
The Human Body
Google Body Browser is free web browser based app and can be
considered as an alternative.
iPad.
Requires iOS 5.1 or later.
£4.99
Reference for human musculo-skeletal system. Includes
quizzes. Recommended by [1].
Anatomy,
Biology, Sports
Muscle and bone
anatomy 3D
5
Name of app
3D brain
Chemistry
Device
Cost
Description
Keywords
Android
Free
Rotate and zoom around 29 interactive structures. Each detailed
structure comes with information on functions, disorders, brain
damage, case studies, and links to modern research.
Anatomy,
Biology,
Psychology
Free
App for viewing and manipulating 3D renderings of molecules.
New molecules can be downloaded from database and
customisation is possible. Recommended by [1].
Chemistry
Free
Periodic table with lots of information on each element, e.g.,
atomic number, chemical family. Recommended by [1].
Chemistry
Free
Over 100 high-resolution historical maps from the 4th century
onwards. Recommended by [1].
History, maps
Free
This app was recently selected as one of the top 50 apps of all
time in Apple’s new Hall of Fame. Has 30,000 photos of
important sites worldwide. Created in cooperation with the
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Recommended by [1].
Image bank
Free
Collection of 100 top astronomical photographs taken by the
Hubble telescope. Recommended by [1].
Image bank,
Astronomy
Free
2D flat view of sky allows location of planets, also 3D
planetarium style view of the sky. Recommended by [1].
Astronomy
iPhone, iPod touch and
iPad.Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
Molecules
iPad.
Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Periodic Table of the
elements
Image banks
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
History: Maps of the
World
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 5.0 or later.
Fotopedia Heritage
Optimized for iPhone 5.
iPad.
Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Hubble Top 100
Astronomy
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
Planets
Google Sky is a class leader in this field.
Misc
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
£0.69
Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
Generates random numbers - can set range and generate
multiple numbers. Recommended by [1].
Random NumGenerator
- Recommended by Centre of Academic Development and Quality, Nottingham Trent University
Reference: [1] http://www.ipadineducation.co.uk/iPad_in_Education/Welcome.html
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