Apps I'm Traveling With: iPad for Content Creation

Fresh off a 12 day trip to Europe where my research team presented a paper at the SSSR 2010 Conference, I wanted to share the different iPad apps I traveled with. I loaded the device with a variety of apps and media that I hoped would allow me to be productive during the trip. It was my hope to use the iPad the entire time in place of the MacBook Air I normally rely on during travel. In the interest of full disclosure, I did have the Air with me. (Hey, you ALWAYS need to have a back-up plan!) Also important to note, while I did use a 3G model during the trip, the AT&T data service is not accessible in Europe, which limited the availability of some apps at certain times.

My iPad strategy for this trip was to use the iPad for both Creation and Consumption purposes. I really wanted to try to be productive during the 6-7 hours of both flights, not just spend the time watching movies and listening to music. I also wanted to diligently eliminate all that paper-based clutter (and weight) from my satchel, i.e., take text files with me rather than carry books, magazines, paper copies of articles and printed PDFs. I’ve created a Google spreadsheet to share direct links to the iTunes App Store of all the apps I will share. The spreadsheet also includes a brief overview of the ways I find myself using each app and the cost of the app. This time around, I really tried to keep things free, but I did decide to try a few Paid apps. Currently, I have around $12 - $15 invested in the apps that will be showcasing. This post, we’ll focus on the apps I targeted for CONTENT CREATION.

Many of you are probably familiar with Evernote, but I have to start with this app. This free resource is essentially a word processing app that syncs your files to your cloud-based account, making them available from virtually any and all devices. It is a must have. You install it locally on all the devices you want to access files from. It has a Mac & PC client, a web-based client, as well as mobile versions for Blackberry, iPhone and iPad. The nicest feature of the mobile app is that it allows you to edit while you're off-line and sync back up when you are able to connect to a wifi signal. It's really a nice productivity app and I found myself using the iPad edition quite a bit in the absence of a full blown Google Docs option. I took notes at the conference with Evernote, kept track of important addresses associated with travel, and even used it to jot quick notes to myself during thoughtful dinner conversation with my colleagues.

Next up is the Dragon Dictation app. This is another free application for iPhone and iPad. It's a speech-to-text app that allows me to dictate into the iPad microphone and then either copy and paste or e-mail the resulting document. I’ve been using this handy app quite a bit in conjunction with Evernote as I write blog posts on the iPad. The only real drawback with Dragon Dictation and the iPad is that with current OS, there is a lack of multi-tasking so you can not keep both Dragon the Evernote open synchronously to complete the CUT/PASTE regimen. It really is a bummer, but the convenience of dictating voice notes can be extremely useful in some situations. Because of the need for a network connection, Dragon Dictation only worked for me when I was connected to a wireless network at the conference center or my hotel.

For blogging purposes, I was set with the WordPress app. I’ve posted some thoughts about this app here, and I still find it a pretty decent blogging tool. The biggest problem I had on the trip had nothing to with the app and everything to do with motivation. I just didn’t ever really feel like blogging, so I didn’t. I think part of the issue I always have with blogging is the fact that I can’t write short posts. I always tend to be too focused too focused on writing a perfect post, with beginning, middle and end rather than tossing my thoughts out there on a series of short posts. For those quick hits, I normally find myself using Twitter and Twitpic on my Blackberry. Whatever the case, for blog post creation, I had intended to use the WP app. On my next trip, I’m going to try to blog at least once.

Perhaps a bit of a stretch for a creation app, but then again, perhaps not, textPlus was something that I found myself using a lot. The cost prohibitive nature of enabling my Blackberry for usage in Europe left me without text messaging and IM services, which I rely on heavily to communicate to my family, or so I thought. In the days prior to leaving, I heard about textPlus, and handy app that allowed me to send SMS text messages to mobile devices that were back in the U.S. You can import contacts from your iPad into this app, or add your own manually. I used this app extensively to communicate with contacts during my trip. It would have been even more productive if I could have accessed the 3G network.

The final app on the creation side is RDM+. This handy little app enable remote desktop capabilities. Basically, it puts all the creation tools I have on my desktop machine accessible to me via the iPad. This handy app allows me to access multiple workstations, like my home office iMac, work MacPro, laptop, etc. from my iPad as long as each device has installed the free companion RDM+ desktop software. I used this app frequently while at the conference and in the hotel to print a document for a co-worker back at the office, or locate a local file and email it. It takes some practice with the app to really get the hang of “clicking” and selecting icons from your remote machine, but I eventually figured out that tapping the screen activates your single left mouse click, and using a two finger tap allows you to right click. Once I mastered this technique, I was able to access and use Photoshop to edit a digital image and upload to my Facebook account. At the time I purchased RDM+, it was a mere $6.99. Since then, it has been raised to $9.99, but worth the investment.

So there you have it, five apps that I found very helpful for content creation on my iPad while I traveled. I’m happy to say that with a combination of these apps and the Safari web browser, I was able to use my iPad about 99% of the time I was abroad. In my next post, I’ll be talking about apps I used for CONTENT CONSUMPTION, some of which enable creation.

TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack

App Title: TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack Grade Level: Pre-K - Grade 3 Description:

At the heart of early literacy experience is the storybook, which marks the young children’s entrée into literacy around the world. Its powerful role in literacy development is well documented in family literacy and early education. A staple of the bedtime (or nap) routine, the storybook shared between adult and child mediates what Don Holdaway referred to as an emerging literacy set: high expectations of print; models of book language; familiarity with written symbols; print conventions; listening skills; and de-contextualizing abilities (e.g., imaging) (Holdaway, 1979). Substantial research supports the claim that storybook reading prepares children for the learn-to-read process (Bus, 2001).

Roskos, K., & Brueck, J. (2009). The eBook as a Learning Object in an Online World. In A. Bus & S. Neuman (Eds.), Multimedia and Literacy Development (77-88). New York: Routeledge.

TumbleBooks is a popular eBook provider to schools and libraries across the country. Their TumbleBooks Library, an online collection of animated, talking picture books offers over 300 titles for elementary age children to access. Recently, TumbleBooks has launched a mobile arm, TumbleBooks ToGo. From the TumbleBooks website:

TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books that feature text, narration, animation, and sentence highlighting! They make reading accessible and fun, and are a great tool for early readers seeking to improve their reading skills. 

TumbleBooks is the leading publisher of online interactive animated picture books for children. Tumblebooks have been enjoyed by children for over ten years and currently distributed through over 10,000 schools and libraries across North America. TumbleBooks are created from existing picture books from North America's biggest and best children's publishers such as Chronicle Books, Charlesbridge Press, Annick Press, Simon and Schuster, and many others.

Robert Munsch is the author of over 50 popular, children's books including I Have To Go!, Thomas' Snowsuit and Love You Forever. His stories have delighted children, parents and educators for over 30 years. In the TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, users are presented with an opportunity to experience 6 classic Munsch titles in one tidy little app. Stories included in this app are: 50 Below Zero, The Fire Station, Wait and See, Pigs, Something Good and Mud Puddle. All the stories in this app are read by the author himself!

Purpose: A

The electronic equivalent of the storybook is the eBook and it is proliferating as a reading source for young children in a media-saturated world. Most major publishing houses, and many major libraries now offer eBook collections for young children. eBooks, like those available in the TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack app offer a completely new reading environment for early reading experiences at a very young age.

Program Functionality: C

The downfall of this app lies within this category. Subscribers to the TumbleBooks Library will be familiar with the TumblePad, which provides basic "player" type features such as PLAY/PAUSE button, FORWARD/BACK buttons, MUTE and an AUTOMATIC/MANUAL mode. When using automatic mode, eBook pages turn by themselves while they are narrated. Manual mode deactivates the narration and allows young readers to turn the pages on their own.

Unfortunately, users of the TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack app will not find these TumblePad features available. Instead, all six storybooks play much like a Quicktime movie would. While PLAY/PAUSE is possible, there is no way to turn the pages. Also, the AUTOMATIC/MANUAL modes and MUTE features are noticeably missing from the app. One prime feature that the app does retain, is the highlighting of the text that is being read. In this case, each sentence read is highlighted. If the full features of TumblePad were incorporated into TumbleBooks mobile apps, I would be willing to consider a higher rating in this category.

Overall Educational Value: B

Reading aloud to children at an early age is important for the development of reading skills. Children with strong reading habits and access to books at home often learn to read at an earlier age, which can lead to more success in school. With the addition of TumbleBooks ToGo into the literacy environment, a new take on a sound pedagogy will provide valuable learning experiences for children both in the classroom and at home.

Recommendation: I recommend this app for personal use and school use at this time. I feel this app would be most appropriate to supplement or enhance classroom instruction. Children will benefit from teacher or adult modeling of use, but most early elementary students should be able to operate independently after their first interaction with the app.

Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: Reading aloud good books is both a tradition and favorite activity in the classroom. Developing background knowledge, increasing comprehension skills, and fostering critical thinking are all important reasons to incorporate the read aloud strategy in your classroom. Additionally, teachers can model the use of reading strategies that aid in comprehension for their students during a read aloud session.

TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack is the perfect app for teachers to use with students as a follow-up to their traditional read aloud session. I'd recommend reading one of the six titles in a whole or small group setting with your students. Follow-up this read aloud experience with independent re-readings of the corresponding title from the Munsch 6-Pack. Research has shown that independent reading builds fluency, leads to increased vocabulary development and builds background knowledge.

Cost: $5.99

Developer Website: http://www.tumblebookstogo.com/

iTunes Link: Click Here

Be sure to check out our Ning (Online Community) devoted to helping teachers utilize iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad to the their fullest. Please leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or have other creative uses for this app in the classroom or at home. Cross-posted at IEAR.org

Word Magic - Show #37 and Brueck Review #2

Grade Level: Early Elementary

Program Functionality: B
The app is easy to navigate from an interface standpoint, but it loses a mark for its lack of text or audio instructions.

Purpose: A
Word Magic has a very specific purpose, which challenges emergent and early readers to identify individual letters and letter blends to complete a partially spelled word.

Overall Educational Value: B
Word Magic provides teachers with some opportunity to differentiate instruction by shifting focus from BEGINNING/MIDDLE/END sounds and also LETTER/BLEND based on individual student need.

Cost: $.99

Recommendation: I recommend this app for personal use and school use at this time. I feel this app would be most appropriate to supplement or enhance reading instruction. Children will benefit from teacher or adult modeling of use, but most early elementary students will be able to operate independently after their first interaction with the app.

Creators Website: http://www.anusen.com/website_wordmagic.html

ITunes Link: Click Here

Hey, check out our Ning (Online Community) devoted to helping teachers utilize these devices to the their fullest. We hope to bring app developers and educators together to make truly educational apps.

brueckei.org Integration Suggestions:
Class Lab
Small Group
Partners: Beginning Sounds Game Show
2 students:1 iPod
Students take turns playing the roles of the contestant and game show host. Children can sit on chairs or floor, but should be facing one another. The host holds the iPod out of view of contestant. Play begins with the host declaring either BEGINNING/MIDDLE/END to the contestant, depending on the game setting. The host then names or describes the picture that Word Magic displays. Contestant replies with the letter that is missing from the BEGINNING/MIDDLE/END. Host then reveals the iPod to contestant and taps the contestant answer into the app to check for accuracy. If answer is incorrect, then contestant can use the letter clues that the Word Magic app provides to select a follow-up answer. Host touches in subsequent answers and checks for accuracy. Play continues until contestant collects a reward on the Word Magic app (5 correct answers). At that point, students trade roles and follow the same sequence.
Limiting factors: Sound. Although there are no verbal cues presented with the picture in the app, both auditory feedback is provided after the student selects a letter.
Individual: Skill & Drill


This has been another I Education Apps Review. I’m Jeremy Brueck from brueckei.org where we are dedicated to Helping educators meet the changing demands of 21st Century teaching and learning.