Learning to Love the iPad (and Apple)

Rejoice!  Huzzah!  Apple Inc.  (a publicly traded company) has released the Iphone 6.  Please.  RIGHT MEOW!!!! Take my money!  All of it, for one of your shiny new devices.  This amazing technology will surely propel my thoughts to Zanadu and beyond.....How can I live without it???

I don't own an Iphone.  I don't want to.  I don't own any Apple hardware.  My employer has generously provided a work device called an iPad that I am to master in order to bring forth learning from its magic screen into a world of possibilities....or something like that, but I'm still not sold.  However, the iPad and Apple sold someone with a lot higher  pay grade than me on the software and hardware so I will lick the boot soul of Steve Jobs all the way to maintaining a monthly salary.

Truthfully there is a great deal to love about Apple.  (did I mention it is a publicly traded company).  The hardware is second to none and the software...well...its ok...(see IOS 8....)  Where the iPhone and iPad really shine in  software, however, has less to do with Apple itself and more to do with the developers creating amazing Apps, especially for the education market.  The following are some quick reviews of 5 of my favorite ed apps so far.

 Explain Everything: Woah. This thing has blown me away. Easy You-Tube uploads, image configuration and screen casts. A class flippers must have. Also a great deal of potential with student created projects.

Notability:  Pay to play but worth every shilling.  You can't do notes on the iPad without it.  Grab a stylus and get to work.  Anything and everything can be marked up and completed with Notability, couple it with a good scanner App for max digi classroom/ student fun.





Google Drive:  Unlimited cloud storage for schools, collaborate in real time, continuously improving, collaborate anywhere, FREE.  Enough said.










Adobe Voice:  A simple yet robust way to create with the iPad.  Tell stories using pictures, take learning to the next level.  Another one that is exciting because of the potential for student created "stuff".

Apple I-Work Suite:  Ok Ok, Apple software works best on Apple devices!  So they made a sweet suite that is just as good as anything Microsoft is crankin out these days.  Apple is popular because it just works, and so do there software offerings.  As long as you pay lots of monies, (did I mention Apple is a publicly traded company)?