To start:
Set up a Kahoot account at kahoot.it 

How it enhances learning:
Good for quick revision at end of topic or module

Students can generate their own quizzes for peers

Quizzes stored in your kahoot account so once lesson is prepared it can be reused

Students enjoy the competitive/gaming feel of the app

Points to note:
Preparation of questions in advance necessary

Use sparingly; students rush to guess the correct answer rather than reflect.

Consultation:
T Ormond, Y Crowley

To start: 
Get the Socrative Teacher app from App Store 

Set up a Socrative account 

Make sure the Socrative Student app is running on student devices

How it enhances learning: 
Good for quick revision at end of topic or module

Students can generate their own quizzes for peers

Quizzes stored in your Socrative account so once lesson is prepared it can be reused

Reports automatically generated in pdf/excel format

Formative feedback generated when incorrect answers given

Points to note:
Preparation of questions in advance necessary

Make sure to ‘shuffle’ questions and answers to avoid students guessing the correct answer rather than reflecting

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: movie editing

To start: 
Ensure that iMovie is set up on iPad

Practise making your own imovie using the “How to make a short iMovie” video on SharePoint/Staff Area/TEL/ipad guidelines 

How it enhances learning:
Allows students to ‘curate’ their own projects.

Publication of students’ movies motivates high standards of drafting and preparation.

Voice recording allows students to practise oral literacy/pronunciation.

Combination of audio, visual and textual content engages multiple learning styles

Points to note:
Planning is necessary – preparation of images, voice, text and audio needs to be scaffolded and structured

Students’ voice recording onto projects needs planning as multiple rooms will be in operation simultaneously.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: Web Browser

To start: 
Tap on icon

How it enhances learning: 
Allows students to independently research.

Enables higher order work to take place; reflection, problem solving, interpretation, imagining, critique become important once the work of gathering facts is ‘outsourced’ to web.

Points to note:
Planning is key: students’ use of web needs to be integrated into a well-structured lesson.

Instructions need to be clear and concise.

Critical literacy is necessary so as to use web judiciously

Consultation:

Type of app: Presentation app

To start: 
Tap on icon

How it enhances learning: 
Students use the app for presentations – complement to oral skills, drafting, researching. 

Allows students to ‘curate’ their own projects.

Public display of students’ work enables  high standards of drafting and preparation.

Points to note:
The app is for presentations so it works well with “screen mirroring”. To use screen mirroring your PC needs to be on the ACADEMIC server and be running mirroring software such as Lonely Screen.

PowerPoint equivalent; however, you need to practise with it to get used to its features.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: Personal Cloud Storage

To start:
Students/teachers need to have a name@deansrathcc.ie email address to access this app.

Practise uploading materials to OneDrive using the “Uploading to OneDrive” video on SharePoint/Staff Area/TEL/ipad guidelines 

How it enhances learning: 
Students use this app to store and access course materials.

It facilitates students in building up a digital portfolio of work:

Images, videos, keynote presentations, pages documents, notes etc. can be uploaded to OneDrive directly.

Points to note:
This app is best used on 1:1 devices. It is a part of Office 365 and so students will sign into all of the Office 365 apps at the same time on the same device.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: Quiz making app

How it enhances learning:
Good for revising a topic
Students enjoy this app.
Enables 'flipped' lessons and autonomous learning as students can work on quizlet from home.

Points to note:
Students must register first.
Set up of matching exercises is time consuming at first but you will have the quizzes to reuse.

Consultation:

Type of app: Literacy Training app

To start:
Get the word brain app from the appstore

How it enhances learning:
Students find this app challenging and enjoyable
This app lends itself to autonomous learning in the classroom.
Puzzles are have integrated formative assessment - hints and solutions are available 

Points to note:
Ads can pop up.
Puzzles can be very absorbing.

Consultation:
J Black

Type of app: photographs/video

To start: tap the camera icon

How it enhances learning:
Has been used in multiple ways in Deansrath:
Students photograph the whiteboard.
Students in Maths class taking photographs of shapes in the physical environment, using images to perform calculations.

Points to note:
Planning is vital. Mis-use of the camera is likely if clear, concise, time and outcome - specific instructions are not given

Consultation:

Type of app: 
News Feed and quiz app and website. 

To start:
Set up an account on buzzfeed website or get the app from the appstore. 

How it enhances learning:
Content can be tailored to students' interests and so articles relevant to any subject area can be accessed.

Points to note:
Planning and supervision required as some content may not be age appropriate.

Consultation:
Y Ormond

Type of app: 

How it enhances learning:
App records various sporting techniques (for example, students' badminton serves) so that they can correct any mistakes.
App enables group & pairwork as students can work 1:2 or 1:3 to assess one another's various techniques.

Points to note:
Time consuming if activity is teacher led. As mentioned, this app, once students become competent in its use, enables group and/or pair assessment.
 
Consultation:

Type of app: Coding App

To start: 
Sign in to iTunes U with your apple ID.

Search for and download Swift Playgrounds Learn to code 1, 2, 3

Tap on swift icon and follow instructions.

How it enhances learning: 
Problem solving skills – students learn to ‘decompose’ larger problems by breaking them down into more manageable  units.

Clarity of thinking: the coding course encourages taking a step by step, logical approach to challenges.

The course is well differentiated and allows for a high degree of student autonomy; more advanced students can work ahead while other students are given integrated, specific and graded formative assessment as feedback.

Points to note:
If you are new to coding it is advisable that you try one or two tasks before starting.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: Colloboration 'wall' app

To start:
Get Padlet from the app store.
Padlet works from Safari but the iPad app works well

How it enhances learning:
Padlet can used to collect students'  responses to given questions or tasks which can then be mirrored or otherwise presented.

Allows teacher/student and student/student collaboration.
 

Points to note:
Planning is key as without clear and concise instruction students' contributions can consist of one or two words or emojis.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: Mind Mapping app

To start:
Get Popplet from the App store

How it enhances learning:
Allows students to 'map' out connections - sequential, causative, process etc.

Points to note:
App is free. Exportation of mind maps in PDF or image format.

Can be a but 'tricky' to control the positioning of the text boxes. It is essential that you practise with the app.

Consultation:
O Power

Type of app: 
Record Keeping, Student-teacher Collaboration app.

To start:
Get  OneNote from Appstore.
Sign in with Office 365 account.
Students need to have @deansrathcc.ie email addresses
Set up class notebook by admitting students to the notebook via that email address.

How it enhances learning:
Collaborative use
You can correct students’ work in their own notebook section of OneNote.
You can see everything that students put in their notebooks - secure, safe and efficient workspace.
Very handy to put resources directly from Office documents on PC directly to OneNote...powerpoint, word etc.
OneNote has an integrated Quiz making component.

Administrative use
I use the OneNote App to record class progress. 
Basically a visual digital teacher's diary. 
I set up a Class Note Book for every class and record and date activities on a daily basis. 
Sometimes upload notes and photos or solely photos. 
Really easy and quick to do.

Points to note:
OneNote can be used as a teacher's diary and also, as a collaboration space. If used as a collaboration space students need to be given @deansrathcc.ie email addresses.

Takes time to set up course content but can be re-used.

Consultation:
C O’Gorman, D Fitzpatrick, O Power

Type of app: 
Interactive Game

To start:
Get the app from the appstore

How it enhances learning:
Draws on students' Problem solving skills
Helps students develop Numeracy skills
Demonstrates elements of Fiction - plot, character, setting etc
Helps students develop time management skills.

Points to note:
Planning for lesson must anticipate pauses in game due to avatar's finite supply of in-game energy and money.

Consultation:
Y Ormond

Our ongoing learning to do with iPads in Deansrath Community College has taught us that iPads can both impair and enhance teaching and learning.  The following general guidelines are intended to enhance teaching and learning when using iPads.

 

Be clear in our instructions to students regarding iPad use  -  the devices are best used for short periods and for clearly defined purposes.

Plan so that the intended learning outcomes are paramount – iPads will not teach for us.

Use the instruction “screens down” so that students do not stray into unproductive uses of the iPads.

Expect and be tolerant of the occasional technical glitch – the technologies involved (iPads, wifi infrastructure, Cloud resources etc)  are actually quite reliable in Deansrath, however, technology might not always work perfectly – please inform ICT coordinator of any issues.

Please book class set iPads using the iPad booking form accessed either through SharePoint or VS Ware.

Use the SSE/Digital Innovation Self-Evaluation forms so that we can collaborate to enhance our use of iPads in the college.

You don’t need to spend any money. The really useful apps that are already on our iPads  – keynote, iMovie, Pages, OneDrive, Socrative, Padlet, Popplet, Geogebra and many others – are all free.