Favorite Apps

• 5 Apps for Making Movies on Mobile Devices (Edutopia, 2014)

  This article highlights five different apps that can be used to make movies with tablets. Students can create high-quality videos that show off their creativity as well as their understanding of a topic. Their final product can be used as an assessment or shared with the entire school community.

• 20 Awesome BYOD and Mobile Learning Apps (Edutopia, 2014)

  If you're teaching in a BYOD setting or using a class set of iPads with your high school students, check out this comprehensive list of apps. Edutopia blogger Vicki Davis describes how each app can be used in your learning environment and offers tips for BYOD classrooms.

• 5 Apps to Supercharge Your Study Productivity (Edudemic, 2014)

  Great for busy teachers and those looking to model organizational skills for students, this list offers tips and apps aimed to increase productivity. High school students can benefit from using cloud-based file storing as well as the note-taking and time-management apps described in this piece.

• Mobile Learning: 6 Apps and Web Tools for High School Students (Edutopia, 2012, reviewed in 2014)

  In this list, you’ll find iPad apps that can be used with students in grades 9-12. These apps promote student engagement across the content areas and can even be used to assess student understanding. There are extra resources for SAT test prep as well as ideas for note-taking and using iPads in a science classroom.

• 6 iPad Apps for Creative Writing (Edutopia, 2014)

  High school English teachers can choose from this list of low-cost iPad apps when using technology with their students. There are strategies for gathering ideas for new stories and ideas for how to publish your students’ creative writing. This list includes a mix of resources for students of all ages.

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Best Practices

• Teacher Reviews New Student Participation App (Edutopia, 2012)

  Edutopia blogger Matt Hurst describes how GoSoapBox can be used in the classroom to promote student engagement and help teachers assess their students’ prior knowledge of a topic. High school students can use iPads to respond to their teacher’s questions using this web-based tool.

• iTunes U (iPad in Education, from Apple)

  If you’re working with high school students who have access to an iPad, then iTunes U is just what you’re looking for. This fantastic course platform gives teachers the power to organize class work and assignments for their students. If you aren’t ready to build a course yourself, check out the resources available in another teacher’s iTunes U course and share that content with your students.

Engaging Activities

• Travel the World from Your Classroom: Free iPad Apps for Virtual Fi... (Edutopia, 2013)

  This list provides an overview of nine, free apps for virtual field trips that can be used in your high school classroom. Instead of asking students to research a destination by looking in an encyclopedia, these apps can give teens a new appreciation of Gettysburg, wildlife, and outer space. Apps for virtual field trips are a great choice for all subject areas.

• One Best Thing (iTunes)

  This brand-new collection of iBooks, written by Apple Distinguished Educators, includes iBooks that outline engaging activities using technology and several that focus specifically on working with high school students. You can read them straight from your iPad to gather ideas on how to reach students using technology. Browse the whole collection; or check out these selections, which are perfect for high school teachers:

  •  If Shakespeare Could Tweet: Transforming Literature with iOS, by Lawrence Reiff
  •  Photographing History: Archiving With Apps, by Cheryl Davis
  •  The Art of Prediction: Publishing Digital Weather Forecasts, by Eric A. Walters
• Using Tablets to Teach Sensitive Subjects  (Teaching Channel, 2013)

  In this video from Teaching Channel, a teacher uses tablets in the classroom to help students talk about tough subject matter. Instead of jumping into class discussion (where they might be hesitant to share), students use a screencasting app to record their thoughts. A teacher’s guide and supporting materials accompany the video