The Six Sides of Steve.

So. I’m at home today with a sick son and been wanting to write this article for some time.

This is basically a run down of the front page of my iPad. Many of these apps I use daily for my teaching, administration, inspiration and own personal development. The second page is just a list of folders full of apps that either didn’t make the cut or I use less frequently. Please feel free to add your own favourite apps in the comment section below.

Calendar is synced up to Google Calendar and I use it on a daily basis. All of my timetable is repeated through calendar along with key events that have been added though memos, sms and emails. I’ve tried various todo type apps but found them to complicated or needing continuous updating of events. The calendar is a great way to priortize key events and allocate time. I  simply write into the details anything that I need to follow up and it syncs with my Mac at home, Classroom (Chrome Browser) and iPhone calendar app.

Contacts come standard with the iPad. There are probably better contacts apps available but this one is the same as my iPhone and so since it is easy to use and has all my info already I haven’t changed it.

App Store is where I get my apps from and update my apps. The best way to find new and useful apps is to ask others who have the same product. Some apps like TeacherPal can be time consuming and it’s not until you ave seen them running that you can see how valuable they are. When faced with the decision of iPad or Android Tablet I almost bought a Droid Tablet. Come time to test the droid tablet out I found that it was very unstable and did not have the range or teaching / learning app yet the Apples developers currently offers. Of course this fact is changing rapidly and I suspect my next tablet PC will be Android.

Google search engine app is a very useful app to have. I did have it in a folder however I use it so regularly that it made the front page just for ease of access. I like its speech recognition but its definitely not perfect. Could be the Australian accent perhaps. Once synced with your Google account and the formalities sorted “I accept” then you can use Google Googles with has 100′s of applications within and outside of the classroom. I must admit I’ve still got my ‘L’ plates on but it is a lot of fun and students like fun things.

Camera is iPad is ok. It’s not the best camera in the world but it works. Mostly I use it to record information. Perhaps notes I have written on the board. Students doing fieldwork, profile pictures, record a classroom incident (rubbish left on a floor / writing on a desk) or just video tape a message to a blog or email. The camera is used most regularly on my iPhone as it is more portable however having facetime and the front facing camera is good for conferences and google “Hang outs”. I don’t keep a “Photos” app on my front page as you can access the photo folder from within the camera app.

WordPress is a quirky app that has its glitches. If you can you should publish from a computer but at a pinch you can easily publish from the app without too much hassle. The iPad dosen’t lend itself to a lot of writing such as an article like this one unless your a patient person or have a bluetooth keyboard. Regardless this app is used by me regularly as I maintain a number of blogs and need to make corrections on a regular basis, upload images, video or simply post an activity.

Diigo (Bookmarker) is still in beta but the beauty of this app and web 2.0 website is that when you bookmark a website using Diigo (or the Diigo app in Chrome) it automatically syncs with the Diigo app. At a pinch you can list your fav sites, make them public or private and find them again by date or by tags. I’d highly recommend that if you do choose to use Diigo be sure to include tags into your posts for easy sorting when you need that little gem again. It also helps vistors find your fav sites based on their interests.

Google Earth has limited features in comparison to the PC / Mac install from Google but it does do some cool stuff. The tilt function to oblique views are very cool and it seems to load maps much faster than the computer which is bloated with layers of add ons. You can add layers or remove them however the pinch and twist navigation from place to place makes it very intuitive in its use. It caches information well so you can load maps data and images prior to use and access them later. Wifi is the best connection to have but with patience 3g (tethered from my iPhone) works well also.

Google+ is (possibly) the next big thing. I’m proud to be a beta tester for this new Google based social network. As I check it two to three times a day this app gets quite a bit of use. Still very much in the developing stages lots of teachers are discovering Google+. Although I don’t contribute much it is very good reading. The app is very easy to use and doesn’t send heaps of push notifications.

Twitter is my hidden addiction and holds pride of place. I access it three or four times a day. It easily syncs up with the web based twitter and runs very fast. It allows easy switching between accounts and sends push notifications on replies. This is a must have app which undergoes regular updating and improvements.

Facebook does not have an app for iPad. How’s that for keeping up with the times. I don’t know who’s to answer for that but I make do with the iPhone app and 2x it. It’s grainy but works. I generally use the app to update facebook and read facebook via Flipboard. Also check out Facebook Messenger which is fairly new to the appstore.

Flipboard is a wonderful app for personal reading. It ports to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Reader and a whole range of other bookmarked sites of interests. Flipboard starts you off with a pick of the bunch but you can easily tailor the app to suit your reading. It emulates the style of flipping the pages of a good book. It’s very visual, responsive and intuitive.

Dropbox is the must have app. Lots of cloud storage at the right price. Syncs all types of document formats across all types of computers. Simple to set up and very simple to use. Dropbox is one of my favourites Web 2.0 utility for keeping my files in order. I can keep all my programs, registrations and photos up to date across all computers and now my iPad.

Geocaching is a whole nother thing. A web based outdoor activity requiring a GPS, a sense of adventure and no real plan as to how the day will unfold. Geocaching is the use of GPS to locate a hidden cache (or container) in an environment of interest. I’ve been a geocacher since 2001 and although I don’t record my finds as regularly as I’d like to its still fun to see what is in the neighbourhood.

TWiT stands for “This Week in Tech”. A web based news outlet headed by Leo Laporte. A media journalist who hosts is own studios and produces a large range technology podcasts This not only includes the iPad but Google, Tech News Today and many many other topics. With a love for all things technology I like to stay ahead of the pack and follow Leo and his teams comprehensive podcasts on news and opinions. The paid version is called TWiT Pad and it’s worth the 0.99 cents as well.

Stumble Upon for the uninitiated is a lucky dip of websites. You don’t know what your going to get but you do get to choose the subject material. Through the use of this app you discover websites that are visually enticing, engaging and rated highly amongst the web community. In other words you can tailor the stumble to find the coolest website available on the web. Download it but make sure your on holidays and you have Diigo to save them to.

HSW HD is high definition web app for the web site How Stuff Works. A fantastic bunch of web gurus who love to share information. This app is a portal to all the resources of the website. Videos, text, podcasts and animations. It can be used to help design lessons and as reference material to show you where you need to look to search further. I love listening to the “Stuff you missed in History Class” and “Stuff you need to know” podcasts.

Discover is a Wikipediea portal app to all the resources hosted on the Wikipedia platform. This beautifully crafted app does away with the rigorously formatted style of the Wiki and presents both interest based and search based information. I love this app. It does away with the rigidity of Wiki and makes learning enjoyable.

Touch LCD is just once of about 200 count down style timers, most free and most do the same thing. I haven’t tried them all. I downloaded about five and this one was the fastest of those to set in a hurry. I use them in the classroom to count down 5min reading time, a ten minute activity or 20 minutes group collaboration tasks. It does not matter which Timer you choose just as long as you have and use at least one.

Settings sits on my front page because I need to bluetooth connect my iPad to my iPhone running Personal Hotspot. If I want connectivity on the run settings allows me to tailor the brightness, pincode (after little eyes saw my last code) and desktop etc. It could just as easily be on the second page but it gets used daily and so sits where its easily accessable.

Bottom Bar: 

Teacher Pal is used for every lesson. I have loaded images and details of each and every student into Teacher Pal and use it to record attendance, student marks, infractions, improvements and even parent / teacher appointments. It’s a little clunky and has very little support in the way of “How to videos” but does have a quick and dropbox backup supported database. To be honest it was the key reason I choose iPad over Android as there is not yet a Droid app of similar calibre.

Evernote is a notebook style app that allows you to store and sync record images, typed information, audio and even video notes across various platforms. Like dropbox in its portability it is a designated note taking program idea for taking down key notes and storing them. I don’t use it as much as one would think, perhaps three our four times a week but its there and works fast when I need it.

Penultimate is a writing app that allows you to scribe notes handwriting style into a page quickly and effectively. With easy file organisation and flip-style navigation its and enviable note-taking app that allows you to draw diagrams and be creative in your own handwriting using just your finger. Taking a call and can’t find a pen and paper. Easy, open Pen-ultimate and bang – write down your number.

iPod is used daily on both my iPhone and iPad. As I commute an hour to and fro work daily I love listening to TWiT and HSW (See above) along with my favourite music, internet radio and anything else that is interesting. I’m not a fan of the Apple iTunes but the iPod is a great product if you can see past that. Listening to audio books and podcasts is a fantastic way to learn and get things done like the mowing the lawns and wiping the dishes.

Safari is a nice browser. If there was Chrome for iPad I’d use that but it does what I need it to do. It would be nice if flash worked but the world according to Apple apparently I dont need it. Safari is a fast browser and although there are lots of browsers out there I’m happy with Safari as it matches my phone and does everything I need it to do.

Mail is a surprisingly compact and efficient mail app that comes with iPad. It is quick and integrates with my gmail accounts and department email. Yes I have a lot of unread emails. Mostly admail that I’m yet to set filters for.

 Other Notable apps on Page 2:

App Decks – The best way to browse apps.

World Clock – Simply the best app for all the times all over the world. Check out the free one and upgrade.

GeeTasksLite - If you use Google Tasks then this is a great app. There are list that sync. I like this one.

Cloud Surfer - If you like Chrome and not Safari then check this one out. Sweet tabbed interface that uses gestures.

Battery – Nice looking battery indicator that displays time to go for most applications (Browsing, Music, Games etc)

HeyTell - A fun app that sends voice packets across the net. Like SMS but with speech.

Foursquare – Don’t care who know where you are. A social network game using GPS and points based achievements.

MyPad – Like Flipboard but Vertical. A nice social network display app.

Silent Film Director – A video app that turns action into stylised based film.

Instagram – Great app for the photographer. Network with other budding shutter bugs and show your skills.

Audioboo – A sound based podcasting style app to create sharable audio.

Rad.io – Choose from 1000′s of radio stations from around the world.

Wolfram – Google on steroids. Ain’t no solution hidden enough.

iMapMyRun – Great app for the iPhone but its hard to run with an iPad.

NextTag – Find it – Love it. Best app to find the best prices.

BT Tether – Great concept app but I can’t get it to work. Tethers with iPhone and when the range is broken an alarm sounds.

Chuzzle – Just some mindless fun to waste hours and hours and hours with. Yes, its addictive.

Enjoy