Chanatown

I was able to spend much of the morning working with an iPad app called Nearpod . Honestly, I was impressed with many of the capabilities, and I saw real potential to do great things with the shared iPad carts.  Essentially, Nearpod is an all-in-one presentation/polling application that allows users to deliver presentations to a group set of iPads. The interactive features include some traditional ones such as polling Q&A, self-paced student quizzes, and free response questioning.  However, the Draw It feature is easily worth the efforts of downloading and installing Nearpod alone. Students can ink on blank canvases or preset background images and submit their drawings to the teacher for review and potential sharing. Here are just a few examples that came to mind when I demo'ed the app to our teachers: annotation of text showing steps for math problems balancing chemical equations labeling maps translating sentences illustrating concept maps graphic organizers ...

Article first published as The Best Free iPad Apps of 2011 on Blogcritics. With hundreds of thousands of apps available for Apple's iPad, there are sure to be plenty of quality ones to be had for free. Nevertheless, despite Apple's closed market and quality control, bad apps are commonplace and especially so among those that are free. Below, I present a list of some quality free apps. Those new to the iPad are encouraged to take a look at last year's lists as well ( Best Free Apps of 2010  and Best Paid Apps of 2010 ), and if you have a few bucks leftover or an iTunes gift card from the holiday season, be sure to pick up something from the Best Paid Apps of 2011 as well .

Article first published as Best Paid iPad Apps of 2011 on Blogcritics. As we usher in 2012, it's amazing to consider that it's only been two years since the original iPad was released (April 2010), and 2011 marked the introduction of the iPad 2, the lighter, more advanced version of Apple's "magical device". Two years' time has also brought hundreds of thousands of apps to the App Store and with such a large array of programs to choose from (both in terms of quality and price), it's nice to refer to end of the year lists to build one's collection of must-have and yet-to-discover apps. As I did to end 2010, I'm preparing two lists - the best paid apps and the best free apps of the year. Some may be updates while most will be new programs entirely. Hope you find something new and useful for your iPad from 2011.

This morning, I was treated to a smorgasbord of iPad discussion at the Northern Illinois Computer Educators' (NICE) iPad Workshop. Held at Loyola Academy, the workshop took the form of an "unconference" as 40+ attendees helped set the agenda and then broke out into small group sessions for lots of sharing and thoughts over how the iPad integrates into classroom instruction. Notes and a shared doc can be found via these links ( backchannel , shared doc ), and some of my favorite apps after the jump.

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for April 2011 on Blogcritics. We're almost a week into May, but let us not forget the abundance of apps and app updates that showered us in April. The Best New and Notable feature gets you caught up with the what was most talked about last month in the iTunes App Store.

Everyone loves free apps, especially when they normally cost a few bucks. Well, coinciding with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, McGraw-Hill is giving away all of its Everyday Math apps for free.  This will only be valid through the end of the conference, April 16, so stock up now as the apps are normally priced at $1.99.   Available apps include: · Addition Top-It ™ - Subtraction Top-It ™ - Beat the Computer ™ - Name that Number ™ - Equivalent Fractions ™ - Tric-Trac ™ - Monster Squeeze ™ - Baseball Multiplication 1–6™ Facts - Divisibility Dash ™  The apps are available for iPhone and iPad and can be viewed on this website as well as through the iTunes Apps Store. For more thoughts on Teaching and Learning Technology,  please consider subscribing to the RSS feed or through email .

Article first published as App Review: Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car on Blogcritics. With a four-month old now in the house, my wife and I have been rapidly working on establishing a bedtime routine, and a large part of that routine involves reading bedtime stories. Although we will always have board books and hard copies of old favorites, I will admit that I enjoyed using the app designed by Oceanhouse Media , and written by Eileen Christelow, the cute story of how Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car .

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for March 2011 on Blogcritics. March may be all about the Madness on the basketball court, but there's been plenty of action off the court in the App Store. So, in case you've been swept up in one of the craziest NCAA tournaments ever, here are a few iPad apps you may have missed. By the way, after spending February over at Technorati, the Best New and Notable feature is back to debuting first on Blogcritics. Tell your friends and more importantly, enjoy the apps!

Article first published as Is Angry Birds Becoming the Law & Order of the App World? on Blogcritics. Doink-Doink . You know those familiar two notes that could only mean that  Law & Order was on that night. Faster than you can say "criminal intent", the  Law & Order  franchise branched out to include four additional series, three of which are still in production today. Although the original series concluded in 2010, the legacy lives on, and similar series (most notably  CSI ) have also dabbled in multiple productions. Is there an equivalent to this spin off effect in the App World? Look no further than those  Angry Birds  from Rovio.

Article first published as Bracket Busting Apps—Guide to March Madness on your iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android. on Technorati . As we near tip-off of the first real round of the NCAA Tournament, let's take a look at how you can follow all of the madness on a mobile device assuming you won't be cemented on a couch or a bar stool for all 67 games in the tournament. First we'll look at a few apps found on Apple's iOS platform followed by the less abundant options found on Android.

Article first published as App Review: March Madness On Demand for the iPhone, iPod and iPad on Technorati. Selection Sunday, Bracketology, March Madness. Yes, it's the most wonderful time of the year for college basketball fans and we've come a long way in terms of following the tournament at home or at work. As numerous news articles will undoubtedly point out in the next few days, workplace productivity is about to take a big dip and it's largely due to the ease in which fans can follow the tournament. This year, for Apple iOS device users, the free NCAA March Madness On Demand (MMOD) app ( iPhone/iPod and iPad ) will make it even easier as the app will stream all games from the first round through the Final Four (including those found on the obscure TruTV network).

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for February 2011 on Technorati. February brings us the shortest month of the year, but there were plenty of new titles flooding the App Store. Compared to last month's offering , these 28 days provided plenty to choose from. Continuing the monthly feature, I detail some of the best along with many of the rest as we head into March which should also bring us news of a new device on which to load these apps .

Article first published as Recommended iPhone Apps for New Verizon Users - Part II on Technorati. With a sudden influx of iPhone users enjoying their first weekend with their new smartphone, I suspect many will be spending a fair amount of time getting cozy with iTunes loading up on apps. Today, we pick up where we let off and dish out some of the best apps for you to consider for that shiny new device.

Article first published as Recommended iPhone Apps for New Verizon Users—Part I on Technorati. It's the big V-day, and I'm not talking about chocolates and roses. No, it's the day when those shiny new iPhone 4's take to the scene on Verizon's nationwide network. How will Big Red handle the sudden influx of data hungry users? That's for another discussion. Today, we welcome and embrace new iPhone users to the club, and suggest a few solid apps to load or if you're really excited, pre-download and have at the ready for that very first (and likely, really long) iTunes sync.

Article first published as iPad App Review: The Daily on Technorati. Much liked an over hyped summer blockbuster, The Daily for iPad news application was finally released last week after press announcements, promised release dates and tantalizing previews dating back to late last year. Within a few days, the app rose to the top of the free apps chart, and thousands of reviews chimed as users created a clear divide between 1-star and 5-star ratings. The main reason for the big attention for another free news app lies with the fact that The Daily touts itself as a new way of disseminating news on the iPad . Let's take a look at what this app promises and manages to deliver.

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for January 2011 on Blogcritics. 2010 introduced the iPad into our lives, and early adopters were treated to a ton of great free and paid apps. Coming off the heels of my Top 10 lists of 2010 , here is the beginning of a monthly feature designed to keep you up to date with all that is new and improved in the App Store.

Article first published as iPad App Review: TiVo Premiere Companion App Fully Explored on Blogcritics. Last month, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my TiVo Series 2 DVR to the newest and greatest TiVo Premiere . Despite some mixed reviews including one by the famed Walter Mossberg , I went ahead with the purchase. I was tired of not being able to record in HD, and I was also able to get rid of my cable converter box from RCN using the TiVo and CableCard combo instead. I have to admit that a big selling point was the pending release of the TiVo for iPad app , something that the company has been touting on their website since early November. Well, the day has finally arrived as the app officially hit the App Store earlier this week. More thoughts, screenshots and a hands-on look after the jump.

Lo and behold, just as I was about to make some edits on an existing Prezi for an upcoming presentation, I find an announcement for a free Prezi app on the iPad along with a "win a free iPad" contest on their website. If there was a web 2.0 tool that was just destined to become an iPad app, I would say Prezi is it. With its zooming presentation format and the drag, zoom, and slide interface, the multi-touch capabilities of the iPad seem to lend themselves perfectly to a well designed application. Let's see what the Prezi folks have created, shall we?

Article first published as The Best Paid Apple iPad Apps of 2010 on Blogcritics. With 2010 coming to an end, it's best to reflect on the year in gadgets that was defined by the iPad . As discussed previously, the iPad was largely successful because of the "gold rush" that came with apps flooding the App Store as developers worked hard to be the next "must have app". Of course, unless you go the ad supported route, profits only come when there's income generated. So unlike those featured in our Best Free Apple iPad Apps roundup , here are ten apps I've used extensively throughout the year, but only after I shelled out anywhere from $0.99 to $29.99. What's worth your hard earned iTunes funds? See below for the best of 2010.

Article first published as Best Free Apple iPad Apps of 2010 on Blogcritics. It's that time of year - Top 10 Lists galore. So, I will play along and offer a few reflections on the year that was 2010 with a list related to the top gadget of the year, the iPad. The device itself debuted to great success, but as with all hardware and software relationships, you can't have one without the other. Thus, here are ten apps that I've used extensively throughout the year, with the best part of all being that they are free.