Educational Apps
Mobile Apps for use in High School Classrooms
Edmodo
In addition, Edmodo provides an area in which teachers to join and participate in a Professional Learning Network (PLN).
This app is free.
This app could be used in a classroom as an assessment tool. Edmodo allows teachers to create quizzes. Quiz questions can be multiple choice, true/false, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, or matching.
3D Brain
This app is also free.
3D Brain could be used as part of the "Nervous and Endocrine System" unit in Biology 30. Instead of simply providing students with a PowerPoint Presentation on regions of the brain, or asking them to read the textbook, students could be given class time to explore the app. Students could also be given a case study, and could use this app to provide a diagnosis.
How Canadian Are You, Eh?
There is no cost to download or use this app.
"How Canadian Are You, Eh?" could be used in a Social Studies class or in a Canadian Studies class (this class is for students new to Canada). A teacher could ask students to complete one of the quizzes in this app as a fun way to review course material.
Quick Graph: Your Scientific Graphing Calculator
This app is free. There is a $1.99 cost to access advanced graphing calculator functions. This app may be especially useful to students who cannot afford a graphic calculator, or for those who choose not to purchase one.
This app could be used in all high school math classes. In addition to completing in-class work and practice questions using this calculator, students could try to create images or designs using mathematical equations. The colour feature is a great addition to this calculator, as traditional graphic calculators only display in grey and black. Students will likely enjoy colouring their images and designs.
SparkNotes
- Literature
- Shakespeare
- Poetry
- Philosophy
- Drama
- Short Stories
This app is free.
A teacher could refer a student who is having trouble understanding a Shakespeare play to this app. The study guides for Shakespeare are very helpful, and provide students with character profiles, background information, and general summaries. Additionally, there are scene-by-scene translations of original Shakespeare texts into modern language. These study guides will likely be very helpful for a student who has trouble comprehending the language in which Shakespeare's plays were written.
Socrative
Socrative is a student-response system. Teachers can create quizzes, questions, or polls for their students. These features may help teachers to become aware of what the students do and do not understand. This app is also very useful for students, as it provides them with a way to let a teacher know that they are struggling, without having to let other students know.
Socrative is free.
After teaching a lesson, a teacher could ask students to answer a very short quiz in order to see whether or not students have adequately grasped the concept. A teacher could also create an "Exit Ticket," in which students can write a short description of what they learned in class that day.