360 Degree tours
Experimenting with the Ricoh theta 360-degree camera I have been trying to find suitable free apps for dong virtual tours of the college. https://www.klapty.com/tour/4CK0IMVEyT
MarzinpanoMarzipano is ok but more fiddly - it has the advantage of being completely open-source - you get the web package as a zip that you need to host on your site to run it. This is a bit more involved but is an advantage or disadvantage depending upon what you want to do. https://www.marzipano.net/
There are many others but all of them are very limited in their free functionality.
Applications/Apps
a review of apps I have experimented with.
* = worth a further look
** = definitely very useful/use it a lot
General Learning Applications
**App: Evernote https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjn6YkCY2yA
What it does: Cloud based virtual notebooks. Store writing, web pages, pdfs, images, create audio notes. All tag-able and searchable
Learning Implementation: great for organisational and research processes. General note taking and working on files on multiple devices - should replace memory sticks to avoid students having the excuse of losing work.
Recommendation: All badly organised students should use this - impossible to lose stuff. Easy to search thoughts and ideas. Can take snapshots of real notebooks, post-its and whiteboards and make the handwriting searchable. I work on this all the time and organise my whole life with it - who needs a word processor! The real power of Evernote is it is pliable to the needs of any user to fit with their preferred way of working and preferred device - see conclusions and 2nd youtube clip.
App: Peek
What it does: works with Evernote to create fun starter quizes
Learning Implementation: starters
Recommendation: if you like it use it!
App: Penultimate
What it does: creates a touch sensitive handwritten notebook within Evernote
Learning Implementation: could be great for some people, need a stylus. I prefer to type. Great for diagrams and sketches although *paper gives a much more beautiful result worthy or digital artists
Recommendation: if you like it use it!
**App: Skitch
What it does: works with Evernote to annotate any image and store it in your notebook.
Learning Implementation: great for formative assessment and providing annotated diagrams, maps et c. Take a picture of a dancer and draw lines to show their positioning et c.
Recommendation: Brilliant, already installed on the mac systems but more functionality with an ipad as you can take an image and annotate it right there.
App: iPassword
What it does: e wallet
Learning Implementation: useful for students who have difficulty remembering passwords
Recommendation: one password for all- nice idea but a bit clunky and complex - do we really need military level encryption? Can't I just keep a note of my passwords on Evernote and use my own simple encryption method if I want to?
**App: Dropbox
What it does: stores large files on a cloud. The files work in the background on your home computer and operate like just any other folder if you have it installed
Learning Implementation: files magically appear on all your devices
Recommendation: Who needs memory sticks - how did we ever live without this elegant solution? The only way to easily print large graphics and files from your unconnected device. The best way to share an entire playlist with the rest of the band or send someone a large album cover to print.
*App: Files
What it does: allows you to store and view files on your device.
Learning Implementation: Useful if you really must use office (although you can now also get a discreet ap for this)
Recommendation: could be useful for presentations of particular formats, Powerpoint for example (you drop the files into your itunes files section). Dropbox and Evernote may be a more elegant way to do this but it may suit some ways of working - although it does seem to want you to spend some money to do anything really interesting
*App: Kindle
What it does: reader for books and documents
Learning Implementation: Not everyone realises you can send any text or pdf doc to your kindle address and it will appear on all your kindle devices.
Recommendation: May be useful if a student has a kindle - you could send them a load of texts, assignment briefs and notes for them to read on their kindle. You could send a lot of things for them to read and they could read it on a kindle ap on their device. Or you could keep your SOW on your kindle for holiday reading......
App: Avimir Lite
What it does: ewallet that uses touch and colours instead of a text password
Learning Implementation: you move a slider over colours to access it. Could be brilliant for students with certain difficulties.
Recommendation: A bit clunky to set up once you are in. May work brilliantly for some students but every time I go to it I forget what on earth I did with the fader! They would need help setting it up and they would need to use it regularly or they would just as easily forget the gesture they used. I don't think these aps are really there yet - perhaps we need retinal scanning or face recognition (even a raspberry pi can do this)?
**App: Qrafter
What it does: create and read QR tags
Learning Implementation: QR tags can be a great learning tool for starters and interactive lessons. Pop a QR tag on each handout to take them to online resources for example - who wants to type in a URL?
Recommendation: every mobile device should have one of these
*App: 2XClient RDP
What it does: turns the ipad into a windows type computer able to access explorer (urgh!) and the registers
Learning Implementation: handy for marking registers when you can't get to a windows computer.
Recommendation: Works but a bit slow,sluggish and clunky to use but great in a tight spot.
**App: Aurasma
What it does: create and read Augmented reality objects!
Learning Implementation: great fun to add interactivity to a lesson with a treasure hunt type feel
Recommendation: good to experiment with, still in infancy but 3D modeling over real objects has great potential (see the film 'Minority Report' for an idea of how it might progress in the future). A lot of HE is getting into this in a big way.
App: Pintrest
What it does: social media based upon images
Learning Implementation: collecting mood boards - good for creative subjects
Recommendation: not limited to device.
*App: CloudOn
What it Does: Useful for displaying documents without reformatting from many applications such as powerpoint and office documents and editing them on an iPad.
Recommendation: requires payment for anything useful, but does the job well
*App: SlideShark
What it Does: Useful for displaying documents without reformatting from many applications such as powerpoint and office documents
Recommendation: does the job well but just for presentation/viewing not editing
RefMe
This is Brilliant! It is free and works well with Evernote.
A free web and mobile tool to generate citations, reference lists and bibliographies
Scans barcodes of books from your mobile camera and creates perfect references quickly - can pull URL's of research notes in Evernote, add web citations - fantastic little tool.
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