2 Apr 2016

10 Mobile Applications for Education

10 Mobile applications for education are discussed below. Some of them can be run in both Android and iOS while others particularly in one operating system only. Basically, all of them are free apps and can be used in K12 and college. The applications can be used as assessment, presentation, collaboration, organization and tools for helping learning to be more engaging. Those tools promote various level of cognitive abilities based on Revised Bloom Taxonomy which are remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate and create (Krathwohl 2002).

1. Socrative
https://b.socrative.com/login/student/
This mobile app is free and can be run on Apple and Android system. It is mainly developed as an assessment tool. Teachers can develop quizzes and collect the result in real time. Various types of questions are offered by this tool i.e. multiple choice, short answer and true-false questions. As the quizzes are ready to deliver, teachers will get a unique number to be sent to their students so that they are able to log in and then access the test. I personally will use this app to do formative assessment of my students’ ability. On the other hand, It allows student to have different levels of cognitive abilities such as remember, understanding, apply and analyse, evaluate and create which depends on what the assessment intend to measure.

2. Molecules
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/molecules
It is a free iOS-based application. It offers 3D model of various protein, DNA and microorganism. As those are abstract, this application brings the real picture which make learning more contextual. Interestingly, students are able to zoom in and out, spin the model which can engage them to the learning. This tool is very helpful to contextualize the lesson. Additionally, we can also add new model to the application. It offers various cognitive level such as remember and understanding as students see the models. It also allows students to create their own model which is application level of their knowledge. It also helps teacher to easily visualize the model.

3. Evernote
https://play.google.com/store/apps
Basically Evernote is free and can be run in many system operations such as android and iOS. This tool helps teachers and students to organize their work. Teachers are able to put all learning resources in this application. additionally, it also allows them to put meeting notes, parent contact logs, teaching schedule and lesson plans. On the other hand, students are able to organize their work using this app such as notebook, attachment and other resources. Even though it not necessarily promotes cognitive abilities of the students, it helps students to have affective domain ability which is characterization. This affective level consists how students are able to manage, resolve, revise their-self which can be linked indirectly to learning outcomes (Boyle et al. 2007)



4. Edmodo
https://api.edmodo.com/login
Edmodo is free academic social media platform which offers interaction between teachers and student and also student and student. It looks like Facebook, one of the most social media in the world and can be run in iOS and Android based system. It allows online student-teacher interaction. Interestingly, Edmodo allows student to know their grade just like Blackboard system. Moreover, Parents are also able to monitor their children’ progress. Even though I have experience using Facebook, I will use Edmodo to interact with my students and manage my lesson. This app allows students to work collaboratively and discuss particular topic related to their lesson, task, homework or assignment. As they discuss a topic, for example, they are developing ‘analyse’ level of their cognitive ability.


5. YouTube
www.youtube.com
YouTube is one of the famous website which is free and can be run in all system. It offers many videos which can be used as learning resources. Personally, I love to use YouTube in classroom in explaining theory in physics which is needed to be visualized for example Einstein’s Relativity Theory. It helps to make the lesson easier. Apart from bad internet connection in my school, this tool improves the quality of learning in my class. YouTube allows students to develop all levels of cognitive abilities. For example, students are able to ‘create’ (the highest level of thinking) their own video related to particular topics.


6. Blog
https://www.blogger.com/
This tool is free and can be run all types of operating system. Blogs can be used to apply and analyse what students have learned in the classes. For example, students can post their analysis on particular topic in form of essay or report. Moreover, this tool can also be utilized as a medium to post their evaluation on another topic. This tool also allows students to put comment on their peers’ post which also promotes collaborative learning. I personally use blog as medium to announce important topics by restricting the access so that only my students can view the contents. Other teachers could use blog to work collaboratively with their students.




7. Oxford Dictionary of English
https://play.google.com/store/apps
This is a free application and can be run in many operating systems such as android and iOS. This mobile dictionary offers more than 350,000 words, phrases and meanings. Students can replace their printed dictionary to this app. This app also promotes Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) which allows students to experience wide range tools to improve the quality learning process in the class. I personally will use this app in teaching English or to understand certain definitions in physics. This tool helps students to have some level of cognitive abilities such as remember, understand and apply some words into sentences in English.





8. FX Calculus Problem Solver
https://play.google.com/store/apps
This application is android-based and free. It offers wide range of math problems that can be used by students at senior high school and college. This tool can replace scientific calculator which is more likely expensive. Teachers can ask their students to bring their own devices to the class and access this application to solve math problems such matrix, differentiation, integration, limit and graphing. I personally will use this app to show my students how to get a formula of particular topic such as velocity acceleration which require integration and differentiation. This app promotes some level of cognitive abilities such as remember, understand, apply and analyse.





9. Atlas 2016
https://play.google.com/store/apps
This is a free android-based application. It provides offline maps which consist political world map, map of North America, Europe and World Time Zone. This tool not only can be used in Geography lesson but also in History, Sociology and other lessons. Students do not have to bring their printed atlas to the class which saves space. Teachers might use this app in the class to locate areas when teaching history or geography. This app can also be used to trigger discussion on particular topic which promotes some level of cognitive abilities such as remember, understand, apply and analyse.  






10. Prezi
https://prezi.com/
Prezi is web-based presentation and basically free. It can be run on many operating systems. Even though it is much easier to create a presentation in full website, the mobile version allows students and teachers to practice presentation they made. This app offers interactive presentation by zoom in and out mode which makes it different from other softwares. I personally will create presentations in full website and use my mobile phone to practice and present in the class by connecting it to projector or TV using HDMI cable. Students can also do the same. When using to create presentation on particular topic, this app promotes students’ cognitive abilities such as apply, analyse, evaluate and create.



References

Boyle, A, Maguire, S, Martin, A, Milsom, C, Nash, R, Rawlinson, S, Turner, A, Wurthmann, S & Conchie, S 2007, 'Fieldwork is Good: the Student Perception and the Affective Domain', Journal of Geography in Higher Education, vol. 31, no. 2, 2007/05/01, pp. 299-317.

Krathwohl, DR 2002, 'A revision of Bloom's taxonomy: An overview', Theory Into Practice, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 212-218.


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