App Cafe Details

• Session topic – The best apps for manipulating media (for learning and teaching)
• Session date – Tues 16th August 2016, 1-2pm, TPOD.
• View ALL forthcoming 2016-2017 App Cafe session dates and topics.

Apps reviewed

• Padlet
• Thinglink
• Skitch

What are the benefits of using such apps?

• offers a visually exciting way for students to access a topic.
• enables learners to express their ideas in novel ways.
• enables learners to collate ideas online and share them easily with others or to jointly co-create content online.
• enriches learning when used alongside other activities.
• inspires learners to be creatively ambitious.

Are there any further ideas you want to add? – then please comment below..

Guides, tutorials, tips, hints and reviews

Padlet

Padlet (iOS, Android, and Browser based) provides a blank area where you can put any content – text, links, images, videos, documents, even other padlets.

The drag and drop interface is easy to use, making it a very popular tool. There is a strong use of Padlet within the education sector – see below for a few ideas of how to use it within the classroom.

You can share or export content. By default when you create a wall, anyone with the link can post on it. This makes it very easy to share a wall with other people so they can add content. You can change the default behaviour by changing the privacy settings of your wall.

Embed into other websites/NILE or even use QR codes for accessing content.

For links to training, example Padlets, ideas for using Padlets in teaching and more, see the Padlet entry on the Apps for Productivity Google+ community.

Thinglink

Thinglink (Andriod, iOS) allows you to take any image and then add clickable hotspots which display various overlaid pop-up content, such as text, images, video, music, maps and even polls.

In this way you can make content much more interactive and engaging.

Embed content created in ThingLink to websites and blogs, send via email or share on social media.

For links to training, example Thinglinks, ideas for using Thinglink in teaching and more, see the Thinglink entry on the Apps for Productivity Google+ community.

Skitch

Skitch (Android, iOS and desktop) is a free app that lets you annotate images with arrows, shapes, and text.

So for example use Skitch to sketch something new, mark up maps, screen captures, or even a photo. Then save or share your Skitch annotation to help others see and understand your ideas.

It features many different tools – for example, create smooth lines or scribbles, zoom and crop images, pixelate portions of an image, add highlights, add text using special high-contrast colouring for readability, markup text with the highlighter tool, reposition and delete shapes, text and drawings at any time, and share your work with any application that accepts images.

For links to training, examples, ideas for using Skitch in teaching and more, see the Skitch entry on the Apps for Productivity Google+ community.

Get involved

1. Share thoughts below by adding a comment.
2. Visit the Apps for Productivity G+ Community to comment and share advice, see links to training, examples, ideas and more – using the links within the article above.