Summly

Summly

Summly (but just been bought by Yahoo, [1])

Free

Available on iPhone

An app I have used for quite some time, the look and feel is beautiful, one can understand Yahoo buying this app out for several thousand, [1].   However it has meant the android app has been shelved.  

The app deliveries summaries of the news from leading on-line official news sources, for example The Guardian,etc.  The news articles are summarised down to typically to 140 words, so the news is easier to digest on your iPhone.   The app enables you to scan the news and gain an appreciation of the key world news. This is a useful app if you are an academic that uses news articles in your lecture to assist in making your subject area more current.

However unlike Flipboard and twitter news stream with an embedded web link, when you click on the summarised article in Summly it will not take you to the full article.  Just occasionally users may wish to read more and in more depth.. 

It is quick and easy resource to give oneself a quick overview of the news, but does not provide functionality to collate all the relevant news articles together in your own personal news summary, as you can in Flipboard.  However, it is Summly’s simplicity that attracted this student to the app, to support their learning of the mainstream news oppose to Flipboard;

“[Flipboard] at the moment it can sometimes feel like too much, it can feel like there are too many features compared to apps like Summly”

The app provides functionality that enables you to share individual news articles via Facebook, Twitter, and email.   The functionality is rather neat in design and practical, but you still can’t share collation of articles together like in Flipboard.

Reference

[1] Saner, E. (2013) " Summly creator Nick D'Aloisio: 'I try to maintain a level of humbleness'”The Guardian Friday 29^th March 2013, last accessed 2^nd ay 2013 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/mar/29/summly-creator-nick-daloisio-interview

MailBox

Orchestra

Free

Available on iPhone

The popular email management system for Gmail launched this year , ideal for students at out institution as the student email account is Gmail.   The app enables the user to quickly swipe through your emails to

·         bin junk mail,

·         file as done into archive (i.e. when read and acted upon)

·         reset to be read or act upon from later evening, tomorrow, next week, month, someday

·         set to buy, read and watch

·         see whole email conversation

Suddenly you can easily manage your inbox efficiently never lose the important emails in the sea of emails in the inbox, enabling you to organise them to be acted upon later when one has time to address appropriately and correctly.   Feedback from one student:

“Before downloading this app all my emails would permanently stay in my inbox and made the task managing and responding to emails misery.   Mailbox helps me to keep my inbox at zero, it makes my email work around me and the other way round”

Just need it to support Microsoft exchange mail please, to help my life easier and Android to support the majority students as they own Android phones, [1]

Reference

[1] Woodcock, B.  Armstrong, M. Nortcliffe, A. and Middleton, A. (2012) Smart-device potential for student learning, Mobile Monday Manchester: Mobile Education Event, Manachester, UK, 12^th November 2012, last accessed 23^rd April 2013 at http://www.momomcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SheffieldUni.pdf

Vintagio

By MacPhun LLC

£1.49

Available iPhone and iPad

One the assessment tasks I like to set my students at second year, rather than presentation or pitch, is a standalone presentation.  This can use standalone functionality in Prezi or Powerpoint.   However I like to encourage my students to actually make a video, challenge themselves technically to communicate effectively to the audience.   My assessment brief state the presentation can be any genre.

Vintagio enables students to easily make a silent video, provides the functionality to record, edit and publish the films in formats from 20’s, sepia to 70’s yellow tinged footage.   The app equally supplies appropriate and a choice of period soundtracks for each film effect.   The pro editing facility is excellent you can:

·       add footage film, photos, to the timeline

·       add text cards (however you cannot change size of text, little annoying,  despite change font)

·       add transition of fade in or out at varying speeds

·       move footage along the timeline using drag drop

·       trim and split footage

·       duplicate, reverse, flip, and change the speed of footage

Finally you can share the video to array of social media You Tube, Twitter, Facebook, Cinemagram and mobile device camera roll.  It is a just a simple app to use and quite effective.

Mobiletag

By MobileTag

Free

Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms

Reported to be the first mobile QRCode reader, admittedly I have had this app on my iPhone since 2009, when there was choice of two QRCode reading apps.   The advantage of this Mobile code reader is that it can scan QRCodes, Barcodes and Matrix codes, 3 in 1 app.

For learning purposes why would I recommend anyone ensuring they have QRCode app on their mobile device.   In reality it is now common place for magazines, newspaper, books and posters to have QRcodes.   QRCodes present publishers with the opportunity to provide additional copy on the web without the print and ddistribution cost or dynamic web based information for example a video, podcast, animation, live data stream or changing data resource.   Practical learning examples;

·      QRCodes could be used in a Maths text book to enable the reader to access video of showing a mathematical theory being applied, and assisting the learner to progress through Kolb’s learning cycle, [1].  

·      Equally modern History text book could use QRCodes to take the reader to a video recording of the historical event.

·      Universität Trier in Germany has been experimenting using QRCodes in text books to encourage and to take students to electronic display of tutorial exercises, the student completes the exercises on the mobile device, [2]. 

However, one has to question whether it is appropriate to use of QRCodes in printed text books when printed media is on the demise and digital books on the rise, and hyperlinks in digital books can be applied. 

QRCodes on posters and projected on the classroom screen would be a practical learning method.   The method would enable academics to take their students to learning activities with ease in class, without the error of typing in a URL address.   QRCodes are certainly practical and interactive method of taking students to an on-line exercise to complete and submit in a class.   I have used them on posters to take students to a dynamic website designed and developed by students on my behalf to show a different App each day for learning.

Mobiletag app is easy to operate, the opened app is ready to scan, once the app has been shown a code (good lightening conditions are required) it quickly scans the code, decodes and opens the URL coded in the code on the mobile device’s web browser. This is a simple and effective app, certainly must app for academics and students.

Reference:

[1] Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

[2] Röpke, J. and Schneider, G. (2012) More: Mobile Referencing System for Printed Media, CSEDU 2012, Porto, Portugal, 387-394, last accessed on 24^th April 2013 at https://www.hochschule-trier.de/fileadmin/groups/12/Personen/Professoren/Schneider/papers/MoreCameraReady.pdf

Diigo

By Diigo

Free

Available on android and iOS platform

Diigo is another app connecting to Diigo on-line service that offers another type of app to manage your website bookmarking, network of connections, working groups and wider community.   One could describe it as Mendeley meets LinkedIn, a library social bookmarking tool.   Like any social media service, you need to register with the service.   There are different membership levels from free to paid.

The mobile apps enable the user to view, edit and share social bookmarking in Diigo library.   However the iOS versions offer a functionality that Mendeley the ability for the user to install additional bookmarking features in the Safri, enabling one touch solution to bookmarking website to your Diigo library, which fulfills are students requirements of a simple ubiquitous learning solution.   The iOS bookmarking features:

·       On the iPhone you can install bookmarklet that enables when you bookmark to save a web page to your library on Diigo. 

·      On the iPad version you can install a web highlighter tool in the bookmark bar, this tool has additional functionality to just bookmarking to Diigo, the user can add sticky notes (Post-its), apply highlighter to sections of the web page, all will be stored as image overlays when you view page again through your Diigo app or Diigo on-line in my Library.

Diigo essentially enables users to build library of websites with annotations attached to the websites, useful app for any learner to manage their on-line learning resources.  However, it should be noted that the library stores the web address details only not the full citation reference details as in Mendeley.   However, the Safari bookmarking and social networking facility of Diigo makes the app more simple digitally, [1] and fits with our student ubiquitous learning lifestyle particularly when sharing resources in group work assignments, [2].

References

[1] Woodcock, B.  Armstrong, M. Nortcliffe, A. and Middleton, A. (2012) Smart-device potential for student learning, Mobile Monday Manchester: Mobile Education Event, Manachester, UK, 12^th November 2012, last accessed 23^rd April 2013 at http://www.momomcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SheffieldUni.pdf

[2] Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

eClicker

by Big Nerd Ranch

eclicker Presenter (tutor version of app) £10.49, eclicker audience (student version of app) free

available on iOS

eClicker is another audience clicker response app for tutors and students.   However there are number of issues that would inhibit the app adoption:

·       only operates only on apple proprietary systems, Mac/iPad/iPhone, therefore ideal for schools who have introduced app TV, iPads for every member of staff and student

·       staff and students in HE are tending to use their own smart devices, not necessarily on the iOS

·       price of the teacher’s app, though the learners app is free , as most staff use their own devices, more unlikely to invest in such an app for work

·       Socrative’s teacher and student apps are free. 

However the eClicker has additional functionality to that of Socrative:

·       The tutor can upload or draw multiply images for each answer of a multiple choice question (MCQ). 

·       The tutor can host securely on their Mac/iPad/iPhone a private eClicker WiFi network and over which students will be required to respond to questions using their iOS mobile device.  Advantageous as only the students in the room can respond to the questions, therefore you can gauge student in class engagement and attendance.

·       The tutor can host the quiz on a Mac/iPad/iPhone, but type of device limit size of class room 128/64/332 respectively for Mac/iPad/iPhone.

·       The tutor can share the quiz over the web by sharing the quiz numbered URL, but if need to enter by hand it is not easy to enter correctly; sharing a URL electronically QRCode on board would be easier.   URL quiz opens the opportunity for distance learners’ engagement.

For myself and the institution I work within, eClickers practicalities would prevent its adoption, as the majority of my students have mobiles devices on the android OS [1], however a friend who is a Head Teacher of an 11-18 education academy, has just introduced;

·         app TV into each classroom

·         iPads to every staff member

·         iPad mini to each student

Here the eClicker has potential as operating in solely iOS environment, maximum class size of 30 using and lends itself to creating eClick private networks for class interactive quizzes.

Reference

[1] Woodcock, B.  Armstrong, M., Nortcliffe, A. and Middleton, A. (2012) Smart-device potential for student learning”, Mobile Monday Manchester: Mobile Education Event, Manchester, UK, 12^th November 2012, last accessed 22^nd April 2013 at http://www.momomcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SheffieldUni.pdf

Colwiz

By Colwiz

Free

iOS and Anroid OS.

Colwiz (Video), shows that Colwiz is a desktop and mobile application designed and developed by Oxford academics to enable academics and students completing research projects to manage, organise and control information and work flow.   The desktop app provides the functionality to:

·       Free 2Gbytes cloud space

·       Invite the research team (local and international) to join colwiz;

·       Private cloud communication space for the research team; enabling team to chat, share data, equations publications, documents, and survey results on-line chat communication;

·       Private organisation space to define task lists, and calendar events that can be shared with the team;

·       Import, add and manage your research project reference sources, and share with the research team;

·       Highlight and annotate reference sources, share your thoughts with the team;

·        Import research data for team to visualize and analysis the results;

The on-line and desktop enables you organise and manage your research project, enable you to share and store securely (backed-up) your research data, reference, communications, and connections in one location.  The mobile app provides you read access to all the files uploaded and stored on colwiz, that is  your publications, reference sources, research data, survey results, etc.

Personally an app both on-line, desktop and mobile app that has potential for student group research projects for example MEng, MComp original research projects, Phd projects and Final year projects.   However it would require asking corporate IT services to install on desktops.

Like Diigo, Colwiz has a bookmark tool functionality, however unlike Diigo does not appear you can install this functionality on the iPad Safari browser.   This limits the user to importing references to Colwiz from a Desktop, not practical when tablets now out strip desktop sales [1].    In addition the mobile app only provides read only functionality of your upload publications, and does not appear to access documents in the Colwiz drive.

In practical terms mobile app the Mendeley app offers more as you can add references and upload to Mendeley cloud.   Combine Mendeley with using Google Drive a project team would have all the functionality of Colwiz and more operating over desktop, online and mobile applications.  With a coporate license agreement with Google, resolves the copyright ownership personal Google [2].

References

[1] Ahmed, M. (2013) Tablet computers swallow desktop, The Times, 28^th March 2013, last accessed 2^nd April 2013 at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/gadgets/article3724628.ece

[2] Whittaker, Z. (2012) How far do Google Drive’s terms go in ‘owning’ your files?”, ZDNet, last accessed 22^nd April 2013 at http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-far-do-google-drives-terms-go-in-owning-your-files/75228