Recommended iPad Apps for Computing (2014) using the Herefordshire ICT Progression (2008
)
If you’ve looked in the iPad App Store you’ll know that there’s a bewildering array of apps available. This list attempts to identify a few tried and tested ones that work in primary schools. The list is also about identifying core, open ended, creative, productivity apps that support the Computing (ICT) Curriculum (organised to match headings in the Herefordshire Primary ICT Progression, altered slightly to match the new 2014 Computing curriculum). A shaded background in the description column is to indicate what we consider to be the core apps for this particular area. If there is a white background these apps are nice to have. In addition to the apps listed here there are, of course, thousands that are great for supporting discrete aspects of primary curriculum. A great place to begin looking for such apps is www.apps4primaryschools.co.uk, but you’ll find plenty of other places. Please contact us (details at the bottom) for more help with integrating iPads into the classroom. Don’t forget that Apple’s volume purchasing agreement means that once you buy 20 copies of any app the price drops by half. For more information on anything below, click on the app icon and you’ll be taken to the iStore where you can read the official blurb and, if you’re on an iPad / iPod / iPhone, download the app.
Computer Science: Programming and Control
Bee-Bot (free) & Bee-Bot Pyramid (£0.69) EYFS KS1 KS2
A free app from TTS. There are 12 mazes of increasing complexity around which children write programs to program the bee-bot. Points are given as they do so. A must for all EYF and KS1 children. Ideally children will have had experience of programming a bee-bot in real life before or alongside this. Bee-Bot Pyramid takes this on further into an Ancient Egyptian setting again with 12 mazes.
Daisy Dinosaur (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A great little app for EYFS and KS1. Best to use it in challenge mode first where five simple challenges teach children how to use it. After that, free-play mode allows them to set their own challenges. Based on simple Logo programming and great for EYFS / KS1
Hopscotch HD (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Inspired by MIT’s Scratch. Program your own games, animations and apps. A follow on from Daisy the Dinosaur.
Cargo-Bot (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A bit of a brain teaser - a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates. It’s based on programming and is a good introduction to coding
Espresso Coding (free until Oct 2014)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
This is not an app and you won’t find it in the App Store. It works well on an iPad and is an excellent resource for teaching the programming elements of the 2014 Computing curriculum. More at www.espressocoding.co.uk
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
MirrorPaint Lite (free) and MirrorPaint (£0.69) EYFS
KS1
KS2
Two programs in one really. At its most simple level you can create using reflections to create a kaleidoscope effect. You can then move on to use a Logo type programming language to program these kinds of drawings using routines that are already built for you (in MirrorPaint Lite). Pay for the full version and you are able to use Logo programming language to create your own.
Dynamic ART Lite (free)
Graphical programming. Inspired by MIT’s Scratch, this app uses the same style blocks to control movement. …
Move The Turtle (£1.99)
Logo. Teaches the basics of creating computer programs, using intuitive colourful graphic commands. Start with a series of graded challenges before moving on to free programming activities.
My Doodle Game (free)
Design an arcade style adventure by drawing, painting and animating. As you “doodle” you affect the way your character behaves within its environment, for example, draw a wall and your character will need to jump over it when you play the game. Links to programming and computer control.
Digital Literacy: Text Editing, Multimedia
Notes (preinstalled) EYFS KS1 KS2
This is the basic text app that comes preinstalled on iPads. It’s fine for notes but doesn’t allow any formatting to be applied. Sharing options are also limited (email being the only one that is likely to work in school) though all the notes in the document can easily be copied and pasted into something else.
Pages (free / £6.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Free for all iPads registered after 03/09/2013. £6.99 for older iPads. An essential app. The big daddy of them all, this is the app version of Apple’s main word processor with parallels to Microsoft Word. Most things are possible as well as a vast array of sharing options.
Book Creator (£2.99 – was free!)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A fantastic app for primary use. Children can easily create and share (via iBooks) a simple or much more complex book which immediately looks professional. Multimedia elements can be included: pictures from the camera roll, sounds recorded directly into the iPad (great for narrating their work) and video (existing or recorded live). Sharing options are great and as an added bonus you can compile books (as long as they are the same size).
Key Note (free / £6.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Free for all iPads registered after 03/09/2013. £6.99 for older iPads. Key Note is the Apple equivalent of Microsoft’s PowerPoint and is part of the Apple iWork suite. Well worth having.
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
Comic Life (£2.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Comic Life is a cross platform program that has been available for some while. As its name suggests it is primarily designed to create comic style publications but it is ideal for all kinds of things especially creating instruction texts, explanations etc. Pictures can be imported from the camera roll or taken live, so it’s great for experiment write ups, for example.
Popplet Light (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A good planning tool. This app produces mind maps. It’s good on an interactive whiteboard as a collaborative tool.
Collins: Big Cat Series (8 currently - free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
These are great apps and there are currently 8 titles available free of charge. They are essentially e-books with interactive sound and animation built in. There is also the facility to record your own response onto each page and even to create your own pages using the characters from the story. An excellent compliment to the printed books but a must have anyway! Just search for Big Cat in the App Store to find them all.
Digital Literacy: Digital Image, Painting, Drawing, Photo editing
iPhoto (free / £2.99) EYFS KS1 KS2
Free for all iPads registered after 03/09/2013. £2.99 for older iPads. This is another one of Apple’s core iPad apps. More appropriate for KS2 really. It’s for editing photos (which can have come from anywhere, of course not just captured via the camera. The results can be shared widely in other apps and online.
Explain Everything (£1.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
This is intended as an interactive whiteboard tool. It allows users to record almost anything and share it (text, annotations, sound, video, images ..) but it’s good as an art tool with added extras. It’s also a great tool for capturing explanations, working methods, thinking etc from children.
Doodle Buddy (free or £0.69 with no ads.)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A good free app a fairly basic drawing / paining tool, includes different pen effects, stamps and some rather fun stencils. Backgrounds can also be used, either from the range of effects built into the app or from the iPad’s camera roll.
SketchBook Express (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A high powered app for KS2, it pretty much takes up where Doodle Buddy (above) leaves off. It has a good range of drawing tools and supports layers. Not for the feint hearted though!
Pic Jointer
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Allows you to combine photos together into a collage using a range of configurable templates. Easy to use. Pictures can be cropped, frames can be rescaled. Finished results can be used in other apps etc.
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
Art Set (£0.69)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A really simple interface that is a delight to use, allowing children to get on and create. Offers a range of drawing / painting tools and different paper. It’s the next best thing to real paint!
Digital Literacy: Animation
I can animate / Animate it (£1.99) EYFS KS1 KS2
The cross platform software of the same name is a tried and tested stop frame (3D) animation tool that has been used in primary schools for years. This is a cut down version of it for the iPad. It works well, though the challenge is to keep the iPad still. (Animate it is the same app in different clothing)
Puppet Pals HD Director’s Pass (£1.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A great tool for creating 2D animations. Children place characters, or themselves into imaginary situations using backgrounds in the app or captured using the camera. They then act out their scene with speech all of which is recorded. There is a free version of this app with limited characters / backgrounds.
Puppet Pals 2: All Areas (£2.99) EYFS KS1 KS2 Similar to above but contains a different range of characters / backgrounds and has even more functionality, including the facility to be able to pose characters by moving arms / legs etc. There is a free version of this app with limited characters / backgrounds. Animation Creator HD Express (free) Lego Super Heroes Movie Maker (free) EYFS KS1 KS2
A really easy app to use as long as you can manage to keep the iPad completely still as you create the project. You don’t have to use Lego characters. It’s easy to create an animation then there are special effects, annotations, music etc. that you can add. Finished projects are exported to the camera roll. This is an iPhone app so make sure you’re looking in the right place in the App Store (works on the iPad)
Videoscribe (£2.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
A good tool for producing animated titles etc for films. Type in the text, import pictures and an animated hand with a choice of drawing tools draws the title in an animated form
Morfo Booth (free)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Great fun, animate any photograph (of yourself, from the camera or one you’ve downloaded / imported). Make the eyes and mouth move and record speech to make your character talk. Finished products can be saved to the camera roll and then imported into other video projects etc.
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
Digital Literacy: Movie Creating / Editing
iMovie (free / £2.99) EYFS KS1 KS2
Free for all iPads registered after 03/09/2013. £2.99 for older iPads. A cut down app version of the classic Apple video editor. Packed with features and the obvious choice as a movie editor. The iPad is an ideal video editor for quick and easy movies. Footage captured by the camera (and stills) goes straight into iMovie.
Green Screen Movie FX Studio (£1.99)
Digital Literacy: Sound and Music
Sound cloud (free)
Croak.it! (free)
Hokusai Audio Editor (free)
(multitrack audio editor)
Garage Band (£2.99)
EYFS
KS1
KS2
Worth every penny. The number one app for music composition. It’s also good for podcasting (with a few easy tweaks)
Ocarina (also good for datalogging) Bren Taylor
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
Digital Literacy: Electronic Communication - Email, Video conferencing
KidBlog (free) EYFS KS1 KS2
KidBlog is a great blogging tool for primary schools. It’s built on Word Press, just like Edu Bloggs or Primary Blogger but is much easier to use. You’ll be up and running with a class blog in no time. It’s totally safe, children’s postings, by default, can only be seen within the schools and the teacher has to moderate everything the children do before it even gets that far. This is the iPad app but it runs in a web browser too and is cross platform www.kidblog.org. An excellent Literacy / ICT / E-Safety tool.
Digital Literacy: Data processing
GlobiLab (free) EYFS KS1 KS2
Designed to work with LabDisc, an expensive datalogger, but will log motion and sound levels using sensors built into the iPad.
Numbers (free / £6.99) EYFS KS1 KS2 Free for all iPads registered after 03/09/2013. £6.99 for older iPads. Numbers is a spreadsheet app - Apple’s equivalent to Microsoft’s Excel and the app is specifically designed for a tablet, of course. An essential app for KS2 especially now that it’s free.
msanderson@herefordshire.gov.uk
iPad apps for the ICT Curriculum – October 2013
