Honestly, I normally don't classify myself as a bargain shopper. I tend to shop at the front of the store with all the new stuff, and by the time I get to the clearance rack, I'm all shopped out and have way over spent. HOWEVER, when it comes to shopping for apps, I'm all about the bargain. This is likely because I never want to be called into my superintendent's office for the purpose of justifying my iTunes spending. That would be an extremely uncomfortable discussion.
Here's the low down on bargain shopping in the iTunes store:
1. Apps Go On Sale! I had no idea when I first got the iPad. It just so happened I purchased iCommunicate (an app used to create visual schedules) for $39.99. The next week when I told my friend about it, the app had increased in price by $10! For me, knowing apps went on sale helped me be more patient with my purchasing.
2. Get a shopping app! I downloaded Appshopper. When I got it, it was free, but I don't know if it is always free, but the app is worth up to $5 for how much it will end up saving you. The best part of Appshopper is that it allows you to see the pricing history of applications you want. If the app you want has never gone on sale, it won't likely go on sale. The app allows you to check the "want it" box, and then it will send you push notifications when the apps you want go on sale. It also allows you to search for apps based on popularity, biggest price drops, etc. It is a MUST HAVE!
Today, Geowalk is free, and it is normally $2.99. I downloaded it, and it is beautiful. Lots of animals, landmarks, and wonders of the world, and many news articles to explain recent geographical happenings. Your kids will love it!
Penultimate is also on sale. It is normally $1.99 and now it is only .99. This is a handwriting app, so you can takes notes on the iPad with your finger or stylus. It also allows you to organize notes. I haven't purchased this, but a friend swears by this app.
3. FREE APP FRIDAY brought to you by Moms With Apps. Go to www.momswithapps.com to see what apps are FREE (or greatly discounted) today! This is a great gig! Moms with Apps is a group of moms that work with developers to develop awesome, worthwhile children's applications. They review a lot of apps and endorse apps they deem worthy. They also have a free app that has proven to be extremely valuable.
Moms with Apps has saved me a lot of money through Free App Friday AND their trusted reviews. Here's an example: I needed an app to produce visual schedules for a student, and the trainer we brought into school recommended Storyboard. I was all set to buy it when I found Moms with Apps, and they highly recommended iCommunicate for creating visual schedules. After reviewing both apps, iCommunicate meets my needs far better than Storyboard would have, and Storyboard is not mentioned on Moms with Apps. Prior to being acquainted with Moms, I purchased Stories 2 Learn because I had heard about it at a conference, and honestly, it works great. However, had I consulted the Moms, I would have ended up buying Pictello which has many of the same capabilities with the added ability to share via email the work produced through the app.
So...between Appshopper and Free App Friday, I have managed to purchase 171 applications (mostly education related) for my iPad for very little money. Some of my apps are expensive because of their function, but when you can save 50% or 75%, life is good.
Does anyone else have tips on app shopping? Please share and help us all out! How about music shopping? Do those songs ever go on sale?
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
No More FLASH DRIVES or CORDS!
I'm blogging from my cricket rocker in my very dark front living room. This space is so relaxing and this time of day is amazingly quiet. The only sound is a few crickets outside, and my fingers hitting the keyboard. I spend a lot of time in this space. One night about a month ago I could not sleep, so I came to this spot to clear my mind. I rocked in my chair, but school "things" kept going through my mind. I ended up being up until 2 a.m. for the next several nights figuring out an application called Evernote.
Evernote had been in the top 10 free apps, and I had read about it on the CESA 3 ITASC wiki, so I decided to download it. It had been on the iPad for about a month before it kept me up for hours. When I finally decided to learn about the applications functions, I was blown away by the possibilities. In a nutshell, Evernote is an app the boasts about being better than your memory. It allows you to make notes (both audio, visual, and typed), organize those notes into notebooks. The individual notes can also be date, time, AND LOCATION stamped. Finally, everything in stored in the cloud so they can be accessed from anywhere! I have a notebook for each of my children, all the subjects I teach in school, and a random notebook for those pieces of life that are really better being left in chaos. Evernote allows you to share notes and notebooks too. WOW!
The best thing about Evernote is that it can be anywhere you are. I have Evernote on my home computer, the iPad, my school computer, AND my cell phone! All of my info is synched, and all I have to do is log into Evernote to access a note or notebook. Hence the reason I titled this NO MORE FLASHDRIVES! Yes, Evernote allows you to link Word docs, PowerPoints, Keynotes, etc.
The title also says NO MORE CORDS! Let me explain...I HATE connecting cords from my cell phone and camera to my computer to download my pictures only for me to then upload them to a developing place. With Evernote, you no longer need the cord AND the picture you take with your really awesome cell phone is available to you from any device! Isn't that wild?!? Here's the simple directions:
1. Open Evernote on your phone (assuming you have already downloaded Evernote on your phone)
2. Click snapshot
3. Snap picture
4. Title and Save your picture
5. WOOLA...now the pic is in your camera roll or gallery on your device AND Evernote which can be access from anywhere!
You can even annotate your photo with voice recordings, but I don't want to overwhelm you. I'll save that for another day. For now, download Evernote on all your devices, and go to EVERNOTE.com and watch their videos. It is simply AMAZING!!!
Evernote had been in the top 10 free apps, and I had read about it on the CESA 3 ITASC wiki, so I decided to download it. It had been on the iPad for about a month before it kept me up for hours. When I finally decided to learn about the applications functions, I was blown away by the possibilities. In a nutshell, Evernote is an app the boasts about being better than your memory. It allows you to make notes (both audio, visual, and typed), organize those notes into notebooks. The individual notes can also be date, time, AND LOCATION stamped. Finally, everything in stored in the cloud so they can be accessed from anywhere! I have a notebook for each of my children, all the subjects I teach in school, and a random notebook for those pieces of life that are really better being left in chaos. Evernote allows you to share notes and notebooks too. WOW!
The best thing about Evernote is that it can be anywhere you are. I have Evernote on my home computer, the iPad, my school computer, AND my cell phone! All of my info is synched, and all I have to do is log into Evernote to access a note or notebook. Hence the reason I titled this NO MORE FLASHDRIVES! Yes, Evernote allows you to link Word docs, PowerPoints, Keynotes, etc.
The title also says NO MORE CORDS! Let me explain...I HATE connecting cords from my cell phone and camera to my computer to download my pictures only for me to then upload them to a developing place. With Evernote, you no longer need the cord AND the picture you take with your really awesome cell phone is available to you from any device! Isn't that wild?!? Here's the simple directions:
1. Open Evernote on your phone (assuming you have already downloaded Evernote on your phone)
2. Click snapshot
3. Snap picture
4. Title and Save your picture
5. WOOLA...now the pic is in your camera roll or gallery on your device AND Evernote which can be access from anywhere!
You can even annotate your photo with voice recordings, but I don't want to overwhelm you. I'll save that for another day. For now, download Evernote on all your devices, and go to EVERNOTE.com and watch their videos. It is simply AMAZING!!!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Finally a KEYBOARD!
Earlier this summer, I decided I wanted to blog. My friend Julie was a huge inspiration; I live to read her blog. When my husband hears me laugh abruptly while I'm sitting in my rocking chair in the front room, he knows Julie has brightened my day. I also watched Julie and Julia this summer (must be something about that name), and although I'm still too scared to commit to blogging 365 days straight, I decided I should try to blog spontaneously throughout the school year and highlight some of the techie things I teach that make life easier.
That was a great idea, but it is now the end of the summer, and I'm just getting started. See, I created a problem. I had gotten an iPad from school to use with one of my summer school students, and in my quest to learn the technology, I was juggling my laptop and the iPad. Well unfortunately, I was never a great juggler, and I dropped one. My laptop survived except for the screen. I learned this by plugging in my monitor from the desktop, and whoola...it worked. Problem? Yes, the desktop is just not convenient or portable, so I've maybe logged onto my computer twice since the juggling accident. Problem? Not really because I had the iPad which is absolutely amazing! But, it was somewhat difficult to compose on the built in keyboard. My keyboarding teachers did such a great job that now I feel totally guilty when I'm not using proper finger movements.
Well today I was getting some items for school at Walmart, and I decided to ask if they had a wireless keyboard for the iPad. Woot woot! They did! Now I can start my blogging. Summer goal number 50 accomplished. Please don't ask about goals 1-49.
So, what's the purpose? Why am I so committed to blogging? I plan to use this blog to teach people about using technology to make life easier. I'm a teacher, so lots of things may deal with classroom implementation, but I hope to teach my non-educator friends and family a few things too.
Lesson 1: Get a keyboard for the iPad! Now you can do anything!
That was a great idea, but it is now the end of the summer, and I'm just getting started. See, I created a problem. I had gotten an iPad from school to use with one of my summer school students, and in my quest to learn the technology, I was juggling my laptop and the iPad. Well unfortunately, I was never a great juggler, and I dropped one. My laptop survived except for the screen. I learned this by plugging in my monitor from the desktop, and whoola...it worked. Problem? Yes, the desktop is just not convenient or portable, so I've maybe logged onto my computer twice since the juggling accident. Problem? Not really because I had the iPad which is absolutely amazing! But, it was somewhat difficult to compose on the built in keyboard. My keyboarding teachers did such a great job that now I feel totally guilty when I'm not using proper finger movements.
Well today I was getting some items for school at Walmart, and I decided to ask if they had a wireless keyboard for the iPad. Woot woot! They did! Now I can start my blogging. Summer goal number 50 accomplished. Please don't ask about goals 1-49.
So, what's the purpose? Why am I so committed to blogging? I plan to use this blog to teach people about using technology to make life easier. I'm a teacher, so lots of things may deal with classroom implementation, but I hope to teach my non-educator friends and family a few things too.
Lesson 1: Get a keyboard for the iPad! Now you can do anything!
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