Apps Collection

DocuSign Ink By Docusign Inc Free Available on iOS and Android An app you can configure; your signature; signatures from others; your identity associated with signature.   The aim of the app is to make your signature more secure and verifiable for the end user, as embeds your identity information in association with your signature, i.e. photo, company and title, email, address and phone number.   As often these days’ forms ask for your signature and your employers official stamp in order to provide valid evidence of of the signature to the recipient. The app can open most word processed documents and PDFs requiring to be completed and signed.    Forms questions can be completed, by using the text box functionality provided,   as well as being able to enter your configured validated signature in the designated section of the form.   My primary use of this app is to provide sign temp’ employee timesheets, and references, the latter I complete at least two ref...

Videoscribe By Sparkol Free (but watermarked Videoscribe), £1.49 (video not watermarked) in iPad App Store £1.69 Android market Available for Android Tablets and iPad platforms I discovered this app a few months ago before Christmas; I readily showed the app to my students as an alternative solution for designing alternative presentations to PowerPoint. This is as I am particularly keen on setting standalone presentations assessments as an alternative to the dry PowerPoint presentations.    I have used to app recently to create a promotional You Tube video , (Nortcliffe, 2013) for our Chapter, (Nortcliffe et al, 2013) in the newly launched Digital Voices book. The app provides; a library of pictures, shapes from speech bubbles to thought patterns; functionality to upload your own images from Dropbox; functionality to create   hand scribed animation by images and text from the library by placing in the workspace, (tip you need think about your storyboard in a procedur...

How to Get a Job Interview by Docstoc Inc Free Available for iOS mobile platform Provides   a library of videos and resources ; ·          to prepare your CV/application to gain an interview; ·          how to prepare for an interview;   ·          how to make positive impact in the interview; ·          post interview the follow up; ·          negotiation of salary. Though note the latter will become an issue as for users who have progressed their career, but for users   at the start of their career salaries are often pre-fixed particularly for placements, i.e. it is what the employer can afford.    In addition the app provides HR tools resources which will gives the user an insight into HR tools used by interviewers in interviews typically used today; the intervie...

Final Countdown By Thangbom Free Available for Android An app recommended by my students that assists them to manage their assessment deadlines, (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2013) for the following reasons; “Makes countdown [to assessment easier], I always turn to Student D for hand in time I rely on him to tell me down to the last second” student D “Shows you in the app and home screen [of the phone], shows you how long you have got left” student E As the app sids the students no to lose track when assessments are due in, provides the user with information of important deadlines on the phone homepage.   Also users can configure the app to supply a regular notification to user as reminder when assessment submission deadlines are approaching.    This functionality is not provided by most calendar app, useful where you do need regular reminders in advance of encroaching deadlines, particularly those set months in advance, typically occurring with semester and year-long asses...

Evernote Free Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms My students report using the tool for capturing notes whether typed, image or recording, as shown below: “[Evernote] create notes, take snapshots so like of lecture materials, like the slides and anything that is written down on the blackboard [Whiteboard], also you can tag in your notes and tag them together and share your notes” Application enables learners to igather information, collate and organise their learning notes to the benefit of their learning and experience.     Our previous research of providing students with audio devices and encouraging them to use the devices to support their learning, the students were found to readily ubiquitously captured their ephemeral learning experiences to the benefit of their learning experience, (Middleton et al, 2009).    Therefore in principle any app that supports students to igather their learning will aid...

Google Drive Free Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms I have been a Google doc user since the beta release in 2006.   I have used it avidly to write collaboratively with co-authors and students, a great initiation tool for many penned chapters.    The tool has become one of my much used IT applications, so the Google Drive on my iPad and iPhone has become a much welcomed addition, particularly when I am collaboratively working as you can share the files with other Google account holders.      The app provides access to my Google account and cloud storage of my documents from PDFs, Google Docs, Presentations and Google spreadsheets.    Recently Notability provided the functionality that enabled users to export to Notability documents and audio recordings to Google Drive.   This has enabled me to collate assessment grid and audio feedback prepared on Notability onto Google Drive, in re...

OverSkreen $2.49 Available for Android This is app was demonstrated to me by a student on their android tablet as part of our research, Nortcliffe and Middleton (2012), students comments and reflections as computing students, that developers need to reflect more on how users use technology more: “Makes your web browser float over things [home screens and other apps], over anything [enabling multi-tasking]” student E “It is really interesting, the way people expect people to use technology is to be focusing on one or two things at once, the way people really use technology it is more chaotic than that” student D To be frank this is an app I would like on the iOS.   The app enables the web-browser application to float over other applications or the home page.   Therefore provide the user with the functionality to breakout from a single app full-screen display.   It opens up the opportunity to enable the user to multi-task, for example make notes in Google Drive whilst readi...

Genius Scan By The Grizzly Labs Free on iOS and 89p on Android Available for Android and iOS mobile platforms As we no longer have scanners readily accessible to academic staff,  I am employed at an institution with a large campus, scanners not in location near our office.    The s canners have been supposedly replaced with advance photocopies which we have easy, however these photocopies regularly defeat all of us in the office in just doing the basic functionality of photocopying notes.    Therefore Genius Scan has been welcomed app by all us in the office when we want to scan received hard copies of documents requesting to be completed by hand, signed, and stamped and to sent back as fast as possible, i.e. email.    Typically these documents are copyright permission request documents from publishers and reference requests from employers for our students.    However, occasionally I come across a hard copy article in jour...

  CV Coach by Aspect Resourcing Partners Free Available for iOS mobile platform CV coach is an appropriate starting point app to provide hand holding advice whilst preparing your CV on a PC/Mac.   Demonstrates why you need certain sections on your CV.     An app I recommend to my first year students to help them to get started preparing their CV for placement applications. However note that the advice on Reference on Request is only appropriately when you are further up the career chain, at the start of career you are competing with 100s if not 1000s just creates another hurdle that recruitment staff have to jump will not adhere you to them, you are adding work to their day. Also, note that the Interests and Hobbies section at the start of your career this need to be more descriptive than a list, the type of interests to show are those that you can describe your involveme...

Facebook Facebook Free Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms The reality is social networking is very much part of our students’ lives it provides them with the mechanism to be part of a collective community of self esteem, Gangadharbatla (2008), typically students have Facebook accounts.    In our previous research students highlighted that Facebook app on their mobile devices is an important to supporting organisation and communication in group-work learning, Nortcliffe and Middleton (2013).   Facebook supports their learning immediacy, "the right here right now", as shown by the following student conversation as to why they use Facebook for learning; "I use [Facebook] chat over email, for someone's opinion, to ask someone something,   you know you will get a response instantly",   student A, "Plus you know   that people will be looking at their Facebook whereas you don't know if people are loo...

Skype By Microsoft Corporation Free Available for Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms Conference calling app, calls are free from mobile Skype app to mobile Skype app or mobile Skype app to desktop Skype app over a wireless network.    This app has enabled me to supervise students from a far on projects.    Whether students or myself who is away from the University enables us to discuss project progress, issues, ideas and documentation together in the same way as project meeting face to face.    Use the app on speaker oppose to with a headset, the project conversation can be recorded using recorder pro and email the conversation to the student.   Therefore ensuring the project supervision is similar to my usual face to face project supervision meetings, see previous blog entry.    A student’s reflection of the experience: “After having to split my final year into two years, Skype enabled my project supervisor...

Recorder Pro By Dava Consulting 69p Available for iOS platform In my opinion this is the best audio recording app on the iOS platform.   I have used a number of the audio apps, this app in particularl for over four years.    The app provides you with the choice of audio quality settings low 8kHz, 22kHz to 44.1kHz, and audio formats non-compressed AIFF and WAV to compressed (IMA4 codec) AIFC and CAF.    I personally have my app permanently setup as low 8kHz and AIFC format, this means I can audio record 1/2hr of audio and the file is still small enough to be emailed, approximately 8Mb.    The app provides the functionality to create folders and rename your recordings, enabling you to organise your recordings effectively.    The audio recording functionality provides record, pause, auto pause (sensitivity can be adjusted), play, rewrite and delete.    The app is fully integrated with mail app and provides access to all your conta...

Notability By Ginger Labs £1.49 Available for iPad App enables you to digitalise signing and filling in forms quickly and efficiently.    Whether copyright form, to reference request, to banking documents.   Typically or not these documents are sent as hard copies or PDFs therefore require to be printed completed and sent back via the post.    Notability enables you to process the forms quickly and efficiently and email back the forms to the recipients.     However, also provides the user with the functionality to add photos from camera or photos, figures, web screen dump, “post-it-note” and audio recording to a document. In terms for education Notability can really come into its own, educational work sheets can be filled in electronically by students.   The app supports variety of languages, answers can be typed or hand written onto the sheets, can make entries very neat with the zoom feature including you handwriting.    The sheets can...

Penultimate By Evernote Free Available for iPad I purchased this app two years ago when I received my first iPad, it is the app I still use most regularly.    Since I purchased the app it dropped in price to be now free.    Personally I don’t begrudging paying for the app, as it is really the best of all the hand writing notebook apps.    The handwriting is accurate and responsive.   The wrist protector technology is very accurate.   You can write with your finger or a stylus.   However I would recommend a fine tip stylus.     The app enables you to digitalise note-taking in notebooks with the added bonus you can embed photos from iPad camera or photos, and you have the choice of free paper background from graph to line paper, to paid backgrounds from sheet music to to do lists.    The note books can be synchronized to Evernote, emailed, printed, sent to iTunes and even opened and read in other apps tools that have the fac...