Using OneNote to Organize My Library

**This blog was originally written for and posted on the PSLA Blog.**

Recently in a listserv there was a discussion about digital portfolios, and I immediately thought of my OneNote notebook.  As a disclaimer, I did really learn about OneNote through a Microsoft In Education (or is it Microsoft Partners in Education?) training, but I'm not affiliated, nor am I "pushing" OneNote for them.  I know that there are other platforms out there, like livebinders, which I'd love to learn more about, but there I was, sitting in a training, seeing all these cool things that OneNote could do, and I had OneNote on my school laptop and voila! I'm a OneNote user!

How I Use OneNote Currently

I started small: I opened it up and made a notebook for that school year.  Every school year since, I have done the same thing: in August I start a new notebook.

The notebooks function just like, well, notebooks.  You have section tabs up top that divide the sections, and create pages in each section along the right hand side.  I like that you can click anywhere in the page and type, that you can drag and drop things in, that you can save files, that you can easily input screen shots and comment on them, but most of all I like that it just seems to work for the library world.  At least for me.

To give you a glimpse into my current notebook, here is a screenshot of one of my pages:

The tabs across the top, for me, are Induction (yes, I have to go through it again since I switched schools), Professional Development, Library Administration, Programming, Blended (we are starting a blended academy-- more on that in another blog), Budget, Curriculum, Communications, Library Club, Planning, Logins.  Some of these sections are password protected.  Each section is then broken into pages that grow throughout the school year.  At the close of the school year, I will go through the process of turning this notebook into a portfolio that I can use for my end of the year evaluation.  

I use this notebook for everything.  I collaborate and co-plan with teachers in the curriculum section.  I build out my budget, send budget related e-mails to, and keep track of purchasing in the budget section.  I have a page in the curriculum section for each class that comes in (okay, maybe I'm not that good... most classes, when I remember) and handouts for what we did (most of the time).  I keep track of all of our contests in programming and the library club minutes, ideas, and events in library club.  

Next year I will be able to reference this year's notebook for a reminder on how I did things in previous years.  

How I'd Like to Use OneNote in the Future

There was talk in the listserv about organizing our digital portfolios around Charlotte Danielson's Framework For Teaching.  I love that idea as it would be much easier to translate the onenote notebook into the digital portfolio.  Does anyone do this this?  I'd love to hear/see what you do!

I'd also love to start working with students in OneNote.  Especially as we continue to have more students bringing their own devices, I'd love to show them how to organize their notes and their thoughts into notebooks for the year.  These can also become portfolios for classes.  I love that students can record lectures and/or their own voices in onenote.

Finally, I'd love to figure out how to put my notebooks "in the cloud."  So far, I think I've found that my school's version needs to be upgraded to 2010, or we need to go to Microsoft 360.  When that happens, game on!

Here are some links I found for further information.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and your additions to what I know.  Let's work together on this!

Using OneNote Mobile
Cool Examples of Teachers Using OneNote in Education
OneNote Video Tutorials

Downingtown Ivy Academy: Digtial Resources Available

*Note*  The following post is a double post that I actually wrote for another blogger at Downingtown Ivy Academy, the new blended academy my school district, Downingtown Area School District, is starting this upcoming fall.  The post is intended specifically to target the teachers in my school, Downingtown West, focusing on the resources available to them through our library program.  As the year goes on, I'm sure I'll be blogging more about the Ivy Academy.  Until then,

My hope is that we can work together to collaborate in your curriculum to build experiences that are rich in digital resources, and have a differentiated approach through content, product, and process.  The libraries can offer an continually building collection of physical and digital content, but more than that, my hope is that we offer live support for both you and your students.   Below, please find a list and review of the resources that we have. 

Content Resources

1.        Our Destiny book catalogs are both available at destiny.dasd.org.  Did you know that you can create resource lists for your students to access?  This way you can create lists that are specific to your course or even to a project to help focus the students on what they should be accessing.  You could also do a “recommended reading” list for your course!  I would be happy to support you in the creation of resource lists or help you use the catalog.  Also within the catalog, you can perform searches that will access websites and *some* of our database collection. 

2.        Our database collection includes Gale Opposing Viewpoints, Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale US History in Context, Gale World History in Context, Gale Science in Context, JStor, and Power Library (including EbscoHost and EbscoHost E-book collections). 

a.       Gale Databases- My personal bias is that I love these databases.  They are so student friendly and easy to use.  They provide access not only to journal articles, magazine articles, and newspaper articles, but to audio, video, and web resources.  Additionally, they provide levels for their content so that you can match readers to content.  I love it!  Student Resources in Context is the most general database and provides a large amount of content across a wide scope of curricular areas.  

b.      JStor- Many of you have probably used Jstor in the past.  It is a more collegiate resource.  Make sure you log in to get the content!  (All login information is available on my West Library page on the West Website).  This resource provides peer reviewed journal material from a very wide array of academic journals.

c.       Power Library-  EbscoHost is the most used database in Power Library. It, like JStor, provides access to a wide array of sources but includes more non-academic sources as well.  Students can limit their search by peer reviewed journals and linked full text to access content if desired.  The students cannot access Power Library at home without a public library card, unfortunately.  Another notable PL databases include EbscoHost Ebooks—a wonderful resource of ebooks that we get for free (!).  The problem with this resource is that only one student may access a specific e-book at a time, so be mindful of this point when planning.  Take a moment to explore the other PL resources to see how you can connect them to your content!

3.       Ebooks- We do have some Follett ebooks that are accessible through our Destiny interface.    These books are readable from any device with a browser.  Follett ebooks come in single user format and in simultaneous use format (many students can use at one time).  We can certainly get more of these if you would like them to be added to our collection to fit your curriculum.  You can browse for them at www.titlewave.com. 

4.       Nooks- We also have library Nooks that come preloaded with books and are lendable to the student population. 

Process Resources

1.       Hardware—In the West library we have 30 laptops and 30 ipads for student use, in addition to the computer lab and desktops in the library proper. 

2.       Nooks- We have 12 Nooks available for circulation

3.       EasyBib- You and your students all have access to our EasyBib Pro subscription.  The Coupon Code for West is dhswest.  This subscription allows students to set up their projects in EasyBib and share their project with each other and with you.  EasyBib allows them to create and import citations in MLA and APA formats; analyze their bibliographies for currency, validity, and diversity; create note cards that are color coded, organizable, and allow for paraphrasing and commenting, linking to sources; and an outlining tool.   This also connects to their Turn It In accounts and their Google Docs. 

4.       TurnItIn-  You and your students have access to turnitin.com, an anti-plagiarism software that screens their work for plagiarism and allows for peer editing. 

I hope you will be able to find these resources helpful.  I also hope that we will be able to work together to collaborate on your projects so that I can be a support to both you and your students at West.  Let me know how we can work together!

For more updates on  what is going on in West’s library land,

Follow us on Twitter @DWestLibrary

Check out our blog: http://dwestlibrary.blogspot.com/  (to be updated this month!)

Happy Searching!

I've Moved! (And some App Reviews)

First, if you've followed my blog, you'll notice the name change: I've moved!  I'm now officially a whippet!  Although I will concede that I previously did not know what a whippet even was, I am completely psyched to join the Downingtown West community as their high school librarian.

There are a great many things to do in starting in a new library, so I could write about lots of things, but I was asked by a teacher to explore some Apps that would be useful in his Earth/Space Science course, primarily from a productivity perspective, so I decided to use this space to do just that.  I know I've done an appy post before, but I've done a little more work with apps and become a little more familiar with the pedagogy behind them, so I hope this one is a bit more focused.  I also chose this medium because I'd LOVE your input: what are the best productivity apps out there?  I'm going to focus on the free ones, because, well, I'm new.  It might be best to promote free before asking for dollars!  Here are my favorites so far:

Animoto- I like Animoto from an aesthetic perspective.  It's simple and it's pretty.  It pulls photos and videos from your camera roll (or allows you to take them), you can add music, and it creates a slideshow.  The app I found is for the iphone, but it works in ipad as well.  While it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of some of the other apps, this app would be good for a quick and easy presentation that is primarily image based.  Remember that students can pull images from the web and save to camera roll, so if you are looking for a visual representation of, for example, the lifecycle of a star, that could be done through web images, photos from your classroom of student work, etc.

Evernote Peek- Okay, I might be in love with Evernote Peek-- flashcards!  Who doesn't love flashcards?  I'm a nerd.  I know.  Anyway, this app works best with the ipad cover that can fold back.  The students can make their own flashcards through Evernote (which might be the only downside-- I wish you could just make flash cards within Evernote Peek), or they can load ready to go packs, including language, music terms, periodic table, etc.

Evernote- Evernote is essentially an interactive notebook that can be used for just about anything.  It can be collaborative, it can incorporate the web, camera roll, voice, etc.  It also has other apps that interact with Evernote, like Evernote Peek and Skitch.  It's a nice package, but seems like it could take a little bit to get used to and maybe some extra structuring from a teacher's perspective if you wanted to use it with the classroom.  It might be a nice format for kids to keep their notes for a unit or more and then hand in a portfolio of their growth.  It's also nice that it is cloud-based and makes their notes/classwork available anywhere.

Skitch- Skitch also works with Evernote.  The notes allow you to draw/write/etc. on an existing photo, map, image, etc.  What I like about Skitch is that it is interactive, metacognitive, fun, pretty, and simple.  It is very self-explanatory and can really explore a student's thinking on a topic.  Downside is that it doesn't seem to attach voice, so the kids would have to verbally present from their Skitch Document, which maybe isn't a downside after all.

Pinterest- Don't laugh.  I know, I'm the target demographic for Pinterest-- mom of young kids, teacher, crafter, etc. etc., but I TOTALLY believe this could be great in the classroom from a curation standpoint.  It hooks kids up with the larger community and gets them to see that social media is NOT ALL ABOUT talking to your friends, but that they can learn and grow from their wider community. Let me climb down off of my soapbox.  In Pinterest, students can create boards for different themes, pull pins off of the web or their camera roll, sort, share, etc.  What pops into my head immediately are the humanities: boards for Books and their worlds, History boards, Culinary boards, Art and Music boards.  How cool would it be to break your class into groups based on topic and have them be responsible for curating, building, and sharing a board on that topic that you will cover.  They can then showcase their pins throughout the unit?

Voice Thread- This is like Animoto plus voice and video.  It's quick and easy, kids can work as a group and present their thoughts through various mediums.  It is also great for those students who may not want to present live, but still want to get their face/voice on camera.  Downside is that it is not as aesthetically pretty as Animoto, and it doesn't come with the background music options.

Show Me- I'm excited about this one.  This is like screencasting with an interactive whiteboard.  You can record yourself drawing on the whiteboard while talking, incorporate pictures from the camera roll or the web, and move through whiteboards like slides.  What immediately pops into my head is Math-- this would be a great think aloud presentation mode for students to show their work and thought process, but they could build all sorts of presentations through this, especially with the incorporation of web images.

Doceri- This seems like a much more robust Show Me.  It has the same recordable interactive whiteboard features, but with more options.  It also has a more comprehensive presentation mode.  This seems more professional and higher level.

Popplet- I found this app when looking for an app that would be good for graphic organizers.  It allows you to create graphic notes, sort your ideas visually, link them and collaborate.  There is a free Popplet lite, but I get the feeling it might be worth it to splurge for the $4.99 version.  I like that you can, as someone else said, "move with the speed of your thoughts."

Science Specific Apps that Seem Interesting

Ted Talks-  I love Ted talks.  They are short, engaging, exhilarating (for the most part), and great for extension/enrichment.  Put the kids in groups, have them find and digest a Ted talk, and then use one of the above presentation models to disseminate the information out to their peers! 

Science 360- “The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science360 for iPad provides easy access to engaging science and engineering images and video from around the globe and a news feed featuring breaking news from NSF-funded institutions” (from iTunes store description).

What else is out there that you like?  What do your kids use and love?  Our goal is to help kids become more aware of what's out there, get their hands dirty, and help them learn for themselves what works best for them so that when they get out there in the real world, they have their tools. This is absolutely a starter list. I'd love your input.  What do you think?

What You Should be Reading This Summer (Besides Your Summer Reading)

Video from YALSA

I know, I know... there's a new summer reading assignment (at least for you readers who happen to also be Twin Valley High School Students), and I'm willing to bet that you are less than pleased about it. Well, it's not going to be so bad... I promise you.  Okay, maybe I can't promise you, but it'll be good for you.  Does that make it sound better?  No?  :) Okay. So, given that there is a new summer reading assignment, why would you want to be scouring this list that I'm about to present to you for yet more summer reading?  Because it's awesome, because it's put together by teens, because it represents some of the best books from last year, because these books will be the focus of next year's Teen Read Week, and because you want to join our book club, right?  Well, chances are, many of these books might show up on the short list of books to read for the club.  Well, there you are... Now you want to read these books, right?  Right!

YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association), pulls together groups of teens who nominate books that go on the list from which you, happy teen reader, will get to vote for your top ten books of the year.  This list represents 28 must reads, at least for me, this summer: they are of varying genres and all high interest.  I'm going to introduce a few from the list that I've already read, and hope to come back periodically to update as I read this summer.  I'll also be (trying to) add these to our collection; if the book already exists in our collection, the call # will appear right after the ISBN.

Levithan, David.  Every Day. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. 2012. (9780307931887).  F LEV

This book has been one of my go-to books for the "I don't know what to read next" readers, especially if they are John Green fans.  I liked David Levithan before this book-- he has a quirky style and often tackles sticky, tough to talk about subjects.  I loved this book... The premise is unique--"A" (the main character) wakes up in a new body every day, trying his/her best to do no harm to the person in the day that he/she inhabits their body, but then one day, falls in love with his/her host's girlfriend.  Irrevocably in love, like the kind of love you can't just walk away from.  The problem is that tomorrow, he/she will be someone else, somewhere else.  So what now? Smart, funny, touching, and just a good read.  Check it out today!

Picoult, Jodi. Between the Lines. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. 2012. (9781451635812).  

I picked this book up because I am a Jodi Picoult fan-- I loved reading all of her adult books and was excited that she was writing a book for young adults.  I was even more intrigued when I found out that she actually wrote this book with her daughter, from an idea that her daughter had posed to her.  Delilah, the main character, doesn't quite fit in, so she spends a lot of time reading (what's wrong with that?). In the library (yay!!) she find an old fairy tale and finds herself falling in love with the main character who is almost..so...real...that...he....just...might...be...real.  This book is fun and sweet and lovely: a nice read for a few summer days!

Roth, Veronica. Insurgent. Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books. 2012. (9780062024039) *On the Nooks!*

This is the second book in the Divergent series.  Our book club read Divergent, and many read Insurgent this year and really enjoyed both!  If you liked Hunger Games, this might be a good next read for you.  Roth creates a dystopian society in which the children choose a faction to live with based on their dominant personality traits.  For most it is a simple choice: most stay with their original faction.  Some choose another based on test results.  For others, it's not so clear.  In this sequel, the world is at war with itself and Tris has to come to grips with and embrace her own divergence and choices.  This is a fast-paced, exciting read, and a definite must-read for lovers of dystopian fiction!

Wein, Elizabeth.  Code Name Verity. Disney/Hyperion. 2012. (9781423152880). *On the Nooks!*

This is my favorite of my most recent reads.  This uniquely told story unfolds in World War II, with a young girl being held hostage by the Gestapo in 1943.  Filled with historical detail surrounding secret agents, female pilots, the resistance, and secret airmen, this story weaves its way through stunning plot twists and intrigue that will leave the reader wanting to know more.





More to come soon!  Keep checking back for updated posts!

Sending Love: Student Book Clubs, E-Readers, and Those Moments...

Like most jobs, sometimes things can get a bit rough in the library.  I know it doesn't seem like it, and we've all heard the same comments from those who don't know:  "so, what exactly do you do?"  "Must be nice to be able to read all day!" "you're job's pretty chill... just checking out books all day" (that was a student), etc. etc., but sometimes it gets a bit rough--sometimes we pull our mutual, librarian hair out at the craziness of it all: low budget, high expectation, soaring demand, staffing issues, etc. etc. etc. But to be honest, this job rocks.  I try to make sure to know that and be thankful for that every day, and a few days ago, I was blessed to have one of those moments when it is crystal clear: this job just rocks.

We were at a local cafe (Cafe 110 in Morgantown PA--if you are local and you haven't been there--go! Plus they support kids and libraries and are so incredibly nice to us... so go!) and the kids were a little nervous.  We have been running a student book club for about two years now.  Before I continue, a little about the club:

• We average about 20 students at our book club meetings and generally met 4 or 5 times a year. 
• Books are chosen by the students, voted on by the larger Library Club, and then advertised to the student body and faculty at our school.
• We make posters, find book trailers, and have open sign ups for that book's meeting
• We meet once for each book to discuss, and while it is not at all required, the students generally show up with notes and questions prepared for discussion--in fact, I think it has become the culture of book club, but it is also totally okay when someone shows up less prepared
• Books are provided on Nook E-readers that are set aside from our circulating set for book club specifically or students can buy their own
• The club provides cookies and brownies to help set the atmosphere--we meet off school property, at a local cafe, and enjoy hot tea, desserts, and each other
• We meet for about one hour (and I have generally had to stop their conversations each time)
• Faculty does attend, but not wearing their "teacher" hats... we are just a part of the conversation with the students
• We have had to establish "rules" over time-- no book hopping (stick to the subject), spoilers are to be expected as we hope you've finished the book, one person at a time (we've joked about needing a buzzer), etc.

Anyway, I've left you with nervous students.  They were frantically arranging and rearranging seating because for this book club, the author of the Ask the Passengers, our current book, A.S. King would be joining us!  For the past month, students had been swinging by the library, giving me the play-by-play breakdown of their reading experience, practicing the phrasing of their questions, asking me for my opinion and generally practicing all of the reading behaviors we hope they will as teachers and librarians.  

The meeting was everything I could hope it would be.  The students were articulate, engaged, engaging, excited, polite and discerning.  Ms. King was kind, generous, open with her responses, engaged with our students and challenging to them on an intellectual and human level.  The kids and I  left feeling inspired.  As I perused twitter and facebook in the hours and days after the book club, I continue to see the students from book club "sending love" to each other through cyberspace, a theme that we touched on quite a bit in our talk with Ms. King.  

It is these experiences, that are many times outside the realm of what we do on a day-to-day level with our students that give us those moments that are why we teach, and give the students the moments that they will remember and will hopefully provide that inspiration and drive to be the next author, the next something-that-isn't-invented-yet.  These are the moments that are at the center of why this job rocks.  

I surveyed our students to find out their insights on book club, now that we have been running for two years and have a pretty solid routine, and here are some of the benefits students noted:

• The opportunity to read books they might not read on their own
• Availability of the Nooks for students who cannot afford to purchase the books on their own
• Enjoyable--takes away the pressure of "English class"
• Time out of the "hectic week to just relax and talk books"
• Provides role models and connections for younger students
• Realize things about the books that they do not on their own

Do you run a student book club?  Are you involved in one? Do you just have ideas?  I'd love to share ideas and resources with you!  Let's keep "those moments" going!  Maybe my book club could call your book club and we could, you know, talk books....

Sending love your way!  

Get Connected!

"Twitter usage among U.S. teens has doubled in less than two years...there are now more than 200 million active users...posting more than 175 million tweets a day."  

-Jeff Dunn in Edudemic Magazine

Recently, I saw a tweet by a student who was complaining about his school having a twitter account.  Although he couldn't elaborate upon his frustration in under 140 characters, the gist of his lament was that twitter is a social platform and not a place for schools, that the school website fulfills that purpose, so schools should vacate twitter and leave the kids alone.  This made me reflect upon several things (including the student perception of my own tvhs_library twitter account), but mostly had me ruminating upon the student's (perhaps students'?) lack of perspective on how social networking, like twitter, and digital tools, like apps, can be useful and essential to their academic and intellectual lives. So, I started searching, and below are the results of that search: a list of relevant twitter accounts, facebook pages, and apps that a student could use to get started on his/her way to becoming a digital citizen who uses social and digital tools to engage in the larger, global conversation. Here's to getting connected!

By the way, these tools aren't just for the students:  

"Professors who use Twitter for personal information were perceived by students to be more credible and approachable than those who did not, according to a study released in 2011."

-American Library Association*

Give it a shot!  

Twitter

Twin Valley Specific

@tvhs_library  --Follow the library--we tweet about general library on-goings, school events, interesting things we find and think you might be interested in, etc. etc.  

@tvraiders   --Follow the athletic department and keep on top of sports scores and news.  

Other Accounts You May Want to Follow: (blurbs are not mine)

@WSJ, @BizJournals, @BreakingNews or @NYTimes-Unfortunately, becoming a young adult means you’ll need to at least pretend to be an active member of society, which typically consists of knowing what’s going on in the world. Even if you simply read the tweet headlines, such as “JPMorgan Fear Traders Hid Loss, Now at $5.8 Billion,” you can instantly seem approximately 67% smarter than your peer by randomly throwing this small anecdote into casual conversation. Ideally, you’ll actually have a clue what’s going on, but having a clue is half the challenge.

@KhanAcademy Khan Academy has 3,300 videos and multiple practice exercises for a number of content areas.

@VolunteerTEENnation VolunTEENnation connects teen volunteers to teen volunteer opportunities.

@USNewsEducation US News & Education provide numerous tips for transitioning into college.

@ScholarshipGuru

Got scholarships? Follow the official account of ScholarshipExperts.com to receive tips on winning scholarships and follow links that direct you to information about awards…up to four new awards every day!

@PLTWorg   Project Lead the Way

@NationalTSA   National Technology Student Association

Facebook

TVHS Library-  Look for library announcements, new books, library and school events, and other interesting finds.

Twin Valley High School Athletics- Keep up to date on sports news and announcements.

Technology Student Association

Pennsylvania TSA

Project Lead the Way

Apps

For Twin Valley Students

Destiny App: From Follett-- This app is for our online catalog.  Just enter library.tvsd.org for instant access to all of our books and e-books. Happy reading!

Google Apps:  Specifically, I would install google drive so that you can manage your saved files from both school and home.  See Mrs. Nass for help with your username and password.  

General Apps (Blurbs are not my own)

Barefoot World Atlas:  zoom in from outer space and land anywhere on Earth with narrated bits, delightful animations, background music, and real-time data that inform about the amazing range of traditions, cultures, geographical features, and animals found on our globe

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare: With extensive notes and commentary, this app displays videos of famed actors performing each of the Bard's 154 sonnets, a facsimile of the 1609 Quarto, and other noteworthy highlights.  

Wonders of Geology: includes breathtaking visuals, a concise text, and a narrated tour of

 http://edudemic.com/2012/12/why-students-should-use-twitter/ some of our nation's most spectacular natural sites.  With features that transform basic science concepts into fascinating brain food, and flawless navigation, this app is a student's go-to text.  

Fragile Earth: 170 pairs of before/after photos that reveal the devastating effects of natural phenomena (like hurricanes) on our planet.  Also explored are the harmful consequences of urbanization, mining, and global warming.  

The Chemical Touch: Select different elements to learn more about their properties and get definitions of nucleobases, as well. You can even sort the table with different colors to identify periodic trends — and hopefully, make your chemistry homework less complex than amino acids. If you need in-depth explanations of different concepts, the app will open Wikipedia entries.

Essentials by AccelaStudy: Learning a foreign language is a core part of high school curriculum. Whether you've enrolled in fourth period French, Italian, Spanish or Chinese, this app will be your study guide. It provides pre-made flashcards for learning vocab and audio quizzes to help your speech and pronunciation.

Evernote Peek: Making flashcards is a tedious process that most students don't have time for. Evernote Peek takes the work out of the process. The app turns your iPad and Smart Cover into makeshift flashcards. And don't worry, if you don't have a cover, the app creates a "virtual cover."

Graphing Calculator: Graphing calculators are expensive, but it's almost impossible to get your calculus homework done without one. Consider investing in this app instead.It quickly plots and traces multiple equations on the same graph, using a custom keyboard to speed up entry. It even supports graphing polar and parametric equations and much, much more. Plus, you can take screenshots of your calculator to email graphs to yourself.

Math Formulas: Struggling to keep your trigonometry formulas separate from your algebraic formulas? This app is your math savior. It stores frequently used forumlas for easy access and lets you favorite the apps you reference the most. It even delves into calc, geometry and probability, and displays images so you can put the formulas into perspective.

Easel SAT Prep Light: The SAT is one of the most important tests in a high schooler's career. This app makes preparation easy and hassle-free, so you can keep your sights on test day.The app features three sections with 25 questions each and a "show me" function, which explains how to arrive at the right answer.

Sparknotes: No online or offline list of study aids would be complete without the venerable SparkNotes. The app includes 50 pre-installed study guides plus access to hundreds more online. Topics include Shakespeare, poetry, philosophy, drama and more. All SparkNotes study guides can be downloaded for offline use. StudyNotes includes sharing tools, including location-based notifications to allow students to start instant study groups.

Khan Academy: This award-winning app for the iPad gives students access to a library of over 3,200 videos explaining and illustrating everything from advanced mathematical problems to straightforward historical events. All the short lessons are conducted in the Khan Academy’s trademark style, with simple steps and a clear narration. A log allows students to record the videos they have seen and track their progress. Khan Academy is a great teaching aid, as well as a study boon to students!

World Atlas HD: If you think free maps on the Internet leave something to be desired, the National Geographic Society's World Atlas HD app might be the app for you. It lets you search high-resolution world maps; you choose whether to view them in classic style, with an antique look, or in satellite form. Consult details for specific countries, including land area, population, languages spoken, major religions, type of government, and natural resources. World Atlas HD is available for iPad.

Support

"Why Students Should Use Twitter"

*If you are interested in this study, it was conducted by Kirsten A. Johnson, associate professor of communications at Elizabethtown College (here in PA!): "The Effect of Twitter Posts on Students' Perceptions of Instructor Credibility," Learning, Media, and Technology, vol. 36, no.1