What I’m Seeing: Apps Reinventing Learning Experiences

One of the fun things about the explosion in mobile apps is that almost every week I find something I didn’t know I needed.  I always hang pictures crooked, but last week my wife solved the problem by downloading a free level.
There are apps that are reinventing the learning experiences.
Video Revolution in Teaching. Along with Sal Khan, students at MIT are busy producing K-12 videos, check out K12videos.MIT.edu.
TED-Ed launcheda site that allows educators to create original lessons for any YouTube video (too bad they are blocked in most schools).
Kinobi provides real time coaching on classroom management.
LearnZillion is a Common Core-aligned platform that combines video lessons, assessments and progress reports.
New Science.  The Blu is a virtual ocean created by artists, it’s a community of makers, and it’s a great field trip.
Sapling Learning reinvented post secondary science homework.  I wish this interactive
platform had been around when I was struggling with organic chemistry.
Second Avenue is a group of very smart ladies building cool science games.
Campus life.  Campus Quad is an app the VP of Student Affairs at every college needs.  It’s the best of mobile, social, and local.  CEO Frances Cairns has a great team and a cool app in beta at a couple of brand name colleges.
Involvio maps social opportunities at a half a doze schools.  Mapyst  find Carnegie Mellon classrooms.  Find more campus apps in this review.
This is the seventh in a series of posts on trends I’m seeing in edtech startups.  Previous posts covered productive post-sec, informal learning, skill verification, learning to code, classroom tools, and math content.

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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1 Comment

Jackie Newman
5/4/2012

Hey Tom! Great post, you are completely right about the explosion in the use of mobile apps. I've started to use some of them myself and my students are completely amazed :D
There's this one I've tried lately, it's called Nearpod. Great app. I'm sharing this with every teacher I know or would like to, as it's one of the most engaging tools I've used.
I leave you the link, maybe you find it interesting, too!
http://www.nearpod.com/ I think next week they are releasing a new version, I saw something on their twitter account.
Best regards, and thanks again for sharing this post!

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