TECH iPad Apps

For the TECH part of todays lesson I looked at a few different apps that are present on the iPads we use in class.

Th first app I looked at was called 3D Brain. This basically gives students the ability to go in an look at a virtual brain in 3D, they can move it and turn the brain to see it from different angles, and even add click a button that will label the various parts. The app gives the ability to look at the brain as a whole or in pieces such as just the frontal lobe, or even just the brain stem. There is even a button that allows students to get more information about the particular part of the brain they are looking at, some even include case studies about it.
I really like this app because it gives students the ability to explore the brain, both as a whole and in pieces without having to worry about taking things apart and putting them back together like with plastic models. This app could be very useful in the classroom when discussing the anatomy of the brain, as each students could have the 3D model right there on their desk and they could manipulate is as they needed to. It would also be a great feature for studying outside of the class room, as it provides labels for each part.

Another app I looked at was called Your world. What I really liked about this app is that it combines a game with the learning. Basically, there is a globe and then at the bottom there are various countries. The student have to try and figure out where on the globe the countries go and then put them there. I liked that it wasn't all well known countries, even in the limited version there were countries that even I had no idea even on what continent they should go. The app provides hints for this reason. I assume that in the full version, all of the countries are present.
This app would be great in the classroom for learning world geography. While, at times it is like putting a puzzle together, the students really need to know where the countries go. This could be good as a review, or even as the beginning of a lesson so the students can see just how many countries there are, and how difficult it can be to know where each one it.

A third app that I looked at was called quick graph. This app is allows students to input equation that they are graphing and then it graphs it for them. They can even graph equations that are already in the library, to see what they look like. This app basically works the same as the graphing feature on a graphing calculator, however as someone who has used a graphing calculator for years, this app is much easier to use, as it allows you to have more than one graph on the same screen. Also this app has the ability to graph on a 3D plain for high mathematics. Something that is not easy to do on a graphing calculator or on paper. It even has a button that allows the students to easily email the graph to themselves to use for studying or completing homework if the iPad must stay at the school.
This app would be great in high-school math classes for graphing as it is much easier to use than a graphing calculator, and had more graphing abilities.