So last week I took some time out to listen to @mrrobbo latest podcast, which is a must as it has educators from all across the world sharing their best apps that they use. It was certainly interesting to hear what technology is being used in physed classrooms all across the world.  Check it out here 50th Podcast Edition

A few days after listening to it I had a comment left on my blog post Apps, Apps & more #PhysEd Apps by @MsOlliffePE who is an MS educator from Dubai.  Diane and her team recently brought together a number of Physical Educators in the Middle East (#PhysedME) region together to share ideas with teachers teaching teachers.  The #PhysedME  started with @osama13 , @reema_kahar and I starting a PLN for teachers in this region as there seemed to be very little support for PE teachers and helping them to grow as educators.  Just over 18 months down the line, they have built a great community that supports one another.  After Diane had left her comment, and listening to @mrrobbo podcast it gave me an idea.  How great would it be for PE teachers from across the world would share their smart device home screens with the rest of the world.  The apps you use most are generally on your home screen, so lets share what works for you and why.

So I am going to pass this post over to Diane

So, Adam asked me to screenshot my iPad and write up my 5 favorite apps I use in my Middle School PE classes. I’m still learning all about iPads, but here are my favorite ones right now.

1. Team Shake – By far, the most used app I have. I use it probably 3-5 times per class per day. It takes me about 20 minutes at the beginning of the school year to input my classes and student names. I can instantly create any number of groups I want and change them until I like the configuration. My students call this the Randomizer and that’s exactly what it does.
2. Plickers – I have used this mainly in my Health classes as I have not yet figured out a management system I like for the gym. I’ve ordered some pocket charts that I saw @physedreview show on YouTube, so will start using them more in PE. I love the instant feedback that both my students and I get from Plickers. They are continually updating this app and the new Scoresheet is a great example of listening to what teachers want.
3. Yoga Studio – Although I paid about $4.00 USD for this app, it has been worth it. It started out as my personal app for yoga and quickly became something I used in class. They have a wide variety of classes based on duration, ability level and focus of the workout. You can also create your own routines. I’ve only used this to lead my classes through a routine while I help them do the postures correctly, but plan to have students create their own routines to demonstrate their learning about phases of a workout.
4. Video Delay – There are many of these types of apps on the market, but I like this one because it splits the screen four ways and you can set up the length of delay for each section. When watching a video delay of their skills, my students can then watch it four times in a row without touching the iPad. This gives them multiple opportunities to see themselves. I use an Ipod stand to set it up to be completely hands-free.
5. Google Classroom/Google Drive – I’m just starting to use the Classroom app on the iPad. I’ve used it this year on my computer and LOVE it! We are a one-to-one GAFE school and this is the best way to easily send my students assignments, exit slips, Google forms, etc. I love that I can see instantly who has turned in their document. My next challenge is to figure out how to use Doctopus and Goobric within the iPad. I want to do this so I can instantly grade students on a rubric while I’m observing their skills.

Those are my top 5 apps. As you can see, I use more than that, but these are the ones I use all the time to help my students learn. What are yours?

Thanks Diane for this, hopefully I can help you with discovering google and helping you to work smarter.

Over the next few posts we will be seeing educators from around the world sharing what they like the most and more importantly how and why they use them in their teaching.