Category Archives: Math

Goodreader – Paid but Powerful

Posted on by

Attention Math & English instructors: This app may be worth the $4.99 purchase price! Scroll down for the screenshots!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914

Description

GoodReader® is the super-robust PDF reader for iPad – the #1 selling non-Apple app for iPad in USA in 2010! Mashable describes it as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!” Reviews worldwide hail it as “essential,” “the best,” “magnificent” and “the killer app”. With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. Use it once and you’ll be hooked. Soon you’ll be wondering how you ever managed to use your iPad without GoodReader. GoodReader has earned its accolades by the way it handles huge PDF and TXT files, manuals, large books, magazines, and renderings of 100 mb and more with great speed. The ability to mark-up PDFs opens up new doors to GoodReader users who can now use typewriter text boxes, sticky notes, lines, arrows, and freehand drawings on top of a PDF file. Besides reading, you can also sync your files with remote servers:
• sync with Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync and any WebDAV, AFP, SMB, FTP or SFTP server
• sync entire folders or individual files separately
GoodReader not only supports massive PDF and TXT files, but also handles the most popular file types:
• MS Office – .doc, .ppt., .xls
• iWork ’08/’09
• HTML and Safari webarchives
• High resolution images
• Even audio and video!

FEATURES:
ANNOTATE! Annotation is a feature long sought after by users who want to add their own mark-ups to PDFs, especially those collaborating as a team on shared documents. The types of annotations that can be created and edited in GoodReader include typewriter text boxes, popup comments (“sticky notes”), text highlights, freehand drawings, lines, arrows, rectangles, ovals, cloudy shapes, text underlines, strikeouts, text insertion marks.

MANAGE FILES! GoodReader lets you create folders, move, copy and rename your files; zip, email, unzip and unrar them; plus send your files to other apps.

TRANSFER FILES! Within moments of downloading GoodReader, you’ll be transferring files in a number of ways: directly from your computer over a USB cable or WiFi connection, from the Internet or from email attachments. It also easily integrates with Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, SugarSync, box.net and other WebDAV, AFP, SMB, FTP and SFTP servers.

SYNC YOUR FILES AND FOLDERS! The amazing Auto Sync feature will work with Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync, box.net, and any other WebDAV, AFP, SMB, FTP or SFTP server.

PDF HYPERLINKS! The PDF hyperlink feature allows you to quickly jump back and forth within the document. Tapping a link quickly whisks you across a huge PDF book in an instant, and the “Go Back” button will take you back to the page you came from.

MORE VIEWING AREA! With no bars or buttons blocking the text, you’ll experience true full-screen reading. Do your document’s pictures split in halves across two pages? That’s not a problem with GoodReader – one of the only apps to offer a special double-page mode for viewing the entire spread! And if large page margins are annoying, get rid of them with GoodReader’s special PDF crop tool!

ZOOM! You can even use the 50x zoom, giving you a better view without distorting the image. Perfect for PDF maps and drawings.

TEXT SEARCH! If you know what you’re looking for, the Text Search feature helps you find your way to the exact info you want in any PDF or TXT file.

TONS OF OTHER FEATURES! We keep surprising our existing users with new features by constantly releasing free updates. We don’t just do small fixes, we actually improve the app all the time!

LEARN MORE! www.goodreader.com

iPad Screenshot 1

iPad Screenshot 2

iPad Screenshot 3

How one teacher uses mobile technology in the classroom and out

Posted on by

Incorporating mobile technology into your teaching can be a lot more than simply encouraging your students to use iPads or smartphone apps. Mobile technology can bring lots of benefits to your role as instructor, both in your teaching and in what you do outside the classroom as well.

One math instructor, Leanna Lofte, uses mobile technology, both on her iPad and her iPhone in order to enhance her grading, stay in contact with her students when they need her help with assignments, and add to her students’ learning experience during class time.

For a detailed look on how Leanna uses mobile technology to the benefit of her and her students, check out her blog post at imore.com: How I use my iPhone and iPad as a college math teacher

Check it out even if you’re not a math instructor — there’s lots of helpful tips!

Easing into Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom

Posted on by

As an instructor, you may already know there’s ways tablets can enrich your courses, but sifting through the nearly countless apps available for download can seem overwhelming. As with choosing any other new course materials, there are a lot of factors to consider. With so many apps on the market—and more being added every day!—it can be hard to know where to begin. You may wonder:

  • if you’re looking at the right type of apps for your course
  • if there’s a free app that will give you what you need or if you’ll need a paid one
  • if the apps you choose will make you seem “out of date” to your students

It’s concerns like these that often keep instructors from diving into incorporating mobile devices into their courses. However, using mobile devices, such as tablets and even smartphones, doesn’t have to be so daunting. Instead, you can start off slowly and ease into using apps and mobile devices in your course. One way to do this is by creating an assignment for students to research useful apps.

Start using mobile devices in your classes by turning a search for apps into part of the course. Assign students the task of searching for an app that would be useful in the course, then have them give a short presentation to the class on why that app is helpful.

For example, in a math class, your student may discover an app like Quick Graph to graph equations clearly and cleanly, or in an English class, your students may learn to understand Elizabethan English a little better with the Shakespeare Dictionary! It can be an individual or group assignment, and you can stagger the presentations throughout the semester to coincide with different lessons or even have an “App Day” where everyone presents what they’ve found. Students have now had the opportunity to have hands-on experience seeing how mobile devices can benefit them as they learn, and you’ve had the chance to see how mobile devices can benefit you as an instructor as well!

Some things to consider:

  • Apps may vary on different platforms, and won’t be available to all users. Make sure you decide beforehand which devices you’ll allow for this exercise (iPads, Android tablets, smartphones, etc.), in order to avoid frustration and confusion.
  • Watch out for costs! There’s a multitude of free apps available, but some of the most comprehensive apps can be pricey. Students may be more reluctant to download multiple apps if the costs are adding up, so be sure to set guidelines for pricing and don’t expect students to download every app their peers find if the costs begin to rise.
  • Even with all the apps available, students can easily duplicate apps in an assignment like this. If you’re looking to cut down on having students present the same apps, consider making the assignment more specific for each student. Ask one student or group of students to look for apps to assist with one lesson of the course, while asking another student or group to focus on something else.

Remember: you don’t have to take an all-or-nothing approach to using mobile devices in your courses. As with any changes you make to your teaching material, it can take some research, and a little trial and error. But with methods like this one, you can ease into using apps in the classroom and create an experience that’s enjoyable and educational for your students and yourself!