Posted by:
Katie Stansberry
When
it comes to using mobile technology in education, the iPhone gets a lot
of press. Apple has aggressively marketed their products to education
markets and the little glowing Apple is ubiquitous on college campuses.
However, the open nature of the Android operating system is really more
in line with the lofty ideals of public education. Here are some great
apps for educators that use the Android operating system.
Google Sky Map
This nifty application takes full advantage of the phone’s
orientation sensors to show a star map for just about every location on
earth at any given time. Are you wondering what that really bright thing
is just on the horizon? Find out if it’s a star, a planet, or maybe a
low flying plane just by pointing your camera toward the object. Google
Sky Map provides detailed maps of over one thousand stars and all of the
planets in our solar system.
Formulas Lite
This
simple application houses a vast collection of the most important and
oft used formulas in math, physics and chemistry. The app also features a
scientific calculator and a very basic translator. While Formulas Lite
won’t get you through advanced calculus without studying, it is a useful
reference guide to keep easily accessible.
The Elements
This highly addictive game uses low-tech, abstract graphics to
represent various elements such as fire, sand, water and salt. Want to
know what happens when you mix fire and sand? Set up the scenario and
press play. Voila! You’ve made glass.
PlinkArt
As a company that specializes in visual searches, Plink has created a
beautiful application for art scholars. Users can browse art by
timeline, movement, or gallery, or hit random and check out a new
masterpiece. The coolest feature of this app is the visual search
function. Just snap a picture of a work you’re admiring and if the piece
is one of the thousands of paintings in their database the system will
find it.
Trippo Mondo
With more than 30 different languages supported, Trippo Mondo has you
covered. Not sure how to ask how to find the bathroom in Italian? Not
sure if your Spanish pronunciation is up to snuff? Use this application
to translate any given phrase. Type or speak into the phone and hear it
repeated back in the local language.
Doodledroid
Yes, this is another smartphone painting program. But 21 different
brushes, a three part color palette, simulated brush dynamics, and
unparalleled control over design, this feature-heavy app is definitely
worth the $.99 price tag. Just check out these sample images created
with the program:
Layer Reality Browser
Last but definitely not least is an app that was one of the featured products at Google’s Zeitgeist
event in May. The augmented reality program, which by the way is
available for iPhone 3G users as well, augments the real world as seen
through your phone’s camera lens. Several different layers can be
applied over phone images to show aspects of your location. For example,
if you wanted to know about crime in your area apply the SpotCrime
layer and see a real time recording of crimes that have happened in
your area. Although still in it’s early stages, the potential for
augmented reality education using mobile devices is astounding.
What’s your favorite Android application for education?