See Also: iPad Apps for Education

With displays in all the major big box retailers, an extensive ad campaign and a coveted spot on Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things list, Apple is pushing the iPad in a big way this holiday season. Despite increasingly desperate hints, ISTE repeatedly ignored my insistence that an iPad is a necessary business tool. Luckily, my husband surprised me with a very early Christmas present a couple weeks ago and I’m now the proud owner of a brand new Apple tablet.

The present arrived early because I had a long flight with a very energetic toddler to go through and the iPad is an extremely effective distraction. Consequently, my tablet is currently filled with apps geared more to the preschool set than the education professional.

Since I need to populate my iPad with some basic apps to turn it from an overpriced toy to a useful tool, I spent the last several hours researching basic applications. I also asked the Twitterverse to weigh in on their must-have iPad apps and trolled my favorite ed blogs looking for suggestions.

Here’s my list of apps that any new iPad owner should install to help get the most from their tablet:

Productivity:

Dropbox (Free): This handy app was the first thing I downloaded. Dropbox makes it easy to store and share files between machines. I have it installed on my MacBook, iPhone, iPod and the desktop computer in my office. To use, just drag and drop files into a folder and pieces will be automatically synced between all devices. Now I never need to worry about forgetting my USB drive again.

To Do’s List for iPad (Free): With many of the same capabilities of the far more expensive productivity apps such as Things and Toodledo, To Do’s List for iPad is exactly what is sounds like, a place to record and track daily tasks. As someone who would be completely lost without my daily to do list, much of this app’s appeal lies in its simplicity. 

Evernote (Free): If you’re looking for a more advanced organizational tool, particularly if affordability is important, Evernote is a solid choice. Like Dropbox, the app syncs content across a multitude of platforms, and it’s compatible with both Mac and Windows. I mostly use Evernote to keep track of appointments and ideas that come up while I’m out and about, which I can then transfer to my calendar when I have more time. The latest version for iPad allows audio recording limits of up to 90 minutes, making it a great option if you need to record a lecture, interview or particularly engaging PD session.

News/Media:

New York Times (Free … for now): I love the convenience of reading the latest headlines on my smartphone, but miss the layout and design of a traditional newspaper. The iPad version of the New York Times includes photos and video from http://www.nytimes.com, but provides the stories in a format more familiar to avid newspaper readers. My best advice is to download it now, because starting in early 2011 this gorgeous app will start costing you.

NPR and PBS (Free): Visually stunning, these applications deliver short clips, audio stories, entertainment reviews and hourly news briefs from the “most trusted news source in the U.S.” The PBS app also provides clips and full episodes from many of the station’s award-winning documentary and news programs.

TED (Free): My students respond well to video clips. They add diversity to a lecture and bring outside voices into my classrooms. TED is a veritable wellspring of amazing short lectures on a huge variety of topics. I was ecstatic to see that as of last month, TED started offering their video archive through the iPad.

Education:

Dictionary.com (Free): Extremely easy to use, this app offers a dictionary, thesaurus, search option, history overview and word of the day. It’s fundamental, but covers all the basics.

Newspapers ($.99): Want to know what’s happening in the rest of the world? Well, you could rely on the scanty world reporting available in the U.S. news media, or you could go right to the sources. This app provides content from thousands of local newspapers from throughout the world.

LIFE for iPad (Free): This app takes full advantage of the HD capabilities of the iPad. The LIFE app, which just debuted in October 2010, provides LIFE Magazine’s extensive collection of photographs in an easily searchable database. With image collections ranging from the latest news photos to recent and historical celebrity portraits, this app brings the world at the touch of a finger.

Entertainment:

Angry Birds ($.99): Do not download this app unless you have many empty hours that you are willing to devote to this addicting puzzle game. Although a bit difficult to explain, the point of Angry Birds is to shoot birds at castle structures using a slingshot. You win by destroying the castles and defeating green pig-like creatures. Just trust me, it’s fun.

NYTimes Crosswords (Free): Although you need to buy a subscription to get regularly updated puzzles, this free app offers enough sample puzzles for hours of crossword construction. I spent a solid three hours on this app while I was waiting for a late friend and I only made it through a couple of medium-level puzzles, and even for those I had to use the “solve” function more than I’d like to admit.

ABC Player (Free): All the other networks take note; ABC is doing video streaming right. Unlike the Hulu app, which requires an expensive subscription to access the content, the ABC player offers new episodes from many of the station’s top programs. Videos stream directly to the iPad. It’s simple, easy and best of all, completely free.

What are your must-have iPad apps?