I’m getting an Android tablet for teaching. Which apps do I need?

My cousin, a teacher in South Africa, is getting an Android for teaching. She asked me which apps she needs. I emailed her, then thought: heck! Maybe others would like some suggestions.

Hi Jan
Glad to hear your school is getting into tablets.

The key to getting the most out of your tablet is living in the cloud. So you need to get:
Evernote – it’s a note-taking app that syncs with the cloud. So type something on your tablet, it’s already on your PC app, open it on the web… Could be photos, a voice recording, a picture of a memo or a form…
Dropbox – file storage. Throw a word file into Dropbox on your pc and open it on your tablet without plugging anything in. Any file at all.
Google drive – this is huge in NZ. Schools can create a google account for every student. The kids can write something in google docs and share with the teacher for comment. Or share it with other students for collaboration.

Other stuff:
Twitter comes alive on mobile – so you have to get one of the thousands of twitter apps.
Not sure if you do blogging with any students, but the WordPress app is excellent. Create a free WordPress blog at wordpress.com and write for it from your tablet.
Shazam – hold your tablet by your radio and shazam will figure out the name of the song for you.
Flipboard – the best way to read news/blogs.
VLC – universal video player.
Astro – file manager.

Probably the best advice for choosing apps is: don’t choose your apps in google play (or the iTunes App Store). Do a google search for apps and get advice from forums and stuff.

Lots of love,
Cousin Steve

Do you have any suggestions? What’s working we’ll in your classroom?