Waxahachie ISD: School in Your Pocket

It’s back to school time which means everything from laptops, Smartphones and tablets are making their way into the classrooms and backpacks of excited students and teachers across the country. As technology continues to impact not only students and teachers but parents as well, Waxahachie ISD is claiming a piece of the mobile market with their latest app.

Administrative and teacher contact information at the touch of a button, daily lunch menus and bully reporting are just a few key features that keep parents up-to-date with their child’s school environment.

Check your child’s grades through the Skyward feature and even apply for a position in the district, all from the same app. WISD’s goal is to improve the connectivity between teachers, parents, and students and their newest mobile venture does just that.

Download the app for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play!

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Introducing Cedar Hill ISD: School in Your Pocket

Cedar Hill ISD and WorldLink Apps collaborated to bring you School in Your Pocket for the Cedar Hill Independent School District. With Key Features like district events, online bully reporting, school calendars, and Skyward access right at your fingertips, parents, teachers, and students are more connected then ever before.

Departmental information and touch to call makes it easier to connect with the appropriate school associate.

The Cedar Hill ISD mobile app is available to download, for free, on the Google Play app store and iTunes. Click the icons below to be redirected to the appropriate app store.

School in Your Pocket [Video]

 

Last summer our mobile solutions division teamed up with Alvarado ISD’s Director of Technology, Kyle Berger, to create the district app for Alvarado school district. Mobile Education has been a hot topic over the last few years and the chatter shows no sign of slowing down in 2012.

Mobile apps are a great tool for education in a variety of ways. Whether your providing textbooks online, engaging students in educational games, or creating additional revenue streams through in-app advertising and booster club sales, apps are a powerful way to engage teachers, students, and parents right in the palm of your hand.

Mobile Learning in the Classroom

It’s the start of a new school year for thousands of students across the country, and 98% of returning high school students have access to a Smartphone. Instead of fighting mobility in schools it’s time to embrace it – and today’s technology leaders are doing just that. Educators from kindergarten to the collegiate level are integrating mobile technology into their every day curriculum.

Children as young as 2 years old can be seen playing educational games and increasing their motor skills on a mobile device. With the iGeneration being raised in a socially integrated, technological world, it’s a prime time for developers to seize the opportunities in mobile learning.

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Here are some examples of the many ways you can use apps to educate kids, teens, and college age students alike:

Apps for Small Children

• iWriteWords is a game used to help children develop their handwriting skills. The lite version is available for free and the full version can be downloaded for $2.99.
• Peekaboo Barn is a game used to help children identity different types of farm animals. The lite version is available for free and the full version can be downloaded for $1.99.
• TeachMe is a series of educational apps that teach young children different subjects based upon their education level. There are three separate applications available for 99 cents; toddler, kindergarten, and first grade.
• Kids Math Ace is an app that teaches children how to count, add, and subtract, using visual guidance and tools. The lite version is available for free and the full version can be downloaded for 99 cents.
• Story Builder is an interactive and creative application used to help children improve paragraph formation, integration of ideas, and improve higher level abstractions by inference. The app is available for download for $3.99.

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Apps for Middle to High School Students

• Flash Cards Deluxe is a flashcard app designed as a study tool for students. The lite version is available for free and the full version can be downloaded for $3.99.
• Molecules is designed to view 3-dimensional renderings of molecules with the ability to manipulate them with your fingers. The app is available for free.
• Blackboard Mobile Learn works with Blackboard’s web-based teaching and learning software. The app is free to download once your school has enabled the software.
• Star Walk turns your device into a stargazing tool to view stars, constellations, and satellites in real time. The app is available to download for $2.99.
• iHomework is a tool used to keep students organized and up-to-date with their daily homework, grades, to-do’s, and teacher information. The app is available to download for $1.99.

Colleges are also taking note of the exploding mobile market and using creative ways to interact with their students. In 2008 Abilene Christian University starting equipping their students with iPods and iPhones. Now, they are incorporating iPads into their mobile program. They have offered everything from interactive theater productions, to lecture podcasts as ways to stay in-tune with an increasingly connected student body.

According to a report created by onlineeducation.net, 38% of college students can’t go more then 10 minutes without connecting to an electronic device. Students will continue to expect mobile programs in their daily curriculum while veering further away from the old days of pen, paper, and textbooks.

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6 Positive Results of Tablets in the Classroom*

1. Tablets are an optimum way to show textbooks
2. Students expect the technology (classrooms are ready)
3. The devices fit students’ lifestyles
4. Tablets have the software to remain competitive
5. Tables have the ability to integrate with current education IT trends (i.e. cloud computing)
6. Tablets are becoming more and more available (extending beyond the iPad)

90% of college students who own tablets feel like the devices are a more efficient way to study.

Technology is only moving forward. Educators who embrace the technology to enhance involvement and learning will benefit students and the younger generations entering their school age years.

*Resource – mashable.com

Visit WorldLink Apps

Alvarado ISD and WorldLink Apps Release New Mobile Application

WorldLink Apps is proud to announce the release of Alvarado Independent School District’s mobile application for the Apple and Android Smartphone markets. Kyle Berger, Alvarado’s Executive Director of Technology Services, was introduced to WorldLink through the Verizon Wireless Business Solution Alliance Program last January. Over the last 5 months WorldLink has had the unique experience of partnering with one of the state’s most technologically progressive school districts.

WorldLink’s App Development team and Kyle Berger collaborated extensively to develop the official iPhone app of the Alvarado Independent School District. The app comes loaded with a large number of features including: district and individual school information, events, dates, bully report capabilities, homework resources, and many more for AISD students, parents, and staff.

“In today’s society we all work from our mobile devices. It only made sense to leverage that power to communicate and connect with our parents and students. We are excited to take this next step in communication, empowering our stake holders with all the tools they need in the palm of their hands. In conjunction with WorldLink I believe we have delivered the first feature rich k-12 application to the market.” – Kyle Berger, Executive Director of Technology Services, Alvarado Independent School District.

Key Features:

• ISD
  • District calendar (English and Spanish)
  • News
  • Events calendar
  • Add ISD event to your personal iPhone calendar
  • About us
  • Departments
  • Contact us
  • Touch-to-call phone number
  • Map of ISD location
  • Guidance to ISD location

• Schools
  • Select your Alvarado school
  • Bully report
  • Tips for identifying a bully
  • Touch-to-call bully hotline
  • Calendars
  • Menus (breakfast, lunch)
  • News
  • Staff
  • Send email to staff
  • Information – school hours, principal, new student registration, etc.
  • Map of school location
  • Guidance to school location
  • Extra-curricular activities
  • Contact us
  • Touch-to-call phone number
  • Send email to school

• Resources
  • Student information – Skyward access
  • District website
  • Links – weather, parent/student/teacher/employee/TAKS resources, employment, and help desk
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Useful apps – Cloud Agent, Safari Montage, Evernote, EMD Periodic Tables, iAmerica, Graphing Calculator,  etc.

The Alvarado ISD application is available to download on iTunes for Free!

Check out some of the features below!