AN APP FOr TEACHER

Kids - not unlike adults - can't keep their hands off an iPad. Its innovative touch interface and lightweight design makes it the perfect device not just for games, but for learning touch looks into some innovative ways iOS is being used in education.

Brighton Grammar, a Melbourne private school, is well known for its innovative education technology. So it was no surprise it was one of the first schools in Australia to develop a smart phone app for parents of students.

James Wilson, whose child attends the school, and whose company bhive Group developed the EGS app, which allows users to take part in live video streamed conversations with the principal, place orders at the school :anteen and check holiday dates. The app also features alerts for sporting events to notify parents of time changes or cancellations. The app is just part of the school's involvement in working with technology to enhance the education experience for students and parents, and the school's work is fast gaining recognition,

Brighton Grammar director of community education John Phillips has jiist been named by Apple as an Apple Distinguished Educator and attended a conference in March to meet the 39 other winners in this category. Phillips believes there was a need in the market for this app, as information technology continues to change and grow.

"We live in a society that now expects access to information instantly," says Phillips. "Already the app has had an impact in this area. For example, we know more parents are now accessing our newsletter via the app and I believe this is because they can read this where and when they want."

The app has been well received by parents who welcome the opportunity to be more involved and informed of their child's education.

"We sent out an email to all parents alerting them to the launch of our app and the replies we received were amazing," explains Phillips.

Parent Sarah Olsen, whose Year Seven son attends Brighton Grammar, has been using the BGS app for a couple of weeks, and says that it has been a useful addition til running an efficient household.

"It's just so useful, a no-brainer. (The app) keeps us connected and on the same page as a family."

Olsen says the whole family has downloaded the app, so that they're all up to elate with important information and events. Her husband accesses the BGS app on his iPhone, while her son has installed the program on his iPad.

The idea of an app for parent communities is catching on fast, with other schools interested in the program and reaching out to Brighton Grammar to learn more about how they can adopt something similar for their own community.

"We live in a society that now expects access to information instantly,"

There are now plans underway to make further developments to the BGS app to include features like excursion consent and changes in personal information records held on the school database. Phillips concedes this will require a higher level of security to ensure that only the right people are accessing privileged information.

"We did not wish to complicate the app at stage one of development," he says. "Stage two, however, will need some form of security as it will have some interactive features containing private, restricted information."

Phillips is also currently leading a team working on the final stages of an iPad research project, focused on validating the presence of the tablet device in education. The project examines four key areas for consideration:

1. Numeracy: Can the use of iPads and accompanying apps improve numeracy in schools?

2. Usability: How effective are gesture-based user interfaces of devices such as the iPad for accessing and interacting with digital resources in the classroom?

3. eBooks: Does the use of the iPad as an electronic reader make a difference in terms of student engagement and understanding of a text?

4. Pedagogy: How does teaching change to accommodate the use of iPads in the classroom?

Following the success of the development of the BGS app, Brighton Grammar students are now building their

The objective of Spel it Rite is to tap the correctly spelt version of a word, in among a list of common mispellings, as quickly as you can. For every wrong answer a penalty of five seconds is added to the totol time. You can also select the word to learn its definition and synonyms.

own iPhone apps for commercial ventures, Phillips believes this an Australian-first - if not world-first -initiative.

"We love playing in the sandpit with new technologies and already have plans underway to strengthen our lead in this area. Our boys are building iPhone apps as we speak." They are currently working on one for Nutrient Water.

Brighton Grammar's next project is to launch an app-building academy on its premises. The program will be held out of hours to extend opportunities to students from other schools to join in and benefit from their expertise in technology.

 Soulver is a great app to use for quick calculations, including addition and percentages. Write out your entire problem and see the answers as you type. Soulver will save your work once you're finished and sync it to your Mac or iPad using Dropbox.

 Classes is o timetable app for school ond university students to schedule classes, lectures, assignments and events. Classes can add notes and colours for specific events, track the progress and minutes left of a class, manage different assignments and provide an interactive overview of a study week in landscape mode.

The objective of Spel it Rite is to tap the correctly spelt version of a word, in among a list of common mispellings, as quickly as you can. For every wrong answer a penalty of five seconds is added to the totol time. You can also select the word to learn its definition and synonyms.