Over the summer we have purchased an iPad2 for the library and I have had great fun investigating the mobile apps (applications) available for education. I have purchased some outstanding ones produced by “traditional” book publishers now entering the e-book market e.g The T S Eliot Wasteland app which at 1gb takes up rather a lot of space on a 16gb device but provides an annotated text, the original manuscript, six poets reading the poem and many video interviews. It is ideal for the A’Level or undergraduate English Literature student studying the poem.

I have also discovered some great educational games which I have downloaded to the library iPad. e.g Virulent is a fabulous game to explain the biological principles of how viruses spread disease.

However the Library iPad can only really be a “consumer” device because it is a shared resource for the school. Mobile apps work best when they can be personalised by individuals and used for creative purposes.

A good example of what I mean is found in the ConkerTree science project and the leafwatch app produced by the Universities of Bristol and Hull. The app helps scientists plot the progress of the newly arrived leaf mining moth across the UK and anyone with a smartphone can participate. It is very simple to use and harnesses the photo taking and GPS (location services) capacities of an 3g Internet enabled phone.

I had a go myself in Sydney Gardens yesterday. The app shows a picture of the damage caused by a leaf mining moth and compares this with the damage caused by fungi so it is easy to identify which is which. Sure enough I found some leaves with the telltale white and brown patches between the veins and although they were a bit high up I was able to capture an image, rate the damage on a scale of 1-5 and my phone noted the GPS co-ordinates of the tree. Amazing. You can find out more about the project here. What a brilliant ready-made opportunity for schools to co-operate with university scientific research.

I’m sure the Library iPad will be enjoyed and well used by students to read newspapers, watch TED talks and extend their educational experience in school. But I’m also going to download all the educational apps that can be used for “productivity” and to create things. I’m hoping this will allow teachers in my school to see what they could be harnessing to add to the many ways they already use to develop a love of their subject amongst their students.