Be where innovation happens! Hunter College Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program! Putting the “art” in smart!
Please use this space to share your comments about new and exciting ways you are using your iPads for dance artistry and education. We look forward to reading about your discoveries!
iDanceEd 
Because I have my i pad everywhere I go, downloading the Kindle app to read The Art of Dance in Education was one of the best things I did this semester. Being so busy with other life events, I do not get the time to open a heavy textbook. On the train, I can use the Kindle app to read even when I am underground. This app is free and I think all busy students should get it. It is of great benefit.
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I agree. You’re a scholar!
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Thank you!
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Unit Planner is a free app that organizes lessons by topic and subject area. Teachers can use this app easily by plugging in information and saving it in the folders provided. It is faster and easier than writing out lessons on paper. This app is also great to show future employers lessons and units that can implemented in dance classes. It does not cost anything and everyone should get it.
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Can one make adaptations to the template(s) to meet the needs/demands of each school?
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Although the templates cannot be changed to meet standards of each school, I still think it is useful in structuring information for lessons.
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I look forward to investigating this. Anything to make teachers’ lives and lesson planning easier is worthy of investigation! 🙂
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I look forward to trying it out.
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I’ll have to check it out.
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The Human Body by Tinybop is a great app for the curious student who is trying to understand the human body. Is perfect for our dance educators to explain the main instrument for dance and it creates a clear image for students to understand. This app explains the human anatomy from the brain to the skeleton system. The graphic helps students identify parts of the anatomy by system. Ideal for ages 6-8. The app is not free, is for $2.99 but is worth getting.
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Have you purchased it? I’ll have to check it out because the anatomy app I bought is better for HS students.
Thank you.
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Yes I did! Is really cool! You can break the skeleton and tell the students to put it back together. Also see what happens when you eat food and is digestive process. I can’t stop playing with it!
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I’ll have to try it! Very good!
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iDanceForms is an excellent app that allows users to visualize dance movements. I especially like the demonstration of the Ballet barre work. It can be used in dance classes where students can follow along with the demonstration provided. Students can learn how to execute Ballet steps just by looking at the articulation of the feet and arms, transitioning from position to position. This app would be great for dancers who have never had Ballet training before because it starts with the basics.
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Sounds interesting. Perhaps it could be a model for iDanceRangeela?
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For teachers who are trying to create lesson plans with dance and history “Today’s Document” is a great app find documents related to history. This app will help you find documents related to the actual date and is the original proof documents. For example, today’s document for the archive, Dec. 18, is the “Proclamation of the Secretary of State announcing the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution December 18, 1865”. How amazing is that???!!! And the app is completely free!
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That IS amazing and so cool! I am going tho use it. Fun. Post an event daily in the classroom or use it to stimulate a dance phrase. Lots of uses for this app! Thanks for sharing!
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I recently downloaded a free Venn Diagram app, after I realized how much I enjoy using them. In this app one can expand the circles to what ever size they want and change the colors of each circle as well. Descriptions and facts can be typed inside the appropriate circle, and saved as study guides or even lesson plans. When comparing our great pioneers of dance in a history lesson, this app can be of much use. It can even be projected onto a smart board so that the class can view it in a larger dimension.
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Great! There’s no stopping you now! Venn’s are effective with students and graphic organizers help visual learners to make sense of concepts.
Who ever knew all this educational stuff could be so creative?
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I agree! Creativity makes learning entertaining.
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Yes and a great designer of lessons is one who is the most creative in their implementation. One has to e flexible and leave room for improvisations throughout lessons, units and year-long plans.
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Evaluwise is a free app great for teacher observations. This semester I had to observe several teachers for different classes. With so much going on, things can get confusing including school work. This app enabled me to organize my teacher observations by school, and name. It stores everything in folders that can be retrieved when completing final observation papers and other things. I am definitely going to keep this app, and use it for my teacher observations for next semester. I can even compare different teaching styles, what works best, and include that into my own teaching practice.
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I’d love to see how you used the app. Perhaps I should suggest it to other Methods II students.
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This is a must have for everybody. I’m pretty sure some people have this app but is such a useful app for everybody. Google Translate is the fastest way to find ways to communicate with students or parents who does not speak English. This app helped me so much with my baby students. Some of the students who entered the preschool program at my previous job didn’t speak English and this app helped break that barrier making them more comfortable with me and the school itself.
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How did you use it? With the students, or with the parents? Does it translate to any language?
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The WordWeb app is amazing! Type any word in the search bar, and the app finds a definition for it in no time. Even slang words can be defined, which shows how up to date dictionaries have become. I use this app everywhere I go. A lot of times I see or hear words that I do not know the spelling or definition of. This app allows me to get that information, without using internet access. Instead of carrying a dictionary around, one can download this app onto their i pads and get rid of their bulky dictionaries. This is extremely helpful when teaching because we tend to forget key words in dance education that we should know. This app will define them in the matter of one second.
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Great! Do you know the word accretion? Sounds like a great tool for the accretion of language skills.
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Dhingana is a lovely app which allows me to download the latest Bollywood music from. I practically use this app everyday. With Rangeela Dance Troupe in full swing, and the codification of the Rangeela Technique, I need rich music to accompany my dancers and movement. This helps me to keep up with the latest Bollywood hits, in which I would have to choreograph to, pleasing audience’s choice of music. Ever since I got this app, I feel as if I am in Mumbai part of Bollywood about to shoot my next film! What a grand feeling. ❤
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Sounds very useful. Your codified technique will also be useful, once you develop it and TM it and license others to be able to teach it.
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This semester I got into a big Indian dance competition named Dance India Dance. I felt out of shape and needed to work on my core area so I can perform well in the competition. I downloaded a free app called Perfect Pilates Body. Within this app there are different videos targeting a different part of the body. Each video is three dollars. I bought all of them and found that following along with the woman doing the exercises is easy. The exercises given are very challenging, and I will continue doing them because they make me feel longer and stronger. This is a nice app to use in the classroom setting because students can learn from following the model.
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Congratulations on your amazing accomplishment of being in the “Top Ten” of over 2,500 contestants! It’s good to hear you found this app to help you stay in shape!
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As I continued in the Indian Dance competition, one of the judges asked me to choreograph a twenty second hip hop dance one hour before I had to perform it. I know very little about hip hop. Luckily I had my i pad and used my brain. I downloaded a free hip hop app that teaches popular hip hop moves. I took all of them and used them in my choreography. Unfortunately I did not make it into the top three, but I was in the top seven and got to perform my hip hop dance. When I teach my hip hop lesson to little kids, I will use this app to guide me.
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This is a great story! I’m glad your iPad helped you! What was the name of the app?
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I am bilingual. English grammar rules I tend to forget. I was assigned a lot of essays for the SEDF course. I needed to make sure my grammar was correct so I downloaded an app called Learn English Grammar. Within this app are different sections one dollar each. I purchased all of them because I know that this app is very useful for someone like myself. It app provides grammar tests that I use for practice. Having this app makes me feel more comfortable writing. I could even use it to grade papers when I am teaching. I can check my students’ grammar using the tools in this app.
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Thank you for sharing an app that helps you and will benefit your future students!
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I downloaded iSpreadsheet. This app allows me to complete work from home. At my job I have to do a lot of data entry and sometimes I do not get to finish all that I have to do at the work place. Everyday I bring home work because I can use this spreadsheet app to enter information which saves right in the program. I e-mail the work that I do to my boss and then he saves it in his files. I will also be able to use this app when organizing students’ grades. It is easy and free.
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I am sorry to hear you are bringing work home, but glad you have found a spreadsheet app to help you!
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I downloaded the dictionary.com app. This app comes in handy when writing a paper. It is a quick and easy way to look up a word and its synonyms and antonyms. It really helps me out a lot. it also has a word of the day! Great way to expand your vocabulary and try new words. My goal is to try to use each word of the day in conversation. Yesterday’s word was ambulate. I am going to ambulate to school with my iPad! This app also has a translator feature. I definitely use this app everyday!
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I also use my dictionary app all the time, especially when I am looking for a synonym when writing and discover I have used a word more than once.
This is a must-have type of app!
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The PBS app is great. It includes great programs for students that would be fun to include in a lesson. It is easy to operate. The app opens to highlights or current features. Right now they have a video about Icelandic Volcanoes, Christmas in Norway with choirs and orchestras, “Raising Adam Lanza,” “Israel: facing the future.” This app also includes shorts that would be very useful in a classroom. Currently the app features Listening is an Act of Love: A StoryCorps Special. Each short has a wonderful message behind it that could enhance classroom management skills and the overall dynamic of the classroom. I already use this app for its current events but I am excited to use it in the classroom!
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I agree that this is a very helpful and informative app. I have it on my iPad as well. There is a preview now called “The Black Culture Connection.” For someone teaching a dance unit, a preview like this or something similar may provide beneficial insights.
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I downloaded three magazines. Dance Spirit, Dance Magazine, and Dance Teacher Magazine. These each have wonderful advertisements of shows, auditions, and conventions that are coming up. They also advertise things like costumes, accessories, and dance essentials. There are also great articles in each of them. Some inspiring, some informative, how-to’s, healthy tips, advice, and much more. Each magazine has a slightly different audience. Dance Spirit is geared toward teenagers, so their articles might be more fun for a younger audience such as your students in the classroom. Dance Teacher Magazine is personally enjoyable and Dance Magazine is for everyone. I love having these on my iPad. No more added books or papers or mess. It is so easy to just scroll through and scroll down. Always have it with me organized and neat.
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You said it! I have gone digital with my subscriptions as well. No more clutter and dusty old magazines!
The one thing I did use the old mags for is collages and images for children, but now they can be printed or projected!
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Skitch is a great application that I have enjoyed using to notate my choreographed dances. As well as draw and label pictures I have taken. Thank you Kathleen for showing this application to the new graduate students.
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In the spring, we will have a mini-conference to share the work dance educators/artists are doing to share their artistry with others.
Christina S. Used Skitch with her Emotionally Disturbed students to create danced based on sketches the made of sculptures. Danielle H. Used it to clarify proper alignment in HS when teaching Horton Technique. I used it when we created short phrases of original movement, using LOD symbols.
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Skitch is an awesome application Kathleen showed to the new graduate students and I have loved using it since I have downloaded it. I mostly use it to notate my choreographed dances as well as edit pictures and add content to the picture as well.
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Talk with Christina and Danielle about their uses of Skitch when you see them.
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PDF Expert is really helpful for opening and filling out forms that you receive through email or find on blackboard. You can also highlight important information and save as a PDF or Word document. The app does cost $2.99, but there are also several free apps that are similar to this such as PDF Max.
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What are the advantages of PDF Expert over PDF Max? Have you tried both?
KI
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I am taking the Digital Media Course right now with Billy Clarke through Culture Hub and I have learned about so many new digital apps to use for video and dance video producing and editing. 4 new apps that I have been using to produce video footage for my students and also teaching it to them are:
1) VideoFX Live: This application allows you to edit your video you are recording live. It has editing features on it such as, kaleidoscope, zooming out and many more cool features. The only downside to this application is that you can not video and then edit you must record live and edit at the same time. This application is free and brings an abstract element to dance and videography.
2) Videon: This application allows you to edit after you have filmed. Some of the editing features I find fun for this app and what I have used on some of my videos are the speeding effect, speeding up the movement of my dancers. The old flicker film effect makes videos look creepy and can appear as if they are from the the 1970s. It is a really cool app and I think it was around $2.
3) iMovie: I learned how to use iMovie years ago on my MacBook but didn’t know how, at first, to use it on my iPad. It’s really simple and easy and fun for all of the videos I want to edit on my iPad. I think it was also $2. Not only can you edit your videos but you can input different sound effects and music into your video. iMovie is a very cool app and I highly suggest using it for video production on your students.
4) Green Screen: The applications keep getting better and better. I LOVE this app. You can blend or cross fade two different videos or you can video yourself or dance in front of a solid color wall (not white or black) and then input that video into another video back round and turn your video into a site specific piece but really it’s not. This application is $4, but so worth the investment.
Attached below is the link to the choreographic process my students went through for their Mixed Movement after school enrichment class with me. I had a few of my students who did not want to perform video the learning process and I then used my video production apps to produce this short video of my students. I showed this video at my students Enrichment celebration before they took the stage and performed it live. Enjoy!
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Glad you’re learning about these four great apps in Billy’s class and applying them to your teaching!
KI
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I was looking for a muscle and bone application for my physical education students and found the Under Your skin: The Body Worlds App’ and did not like it. I thought it was going to show me the muscles and bones when you took a picture of a certain part of your body but it just put eye balls and the muscles that show up on your face when you took a picture of a body part. I would not recommend downloading this application onto your iPad for your students.
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Thanks for the heads up Christina. There are plenty of apps that are “bloopers” and not worth downloading.
KI
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After the experience I had with my last muscle and bone app, I decided to do more research about other applications in the app store that had good reviews and were affordable and found one that I enjoy using now with my students. Muscle & Bone Anatomy 3D by Real Bodywork is an awesome app. It’s $4.99 and worth the purchase. It provides you with 5 different ways to learn about the body: The 1) Viewer, 2) Actions, 3) 3-D Models, 4) 6 types of Quizzes and 5) Media. Teaches you about 145 muscles with their names, actions, origins, insertions, nerve supplies and additional comments. It is an app well worth the investment.
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Thanks for this review. I have used the Human Anatomy Atlas, 3D Anatomy Visible Body Application, and find it more useful for high school and college level. It is also much more expensive – $24.99. There is a free version that is not quite as extensive, but adequate for lower grades – Human Anatomy Atlas – Visible Body. This one is free. Try the free version and see what you think. The pictures are vivid in both versions.
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Inspiration is a great app that Lanette introduced us to during one of our classes. I was wondering how she made such a beautiful lesson planning web. Now I know! This app gives you the tools to create a visually professional looking design with many options for shapes and colors. I will be sure to use this in the coming months and years as I organize and document many of my ideas.
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Duo Lingo is another great app! I have been doing warm-up exercises with some of my first and second graders and we have been counting in different languages. This application is helping me to find new languages to explore! Yeah for technology!!! 🙂
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The inspiration lite app is free, and if you want to explore more extensive possibilities, borrow my MacBook Air, which has the fully loaded version.
KI
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Flashcards looks like a really fun app! With different subjects ranging from math, science, literature, music and art – this application can help connect interdisciplinary ideas and enhance the learning by playing recalling games or just exploring. The interface on the ipad is really clear, big and bright. I will be sure to use this app for planning or activities with students.
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Let me know what your experience is with this, Diane. I think the implications for the app’s use with ELL’s and special needs students, or challenging gifted students to think, move, create, solve problems quickly are interesting to pursue.
KI
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I just recently purchased Human Anatomy Atlas 3D Anatomical Model – Visible Body Atlas for my own anatomical reference. Though the price is steep at 24.99 I am very pleased with the detail, clarity, ease of navigation and bright interactive 3D features. I plan on using this in class for students to use as a self discovery resource for anatomical information. You can touch a muscle and get a name and function immediately. Another nice thing about this app is the MY LIBRARY feature which allows you to set up little anatomical playlists. Yeah for Visible Body Atlas!
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Diane, I completely agree with your reasons for liking this app. In the past when graduates were looking for a more advanced app for their HS students because some of the free apps weren’t sophisticated enough for Middle and HS content.
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IMovie looks like a great app! I am so happy it is on the ipad now! I like the idea of taking snippets of movies to create a single thought. This works like a collage of images which is great when you are trying to edit something but not sure exactly what the end product needs to be. I also like the project templates they have which give your movie a little extra definition. For me, this app is very helpful in organizing videos taken in class or rehearsal and then turning them around to present back to the students or dancers. I highly recommend this app!
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EasyBib is a great app for organizing and formatting citations. You can easily search for a source and it will format in MLA, APA or Chicago style. You can also scan a bar code on this app and up comes your source. It’s free which is another plus! Enjoying the ease and efficiency of this app.
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The TED app is free and offers a wide range of information on many different aspects of education. The talks are presented by interesting people and new ones are added weekly. I found a great interview with Howard Gardner on this site discussing the multiple intelligence theory. This app is very informative and I highly recommend!
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fun to-do for iPad – Daily To Do List and Task Manager, from i2e Consulting LLC.
This is a great To Do list and Task Manager APP for high school students. You make each task into a bubble, and you can make each category of task a different color. The bubbles slowly float all over the screen, and you pop them with a pin when you have completed the task. It’s a lot of fun, as the name indicates, and is geared towards the Gamer generation, and has some new features where you can bounce a bird from bubble to bubble. This APP could be useful for those learners who are visually oriented and don’t do as well with traditional lists, or for those with difficulty sustaining attention, or for young precocious list makers, who will be captured by the movement and the colors.
The APP is not as useful for busy professionals or graduate students, who have many tasks in many different categories to accomplish on a daily or weekly basis. The screen gets too cluttered, and the fun of all those floating bubbles gets confusing, and makes it hard to track specific tasks, or to organize categories of tasks. But it is fun to-do for those who don’t have as many tasks to accomplish on their to-do lists!
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Class Dojo is an app that can help with classroom management. Each student receives a fun icon that represents
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all the children in the class. Tokens are given to each when work is accomplished or expectations are met. Some of my colleagues have found great success with this app. Its fun for the kids and keeps some behavior issues in check. Definitely worth a look…
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Garageband is one of a dance educator’s best friends! Music can be edited, remixed, spliced and enhanced for lessons, demonstrations and shows. Loops of specific sounds can be created for certain exercises. ( example: Percussion sounds for across the floor) I use this app all the time during performance workshops in the city. It helps to organize all my music and keep me on track for time requirements for sounds requiring time limits. Highly recommend this app!
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Relax M.P. is a free app that has come in handy for both students and educators. The app plays a variety of soothing sounds ranging from oceans waves to quiet drums. This can be utilized at certain times of the day when quiet bodies need to rest OR at home while teachers are planning. I have found this app incredibly useful!
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Scannable is another free app that I have found recently that really is easy to use and can be so helpful to grad students. After opening the app, all you have to do is hold your phone over a document to scan. It happens so quickly and with barely any effort. Then you have options to share through email, text, evernote, export or send to your camera roll. I believe you can even share through twitter? I have used this app many times and highly recommend to my friends and colleagues!
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Spotify is a strong music app standing side by side with Itunes and Pandora. It is a great place to listen to new sounds as well as finding specific music for lessons and end of year shows. Spotify also lets you share music. Of course, not everything is free. If you upgrade to Spotify premium, the music can be played offline and on different devices. I find the free app quite useful!
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The word press app (also free) is helpful to have on the ipad. It makes it easy to read all of the app reviews posted on the idanceed page. You can set up in notifications to be alerted when new reviews are added. I like having access to this app!
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Google Drive is definitely my “go to “app! Right now I work with an arts team and we share documents for end of year shows. Usually one of us will create something and post on google drive. The other two members of the team can retrieve and edit without a phone call. Very simple and efficient application for creating, sharing and editing work. Highly recommend!
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The Gibney Dance App gives you all the information you need to take class at either of the campus sights of 280 or 890 Broadway. It lists classes, times, teachers, prices and upcoming show information. The most recent upgrade to this app is that you may sign into class through the application. NO standing on lines when you get there, you just go right to class! This is a free app! 🙂
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Keynote is another app I tried out this year. There is a free version to the app with basic templates provided. You can add templates to your startup collection by paying a small amount. This app is very similiar to power point, but I found it had a fresh aesthetic look. It works well on the ipad and apple notebook and is a nice change when creating presentations. I like having additional options when putting work together that needs visual emphasis. Definitely worth checking out if you are tired of the power point slides.
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