Coffee Break TIPS last week focused on UWL apps for education. Initially we looked at the apps that were available and then went through how to use them and their benefits. Many attendees who have used BB mobile learn said the greatest benefit was being able to send announcements on the go. We discussed the BB student, making it clear that this should be used by students rather than the BB mobile learn app. The BB student app download instruction for Android, Apple and Windows phones can be found on the BB student webpage.

The Turnitin app is always a popular one for discussion, this is as most assignments within UWL are set via Turnitin. It is important to note that to date, the Turnitin app is only available on iOS (Apple). BB grader is an app available on both Apple and Android and is specifically for marking blackboard assignments, so for those of you who still use BB assignments this could be a satisfactory alternative to the Turnitin app.

Another app we looked at was Lynda.com, this is available on all mobile devices. Attendees were delighted to find the app could be used offline, making it a more productive alternative to candy crush or angry birds on those train commutes home. We spoke about encouraging students to download the Poll Everywhere app, this is so polls can be used in lectures and seminars quickly and fuss free!

Academic support librarian, Marc forster demonstrated the UWL library app and we looked at making the UWL shuttle bus timetable a shortcut on your device. Very handy indeed!

Overall, it was a very appy week! Not to mention the added benefit of a mid-morning coffee and biscuit.