Having students collaborate while taking notes or working on a project on the iPad can be a real pain. Getting everyone’s email address so that they can share the document, finding where the completed version is stored in the cloud (or on the device), getting to the document without Internet access — all of these can give a teacher a big headache.
But now there’s an app that can solve the biggest challenges of working collaboratively. MolaSync works on any iOS device, and it’s completely free.
MolaSync is a full-featured collaboration app that also includes many special communication tools. When you first open it, you’re greeted with a blank screen with a selection of drawing tools around the edges. You can invite someone to collaborate with you via email, iMessage, and Twitter with just one tap.
Once you begin drawing, writing, or recording your voice (yes, it includes a handy voice recorder so you can explain your document!), all of your work will be automatically saved to the cloud. If you don’t have access to the Internet at the time, your work will be saved to the device and then automatically uploaded to the cloud once you have access. You can export your creation to iTunes, Photos, Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, and Baidu Cloud, or you can open it up in another app (like Explain Everything). You can even bring in Google Maps with the simple touch of a button. And don’t worry about filling up the page; MolaSync provides you with an unlimited long/wide page design that’s perfect for big projects.
MolaSync is an excellent tool for storyboarding presentations or projects, taking group notes on a complex subject, explaining a math or science problem, designing a solution to a PBL question, and so much more. It is one of those must-have apps for the iOS world because even very young students are able to master it. And it makes learning collaboratively simple.
2 comments
This app has not had an update in almost a year. That’s not a good sign when looking at apps to use. Especially those in education. Also this app has a 2.5 star rating, out of 5.
You bring up valid points, Miriam. When I used it, however, the app worked well. Are the developers still updating it and adding features? No, probably not. But it did what I needed it to do at the time.