Coverage of the iPod Program wouldn’t be complete without mentioning some of the apps that really make it happen. One of the biggest things we have to consider about apps to sync on the iPods is that not every student has WiFi at home. (A few don’t even have a computer). With this being the case, we were in need of apps that will work both online and off. The second thing we considered is the possibility of replacing heavy/outdated books with relevant/engaging content. This first app does both.

Mercury Browser

Of course the iPod Touch already has safari, but the useful of this app was too much to pass up. This browser packs the ability to save webpages for offline browsing(including pictures). Essentially a teacher could direct students to a ton of great content, and have them save it for later. From what I can tell, the app saves pages to the root, which I don’t think gets removed during the syncing process. I should mention that the free version will save text only. So even though not many publishers have iPod Touch formatted text books for middle school, students can still benefit from fresh content regardless of connectivity. There are also some pretty nice extras thrown in as well, such as full screen browsing and tabs.  Price: 99 cents. Not bad at all!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mercury-web-browser-fast-fullscreen/id331012646?mt=8 Free Version (iTunes Link)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-mercury-web-browser-pro-fast-fullscreen/id348701575?mt=8 Paid Version (iTunes Link)