Friday 29 March 2013

DocuSign Ink

DocuSign Ink
By Docusign Inc
Free
Available on iOS and Android
An app you can configure;
  • your signature;
  • signatures from others;
  • your identity associated with signature. 
The aim of the app is to make your signature more secure and verifiable for the end user, as embeds your identity information in association with your signature, i.e. photo, company and title, email, address and phone number.  As often these days’ forms ask for your signature and your employers official stamp in order to provide valid evidence of of the signature to the recipient.
The app can open most word processed documents and PDFs requiring to be completed and signed.   Forms questions can be completed, by using the text box functionality provided,  as well as being able to enter your configured validated signature in the designated section of the form. 
My primary use of this app is to provide sign temp’ employee timesheets, and references, the latter I complete at least two references a week for my students, as I am very rarely at my desk, this app enables me the opportunity to provide references on the go, particularly as I can access student records remotely as well.   The advantage of this app over Notability is that the app can provide a verifiable signature, as employers increasingly asking for references to be company stamped
Simple app, but one can that can make life much easier both for academic and your student through supplying references in timely fashion to employers.   As it should be noted they employers increasingly expect references to be returned ASAP, if we delay this may be a factor that might affect a job offer being made to our students, in the  long term this will affect our establishment employment statistics.

Thursday 28 March 2013

Videoscribe

Videoscribe
By Sparkol
Free (but watermarked Videoscribe), £1.49 (video not watermarked) in iPad App Store
£1.69 Android market
Available for Android Tablets and iPad platforms
I discovered this app a few months ago before Christmas; I readily showed the app to my students as an alternative solution for designing alternative presentations to PowerPoint. This is as I am particularly keen on setting standalone presentations assessments as an alternative to the dry PowerPoint presentations.   I have used to app recently to create a promotional You Tube video, (Nortcliffe, 2013) for our Chapter, (Nortcliffe et al, 2013) in the newly launched Digital Voices book.
The app provides;
  • a library of pictures, shapes from speech bubbles to thought patterns;
  • functionality to upload your own images from Dropbox;
  • functionality to create  hand scribed animation by images and text from the library by placing in the workspace, (tip you need think about your storyboard in a procedural fashion);
  • choice of paper backgrounds, and whether the hand is left or right handed;
  • linear storyboard of your animation sequence below the workspace, in which you can change the sequence of your text and  images using drag and drop;
  • functionality in the linear storyboard to change the speed at which each of your images and text are drawn in the video;
  • functionality to  add audio overlay, however the animation is not played whilst you are audio recording so you are unable to sync your voice overlay with the animation.    

My solution to this problem is  to play the animation and use my iPhone to record my audio using Recorder Pro app.   Once I have my audio, I press record on Videoscribe and play on iPhone Recorder Pro (ensuring the volume is on max’) and stop when the audio has completed.   This is not the perfect solution, but a work around.   It should be noted the audio aspect of the app is its weakness as it doesn’t always audio record, you have to be persistent and patient, and hence it can make the production more time consuming than first perceived.

Another improvement would be to provide a choice of the hand in different nationalities, currently the provision is Caucasian, which might not go down well with diverse student populations.
Reference
Nortclife, A. (2013) iGather, [online]. Presented by Anne Nortcliffe:  From YouTube last accessed  27th March 2013 at: http://youtu.be/sv1lMUoXebk
Nortcliffe, A. Middleton, A. and Rossiter, a. (2013) “Learners take control – audio notes for promoting learner autonomy”, in Digital Voices in Section 1: Understanding the opportunity of an audio-enhanced learning environment (Ed) Andrew Middleton, MELSIG and Sheffield Hallam University, UK, 2013

Wednesday 27 March 2013

How to Get a Job Interview

How to Get a Job Interview
by Docstoc Inc
Free
Available for iOS mobile platform
Provides  a library of videos and resources ;
·         to prepare your CV/application to gain an interview;
·         how to prepare for an interview; 
·         how to make positive impact in the interview;
·         post interview the follow up;
·         negotiation of salary.
Though note the latter will become an issue as for users who have progressed their career, but for users  at the start of their career salaries are often pre-fixed particularly for placements, i.e. it is what the employer can afford.  
In addition the app provides HR tools resources which will gives the user an insight into HR tools used by interviewers in interviews typically used today; the interview and evaluation matrix form.
To be noted that the providers of the resources are American, so American phraseology is used in some of the resources will need interpreting, however many learning principles are very applicable as are western recruitment processes that are adopted by UK, and European companies as well as American.  Resource I strongly recommend as tool to my students, one they should download and use in readiness for an interview.

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Final Countdown

Final Countdown
By Thangbom
Free
Available for Android
An app recommended by my students that assists them to manage their assessment deadlines, (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2013) for the following reasons;
“Makes countdown [to assessment easier], I always turn to Student D for hand in time I rely on him to tell me down to the last second” student D
“Shows you in the app and home screen [of the phone], shows you how long you have got left” student E
As the app sids the students no to lose track when assessments are due in, provides the user with information of important deadlines on the phone homepage.  Also users can configure the app to supply a regular notification to user as reminder when assessment submission deadlines are approaching.   This functionality is not provided by most calendar app, useful where you do need regular reminders in advance of encroaching deadlines, particularly those set months in advance, typically occurring with semester and year-long assessments, though students are continually working on the assessment the actual date and time of submission gets lost in the mist of time.   Countdowns can be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
App that I would encourage students to use and program in my first lectures, as this is when I release my assessments and  all the deadline dates for my assessment submission.   Students need to be aware three submission dates as few that occur throughout the year.
Reference
Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

Sunday 24 March 2013

Evernote

Evernote
Free
Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms
My students report using the tool for capturing notes whether typed, image or recording, as shown below:
“[Evernote] create notes, take snapshots so like of lecture materials, like the slides and anything that is written down on the blackboard [Whiteboard], also you can tag in your notes and tag them together and share your notes”
Application enables learners to igather information, collate and organise their learning notes to the benefit of their learning and experience.    Our previous research of providing students with audio devices and encouraging them to use the devices to support their learning, the students were found to readily ubiquitously captured their ephemeral learning experiences to the benefit of their learning experience, (Middleton et al, 2009).   Therefore in principle any app that supports students to igather their learning will aid learners to deepen their learning.  
Personally I use Evernote to back up my Penultimate notebooks as Evernote owns Penultimate.  However the app is very popular with my students.   The mobile app enables the user to type, capture audio recordings, location of note and images from camera or upload image from photo library.  Also add tags enabling the users to collate notes with the same tag together.   Notes can be made on of course on other mobile apps and uploaded to Evernote, for example Explain Everything and Penultimate both have the functionality to upload to Evernote cloud, enabling the notes to be backuped, stored and managed.   Like Google Docs the files can be shared with other Evernote account holders.  
Reference
Middleton, A., Nortcliffe, A., & Owens, R. (2009). iGather: Learners as responsible audio collectors of tutor, peer and self reflection, A Word in Your Ear - Audio Feedback Conference, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, available on-line: http://research.shu.ac.uk/lti/awordinyourear2009/docs/Middleton-Nortcliffe-Owens-iGather_final.pdf, last viewed 24th March 2013

Saturday 23 March 2013

Google Drive

Google Drive
Free
Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms
I have been a Google doc user since the beta release in 2006.  I have used it avidly to write collaboratively with co-authors and students, a great initiation tool for many penned chapters.   The tool has become one of my much used IT applications, so the Google Drive on my iPad and iPhone has become a much welcomed addition, particularly when I am collaboratively working as you can share the files with other Google account holders.    The app provides access to my Google account and cloud storage of my documents from PDFs, Google Docs, Presentations and Google spreadsheets.   Recently Notability provided the functionality that enabled users to export to Notability documents and audio recordings to Google Drive.  This has enabled me to collate assessment grid and audio feedback prepared on Notability onto Google Drive, in readiness to be shared with the external examiner.  
At our institution we provide each student with Gmail and Google account thus providing them full access to all Google apps on-line, therefore Google Drive on mobiles in theory would be a much welcome technological addition on student mobiles, our research supports this hypothesis (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2013) and shown by the student’s comments below:
“Crack it open on a tablet, mobile, where ever… Can't edit PowerPoint’s, but can edit Word documents, saves all changes, set it up on desktop it sync with desktop, Google cloud, University Google account” Student A
Google Drive mobile app enables students to access their documents whilst on the move, share documents for group-work activities and continually participate in group documentation with the group or independently.   As Google Drive provides version control students are able to see who is and who is not contributing to the group documentation at any time and place, as highlighted by the following student’s reflection:
"[Google Drive] you can see what they have been editing (can see if group members are working)…last night [used Google Drive] whilst I was cooking.. Project management stuff...its handy, portable, you pick up your phone and you see you have got work to do" Student B
The only limitations are the fact you cannot edit Google presentation slides, or edit Google survey, though you can access the Google spreadsheet of the survey results.   Additional functionality of the mobile version is the ability to upload videos to Google drive, useful resource for transferring videos off the iPad and iPhone, into a private cloud space.   There is a facility for off-line documents on the  iPad, but if you select a mail document attachment to be opened in Google Drive the file is uploaded to the Google cloud, so currently I am not sure how the off-line feature operates.  
Reference
Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

OverSkreen

OverSkreen
$2.49
Available for Android
This is app was demonstrated to me by a student on their android tablet as part of our research, Nortcliffe and Middleton (2012), students comments and reflections as computing students, that developers need to reflect more on how users use technology more:
“Makes your web browser float over things [home screens and other apps], over anything [enabling multi-tasking]” student E
“It is really interesting, the way people expect people to use technology is to be focusing on one or two things at once, the way people really use technology it is more chaotic than that” student D
To be frank this is an app I would like on the iOS.  The app enables the web-browser application to float over other applications or the home page.  Therefore provide the user with the functionality to breakout from a single app full-screen display.  It opens up the opportunity to enable the user to multi-task, for example make notes in Google Drive whilst reading article in a web based journal in OverSkreen web browser.  
I can see the practical advantage of this app, particularly when you could be viewing data of a survey in Survey Monkey in the browser, and you could be writing up the reflections of the results in Google Drive.   In my case I often or not have students work in email attachment, I want to be writing feedback in an email.   I could open up student attachment in the email web browser viewing mode; write the student feedback email in the mail app.   This would just make the process so much more practical and time efficient instead switching between apps, which I seem to be doing all the time.   My students inevitably find  me in my office using my phone, my iPad and my PC, as this is my current work around solution.   This app would make life easier, the functionality is possible on iOS, as it is a functionality provided in the Blackboard Mobile app, no wonder I like Bb mobile so much.

Reference
Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

Friday 22 March 2013

Genius Scan

Genius Scan
By The Grizzly Labs
Free on iOS and 89p on Android
Available for Android and iOS mobile platforms
As we no longer have scanners readily accessible to academic staff,  I am employed at an institution with a large campus, scanners not in location near our office.   The scanners have been supposedly replaced with advance photocopies which we have easy, however these photocopies regularly defeat all of us in the office in just doing the basic functionality of photocopying notes.   Therefore Genius Scan has been welcomed app by all us in the office when we want to scan received hard copies of documents requesting to be completed by hand, signed, and stamped and to sent back as fast as possible, i.e. email.   Typically these documents are copyright permission request documents from publishers and reference requests from employers for our students.  
However, occasionally I come across a hard copy article in journal or book which I wish to share with colleagues or students.   Adhering to the University CLA license, Genius Scan enables me to quickly scan a document and pass it on electronically to colleagues and students.  Replaces the photocopying an article and passing it on with post-it-note saying saw this and thought of you. 
Genius Scan operates similar to the desktop scanning software provides the user with post scan functionality of detecting a page, correcting an image perspective and image processing.   You can append scans to one another to build up a document.   The document can be saved as PDF or JPEG emailed, printed or transferred to variety cloud operations, for example Dropbox, Evernote to Google Drive etc.   Another app I would not wish to lose.

Thursday 21 March 2013

CV Coach


 
CV Coach
by Aspect Resourcing Partners
Free
Available for iOS mobile platform
CV coach is an appropriate starting point app to provide hand holding advice whilst preparing your CV on a PC/Mac.  Demonstrates why you need certain sections on your CV.   An app I recommend to my first year students to help them to get started preparing their CV for placement applications.

However note that the advice on Reference on Request is only appropriately when you are further up the career chain, at the start of career you are competing with 100s if not 1000s just creates another hurdle that recruitment staff have to jump will not adhere you to them, you are adding work to their day.

Also, note that the Interests and Hobbies section at the start of your career this need to be more descriptive than a list, the type of interests to show are those that you can describe your involvement in to show off, imply and demonstrate in practice your employability skills in action, for example football referee, Youth Worker, Active Member of University Sport or Society or Charity Fund Raising show leadership to entrepreneurship.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Facebook


Facebook

Facebook

Free

Available for Blackberry, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms

The reality is social networking is very much part of our students’ lives it provides them with the mechanism to be part of a collective community of self esteem, Gangadharbatla (2008), typically students have Facebook accounts.   In our previous research students highlighted that Facebook app on their mobile devices is an important to supporting organisation and communication in group-work learning, Nortcliffe and Middleton (2013).  Facebook supports their learning immediacy, "the right here right now", as shown by the following student conversation as to why they use Facebook for learning;

"I use [Facebook] chat over email, for someone's opinion, to ask someone something,  you know you will get a response instantly",  student A, "Plus you know  that people will be looking at their Facebook whereas you don't know if people are looking at their emails", Student B, "[quicker response as] most people have got a smartphone now a days, you get the pop up on your phone" student A

I have had a Facebook account for few years it was very much dormant, that is until Sept’12.   After the ice-breaker session with my first year cohort of students, one member announced we should have a first year course Facebook site, he volunteered to set it up.  I asked the class if  wanted me to be part of the group, as I highlighted  in the past the students implied it was their space, consequently I had respected their wishes and stayed away.  However, this year the group unanimous said yes I was to join the party.

Six months down the line, I have to admit it has been a positive experience; the tool has been an appropriate, timely, effective and targeted communication tool.   With the added benefit of being able to keep a respective unobtrusive eye on the cohort and course, for example if the Facebook chatter increases if students are struggling in a modules, therefore I am able to discretely alert the module leader to the areas where students may need more explanation, but also I can inject myself signposting where the students can access more support.   

In terms of course leadership the reality is I only teach the students one hour every fortnight, a very desperate experience, Facebook has enabled the students and myself to create, maintain a collegiate relationship.   I agree with Ahne el (2007) it is easier to maintain a social network relationship than real-life relationship, particularly when the latter involves logistics, space and time, in the case of students working around students’ work, study and extra curriculum commitments.   

Equally students have used the app to communicate with myself; to ask course related questions, as a feedback mechanism on events, to organise course socials, to notify them their absence due to ill-health or family issues.   The cohort also use the mobile Facebook app to manage themselves, organise themselves to classes, share learning resources, to work together in study groups, to support one another’s personal learning, to group assessments, to socialise.    As shown by the following student’s comments:

Not only can Facebook be used as a tool for sharing learning resources but it can also be used as a place for course mates to wind down and share information relating to their interests”

References

Ahn, Y. Y., Han, S., Kwak, H., Moon, S., and Jeong, H. (2007, May). Analysis of topological characteristics of huge online social networking services. In Proceedings of the 16th international conference on World Wide Web, 835-844

Gangadharbatla, H. (2008). Facebook me: Collective self-esteem, need to belong, and internet self-efficacy as predictors of the iGeneration's attitudes toward social networking sites. Journal of interactive advertising, 8(2), 5-15.

Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

Monday 18 March 2013

Skype

Skype
By Microsoft Corporation
Free
Available for Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 mobile OS and iOS mobile platforms
Conference calling app, calls are free from mobile Skype app to mobile Skype app or mobile Skype app to desktop Skype app over a wireless network.   This app has enabled me to supervise students from a far on projects.   Whether students or myself who is away from the University enables us to discuss project progress, issues, ideas and documentation together in the same way as project meeting face to face.   Use the app on speaker oppose to with a headset, the project conversation can be recorded using recorder pro and email the conversation to the student.  Therefore ensuring the project supervision is similar to my usual face to face project supervision meetings, see previous blog entry.   A student’s reflection of the experience:
“After having to split my final year into two years, Skype enabled my project supervisor to help me to complete a successful dissertation despite me not being able to attend regularly at the University Campus.  It played a major part in the completion of my degree”
Also, added advantage of the app you can text message with one another is ready for the conference call.   The only niggle I found was Skyping at home on a throttled broadband connection, i.e. broadband connection throttled by broadband provider and household of teenagers with multiple devices connected to the household WiFi and internet would result in my conference call connection being dropped.   Best advice I can offer is Skype conference call when the kids are not at home or use work WiFi.
In terms of students using mobile apps innovatively for learning it was the use of Skype I recently reported an event I witnessed and was the recipient of being used most innovatively last year to support a student’s learning experience, (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2013).   A student member of a group was unable to attend a group’s feedback session due to medical reasons, so one of his peers initiated a Skype video call connection using his HTC phone over the University Wi-Fi to the other student at home on his laptop.   The phone was held at head height in the group circled around myself.   During the feedback session all the students (physically or digitally present) actively participated in the group’s feedback discussion and reflections.   In an recent email the digitally attended student recommended the learning experience as seamless despite the sound quality issues:
Being on Skype with everyone there was just as ordinary to myself as being there (albeit the bad sound quality). I did enjoy taking part in the call though and think it should be done more regularly for people who are physically unable to attend.”
Reference
Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK

Recorder Pro

Recorder Pro
By Dava Consulting
69p
Available for iOS platform
In my opinion this is the best audio recording app on the iOS platform.  I have used a number of the audio apps, this app in particularl for over four years.   The app provides you with the choice of audio quality settings low 8kHz, 22kHz to 44.1kHz, and audio formats non-compressed AIFF and WAV to compressed (IMA4 codec) AIFC and CAF.   I personally have my app permanently setup as low 8kHz and AIFC format, this means I can audio record 1/2hr of audio and the file is still small enough to be emailed, approximately 8Mb.  
The app provides the functionality to create folders and rename your recordings, enabling you to organise your recordings effectively.   The audio recording functionality provides record, pause, auto pause (sensitivity can be adjusted), play, rewrite and delete.   The app is fully integrated with mail app and provides access to all your contacts. 
The app fulfills my requirements as an academic in providing audio feedback in an efficient and timely fashion for students.   I use the app twofold:
1.     To provide feedback on student assessment submissions that require very short feedback turn around, (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2011), the majority students found the audio a good enough quality, more useful and help them improve.   Students found audio more beneficial method of feedback than other methods of feedback, as shown by the following student comments;
“I preferred it, better than written feedback, more descriptive whereas written feedback is quite basic.”
“It just feels more so [interactive], you get written feedback doesn’t feel the same as someone speaking to you”
2.     To audio record feedback conversations with students, whether they take place in a formal, informal or semi formal setting, typically often these are project supervision sessions, (Nortcliffe, 2011).   All project students found the audio quality sufficient and the methodology extremely beneficial during the project supervision, as supported by the following students’ reflections:
“The benefit of audio recording is being able to rewind to pick up on details that you may have missed the first time of hearing. I typically listened to the audio files a few times.”
It reminded me of the discussions that I had with my supervisor. It also helped me in taking down appropriate changes to the required documents.”
It should be noted at the institution I am employed the student email address is configured to their student number, thus making it very straight forward to email the audio file to the learner.  I always also provide instructions in the email message on how to play the file in QuickTime, iTunes, or RealPlayer.   However, for a small proportion of Linux using students (anti-apple and MS) the file format is a problem.  I have asked if the developers would develop MP3 codec format as would make the audio recordings more universally accessible.
References
Nortcliffe, A, and Middleton, A. (2011) Smartphone feedback: using an iPhone to improve the distribution of audio feedback, International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education Special Edition 48(3), 280-293, 2011
Nortcliffe, A. (2011) About using iPhones/iTouches for project supervision, in Media-enhanced feedback: case studies and methods. ASSET and MELSIG (Ed) A. Middleton, available on-line: http://ppp.chester.ac.uk/images/4/43/Middleton-Media-enhanced_feedback_proceedings-final.pdf, 2011, last viewed 6th January 2013

Sunday 17 March 2013

Notability

Notability
By Ginger Labs
£1.49
Available for iPad
App enables you to digitalise signing and filling in forms quickly and efficiently.   Whether copyright form, to reference request, to banking documents.  Typically or not these documents are sent as hard copies or PDFs therefore require to be printed completed and sent back via the post.   Notability enables you to process the forms quickly and efficiently and email back the forms to the recipients.   However, also provides the user with the functionality to add photos from camera or photos, figures, web screen dump, “post-it-note” and audio recording to a document.
In terms for education Notability can really come into its own, educational work sheets can be filled in electronically by students.  The app supports variety of languages, answers can be typed or hand written onto the sheets, can make entries very neat with the zoom feature including you handwriting.   The sheets can be submitted back to the tutor via email or viewed in class, just as handwritten complete tutorial sheets assessed in class.  
However as an academic I find Notability a great assessment feedback tool.   I use Notability when I am feeding back using an assessment rubric.  I use the handwriting tool to ring the assessment criteria and grading, type feedback text in the text boxes, and I can even sign and date the feedback sheet.   However, the piece de resistance is the fact that Notability has audio recording functionality enabling me to audio record, rich and detailed feedback, to provide greater feedback clarity.   The resultant document and audio file are emailed direct to the student(s), with clear instructions in the email as to what they are receiving that is attachments of feedback assessment rubric as PDF file and audio wav feedback file.   Students are positive about this feedback approach, as shown by the following student’s reflections;
“The audio feedback was very helpful it allowed me to amend my work accordingly and go through it as if my tutor was walking me through it.   The grid provided me with very precise description of what I had achieved and what I had not. Overall I think the most helpful element was the audio format which provided very useful in modifying my work accordingly.”
The only niggle with this app is that you cannot pause the audio recording, if you press stop and start again a new audio file is created.  Personally I would prefer a pause, as when I am audio recording feedback I like to start, stop, collect my thoughts and then begin audio recording again.

Saturday 16 March 2013

Penultimate

Penultimate
By Evernote
Free
Available for iPad
I purchased this app two years ago when I received my first iPad, it is the app I still use most regularly.   Since I purchased the app it dropped in price to be now free.   Personally I don’t begrudging paying for the app, as it is really the best of all the hand writing notebook apps.   The handwriting is accurate and responsive.  The wrist protector technology is very accurate.  You can write with your finger or a stylus.  However I would recommend a fine tip stylus.   
The app enables you to digitalise note-taking in notebooks with the added bonus you can embed photos from iPad camera or photos, and you have the choice of free paper background from graph to line paper, to paid backgrounds from sheet music to to do lists.   The note books can be synchronized to Evernote, emailed, printed, sent to iTunes and even opened and read in other apps tools that have the facility to open PDF documents.   The real bonus though is the Evernote functionality to recognize your handwriting for searching, you can type in keywords and search your own notes for that critical information you noted down months ago.
An app I would recommend for any student or academic who wishes to make lecture, seminar, tutorial, workshop or revision notes.   As an engineer it has enabled me to replace my paper based log book and organise my notes more effectively, i.e. different note book for different activities oppose to being noted linearly in one notebook.   One app I would be quite lost without! 
The only niggle is that I use the app so much and produce large volumes of written matieral I am running out memory space on my iPad.   Android community is very keen to see this app in the google market place!