Apps for Education
App is a new vocabulary word for me. However, for children it is just another word. I've noticed that you can get an app for just about anything. For example, you can get apps that allow you to compare prices of items against other stores. How cool is that! Wow, how the world has changed and will continue to change due to the addition of technology!
Educational apps are abundant for iPhones, iPods, and iPads. What's even better is that most of them are free. If they aren't free, they are very inexpensive. Apps allow our students to practice grade-level skills without a teacher's guidance. Not only do apps allow our students to learn but they allow them to learn in a fun, game-like way. Most of the times, children don't even realize they are learning. I have noticed that the iPads and iPods are the "go-to" devices at our school when the students are given a choice. They would rather learn with apps than learn on websites in most cases. It has to be due to the bright graphics, rewards, cool characters and settings that apps offer. Listed below are the titles and links to the apps that I like for first graders.
Splash Math App - First Grade (iPhone, iPod & iPad): This app is free and fun to play! The graphics are very colorful and they really draw the students in and motivate them to play and learn. It covers many of the first grade math skills that students need to learn. In fact, it covers over 200 math skills! It begins out easy and progressively gets more challenging. The questions are multiple choice. This makes the app easy for young learners to manipulate. It provides the students with extra practice putting their subtraction and addition facts to memory. It also reinforces other important first grade math skills such as telling time, counting groups of coins, graphing, etc. I have this app on our classroom iPads and it's one of the students favorites. Another great feature of this app is that teachers can tract how their students are doing on these particular skills.
ABC Writing Zoo Animals Game HD - Listening, Reading, & Writing (iPad): This app has a free version and a complete version for $1.99. In this app, the students are told a letter or word and they write the letter or word correctly. This app is fantastic for first graders because it allows the students to practice basic skills such as how to write and form letters correctly. This is BIG in first grade and to me! I encourage my first graders to write correctly every time they write so that they don't form bad habits early on. As the students write the letters, they are able to hear how to pronounce the letters correctly. This also reinforces phonemic awareness (which is also big in first grade). This app motivates students to learn through the incorporation of zoo animals.
iSpy Phonics (iPhone, iPod, iPad): This app is $1.99 and is great for young children; therefore, this app would be perfect for pre-school through first grade because it's focus is on phonics. It is an app that resembles the iSpy game that children love to play. You know the one. For instance, the child says, "I spy something big and red." Well, with this app, the child will "spy" the letter of the sound that is pronounced. This act reinforces phonemic awareness. Most importantly, it prepares children to read. This app is colorful and interactive in the fact that students can add their own pictures and voice to the app as they "spy" letters and sounds. Don't worry about the child messing up the settings. They can be easily reset. In my opinion, this is a nice feature of the app.
TeachMe: 1st Grade (Addition, Subtraction, Spelling, & Sight Words) (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch): This app is $1.99 and has the most precious graphics ever! It won the Best Elementary School App. This app features four first grade subjects: addition, subtraction, spelling and Dolch sigh words. Being a first grade teacher, I am really interested in this app because it appears to follow first grade standards. The students can put to memory addition and subtraction facts to 20. I also like that it provides students with exposure to Dolch sight words. Sight word recognition is a must for learning to read. The spelling practice is awesome as well! This app requires the students to write (get a stylus) their answers. This app recognizes if the letters and numbers aren't written correctly and if they aren't, it provides assistance to the student.
Google Reader Reference: The use of apps as an educational tool is a wonderful way to encourage students to learn and practice skills that they must master. While reading the blogs that I am following, I read an interesting post on the blog, Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day, titled "Some New iPad Resources." In this particular blog, he provides three links that deal with iPad inclusion in education. The link that I am most interested in highlights the 10 best apps of 2011. You can find out what these are by clicking here. Out of these ten apps, the app that best fits my students' needs is called Huddlestone. This app can be downloaded on iPhones and iPads. This app aids young students in letter recognition. The letters are hand-drawn and have a classic feel to them. This type of app is typically not needed at the end of first grade because first graders are reading fluently at that point. However, the app would be beneficial at the beginning of the year for those students who need practice with letter recognition.
References:
ABC writing zoo animals game HD - for iPad (2008). In AppShopper. Retrieved from
http://appshopper.com/education/abc-writing-zoo-animals-game-hd-for-ipad
The 10 best iOS apps of 2011 (2011, December 22). In The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/huddlestones/id471390040?mt=8
Huddlestones (2012). In iTunes Preview. Retrieved from
http://tunes.apple.com/gb/app/huddlestones/id471390040?mt=8
iSpy phonics (2013). In iTunes Preview. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ispy-phonics/id376809609?mt=8
Splash math - 1st Grade - Comprehensive Math App (2011). In iHeartThisApp. Retrieved from
http://iheartthisapp.com/splash-math-1st-grade-comprehensive-math-app/
TeachMe: 1st Grade (2013). In iTunes Preview. Retrieved from
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teachme-1st-grade/id355940964?mt=8
I loved your introduction post. Those are good reasons I had not thought of for why students prefer apps over websites. It makes complete sense. We all like instant gratification and apps can provide that!
ReplyDeleteTabitha, I know there seem to be an app for just about everything! Trying to find the best apps to help your students can be daunting. I glad that I have this resource to find the best ones even though this technology is ever changing.
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