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A series of Australian made (and Australian accent) apps for phonics work. They would be good for beginning or assisted reading. As well as the apps they provide free printable worksheets.
Their website is http://ozphonics.com/index.html These apps look pretty good and the support, both in the way of worksheets and lesson help from their website, certainly adds weight to the purchase. There are 4 apps at the moment with a fifth coming out shortly. They are - Introduction to reading; Phonemic awareness and sounds; CVC, CCVC consonant blends; Consonant blends, Digraphs. Separately they are $3.99 or get the the 4, with worksheets for $9.99. They would be ideal for any reading program. |
Writing Apps - what about a bit of stimulation?
There was recently a review of four writing apps for younger (primary) apps on the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning site You can read their review here.
EDML review
A couple are worth a mention.
"Writing Prompts for Kids" certainly looks like a good one to have. It costs $2.95 but has no other costs. You could also use it with a whole class ( mirror your iPad to the smart board. If you aren't doing this already you are really missing out on a lot of the function of the iPad in class). In fact I think this is the main function of this app. You can't actually write into it. You get the stimulation ( like raconteur ) - the setting, situation, character, difficult words. Then you go elsewhere ( Pages, Google Docs ) to write. You could have this installed on each ipad ( shared or individual) and the students use it for stimulation. Or you could just have it on the teacher iPad and mirror it to the class smart board. It does have a "better words" function. If you click on the word "big" it rings up a list such as " enormous, gigantic, etc". It still could be used as a class activity if the iPad was left on the front desk - if the student is looking for a better word, they could come and could select there word to bring up the alternatives ( and the whole class could see). Possibly this one would only be suitable for upper Primary or lower secondary.
There was recently a review of four writing apps for younger (primary) apps on the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning site You can read their review here.
EDML review
A couple are worth a mention.
"Writing Prompts for Kids" certainly looks like a good one to have. It costs $2.95 but has no other costs. You could also use it with a whole class ( mirror your iPad to the smart board. If you aren't doing this already you are really missing out on a lot of the function of the iPad in class). In fact I think this is the main function of this app. You can't actually write into it. You get the stimulation ( like raconteur ) - the setting, situation, character, difficult words. Then you go elsewhere ( Pages, Google Docs ) to write. You could have this installed on each ipad ( shared or individual) and the students use it for stimulation. Or you could just have it on the teacher iPad and mirror it to the class smart board. It does have a "better words" function. If you click on the word "big" it rings up a list such as " enormous, gigantic, etc". It still could be used as a class activity if the iPad was left on the front desk - if the student is looking for a better word, they could come and could select there word to bring up the alternatives ( and the whole class could see). Possibly this one would only be suitable for upper Primary or lower secondary.
"Write About This" is one that I quite like. It is free to download but is quite limited to its function. But still workable enough to get an idea if you want the app. This one is so good I would recommend spending the purchase price of $4.99 to get the whole app. It is half price with VPP purchasing. It is designed by a teacher and it shows ( in a good way). There are "prompts" to get the students started. These can consist of pictures, with voice and text, if you wish. There are 20 catogories, from feelings to transportation. The students can include a picture ( or take one ) and voice. There are 3 levels - so the prompt cater for the younger to the older students. They actually write into this app. They can share their work by either email or camera roll. It may sound funny having writing save to camera roll ( but it can have images and sound remember) but this is the easiest way of getting things off a shared ipad. They save to camera roll, then upload to Edmodo, their Google Drive or any other storage they have set up. You can also set up various " authors" within the app. If you don't have wifi - you could have each student set up as an author within the app and they save their stories to that identity.
Visit their website for more detailed information http://www.writeaboutapp.com |
STORYBIRD: Many people have used the web based one "StoryBird" but tend to forget about it on the iPads. It is web based so the students sign in and out ( ideal for shared iPads). They can also pick up their work elsewhere and on any device. An old favourite that works well to stimulate all levels of writers. You can set your whole class up, so you are aware of what they are doing. You can set class tasks or assignments. The students share their work via a class book shelf ( or can be made public). They have a very large selection of artwork to chose from and lay their stories out in a book form. There is a free version and a paid version. I have only ever used the free version and found it ample for my needs. The only limit I have found is that although the students can create unlimited books online they are only able to print one a year. Maybe their best one for an end of year take home portfolio?can be used on iPads. Web based -sign in , so can be used with shared iPads. Highly recommended.
SCRATCH JR
Not only is technology changing (at a exponential rate), but also what we need to teach. Once upon a time (not so long ago) we taught keyboard and mouse skills and how to navigate Word. Today we wouldn’t dream of wasting students learning time on such lower order thinking skills. One aspect that is becoming more and more important, is the aspect of coding. There are a number of coding programs available for High School students and not so many for Primary students. One of my favourites has been Scratch. It is available across platform (meaning you can use it with Macs and Windows). It is also free and has a wide user base. And the kids just love it. You don’t have to be an expert (God forbid - I’m not !!) - the kids pick it up really quickly are are keen to show you what they have made.
Scratch has now - just been introduced to the iPad. It seems more and more there isn’t much we can’t do on the iPads. It is called Scratch Jnr. It is free and is , of course, a slightly cut down version. It is designed for younger children (5-7) but could be used with older children who have never used the program before.
Scratch Jnr Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658960/
Not only is technology changing (at a exponential rate), but also what we need to teach. Once upon a time (not so long ago) we taught keyboard and mouse skills and how to navigate Word. Today we wouldn’t dream of wasting students learning time on such lower order thinking skills. One aspect that is becoming more and more important, is the aspect of coding. There are a number of coding programs available for High School students and not so many for Primary students. One of my favourites has been Scratch. It is available across platform (meaning you can use it with Macs and Windows). It is also free and has a wide user base. And the kids just love it. You don’t have to be an expert (God forbid - I’m not !!) - the kids pick it up really quickly are are keen to show you what they have made.
Scratch has now - just been introduced to the iPad. It seems more and more there isn’t much we can’t do on the iPads. It is called Scratch Jnr. It is free and is , of course, a slightly cut down version. It is designed for younger children (5-7) but could be used with older children who have never used the program before.
Scratch Jnr Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658960/
ADOBE VOICE
A new app from Abode called “Voice”. It is an easy story telling app that naturally, is centred around your voice. It is a quick and easy app for getting a story across to an audience. I can see this one becoming a favourite with a lot of classes. There are some examples to look at when you first open the app - which is a good starting place to see how it works. When you make a new one you have a choice of icons, text and photos. You can easily add music as well ( that runs underneath your slide presentation). There are a few layout options ( full page, photo and caption, two objects per page etc). The choices are fairly limited but that is what makes it effecient and quick. With each slide that you make there is an option to record your voice ( or your story). This is of course the main aspect of the app and it does it extremely well. In most apps you generally get voice recording that is faint or hard to understand, generally needing to hold the ipad close to you to be heard. This app is extremely loud and clear. It is the strength of the app ( hence the name).
The only down side of this app is the need for an Adobe cloud account to be able to export the video/ slide story. I could imagine setting up a generic one for a class to work from. Exporting the video - then using a link or embedding it in a site.
The app is free and is worth looking at for your students.
Have a look at the example below. It was put together in 10 minutes ( literally).
A new app from Abode called “Voice”. It is an easy story telling app that naturally, is centred around your voice. It is a quick and easy app for getting a story across to an audience. I can see this one becoming a favourite with a lot of classes. There are some examples to look at when you first open the app - which is a good starting place to see how it works. When you make a new one you have a choice of icons, text and photos. You can easily add music as well ( that runs underneath your slide presentation). There are a few layout options ( full page, photo and caption, two objects per page etc). The choices are fairly limited but that is what makes it effecient and quick. With each slide that you make there is an option to record your voice ( or your story). This is of course the main aspect of the app and it does it extremely well. In most apps you generally get voice recording that is faint or hard to understand, generally needing to hold the ipad close to you to be heard. This app is extremely loud and clear. It is the strength of the app ( hence the name).
The only down side of this app is the need for an Adobe cloud account to be able to export the video/ slide story. I could imagine setting up a generic one for a class to work from. Exporting the video - then using a link or embedding it in a site.
The app is free and is worth looking at for your students.
Have a look at the example below. It was put together in 10 minutes ( literally).
TELLAGAMI
A wonderful video making app for students. Great for visual story telling. You can select backgrounds (limited) or ones from camera roll. Make a female or male character. Add either your own voice or select from a range of pre made voices. Great for the shy ones. They can type in their commentary and the app will turn it into a spoken voice. The app is free but their are inapp purchases for background, characters etc - but you don't really need them. The attached video is made with Tellagami.
A wonderful video making app for students. Great for visual story telling. You can select backgrounds (limited) or ones from camera roll. Make a female or male character. Add either your own voice or select from a range of pre made voices. Great for the shy ones. They can type in their commentary and the app will turn it into a spoken voice. The app is free but their are inapp purchases for background, characters etc - but you don't really need them. The attached video is made with Tellagami.
Green Screen by Do Ink
If you are using the camera and video features of the iPad - this app is great for students to make fairly effective presentations. It costs $3.79. |
A Different View
A poetry app. If you are looking for some kid centred poems with some lovely illustrations this could be handy to look at. It has a voice over - for children who might want to hear the poems but have difficulty reading. It is an American voice tho. At $3.79 it is a handy app to have for either reading to a class or for individual children. You could airplay it through a computer connected to a smart board for the whole class to see or through an apple tv. The illustrations are fabulous. Antarctica by KIDS DISCOVERY
Most stage 3 classes do Antarctica in their HSIE scope and sequence. This app is great for students doing this study. Covers most aspects of Antarctica, with 3D models, video, photos, quizzes and information. Cost is $4.99 |
EXPLAIN EVERYTHING by Morris Cooke
If there is one app that everyone should have in their toolkit - it would have to be this one. "Explain Everything" is essential for teachers and is a great tool for students. Well - what does it do ? Just about everything. You can create slide shows which will play as movies. It will import just about every file type. You can embed the presentations into any web site or Edmodo classroom. Export MP4 movies, PDF docs, PNG images or XPL projects directly from the iPad. If you are wanting to show students how to do Long Multiplication in Maths - use this app to record you writing on a slide with an explanation. Very simple, very quick. You can also create more involved presentations. Students can also use it for explaining work to each other or to the teacher. It is $3.79 from the app store but if you are using it for a one on one program you can utilise the volume purchasing agreement and it is half price ($1.90). There is also a free manual in the ibooks store. Seeing it is free - well worth the read.
If there is one app that everyone should have in their toolkit - it would have to be this one. "Explain Everything" is essential for teachers and is a great tool for students. Well - what does it do ? Just about everything. You can create slide shows which will play as movies. It will import just about every file type. You can embed the presentations into any web site or Edmodo classroom. Export MP4 movies, PDF docs, PNG images or XPL projects directly from the iPad. If you are wanting to show students how to do Long Multiplication in Maths - use this app to record you writing on a slide with an explanation. Very simple, very quick. You can also create more involved presentations. Students can also use it for explaining work to each other or to the teacher. It is $3.79 from the app store but if you are using it for a one on one program you can utilise the volume purchasing agreement and it is half price ($1.90). There is also a free manual in the ibooks store. Seeing it is free - well worth the read.