Teach With AppsTeach With Appshttp://www.teachwithapps.com/wwwteachwithappscom/2012-05-03T11:39:02ZSquarespaceStella and Sam' Adventureshttp://www.teachwithapps.com/wwwteachwithappscom/stella-and-sam-adventures.htmlRhonda Shuster2012-03-05T14:16:14Z2012-03-05T14:16:14Z
The "Stella and Sam" series provides a very fun and colorful experience for the young child or the non-reader. The story is read aloud with music and animation. After reading a few pages, a simple drawing exercise appears. It may be drawing paw prints of their dog, Fred, or just moving an object through a simple maze. These stories may also be used with the beginning ESL student who is not yet ready for word recognition.
Pros: Very appealing graphics and voices
Cons: Stories are short; expensive for such a short story
Price: $6.99 for all 5 stories; $2.99 individually; watch for specials
]]>Spark HDhttp://www.teachwithapps.com/wwwteachwithappscom/spark-hd.htmlRhonda Shuster2011-12-27T12:55:43Z2011-12-27T12:55:43ZSpark HD is an app all about story starters. It has a simple interface and is very colorful. As referred to b
its author, Spark Story starters include 52 scenarios to kick-start imagination, encourage problem-solving, and get kids talking. Simply, touch the smilely sun to begin. If the story starter is read to the student, this app can be used at any level. For independent work, a high 2nd grade reader should have no trouble with the vocabulary.
Rocket Math by Dan Russell-Pinson is an app which provides skill-building in a fun and unique atmosphere. This app is not to be confused with another app called Rocket Math HD which has stunning graphics, but does not provide the learning experience found in Dan's program. The concept behind the app is to earn money to build a rocket to launch into space. Money is earned, of course, by solving math problems. The rocket is built using engines, boosters, fins, etc. Physics is even involved as a rocket will not go very far without an engine. When the rocket is built, the student then selects a mission. Missions cover a broad range of skills including counting, money, time, add/subtract, multiply/divide, shapes, and even square roots. Missions are listed by category and by difficulty. Within each mission, the student can select which skills are appropriate. For example, in the multiplication/division section, the user can select multiply by one digit, divisible by five, etc. The missions are designed to pinpoint each math skill. There are many math apps available, but this one is one of the best I have seen so far.
Pros: fun, innovative, covers broad range of math skills
PhotoSpeak is a unique application that turns a still photo into a 3D video complete with voice. The eyes blink; the mouth moves; and the head moves from side to side. Photos can even be adorned with sunglasses, hair, and hats. The user first takes a still photo, then, following the simple directions, places eye and mouth icons over the photo. The app records the voice. In the example above, I took a picture of Roxy, my therapy dog who comes to school visits with me. I recorded a silly voice to complement a vocabulary lesson. The application allows the user to save, email, and even post to YouTube. I was able to save the file and show it on the classroom's smartboard. The app can be used in various situations. For example, a child can do a report about an alligator, find a picture of an alligator, and animate it with PhotoSpeak while reading the report. Any biography can come to life. This is a perfect app for Reader's Theater scripts. This is a great tool for fluency. Have fun with this one!
Pros: easy to use once set-up, fun, great for fluency
Cons: processing can be slow, a bit difficult to coordinate eye and mouth positioning
Price: $2.99 (In-app purchases are available for adding decorations to your photo such as glasses, hats, and costumes.)
Pictureka! is a category game. The player is asked to find items within a certain category. The first level requires the player to find an insect and a spider. The player is shown several items and just needs to touch the screen when the items are found. It is however, a timed game, which may prove to be frustrating for some. At times, the categories are a bit obtuse. Dinosaur bones are found in the animal category. The music is catchy and the graphics are cartoon-like. This is a good learning tool for the ESL student and can prove to be a challenging game for all.
Pros: fun way to learn categories, graphics look great on the ipad
Cons: timer cannot be turned off, can be frustrating
Animals 100 provides the teacher with a collection of 100 animals with over 600 beautiful photos, animal sounds, and animal facts. This app is ideal for the animal lover in your classroom. The application is divided into six sections: photo & info, tour, speed sound (alphabetical picture list with animals sounds), alphabet (letters with animal pop-ups and pronunciation). quiz, and puzzle (easy, medium, hard). This would be best used in the upper elementary classroom since the language is quite difficult. This app also provides a good introduction to animals for the ESL student.
Pros: Beautiful photos, animals seen in own habitats
Cons: animal facts are just written, students could benefit from a "read to me" when screen is touched
Toontastic provides a unique experience which enables the student to create, record, and animate stories. The interface is very engaging and brings smiles to children's faces. A short guide is provided which should be read before attempting to use the program in the classroom. Begin by clicking "create cartoon" which takes you to the "create" section where the user can create a new cartoon. The speaker explains the "story arc" which includes the setup, conflict, challenge, climax, and resolution. You can then draw your own scene or choose a ready-made scene. The scenes have an adventure theme with titles such as "Pirates Cove", "The Castle Gate", and "The Throne Room". Additional themes are currently under development. Directions are given at each step. Characters are then added. After the scene is created, the student is directed to animate. Characters can be moved and voices are recorded. Music is another choice to create the mood of the story. I have covered just a small portion of the program's capabilities. If you are working with story arcs in the classroom, this is app is a great asset. This can be used individually or with small groups. It works quite well when the students discuss their ideas before beginning the animation. Completed animations can be posted online. A wiki is being created which will allow teachers to discuss their ideas. The address is: http://launchpadtoys.com/classroom/wiki/
Pros: Creative, fun, great tool for story development, not to be missed
Cons: Themes are adventure-spirited which can lend themselves to several fight scenes if not directed
Price: $1.99 (What a bargain!)
Update: Toontastic has added additional characters and backgrounds. Check out the Halloween themes. New scenes and characters have been added via in-app purchases.
Update: Toontastic is free beginning November 4th. Grab it!!
]]>Star Walk and Solar Walkhttp://www.teachwithapps.com/wwwteachwithappscom/star-walk-and-solar-walk.htmlRhonda Shuster2011-02-03T19:18:35Z2011-02-03T19:18:35Z
These apps are ideal for your astronomy enthusiasts. The graphics are stunning. Star Walk takes you through constellations, stars, and planets. Tap location, and you can see exactly what the sky looks like from your point of view. Tap sky live, and see images of the current sky including rising and setting times and elevations. Settings can be personalized to view only what can be seen with the naked eye. Solar Walk provides the user with a 3D universe. A movie compares the planets' sizes. Watch the satellites orbit the Earth. This app explores the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Fly to any planet and find information about it. These are ideal apps for the budding astronomer in your classroom.
Pros: wealth of information, beautiful graphics
Cons: none
Price: Star Walk $4.99, Solar Walk $2.99
]]>I Languagehttp://www.teachwithapps.com/wwwteachwithappscom/i-language.htmlRhonda Shuster2011-02-03T18:16:08Z2011-02-03T18:16:08Z As described by the author: Language Builder is designed to help children accomplish the following educational goals: 1) Improve sentence ideation ; 2) Improve sentence formation; and 3) Improve receptive and expressive language. Extensive use of audio clips promotes improved auditory processing for special needs children with autism spectrum disorders or sensory processing disorders. Auditory playback of child’s voice offers reinforcement for language development. That said, the Language Builder series which also includes Sentence Builder, provides teachers with unique tools for developing language. Children are shown appealing pictures and then asked to talk about them. Depending upon the setting, questions are asked about the picture prompting the creation of a story or a sentence. Voices are recorded and can be played back. The program encourages the use of complete sentences. The pictures also provide an opportunity for discussion for ESL students and students with auditory difficulties. These programs take advantage of the Ipad's capabilities for a rich learning experience.
Pros: Very versatile, easy to use, great tool for language development
Cons: Voices have a sing-song quality
Price: $3.99 for each program; $1.99 for each additional add-on pack
Miss Spider's Tea Party is a delightful book which takes advantage of the Ipad's capabilities. This book, which is also available in a hardback version, takes the story to an interactive experience. As you can see by the screenshot, the illustrations are bright and appealing. The story is about Miss Spider who is very lonely because all the insects are afraid of her and refuse to visit. It is soon discovered that Miss Spider is indeed friendly and, most of all, a florivore, allowing all to become friends. There are two different modes in which to enjoy the story. The first is the "Read" mode allowing the reader to read to himself with or without a music background. All the illustrations are interactive in this mode and can be expanded to full screen. Each page has an icon on the bottom allowing the page to be read to the student. The next mode is "Watch" in which the story is read aloud to the student. Each word is highlighted as it is read. The illustrations are fully animated and come to life. The "Match" mode provides a memory game. The "Paint" mode allows the student to paint several pictures of "Miss Spider" and friends using various brushes and colors. These can then be saved to the photos library. The "Puzzle" mode provides twelve different jigsaw puzzles. A "Lite" version is available for free and will provide access to the beginning of the book. It is also available in other languages.
Pros: Beautiful illustrations, cute story, provides an interactive experience for the young reader
Cons: A bit pricey, could use vga connectivity for the classroom
Price: $7.99, free for lite version
Update: The folks from Calloway Studios have added Miss Spider's Bedtime Stories to their high-quality collection of interactive stories for the young reader. There is a lite version available for free. The full version is $7.99.
