Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Student apps

this is the section you can post comments about student specific apps. Make sure you indicate appropriate grade level, exact name, and cost, if any.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've downloaded a bunch of alphabet and number tracing apps as well as apps for phonics today and they have been great for my kids. I teach MH elementary. I've also used the piano and coloring apps for fine motor and turn taking. Dianne

MBrox said...

For Nancy, if you type in autism in apps search, there are a lot of free communication apps. They are not the most functional for our students, but give a great idea of what the capabilities of the iPad could be.

Mel B

Anonymous said...

Downloaded iBooks to search for kids titles to use in class. Typical title is 5.99. Can do much better at scholastic and local bookstores.

Unknown said...

From a student using it after school:

Highlighting is tricky when reading online, it's difficult to get all the words together. A mouse is far easier.

A few apps I downloaded he found were buggy and had trouble loading online content into the app

His favorite aspects of the iPad were the games for Science topics on it, and the other games that were on the iPad that were unrelated to education (solataire, ninjajump HD)

So far, not much productivity in class other than having students have close up views of lectures, or using it for quick online reference in class.

D. Thrower, SLP said...

I've also donwloaded a lot of the phonics and alphabet apps. I work at the high school, but the apps are very appropriate for the students in the MD unit.

The First Words Sampler worked well with a student, he was able to match the letters and it spells out the words, this particular student has CP and the muscles in his hands are very tight so the small size of the iPad worked well for him, and he had to stretch out his hands to drag the letters and match them.

Also, many of the games like connect four and checkers have been useful, particularly for social skills and turn taking.

And all of these have been free apps...I think that if I downloaded the full version they'd have more bells and whistles.

RMS - Renita said...

I used two free apps with grade four - one for math and one for reading. I had the same students use the same apps on the IPAD and the IPOD Touch. While all four students said they liked the IPAD better, they also said that using the app in both devices was equally easy. Although smaller, reading in the I-Touch was fine. The reading app actually told them wpm, so now I'm looking into the possibility of using this in a capacity similar to six minute solutions. In spite of the limited options of the free version, students remained engaged and wanted to continue using the app.

Melissa France said...

I used the free Hangman app today with two different groups of 4th and 5th graders. We took turns choosing the letters. Once we got to the end and it showed the word, I used the free dictionary app to look up the meaning (so far all of the words were words the students didn’t know). This worked out really well. The students were engaged and excited. I talked about the words and then I am making a list on the wall where we can add new words. I hope to use this as an incentive, teachable moment, time filler (It only took 5 minutes at the end of class).

Anonymous said...

I downloaded a new program called iSentence. I use it with a 4th grade MH student who functions at a 2nd grade Reading level. The program focuses on sentence structure while making it a fun game. The student enjoyed playing and was able to utilize the information about nouns, pronouns and verbs he has been learning about. Dianne

MBroxterman said...

I downloaded virtuoso and air guitar initially, just for fun. I decided to try and use them with 2 MD students who are in w/c and have limited arm and hand movement. They both LOVE music so I thought it would be interesting to see their reaction. Both students demonstrated increased arm and hand movement. The one student even was opening and closing her hands (usually hands are tight in fist) as she strummed the guitar. I also think that the touch screen sensitive works well when students who cannot play much pressure on the screen.
Melanie

Renita said...

I took the IPAD to a presentation of products for students that integrate online courses with project based learning. None of the programs would run on the IPAD because they all use FLASH.

Unknown said...

After a couple weeks I am having a great deal of trouble finding apps that are appropriate for a biology classroom. As an internet brower the iPad is fine and well, but I have yet to see anything outside of games (very losely) associated with Biology.

Renita said...

Super7 HD is a great math game. You try to combine numbers to make 7 as they float around the screen. It is very engaging and develops number skills.

Renita said...

For older elementary students, word warp x gives you several letters and you try to make as many words possible in two minutes. You can play alone, take turns or compete. It's challenging. I would like to find a simpler one for younger children since it is an engaging way to work with words. Doodle Hangman has the option of having the computer generate words or playing with someone and putting in words for each other. Children (grade 3) like it but don't always spell the words right. :-)

MBroxterman said...

I tried a great app this week. It is called GoSkyWatch. It is one that allows you to hold the iPad towards the sky and it will show stars,constellations, etc. I used it the night of the full moon. It helped me answers several of my 5 year old questions about what stars were the brightest. For a non-science teacher, I found it interesting. I would be curious if someone with more knowledge on that subject would feel about it.

I have also been downloading as many FREE basic reading and math apps. Some are good, some really bad. I like the fact that most printing ones allow for repeated practice without making all the paper copies; however I have trialled a few that have had so much 'clutter' and sound that it would be difficult for student with any type of learning issue to concentrate. Some allow for options to turn sound off which is nice, but some are even difficult for me to focus.

Melanie

CommonMan said...

My favorite apps that have some classroom use appeal (in no particular order): Khan Mobile Academy, TED Mobile, GoSkyWatch, Numbers, and Dragon Dictation. ITunesU is still the best collection of videos for learning.

D. Thrower, SLP said...

I downloaded Wordventure - it's an app that allows students to make their own ad Lib. The students are given the option to start a new Wordventure, they are prompted to input words based on different parts of speech (ie. adjective, noun, verb, etc.). A short description of the part of speech along with examples are given. Once the student inputs all their words, a funny story is created. The free app only has 3 different stories, but I'm sure there are more if you want to pay the .99 to buy the full version. Fun!

Kelly H. said...

Reading-Decoding App
I downloaded an app called Baldi Phonics. It was 99 cents. I used it last week with one of my fourth grade students who has a some significant decoding issues. The app has a realistic face make the sound for a letter or blend and the student has to match the letters to the sound. The student really enjoyed this game and has shown progress in decoding.

Renita said...

From the category of what our elementary students currently access on the computer during the school day:
+ Study Island -easy IPAD access
- VMathLive - can't use

Mr. Vince said...

The ability to leave notes, highlight, and define words on digital books is valuable. My 5th graders love that feature.

Renita said...

This link offers information about a solution to the Flash issue, however, it was only available for five hours before Skyfire pulled it due to server capacity issues. http://www.cultofmac.com/skyfire-flash-ready-browser-for-iphone-sells-out-fast/67639

When it becomes available again, it would certainly be worth trying. It is a conversion tool, and won't work for flash games but may allow access to some of the programs currently used by our students.

Princeton High School Art Department said...

I don’t have my ipad yet, but here is an App that I found from a discussion on the IB Visual Art Curriculum Center teacher resource page: App. Atlas of Anatomy http://www.posemaniacs.com/blog/
Great for figure drawing!
-Lindsay H

MBrox said...

Today I used a few basic vocabulary "flashcard like" apps. Most of them where advertised as 'baby' apps. The students did better with the ones that were real photos versus the cartoon pictures. Although it was very simple app, it worked well for student who do not have a large vocabulary or students who working on categorizing vocabulary. The one app was organized by category, such as animals, food, etc.

Melanie

MBrox said...

I am beginning to use Proloquo2Go (P2G for those augmentative communication geeks out there). It is a app that is pre-loaded and organized with icons that can be activated to act as a person's voice.

I have had the app for a week. Here are my initial thoughts:
PROS:
- pre made grids of icons that are organized by category that are ready to use with some trial and error
- icons can be activated with light touch
-icons are color which appear to be more motivating and easier for students to recognize

CONS:
- icons are not organized the way I am familiar with which has made it hard to adjust to
- icons are duplicated on various pages which can be confusing when remembering where the icons are
- tools bar that allows you edit pages is located at the bottom of page, student often rest his/her wrist on that area when trying to activate a cell.
- can only find directions for iPhone and iPod app which slightly differs from iPad app

If interested in more info, google Proloquo2Go or visit their Facebook page.
Stay tuned for more updates as I become more familiar
with this app!

D. Thrower, SLP said...

Just wanted to leave a quick post about Hangman - I used it with a group of 4 9th grade students the other day. If you choose the "2 player" option, you can input the words yourself. We used it to review vocabulary words, and the students were on teams and had to define the words once they guessed it.

Melissa France said...

Thanks for the hangman tip. I did not know you could do that. I will try it out the next time I use it.

MBrox said...

I was in search of an app that reinforced some basic addition skills. I found 2 that are pretty good for content, student 'friendly', and entertaining.
1) Tables: addition, subtr., multi., and division problems available in full version. FREE version gives you access to 3 levels of addition, visuals are given for each problem, students click and drag answer tiles into answer space.
* I used this with a kindergarten student with autism who is close to grade level in math. He enjoyed using it and went through all levels of addition with only missing one.

2) 123 balloons: a carnival themes app that has 4 levels of math games. The lite version.....Level 1 is simply touching screen to pop balloons allowing students to get head to popping the balloons. Level 2 displays 10 balloons with numeral 1-10 and students are expected to touch and pop balloons in order. Level 3 is spelling number words. Level 4 has simple additions problems with balloons as visuals. Students can touch balloons above each number of number sentence and app counts for them. Nice for students who need a few cues when doing addition, but cues are not coming from adult.

I also trialed another app with a couple of my more challenging students. It was an app called RATTLE. The FREE version of this app gives a 30 second trial of music/lights in a "baby" cause/effect. If the screen is touched, the app makes a funny noise and more things show up on screen. The music was soothing and I did get some reaction from students, but not very impressed. Will need to trial with a few other students.

P.S. Still figuring out programming for prologue. Having difficulty with student "touch" activating cells to get it to talk. Doing some research on that this weekend.

Melanie

Anonymous said...

Recently downloaded proloquo2go. It basically turns the iPad into an augmentative communication device. I'm playing around with it before using it with my kids. There are a lot of pages within the app and they aren't as logically sequential as you would think it should be! It's confusing and I want to get a good grasp on it before introducing it to the kids.
Dianne

CommonMan said...

app called adobe ideas....sketch pad....the young students will like this...and it is free.

MBrox said...

Just found that Reading A-Z has free download on leveled reader, one in each level. They have colorful pictures and built in glossary to give more info about words during story.

http://books.readsmart.com/LAZ/free.html

Can't wait to try with some of my students!

Melanie