Mobile Apps for Education

     This is an actual screen shot of my iPhone that I took before creating this post. I didn't download any apps especially for this blog post. These apps were already on my iPhone. I worked with a summer enrichment program this past summer and had multiple grade levels and ages at one time. I downloaded some apps so that I could have some students working with me and others "playing" on my phone. I also do some private tutoring, and I downloaded some apps this summer to help motivate the students that I tutor. My five-year-old niece also likes to "play" with these apps. The children use the word "play" when talking about using these apps, and I also use the word "play" because "play" is a more motivating word to a young child than "practice". Most of these apps were free. If I did have to buy an app, the app cost around $1.

     The first app on the top row is one of my favorite apps for my tutoring students and for my summer enrichment students. eFlash Sight Words Flash Cards allows students to review sight words. This app is very similar to traditional flash cards, but each sight word card is read aloud. Students have a few seconds after first seeing a card to say the word before the app says the word. Students can make their best attempts at the word, and then they can hear the correct way to say the word.

     The second app on the top row is iWriteWords. This app allows children to trace letters and numbers with their fingers. The app also says the name of the letters or numbers that children are tracing. This is another app that I downloaded to use with my tutoring students and enrichment students. This app is very helpful for students who get lowercase "b", lowercase "d", lowercase "p", and lowercase "q" mixed up with one another. Students can practice writing skills while letter naming skills are also reinforced.

     The first app on the bottom row is Lakeshore's Tic Tac Toe Phonics. It is a bit more difficult because it does not have spoken instructions. This app is not an app that a younger student could use by himself, but it is a great app that parents can "play" with students. This app asks different phonics related questions, and if the user answers a question correctly, he or she can mark his or her spot on the tic tac toe board.

     The second app on the bottom row is Lakeshore's Sound Sorting Beginning Sounds.  This app does include some spoken features, but some parts of the game would need to be explained to students. This app is easy for students to use, and once they have been shown how to use the app, they can use it independently. Beginning sounds can be a hard concept for some students to grasp, and this app provides more practice for that skill.
 
     The two apps on the top row that I have not talked about yet are from Starfall Education, and they provide practice with shapes, colors, and numbers. These apps are very entertaining. I am constantly searching for more apps from Starfall Education.

     I've already talked about the Addition and Subtraction for Kids app in another blog post. The other two apps that I do use quite often are the Color Mix, which has touch-to-fill coloring pages, and dtdnumletlite, which is a dot-to-dot app. Dot-to-dot provides practice with letters, numbers, and sequencing. The other apps that are pictured are apps that I do not use very much or at all. However, I do use the ones that I mentioned a good bit with private tutoring students.

     I do not have my own classroom yet, or I would be trying to get iPod touches for students to use. I have been in schools where students have access to iPod touches for researching topics, and I have seen the increase in motivation that occurs due to using that technology. I have also seen younger students enjoy using my own iPhone to practice skills without even realizing that they were practicing skills.