5 Apps for K-12 Learning
Learn about my 5 favourite apps for K-12 education
1. Google Drive
Google Drive is one web tool that has never failed me. Most of us use a gmail account these days but hardly take advantage of the free tools the site has to offer. Google Drive lets students keep all of their information in one place. It is super easy to use and would be appropriate for almost all age groups. With a school email, students would be able to email teachers and classmates, share documents and use countless other tools all from one tool.
Socrative
Socrative is a tool that allows students to complete assignments form their mobile devices. The biggest attraction of the tool is the teachers ability to give quizzes to students through the app. The app allows students to answer the questions in their phone and then quickly delivers the class results to the teacher in the form of an excel spreadsheet that highlights where students may have had the most difficulty on a number of questions.
3. Polleverywhere
This specific tool was used a lot in the classroom when I was in high school. The tool allows students to vote, or express their opinion without having to speak in class. Specifically, when I was in grade 11 I joined a grade 12 English class. I was younger than all the kids and afraid to speak up in class. My teacher presented us with this tool and I really enjoyed it. The best part is that after using the tool a few times and seeing that other students had the same opinion as me I was more inclined to speak up in class without the use of Polleverywhere.
4. Animation Creator HD
I love the idea of this app for younger students. I remember in elementary school we were given the assignment of creating a comic strip. I was very discouraged because I could not draw as well as the other kids. My teacher suggested I use Microsoft Office instead. That didn't really help since the technology wasn't there yet.
I think an app like Animation Creator HD would be great for students creating something like a comic strip. Even though I was really discouraged about my ability, this was still one of my favourite projects back then. I think this tool would really be a fun and effective way for students to express their ideas.
Talking Tom & Ben News Reporters
Lets face it, students, especially elementary students don't like the traditional way of reading the news. Newspapers are a foreign item to most younger students and the more attractive alternative of reading the news online is losing its touch too, because lets face it, kids don't care about what's in the news anymore.
One way to change this, at least for Elementary students is with the Talking Tom & Ben News Reporters. The two animated pets will read any news to the students, making the news more enjoyable. Obviously this app would not be very effective for an older crowd but I think using this app with younger students will show them the importance of keeping up to date with he news.