Mobile Learning
Apps for K-12 mLearning
Animoto
Animoto is a website and IOS Cloud-supported app that turns photos into video slideshows. Users are able to compile photos, short video clips and music into customizable visual media presentations. The app also allows users to share their creations via the web, mobile or tablet.
How can it be used?
Animoto can be used by students to create class presentations. It allows students to create professional quality videos that can be easily shared via any mobile device or online. This could be useful for projects that require visual presentation. Animoto also could be used in CTS or Art classrooms to produce stop motion videos from a series of pictures. Furthermore, this app could be used by teacher's to introduce themselves to a new class. The compilation of personal photos could be a great way for students to get to know the teacher!
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that provides online courses and tutoring for various K-12 subjects. The mobile IOS app and website offers practice exercises, personalized learning dashboards and video tutorials to allow students to learn at their own pace, outside of the classroom. Subjects provided include computer programming, art, art history, math, economics, and many more. Khan Academy's mission is to "provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere (Barbara,n.d.)."
Barbara. Khan academy. Retrieved May 24, 2016, from https://www.khanacademy.org/about
How can it be used?Khan Academy is especially beneficial to students who are having trouble understanding topics covered in class. Students who are struggling with understanding concepts or subject areas can use the app to supplement classroom learning and to receive extra practice and mentorship in the chosen subjects. More specifically, this app could be used by low-income families as a replacement for costly tutoring services.
Duolingo
Dualingo is a language learning app. It teaches languages using games and interactive activities and allows users to compete with peers who are also using the app. It customizes the learning experience, allowing users to progress through various stages and "level up", earning points with every correct answer and time completion. The languages offered by the app include Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and English.
How can it be used?
Duolingo could be used in various language classes within K-12 education. It could serve as a supplementary tool for those learning a new language by offering practice and lessons to further enrich learning. Language class teachers could also use this app to create fun, interactive lessons by assigning quizzes and games for the students to complete and compete against each other! The built in translator could also be used by students in a language class to translate various texts and provide understanding/ clarification.
CourseSmart
VitalSource's CourseSmart is an app that provides mobile learners with an online platform to read their textbooks. It contains core textbooks and materials for the K-12 North American curriculum that can be accessed by users at any time, anywhere. The app can be supported on any mobile device or tablet, including Apple, Android and Microsoft or online.
How can it be used?
CourseSmart can be used by all students who do not like having to physically carry around textbooks or other heavy course material. It is especially beneficial for those students who are less organized and more forgetful, as their textbooks and materials can easily be accessed online or in the app, if forgotten. Additionally, this app would cater to students with disabilities, such as vision impairments, as it offers features such as text audio that can read the material out loud.
myHomework
myHomework is a digital student planner that can be supported by numerous devices such as Windows, Kindle and IOS. It allows users to track classes, homework, projects and tests and provides reminders of upcoming due dates and important events. myHomework app also integrates with the Teachers.io app where teachers are able to set up their own digital classroom. Through this integration, students are able to connect with their teacher's platforms and receive due dates, reminders and announcements corresponding to that class.
How can it be used?
myHomework can be used by student's as a digital agenda to keep track of important due dates and events that otherwise may be forgotten. This particularly benefits those students who may struggle with organization or remembering due dates. It can also serve as an advantage for students who may procrastinate, as the app provides virtual reminders of assignment deadlines, thus encouraging progress and work. It can also benefit younger students as parents would be able to check the app for upcoming deadlines and announcements in order to ensure that their child is keeping up. Also, it eliminates the need for paper agendas, thus saving paper and money in schools where budgets are often limited.
Mental Math- Fitness for the Mind with Mathematics
Mental Math is an IOS app that helps train the brain in basic mathematics. It uses puzzles, games and other interactive activities to exercise user's mental math skills and abilities. It includes activities in the areas of multiplication, division , subtraction, division and basic algebra.
How can it be used?
Mental Math can be used to improve the basic math skills of K-12 students. In particular, this app can be used by students who are struggling with mental math or the basic components in math. For elementary students, this app can be used to practice learning the multiplication tables and basic adding and subtracting. Teachers can use this app to supplement teaching in such areas and to create a fun, interactive and engaging way to learn and memorize mathematic processes.
Animoto (2014, February 24). How to use Animoto Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfTqCP6LLSA
Barbara. Khan academy. Retrieved May 24, 2016, from https://www.khanacademy.org/about
Khan Academy (2014, August 19). You can learn anything Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC82Il2cjqA
Duolingo (2011, November 29). Duolingo Intro Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyzJ2Qq9Abs
VitalSource Technologies Inc. (2015, November 20). VitalSource demo for CourseSmart instructors: Request exam copies - updated Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMG2OzMiKCA
NBC 24 WNWO (2012, August 31). App of the week: MyHomework Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2foUwPDNmBc