iOS Apps
5 iOS Apps for the Elementary Classroom
Here are 5 apps that could be used in the classroom on any Apple device. The Apps chosen are appropriate for elementary students.
App #1 - StudyCards
Price: $3.99
Working in small groups, students can prepare decks of study cards in preparation for a Science unit final. After the study cards have been created, decks can be swapped with other groups. This provides students the opportunity to review material while creating questions, and then self-test to determine where they may need to do more studying.
App #2 - i Tell a Story
Price: $0.99 (or 50% off for an Educational Purchase - 20+ units)
Many schools are adopting "The Daily 5" Reading Approach created by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser into their daily literacy approach. One of the 5 tasks students could work on is "Listen to Reading" where students are expected to listen to reading while following along. The i Tell a Story app allows the teacher or other students to record stories that students can then listen independently while following along.
App #3 - Puppet Pals
Price: Free
Students have the opportunity to develop and refine storytelling skills and editing skills while developing a story in a digital medium. Moving beyond traditional pen and paper, students can write, edit and share their stories with the class. Teachers and students can also save the designed stories as evidence of learning and growth for parent-teacher-student conferences, or students can choose to showcase their stories as part of a digital portfolio.
App #4 - News-O-Matic
Price:
School Edition - $9.99/year or is available through Apple's VPP
Individual Edition - Free with subscription offers: Yearly -$19.99, Monthly - $1.99, and Weekly - $0.99
One of the central focuses of Alberta's Social Studies curriculum is developing responsible, engaged, and informed citizens. One of the ways to do this is by incorporating current events into the classroom. This app allows students to engage and reflect on global current events. Students can simply read the articles in their free time, or lessons could be planned around the articles to focus on teaching students how to be critical consumers of information and how to find out more information about the articles they read.
App #5 - myBlee Math
Subjects covered include:
- counting and place value
- comparing numbers
- fractions
- decimal numbers
- geometry
- learning to count
- logic
- math word problems
- mental math
- measuring lengths, mass & volumes
- number lines and graphs
- operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
Teachers can see real-time progress reports on individual students as well as personalizing the learning activity.
Price:
Free for 10 minutes a week or additional time can be bought per user
If incorporating centres into the learning environment, the teacher can ensure that each student is able to work on mathematics content at his or her own individualized pace. The teacher can set up a Math Centre, and students could take turns practicing the content that has been taught while the teacher focuses attention elsewhere. The real-time progress report can allow the teacher to monitor students at the Math centre while working with other students or look back at progress at a later date to inform future instruction.