Fun Friday: Paid apps for free

Let's see if I can explain this, my friend and coworker, BJ, told me about this great site where they will send you an email with a list of apps (that usually cost you money), and for that day only, they are free or greatly reduced!  If you are somewhat frugal *cough* cheap *cough* like me, this is a great opportunity to get some wonderful apps for your classroom.

The site is:  Smart Apps for Kids, and you just have to scroll down just a little and on the right hand side you will see a box to enter your email address.  Go ahead and do that, and then every day, you'll get an email with a list of free (or REALLY REALLY reduced) apps for kids!

Free (that's right, FREE) Ipad apps

Our wonderful technology teacher sent out this link and I just wanted to share them with you!  They are all free (though ad supported), and what's even better, they are broken down by category so you can search (ie. grammar, writing, creative, math, etc).

Click to take you to the site!

Enjoy!

Fun Friday: Apps for your classroom

So you're lucky enough to have an ipad or two (or even a class set) for your class.  But what do you download first?  There are so many apps out there, you don't know what is good, what is crap, or what isn't really that educational.  Let me help....

Please note that unless specified, all the apps mentioned are free.  Also note that I have not been compensated in any way for mentioning them, I just like them!

If you are teaching pre-k or k, the first app I would download is Little Writer.

Basically, it is a tracing app that teaches kids how to write upper and lower case letters, numbers and words.  My kinders love it!

For math fact fluency in grades 2-5, I love Number Run.

Now, this one does cost $1.99 to download, but the students have to go through multiple levels (of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) facts to win.  In fact, I've yet to see a child complete all levels.

For writing in grades 2-5, I really like PictureBook.

I've used this since day one, and have students create their own books.  You can then send them via email to anyone, and can print them out (in PDF format).  They can add pictures, etc to create a real book.

For formative (or even summative) assessment, I LOVE Socrative.  It's like those kind of Senteo clickers (that nobody in my school really ever used as they were a pain in the rear to set up), only better.

You do have to set up a teacher account first (and there is a teacher app for your device, or you could just use the computer), so you can't just download it and expect to work wonders right away---there is some setup first!  You can upload quizzes, have students answer ABCD questions, use exit tickets.  It's great for reviewing things.

All grades, Quick Voice Record:

You could record students reading, a student could "tell" a story and could transcribe it later, you could record a readers theater---or even a reminder for yourself.  For smaller files, you can email to anyone.  For anything over 3-4 minutes long, you have to get it off some other way.  My students are assigned a specific iPad, so I just rename their recordings to their name + the date, and they can go back and listen to themselves throughout the year.

I hope these are helpful.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

What Luna Read

My dog, Luna, comes to work with me on Tuesdays and my students have the opportunity to read to her for 5-7 minutes each (depending on group size).  This helps them to practice fluency, gain confidence with their oral language, and learn vocabulary.  It also gives them a chance to read to someone who will not judge their mistakes.

Last week, I had the brilliant idea of letting the children record themselves reading to Luna on the iPad using the "Quick Voice Recorder" app (it's free in the iTunes store).  

They loved it!  They also were able to take "selfies" with Luna using the iPad.

This is one of my 4th graders...

Please, if you like what I'm doing with Luna in my classroom and helping children build fluency and gain excitement about reading, donate to my Donors Choose project.  We're so close to our goal of building a library of dog books.  Everything helps get us closer to that goal.

App review: uSpeak Ingles

 

Warning: This app is to teach native Spanish-speakers how to speak English.  

I teach ESL, you guys know this.  All of my kids are Hispanic, and all of them speak Spanish at home.  I saw a review for the uSpeak Espanol, and thought, "Hey, if they have one to teach people Spanish, I wonder if I could use the English one to help my kids with English!" 

None of my students are newcomers.  They have all attended school in the United States since kindergarten.  However, they are at varied English literacy levels.  I thought that this app might be good to help with vocabulary comprehension.

I did notice that you should be able to read Spanish to be able to fully access this app.  This is for native Spanish speakers who are trying to learn English.  So, possibly a little high for my kids, as they don't read Spanish, but would possibly be good for their parents.

But, what you do is, first let the app know how much English you speak (none, a little, or I can express myself) and it starts you playing games.  The first game is matching the English word to its Spanish counterpart.  The second game is writing the translated word (but you have the letters, they are all mixed up).

Then it creates your Spanish language map and you have to register, but it documents your progress and creates a personalized learning experience.

To be honest, this app kind of reminds me of Rosetta Stone, Light.  

In high school, you learn traditional (Spain) Spanish, but over the years, I've gone to use more Mexican vocabulary words (much like traditional British English vs. American or Australian).  This app features the more traditional Spain Spanish vocabulary, not the Mexican Spanish that I'm accustomed. 

All in all, it was a good app, but I don't think I can use it for what I wanted to. 

Using Pinterest at School {Technology Ideas}

This week, I thought I'd share my Technology board.  Its mainly pins for various iPod and iPad apps.


Here are my "nifty 9" (as I only had 9 pins on my board at the time of writing this), in no particular order:

9.  iPads in ESL (ok, this one is my fav)

Source: voxxi.com via Amanda on Pinterest

8.  Only 1 iPad in your room?  Click this link....

Source: elementaryedtech.wordpress.com via Amanda on Pinterest

7.  Lesson that incorporates iPad, twitter, skype, and story buddy.

Source: mattgomez.posterous.com via Amanda on Pinterest

6.  A database of over 500 free apps

Source: itunes.apple.com via Amanda on Pinterest

5.  App collection

Source: scoop.it via Amanda on Pinterest

4.  Teacher apps!

Source: the-teachers-lounge.com via Amanda on Pinterest

3.  Back to school apps

Source: imore.com via Amanda on Pinterest

2.  Weekly iPad resources

Source: edtechteacher.org via Amanda on Pinterest

1.  Georgraphy and History apps

Source: imaginationsoup.net via Amanda on Pinterest

I hope you enjoys these pins. Please feel free to check out my other pinterest boards and follow them if you like :)

Educational iPad app suggestions *Updated*

Last spring, I started compiling lists of educational apps to share with colleagues at my school.  One workday, we met and compiled a list of our favorite apps (both educational and personal).  After that, if I'd see an article about great apps, free apps, or just happen to stumble across one myself, I'd add it to our school share drive folder. 

I compiled those lists into a google doc and thought I'd share it with you.

I compiled those lists into a google doc and thought I'd share it with you.  This will be a work in progress throughout this school year, so please feel free to check back and see if I've added any new ones. 

*The updated part*:  The link actually works this time.  Apparently before, I posted the link for me to see it, not the link for others.  But, now it works!  Hopefully.  If not, leave me a comment and let me know.