I downloaded Pass the Past. This app intrigued me because it is a free app put out in order to aid students in preparing for the Virginia state standardized tests. The app is very educational, perhaps one of the best educational apps I've seen that is free. It is geared towards third grade and provides feedback after the questions. The questions are presented with a lot of graphics and fun colors in order to be a little more friendly than a scantron. Also, the questions are crafted similarly to standardized test questions and even include some diagrams that students might see on the test itself.
Some pros of this app are that it's free and educational. This app would be a great review and is full of information. The questions are organized by category so students can focus on their areas of weakness in order to boost scores. Parents and teachers alike will feel reassured that kids are learning through technology, especially if using this app.
There aren't many cons to this app. I find it bizarre that such an emphasis is placed on standardized tests that an app to help prepare kids has been created.
I could see this being especially useful before a test, in the car, or as a game in the classroom. 3.5 out of 4 stars.
Wow! Truly was a fun app. I am proud to say I'm smarter than a 3rd grader. Even though the show was for fifth graders. Yes I did need to play a few rounds. The one thing that I found as a con could be that there is no final answer button. I sometimes accidentally touched an answer but it was automatically taken right away. I know another button to click could get annoying but it would have saved me. Also, I like that there are lifelines and that there is different amounts in the settings, to make it a little trickier. Yes, why only Virginia gets this not sure but I learned some things about it. Obviously this would be great if it met state wide standards. I'm sure ones being developed as I type.
ReplyDeleteWell I think I found this app just as bizarre as you did. Not being a fan of standardized tests, I think it is just wild that apps are created for helping students prepare and score better on them. So for the rest of my review I'll just view it as an odd trivia app. What is great about the app is that it truly is incredibly educational. What's better is that it has a wide question bank so that you can work with it frequently without answering the same questions over and over. Another pro is that it covers a lot of subjects which lets children work and try to improve in areas that are challenging for them. The con for me is that it is probably not that fun for children to use over and over. It is just a multiple choice test that they would see at school. How likely are they going to want to take multiple choice tests on their own time on an Ipad? Some of the questions are a little dry, and I didn't really think it was that interactive or fun for a younger child to want to work with it consistently.
ReplyDelete