Free Books - 23,469 classics to go













https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/free-books-23-469-classics/id364612911?mt=8

Cost: Free

Pros: This app has got a wide spectrum of books to pick from.  Some of the topics/authors to pick from include Young Readers, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, The Great Poets, William Shakespeare, Plato, and Banned Books. Each of the topics/authors have at least ten books to choose from if not more.  When looking for a book you can search by title, author, popularity, and rating.

Cons: Might not offer a whole lot to the younger grades beside the young reader books. Audiobooks are offered for an additional $3.99.

How would you use it: This app could be used in multiple different ways.  You could read aloud from this app.  Could be used as free time reading for you as the teacher or your students.  As an educator you can refresh your educational knowledge by reading books from Plato and Aristotle.

Math Duel

Cost: FREE

Pros:  With this app, learners can challenge a friend to a math fact duel. In this game, students are able to test their speed in performing math facts. It is also possible to adjust the various operations and the difficulty level.

Cons: This game does not have a single player mode. Having this require a partner may cause confrontation in an "odd-numbered" class.

Application:  This app can be used in the classroom as an fun extra activity for the students to take part. It would also be a fun idea to make this game into a tournament, resulting in a math champion of the week.

Simple Physics

Cost: was free.  I believe it is still free. 

Pros:  Simple physics is a fun game that allows students to learn more about physics.  It combines things like tree houses to create on your own and make it strong enough to support "4 people."  Students may use this to help them learn more about basic forces.  It also implies money so students may try and learn balance between good equipment and costs.

Cons:  It can be very difficult and frustrating to obtain three stars.  The cost factor makes it much harder because keeping it strong enough and least amount of cost is easier said than done.  This may demoralize students but if they can get past that it will be very useful to help with physics. 

How to use this in class?

I would use this as a free time app.  If they were done with a test earlier than most they would be able to use this app to have fun and learn more about physics. 

gFlashPro - Flashcards & Tests

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/gflashpro-flashcards-tests/id297332787

Cost: $3.99

Pros: gFlashPro serves students, teachers, and trivia junkies alike. Easily allows you to download flash cards, assignment, quiz, and test inspiration. You can also store images and audio for reference or incorporation into a lecture, and much more. The little quizzes even allow educators to test their own proficiency in the fields they teach and help them build up on the areas where they could use a nice, quick boost. gFlashPro also keeps track of progress made when testing oneself.

Cons: A wireless connection is required to download new card sets, and view flashcards with videos. (Once downloaded, text based flashcards, cached images, and cached sound clips can be used at any time) It costs $

How I’d use it in Education: I would encourage my students to keep important facts and vocabulary terms recorded in this app and add to it throughout a unit. Before any quizzes or unit assessment, I would have the students study their flash cards to refresh their memory on the information. Studying doesn't have to be so boring; this way it is fun and effortless at their fingertips. I would also use this app to test myself on content I teach, especially when I feel I need a refresher. I have not used any similar app like this one before. 

appoLearning

Cost: FREE! 

Pros: This app is super neat. It is segregated into Early Childhood, Elementary School, Middle School and High School. You can click on your level and it will pop up with all subjects and topics within that subject you can click on one of the topics and it will show you 5 apps that the experts suggest using to teach those topics. (For example, if you click on Middle School, Social Studies will come up and then below that U.S History, Civics & Government and Geography pop up if you click on one of those you will see 5 apps for that topic.)

Cons: The apps that they suggest sometimes cost money.

This would be super handy in the classroom because it can often be a long process to find an app that will work with your next lesson or topic. With this app, you are able to find your topic and they will suggest 5 apps that could work. Each app is ranked out of 100 on how much the experts liked the app. 

MayaNumbers

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mayanumbers/id658863945?ls=1&mt=8

This app looks at numbers using the Mayan Number/Symbol system. This app is great for Middle Schoolers! It causes students to break down numbers into smaller parts, using the symbolic system used by the Mayans.

Cost: FREE!

Pros: Price. It includes a great practice tutorial that helps students get the hang of the game before they try it on their own. It is a challenging app that helps students develop speed as well as new number skills.

Cons: The numbers don't go automatically, you have to press GO every time. Also, there is no way to "undo" if you make a mistake without starting the whole problem over. 

I have not seen anything like this app, although I know others exist that also use the Mayan numerical system. 

In the classroom, this would be a great connection between Math and Social Studies. In seeing how other cultures kept records, we can learn a lot about a culture. (For example, the counted in sets of 1, 20, and 400. The twenty probably is because a person has 20 fingers and toes.) It would be fun to look at why they chose the symbols they did as well.  

Free Fall Money

    This app is $1.99.

The students practice counting money, both coins and bills, to make a given sum.

Pros: Students gained familiarity with using money. They are able to practice addition and give them an opportunity to manipulate money. It is nice for students to have this practice because it integrates technology and allows for an additional mode of intelligent. 

Cons: Although an interactive game, the students are fairly isolated in the learning process. If the student is at the level of the app, then it's a good fit. However, the app does not provide for a range of mathematical skills.

This app could be used in the classroom as an extension of learning about money value. It would also be a good center for students. It could also be an option for any free time that students may have. 

 Here's a screen shot of what the app is like.