Friday, January 27, 2012
Painting With Time
Painting With Time
Price: Free
URL: itunes.apple.com/us/app/painting-with-time/id490228346?mt=8
Pros: I found that this application was very interesting and well laid out. It was easy to navigate and manipulate. I was also impressed with the variety of ways the application would manipulate the pictures, whether using a paintbrush style or slicing the photo and looking at chunks.
Cons: this application was good for being free but did not have very much in the direction of expansion. There was no way to import your own pictures or build the picture number at all. What you download in this app is what you get and having more variety would be good.
Education: I would love to use this in a class either during a presentation talking about seasons or even the change in a day over goes through in a given day. There Is a limit to what can be done but to show a visual account of times effect this would work great. I don't think I would use this app for the student's to explore on their own because the educational value is limited and they MIT get bored with it quickly. All in all this app has uses but not much diversity.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
MathBoard Addition
App: MathBoard Addition
Cost: Free
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mathboard-addition/id381884632?mt=8
This app is appropriate for all ages and it would be a good math learning tool in the classroom. This app is basically a variety of addition quizzes for students to take and practice addition. The problems are displayed in a multiple choice outline and there is a chalkboard to pull up that the student can do their work on while solving the problem. They are timed quizzes but this app allows you to control the time limit, amount of questions on each quiz, and the range of numbers you want to work with. It shows if the answer is correct or incorrect and then proceeds to give the option of seeing how to correctly solve the problem.
Pros: Pros to this app is that it is a good tool for practicing addition. Having timed quizzes can be a pro because it could help the student by thinking a little faster and practicing fast addition; also it prepares students for future tests that they will have a time limit. I like that this app includes a variety of options such as controlling the time limit and giving solutions to the problems that are answered both correctly and incorrectly. You can control the difficulty of the problems and challenge the students appropriately.
Cons: This app only includes addition problems, I am not positive on the price but you will have to pay for the full version that includes subtraction, multiplication, and division which is obviously much nicer because it includes more. The timer can be a con because the student could feel rushed while solving the problems and not be able to focus on solving the problem correctly.
I would use this app in education to practice and review addition problems with the students. This is a good tool for students who struggle with addition, they are given a variety of problems to solve, the difficulty can be increased for their benefit, and they are able to review the problems they solve each time. I think this would be a good app to have as an anticipatory set of the lesson plan, to refresh the students skills and knowledge.
Cost: Free
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mathboard-addition/id381884632?mt=8
This app is appropriate for all ages and it would be a good math learning tool in the classroom. This app is basically a variety of addition quizzes for students to take and practice addition. The problems are displayed in a multiple choice outline and there is a chalkboard to pull up that the student can do their work on while solving the problem. They are timed quizzes but this app allows you to control the time limit, amount of questions on each quiz, and the range of numbers you want to work with. It shows if the answer is correct or incorrect and then proceeds to give the option of seeing how to correctly solve the problem.
Pros: Pros to this app is that it is a good tool for practicing addition. Having timed quizzes can be a pro because it could help the student by thinking a little faster and practicing fast addition; also it prepares students for future tests that they will have a time limit. I like that this app includes a variety of options such as controlling the time limit and giving solutions to the problems that are answered both correctly and incorrectly. You can control the difficulty of the problems and challenge the students appropriately.
Cons: This app only includes addition problems, I am not positive on the price but you will have to pay for the full version that includes subtraction, multiplication, and division which is obviously much nicer because it includes more. The timer can be a con because the student could feel rushed while solving the problems and not be able to focus on solving the problem correctly.
I would use this app in education to practice and review addition problems with the students. This is a good tool for students who struggle with addition, they are given a variety of problems to solve, the difficulty can be increased for their benefit, and they are able to review the problems they solve each time. I think this would be a good app to have as an anticipatory set of the lesson plan, to refresh the students skills and knowledge.
iStudiez Pro - App Review
I found the application iStudiez Pro to be an awesome application for an agenda and a planner.
The following is a link to the website: http://istudentpro.com/
This application comes in both the pro and lite version. The lite version is free, while the pro version has a cost of $2.99. The pro version does offer a few features that the lite version does not, but for only $2.99 it is well worth the price.
There are many positives to this application. One pro that I have found is that it is very user friendly. I tried using the application myhomework before this application, but found it very difficult to do what I wanted to do. With iStudiez Pro it is very easy to edit, create, and delete an array of things. Another feature that I found to be amazing is that the application will automatically sync with the MAC calendar. This way any important events that have already been created will be in the planner. This makes this application not only an agenda for classes, but it also serves as a planner of events. Finally, the one of the most important pros that I found deals with the agenda part of the application. When looking at an individual day iStudiez Pro will also offer a full view of the months calendar. With this it also bolds the next day that an assignment is due. This is very helpful for students who seemed overwhelmed and might forget when something is due. Since I have only been using this application for a couple days I have not found many if any negatives about it. What I have found to be quite annoying is that the application continually reminds you how many homework assignments are left. Now this is not bad as the semester goes on, but when starting the semester it does not help to calm the nerves at all.
This application can be used in a classroom in a variety of ways. In special education this application would serve as an awesome tool for students. Students who need a daily calendar would benefit from this greatly. They can see what is coming next, what they have to do and be able to interact with the application. The problem that I see is what if something unexpected comes up during the day that is not on the calendar because you forgot to put it on. Now with assemblies and such if put in the calendar then it will appear in the application and not have to be programmed in. An added bonus is that if the teacher plans ahead they can program the homework in for the week or day before in the application. This way students will not have to remember or write down what they have due, but be able to concentrate on what is going on and then be able to do the homework efficiently.
The following is a link to the website: http://istudentpro.com/
There are many positives to this application. One pro that I have found is that it is very user friendly. I tried using the application myhomework before this application, but found it very difficult to do what I wanted to do. With iStudiez Pro it is very easy to edit, create, and delete an array of things. Another feature that I found to be amazing is that the application will automatically sync with the MAC calendar. This way any important events that have already been created will be in the planner. This makes this application not only an agenda for classes, but it also serves as a planner of events. Finally, the one of the most important pros that I found deals with the agenda part of the application. When looking at an individual day iStudiez Pro will also offer a full view of the months calendar. With this it also bolds the next day that an assignment is due. This is very helpful for students who seemed overwhelmed and might forget when something is due. Since I have only been using this application for a couple days I have not found many if any negatives about it. What I have found to be quite annoying is that the application continually reminds you how many homework assignments are left. Now this is not bad as the semester goes on, but when starting the semester it does not help to calm the nerves at all.
This application can be used in a classroom in a variety of ways. In special education this application would serve as an awesome tool for students. Students who need a daily calendar would benefit from this greatly. They can see what is coming next, what they have to do and be able to interact with the application. The problem that I see is what if something unexpected comes up during the day that is not on the calendar because you forgot to put it on. Now with assemblies and such if put in the calendar then it will appear in the application and not have to be programmed in. An added bonus is that if the teacher plans ahead they can program the homework in for the week or day before in the application. This way students will not have to remember or write down what they have due, but be able to concentrate on what is going on and then be able to do the homework efficiently.
Skype
http://iTunes.app/Skype/id204878510?mt=8
App: Skype
Cost: Free
Pros: Some of the pros are that Skype is a way a class can collaborate on educational projects with teachers and other classes all over the world. Though not accessible on the Ipad app, Skype also has a database on their website where teachers can find guest speakers, connections with other teachers in the education community, and project ideas and lesson plans.
Cons: Some of the cons for Skype are that you need to have high-speed internet connection and listening/ speaking devices will be required when using this application in the classroom. The last negative I would like to bring up about Skype is the lag time and background noise that occurs during video conference call. But overall those are the only negatives I have found with this application.
I could see myself using Skype in my classroom as a tool to connect with people who use math in their everyday life (bankers, accountants, scientists, nurses, doctors, ect.). I believe this will help students to not only see the importance of understanding math but that many of their jobs entail math. Using this application, will help students to get excited about what they are learning in the classroom and will help connect what they are learning in the classroom to the real world.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Splash Math
App: 1st Grade Math: Splash Math
Cost: FREE
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1st-grade-math-splash-math/id463469532?mt=8
Pros: It's free and it allows the student to move at their own pace. There is no rush to move on, when the student is able to move on the game will do it for them by gradually giving them harder questions to answer. This way there is no "wrong" pace to move at. Each student will feel the feeling of success because for all they know, they are moving at a good pace and do not feel rushed to keep up with other students. In the link, on the left side you can see that there are extensions on the app for different grade levels so it is not limited to one grade.
Cons: There are quite a few "breaks" in the game playing which may be cause for distraction or loss of concentration. It may also seem to take awhile before the students questions change from easy to medium to hard because the game follows the student and determines when to start making the questions harder.
Education: It advances as the student does. Each student feels success after playing this game and it has different questions for the students to answer, it's not the same question over but re-worded. This app also grows with the child not only in where they are in math, but where they are in grade levels. If the teaching staff starts using this app in first grade, it can follow the students all the way to fourth grade.
Cost: FREE
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1st-grade-math-splash-math/id463469532?mt=8
Pros: It's free and it allows the student to move at their own pace. There is no rush to move on, when the student is able to move on the game will do it for them by gradually giving them harder questions to answer. This way there is no "wrong" pace to move at. Each student will feel the feeling of success because for all they know, they are moving at a good pace and do not feel rushed to keep up with other students. In the link, on the left side you can see that there are extensions on the app for different grade levels so it is not limited to one grade.
Cons: There are quite a few "breaks" in the game playing which may be cause for distraction or loss of concentration. It may also seem to take awhile before the students questions change from easy to medium to hard because the game follows the student and determines when to start making the questions harder.
Education: It advances as the student does. Each student feels success after playing this game and it has different questions for the students to answer, it's not the same question over but re-worded. This app also grows with the child not only in where they are in math, but where they are in grade levels. If the teaching staff starts using this app in first grade, it can follow the students all the way to fourth grade.
Instapaper
Instapaper is an app lauded for its streamlined user interface and readability on the iPad. It was a hit on the iPhone, but in my opinion has found its true home on the iPad. This application allows you to save any web page for later viewing both online and offline. A nifty bookmark tab on your browser titled “read later” will record any web page for later reading.
Pros: Easy to navigate interface. Convenient way to save articles without downloading them. Can be read even without access to the Internet. Store unlimited amount of articles on your Internet browser (500 articles at one time on iPad). Saves only text, leaving the article to be read distraction free of ads and photos. Suggests interesting articles.
Cons: It costs 4.99. Though the articles wirelessly sync, you will need the Internet to add articles.
This is the app you need for those awkward times you spend waiting in between classes or give you something to do while waiting on others. It is best used with Longform.org or a whole host of other sites the Instapaper app itself will suggest.
Glo Bible
App: Glo Bible
Cost: FREE
Link: http://www.globible.com/
PROS: There are many different Bible apps available for student to get on their iPads. The found an app that I feel surpasses the other Bible apps called the Glo Bible app. This app can be found at http://www.globible.com/ and has a free app version. Not only does this app link the provide note space and pen/highlighter uses but it also has numerous different capabilities of bringing the text to life and showing students what they are reading about. This app links photos of artwork, maps of the geography in the Bible, and offers virtual tours of old buildings and landscapes that are portrayed throughout the Bible.
CONS: Students may get distracted with the photo and artwork components which may detract from the Biblical teachings.
EDUCATIONAL: This app is great for education because students are able to have the words and stories of the Bible shown and told to them in numerous different ways and students will be able to learn about the Bible through picture, video and stories. They can also take notes next to the text describing what the pictures and videos looked like.
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