Tell a Tale

Tell a Tale

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tell-a-tale/id466009468?mt=8

This app is designed for two or more people. It gives the first line in a story, three images you must use in the story, and the final sentence in the story. 
Cost: FREE
Pros: The story is randomly generated and there is no time limit, so this app is all about creativity and collaboration.
Cons: The free version has limited pictures and phrases, so after a while the images repeat. Although, after using this app for several days, I have never seen the EXACT same combination of the five elements.
Use in the Classroom: I think this would be a fantastic and innovative new way to do writing prompts in the classroom. By allowing different students to work either individually or together, there could be some amazing creativity that would come from this one of a kind app. Tell a Tale could also be a fun game for students to play in a rainy day recess sitation, or as a station to go to when they have extra time. This app could be adapted so students use an app like PicCollage to create their own Tell a Tale stories.

Math Champ Challenge

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-champ-challenge-common/id566463831?mt=8

Name: Math Champ Challenge (Common Core Standards)

Cost: Free

Pros:  Challenges students’ math facts in a fun and spontaneous way. There are a variety of question topics including geometry, fractions, addition, etc. It focuses a lot on the common core standards for the levels included. There are also multiple levels from grade 4 through grade 7. There is also a “chalk board” on the lower half of the game for students to do work if they need to. In addition to the challenges, there is a “skill builder” option to practice specific areas before completing the challenges.

Cons: Challenges are timed and there wasn’t a way to change the time limit (that I found). This could make it difficult for students who struggle a little with speed to participate in the challenges.

Use in the classroom: There was also a “Math Champ (Client)” & “Math Champ (Host)” version where the teacher can host the quiz and the students can each connect via their iPads and choose an icon and it can become a competition for the whole class. The teacher receives the data from each iPad and can see the students’ scores. 

Dragon Dictation

Name: Dragon Dictation

Pros: It is a quick way to take notes. Instead of writing out notes, words are spoken and the app will record the words. Words recorded can be emailed, posted to facebook or twitter or  copied and saved for later.

Cons: Words spoken need to be articulated clearly. The application may mistake the spoken words for similar sounding words. 

Use in Classroom: This could be an app that is useful for students to take notes on information they need to remember. This could be a wonderful app for students who are learn linguistically. Students would be able to speak their thoughts on the subject and record the facts.

My experience: I have not used this app extensively, however when I tried it out the app recorded different words than I said a number of times. This could be improved by using the app in a completely silent environment.  Some other reviews also mention that the app has lost their entire dictation. 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8

Todo K-2 Math Practice

Todo K-2 Math Practice

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/todo-k-2-math-practice/id666465255?mt=8

Cost: FREE
Pros: Lets students work independently to learn math facts in a new and fun way.  The games are created to give students encouragement and feel confident with math.  This app also builds fluency through repetition of math facts.  This app also has different types of games that deal with counting, tracing, tallies, dragging numerals around to create frames, and looking at addition and subtraction facts.
Cons: This is only intended for grades K-2.  I would like to see an app like this for math facts through 5th grade that has games for all types of math problems for all types of students.
How it can be used in education: This app is a great center for students to work on independently while a teacher is focusing on teaching addition and subtraction in another center, using a different technique.
Have I tried similar apps/features?  I have not tried any apps that are similar to this one.

Show Me

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8


Show Me
Cost: free!
Pros: Show Me is an app specifically intended for educational purposes. It serves as a white board, you can write and draw and erase on it. You can also upload pictures to write and draw on them. The unique part is that you can record a video of your whiteboard, as you write, draw and add pictures. Basically you can redord a mini lesson. Once you have created a video, you can upload it and share with the Show Me community. If you would prefer, you can keep your video private. You can also access other people's videos that have been uploaded and search based on topics. Videos can be sent in a URL or accessed on the show me app.
Cons: This app is connected to the Internet, so in order for students to access the videos at home, they must have access to Internet. Many reviews request that they make an update that allows show me videos to be connected to Dropbox
In education: This would be a great app to use in the flipped classroom model. You could create a video for your students to view at home that details the content for the lesson. And then when the students arrive at school, already having viewed the content, they can ask questions, explore, and practice at their own pace and with the teacher's advising.

Prezi Viewer App 

Cost: Free!

Pros: This app allows the prep time for setting up your lesson super quick and fast. You can just click the app and select the Prezi you want to show. While using this app, you can zoom in and out on the parts you want to high light during your presentation. This app allows for great visuals in the classroom and note taking. You can add pictures and videos to creatively design for others to view.

Cons: For this app, you can't create a Prezi document. You would have to create your Prezi on the HTML Prezi website in order to create your document. Sometimes this app takes a little while to load. Another set back to this app is the fact that some links may not work properly. For example, sometimes YouTube videos will not work. Also, I've noticed that the Smartboard pens do not work off the Prezi.

Educational Use: This app is perfect for having your students take notes and visually see items. It's great for catching their eye and have them engaged in your lesson. You can use this app for any subject, anytime of the school day. Whether thats starting the day off with daily announcements, or for math notes, this app is perfect for any occasion. 

 

Scribble Press

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scribble-press/id487300076?mt=8

Cost: Free!

Pros: This app gives a variety of different stories for students to add their own touches to.  The main story is given to the students and they fill in the blanks.  It also allows students to draw their own illustrations or take pictures and use them as illustrations.  Students can also create a book all on their own by creating a "blank book".  There are also stickers that can be added to the illustrations.  They have a variety of markers and colors to chose from as well. If you create an account you can have order the books and have them printed.  The books can also be shared through e-mail. Students can also look through books created by other students. Creating an account is free.  The artwork from the book can be turned into a puzzle, notepad, or card.

Cons: The app its self is free but some the the features are not.  It gives you a limited selection of stickers and the rest of them need to be purchased.  It also gives your a selection of books but other ones can be purchased.  The majority of the costs are around $1.99.  In order to share or print the books you have to create an account. 

Education: I feel this is a great app for students starting to write stories and also students that have had practice with stories.  For beginners, I would have students create a story using the already created formats.  This way students only have to focus on the nouns and the illustrations.  For students that are more advanced, I would have them create their own book using the "blank books".  Students would be responsible for writing the whole story and also creating the illustrations.  Writing the story could be the end of a unit and then we could have students share their stories with the class.

Similar Apps: A similar app that I looked at is called "My Story-Book Maker for Kids".  This app is not free and it looks more like it has more of a scrapbook feel than a book.  Otherwise a lot of the features are similar.  I feel the free Scribble Press is just as good of an app!