Bunnie

Assignment 1

Through iTunes u,utilizing the MI state area, I found Beginning Math. This ap was compiled by educators and show step by step how iPads can be used in the classroom. It is very helpful with the detailed provided. I especially enjoyed how geometric shapes can easily be manipulated, sides colored, lines colored, corners marked. With a lesson on subtraction, each step was shown, including used strategies. It is helpful to have so many lessons identified by content and grade level. These lessons would be helpful as a review for some students, a preview for a new lesson, information for a parent, or help for a student who may have missed a lesson in class. What a great tool for learning!

Assignment 2 1. My Coloring Book - Free. This app can be used to both introduce as well as view letters. There are a number of different colors that may be chosen to color a corresponding picture. The A shows an apple. The capitalized A and lower case a can be filled in, the background color for the page, the apple, stem, and leaf. One can move forward and back through the alphabet. I would use this app to reinforce the alphabet as well as practice in manipulating filling in colors for the pictures.

2. Curious George's Dictionary -Free for complete pages for A,B, and C. The rest of the letters only have one word and picture. The graphics are good and Curious George has great appeal. I like that they include several words for the same letter. They apply prepositions and adjectives which are used in sentences. This really holds a child's attention. There are about 600 words included, making this quite an excellent dictionary for the young age group. I appreciate that the music may be turned on or off. There is also a volume control. I would use this app to help students increase their vocabulary as well as how to correctly use adjectives and adverbs.

3. Dr. Seuss Band - free As expected from Dr. Seuss, the displayed horn looks unique and moves when it plays. You can change the three sections of the horn so it appears and plays differently. You can play from A to G, but arrows allow for additional octives. Guidance is provided for playing songs. Follow the dropping color to the corresponding note. The length of the dropping bar indicates how long the note should be held. The app will score your playing ability with various levels available. What a fun, free app for young music lovers! I would use this app to help students explore a keyboard, may their own music, and duplicate provided songs.

4. Green Eggs and Ham - free You can read this book by yourself or have the app read it aloud to you. When you touch the objects on the page, they are identified by words. The graphics for this is good, but I feel the vocals could be done with more enthusiasm and voice influctuation. Dr. Seuss books have great appeal and of benefit to have for young readers or pre-readers. I would use this app to reinforce the love of reading, whether the book or the student is doing the reading.

5. Arthur turns Green - free The app reads this book for you. As the words are read, they turn blue which is beneficial for children to see as they read along. It would be nice to have the option of having a child touch the word to activate it. They would be able to sound out the word first and then check themselves. Again, a wonderful app where young readers or pre-readers can enjoy books. I would use this app to help students follow along as the book reads to increase reading vocabulary. The interactive portion will also increase their enjoyment.

=
6. FlashToPass Free Flash Cards – free This app is easy to use and very direct in reinforcing or teaching math facts. It displays a math flash card and a key pad. After choosing your answer, if help is needed, you can tap the top half of the screen and the answer will display. It offers a timer for competition which can also be hidden. It is nice to have that option. It has 50 cards for each level so it gradually increases in difficulty, helping the learner truly be prepared for the harder levels. I would use this app in my classroom to allow students to practice flash cards by themselves and be able to see their progress. It's a nice individualized way for them to learn and stay challenged. ======

7. Tangram XL Free – Free Various Tangram templates are offered. Users can chose their needed piece, move them with their finger and drop them where they’d like them to be. The pieces move, turn, and flip quite easily, making this a fun app. It comes with easy, medium, and difficult Tangrams with the option of purchasing more templates. I would use this app to help students conceptualize how pieces fit into the provided Tangrams. 8. BrainPOP – Free. The app offers a different educational movie each day. After viewing the movie, a quiz is offered so you can test how well the information was absorbed. For $1.99/month, you can also receive 4 additional related movies each day. There are more than 750 animated movies covering a wide variety of topics. It’s wonderful that it has such a wide appeal. I would use this app in my classroom as an interesting means of learning. We could either view the movie together and they could quiz themselves individually, or they could choose which topic they'd like to enjoy. 9. My Spelling Test: Free – Free. The app allows you to create your own test – you add the words you want to learn. The words can be recorded as long as you have a microphone. When you take the test, you listen to the word and then type it. When you are finished, you’ll immediately see if you spelled it correctly. The scores for each test may be reviewed so progress can be monitored – test scores can even be e-mailed to whomever you’d like to share them. The words are shuffled to keep it interesting. I would use this as a great way to reinforce spelling words. Tests could be tailored for each student.

10. Simon Says – Classic All in One Vocal Memory Game for Kids – Free. Utilizing colors, shapes, letters and numbers, this app improves memory and concentration. Kids will learn to remember the sequence of items and then show they can duplicate that order. As they continue to play, the game becomes more challenging and versatile. I would use this app as a fun means to increase memory and concentration.

11. Camera Awesome – Free. This app allows your iphone to take fabulous, sharp pictures. It allows you to edit and customize them easily. A feature that makes it even more fun and easy is sharing your photo on Facebook with just one tap. I would use this app for those pictures/memories that happen when I don’t have my camera along or it would take too long to get ready to use it. I would take more pictures with this app and definitely share more pictures on Facebook because of it.

12.Flashlight – Free. This app beacons a very bright light along with a compass, in case I were lost. I like that it can be made into a strobe light which could call more attention, should I need to be found. Or if the strobe would be used just for fun, there are 10 frequencies from which to choose. There’s even an SOS signal. This is a practical app that I would hope I wouldn’t need often, but would feel better knowing I had.

13. Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT – Free. This app offers the option of texting a friend, sending photos, and/or sending voice messages. It also has an option of a live audible chat. This could save on minutes, if that is a concern. This app can be used for group chats which seems harder to do just with a regular cell phone. I could see using this app during an athletic event or concert when it would be more difficult to communicate by phone. You can even connect with Facebook friends while using this.

14. Pandora Radio – Free. Bring the radio, musician, group, or song to your ipad. I would use this whenever I’d like a personalized radio. How enjoyable to listen to music before and after school or wherever/whenever I’d like to listen without needing to listen to music I’m not interested in hearing. You can search by artist or genre. You can bookmark a track or artist so you can enjoy hearing the music again more easily. This is an easy to use, popular app.

15. Skype – Free. I would use this for talking to my grandchildren – they have Skype at home and this would allow mine to be mobile so I could utilize it more. More Fun! You can send messages through Skype which would have been handy when my daughter was in Zambia. Skype is easy to use with speakerphone, an earpiece, or a Bluetooth headset.

[]

Assignment 3

Personal Peter W. Murphy, Always Know What to Say, Smashboards, 2011. Educational Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Digger the Dinosaur, HarperCollins, 22011.

Assignment 4