Literacy for Education

     The first app I will discuss in the Presentations section, is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary App for I-pad and I-phone. It is very easy to use and has some nice features.  You can start typing in the word you are searching and a list of several words with the first letters the same.  You click on your word and a definition of the word pops up as well as correct spelling and annunciation is shown.  This dictionary app has a play back mode and when wanted will have a voice that will pronounce the word properly.  This is a great feature, especially for students still learning the English Language. Not every word has the play back mode feature however.  Synonyms and antonyms are displayed for each word and examples of how the word is used in a sentence is provided. Another great feature is Voice Search.  This feature allows you to say the word out loud that you are searching for and it will find it and display it.  There is also a list of the most recent words you have searched that is stored here as well.  You can also touch another word on the page you are on and it will search that word as well.  This app will also work offline.  I felt that this app had a lot to offer and it is free.  This would be handy in the classroom for children, when they don't know what a word means and if for example they have to do a report, they can look up how to spell words, their definitions, pronunciations, etc.

     In the Visual category, I chose to discuss the Drawing Pad App for I-pad.  This is also a free app and is very fun and easy to use for any age student.  It has the choice of using pencils, crayons and markers to draw anything you want. There is an erase feature that allows students to be able to erase the whole picture or just specific things on their picture. It has backgrounds to choose from and then students can draw on that.  Students can save an image and e-mail their picture with a message to someone. I feel this app is geared more toward young children, K-1.  

     I really liked the Educreations app.  I know this is also an app in the Visual category, but I wanted to discuss it also.  It is primarily a white board app that is very useful for teaching.  You can have lessons already recorded into this program and show steps to problem solving.  It has an undo and redo app that is helpful in showing these step type problems for Math as one example.  You can also save pages that are kept in order and can easily be clicked on to explain problems.  It also has a record feature that you can use to go along with your lessons.  Children could go back and listen to it to help them learn how to work through problems on their own. You could also download a teacher's study guide for a class and would then be able to highlight parts of it or underline on it, etc. for older children.  Recording video onto a concept is also available. This is a free app and I thought it would be very easy to use in the classroom for any age. 

     In the Stories category, I will review the Puppet Pals app for I-Pad.  This is also a free app that comes with a western theme.  If you want other themes you do have to pay for them.  There are several western  backgrounds to choose from, once chosen you pick you actors form several provided.  You can place them into the backdrop you chose and make a recording, which is a good first movie creation experience for a young student.  There is also a section where custom actors can be created by students themselves and also has the capability of downloading a picture from your own files and using them as backdrops and actors in your show.  Also a child could take a picture right then and upload to your program to use as well.  This seems to be a fun app for young students.  It makes them use their imagination and creativity.  Some of the features would probably not be used in the classroom, such as downloading their own pictures, but could be used to some degree.