iPad Cafe - Third Session

I am excited that on Tuesday, January 31, we are already hosting our third informal app sharing session. Once again, Sarah, Rhona and I will be presenting some interesting apps that we discovered - some already used with students in class.

As during the previous sessions, I will focus on reading and book apps. The more apps I download, explore and use with students, the more I learn about the differences from one app to another. While some reviews already point out strengths and weaknesses, it is often only once I have the app downloaded and explored with students, that I can tell whether I find it useful or not. With book apps, especially interactive book apps, the question is often whether they distract too much from the main storyline. Here is an app which I find has just the right balance of engaging the reader without distracting. I like the various options available (read to me, read myself, etc.) as well as the brief tutorial at the beginning of the app:

Harold and the Purple Crayon

And here are some great nonfiction books for our young inquirers:

Bobo Explores Light

This is a real multimedia experience since the app includes videos, images and text (so there is definitely some independent reading required).

The Strange and Wonderful World of Ants

I have to admit that with this app it wasn't "love at first sight", it took me a little while to appreciate it and discover its special features (e.g. you can adjust the reading level). It was an immediate success with our first grade inquirers. Even though I have had this app for a little while already, I still have a group of students basically every day reading this book during recess.

And here two of my favorite (non educational) fun apps: I think every iPad needs a Candle and a Facelift from time to time. Enjoy!

iPad Cafe 3

Here are four Ipad apps that 4^th Graders have been using in class.

Hungry Fish

Hungry Fish is a great game to practise addition number bonds. (Subtraction number bonds are coming soon). The number of levels also means that you can use it for your Grade 1 or your Grade 5 student to help them practise their number bonds.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-hungry-fish/id483049169?mt=8

Make me Proud

This is an interactive storybook that you can personalize. You can easily edit and add your own voice. We will be using this app with our reading buddies in Grade 1 over the next few weeks.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/you-make-me-proud-iphone-edition/id483586124?mt=8

Numberlys

This is the latest app from ‘Moonbot’ who created ‘The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore’. It is a long but very clever story about how letters of the alphabet came into being. Like ‘Morris’ it is half short movie/ half short film and is an excellent interactive

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/numberlys/id491546935?mt=8

Also check out the website: http://numberlys.com/

Zoom

Zoom is a maths app from Motion Math. This game practises ordering numbers. It starts with smaller numbers and then goes on to larger numbers. The good thing about this game is that, due to the range of levels, it is good for all ages as it can be differentiated.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-zoom/id451793073?mt=8

What can you do with an iPad in the Classroom?

Teachers at LCS are exploring the use of iPads in the classroom during a workshop on professional development day, January 9, 2012. This is what they will be looking at and we thought you might enjoy exploring these apps as well. So I am cross-posting a section from our presentation here for you, including the respective links to the App Store. Enjoy!

What can you do with an iPad?

You can read…

Kindle

… or let someone read to you!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

You can write

Pages

You can present

Keynote

You can explain

ScreenChomp

You can search/look up

WordBook XL

National Geographic World Atlas

You can explore

Science 360

WB This Day in History

You can practice

Everyday Math (Beat the Computer)

You can create…

Artwork: 123 sculpt, ZenBrush

Photography: Skitch, WordFoto

Music: GarageBand

Movies: iMovie, Film Director

Cartoons/Comics: Toontastic, ComicBook

Poems: Poetry Creator

Books: BookCreator

(… and in case the power goes off, you have an emergency light source through Free Candle ;) )

Some of the new iPad apps I have downloaded recently are Voicethread, Garageband and Toontastic.

This is a really cool presentation tool and would be great for students to share photos or work or drawings. It can also be a wonderful collaboraton tool where different people can comment. We used Voicethread last year in Grade 4 for our electronic portfolios and for assessments but the iPad app makes it even easier to use and even sleeker.

Garageband is a great tool on the Mac and even better on the iPad. You can actually play the piano, the guitar and the drums and record your master piece. Watch this video to see it at its best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rse751qwkKg

A great tool Tanja and I have been using on the iPad with our digital storytellers is Toontastic which is actually a free app where you can create your own animation.

Read more about it at Toontastic’s website:

http://launchpadtoys.com/toontastic/

Enjoy!

Session 2: Read, read, read

Since our first session, I have come across many more exciting apps. Today, I just want to share some of my favorites (and some of these have already become favorites with elementary students too!).

At the top of my list is the application that has created the biggest stir around the library:

Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App! This is an app to create stories about children's book author and illustrator Mo Willems' famous Pigeon character. It only takes a few moments to have a story put together. You can select from given options and/or record your voice. Students keep on asking me to use my iPad during recess and lunch time to create new stories. So much fun!

Bobo Explores Light is another application for which students have shown much interest, especially our science fans (but I have not shared this with a larger audience yet). This is an interactive nonfiction book which includes text, images and amazing videos. It allows a really engaging exploration of various topics around light.

While our school has a subscription to the Tumble Book Library, access to the books through an iPad is not yet possible (but there is a test phase on-going at the moment). However, some of the books are available through the App Store. For our youngest readers, I downloaded TumbleBooksToGo, 6 Pack, Vol. 1, which includes books by one of my favorite picture book author and illustrator, Peter Reynolds. Depending on the App Store your account is hooked up, there seem to be slight differences: the logo I have looks different from the one above. It also seems that not all versions have the "Read myself" option. You might want to check this out before buying the app.

Another fabulous interactive book for younger readers is How Rocket Learned to Read. This is not just a beautifully narrated story about learning to read, but the book also comes with a sight word and alphabet game, which will surely be enjoyed.

Something to explore with older students, is This Day in History app from the World Book Incorporation. This is an interactive multimedia calendar (with links to text and image sources for additional information) which highlights selected historic events and people of the day. Make sure, you are downloading the correct version (see the link above) to get all the fantastic media for free.

I hope you discovered something of interest in this list. If you would like to see and hear about more resources, just stop by the library to have a look at the other apps I have downloaded so far - or get yourself an Advent Calendar to discover one free app each day in December!

25 Days to Christmas - Holiday Advent Calendar

Parents like Apps too!

Hello all, I am the tag-a-long on this trio. I am the Senior School Teacher Librarian and this is my second year working at LCS. I got my iPad last year and have enjoyed reading books, watching TEDtalks and relaxing with magazines that are not available here in Accra.
During the parent workshop on September 29, I will share some Apps for parents:


Zino: a better way than ever to explore, read and shop for the world’s best magazines on your iPad. Zinio now has more magazines than ever, and a new app built to make it easier to read your favorites anytime and anywhere. Zinio is the ultimate app for people who love magazines. Access thousands of titles, tens of thousands of issues, and millions of pages of the world’s best digital content. Read what you like!

Podcasts: On my iPod on my iPad, I am able to access some great podcasts for free. You will never want to watch bad TV show again and be done with commercials. Laugh with John Stewart or learn from TEDtalks, it is all free.

Rhona Polonsky

Apps Across The Curriculum

Hi, I am Sarah Pickles, a fourth grade teacher at LCS. I got my iPad 2 this summer as I wanted to know more about using it in teaching and learning. I am still a novice but as I have been chatting with parents it seemed there were a lot of parents just as curious about using the iPads with their children. At our first meeting I shared these apps with parents:

Everyday Mathematics

There are many apps for games that are part of the Everyday Maths program we use in school, which are free.

Book Creator

To publish their stories or create their own books (paid app)

Brainpop

There is one free video from this site on all sorts of subjects every day. (free app)

Planet Earth

Just found this great app which fits perfectly with Grade 4's new unit of inquiry. It shows you the structure of the Earth, the rotation and lots more! Perfect for our unit on Earth Science.

We will be sharing more apps on this site that we think are useful for you and your children to use.

We'll keep you posted! Like Tanja, I get a lot of my links from Twitter and the websites we have posted to the right.

Sarah Pickles