Thing 6 of 11.5 Things: iTouch Apps

I have had an iphone since December and I have to say it has changed my life. I never thought I would be one of "those people" glued to their phone, but I am. I always have a book to read, internet connection, my calendar, a weather report (complete with radar), music to listen to, a camera, a few games to play, a way to keep track of the Cubs and Astros, and many more things some with educational purposes and some just for entertainment.

I am looking forward to getting the iTouches in the library and have already been thinking about the possiblity of using them with multiple users. Most of the things that I read talk about users as being older, but when exploring the apps, I spent a bit of time looking for apps to use with younger students since I am in an elementary school. All these apps were free. A couple of really good apps I found were "Shape Builder Lite" and "i write words." The first one is puzzle pieces that the user slides into place. It makes a satisfying click when it has reached the correct place and then when the puzzle is finished it has a little saying such as "D says d like dog" and then one hears a dog bark. Fun and educational! The kindergarteners will love it! The second one has the user trace over a letter and actually has the user follow the correct form for writing the letters. Each screen has them spell a work such as sheep then when it is finished a picture pops up and the letters fall down and the user must tilt the screen so the letters fall into a trash can type thing (good small motor practice). For older students I found Math Drill Lite and Presidents. Math Drill is just what it says while still remaining fun. There is a reteaching option that can be turned off which is called "pit stop" and has race car sounds. The Presidents app would make any of those children who can't get enough of the presidents happier than pigs in ... well you know. There is even a quiz mode and flash cards. This would be good to use to support those worksheets that some teachers do. Speaking of support... I was recently on vacation with a avid crossword puzzler. She is now 81 and her memory isn't what it use to be. She found it great fun to give me some strange scrap of a clue from one of her puzzles and have me use google to find the answer. At first I thought she might think it was cheating, but she just thought of it as another way to learn! Which got me thinking... great use in the library! After a couple of tries of this I got so good at my reading I never had to go to the actual sites I could almost always get the answer from the small google bit.

I found some other good free apps that if I would have had internet access I could have downloaded them because they were over 10MG which could easily be done at school. One of the apps had to do with birds which would be great for that 2nd grade project.

Locating good apps takes time! That is why I am hoping that at one of our early meetings we can make a list with names and short descriptions about good apps to download.