The second part of class on October 22 we looked at literacy apps for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. I downloaded the freebies on to my iPhone, and tried some others on one of Barb's iPods, but I'm dreaming about iPads. I wish all my students could have one, but first of all I wish I could have one! Something for the wish list.
Among my favourites:
Spelling Magic by Preschool University
"Teaches the sounds of letters and how to build words"
I like that the letters are associated with their sounds instead of their names. The user interface is straightforward, and the graphics are appealing but simple. There are three apps: Level 1 focuses on words with short vowels, Level 2 on consonant blends and Level 3 on blends and syllables. According to Preschool University's website, up to ten levels are coming.
Preschool University is a magic place; check out ABC Magic, Sentence Magic, Magic Reading, Word Magic, as well as 123 Number Magic.
Another app I liked won't help my current students much, but might help me! I'm fond of Shakespeare, but not because he's easy. Shakespeare Made Easy by Edith Nesbit provides retellings of the play as well as a video summaries. Very handy when you get home from the theatre, not entirely sure what just happened.
After watching the webinars on reluctant readers and writers, I also identified the Builders by Mobile Education: Story Builder, Sentence Builder and Question Builder. These are well-structured apps: Story Builder, for example, uses questions to guide a student through writing a cohesive story.
I'd love to have them all, but even those $1.99's will add up eventually! Couldn't resist Shakespeare, though.
