Class 4 - ReelDirector & Awesome Apps

For class this week we created a commercial about Assistive Technology using an iPod Touch and ReelDirector. It was another example of how simple many apps are to use and the plethora of uses they can have in the classroom. It also brought to light a few challenges as well. It's important to make sure that the iPods are charged and ready to use before you give them to young students. Adults and teens would cope well with being responsible/aware of needing to charge them but since I work with primaries, how I would use things with them tends to co our my perspective :) How much memory is required for video recordings was also an issue we butted up against. I can see video being a very useful way for me to use iPods or iPads in my class so my experience today will push me toward considering increased memory.


12 Terrific Apps!

Clay-B-Cs Released September 30, 2011 $ 0.99 compatible with iphone, iPod touch & iPad	This colourful app is an interactive picture book which is designed to help children learn the alphabet in a creative manner through the use of colourful clay animation. It involves an interactive touch experience that encourages the user to search for items on a page that begin with a letter of the alphabet. Users open to a screen for a letter of the alphabet: For example - C is for…. with animated objects that begin with C: pictures below show a car, a cow, carrots, circles, a caterpillar, celery & corn. Upon touching the object the word is spelled above the object. There are at least six objects per page and a countdown that shows how many objects are left to find. Voice activation (which can be enabled) will introduce a letter and repeat the name of the object as it is touched. What makes this app unique is that the handmade clay pictures are very attractive and colourful. This relatively new app has been very well received with many five star positive comments in the iTunes store.	This app is suitable for young and old alike. It can assist in developing pre-reading skills: learning the alphabet, development of a rich vocabulary, awareness of print and skills associated with decoding such as creating a mental picture of a word.
R U APT? Parts of speech Released November 10, 2011 $ 0.99 compatible with iphone, iPod touch & iPad	This app is designed to help users learn and reinforce the parts of speech used in spoken and written English such as; nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns prepositions conjunctions and interjections. A game format is used for this app whereby a question is posed and a multiple-choice list of four responses is listed below. Selecting this correct the answer results in moving forward in the game. Three wrong answers ends the game in a high score is recorded as the game is played over time. Students need some prior knowledge of the parts of speech and an ability to read independently.	Very beneficial for a student to learn about writing conventions in the English language. Especially beneficial for Language Arts and English courses for middle school and high school students.
Sight Words Released June 28, 2011 $ Free compatible with iphone, iPod touch & iPad Spelling Notebook Free Released November 4, 2011 $ Free compatible with iphone, iPod touch & iPad	This app is designed to help children learn the most common words used in the English language otherwise known as the Dolch words (sight words). Edward William Dolch PhD compiled this list containing 315 "service words" that he determined to be necessary to know in order to achieve reading fluency in the English language. It is recognized that many of the Dolch words can't be "sounded out" using common sound-to-letter implicit phonics patterns and have to be learned by sight. Although the app is aimed towards pre-primary, primary and upper elementary grades, it would be very suitable for students with exceptionalities and ESL students alike. Features include the ability to add new words and make your own cards using your voice (as opposed to using the programmed voice). A multi-sensory learning app using audio, voice and written words that is designed in a fun, game style manner. Five out of five stars at the iTunes store. A really fun app for all learners. A very helpful app for assisting with spelling skills, this app allows creation of individualized wordlists. Additionally, the app contains a built-in spelling dictionary, a database of over 100,000 words with the option to individualize by adding more words, text to voice as well as the ability to record one’s own voice for practicing words and a feedback system whereby stars are given for correct spellings. Many, many features in this app that would assist in learning to spell the written word. This app was designed to replace the pencil and paper method of learning to spell new words and encourages independent learning. A really great new free app in my opinion.	This app is very useful to prepare children to read; it helps to develop an awareness of print, rich vocabulary, and decoding skills. Also, voice to text helps with auditory learning. This ‘learn how to spell’ app can promote an awareness of print, a rich vocabulary and assist with decoding skills. Also, voice to text helps with phonemic awareness though auditory learning.
Math Bingo Released March 10, 2011 from www.ABCya.com website $0.99 compatible with iPhone, iPod & iPad, a universal app	From the critically acclaimed www.ABCya.com website, Math Bingo offers children math practice in a game format that includes player profiles and rewards. There are four categories: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; three levels of difficulty – easy, medium and hard; choice of eight different avatar cartoons; and a personal scoreboard. The object of Math Bingo is to get a pattern of five Bingo Bugs in a row by correctly answering math problems. The score is determined by the amount of time it takes to calculate a correct answer plus a two second penalty for incorrect answers. Animated, interactive Bingo Bugs are rewarded for achieving a high score. Engaging sounds and animated effects. Math bingo usage	Effective app for practicing basic math functions. Player profiles and timekeeper ability document student progress over time. Three levels of difficulty provide for differentiation of instruction. Lessons not included.
Rocket Math $0.99 and free version Compatible with iPhone , iPod & iPad, a universal app	An educational app that reinforces math functions by building an online rocket with 56 fun math missions that are different every time, 90+ colourful rocket parts, engaging sound effects and music, three levels of difficulty, choice of 15 space-themed avatars; create 5 player profiles; rocket simulator is powered by realistic physics engine. Math functions include: numbers, fractions, decimals, counting, telling time, money (US), shape (2D, 3D), patterns, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots, etc). Interactive animations have touchable objects floating in space.	Recommended for all ages. Three levels of difficulty provide for differentiation of instruction; engaging and interactive practice for several math skills. Lessons not included.
Mathemagics – Mental Math Tricks $0.99 (sale price) Compatible with iPhone, iPod & iPad, a universal app	A fun application that teaches and practices mental math tricks. The three components – lessons, practice and play – train your brain to break down math problems into smaller more manageable pieces in order to find solutions. With various levels of proficiency, the numerous mental math calculations include: multiply as high as 20, multiply any number by 25, multiply any number by 99, squares from 41-59, sum of first n even numbers, square number sin the 60’s, evenly divisible by 7, square numbers in the 800’s, check division by casting nines, check subtraction by casting nines, etc. http://youtu.be/c6uV8JRiHeE	An instructional and engaging practice app for all ages and grades. Mental math lessons included. A practical resource and instructional tool.
Story Builder $3.99 Compatible with iPhone, iPod & iPad, a universal app	Designed to help children write/create narrative stories. Supports three writing goals: improves paragraph formation, improves integration of ideas and improves higher level abstractions by reference. Use of audio clips promotes improved auditory processing for special needs children with autism spectrum disorders or sensory processing disorders. Children can record narrative stories using their own voices. Features include: three levels of play, simple intuitive interface, recorded answers are attached together to create a complete narrative, 50 different story lines from which to choose, 500 audio clips to use to create narratives, optional question and answer introduction support, e-mail recorded stories when finished. Colourful cartoon graphic stories.	Recommended for ages 6-10, 10+ special needs. An engaging and helpful instructional support tool for reluctant writers and non-verbal students.
Elmo Loves ABCs $4.99 Compatible with iPad.	Available in a lite version for free. Lite limits you to 3 letters but is a great way to see if the app is right for you. In the full version, (which my 2-year-old is in love with) there are 3 main activities. In one, you choose a letter to trace and 3 objects that begin with that letter appear. You can then watch videos about these objects, colour them or play hide and seek with them. In another activity, you are presented with different letters and Elmo asks you to find a certain one in upper and lower case. Then you have to choose an object that begins with that letter to be rewarded with another short video. The third activity is a variety of videos to accompany a variety of ABC songs. Kids love this app because Elmo chatters away to them throughout their tasks and they get quick glimpses of other Sesame Street characters in the brief videos. I enjoy it because kids have to work for the quick videos and because many of them are “old school” clips from when I watched Sesame Street as a kid.	Recommended for any kid who likes Sesame Street! Younger kids (or those with fine motor issues) may need a bit of assistance to trace letters. Used and loved by our school’s speech-language pathologist.
Super Why $2.99 Version 1.4 compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad $3.99 Version 1.5 Compatible with iPad	As far as I can tell, versions 1.4 and 1.5 are quite similar, if not identical. Both offer 4 different games and the chance to earn reward “stickers.” Kids can use the stickers to decorate different backgrounds on their iDevice. The games correspond with the 4 main characters on the PBS show Super Why, including Alpha Pig’s Lickety Letter Hunt, Wonder Red’s Rhyme Time, Princess Presto’s Wands Up Writing, and Super Why’s Story Saver. The games focus on letter identification, letter sounds, initial sounds, letter formation, comprehension, and word families.	I would recommend this app for pre-school or school aged children. The show itself was very popular with my primary class and I would have loved to have this available for them as well.
Beginning Sounds Interactive Game Free Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.	This app is a fun way to get kids to practice their initial letter sounds. 18 sounds are available and represented by pictures. The user can choose 3 sounds to work with or can have a random selection chosen. Once chosen a device that resembles a slot machine appears with 3 columns, one for each of the sounds. The user is then given 12 samples to sort. The samples appear as little balls that tumble out of the side of the device. The samples are also represented by pictures. You can click on the samples or on the sounds chosen to have the names of the objects said aloud. There is no text shown. If a sample is placed in the wrong slot, it is simply placed back in the sample section so the user can try again.	Although listed as being suitable for ages 4-7 years, this app could be used with a wider age range to help with letter/sound difficulties.
Letter of the Day Interactive Activities Free (until Dec. 31, 2011) Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.	Great app for letter identification sounds and printing practice. The user can choose any letter of the alphabet to work with. A chant appears and can be read to or by the child. There are then 4 boxes where the user has to choose from 3 options. Incorrect choices disappear while the user is cheerfully told to try again. There is also a space to practice letter formation, with a simple demonstration of proper techniques. It would be nice to see some feedback though, in case students aren't attending to the tutorial.	Recommended for ages 4-6 years.

This is a quick video from YouTube to show the Super Why app.

Class 3 Reflection

For class this week, we split up into groups to create tutorials about different programs that are available to help students with reading and writing tasks. Each group chose to create a blog and the links are listed on the right (Techie Tutorials). My group learned about MyStudyBar and following is a brief handout that explains some of it's features.

What is MyStudyBar v3?                                            

·      A simple floating AT toolbar that provides easy to use applications right on your desktop for all students but especially appropriate for struggling readers and writers - giving them access to literacy across the curriculum.

·      The bar contains six sections:  Planning, Reading, Writing, Vision, Voice and Help. Within each section are applications to support learners with literacy difficulties : 17 applications  in total.

·       It is a free shareware program that can be launched from a computer (fixed) or flashdrive stick and carried with the student (portable).

·       MyStudyBar learns from the user as they use it so it becomes personalized to their individual needs.

·       Study Bar helps learners with:

Ø                          personal choice and flexibility – as the software can be used anywhere

Ø                          inclusion – as using the software doesn't highlight that a learner needs additional help

Ø                          independent learning – as in some cases there is no longer a need to have a teaching assistant present

Planning Xmind – Mind Mapping. A planning, webbing and brainstorming tool with many powerful options and functions. It is similar to Inspiration but a bit more organized and not as flashy. It has a very clear layout but would still be a bit challenging for younger students to use independently.	Planning Sunbird - A portable calendar. Similar to MS Outlook, that is easy to learn and use. More suitable for older students and those with good typing and reading skills. It is fairly text based, but seems like a good way for secondary students to remain organized and keep track of extra-curricular activities and homework.
Planning Hott Notes - Sticky notes. Provides three different sticky note options to help users be more organised. You can create notes, checklists or scribbles (pictures or diagrams) to aid in your thinking and to help keep you on task. Notes can also have auditory alarms attached in order to make sure you don’t forget anything! Tutorial can be found at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3591384/MSB_word_tutorials/Hott_Notes.doc	Reading T-Bar Colour - screen masking. Assists users with visual stress and Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome often called perceptual dyslexia. Provides options for masking screen areas in graduating colour density.
Reading RapidSet – Change colors. Provides foreground and background colour options – in all applications. It assists users with visual perception difficulties such as Irlen Syndrome: often undiagnosed in many students. Users should experiment until combinations are found that provide the most clarity and then apply the selected settings to what they are doing.  Websites that can indicate  perception differences: http://irlen.com/long_self_test.php  http://irlenatlantique.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=14&lang=en&gclid=CKOGzZaO-KsCFSoCQAodpy4HIg	Reading Vu-Bar – screen ruler.  Also assists with reading difficulties: Line skipping, missing small words and with loosing place on the page. It is a small rectangular box that you can move around with the mouse to encase text that you are trying to read. The size of the box is not adjustable and does not go across the entire width of the screen as does T-Bar. There are also no options to change colour or to provide shading.
Reading SsOverlay - Screen tint.  Overlays the entire screen. ssOverlay becomes a yellow arrow icon on the taskbar. You have to right click in order to access it and go to settings in order to choose the colour you would like to tint the screen with as well as its intensity. To remove the tint, right click the icon again and exit. The next time that you choose ssOverlay from the MyStudyBar toolbar, your previous settings will appear. Colour and transparency can be graduated.  Can assist with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome & Irlen Syndrome.	Reading Orato – text reader.  A simple but very effective text reader; a straightforward text-to-speech application. Can be used with any program that has text, whether it’s a document or an internet page. Turning on Orato produces a new floating toolbar on your screen. You simply highlight whatever you want to have read aloud.  You can choose to have the text shown, have words or sentences highlighted, as well as select your choice of voice, speech rate, volume, and colour background.
Writing LetMeType – Word prediction. A program that predicts single words or phrases in a range of Windows applications. It assists individuals who require additional help with spelling and/or word recognition, particularly with longer complex words. LetMeType can benefit individuals who have a mobility difficulty and find it difficult to input text or who are slow typists.	Writing Lingoes – Talking dictionary.  Functions as a dictionary and text translation software.  It offers lookup dictionaries, full text translation captures words on screen, translates selected text and pronunciation of words in over 80 languages.
Writing Tiny spell - spell checking. A simple spell checking application. Clicking on this icon starts the application. You’ll notice a small yellow box in the lower right hand position of your taskbar. Misspelling of a word causes a small box to open next two your misspelled word along with a chime sound to indicate a misspelling.  Clicking on the yellow box prompts a popup menu with suggested spellings.	Writing Rapid typing – touch type tutor.  As it sounds, teaches people to touch type. Not assistive technology in the traditional sense but a fun app. It times typing speed; backgrounds can be changed behind the letters as well as language and themes by using the settings option. Can be configured for multiple users.  Good for IT students who need to be accurate for coding. Much less expensive than Mavis Beacon typing tutor.
Writing Balabolka – Writing support/MP3  Text-To-Speech software application. Balabolka is a Russian word, it can be translated as "chatterer". All computer voices installed on your system are available to Balabolka. Clicking on the icon opens the app which is a large window box designed to hold text. It can upload word and PDF documents by clicking on the file icon and selecting the content to open. One can type directly into the box as well. The cursor needs to be ahead of the word, then the central green play button (says read aloud) will read the text when pressed. The reading speed and pitch can be controlled by on screen bar slides. The on-screen text can be saved as a WAV, MP3, OGG or WMA file by selecting "Save Audio File" or "Split and Convert to Audio Files" from the "File" menu. This app is very useful to help students monitor their writing process as it will read back exactly what they typed. Self-correction can occur without having another person involved. Balabolka is for individuals who find it helpful to read and listen to text. Balabolka can also help those for whom English is not their first language. The printable user guide can be found at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3591384/MSB_word_tutorials/Balabolka.doc	Voice Speech recognition software.  To be used in any text to speech or speech to text apps for a computer such as Orato or Balabolka on MyStudyBar. Clicking on this icon activates your computer’s speech recognition software and can be useful for individuals who have mobility difficulties and find it difficult or impossible to use a keyboard and mouse.  A headset with a microphone is needed to set up the program properly. Similar in a lot of ways to expensive speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally speaking but without the cost. Upon activating the speech recognition software on your computer, a set-up screen will appear. The instructions begin with placement of the microphone from your mouth and continue with a series of exercises where one is asked to repeat words and phrases for the computer to get a sense of one’s voice quality. A visual floating tool bar with an equalizer-style volume sensor will float at the top of the screen. With the ongoing usage of the voice recognition software, the accuracy rate of the text produced increases. One is prompted to print out the user guide for voice commands to fully take advantage of all the program’s features.  However, it is very easy to use by starting the active listening by saying “start listening” and finishing by saying “stop listening”.

We also got to play around with some iPhones and a variety of apps during this class, specifically Pictello. This app allows you to create books with pictures, text, recordings, and clipart. Following are a few uses for this app.

Pictello

1. To provide comfort for young children when family members have to travel
2. To improve home and school communication for non-verbal students
3. Creating topic specific books for whole class use (ie. for a science unit)
4. To provide instructions for an activity or to simply share news when a child is away from school for extended periods (ie. due to illness)
5. Creating a self-guided tour for visitors to a school, or for field trips (if chaperones or older students had iPhones or iPads, they can lead themselves through a museum being sure to visit the areas that are important to the teacher)

There were also 3 other apps that I thought could be particularly useful.

Pocket Phonics 

This app is for letter formation, letter sounds and combining letter sounds to create words. 2 options are presented "Letter Sounds and Writing" and "Word Game." In Letters, students hear the sounds each letter makes and have a chance to trace them. If they are not close enough to the proper letter shape, the app will prompt them to try again and also cheers when the letter is correct. A simple shake erases what the student has written so they can try again. In "Word Game" the student chooses letters from a small group to make a word. The app sounds the word out in order to help the student make the right choices.

Strip Design 

This app is very similar to Comic Life, it allows the user to create their own comic strip. The user chooses a template and can then choose pictures from maps, photo albums, drawing, or using the iPad or iPhone camera. Once images are inside the template they can be manipulated. The user can then add text in blocks, balloons, thought bubbles, etc. You double tap the features to add text to them. This can be very useful for reluctant writers, encouraging them to record their thoughts in a creative way.

I Like Books 

This is a wonderful *free* app that provides over 30 books for children to have read to them or to read to themselves. In the "Read to Me" and "Autoplay" options, the books are read to the child. The difference between the 2 is that in "Read to Me" the child chooses when the pages are turned. In the "Ready by Myself" option, children can touch difficult words to have them read to them. The illustrations are photos of a wide variety of people, situations and animals that are very engaging. My toddler and I are currently enjoying these books very much. :)