Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Yes, there’s an EDUCATIONAL app for that!



We know, we know!  You think your kids spend too much time on “the smart phones.”   You think the kids are going to go blind because they seem to have their little eyes and noses pressed up against “the smart phone” screen all the time.  You think they may grow two extra thumbs because of how much texting and snap-chatting goes on.  Relaaaaaax, Mom and Dad.  Allow them to use their smart phones for good and they may surprise you!


Did you know that some group of mad scientists, somewhere on this planet, created apps that are…GULP!...educational?  Come to terms with that for a moment.  There are apps to help your child improve their spelling, time management, quiz scores, learn a language, take notes and more. 



What has the world come to?  Remember when we had to use a paper and pen to take notes as the teacher spoke...all the while trying to understand what in the name of Zeus the teacher was writing on the board or overhead projector.  …I think I may have dated myself just then.  Oh, well!



The point is, there are apps that can help school age children achieve academic success.  Family & MWR has done the hard research and found five apps that may be beneficial for students in each school level: elementary school, middle school, and high school.  We hope you and your crew find one or two helpful.



Elementary School

1. Barefoot World Atlas

Puts the world at your children’s fingertips! With this incredible app, anyone can fly around the magical, interactive 3D globe and discover the rich wonders of our planet.


2.Learner’s Dictionary

The best dictionary available for all English language learners, include native English speakers.



3. Grammar Pop

A great way for kids to learn parts of speech. Match words with parts-of-speech to pop clouds and progress from nouns and verbs to gerunds and participles.



4. Hungry Fish

Students can practice mental addition and subtraction by feeding the fish.  The fish are hungry for numbers. Keep feeding the fish answers to math problems to win a level and unlock new colors and fins.

5. Spelling City

Spelling City is a fun way to learn spelling and vocabulary words by playing engaging games using any word list.





Middle School

1. Sail Through Math

A fun and exciting way to practice and reinforce math skills. Users face mounting obstacles and surprising hazards as they navigate through Math Facts, Algebra, Number Sense, and Rational Numbers.



2. iTooch Language Arts

More than 1,590 exercises provide a new and fun way of practicing and learning Language Arts for all middle school grades (even though the app art says “5th”, there are apps for all grades).



3. Frontier Heroes

Explore five exciting eras of American history through dozens of mini-games and experience what it was like to expand the boundaries of the American frontier.



4. Wonder Box

This app inspires curiosity and creative thinking while exploring and learning about science, geography, music and design.



5. Science 360

Access to engaging science, engineering images, and video from around the globe and a news feed featuring breaking science. Content is either produced by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) or gathered from scientists, colleges and universities.




Honorable Mention for elementary school and middle school students.
Every child can learn how to trace and write cursive through a fun app that maintains motivation.  The app is fully customizable to suit every child's needs.  Kids can write letters and words, and you can add your own words with audio.





High School

1. Talkboard

This app is useful for any collaboration work because students can share whiteboard screens and work together effectively.



2. 30/30

This task-managing app actually helps with time management.  For maximum productivity, it gives students 30 minutes for work and 30 minutes for break.  It is easy to set up and sends helpful reminders to keep you on task towards your goal.



3. Quizlet

A great study tool with simple yet effective features that help with memorization.



4. Notability

The absolute BEST note-taking app with a great and intuitive user-interface.



5. Google Drive

This is a great way to keep documents, from text files to presentations, easily accessible and organized for class.



Parents, it’s time to realize that the smart phone isn’t going away.  Our children’s obsession with said smart phone isn’t going away…and it only gets worse with teens.  Their whole world is one huge digital matrix.  I went to a career day at my son’s school and noticed the teachers tapping their white boards (not chalk boards) to get video and power point presentations to appear on the board.  On a school supplies list, they asked for the students to have a USB drive.  School lessons and notes are now filed on classroom pages found on the schools’ website and children have to print the lessons at home.  They even use Power Point presentations to teach lessons.  It’s a whole new world of education out there.  Most of that world is now digital. 



So, in the words of a very wise wabbit, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”



Please note that these apps were found in the Apple app store.  However, most apps can also be found in droid platform app stores.  Be advised that some apps are just for use on iPads (or tablets) and some may cost to download (though most of the ones featured are free).



If you or your student has had success with an app not mentioned, please leave a review of the app in the comments below.  Other parents and students will appreciate the info.

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