Tuesday, April 24, 2012

App Smackdown Vol. 7

I admit it.  I have been a bad blogger lately.  Something about the nice weather makes me want to leave the blogosphere and just be outside.   The good news is that I am back in action and ready to blog.  It is STAAR testing week here in Texas and in between my role of "break giver" I am ready to share some apps I have been obsessed with recently!


1.  Toontastic - This comic strip creator app is a great way to support your students as they learn about story structure!  Using the story arc, students can plan out the setup,  conflict, climax and other key peices of their story.  Simply select your characters and setting, hit record and move your characters around while talking through key parts of your cartoon.  What a great way for students to work on sequence of a story and more!



2. ScribblePress - This iPad app lets your students create and publish eBooks!  Books can be added to your iBooks library for easy sharing and reading. This is an easy way for your students to create and share for Writer's Workshop and beyond!



3.  Destiny Quest - A GREAT database for researching on our regular computers, CISD now has access to the Destiny Quest app!  Students can login to their school's resources, find great kid-friendly websites and even link to Safari Montage videos for viewing.  Just like in regular Destiny Quest, kids can build and keep a resource list.  This app is iPad only, but can really assist your students when researching.  See your Librarian on campus for more details!


4. Follett eReader - CISD also now has access to the Follett eReader app, which lets you and your students login to have access to a whole database of eBooks! See your librarian for more details!



5.  Wonderopolis - I am so excited about this!  One of my favorite websites now has a great new app!  Wonderopolis features a "Wonder of the Day" complete with a guiding discussion question, activities to support learning about that "wonder" and kid-friendly explanations.  I have heard of teachers using this as part of their daily calendar and for using "wonders" to support and enrich units of study!  This app makes it even easier to engage students in real-world learning.



What apps are you using in the classroom?  I'd love to hear and use your recommendations for the next App Smackdown!  Let me know in the comments!